For technical reasons, it will almost certainly be printed at the same time as another ArM book. It's not coming out in April.
I think the most I'm willing to commit myself to saying is that I have not yet given up hope of it coming out in July.
Hmmmm, July. A nice sunny day. Lazing back in the sun lounger, a cool drink in one hand and my nice crisp copy of Mysteries in the other.
Now, don't spoil it for me, Dave. I'll have to come and find you if you did. And believe me, I don't even know the way to Cambridge so I don't want to have to do that.
Alas, you are a year or more behind, as David has crossed into a far away exotic regio, and now exists in a place called Tokyo...
I just hope Mystery Cults makes it to my birthday. April 24th.
... and that The Mysteries makes it to my next birthday 
:ducks:
Did everyone see that John posted this on the front page yesterday afternoon (4/7/06)?
I've gotten the impression that many people come straight here and don't go to the 'front page.' Maybe I'm wrong, but the lack of knowing these sort of suggests I'm not. Just rambleing.....
I saw the announcement. I've only just recovered from it. An Ars Magica book turning up earlier than expected? I'm just glad I don't have a heart condition...
I'm looking forward to it. I guess allowing for shipping to the UK I'll see it in a few weeks.
Any news yet on how Mysteries Rev. is progressing?
Well, now that I have picked up my copy, and spoken with the local dealers (several), I would like to stir up the old discussion.
Erik:
Yes I still believe that HoH: Mystery Cults is more important than Covenants. I can demonstrate this very effectively. The Covenants book sold resonably well. IIRC, the last store I was in sold about ten copies over the course of a month. Mystery Cults on the other hand, was highly sought after. The local dealer had a LARGE box of them...(sold about ten copies in about ten minutes.) I purchased the last one...a couple of days after they hit the shelf. The other dealers in the area were sold out.
Perhaps my ratio of one to four isn't so far out of line after all.... 
...and yes, I still view Covenants as a SG book, and MC as a players book.
(Oh and yeah, I am well aware of the fact that the SG job rotates...our one game does just this...I am the only one who has purchased the Covenants book in this group. The other group has one other copy of Covenants. That group has three other copies of MC. Strangely enough, there is only one House represented there)
I seem to remember having read the current TMRE proofreader posting somewhere that the proofreading is coming along nicely and he is fairly confident of turning it to Atlas by the end of May. Let's hope that nothing happens to disprove him this time and Atlas folks are able to turn the book out in a pair with RoP: I by July or so (a month should be time enough to have the book layouted and printed).
Ever than before, HoH:MC really shows that having full Mystery rules is exceedingly useful for any extended ArM play, and I couldn't think of any other book more important to the line as of now. As for myself, I really wouldn't mind even having RoP: I slightly delayed, if it means TMRE may use its slot, since it seems that
Really, this aptitude of treating TMRE as a "residual" book whose publication is really not that fundamental to the line seems quite odd and annoying to me, given how central Mystery initiations look in the current order. Certainly, I would get TMRE any time before RoP:I (TMRE is going to be a fundamental players book, while Rop:I will be a storyguide book), and surely in the damned occurence TMRE doesn't make it for July, I wish Atlas to focus its entire efforts on publishing it in the next schedule slot, at the cost of delaying other on-time books if need be. Frankly, who cares £$%& about getting a quite lame by comparison book on city life when TMRE remains unpublished ??
I don't think that's fair to Atlas. My impression is that they are doing all they can to get this book finally published, but the immutable laws of Murphy just keep getting in their way. You can't blame a guy for sccumbing to a law of nature, man. 
While I'm very keen to see TMRE, I have no idea of the economical circumstances of publishing. I am fairly confident that delaying the entire line of books would do more harm to Atlas' record with the distributers and that publishing TMRE without a peer at the press would cost them more money, both effects going against the profitability of the Ars Magica line and Atlas Games as a whole. I want the Ars Magica line to be a huge economic success. I want it to eclispse D&D. I want it to eclipse Pokemon.
OK, that's not going to happen, but the last thing I want is for Ars Magica to edge even a bit closer to being not viable. I trust Atlas to know what's best for the line.
Yair
I'm not blaming them for that, it's the fact they seem to treat this book as the red-headed stepchild of the line, some kind of residual leftover whose eventual publication is not that all important, when on account of its usefulness to players, this looks like the fourth HoH book more and more. I cannot really understand while a hugely delayed book has to wait for a paired printing schedule slot while HoH:MC and RoP: I can merrily go to the prints solo: unless they have a tight contractual obligation with the printer, which gives them very rigid printing schedules during the year. Howver, that would be the first time ever I hear of such a contract arrangement.
