Rest of World Proof received!
about 5 years ago
– Wed, Feb 27, 2019 at 10:52:53 PM
I got the hardcopy proof from my UK printer today.
The Good
It's a very attractive book. Putting my micrometer to it, it's 8.2mm thick as opposed to 8.8mm for the US book. It's about 90g lighter as well. It's sharp looking and the color fidelity is good. Binding is quality.
The changes I made to the cover were made properly.
Needs Improvement
I'd sent about 20 pages of corrections. Typos, missing formatting, and a few other things, on the inside of the book. These were not done, though the files were downloaded.
Where we Stand
I told them I would need to validate the new pages were inserted, but that a digital proof would be acceptable for that. If they do this tonight (no reason they should not), then print approval for the not-the-US books will be given tomorrow (Thursday), and the print process beings. It's only two or three dozen copies; it shouldn't take very long.
I suspect fulfillment will begin on these next week, then. I'll start working with Kixto to get quantities in hand, and print any other copies of books I need to deliver; there are only a few with multiple orders that will be challenging, so for the most part, not-the-US backers should have their stuff by the end of March.
US Printing Complete!
about 5 years ago
– Wed, Feb 27, 2019 at 10:52:04 PM
Well! Had I known, I'd have waited to send that last update!
I just received notice that the US printing is ALSO complete. I expect to receive all the books by UPS Ground in the next few days, and it is possible that they could arrive before the weekend is out, which means, since my printer is in Iowa, only a 1-2 day ship time. So I should have them on Friday. Which means they'll go into the USPS Monday.
So THAT means everyone should have their copy by March 18.
US Proof approved - starting printing
about 5 years ago
– Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 10:43:13 PM
Proofs Approved
I got the proof PDF from the printer this afternoon, Over 1GB for the file! In any case, the colors were good, so if it prints with full fidelity to what I'm seeing, you guys are going to get a very nice book.
US Delivery Timing
The printer tells me with approval today, ship date to ME will be March 7. THAT means that with only 88 print copies going out, I have more than enough packaging material on hand to put all of those into the mail on Saturday, March 9. So US folks should get their books well before the end of March.
International Proof
This one is still pending. I did hear from CPI in the UK yesterday, and the new changes went into proof printing and binding. Probably get it some time next week. With only 25 copies to print, that shouldn't take long either. I imagine shipping will be underway by mid-March as well. Delivery can take longer, of course. Copies of Dungeon Grappling (2) can go out very soon, via deluxe POD. The two copies of Dragon Heresy hardback headed to the UK will be more of a headache, but we'll see what happens there! If I can find a good way to do it cheaply, I'll contact those two folks and send a shipping refund.
Printing Update - taking the time to get it right
about 5 years ago
– Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 09:15:17 PM
Hey everyone.
Just wanted to give you an update on the printing process.
Proof Iterations
As you know, I got a great-looking proof back from my US printer. I went through that and identified one major issue (the map on p. 28 was inexplicably half blue), and then a bunch of minor fixes.
All of those fixes were submitted, and the printer incorporated them into a new printable PDF, delivered as a soft proof . . . and it still had the printing error on p. 28.
I have done a few things since: I spooled out new versions of that page using slightly different PDF formats, re-linked the original image, just to be sure, and tried embedding a color profile for CMYK ink in there, and forwarded ALL of those to the printer. All of the changes have also been sent to my UK printer, who has started a hard-proof process that should incorporate all those changes. Finally, just to be sure, I re-spooled a full interior printable file using an older but tried-and-true output . . .
Hopefully I'll hear back today from one or both of the printers and the soft proof will look good. At that point, I'll give the go-ahead for final printing and we can get backers their books.
Not Enough OSR Support
I also realized that when I re-did the book for Dragon Heresy, I really didn't give enough in-line, integrated help for Swords & Wizardry, even though I have a conversion guideline in the back.
So what I've done is removed the S&W logo from the book, but kept the guidelines. I uploaded the PDF to DriveThruRPG yesterday too, with the toggles for "OSR" and related material removed.
That being said: at some point I'll go through and create a simple PDF with all of the relevant stat-blocks in a no-fuss version so that if you want to run it OSR-style, you'll be able to do so.
I'm deep into The Citadel at Norðvorn right now, but once my head is above water a bit on that it won't take me very long to create a fast-play document to support those rules, and put it out separately.
Schedule
Despite these hiccups, we're still very much on schedule. February was to finalize the PDF (done), submit the print orders (done), and get that process done. From my end, I think we're OK here. I suspect finalizing printing will take the next week, running through the end of Feb, but that means that the actual printing should be complete in March. Looks like April or so for the US books, and maybe late April or early May for International backers. So still well ahead of June delivery.
So that's where we are!
Lost Hall of Tyr/Hall of Judgment was never intended to be the only adventure in this setting. The follow-on volume, The Citadel at Norðvorn, is in Kickstarter right now, and the campaign will last through March 24.
It's being written for the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, but is largely systemless for the most part. Much like Lost Hall 2, getting the book and art done for one system makes the barrier for the next one very low. If you're interested in more peeks at the world of Torengar/Norðlond, I would ask that you check out the campaign and back it. Help me continue to bring this setting to life!
PDF v20190215 Change Log
about 5 years ago
– Fri, Feb 15, 2019 at 02:24:34 PM
I've updated the PDF to correct some errors I noticed while looking at the proof. This should be the final file, though doubtlessly in the future someone will point out something I missed.
You should be receiving a Backerkit distribution of the file. I'm currently spooling out a new interior file for the printer(s), and that will be uploaded slightly later today. They actually prefer changes in the form of single page, but since both of the printers (UK and USA) also support POD, a new, full file is sensible.
Change Log u20190215
- You'll never notice this, because you'll only get this version, but I'm upgrading the cover to 12pt/300gsm instead of 10pt/250gsm. The heavy paper on the interior needs an appropriately stout exterior.
- p.iii - changed the ampersand in Swords & Wizardry to a different font, because it looked stupid in PR Viking
- p. vi - adjusted the image and text to bring an orphan line where it belonged. It's a hard-knock life.
- p. 11 - Removed some underlines that were a legacy of the paragraph style used in the Pack Animals table
- p. 18 - the borders went MIA in the Lowland Encounters table. They're back.
- p. 30 - a colon was used instead of a period in a run-in title. Colonectomy performed, period.
- p. 41 - Way too many titles in the map-as-art. Now just reads "Dire Straits," which gives more room for Dire Wolves to eat the PCs. Talk about clean plate club.
- p. 42 - changed "When Norðalfar Attack" to "When Goblins Attack" in the art, and fixed a find/replace artifact (Goblinoids-->Goblins) in the text. A goblin is something different in the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, so my faerie goblins got renamed to norðalfs, plural/generic norðalfar.
- p. 45 - removed an underline in the table that didn't need to be there.
- p. 50 - expanded the map to very nearly fill the entire page. It's slightly offset to the left in the PDF, because in print there will be paper lost to gutter.
- p. 52 - Added details of "Trap D," which managed to go MIA for several versions of the book. Yay, poison gas!
- p. 54 - also expanded the map. This page was the bad print error page, so it would have been fixed regardless
- p. 56 - Italicized Muspelheim.
- p. 60 - changed paragraph style on "Varieties------>" to make it match other section heads
- p. 92 - Changed map title to just read Dire Straits
- p. 93 - Changed "Norðalfar" to "Goblins"
- p. 102 - fixed a few layout errors and emphasis mistakes in the One Page Grappling section
- p. 103 - fixed the ampersand in Swords & Wizardry so it doesn't look silly
That's the list!
