July 2026 Update
19 days ago
– Wed, Jul 15, 2026 at 10:02:41 AM
Hi everyone, I hope this update finds you well.
I’m sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve just been trying to keep my head down and work on the Malmart Catalog.
After my last update (In January), it became clear that I needed to simplify the layout. That’s been my primary focus. That said, there is nothing simple about this book. The text document alone is over 200 pages, not counting tables, and any new content we need to write to fill space as the project moves forward. Now that I have a design/layout structure I’m happy with, I’m able to move forward at a much faster pace.
Right now, I’m comfortable enough to say I plan on having the book done (in both PDF and Print on Demand formats) in November, barring any major issues.
I’m also working on rebuilding the Game Master’s Guide, and while I can’t speculate on the date, it should be done before the end of the year.
I’m also working on the Action Deck, but don’t have an estimated date for that.
If you wish to check it out, here’s a small preview of what the Malmart Catalog is looking like right now. Thanks for your time.
https://gunmetalgamespub.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/malmart-sample.pdf
01/8/2026 Update
7 months ago
– Thu, Jan 08, 2026 at 10:01:49 AM
Hi everyone, and Happy New Years!
I hope this update finds you and your loved ones happy, healthy and safe. It’s been a while since my last update, and I wanted to hop on and let you know what’s been going on in my world.
The Malmart Catalog
I’m plugging away at the Malmart Catalog, but I confess, this book presents some unique challenges, primarily with formatting and artwork.
Art:
The advent of AI generated art has had a substantial impact on the industry, at least for the people I’ve worked with in the past. This means rising costs to offset loss of work. My financial situation is such that, for the time being, I can’t afford to order as much art as I used to, so I’ve been learning various techniques to create my own art.
Obviously, this is time consuming. I block out a few hours each day to focus on art and then I work on Adobe Illustrator courses which help me create logos.
The Malmart Catalog has a large number of Corporations, and we take the time at the beginning of each chapter to highlight the most important corporation in that particular section. So, there are going to be a ton of corporate logos that need to be created, and I need to make them myself.
Formatting
As you’ve seen in an earlier preview, this book has a specific format. Instead of a standard two-column layout, I’m putting each item into it’s own frame. I’m doing this for a number of reasons.
Putting item after item into a standard layout tends to make walls of stats and text that (at least in my experience) can be a real pain to read. This isn’t a small book, and since there won’t be much artwork, it’s important to find ways to break up the text.
Plus, the items come with other graphic elements and commentary that make a standard layout a real challenge. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it’s not something I want to do.
So, the layout is tedious and requires a lot of focus to make sure every frame is arranged correctly and makes the most use of page space. Sometimes, I’ll get into situations where more items are needed to fill blank space. That means more writing. I think it’s definitely worth it, but it’s taking longer than I would like to do it right.
Anyhow. That’s it for now. Thanks so much for your time.
9/15/2025 update: Graphic Design adjustments
11 months ago
– Mon, Sep 15, 2025 at 08:37:11 AM
Hi everyone, just hopping in to let you know that I've been receiving feedback on the play test document about the graphic design/readability of the pdf. This has prompted some changes, which I'll share with you now.
The link below gives you a look at the Malmart Omega Chapter. I tried to clean things up and make it more organized in terms of the content and how it's presented.
You can grab it here:
Malmart Omega
Thanks for your time.
08/05/25 Update: Play test available
12 months ago
– Tue, Aug 05, 2025 at 07:49:36 AM
Hi everyone. I've decided to start the Play Test with everything through the end of the armor section. The Augments chapter is going to take a little bit of time to complete. I have to create more logos, and some artwork.
I'm sending the pdfs to you now. There is also a link to a google form, should you wish to give feedback.
July 31, 2025 Update: Beta Playtest coming soon
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 31, 2025 at 11:14:25 AM
Hi everyone, I hope all is well with you? Things are going fairly well, I've been able to get some good work done on the Malmart book. I have the layout mostly done through the Armor chapter. We felt the need to add some sections before the Malmart Omega chapter because I noticed some elements that required explaining.
So, you'll see a brief rundown of the stats presented in the book as well as an explanation of Mod slots that can be found in the Malmart Omega Section. We also elaborated a bit more on Item Restrictions (I also changed the graphic scheme) and briefly discussed various laws pertaining to weapons, armor, mechs, etc.
The layout has changed some (and may change again) because I felt that the Item entries looked too "Boxy," and the repetitive nature might be tiresome. The new layout design is a bit more open, but comes with it's own challenges.
Anyhow, I'm moving on to the Augments chapter, and once that is completed, I'm going to launch an ongoing Beta Test via DTRPG. Each time I finish a chapter, I'll update the product page with the new chapter in a separate document.
I need to find a decent online site for forms that I can direct people to should they actually want to give feedback. If any of you know of such a site, I'd love to hear from you.
Anyhow, You can click on the link below to grab the pdf as it exist right now.
Thanks for your time.
Pages 1-38
