Just curious if anyone was at the Thursday Ars Magica Gen Con panel? Curious to find out what was said 
Hope so, I don't see anything on the Atlas site either...
Yes! I went to the Thursday panel-- I saw Eric Vesbit there, too. Sorry for the delay, I've been recovering.
The panel was primarily about the historical elements of the creation of the game, as Jonathan Tweet was there and hadn't done so for several previous years. This meant we spent the lion's share of the time talking about early design choices, elements he was glad to see emerge from those choices, and considerations of the early setting. There was a lot of talk about how it evolved out of perceived deficiencies of Vancian casters in play and why the panel felt those differences in the game gave it such longevity. The panel itself was better attended than in years past, as well.
The state of Magic Shoe was briefly discussed. It is primarily in the hands of Jeff Tidball, the COO of Atlas, and former Line Editor for ArM4. Magic Shoe has enjoyed some early, small-scale playtesting, but requires further work on expanding and completing the magic system. It is not yet complete, and does not have a projected target date at this time.
Ars Magica 6th Edition is not yet more than a concept on the horizon; Magic Shoe and Pillar of Fire are both ahead of it on the production schedule. I do know there was another meeting about some Ars options which went well, but I won't be able to talk about that for a while-- until I find out what the final decision is regarding the topic of discussion.
I know there were at least a half-dozen Ars Magica games at Gencon, more than I've seen in years, which was encouraging. I also met up with Eric Vesbit and some others at Gencon, and that conversation was very exciting; we have some great ideas for Ars Magica which hopefully we can get moving in the coming months.
I'll answer questions as best I can.
-Ben.
What is Pillar of Fire?
What is a "Vancian caster"?
#1) Pillar of Fire is the space game being designed by Cam Banks.
#2) A "Vancian caster" is a caster who casts spells in a manner similar to D&D-- they have certain spells memorized, and after they cast those spells, they cannot cast more spells until they rest and spend time memorizing new spells. ( tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VancianMagic ) Jonathan Tweet mentioned how they disliked this model, and wanted one where wizards did much much more.
-Ben.
Thanks Ben for the Update!
Quick question, was any thought mentioned to opening back up the 5th edition line, perhaps to fill out the Tribunal Books that did not make this edition (Rome, Stongehenge, Iberia, Levant, etc)? To be honest, that's all I really want out of the line at this point, it is pretty complete otherwise.
That was not discussed at the panel.
Hope you're reasonably OK by now?
Wow! I'd have loved to be there! Did anybody record it?
irrelevant, as far as I'm concerned
Very curious here, but NDAs I assume
Encouraging indeed.
Fire-and-forget casters, alá "That Other Game". You know what I'm talking about.
Inspired by some books by a guy called Jack Vance.
You have better things to do with your time.
Hope you're reasonably OK by now?
[quote]
I'm alright. 
I was just hoarse. I rarely make it through Gencon without losing my voice to some degree.
Fair enough. Was wondering if the Con Crud Monster had gotten a significant bite out of you.
You were a little hoarse...Was it Heartbeast, a Muto Corpus spell or device, or a Supernatural Ability? 
Thanks for the answet about Vancian casters
I'm also very curious about that other meeting - but all in good time I guess.