This Is The Pseudoprophecy (We Had A Dream Once)
over 6 years ago – Mon, Nov 25, 2019 at 01:18:37 AM

Is This The End?

It's been 13 days, and in SEACAT that's a lucky natural number ... it's when ammo runs out on your over-bozer enemy repression unit. And most every other ranged or powered weapon. But what are we saying, we can finally deliver two pieces of excellent news.

Ref Screen Is Complete

Yes ... after a struggle with titanotheres, Luka has finally completed the UVG ref screen. It will head to the printers soon enough, and then come out as a four-folded bit of goodness. We couldn't fit it into the kickstarter update horizontally, so if you want to use it right now, just download it, rotate it in your image software of choice. Save it as a bitmap. Convert it to jpg. Convert back to png. Then upload it to facebook. Then download it. Then save it as a pdf. That way you will enjoy it at maximum quality.*

Alternatively, just get the pdf right here.

Luka's happy to let everyone know he had pretty solid designer's block on this one. What should've taken a few days, instead stretched into epic procrastination, installing Civilization 6. Uninstalling it. Repeating that three times. You can imagine, it was a bit grueling. In the end, he wrote out the entire ref screen by hand, assembled it with paper and glue, away from screens, and then ... hand-typed-it-up-again. Hell, I ... er ... he ... tells us.

Part of it was the question of what is the purpose of a ref screen and how this one specifically is to be used. Obviously, a ref screen does more than hiding die rolls - it's there to provide a reference for the ref, to let them run the game more easily. And since the UVG is primarily about trips, Luka focused on the travel mechanics and tools for improvising the world around the game.

The whole cat-facing side of the ref screen is therefore built around the sequence of traveling weeks:

• all the common actions taken by a caravan while stopped at destinations and in the wilds
• the supply and starvation economy
• a misfortune improviser
• detailed encounter tables, including mini tables for chases, random loot values, types of creatures, mounts, vehicles, weapons and armors
• rest options
• the mildly confusing tallies for extra days
• and finally, arriving at a new destination

The ref screen also adds a quick reference for:

• life and death in seacat
• XP for experiencing new things and researching strange things found in the wilds
• and a very large set of tables for generating and improvising new discoveries and details on the fly

The goal is to keep the referee from having to refer to the book too much, but should that happen, Luka's also added hand-dandy page references to the UVG book.

Finally, the borders are decorated with a series of improvisation spurs for environments, misfortunes, mutations, mods, and faction appurtenance.

And the player-facing side has a 4:1 ratio panorama, mashing together the vast chaos of the UVG, from the Violet City on one side to the Black City on the other.

But, because we want to milk our updates for your precious attention, we're going to share that next week.

Also, because we have another piece of good news:

We Know When The Books Land At Exalted Funeral!

Cracking finally, eh?

We've got a date for delivery from the printers and ... it's before year's end. It's before Rudolph's red-eye flight. A couple of days before Saint Santa's Feast. Indeed, just in time to make Matt's end of the year at Exalted Funeral HQ a truly amazing packing holiday! So, we can announce that it looks like our final delay will be something on the order of 4 months**. Not as good as we had hoped, not as bad as we had feared.

But the really good news? It means all the ©copyright labels in the books and postcards and other materials are ... alright! We made it before the end of 2019. By the face-covering skin of a nuclearlithic spacer.

Peace and Thanks Upon You All

—Exalted Funeral et Wizard Thief Fighter

–––///–––

*first person to actually do this and share the results on Twitter and tag @Exalted Funeral and/or @Stratometaship (WTF Studio) gets a custom UVG character illustration. No promises on quality though, Luka's a pretty burned out chipmunk by now!

**bet we just jinxed it ...

High Print Hopes
over 6 years ago – Tue, Nov 12, 2019 at 02:03:06 AM

Finally. Thank you for your patience, everyone. We should have posted more updates these last couple of weeks, but ... there honestly wasn't too much to update.

