Fresh news from Command Control
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Nov 10, 2022 at 03:31:28 AM
Hello, everyone! I'm back with some news regarding the status of the PDF. I've spoken with Phil and he admitted that he kept underestimating the amount of work he had left. Despite being basically done (we've seen his work so yeah, it's really close) there are some things he needs to finish. The main reason for the delay is that after rushing through the project to meet the deadline he realized he wasn't happy about the result. So he essentially started over. While I'm sure we all wish he would have realized this sooner, I support his decision of redoing the spreads he feels didn't meet our initial vision for this project. I know this is not exactly the news you guys wanted to hear, but it guarantees that the book is looking absolutely stunning. Don't believe me? Take a look at these:
Keep in mind that these screenshots are super low res, the actual PDF is sharp and looking fantastic!
So at this point I don't want to give anymore dates because it's starting to look like we're the RPG version of Star Citizen, but I can say that we are really close. It's all a matter of how long Phil needs to finish essentially a single chapter, and we'll be good to go. So as usual, thank you SO much for your patience, and I hope we can all wait just a bit longer before we get this stunning piece of sci fi RPG.
Talk to you soon!
- Alex
Still no PDF... but we're almost there!
almost 2 years ago
– Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 02:31:53 AM
Hello, everyone! I didn't want you to think I was avoiding posting an update, so here I am. The truth is, there are no real news to report. I spoke to Phil (our designer) and what initially was one week of recovering from COVID turned into three. That means he's now playing catch-up. For what I know, he's essentially done, he just needs to deal with some nasty complicated tables that he left for last, but I'm literally expecting the PDF any moment now. I wake up every day thinking "okay, today's the day!", but it seems we'll have to wait a bit longer. He had expected to have it done a week ago actually, but it looks like the last pieces are the toughest ones to fit. I am really hoping that we'll have it next week, finally.
The second I have the PDF, I will post a KS update with a Google Drive, giving you guys access to it. My idea is to allow you guys to take a look at it, maybe even play it, and see if you think everything's in order, while we finalize the other stuff we need in order to send it all to print. I think we should have about two weeks to really look at it all and see if we missed anything. Editing and gameplay-wise it's all perfect, of that I'm sure, but the ghost of balance is always in the back of my head; I don't want the game to be too difficult or too easy, even though it is built around the idea that some encounters will be easy, while others will make you run away immediately (if you know what's good for you). This is something we focused on during playtesting and I think we're good, but I will never be sure enough.
To compensate you guys for all this extra waiting, I've decided to include for all of you backers a few pre-generated planets and sites to explore, so that once you have read the rules and made a character you can jump straight in, without having to worry about randomly generating it all.
In other news, my in-between projects game, Sacrifice, has now been released by LF OSR. This gorgeous deluxe edition includes solo rules, so go grab it if you're in the mood for some dark, gritty fantasy!
That's it for now, I really hope to be back soon with the PDF in hand. Thank you so much all for your infinite patience!
-Alex.
Small PDF update
about 2 years ago
– Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 11:33:37 PM
Hello, everyone! We're all impatiently waiting for the PDF to be done, and we all (including Phil, our designer) expected to be done a week ago, but unfortunately Phil got COVID and it's derailed our plans a bit. He wasn't unable to get anything done for a week, so unfortunately we'll need to wait a bit longer. As you see, this was a situation completely out of our control, but I apologize for the delay. Fortunately Phil's doing better now and I know he'll have this monster of a book done for us ASAP.
I'm sorry these aren't the news we all expected to hear, but I can promise you the wait will be worth it. I sincerely think this is going to be one of the best looking RPG books out there, and probably the most complete solo RPG ever released. You're going to love it!
We've decided that as soon as we have the PDF we'll share it with you guys on the next update as a link to a Google Drive file. This is the fastest way to get it in your hands, and it's just a temporary thing. Down the line I intend to send you all DTRPG download codes, for those of you who are like me and like to have all the PDFs over there. This will also allow us to incorporate any feedback you guys have ASAP, before we send the final file to print.
