Mid-July update, and I'm sure you're bored of British people reporting how they're melting into the pavement, but rest assured my productivity has not been all that. With the mandated weather discussion out the way, the Vralkast PDF will be delivered to all Backers this Sunday, while the Field Guide will follow as soon as the final art commissions are done sometime next week.
Currently, there are 4 backers whose cards were declined for the recent survey; I'll be resending the command to charge your cards at the end of the week, but if that still doesn't work, please feel free to contact me through Backerkit support.
Vralkast
The sole reason I'm not posting the PDF now is that I'm out of the country until Sunday after becoming delayed slightly by the aforementioned infernal hellscape and a few final late surveys. I can only apologise. However, with it done, I'm going to send off the final print order, and have sorted out the cheapest shipping options I can, with trusted fulfillment overlords for North America, and then for Everywhere Else (it oddly works better that way).
Notably, the EU has literally just introduced an additional customs duty on foreign imports for the amount of €3, which I believe physical EU backers will unfortunately have to pay when they receive their book.
Field Guide
The Sea of Sorrow Field Guide is done with the sole exception of 4 pieces of art I've commissioned from the wonderful Letty Wilson. These are expected to be complete sometime over the next couple of weeks, at which point I'll immediately post it via Backerkit. I'm honestly quite proud of it, it's great fun. Don't google cave centipedes, they're an affront to existence.
It's the End-of-June(ish) Update. With 92% of Surveys in, I've now started the 48-hour Lock-in period. While you'll still be able to change your shipping address as needed after this period ends, this serves to lock in things like Add-Ons, and send a final warning to those who have yet to add their address.
More interestingly, with all contributed Backer names, the digital file is now complete! This means that once the lock-in period ends, I can share the main Vralkast PDF. This has every intent to be final, but I have enough experience with these things to know there will be a typo here or there; similarly, I'm keen to hear any and all feedback on legibility, accessibility, and other issues. As such, I'm treating it as a kind of 'pre-final' file.
I additionally have another print proof coming tomorrow to test out some tweaks to the cover, and continue to work on the Field Guide - check out the sample spread below!
Finally, if you have yet to complete your Survey (make sure it's not in your Junk folder!) please do - and if it's missing for any reason, feel free to let me or Backer support know, and I can send you a new link.
The Smoke Test is done, Surveys are out, and I'm preparing to go to print!
As soon as I receive enough completed Surveys (we're currently at about 80%), I'll be able to finalise the list of Backers in the book, which is the last step before I can get the main print order. In the meantime, I've been testing things like paper quality, cover art color corrections, and other printing nitty-gritty to try and get things to the best state possible.
Notably, once Surveys are complete, I should also be able to upload the final digital files for the book.
If you have yet to complete your Survey (make sure it's not in your Junk folder!) please do - and if it's missing for any reason, feel free to let me or Backer support know, and I can send you a new link.
The message Harpies are doing their best, but the sea winds are ever fickle.
It's been a while, but I'm back with a key update - all art is in, and I'm getting final print proofs! There's been a big gap since my last update, which is due to a few factors I do want to explain for clarity:
I moved city, then moved again
I changed jobs to one that's a lot more high-stress and involved
I was feeling a bit of project-related burnout, especially with the relative complexity of running the pledge manager for the first time; as such, I wanted to make sure I didn't overdo it so Vralkast can be delivered on time.
Thank you for bearing with me on this - with hindsight, attempting to get the smoke test ready under these circumstances was very silly indeed. BUT, during this period, I've been working closely with Michael Fiore and the wonderful Rebecca Gray on NPC art and design, and have ordered initial print proofs to check for any flaws (elements too close to the margins or too dark when printed, text errors, etc). As a result, the book is now complete, with the sole exception of Backer names to add in that I'll obtain during the upcoming survey.
I've also been working on writing and formulating the Sea of Sorrow Field Guide. The base layout is complete, and most of the text is in - I'm just deliberating if/how I'm going to get some cool 'field sketches' commissioned for some of the entries.
Overall Status
Vralkast (Core Book) - Final Print Proofing Siren Song Adventure (5e/PF2) - Complete Sea of Sorrow Field Guide - In Layout Stretch Goal Adventure- In Writing
Surveys
Soon I'll be sending out the initial 'Smoke Test' surveys, ACTUALLY this time, where a small proportion of backers will receive their survey as a test to ensure everything's working correctly. Once this is done, I'll be sending out all surveys to collect postage addresses, names for inclusion in the book as thanks, and let people confirm their add-ons and the like. Shipping prices will not be confirmed at this stage, but as close as possible to actual shipping to ensure accurate pricing.
This will also allow me to share the various completed digital files when ready.
It's the end-of-March update, and layout is effectively very kind of almost done!*
What I mean by this, is the core book and all writing is complete, but the 'peripheral' stuff - Table of Contents, Backer Thanks page, and the like - is awaiting the final info I need. That means I can share stuff like the spread below, which is easily the most complex in the book, and I'm almost ready to begin the prep work for printing the physical softcovers. In total this means progress is at:
Overall Status
Vralkast (Core Book) - Layout 95% complete Siren Song Adventure (5e/PF2) - Complete Sea of Sorrow Field Guide - In Writing Stretch Goal Adventure- In Writing
Completing the core book is my priority, so I have as much time as possible to sort out the print proofs. I'll be working on the Add-ons between getting print proofs and such, as them being digital means I can complete them on a much shorter time-frame.
Surveys
Soon I'll be sending out the initial 'Smoke Test' surveys, where a small proportion of backers will receive their survey as a test to ensure everything's working correctly. Once this is done, I'll be sending out all surveys to collect postage addresses, names for inclusion in the book as thanks, and let people confirm their add-ons and the like. Shipping prices will not be confirmed at this stage, but as close as possible to actual shipping to ensure accurate pricing.
This will also allow me to share the various completed digital files when ready.
Layout & Art
Lastly, art is in progress on multiple fronts, including the color city map (and this is NOT an easy city to map!). To highlight some of the cool stuff, and also show a sample of the layout for the most complex and arty spread, here are a couple of sneak peeks:
I stole that top-left page from a basement in London Zoo. Don't tell them. Please.
Initial sketch of the district of Harrowmark and the fungal forests beyond the grand gates
