I've felt from the beginning that FFG would and should keep the game firmly grounded in the Classic Era for quite some time, and until we know more about their new concept, I see no reason to modify that opinion. But while that does make this issue a hypothetical one, I find it reasonable enough to assume there will eventually be a demand for non-Classic material to put era symbols on the table for discussion. Keep in mind that this is a broader thing than just the Prequels and the EU material inspired by them. Star Wars lore set after Return of the Jedi falls under this umbrella as well.

As for the artwork in question, we have a bit. Assume that the artwork from the "I Have You Now" card sleeves was commissioned for the game, and you can bet that they will make use of that, and other pieces they ordered previously. There is also the image of Chewbacca throwing a Stormtrooper, found in the update article, which I see also as a metaphor for how they have "thrown out" their old idea for Star Wars: The Card Game.

ChaosChild said:

Hell, for all we know the new game could be pure Phantom Menace. 

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes…this whole conversation is hypothetical and is also taking place in another thread on this same forum. Talk about superfluous.

Doc9 said:

Well, this thread was supposed to be for registering support for the idea, and the conversation about the topic was supposed to continue in the other thread. At least, that was my understanding.

Doc9 said:

Yes and no. I think that if you are discussing Era Symbols, then the conversation will naturally end up being about what eras you prefer.

 In regards to Era symbols, what could be used for the alternate timeline from Forces Unleashed 2? Not that this is a storyline FFG will ever use.

On a side note, there is a lot of Star Wars lore that can be used nowadays with the mountain of fiction out there. I am kinda hoping they stick to the original trilogy and the handful of expanded universe stories revolving around and between these films. A Shadows of the Empire expansion would blow my mind! 

pickle said:

FU2 obviously…. Oh… maybe not.

pickle said:

I was actually pondering this a bit, not too long ago. If they ever did "What If?" stories from the Tales and Infinities comics, I imagine that the era symbol there would be twofold: first, it would contain the symbol for the era of the timeline in which the card would occur if it were canon; and second, it would also bear the Infinities logo to indicate that it is not canon. 

Having Tag and Bink in this game would be hilarious!! :D

 You guys don't seriously think that they are going to get that involved and that in depth with regards to all of the different timelines do you? That is extremely unlikely. Different lines of cards for different timelines and different eras seems so convoluted and unnecessary. 

Doc9 said:

I don't think that's relevant. This topic is about the inclusion of era symbols in the first place, and we are discussing any and all possibilities related to them. Whether FFG will employ this option and, if so, to what extent they will do so is for them to decide. 

As for the "all of the different timelines" comment, I don't know how familiar you are with the EU's publishing system and I don't want to assume unfamiliarity, but just for clarity's sake I'll mention here that there is but a single symbol representing these alternate timelines, and that is the Infinities symbol. There are no specific symbols for each diverging arc, as your post appears to suggest. And for my part, I would agree that using such symbols if they did exist would present far too much convolution for what is supposed to be a simple, "use or ignore" supplementary mechanic.

 I haven't been to starwars.com for years, and believe it has gone really quite useless lately anyway, but years ago it was my homepage, and one of the best sections of the website, for me, was the databank. Anyone remember that? It was awesome, kinda like the Essential Guide to Characters but with colour pictures and it would be updated on an almost-regular basis. Anyway, the point to this seeming non-sequiteur is that, in one of its previous incarnations, the databank used era symbols to denote where the character was most prominent, so Vader had the Empire symbol (which was used for the Galactic Civil War) and Thrawn had the New Republic symbol, etc etc etc. 

Now, this inclusion was not difficult to understand, intrusive, or confusing, or anything really. It was just there. If you knew what it meant, then it was really handy. If you didn't, you could very easily overlook it and still get something out of the experience of the databank. So I think it entirely possible that such a thing would be included IF the card game strays into different eras. 

But yeah, just to clarify Marth's point, we're not talking different timelines, we're talking different chunks of one long timeline. I doubt very much that, IF the card game does go down the route of using different eras, the infinities stories would see anything major. Remember all the fuss made when WotC released a "Leia Skywalker" miniature? So presenting stuff like Leia the Imperial Officer (from Infinities: A New Hope) or something is just not going to happen, I would say. 

Even if it does just stick to Rebels vs Empire (which, for a Living Card Game, just seems silly, as I've been saying all along) having different era symbols for the folks around the Galactic Civil War and for those in the New Republic eras would be good. So you don't go mixing Brakiss and Kueller with Bail Organa and Palpatine. Or whoever. 

 Hm, something else has just occurred to me immediately after I pressed publish, and I think it's worth a mention. 

The LotR card game has got a Hobbit expansion upcoming, for anyone who doesn't know. And for those who don't know, there are expected to be certain folks in this expansion who die during the course of that book, so couldn't enjoy adventures with other folks from later in the Tolkien timeline. So I wonder if there will be specific rules or - dare I say a "hobbit symbol" - that precludes mixing of these cards in with the regular deck if you want to keep it a wholly thematic experience? It'll be interesting to see how much of LotR will inform the SW game, should we ever get the SW card game… 

spalanzani said:

We will get the SW card game! Now is no time to doubt that!

(Post-Gencon announcement mebbe?)

MarthWMaster said:

Haha! Well, hopefully so!