Quick Reminder: Please fill out Backerkit surveys
almost 6 years ago
– Thu, May 17, 2018 at 10:23:25 PM
Backer Surveys
Things are going pretty well, with about 80% of folks having completed their survey. That does mean about 60 folks have not completed the Backerkit survey, however, and especially for those at Thegn level and higher, I need that information to get you listed properly in the backer list, and at Jarl and higher, to ensure I have your shipping address and funds.
So if you guys could take care of that as soon as possible, ideally before the weekend is out, that would make things go more smoothly. At some point, I have to finalize the layout and text so that I can go to print, and when I do that, that'll be it for the hardcopy.
Quick Status Note
The art for the first 2/3 of the book (the not-monsters sections) has been commissioned. I'm working with six artists, including two that I've not worked with before. I'm excited to see the results.
Indexing is strongly underway; more than half, really. Two things we're going to try and include are a monster index and a spell index. That will depend a lot on available space.
Speaking of space, I'm reviewing/accepting the edits from Vince, and then I'll basically start the long process of laying out the new text and stat blocks. I'm hoping I can do that via import for the text, and cut and paste for the stat blocks. I need to tighten up the 104 pages of Foes down to about 97, to make room for a few other things. The text flow for foes is chunky enough that I suspect I can do this without actual cuts of creatures.
None of this really puts me ahead of schedule, but I'm not behind, either.
File Distribution has begun!
almost 6 years ago
– Tue, May 15, 2018 at 02:08:10 AM
I did not expect this to happen until mid-week, but here we are on Monday, and everything has cleared. Only $75 in pledges didn't make it through the KS process, so we still cleared the $16K stretch goal.
As promised, I just pushed out file download links to the Berserker tier, plus everyone that got the full game in PDF.
Berserkers
If you were in at the Berserker level, you have the email for the promised reward, a 50-ish page excerpt from the rules. I went ahead and provided a laid-out version, but it's not hyperlinked or layered. You'll get a good feel for the combat system from playing these with the provided Level 1-2 characters, and I look forward to hearing feedback.
If you don't see your link, check the spam folder. If you can't for some reason navigate to the Download page, let me know, but you should be able to, and you'll see this:
Click "download" and you should get your file.
Thegn, Jarl, Styðja, and Skjald-hirð
The file that you will download requires a bit of explanation. Not a ton, because it's what I said it would be: a complete and playable version of the game.
Everything from the first page to the end of the Etera setting information has been edited, laid out, and is only awaiting art to be complete.
The Foes section has gone through preliminary layout, but hasn't been edited or tuned yet. You'll also see blank "Identify Fiend or Foe" placeholders. Those will be written after the editing and layout are done, so I don't break the layout by adding too much there.
Also, the index will be in two parts. The first is a general index, which will cover up through Foes. There will also be a creature Index, and I'll likely have a poll as to hierarchy (Challenge, Monster Type, Alphabetical . . . what priority order?).
The final book will be 288 pages; they need to be multiples of 16 for the printer, so you guys wound up with 16 more pages than even the $10K stretch goal. That's cool with me; I was able to put in Tieflings, which was great.
You'll see only the basic four backgrounds; I will be publishing a PDF of only backgrounds later. Kickstarter backers at Thegn and higher will receive this at no charge.
Request for Action
With the offset print run in hand, getting many eyes on the book is crucial to eliminate lingering typos, areas of unclear writing, or layout errors.
Please make requests for changes here by commenting on this blog post. Don't hit me up at the Discord, or on a Kickstarter or Backerkit comment, or even an email if you wouldn't mind, because I really, really want to keep things centralized!
Thanks for coming with me thus far. I can't wait to finish this up and get the final files underway.
Deadlines
Speaking of "final files," my intent is to finalize the 'ready to print!' PDF by Friday June 8. At that point, if it's not been entered on my "to do" list it's probably going to be in the book. Also, surveys are doing great, but there's a time for all things to end.
So, the key dates are:
- Friday May 25: Backerkit Surveys close, and cards will be charged
- Friday June 8: Final errata and layout changes for print must be in place.
After this, the ONLY thing that will be happening is art insertion, final layering, hyperlinking, and bookmarking. Then some time in late June (ideally) or early July (gulp...that's too close to my deadline) the final PDF will go out.
Until then: read! Play! Report back!
Where are the add-on PDFs?
almost 6 years ago
– Sun, May 13, 2018 at 09:26:22 PM
It's right there.
The short version is that for the add-ons, I only listed the physical copies, because I have in my possession inventory of those (for US folks) that are higher quality than DriveThru, and the best way to get them is to pack them up in a bundle with other physical books.
But for PDF, there's really no reason to wait - head over to the store and buy them there, and you'll get a download code within a day.
Upgrades and Add-ons
almost 6 years ago
– Sun, May 13, 2018 at 01:59:32 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Backerkit Surveys are now LIVE!
almost 6 years ago
– Sun, May 13, 2018 at 11:16:51 AM
I got the note that the KS funds were transferred today (Sunday, go figure), so I pushed out the Backerkit Surveys.
Please look for them in your mailbox or, as sometimes happens, your Spam folders.
I will be sending out preliminary PDFs in a few days. The Berserker-level PDF is ready to send right now; the full-game PDF is laid out, edited, but still missing some art through the Setting chapter (the last one before Foes), and we're editing and laying out Foes now.
I'm going to hold to my prior word and give y'all the playable PDF when the funds get processed to my bank, and the purpose of the delay is to allow the maximum amount of finalization.
What I'm looking for
The point of the prelim PDF, which won't have the ToC, Index, Hyperlinks, or layering finished, is to get you guys read it, and play it.
Find typos? There are always typos. Let me know.
Find rules that are unclear? I might be able to revise the presentation.
Find a layout mistake? A paragraph from Equipment has moved over into Adventuring? PLEASE let me know.
Also: play the game! Things work out as you expect? Good! Some things require clarification? I'll do it if it doesn't break layout.
The final PDF is targeted around the first or second week of June, so 3-4 weeks. All surveys and feedback should be by then, and when the printing decision is made and the files prepped for print, we all want it to be amazing as possible.
The book looks to have grown in layout: 288 pages is the new target.