What I can tell is that I don't care at all about getting a comparatively rather uninteresting completist book on Middle Ages city life (80-90% of whose content I can likely pull down from the net, or adapt contents from the zillion city life sourcebooks that have been published in other fantasy game lines) while TMRE (which is likely chock-full of player crunchy bits and setting info I can't find elsewhere) remains unpublished, and that I'd rather prefer TMRE be given the July publishing slot, and RoP: I (which looks like going to be of rather limited usefulness to players and a mainly "bestiary" SG-oriented book, since I very much doubt they are going to make infernalists a viable character concept) be delayed in tis place, if need be, and that I'm fairly persuaded that many ArM fans would share my predilections.
I'm not advocating this. But surely I can't understand why any other book in the line can't be dealyed, while finishing TMRE seems something that can be done only and if there is spare time and energy from the other books.
I find this quite puzzling, since it's the first time ever I hear RPG sourcebooks should necessarily go to the print in pairs.
I've spoken to Atlas folks about why printing in pairs is done. I forget the exact words used, but the above quote pretty much sums it up.
Printers and their economics are in the capable hands of John Nephew.
Mysteries will come out when its ready.
The perceived treatment of Mysteries as a 'red-headed stepchild' is an illusion.
V
* there is no stepchild. this is not the illusion you are looking for *
They didn't. HoH:MC was paired with the reprint of True Lineages. RoP:I will be paired with TMRE.
Fortunately, there is no such book on our schedule.
Because having one book late, even very late, is generally less bad, as far as distributors and retailers are concerned, than having lots of books late.
You learn something new every day. Seriously, it doesn't apply to all RPG books, but it does apply to Ars Magica books, and we have very little leeway with it.
We would really like to get TMRE out, because we share your beliefs about how popular it will be with players. Murphy's Law is, indeed, getting in the way.
Well, if this be the case, I'm content, even if I'd preferred to get it with HoH:MC, since from all that I hear about it, they are like two halves of a whole. I can wait the Summer slot, even if it will be a long wait. I'm just in the opinion that getting TMRE out as soon as possible should be THE top priority of the line, the task presently getting the lion's share of the energies, since there's no other book in the near pipeline of greater interest and usefulness to players.
Hmm, here it is: "City and Gild" "...Visit the towns of Mythic Europe, and deal with the craftsmen and merchants based there. Includes extensive rules for crafts, both mundane and magical, and for establishing a trading empire covering the continent". Available Autumn 2006.
With all the possible respect, David, I'm in ArM for RPing W-I-Z-A-R-D-S, not the town cobbler, or even the forerunner of Marco Polo. There's presently at least an handful of "city life in the Middle Ages" sourcebooks from other game lines groaning on my shelves, plus all the stuff I can pull from the Net or the local library. This is the kind of completist stuff that I'm going to buy only for the good grace and the sake of keeping the line afloat IF it does a good job of feeding me with the mystic-fantastic stuff I really want. So if you want me to shell any money on this book, gimme the Mysteries first, OK ?
Here's a quote, which expresses my sentiment perfectly:
"As you watch the peasants work in the fields, singing their traditional folk song, you marvel at the organisation of the system, the way each one is divided into his own -"
"I waste 'em with my Ball of Abysmal Flame!"
Who cares about the opinion of the £$%& middleman ? Fans are the guys whose money feeds the whole enterprise. Our tastes and opinions should be foremost. If we got disheartened with a line, try seeing how long your precious retailers keep ordering. Of course, I'm doing an hyperbole. ArM 5th books quality has been consistently excellent so far, so there's no reson no to expect and wish continued strong success, but this "retailers first, fans second" attitude looks really odd. Moreover, I don't know about the US, but all the FLGS owners I've known, on the average, they would care very little about how many books are late, as long as they sell as best as possible.
Bizarre, to say the least.
Oh, well, in the end my concern is that you're doing all the possible to get it out ASAP. I was annoyed to the idea that you were not giving it top priority for the sake of getting Infernal or City and Gild in time or somesuch.
I most definitely agree about the priority of playing a Wizard for my varied mileage.
However , my shelf is not bulging with books on "Life in the 13th century".
The Berk-list and these Fora have educated me on a goodly number of texts.
Affording these is another matter.