We sent the print files to our printers. We found a last typo on page 179 and fixed it. Sent files again. We confirmed these were the correct files. We found another typo and sent the files again. Then we confirmed they were correct again. Then our printers checked the files and confirmed they'll work. Then the quote was adjusted, because time had passed, paper prices had changed, we were late, and more. And, since we'd actually budgeted for this ... we were fine. So we paid the printers and the files got passed to the big magic printing machine (you can tell the person writing this paragraph has no idea about the details of a printing press). And the machine is now digesting and burping out bits of UVG, which will be bound and backed and made good.

The player-facing map is also ready and heading off to the printers. Hopefully, you'll have fun handing it over to your group with pencils and pens, ready to turn it into your own personal record.

Meanwhile, after an exhaustive (and quite kind) review, Skerples also created a set of anti-canon GM-facing maps. Skerples also found time to make a GLOG variant of UVG and kindly compiled an apocryphal filmography for the UVG.

How Are We Doing?

Well ... to be honest, we're looking forward to wrapping up. There is a little bit of exhaustion mounting up and Luka's finding the layout of the referee screen a bit more challenging than it should be. He's complaining about the impossibility of making one screen to fit all tastes, and Matt is kicking him to just get it done. Still, it'll be soon. Next update will be the screen and the very-wide-art-piece. Like, honestly, just prod Luka to get to work faster. This should take him like three days tops and he's dragging it out for no good reason.

He's not even hiding away in a mountain retreat anymore or anything. All he has to do is assemble the best referee tables, finish one last piece of art ... but what does he do? Play with brushes and write poems? Pshaw.

And Then?

We've also got a few wallpapers already, and we'll make more of them as we get the postcards done, then share the lot of them with you, our patient backers.

And then ... well, then the books and the screens and the cards and everything arrives at the Exalted Funeral Postal Processing Facility and Matt enlists a number of marmots to help carefully wrap everything in foil and start shipping it out!

He'll be fiiine.

Wow. Yeah. Thanks again for being on this journey with us!

—The Exalted Funeral Wizard Thief Fighter Game Grinding Enterprise

The Black Book — Enter Sandcat
over 6 years ago – Wed, Oct 23, 2019 at 01:32:14 AM

Ok, a misleading title, but ...

The print files were sent out and here we're in the process of confirming foils, ribbons, binding types. You know, technical things ... the kind of things Luka actually knows very little about. Thank goodness, better let Matt handle that.

But, but, but ... that doesn't mean we can't reveal the final cover art. Because, it is sort of cool.

The standard edition cover, front and back

And the limited edition cover

And what else?

Well ... uh. Aside from that not much news right now. Some folks have been really enjoying the UVG and SEACAT, some a bit less so. Luka's been writing a small, unexpected skin for SEACAT characters, bringing more options to characters, so that should be fun ... 

Some folks in the KS bunker think he needed to hide from coloring and layout for a bit, to get his mind cleared again!

We'll share the news on dates as soon as we get them. So, if you're lucky, we'll pester you with a second update in a day or two!

Cheers,

The Seacats of the Wine Dark Seas Ocean.

Phooomp: the Files Hurtle Inkwards
over 6 years ago – Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 02:52:41 AM

Off to the Printing Presses

Ideally we'd have posted this update earlier. Say on Sunday or so. Still, now will do. We've fixed up the original patreon list, thanked a .pdf reader for catching one more typo (a doubled "on"), and sent the print files off to our printers in the great state of —— in the States of the United America. Ok, goofing aside, what this means:

• now we wait to see if there are any final tweaks, and then we get a final quote on costs and time, —fortunately, there's no surprising tariffs to worry about on the book, yay!
• we announce those delivery times to you, our backers, as soon as we get them,
• and then the printing presses churn,
• and then the marmot wraps the book in aluminum foil like this,
• and the cargo-folks deliver the books to the shipping stations and we all watch Matt weeping as he packs and ships and packs and ships.

Well, why didn't you update earlier?

Honestly? There wasn't much news. Exalted Funeral was taking a last, and rather deserved, rest in the pines. And Luka collapsed Friday afternoon with a nasty cold and a dash of exhaustion from trying to combine an intensive language course with actually, y'know, working. Life Lesson:

• A language course that requires 20 hours of classes and 15 hours of homework per week is not compatible with working full-time. It just isn't.

