Status Report #21
about 2 years ago
– Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 04:43:44 AM
Greetings Backers,
Welcome to your regular status report.
TL;DR: The hard copy proofs from the printer are gorgeous, pictures below. Estimated delivery of hardbacks to us is the end of May. We will start shipping them to you after that. Sandra is still working on Alt-Text for the PDF. Tracy is squeezing audiobook recording in around his other responsibilities. Howard has started work on his next project. Your next full status report will be May 20, small announcement updates will happen between now and then. Details below.
Thank you to everyone who updated their surveys! Surveys are now locked. If you need to make corrections to your order, email [email protected] and I'll fix it for you. You can update your mailing address any time between now and when we start shipping simply by logging in to your survey.
Most of you have filled out your surveys. Thank you! If you're one of the 40 people who haven't, specific step-by-step instructions for the survey can be found here. If you didn't get your survey email, or have lost it, you can go to this link to get access to your survey: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
Deliverables List
This is the comprehensive list of things we owe to you as part of this project.
XDM2e Hardback book: At the printer now!
XDM2e PDF: Hoping to have this done by next Friday. Conversion to PDF is fairly easy, making sure that the table of contents has links and every image in the book has alt-text descriptions takes a bit longer.
XDM2e audiobook: In process
Signed Bookplates: We have a preliminary design, but we need to have a copy of the book in hand so that we can finalize the sizing of the bookplate against the exact size of the spot in the printed book.
Quest for the Tavern PDF: We'll actually be giving you two versions, the original is ready for you to download as soon as you fill out your survey. I'll start work on the updated one (with numbers matching the mechanical changes to the XD20 system) as soon as I finish the PDF.
Desktop Backgrounds: Some are available now. We'll aim Howard at doing more of these in the coming weeks.
PDF of printable character stand ups: I plan to have this in your hands by the end of April.
Sketches in books (or on separate papers): These will be hand drawn by Howard Tayler. We can't get started on these until after the printed books arrive in our hands. We'll collect information on customizing sketches as we get closer to being ready to sketch.
Attack on Santa's Workshop PDF: Complete! Available to you as soon as you fill out your survey.
Game with Tracy for the 6 backers who picked that level: Complete!
Streamed book Illustrations: as complete as it is going to get. Sorry we didn't deliver more of these. Howard's Twitch has recordings of past streams. We've prioritized getting illustrations done over streaming the creation of illustrations.
How the past weeks went
We got hard copy proofs yesterday! These are important because they're printed on the actual paper which will be used. And they're beautiful.
Multiple versions of the XDM2e cover spread that are overlapping each other.
You can see they sent us multiple copies. The top one in black and white is the overlay that will be used to place spot gloss on the cover. Next is the cover with the soft touch laminate coating. These books are velvety soft to the touch. We can't wait to get them into your hands. Third down is the uber-glossy version which is what the spot gloss will look like. fourth down is showing measurement marks and showing us which areas will be affected with spot gloss. The last one is a second soft touch laminate that I put underneath because it made the picture feel more balanced.
They also sent us the interior pages and end papers. You can see the front end paper here:
Book held open so a barbarian peeking through a door can be seen on the left hand page and the right hand page has a bright tapestry making a spot for the bookplate to go.
We were a little concerned about the paper for the interior pages because we had to change paper choices multiple times due to supply chain issues. But our printer found a fantastic paper source and we're very pleased.
Interior pages of a book held open. Paper is off-white and smooth. On the pages can be seen text and images from the XDM2e book.
My account manager at the printer says that it takes about eight weeks from my delivering the files to them until they deliver the books to me. This means I'm expecting the shipment of books to arrive near the end of May. We'll definitely keep you posted with more specific dates when we have them.
That leaves the other deliverable items on the list, starting with the PDF.
I'm still working on getting the alt-text written. It would be done already except that my past week was impacted by one of my young adults having surgery on Monday. The surgery was planned, but major, thus causing a significant amount of pre-surgery anxiety and a matching amount of post-surgery relief slump. On the same day as surgery our old lady kitty got sick and needed an urgent vet visit. Both patients are doing very well and recovering nicely. But all of it means it'll be next week before I get the PDF sent out to all of you. My plan is to have the PDF into your hands by next Friday. Sooner if I can manage it.
