Quick Update
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Jul 25, 2023 at 02:43:40 AM
Hello, everyone! I just wanted to give you a quick update. It's taken Glynn a bit longer to finish fixing the files for the core book because it was, quite honestly, a mess. The image for the cover was stretched so it ended up having a really subpar resolution, there were small problems here and there as well within the book itself, but the largest issue was with how the text was set up with the dark page backgrounds. I'm not going to bore you with the technicalities of it, but Glynn has spent many, many days going over every single page of the book adjusting the text so that it wouldn't become fuzzy once printed. He's all done now, though, and the book has been approved for printing!
We are now working on the design for the deluxe slipcase, and the folder that goes within it. Since Phil never gave me the master files for the player reference and the playsheets, it's very possible we'll have to redo them all, which sucks, but it is what it is. In any case, Glynn is working really hard on this and he's made amazing progress (if you had seen what he's had to do to fix the book you would have cried... an insane amount of work that was completely unnecessary, or it would have been, if Phil knew how to set it all up properly from the start).
I don't expect the folder and slipcase to take too long to approve, probably it will all be ready by tomorrow, so that only leaves the different sheets I mentioned. It's all looking really good though, and I'm extremely happy to have Glynn in the team because he caught quite a few things that would have ended up making the book problematic to read and to use.
That's it for now, the next update will be to let you know that it's all done!
Some comments and clarifications
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Jul 07, 2023 at 03:18:08 AM
Hey guys, I just wanted to discuss a few things, in light of yesterday's update, so we're all on the same page.
- The book is at the printer. I've paid them, and they have already approved most of the files. It's happening, the book is going to be printed, unless some sort of cataclysm occurs and the printer burst up into flames (I sure hope nobody rolls that random result).
- My idea about organizing a new KS campaign to help pay for ATDW wasn't properly explained because I had already written a wall of text and I didn't want you guys to die of boredom. As I mentioned, ATDW is paid for. I can certainly use more cash to help pay for the shipping and import taxes (the books will be shipped from EU to USA, or at least part of them, to be distributed locally), but most importantly, to help cover the holes that paying for ATDW caused to my personal finances. As I mentioned before, the multiple delays have resulted in prices not being what they were when we originally planned all this, which meant that I didn't have enough money to pay for everything. So I took some loans, sold a bunch of stuff that I really didn't want to sell (collector's editions of books, vinyls, etc.) and paid the print. Organizing a KS for a new game is not a quick cash grab, but just the extension of what I (and all indie RPG creators) have always been doing, which is use the funds of one project to fund other projects. The sales of all the games I've released lately (Sacrifice, Riftbreakers, Broken Shores) have helped fund both ATDW and every subsequent game I've released. Such is the nature of indie design, we don't really have budgets.
- This new KS is for a game that I started working on about 4 years ago. It's called Under Ashen Skies, and those who follow me surely know the name, because I've been talking about it for years. It was originally going to be released by Exalted Funeral, that's how old this game is. I've been working on it on and off since then, changing things, and streamlining it as much as possible, especially since the release of ATDW. The engine behind ATDW is based on the one I wrote for Under Ashen Skies, so the development and testing of ATDW has helped UAS a lot. I've been trying to finish it for quite a while now, but I don't know if it's the heavy psychological themes, or it's scope, or both, but I've been unable to. That is why I approached a good friend and brilliant designer, and asked him if he would be interested in finishing it with me. He said yes, and he's already done some incredible progress. The game was about 60-70% completed before he dug in, and knowing his work ethic, it will be finished really soon. As for how the KS itself will be, I want a simple, no fuss campaign: there will be no stretch goals (unless the number of backers is really high and we feel like we should add some extra rewards), and it will be fulfilled via DTRPG. This means no offset copies, just PDF and Print on Demand.
- A few of you have asked for refunds. As I said before the final PDF was distributed via DTRPG (if you still don't have the files, please DM me), the game is done and we are not offering any more refunds. Everyone had the chance to take a good look at the game when it was available during the beta testing. The full game was there, and a couple of people asked for refunds back then, and I gave them to them. But now the PDF is out, it's even for sale, and the books are going to start printing this month. Everyone will get what they paid for.
- As I mentioned yesterday, Glynn is already pouring over the files, and as expected from him, he has already identified and fixed a few issues we had missed before. He is now working on adjusting it all according to the printer's specifications, and we'll send them a release candidate as soon as he's done. So yeah, great progress, and meaningful one, the type that makes the game better!