Ok, ok, fine ... but I still don't have my pdf! Or my updated pdf!

Yep, yep. We know. A few slipped through the cracks. We thank you for your patience as we battle electronic gremlins. What we've spotted so far:

• There is an issue with contacting certain backers through backerkit, and we're working to solve that (even if the solution might be take some digital keyboard greasing). We'll get to you soon.
• Some folks' spam blockers were quite zealous. It happens.
• Some people have asked if they'll be able to get dtrpg codes, so they'll be able to download the files independently of Exalted Funeral. We'll look into that and let you know the precise details once we've handled the last of the production (you know, the physical books!).
• If you've got any other issues, the best option is to email Exalted Funeral, however the response might take a bit of time because it's just us, really, and we don't have an outsourced overseas customer service to mass-process emails. Your patience is golden, truly.

Finally, once we upload the updated final digital files, you'll receive an email notification, so that's kind of cool, too.

I've received my pdf and I want to share it with the world! 

We're really glad you want to share what you think of the Ultraviolet Grasslands with your friends, your viewers, followers, and others. It's really cool and astonishing for us. We're also really happy to see what kind of homebrewes, mixes, and re-mixes you come up with. 

When you decide to do so, let us know either in comments here or by tagging us on Twitter (@exaltedfuneral or @stratometaship). Luka's started preparing a series of posts on SEACAT and why it's built the way it is. If you want to follow up on that, the best way to do so is here: https://www.wizardthieffighter.com/2019/seacat-3-superbasics/ In the near future we'll release a SEACAT open license, so you'll be able to play and build with it freely and without worries.

Just a small request — please stick to fair use. No commercial use of UVG assets. No sharing the entirety of the book in high definition video. That kind of stuff.

Ok, what about the screen and map and and and ...

Yeah, totally. We didn't forget.

• Map's in layout.
• Luka's working on the wide-world art for the screen.
• Postcards are getting laid out soon.

And then, soon, soon, soon ... some holidays for everyone!

Thank you again, backers and heroes ours!

^^–||–^^

EDIT: Hah, as I wrote this update, the cover dimensions were already sitting in my inbox, so I guess I'll just finish those right now ... —Luka

The Boring...Very Dry One.
over 6 years ago – Mon, Oct 07, 2019 at 11:21:25 PM

Exalted Funeral here folks!The PDF is live and we hope all the backers are enjoying it!  We wont spin beautiful yarns with amazing art here. This is just some quick info for you to have here. 

• If you missed out Physical Preorders will open for the book once we have packed and shipped to all the backers. Our commitment is to ensure that each and every person who has pledged will get what they were promised. No preorders open before that. Period. After that we will have an unknown amount of hardcovers left that will be in store, WE WILL NOT HOLD ANY OF THESE- no exceptions. 
• Additional copies, adjusted pledge levels, etc. Unfortunately these are not possible at this point. We have to lock in production. Anything that can be changed can be done so in Backerkit. Please check your emails. 
• Purchasing Luka's art. We have something cooking for everyone with this. AFTER we have finished production and shipping. So stay Tuned
• Address Changes. This should be possible with backerkit. Unless you have changed countries. If this is the case please get to us ASAP VIA EMAIL.
• When Will It Ship? Right now? Soon, very soon. We have a few things to sow up now that the book is complete. The printing itself can take 2-10 weeks depending on workload. As soon as we get the date we will post it in the newsletter and on the product page at the site.
• I havent got the PDF yet!!!! The PDF goes out in waves and make sure you check the spam filters! Give it another day and if you have got it yet send us an email WITH THE SAME ONE USED FOR THE PLEDGE AND ORDER NUMBER if you have it. 
• WE CANNOT COMBINE WITH EXISTING OR FUTURE STORE PURCHASES. our apologies.

Anything not here? Send us an Email at [email protected] . Please note we update all over the place but signing up for our newsletter ensures you get the most up to date store and UVG info.