Progress Update
about 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 06:12:29 AM

Hello all!

I'd like to start this by addressing an important concern brought to my attention.

I tend to reserve updates for when there's a major release or project milestone that I can share with everyone. It's more in my nature to spend time working rather than spending that time talking about the work (which is probably why I'm not fond of corporate office meetings).

That said, I know there are many that prefer getting more regular updates, even if they're minor. That was my original intent before the delays, so I will do my best to improve on that front.

Now—on to other Stuff and Things!

Gen Con Follow-Up

We had an amazing Gen Con last month and had the pleasure of connecting with many of our players and meeting so many new ones. It was also wonderful to meet so many of you in person that stopped by our booth to say hi.

We ran multiple games each day and all our tables were sold out with oversized groups. Chris Negelein and Greg Marks presented their own chapters from Expedition from the Mysterious Peaks and everyone had a blast.

I also had an in-person meeting with the extraordinary team at Roll20/DriveThruRPG to discuss some exciting (and long-awaited) things going forward for this project and the Esper Genesis game overall.

Project Development

Writing and editing for the "Veiled Realm of Celes" arc is finished with the "Return to the Barrier Peaks" arc to follow. Then, onto playtesting. Life events and crazy things like jury duty have made it slower going than I'd have liked, but I'm getting there. Within the next week or so, I plan on sending a draft layout of Celes (text with marked maps).

I'm still working with illustrators to get the rest of the artwork over the finish line. The catch-up with the writing work will give me a clearer idea of what we need with respect to the change in book layout.

We're also still waiting patiently for our offset print shipment of Master Technician's Guide. Given the time and hassle, as mentioned in a prior update, it's unlikely we'll be using the same print vendor again.

That's all for now. As always, please message me directly if you have any questions.

Until next time!

Progress Update - July
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 09:42:14 AM

Hello all!

Quick update on where we are. The past few weeks have been keeping me busy prepping for upcoming events, so things took a bit of extra time.

Chapter Rewrites: From our last update, I started reworking the middle chapters myself from the ground up for story and character continuity. I also needed to rework/retest the encounter content and cut down on having too many stat blocks that would eat up page count.

The first of the two middle sections is already finished and is soon to go into playtesting. I'm about halfway through the rewrite of the second section. Convention prep, family stuff, and day-job workload has been slowing me down more than I anticipated, but I'm still pushing ahead toward the finish.

Artwork: We contracted with two new illustrators to finish some of the major pieces we still need to continue layout.

VTT Update: Last update, I mentioned the plan on merging Esper Genesis into the base 5E compendium. After a lot of back and forth last month, it looks like there's some much needed momentum and a verified timeline to get the work done. I'll avoid relisting the benefits to not sound like a broken record - we'll just say this will make the R20 version infinitely better than the original plan.

Convention: If you're going to be at Gen Con, check out the events list within the next few days for Expedition from the Mysterious Peaks preview chapters in the Baldman Games room.

Esper Genesis will also be exhibiting in two locations this year -  our regular distribution partner, Studio 2 Publishing (Booth #2029), and also with Baldman Games (Booth #2801).

That's it for now. Thanks everyone again for your patience and support. I believe this is going to be one of our best projects and I want to get it right.

Until next time!

May Update
over 1 year ago – Fri, May 19, 2023 at 06:50:02 AM

Hello all!

I was delaying this update in the hopes that I would have more content to send. Unfortunately, I'm still a few weeks out from that, as two of the middle chapters have to be reworked from the ground up due to content and continuity issues.

At the very least, the reference updates to make use of the CC license were done. Since the last few chapters have long since been completed, I'm hoping that I can quickly fit all the sections together once we get past these pesky hurdles in the middle.

Artwork: There are also several illustration commissions that I'm still waiting on where I might have to reach out to alternate illustrators to finish. Once we have those, layout for those sections can continue.

VTT Update: I'm still working with Roll20 on integrating the existing EG compendiums into the 5E base. I've been pushing at this for months, but the ball is in Roll20's court and at least there's a clear path to completion. Not only would the move greatly expand options for future 5E games, it would prevent GMs from having to switch between sheets and modules in order to run this adventure's storyline effectively.