After that I can work on the character stand up PDF, the updated Quest for the Tavern, and the ePub/mobi versions of the book. I'd like to have all the digital deliverables into your hands well before the shipment of books arrives to us.
Tracy is working his way through the audiobook.
Howard is already elbows deep into his next project (A novella set in the universe of his Schlock Mercenary comic). We're letting him be fully immersed in the new project for a few more days, then I'll gently remind him to work on desktop backgrounds and designs for bookplates/ sketch pages. If you're interested in having an inside track on Howard's next project, we have a publicly viewable Patreon post about the project with a free sample. Click here!
This portion of the project is slower with a lot more waiting in it, so I'm adjusting the update schedule. The full status report will come monthly with your next full status report on May 20. However we'll make quick announcement posts at various milestones such as when the PDF is available for download or when the audiobook is complete, Etc.
Thank you so much for backing our project!
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team
Status Report #20
about 2 years ago
– Sun, Apr 03, 2022 at 05:35:04 AM
Greetings Backers,
Welcome to your regular status report.
TL;DR: We're taking this weekend to find the last few errors and the book is going to print on Monday! Tracy is squeezing audiobook recording in around his other responsibilities. Sandra will launch into PDF preparation next week. Details below.
Thank you to everyone who updated their surveys! Surveys are now locked. If you need to make corrections to your order, email [email protected] and I'll fix it for you. Youcan update your mailing address any time between now and when we start shipping simply by logging in to your survey.
Most of you have filled out your surveys. Thank you! If you're one of the 44 people who haven't, specific step-by-step instructions for the survey can be found here. If you didn't get your survey email, or have lost it, you can go to this link to get access to your survey: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
Status by Chapter
Everything is complete! We're just combing through to find tiny errors so we can fix them before sending the book to print on Monday. Details below.
Deliverables List
This is the comprehensive list of things we owe to you as part of this project.
XDM2e Hardback book: (includes the printed end papers and spot gloss): Going to print on Monday!
XDM2e PDF: I'll be working on this next week. Conversion to PDF is fairly easy, making sure that the table of contents has links and every image in the book has alt-text descriptions will take a bit longer. Details below.
XDM2e audiobook: In process
Signed Bookplates: We have a preliminary design, but we need to have a proof copy of the book in hand so that we can finalize the sizing of the bookplate against the exact size of the spot in the printed book.
Quest for the Tavern PDF: We'll actually be giving you two versions, the original is ready for you to download as soon as you fill out your survey. I'll start work on the updated one (with numbers matching the mechanical changes to the XD20 system) as soon as I finish the PDF.
Desktop Backgrounds: Some are available now. We'll aim Howard at doing more of these in the coming weeks.
PDF of printable character stand ups: I plan to have this in your hands by the end of April.
Sketches in books (or on separate papers): These will be hand drawn by Howard Tayler. We can't get started on these until after the printed books arrive in our hands. We'll collect information on customizing sketches as we get closer to being ready to sketch.
Attack on Santa's Workshop PDF: Complete! Available to you as soon as you fill out your survey.
Game with Tracy for the 6 backers who picked that level: Complete!
Streamed book Illustrations: as complete as it is going to get. Sorry we didn't deliver more of these. Howard's Twitch has recordings of past streams. We've prioritized getting illustrations done over streaming the creation of illustrations.
How the past weeks went
Last update I showed you this photo of a test print and all the errors I found in it.
XDM2e manuscript with 50-70 tape flags sticking out of the pages.
I then went through and corrected all those errors. There were somewhere between 50-70 fixes. We made some last adjustments to other things in the book, then created another test print. I wanted it to be the final pass where I found zero errors. I found more than zero errors.
A printed copy of XDM2e with about 30 tape flags coming out of its pages.
I found 30-40 things to fix. Most of these things are tiny: a missing comma, an odd piece of kerning, or a misspelling. A few of them were larger, things I would cringe at if they made it to print.
I handed a duplicate copy to Howard so he could do his own error check. He's still working his way through, but he's already found 30-40 errors. Only about 10 of them are things that I also flagged as errors. This is why you have multiple people doing error checks. You notice different things.