- Last but not least (sorry for writing another wall of text), many of you have contacted me asking if I would organize a second round of funding for ATDW, and offering to give me more cash to finish the project. I will never do this, because you have already paid for the book, and I see no reason why anyone should pay yet again for the same product. If any of you wants to support my work, go buy my other games, or join my Patreon, or participate in the upcoming Under Ashen Skies KS campaign. I truly appreciate all your support, though!
- Alex
Some (positive) changes
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 06, 2023 at 02:59:45 AM
Hello, everyone. I've been dreading writing this update (or a variation thereof) for about a year, and it seems today's the day I must do so. Don't panic, the project is not going anywhere, the books are still at the print, being worked on! But I'm sure some of you have wondered: how the hell is this taking so long? Wasn't the game essentially finished before the KS even started? So let me unpack it all for you.
Yes, the game was written, except for the stretch goals we unlocked during the campaign, and I finished those a couple of weeks after it, so yeah, pretty much all done from the get-go. The art was mostly finished as well; you all know we had some delays and problems due to Likozor being Ukrainian and how things are over there, but that didn't really delay things because you can always work around that sort of stuff.
Then came the editing. Vi's a monster editor, and they're super careful with their job, extremely meticulous. Initially, we had estimated it would take about 2 months to finish all the edits, but Vi insisted in me rewriting and moving some stuff (all things that benefited the game greatly), so that ended up turning into 4 months, but I still think it was absolutely worth it.
This brings us to the core of the problem: the layout and design. Phil had already started working on it; as a matter of fact, he had it all set it up for months, and had been testing ideas and solutions for quite a while. He was confident he would finish it in 2-3 months. He started working on it, and things where looking good. This was in April 2022, so we were a bit behind schedule, but nothing catastrophic. I was confident we would be able to deliver the PDFs by August 2022.
But then, something happened. Communication with Phil started to become difficult: he deleted his Discord, and most social media. He said he was doing so in order to truly focus on the work and avoid distractions. Initially, I thought it was fine, we each have our own work methodology. If you need to isolate yourself to be productive, that's up to you. The problem is, it became difficult to get a hold of him, because whereas before I could just hop into Discord and discuss things, now I had to write him an email. This slowed down communication a lot, but at least we were still making progress. Until we didn't. Phil just disappeared. For weeks, he wouldn't answer to my emails. Then, he would resurface, show some progress, and tell me that he was working on it on the background.
This went on for months. Phil would disappear, I'd start to panic, and Leo would be forced to contact him via phone (they both live in the US, I'm in Spain so it was easier for Leo to do so). Then Phil told us that he had COVID and that was why he disappeared. I also know he had some other personal problems I'll not get into here, which is why I didn't just tell him we were done with him. For those of you who don't know, Phil was a friend. Both Leo and I had known him for years, and we had worked together in other projects. So when we learned that he had problems, instead of doing what was best for the project, I put our friendship in front of everything else. And you know what? It might have been a mistake, but it's one I'd make again, because I value loyalty above anything else. Phil was having a tough time, and the whole project suffered from it, but I still thought I could manage it.
The problem with these delays is that it had a clear impact of not only the project's timeline (by this time we were already months behind our deadline), but on my own life and my finances. The KS made more money than we expected, but after taxes, KS and Backerkit fees, paying Vi, the illustrators, and Phil (yes, I had paid Phil already cause he needed the cash), I had just enough to pay the printer. The problem is, the price of things changed A LOT from when we were supposed to deliver the project (summer 2022) to how things are now. Shipping costs are a nightmare, there's a paper supply shortage, and everything's a nightmare. Our printer is in Europe, and you guys probably know the energy crisis here has ramped up prices like never before. All this meant that I had to make a ton of personal sacrifices to manage to pay the print.
Fast forward to three months ago, and everything seemed better. My patience and understanding with Phil seemed to have paid off: we had a finished game. Phil seemed to be himself again, and he even started working on his other, personal KS, Fabled Paths (that's a whole other story). So as you know, we sent everything to the printer, and started working on things with them. The maps were approved, the tokens where approved, the first attempt at a final core file was sent, all in a matter of weeks. But then, it happened again: Phil disappeared. I managed to get a response from him, and he said he would implement the last batch of fixes and upload a file later that same day. This was 2 months ago. We haven't heard back from him: he's blocked our phones, calls and messages from other phones don't get through, and he's of course not replying to my multiple emails and messages.
So after this, I guess I had enough. I know he was in a better place personally, or at least that's what he told me, so there wasn't a valid reason for him to disappear once again, and not like this. Before, even when he was ignoring my emails, Leo would always be able to reach him via phone. But now, he's truly cut ties. So it's time to move on and finish this game once and for all.