Since Fantasy Grounds and Shard Tabletop can easily interchange between Esper Genesis and D&D, those are just waiting for content to be put in.

Production: Although the costs have spiked significantly, I intend on sticking with domestic printing. I'm also having discussions and looking into alternative options to finish production faster. Due to availability, a lot of this has become solo work on my end for now, which can turn even small issues into huge delays. I promise to update everyone once I have more concrete info, which I plan to have in the next couple of weeks.

That's all for now. Until next time - the Light of Aeoth endures!

Project Update - March
over 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 09, 2023 at 11:00:02 AM

Hello, everyone!

I missed a couple of planned updates, so this will be a longer one. We're still making progress, but it's been a slow but steady process which ran into several unforeseen issues over the past few months.

The OGL Thing

In mid-January we were all blindsided by the Open Gaming License kerfuffle. It caused several publishers to pull their Kickstarters, but we chose to wait it out while making alternate plans. We were one of the first to sign on with O.R.C., but had also started working on our own avenues.

The eventual decision for the SRD to be released as creative commons was the best outcome we could hope for. However, one of the key elements of this project is a direct compatibility with core 5E, to which D&D itself appears to be drifting away from in a major way. Removing the OGL causes a shift in how we must reference many of those rules in our book. It creates a bit more work, but prevents us from being tied down to a now unreliable license.

Life Factors

I don't like discussing personal issues, but it's necessary when it affects the project. In November, my work schedule with D&D Adventurer's League abruptly ended with a change in how the program would be developed. That shift wiped out a sizeable portion my regular income in the middle of all our production costs spiking. So, in addition to managing this project, a lot of time went into filling that scheduled workspace so I can afford to pay bills.

Fortunately for me, I also have wonderful friends in the industry. I am now part of a new development schedule with AL, and have been contracted for a couple of other exciting projects that I can't talk about until the Summertime (re. NDA). That said, the lack of stable income for four months put a temporary stall on things.

Good Things Coming

To avoid being all doom and gloom, I can say there are some silver linings to recent events.

Development Timeline. We had a huge shift in budgeting and scheduling, but the current goal is to have most of the project development finished by late Spring, then off to conversion and printing.

EG Core Books. Our snag with the printing of the Master Technician's Guide is over and we're expecting to see the bulk of them soon. It's been a major sticking point with the Esper Genesis project that we're happy to have overcome. We have not and will not charge for shipping on this project until we are positive they can be delivered.

Roll20 Rework. Discussions with the Roll20 team have been constant and there's now a plan in place to for Esper Genesis content to function seamlessly within the base 5E compendium. That not only creates a world of options with Roll20, it cuts down the conversion work by half and makes all play options available in a single module. If you haven't picked up EG on Roll20 yet, it's available this month as a free perk to Pro subscribers.

Open Content. With the recent launch of our community content program for Esper Genesis, we plan on including the IP and lore for Expedition into the program as well once completed. This allows for more potential content and provides an avenue for creators to share in a new open setting.

That's it for now. I hope to have more (and much better) news in the coming weeks.

Until next time!

December Project Update
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Dec 30, 2022 at 11:19:28 PM

Hello all!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, happy, and bright holiday week!

Status Updates

Writing/Editing: Mostly done writing the two connecting chapters with more chapters currently being edited. Appendices are almost finished. Destiny Tracker and character bonds will be put together once all the chapters are complete.

Artwork/Layout: Commissioned a few new illustrations to cover the page count changes during layout. I was not happy with the way a couple of the maps and Exemplar commission pieces came out (specific requested elements were not included), so I'm reassigning those to another illustrator.

Preview Content

As promised, we put together a preview draft for the first few chapters. Access to this PDF preview will be emailed separately to all backers via BackerKit either today or tomorrow.

Still in Progress: Please be aware that some of the content has not gone through a full editing pass. In addition, some references may be made to sections or appendices that are not yet completed (ex. appendices marked with "$$" or references to the Destiny Tracker.

Creature Statistics: For easier reference, all stat blocks referenced in the preview are included at the end of the PDF file.

Happy New Year!

Lastly, we would like to wish everyone the very best for a safe and Happy New Year to come. See you next year!

This month's art share: