I just received this email today:

Hi everyone,

As you may know, Toys for Bob, who created Star Control and Star Control II
(but not Star Control 3), would like to create a new Star Control game.
We would like that too. But they are dependent on their publisher,
Activision, to fund the development.

So a petition was created to show Activision that there was a market for
a new Toys-for-Bob-created Star Control game. It has generated quite a bit
of response, but more can be done.

I would like to direct your attention to a cunning plan that Toys for Bob
producer Alex Ness has come up with. In his own words (from the Toys for
Bob website):

       First We Hit Them With Letters, Next Arts and Crafts.

       After that, they won't know what hit 'em. Activision, I mean. As
       part of my multi-pronged strategy to convince Activision to insist
       that our next project be a Star Control one, I have come up with idea
       to harness the powers of arts and crafts as well as fans everywhere.

       What I want to do is this: Make a giant map of the Earth. Maybe I
       should just buy one. I'm not map maker. If I were, I'd probably be
       instantly fired for my alternative spelling of the nation known as
       Uruguay as well as the fabrication of non-existent countries like
       Nutsack Kingdom and Nutsack Kingdom II. As a matter of fact, I have
       already been fired from previous jobs for these exact same reasons,
       even though none of those jobs involved making a map. So anyway, I'm
       going to buy a map. A real big one. Then I'm going to prominently
       display it somewhere in our office. Phase one of my plan will then
       be complete.

       Phase two is where I once again, ask you wonderful community of fans
       for support. What I want is to put pictures of you guys up on this
       map. Not everybody but at least one from every country. This may be
       a problem for the magical isle of Greenland but who knows? There
       couldn't be all that much to do in Greenland, especially if you're
       unemployed like Andre the Giant's character in the Princess Bride
       used to be, so maybe someone who lives there has played a little
       Star Control. Anyway, what I'll do then is post your picture up over
       the respective country you live in. The idea being to show the fan
       base all over the globe. Will this help convince Activision to let
       us do another Star Control? I can't predict the future but I can
       tell you that if it's big and displayed prominently, it will help
       remind them every time they come to visit and be a real conversation
       piece. Plus it will just generally brighten our spirits. In Paul's
       case, this could lead to a level of congeniality rarely exhibited
       by man or machine. He's quite a bubbly figure, in case you don't know.

       So if you've got the notion and a camera, can you send me a picture
       of yourself either playing SCII or at least standing near something
       SCII-related? Just send it right to old alexness@toysforbob.com. Or,
       if you really want the picture to get there extra fast, use my new
       other email address: nutsack@toysforbob.com. Somehow just the word
       "nutsack" does make things faster and better.

       Thanks,

       Alex

So the idea is basically to send pictures to show that there's a world-wide
support for a new Star Control, and to make sure that Star Control gets
talked about whenever someone from Activision comes by the office.

And in case you're wondering, it's not too late to show your support through
signing the petition on http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ .

Thanks,

Serge van den Boom
(The Ur-Quan Masters core team member)

I thought he wanted mug shots, but he wants the backs of people's heads?  Maybe there's a prettier back-head than I've got, so I'll just go sign the petition instead :)

I like positive petitions like this, instead of griping ones about design choices...

I haven't heard such a promising petition since the "Stop Uwe Boll" one. Count me in.

New Star Control yeah!!!

If there ever was a game more deserving or ripe for a Kickstarter funding drive, I don't know what.

Somebody get on this!

Edit: Holy crap, these are the guys that did Skylanders, I suddenly hate that game less, hopefully Activision will let them move onto some more interesting projects now.