Space: 1889 -- auf Deutsch, bitte.

What you see above is the final version of the cover for the upcoming Space: 1889 from Germany. Patric Goetz of Ulisses Spiele (Ulysses Games) is managing the project, but it will be released under his own label Uhrwerk Verlag (Clockwork Publishing). What a great name for a Steampunk publisher. This is a very exciting project, in the works for about two years now, and you heard it here first! It is not a simple translation of the original game, but rather a new design with more modern game mechanics -- if "modern" is the right word for a Steampunk game -- while faithful to the Space: 1889 world background and mood. The manuscript is in good shape and they are working on art (some very nice art!) as we speak. The likely release date is October of this year. 

Of course, this edition will be in German, so English speakers will have to content themselves with the classic edition, available from Heliograph, Ltd, and the Red Sands of Mars/Savage Worlds version. If the German edition is a big hit, however, I've promised to consider a licensed translation of the German edition into English. The idea of an English translation of a German edition of an American game is a little weird, I know, but I'm okay with weird.

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While we're on the subject of Germany, here's the new version of the German background. It is largely unchanged, and in some respects is closer to the historical Germany than that in the original Space: 1889.

Bismarck’s guidance of Prussia and then Germany has resulted in unification of the North German states under Hohenzollern rule and an alliance with Great Britain which guarantees German security on the continent. Faced by a common enemy in Communard France, the Anglo-German alliance proved profitable to both parties until 1885, when the Tournai Incident brought France and Germany to war over a French border dispute with Belgium. Great Britain intervened on the side of its allies, Germany and Belgium, but the British were willing only to reestablish the status quo. The elderly Helmut von Moltke, the German Chief of Staff, favored using the Belgian War as a pretext to march on Paris and crush the Commune, but Bismarck and the Kaiser followed the British lead, a move highly unpopular with the Army. Von Moltke resigned soon afterwards.

Early in 1888 Wilhelm I died and was succeeded by Wilhelm II, a headstrong ruler whose sentiments were more  in tune with the Army's. He immediately created the Luft-Kabinett, a senior bureau responsible for greatly increasing air power, and appointed the Graf von Zeppelin its first head. The new Kaiser grows impatient with the British alliance, as British support is limited and, even on continental matters, subject to British policy interest first. On areas outside the continent, however, the British expect unconditional German support. The Kaiser believes Germany must look to its own security and its own future, and is charting a course separate from Britain’s. Bismarck resists this at every opportunity, but knows he has lost favor and his days of power are drawing to a close.

The Luft-Kabinett operates its own intelligence branch which works increasingly in rivalry with the British. The Imperial German Army's own intelligence branch still nominally respects the alliance, but many young and politically active officers feel otherwise, and loyalties are divided between the official policy of the government -- Bismarck and the "old school" -- versus the new policy of the young Kaiser.

Bavaria occupies a unique position within the German empire. It is a kingdom, but it is also part of the empire. As a practical matter, this means it has considerable internal autonomy, and its own security and military forces, but follows Berlin's dictates with respect to foreign policy. Anti-Prussian sentiment runs high, however, and there is considerable sympathy for neutral Austria, which was humbled by Prussia in 1866.