03/19/20201 Update: Roadmap for March through July
about 3 years ago
– Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 12:39:43 AM
Hi everyone, I hope this email finds you well.
In this update, I want to lay out an outline of my goals for the next few months to give you an idea of what’s coming, discuss the stretch goals, and other projects I’ve been planning. I’m going to try and give you list of things I hope to accomplish each month, with a caveat: All of these dates are subject to change. Yes, I employ freelancers, but they have lives, too, and sometimes things happen that have an impact on their ability to do the work.
Anyhow, let’s get down to it.
March:
March has, quite frankly, been brutal. My health is starting to get better, but it’s still taking its toll on me. I’m “not all there” in terms of focusing my thoughts and my fatigue level is still such that sometimes I just have to lay down and refocus. All that said, Things are looking up. I’m getting errata changed and hope to have the books ready for POD by mid-April. Furthermore, the development of the Malmart Catalog has begun. Also, I’m pleased to announce that Christian Nomnay (the publisher of Titan Effect) has agreed to do enhanced versions of the PDF with Interactive Tabs and Navigation headers for those of you who use tablets and similar devices. Follow the link below to see the Functionality of his Titan Effect RPG:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zgABffeV68
April:
As mentioned above, I hope to have the POD books ready by mid-April, at which point I’ll order proofs. I have yet to see any indication that shipping times have improved, so my expectation is that I’ll see the books in May. I’m also working on the Way of the Gun Deck. The Action Deck still needs a Tuck Box design but that’s it. I plan on ordering a sample deck to gauge the quality. I already have the Bennies, and I have the Dice. Work on the Malmart Catalog will continue, and I am going to begin planning out the Solar System Book.
May:
In May, I’m hoping a bunch of things start to fall in place: IF the POD is solid, I’ll send out links to you so you can, at your discretion, get a copy. Again, you’ll be able to purchase those at Cost + Shipping, so keep in mind that shipping times are likely going to take a little while. I’ll also be working to finish up the GM screen. I should have the planning done on the Solar System book, and writers assigned to do the work.
June:
In June I expect to finally order the Offset versions of the books. I can’t give an estimate on how long it will actually take for books to print, reach the US, and then start shipping. If you backed Pinnacle’s Deadlands Kickstarter, you’ll know that they’ve had issues as well. I use the same printer and the same Distributor as they do, so I fully expect delays. Also, at the end of June I expect to have the rough draft of the Malmart Catalog, at which point it will go into the editing phase. Writing will begin on the Solar System book.
July:
I hope to be able to print the card decks and send them to my distributor, get the edited Malmart manuscript back, and begin layout and art direction.
Anyhow, that's it for now. Take care.
2/27/2021 update: Pod books, and growing health concerns
about 3 years ago
– Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 02:02:34 AM
POD: The text re-flow for print on demand is progressing a bit slow, as I keep getting errata. Once it’s ready for POD, It’ll take approximately a month to get a copy of the books, according to updates on POD from DTRPG. It seems COVID-19 is still having a dramatic effect on shipping in the United States. Getting a POD copy is a very necessary step, as I can see the final, printed books and make any further adjustments to the layout for both POD and more importantly, the Offset versions. I am going to be paying thousands and thousands of dollars to get the offset books printed, and frankly I won’t send those books to the printer without looking at the POD first.
My Health: I suffer from a condition known as Hypothyroidism: basically, my thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough of certain types of hormones. If left uncontrolled, it can kill you. In 2011, I was admitted to the hospital and spent almost a month in a critical care unit before they released me. Ever since, I’ve been religious about keeping this condition under control, but COVID-19 has had a huge impact on my ability to do that, which has consequently affected my ability to work.
The problem COVID-19 presents/has presented is my ability to get the medication I need to (and I’m not being Hyperbolic) stay alive. At the outset of the pandemic, things were OK. But as the months passed, my primary-care provider shifted from in-person visits to Telephone appointments, but for some reason, my doctor never got a hold of me. She’s from India, and the last time we had talked she had mentioned an upcoming trip, so I’m assuming she was in India when travel in and out of countries got shut down… But that’s just an assumption.
Anyhow, my prescription ran out about a year ago, and since everything was in a state of flux, I hadn’t been able to get any more, or even an appointment. Consequently, my health has been steadily declining to the point where in the past my level of fatigue (A common side effect/symptom of Hypothyroidism) was such that I could deal with it by taking a quick nap around noon.
