There's lots of crunchy good news on Ars Magica Definitive today, and some eye candy for "dessert" at the end!
Ars Magica Definitive Final Polishing We're getting so close to press time! This is how close …
The interior polishing pass is done, and it's now having page references and an index added, then my final layout check (which is a lot faster than proofreading). That means layout is very, very nearly finished!
There are a few other smaller pre-press things to do, like exporting the foil & embossing files for the covers, finishing the retail cover sheet so we can sell it in stores, and PDFizing for press (we're working on reducing those file sizes). But we're on the very last things now.
That's right, "Ars Magica Founders" John Nephew and Woody Eblom have even finished their read-through, and signed off on it!
I've cleared my schedule for this week to focus on Ars Magica Definitive, working alongside my co-producer Ben Hartfield who's been "All Ars Magica, All the Time" for months. So I hope to have "to press" news for you very soon!
Cloth Mythic Europe Map Prototype The prototype of the finished Mythic Europe map has arrived! I'm so incredibly proud of this map. It's really everything I'd hoped it would be.
Seeing it in person, there's just one thing we're considering changing. Should we remove the vines from one or both sides to allow for print shifting? The cloth is "stretchy" unlike paper, so we've been warned that it could end up very slightly off-center. Taking out the left and/or right vines might make that less noticeable if it happens. Let us know in the comments if fewer vines would be okay with you, or if you prefer the full Ars Magica Definitive trade dress.
FREE Ars Magica Dice The recycled Ars Magica dice we're manufacturing locally will be joined by a second acrylic set made overseas, when your Ars Magica Definitive box arrives at your door. That's right, you'll be getting 12 dice instead of 6, with the recycled dice as a freebie!
The reason for this is, of course, that the recycled dice are having some issues. From the polypropylene plastic feeling too light, to problems with sizing and de-molding due to the intricate design, to muddy colors, to a rough finish and sprue marks remaining on the corners, to a lack facilities in the US for tumbling and painting. Even if we did have John manually paint the 10 faces in 6,000 dice (which he'd rather not), the other problems have piled up in our most recent prototype.
We've committed to the local print run, though, so we'll still send the recycled dice your way, but they'll be unpainted. We've also reached out to our long-time manufacturing partner in China to produce a variant set from pearlescent acrylic. They'll be the quality dice you'd expect in standard game dice, but they won't be recycled plastic. So our plan is to send both sets to backers. It will cost us more, but we hope this makes everyone happy, and we really appreciate the chance that your pledge has given us to experiment with recycled dice, even if it hasn't turned out as we'd hoped. Thank you for your support!
Storyguide Screen Art Reveal This update also contains a really big art reveal, with a lot of history behind it ... it's Thomas Denmark's Storyguide Screen triptych. This very looong scene will be broken up into three separate pieces, one on each panel of the screen, with the "foil & leather" border from Definitive Edition's cover around each section. But seeing it in its seamless original format is a special treat (just for backers, below).
Enjoy!
-Michelle Nephew Ars Magica Definitive Co-Producer Atlas Games Co-Owner
