TRAILER: Latest Godzilla gives HUGE plot point!

HOLY F@#$! The new trailer for Godzilla reveals a previously unreleased plot detail. A BIG ONE. Monster movie fans will immediately get what's going--and it changes the big G's role in the film.

This feels like a spoiler to me, so fair warning to you--though, this just makes me want to see it even MORE!



If you watch it and comment below, spoilers be damned!

Rad Astra status and players companion blog

YES, work continues on Rad Astra. The pace is a bit slower than I'd like (the kid is now 9 months old!) but we're still plugging along. :) I'd considered a Kickstarter at one point (or a donation button), but I think I'd rather do something more on my own--though that will take longer to produce.

My two big tasks right now are polishing some rules on magic (which I'd prefer to playtest before releasing) and finding some illustrators. I've been curating an image file for inspiration and to use in pitching to artists. Playtesting will need to be done outside my regular group as they meet rather infrequently and I need to get this ship moving if there's any hope of getting the setting done by the end of the year!

In the meantime, you may recall that a while back I set up a separate players' companion blog for Rad Astra. I'm less concerned with players cheating and checking out the real blog as much as I am just overloading them on info. Regular readers will see pretty much what they've seen here, but in some cases pared down. Exonauts will still be the go-to for those looking to run a game in the setting including adventure hooks and stats for monsters, etc.

Currently the PC version covers classes and the premise for the setting, plus a few other tidbits. But I'm thinking it (eventually) will have:

• A storefront/where to go to get stuff (equipment, weapons, etc.)
• Things they can do (e.g. gambling/carousing at space casinos and dives) 
• Tips about certain interesting areas of the galaxy to explore
• Want ads (basically a job board of missions)

So there you have it, many irons in a slow, but still burning fire!

BIG news for space opera: Star Wars Rebels, Farscape, The Expanse, and more!

Looks like there's a ton of great news after Wonder Con (in Anaheim, CA) this weekend. Disney/Lucasfilm released some amazing concept art that hearkens back to the ol' Ralph McQuarrie aesthetic from the original movies. This followed a quick glimpse at a scene from the show:


Man, it's great to hear some classic John Williams Star Wars again! Here's a selection of the concept art:

Farscape isn't so far away

Meanwhile in another corner of the galaxy (the Wonder Con convention hall), Farscape creator/producer Rockne O'Bannon confirmed an earlier report that a Farscape film will be happening. So now we've heard it from the man himself!

SyFy wakes "Leviathan" for new series

In other news, the SyFy channel has picked up the rights to develop the space opera series of novels set in "the Expanse" by James S.A. Corey (the pen name for collaborating writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). They're calling their approach to the series"A Game of Thrones" in space. The source material is already pretty well developed and includes "Leviathan Wakes," "Caliban's War," and "Abaddon's Gate," with a fourth title due in June, "Cibola Burn". Time to get to the bookstore folks!

UPDATE: The James S.A. Corey Twitter account has posted SyFy's official webpage for the series. Not much there yet, so better bookmark it and go back: http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse. The account also confirmed that the show is in production!

 

"Ascension" series announced at SyFy

This is welcome news, as there seems to signs of a shift from inside SyFy to return to developing more space opera-focused stories for television. They'd previously announced back in March a new series called "Ascension" which also takes place in space. and they describe as:

Part Battlestar and part Downton Abbey, it follows the 100-year-long space shuttle of colonists fleeing an Earth threatened by the early Cold War.

SO MUCH SPACE OPERA! CAN YOU HANDLE IT?!

Just to make sure your head goes full supernova, here's the latest behind-the-scenes clip for Guardians of the Galaxy:



Enjoy!


Star Wars images via  io9.com and StarWars.com.