INPUT GUIDE: STANDARD TERMS
From SFB Module -- Advanced Missions

(Z9.3) SUBMISSIONS OF NEW MATERIAL

    Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. welcomes the submission of new mate-rial for use in future Star Fleet Universe products.

    All submissions of new material are accepted ONLY under the following terms unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing in advance by ADB: All materials submitted immediately become the property of Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. and may be used, modified, expanded, or changed as ADB, Inc., in its sole judgment, sees fit. (It is not sufficient to claim an exemption to these rules within a submission; you must obtain an exemption first.) All materials used will be credited to the original author to the extent of his original submission. All claims of copyrights to material created from or for use with this product are invalid as they are "derivative" copyrights requiring our permission.

    All submissions (and any requests for exceptions to the rules) MUST include a stamped self-addressed envelope for use in sending you an evaluation of your material; the material itself cannot be returned. You should retain a complete copy of your material for your own use.

Here are a few comments and suggestions about the categories of material that could be submitted:

• General: Getting something published is easy and difficult. Good stuff goes to the head of the line. We get lots of submissions and have an extensive backlog of material. Persistence, preparation, and presentation all pay off. The more you know about SFB, the better your chances. Do not assume that we have never thought of something just because we never printed it. We may have it on file already.
• Hint: NEVER waste money sending something by Express. It will get treated the same way and (if approved) published the same time if you send it first class.
• Format: TYPE (computer dot matrix ok), single or double space, one side of plain white 8.5x11 inch paper. Use a dark ribbon; if we can't read it we can't use it. Put your name and address on every page. (And Your Email address if you have one.) If it's a multi-page submission, put the title on every page.
• Email: Submissions by Email take a bit of preparation. Do not send numerous files (or a single large file) without asking. Send one small file first to see if we can read the format. Remember that ADB Inc. uses ONLY Macintosh computes, and some file formats may require translation or will only work if sent in ASCII text format. Generally speaking, small items, questions, term papers, and the like should be sent as email, not attachments.
• Hint: NEVER contact the Bureau and ask us what we want you to create. If we knew we wanted it, we would have already assigned it to someone on staff or done it ourselves. The most important thing you have to offer is an idea we never thought of, but which makes us say "why didn't we think of that?"
• Scenarios: We can always use scenarios, and these are the easiest submission to have success with, but even then it's tough. We have an A-Pile and a B-Pile. The A-Pile is about 5% of the total (300 scenarios are on file for consideration) and will be used first. Getting into the A-Pile is simple. You should follow the format, create a scenario that has a unique twist (not just "two ships met in X terrain and fought a battle" or the ever popular "and this was the first time this class of ship was seen in battle"), and create a battle that fits into the established universe AND adds something to it. Do not submit scenarios including new ships, weapons, or technology you created; indicate in such submissions that you have a scenario if the submission is accepted.
• Term Papers: These should cover a tactic, not a play aid or rules proposal. We reject duplicates of published papers and material in the Tactics Manual, as well as anything illegal or unworkable. The rest are sent out to the Tactics Board in batches and graded; the papers with the highest grades go into Captain's Log. See Captain's Log for more information.
• Articles for Captain's Log can cover anything. Give us a try!
• Hint: Combining questions and submissions (on separate sheets in the same envelope) is acceptable, but will often delay the process. If we have to go to the staff to work out an answer, the evaluation of your submission will be delayed. If we have to take time to evaluate a submission, the answers to your questions will take longer to reach you. Send two reply envelopes to avoid this. If we can return everything at once, we'll put your other envelope in the Purple File for the next time.
• Play aids: Draw or type it out as best you can, or simply tell us what you had in mind.
• Fiction: This is tough, and easy. You see, we have dozens of stories on file, but VERY few of them are in condition to be published. They all contain flaws, errors, poor writing, or other problems which ADB will have to fix before they can be printed. If, just if, someone happened to submit a story that we did NOT have to do over again, it would go to the front of the pile. What kind of problems are these story-killers? Inventing a new ship. Inventing a new weapon. (They have to be approved before the story is written.) Doing something that is impossible under the rules of SFB. (Mr. Petrick delights in going through a story line by line and tracing out what happened on the hex map and SSD. If he finds something that is in the story but which cannot possibly happen in SFB, the story goes to the bottom of the pile and/or back to the author for revision.) Do your research. If your story can only happen in a certain year, do not use technology invented in later years. The most important thing, however, is a good story, with interesting people and an intriguing plot, which is well told. Stories should fit within the established game universe. You might try to add something to the background. The danger is that if you add nothing, it's just another story. If you add something, it may be something other, unpublished, background may contradict, and it could have to be re-written. We can't give you a list of every unpublished item on file, but we can answer specific questions about whether a particular concept would create a problem.
• Rules: New rules are hard to sell, mostly because the game already has so many. You should probably try a query first.
• Hint: Watch the BBS and Captain's Log for the production schedule. It's a waste of time to send in material for a product that isn't going to be done within the next year. Such material goes into the file unread, and the only evaluation you are likely to get is a note of which file we put it in. We are currently filing material for sublight battles, operational movement, second-generation X-ships, and all new races unread and unevaluated.
• Ships: It's hard to come up with something here. The game has 1000 ships with another 50 or 75 on file and already approved. Still, it does happen, and you are welcome to try. Draw your SSD neatly on graph paper (or use your favorite graphics program). Some ships that are not accepted: captured/converted ships, use of foreign technology, excessive weapons or power, new races. There is one particular category that deserves note: the Obvious Variant, e.g., sticking special sensors on the only basic hull type of a given race not already used as a scout. While such a ship may be published, it generally is not credited to any specific one of the dozens of gamers who suggested it.
• New Races: These are not being accepted for consideration and will be filed unread. We do not expect to consider new races in the foreseeable future except under our Stellar Shadows program of non-historical material, and in such cases the designer must pay for printing the product (in exchange for a share of its profits).
• Hint: We are always getting material with a note saying that the author knows it cannot be used but that he would appreciate it if we would have an evaluation done and send it back. Sorry, but we are having enough trouble getting new products on the market without stopping to evaluate something we already know can never be published.
• Product ideas relating to the Star Fleet Universe background but not to SFB or F&E will be considered.
• Software: We are not currently considering computer software.

    Authors submitting material used in Captain's Log will be paid at standard rates set from time to time by ADB. Authors submitting other material used in a future product will receive a copy of that product or other compensation at the discretion of ADB. Subsequent development and/or re-use of the same material is not generally subject to further compensation. (Current rates are a free copy of the product for small items used in it such as a ship, story, scenario, or rule. Larger or multiple submissions are paid at $15 per page.)

    In cases where an author only suggested the idea, or where it was something relatively minor or obvious, published credit as the designer may be the only compensation offered.

    Authors warrant, by their submission, that it is entirely their own work and does not violate any copyrights or other rights. Authors will be held responsible for any such violation of rights.

TAKE NOTE! Submission of any material is considered to be acceptance of these terms without reservation, which are legally binding on all submissions not specifically exempted by the Bureau in advance and in writing.

For additional details, contact the Bureau.