Now, I’m at the point where it seems like I have to lay down every 45 minutes or so. My speech is starting to slur and my sense of taste is changing…all warning signs that I’m in danger. All that said, I have FINALLY been able to schedule an appointment with a new doctor for Tuesday morning, and she’s already renewed my prescription. I had blood drawn this morning, and I expect that I’ll find out just how bad things are when I talk with my doctor.
As I previously mentioned, the last time this happened, I was in a critical care unit for almost a month. The difference now, is that I’m aware of my condition and have been able to spot it soon enough that I can be proactive. Last time around, I had no idea and the doctors told me I was about a week away from going to sleep and never waking up again.
I don’t know if I’m going to have to be admitted to the hospital, but if I do get admitted, I don’t expect an extended stay, and I certainly don’t feel any fear that I’ll die.
I wrote this update because it all affects my ability to do the final bits of work I need to do to get these books printed. All I can say right now, is there MAY be delays; it just depends on whether or not I have to got into the hospital or not. I felt a strong need to let you know what’s going on so you don’t freak out if you don’t hear from me again for a while.
I’m going to be fine.
02/12/2021 Update: More errata
about 3 years ago
– Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 07:59:34 PM
Hi everyone, just a quick update.
I'm still working through errata on both books. I don't currently have an ETA to send it to the printer yet, but I just wanted to keep you updated.
Thanks.
1/21/2021 update: The GM's Guide to 2095 is finished.
about 3 years ago
– Sat, Jan 23, 2021 at 09:20:03 AM
Hello everyone,
I'm just hopping in to let you know that the GM's Guide to 2095 is finished, and distribution through Backerkit has begun.
The page count dropped from 400 to 384 because the artist I was working with became ill, and I didn't have time to hire another person. That led to a limited re-flow of text, and an addition of a small chapter I needed to write.
Anyhow, you should be getting an email soon.
I'll be setting up distribution through DTRPG in the next 24 hours or so; I just need to make sure I have all of the backers (including those who pledged through backerkit) are in the spreadsheet.
Anyhow. I hope you like it!
12/19/2020 End of Year Update
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 11:29:26 PM
Hi everyone, I hope you’re all well and safe.
I have a few things to discuss, so here’s the TDLR version: The Alternate Worlds section is getting cut because I feel the settings need more work, general info about the progress of the GM’s Guide, the POD versions of the Player’s Guide and The GM’s Guide need to be resized to 7’ x10, and I’m looking for feedback about the Game Master Screen.
Alternate Worlds Content
This section is getting cut for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t want to put out Half-baked sections into this book, and I feel like both of the alternate settings deserve to get a full treatment. Second, this page count for this book is officially over 400 pages, and I don’t want to do another 20 or 30 pages just to provide alternate material when they will be fully detailed in the Dark Pathways (working title) source book. Also, that would eat up more precious time, and I’m not comfortable doing that.
BTW, if anyone might be counting, the estimated page count for both books and the adventure is pushing 750. This is by far the largest project I’ve ever worked on. Thinking back to the Kickstarter, I have to admit, I really don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I estimated the release date would be as short as I thought. Yes I hired people who dropped the ball in ways I won’t ever fully communicate to you, but in the end I take full responsibility, and I am so very sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
GM’s Guide Progress
With the cutting of the Alternate Worlds content, all that is left is to clean up all of the known issues, do my final art order, index the beast of a book, and get this thing in your hands. It’s the holidays and the artist probably won’t turnover the work before January, though, so please be patient just a bit longer.
POD Versions
I don’t know what happened here, but I’d been working all along with the expectation that I would be able to print Graphic Novel-sized books in POD. I know at one point in time they had that option, but it’s since been removed for hard cover, leaving me no other option but to resize the print layout to 7’ by 10. That’s the closest I can get to graphic novel format.
I’ll be doing POD in Hardcover, both standard, and premium quality. If you want a softcover option let me know.
The Game Master Screen
Now that I have all of the content for the books, it’s time to start thinking about the GM screen and what goes into it. I’ve only done one other GM screen (Codex Infernus), and that seemed pretty straightforward, but this time around, I confess I’m kind of overwhelmed, and I could really use your feedback.
What do you want to see? What will make the GM screen more useful at your table? Obviously Hacking references, but what else? I have permission to use some of the content from SWADE, but even then I have only so much space. So, here’s your shot to make sure the GM’s Guide has what you want.
Anyhow, this will likely be my last update before next year. I wish all of you well and hope you have a great (insert your preferred name for Xmas here) and happy, safe new year’s.