The good news is, we now have the always awesome and professional Glynn Seal working with us. He's the one who made the tokens and maps, and it's familiar with the project (aside from being a well known designer and artist). I've worked with him in almost all my projects for one reason or another, and I know he's as reliable as it gets. He has now all the files and will manage to get it all sorted out before the summer's over. The bad news is that Phil never gave me the master files for the multiple gameplay sheets and the reference guide. This means that they cannot be printed, we only have the screen-quality versions, same as everyone else. So we'll probably need to rebuild these from scratch. I'll keep you posted.
Of course, all this means more expenses for me, since I wasn't counting on having to hire a second designer, after having paid Phil already. So in order to attempt to cover these expenses, it is very likely that I'll run a short, simple KS for a new game. I'm telling you this so you guys don't think I'm working on a new KS when I haven't even finished fulfilling this one. As a matter of fact, I'll be working with someone who has plenty of experience in this sort of things, and the game will be fulfilled via DTRPG to avoid any hiccups. It's a game I've been working on for years, and that was the basis for ATDW (at least mechanically), so I'm extremely excited to be able to release it, finally.
If you've managed to read all this wall of text, thank you. And thank you for your continued patience and support. I've learned a lot of lessons from this project so far, most of them the hard way. But you can be sure that the game will be the best game we can possible make, and that this is just the beginning!
- Alex
Fixes and more fixes
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 05:27:59 AM
Hello guys, just a quick update to let you know that the work continues. As you know from the previous update, the files are all now in the hands of the printer, and we're working with them to match them to their printing requirements. This is all very technical work, of which I don't have a clue, so it's basically just me playing the middle man between the printer and Phil. For now, this is our progress:
- The token files have been approved.
- The battle maps have also been approved.
- We've chosen the type of folder that will be part of the Murgo edition, and decided what will go inside of it, which is all the playsheets and a printer copy of the reference manual.
- We're working on the design for the Murgo edition slipcase. I've decided I want the extras to go inside the slipcase as well, sounds like the most practical solution for storage.
- Phil has now a clear picture of what he needs to change for them to approve the book itself and be ready to print the first proof. This is the biggest hang up, since the list was long.
So that's about it, we're still in the production phase as you can see. Once they approve all the files I think they should be able to start printing immediately, which is awesome. At this point, as you can see there's little I can do myself aside from approving this or that file for print. As usual, I'm keeping myself busy working on new projects and releases, with the next chapter for ATDW always in the back of my head. I actually did some work on it but I don't want to get too ahead of myself and have an expansion ready to go so soon after release. Plenty of you are already playing the game and I'm getting both valuable feedback and cool ideas for the future, so it's going to be awesome.
That's it for now, next update should be with me letting you know that we got the book's proof, if everything goes well! As usual, thank you all for your continued support!
- Alex
More progress, and the PDF is now for sale!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, May 17, 2023 at 04:11:59 AM
Hey guys, I'm back twice in the same month, with a short but sweet update!
- First of all, we are no longer accepting pre-orders via Backerkit, so if you know of someone interested in getting a copy of the game, they'll have to wait until it's officially out.
- We have sent all the files to the print and we are now just waiting for them to approve them, or let us know what we must fix before they can be printed. The next step is for them to send us a proof copy.
- Once we have the proof copy, we can then know how much the book and other accessories weigh. This means that we can charge for shipping, and we will also charge the cards of all those who preordered.
- Once we are ready to charge for shipping, we will open the pledge manager. That means you'll be able to upgrade your pledge (digital to physical, no Xenoarchaeologist copies will be available outside from the initial ones that our backers got during the KS campaign), update your address, and change all those details. We are looking into having a couple of other exclusive digital products there as well, more info on that soon.
- It's been brought to my attention that a ship sheet would be a great addition, and I agree, so I'll ask Phil to work on it as soon as the print files are approved. I also completely forgot about the Locker sheet to write down all the gear you accumulate but don't have on you (like when you're walking around Karum Station), so I'll ask Phil to handle that as well. Apologies!
The second part of this update is to announce that the PDF is now for sale! Please spread the word and help us make this game a huge success, the more people playing it, the better! I've already started working on the next chapter, as you know, so having a good playerbase will certainly allow us to work on this for years to come.
Anyone interested in a digital copy, can grab it at DrivethruRPG, itch.io, or the Blackoath store!
That's it for now, thanks again for your continued support!