Having a specific book written for Ars Magica to fill in the background ,
that the Order of Hermes operates in ,
would be of immense use and interest to me.
Of course, not all ArM fans are going to be in the same position as me, being somewhat of a history buff and having several "Middle Age life" RPG sourcebooks (on memory, Gurps Middle Ages, "Three Pillars", "Ashen Knight", and "Ashen Thief" for Vampire: Dark Ages, plus "Ordo Nobilis" for ArM 3rd Ed.) already. Such a book might indeed be useful for newbie gamers who lack expertise on Middle Ages history and din't have previous experience with historical fantasy RPG. Even in that case, however, I'm persuaded that such a book would be of residual interest in comparison to TMRE or HoH: MC. In a more general sense, if I were to rate the IMNSHO interest of 2006 ArM sourcebooks to the average player, I'd say:
1st HoH:MC
2nd TMRE
3rd Covenants
4th RoP:I
5th City and Gild
Feel free to dissent, of course. For SG, Covenants and RoP:I would be likely nearest to the top.
It's not strictly necessary. However, one of the benefits of developing a close relationship with our preferred book printer is that we've learned various ways to get more for our printing dollar with them. For example, we know that their biggest, fastest printing press is a ZMR (zero make-ready) web press that prints up to 2/2 and uses 48-page signatures. Knowing this, we planned ArM5's core rules to be two-color on regular offset paper, without having to pay a huge amount more (as we would have going to full 4-color process, or if we'd used a coated stock that wasn't stocked in rolls by our printer -- in either case, a sheet-fed press would have been used, and our printing cost might as much as doubled). Understanding the 48-page signatures meant we switched from 128-page books to 144-page books as the standard for the ArM line -- it's actually cheaper at our printer to do the 144-page book because it will use the fastest printing press with the minimum of set-up expenses, even if we need to pad out the extra pages with advertising, larger type, or blank paper if it comes to that.
We've also learned that our printer will give us sizeable price breaks for printing multiple titles with the same specs (e.g., two 144-page hardcovers), because their common characteristics (using the same size of paper rolls, same number of pockets for collation and binding, same hardcover boards for binding, etc.) minimize the added set-up and changes involved in producing the books. On the relatively short print runs of books in the Ars Magica line, a big portion of the cost of printing is really set-up, so "ganging" print jobs can save us upwards of 20% on the printing bill per title, which makes a big difference in the budgeting. (Without that extra savings, the reprint of True Lineages probably would not have been economical, for example.)
I don't know if other publishers have figured out any of these tricks, or if they would talk about them. We've visited our printer's facility several times, asked many probing technical questions of their staff on the floor as well as our sales rep, and modified our production and planning to improve the bottom line. I know in the old days I would just shoot off the specs of a project to several printers, and see who offered the best deal -- I still solicit bids from multiple printers, but now we put a lot more effort into planning the project from the start so that it will get the best possible bids. (And not surprisingly, the folks who have worked closely to help us understand their manufacturing process tend to win the bids that have been designed to take advantage of that knowledge.)
With all possible respect, you are not the entire fanbase. There are a substantial number of ArM players who like playing companions, including cobblers and the forerunners of Marco Polo. We should no more ignore them than we should ignore the people who want to play W-I-Z-A-R-D-S.
If we look at the 2006 releases, C&G is the only release really aimed at non-magus characters. Infernal is primarily opponents for wizards, HoH:MC is purely for wizards, TMRE is for wizards, and The Book I Don't Think We've Announced Yet is primarily for wizards. This is actually the sort of balance I'm aiming to maintain: 75% with a strong magic focus, but some stuff for other characters, and 25% with a strong other character focus, with some stuff for wizards.
That is, and has always been, the plan. (And while we will be deeply grateful if you do buy absolutely everything we put out for the game, we won't blackball you if you ignore books that don't fit your gaming style.)
The people who are paid by the middleman. While the fans might moan about book X being late, they'll be happy to buy books Y and Z, if they're good, and just keep complaining about book X. If the distributors decide we can't be trusted to hit release dates, they'll stop pre-ordering. That will mess up cash flow.
That can kill companies.
It's very, very important to keep all the levels of the system happy with you. Fans are the most important; as you say, their money drives the whole system. But if the books never make it shops, they don't appear in front of the fans, and we don't get their money. So we have to keep the distributors and retailers happy as well.
If it were practical to delay one of the others in its favour, I would. Things don't work that way, though.
I hope you like it when it does come out, after all this...