Well, here I am. ADQ has its fourth editor in four issues, and I feel about as secure as a biker-in-colors at the annual convention of the Brotherhood.
My name is Chris W. McCubbin, and besides cobbling together this august periodical every three months, my "official" job title here at Steve Jackson Games is Staff Writer. I've been here since last December, and so far I've written three GURPS books, Aliens, Space Bestiary and Fantasy Folk. I live here in Austin with my wife, Lynette, and our cat Polychrome.
Can I be honest with you guys? It's been a lot of years since I last played Car Wars. I'm basically relearning the rules from scratch. I've been doing some serious cramming, and I've already learned a lot, but you all will just have to keep your eyes open for the next few issues, and set me straight when I goof. I can count on you for that, right? In the meantime, ace duellist Ken Scott is helping me out as the official ADQ rules guru.
So why am I here, if I'm not up on my Car Wars? Well, I do know how to put out a magazine - before I joined Steve Jackson Games I spent over a year as managing editor of Amazing Heroes magazine, which I know all you comics fans read religiously. (No? Oh, well check it out, it's a good magazine.)
Enough about me already.
Been hearing some wild rumors about your favorite games publisher lately? SJG raided by federal agents? Half the staff laid off?
True, all true. See Fear and Loathing in Austin for the bizarre details.
In case anybody's keeping score, here's the current organizational table for Car Wars.
Address all ADQ submissions, letters for "Backfire," and classifieds, and all official AADA business to the attention of me, Chris McCubbin.
Address all playtest correspondence, and any proposals for new Car Wars books or games to the attention of Loyd Blankenship.
Address all subscriptions, subscription problems and orders to the attention of Circulation.
Got it?
You send letters, you send vehicle designs, you send questions, and you want to see them all answered in a decent amount of time. Fair enough. I'll do my best (though sometimes it might take a month or even two). But here's what you can do to make the process easier:
Put different things on different pieces of paper. Like, say you're sending me three rules questions, four vehicle designs, a classified and a letter about the last issue. Put the rules questions on one sheet, the vehicle designs on another (or several), the classified on a third and the letter on a fourth. And don't forget adequate postage. That will make it easier for me to file your correspondence, and consequently easier for me to respond to it. As I mentioned above, orders and subscriptions should not be sent to me at all. You don't have to include separate self-addressed, stamped envelopes (SASE) for everything, but you should keep in mind that the more different things you put in one letter, the longer it'll probably take for me to respond to everything.
Every couple of weeks I get a submission that just breaks my heart. It's a hefty package of meticulously and lovingly-designed vehicles, often with an official design sheet appended, from some dedicated duellist who wants to share his designs with the rest of the world.
It breaks my heart because I can't use 'em, and the reason I can't use 'em is because they're only half done. Folks, if you want to see your designs published in ADQ, make sure they're done in ADQ style. That means you come up with a vehicle name, a manufacturer's name, a paragraph or two of "ad copy" describing your vehicle in plain English, and then you put the actual stats all together at the bottom.
If you just send me a bunch of numbers on a design sheet, I can almost promise you it won't see print (and we're not even thinking about Vehicle Guide 4 yet, so they won't be printed there, either).
While we're talking about submissions, I want to mention that the one thing I'd like to see more of is original, full-length scenarios - mini-scenarios are great, but I want to mix them in with the big boys.
You'll also be seeing more of "Arena Watch" and the "AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide" in the future, so new submissions for those features are welcome.
Of course, we're always looking for more good fiction. Aspiring fiction writers should check out last issue's "Driver's Seat," by Mike Hurst, for a set of dos and don'ts that can't be beat. We have several interesting variants on hand, but not so many that I'm not interested in seeing more. One thing I'm not interested in seeing at the moment is anything for GURPS Autoduel, at least not until we get an Autoduel second edition definitely on the schedule.
By the time you read this, Car Wars Compendium, Second Edition, should be really, truly, absolutely out. The Compendium has been delayed for what seems like an eternity by the recent financial strangeness, but it's finally shipping at long last. However, for those of you who may feel like you only bought the First Edition Compendium last week. . . Fair enough. We'll just put all the major changes between the two editions in an article, and run it in this very issue. How's that?
Work on Aeroduel is well underway, and it's scheduled for August release. Written by Craig Sheeley and edited by Mike Hurst, Aeroduel is a boxed game, with at least 48 pages of rules, an airport maps and two full-color counter sheets, all for $19.95. Take to the skies!
The other big Car Wars release for 1990 is the long-awaited, much-discussed Car Wars Tanks. It's also to be written by Sheeley and edited by Hurst. ADQ will keep you posted on this as it progresses. Look for it in November.