I'll be back with the PDF for you guys as soon as it's in my hands, I promise!
- Alex
So close, I can smell the dank Àrsaidh air!
about 2 years ago
– Sun, Aug 21, 2022 at 12:39:10 PM
Hello, everyone! Sorry with the delay with this month's update, but I was waiting for our print to give me an updated, final quote to see how we're doing on the budget side of things. Unfortunately, they haven't done so yet so instead of delaying this, I decided to go ahead. One thing seems guaranteed though (according to what my rep told me), the price has gone up. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit it's making me a bit nervous, but we should be okay, considering I was preparing for the worse from the beginning.
Phil is still working on the layout, but we are literally just a few weeks away from having the PDF finalized! As soon as it's completed, it will be sent to backers. My idea is to let you guys take a look at it, to see if you catch any mistakes that we can fix before going into production, while we ultimate the print details. I think we should have one or two weeks of time to go through the PDF before we must hand the final files over to the print.
Here are a couple of new page spreads!
As you can see, it's looking as gorgeous as ever. Some of you complained that the text wasn't visible in the previous spreads I shared, but as I mentioned before, those where the type of texts you can expect from chapter and section intros, the meat and bone of the book is perfectly legible. Still, it's that type of feedback we'll be looking for once we finally send out the PDF!
As you can imagine, we're a bit behind our production schedule, but not by much. Unless the printer suddenly informs us of some unexpected delay (I have no reason to think they will though), the book should be printed in November, a month later than I had initially hoped. So that would mean you would get your physical copies in the holiday season, which is great! As always, I'll keep you posted regarding our production dates and progress.
I'm afraid that's it for now, we're at that point where I can't really do much, personally, and I'm just sitting here waiting for the book, the same as all of you. All I can do is plan things for the future (which as I mentioned before, I am doing, and I cannot wait to start working on new content for Across a Thousand Dead Worlds), and work on my other projects. Speaking of which, my little OSR game, Sacrifice, is finally available on PDF format, in case anyone's interested! I'll have offset print copies coming soon, as well!
So that's it for now, I apologize for these short updates but we are truly on the last stretch. Can't wait!
- Alex
From the blistering heat of earth, I bring news from the cold void
about 2 years ago
– Sun, Jul 24, 2022 at 12:28:03 AM
Hello, everyone! How's summer treating you? I assume we all had enough already, right? I personally conceded defeat weeks ago, haha.
So I'm afraid I don't have much to report, because we're in the layout phase right now. Vi did some last minute changes and fixes, but Phil has been hard at work on the layout for a few weeks now! I'm hoping we'll have the PDF ready for you guys in late August/early September. This still puts us within our estimated time of completion for the physical copies, unless the print has some unexpected bad news once we hand over the final files... So let's hope it all continues working out! We've had a few hick-ups, as expected, but overall I think the project's progressing quite nicely, especially considering this is the largest one I've ever worked on.
Here are a few cool spreads for you!
As you can see for yourselves, I'm confident this is going to be one of the most stunning books in anyone's shelves! I can't wait to have it in my hands so I can play it away from the PC, too!
In other news, since there isn't much for me to do right now I've turned my eyes towards other projects (don't worry though, ATDW is always my priority, at least until you guys have the books in your hands. I also have a few expansions planned out!). Aside from working on my next large solo RPG (called Empire Undying), I decided to work on a small palate-cleanser game, a traditional fantasy RPG (yes, that means not solo out of the box, I'm afraid. Although it's super easy to play solo thanks to the random hex exploration tables, you just need an oracle). It's called Sacrifice, and it's heavily inspired by the manga Berserk, so you can expect a low magic, classic medieval setting. I had a lot of fun with it, and it will soon be available! If you're curious about it, you can read a bit about its features, as well as download the character creation rules. It uses an OSR ruleset completely compatible with any D20 system.
https://blackoathgames.com/sacrifice
So that's it for this month, let's hope you guys can have the PDF in your hands in a matter of weeks!
- Alex