Once all these fixes have been made, I will print another fresh copy and go through it again. Then I'll fix the things I find. Then I'll go through again and hopefully find no errors. Then I'll send it to print. There will probably still be errors in it, but hopefully they will be small enough that no one will notice them except me and the smattering of copy editors who are among our backers.
One of the things we are excited about this week is the end paper designs that will adorn the hardback copies.
Front end paper has an image of the interior of a castle, the barbarian is peeking through the door and saying "Is that new book smell?! And fancy tapestries! Come on everybody, follow me!" Next to him on the wall is a glowing tapestry which is the spot for a signed bookplate to be placed.
Back endpaper has visual diagrams of story structures for Three Act Structure, Seven-Point Structure, Kishotenketsu, and Monomyth (lite)
Once the book is off to the printer, I will immediately start work on the PDF so that I can get it into your hands as rapidly as possible. It is more complicated than simply hitting "Export to PDF" in InDesign. I have to make sure that the table of contents is properly linked and clickable. I also intend to follow the guidelines on accessible-pdf.info to make sure that I'm adding alt text for every image in the book so that visually impaired readers get the full benefit of the illustrations. It is going to be a lot of alt text (over 240 illustrations), but I'm going to take time to get this right. As soon as it is done, I'll release it to all of you. Then I'll get to repeat those efforts for ePub and Mobi formats, both of which are notoriously tricky for illustrated works.
That's it for this week! I need to get back to finding and fixing errors. Your next update will be April 15th.
Thank you so much for backing our project!
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team
As a bonus, here is a split image of a mess of XDM2e pages that were knocked off my desk by a misplaced paw, along with a picture of the guilty party sitting with his back to the mess pretending he had nothing to do with it.
Split image of a gray cat sitting with his back to the photographer, looking over his shoulder. Second image is a messy pile of loose pages tumbled across the floor of my office.
Reminders for XDM2e
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Mar 30, 2022 at 04:46:48 PM
Greetings Backers!
A full status update is coming for you on Saturday, but today we have some important reminders.
TL;DR: Reminder to finalize your order if you added on any items after the Kickstarter closed. (If you didn't add on post-Kickstarter, you're good to go.You will have the chance to update your address later.) Request for people at Legendary XDM level to check that their name is listed correctly. Reminder that we have a puzzle project currently funding over at TopatoCo. Information about some other books which you can add to your order using our pre-order store. Reminder that pre-orders are open if you have friends and family who might want a copy of XDM2e, they can pre-order here.
Please finalize your order
If you added selected all the items you want during the Kickstarter funding period, then your money has been collected already and you're good to go.
If you're among our post-Kickstarter backers, added on additional items via Backerkit, or have remembered additional people you would like to gift copies of this book to, please finalize your order now! You can either use the survey link sent to you via email, or login using this link: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
In addition to XDM2e, we have a small assortment of our other books available that you can add to your order. I highlight a few of them (Like Planet Mercenary RPG and the Schlock Mercenary Books) toward the bottom of this email. We will be locking orders and charging cards for these add ons tomorrow.
Backers at Legendary XDM level
please check your name listing in this image
We will be sending the book to print by the end of this week and want to be sure that your name is listed correctly. Please double check that you are listed how you want to be. Send any corrections to [email protected]. If you are unable to clearly see this image to check your name listing, please also email me so I can make sure your listing is correct.
A list of names. If you are unable to read this image and need assistance checking that your name is listed correctly, please email [email protected] so I can provide you with a format that works for you.
Puzzle Project Closing Soon!
The "I Found a Bracelet" puzzle has funded over at TopatoCo, so we definitely get to make this cool space turtle puzzle. We're very happy about it and want to make sure that you have a chance to get in on this limited run project.
Some of you are long time backers who are very familiar with Howard and Sandra's other works. Others of you only know us through XDM2e, so we'd like to highlight a couple of items that are available in our add on store which you might enjoy. You can add these items to your order by updating your survey by March 30: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
(If you read this after March 30 and want to add things to your order, please email schlockmercenary@gmailcom. I'll be happy to help.)
Planet Mercenary RPG is our space mercenary adventure game designed for action packed play and deliberately structured to get players telling jokes while experiencing joyful RPG mayhem. If you enjoy the humor in XDM, you're also likely to enjoy the humor in Planet Mercenary RPG.
We're offering backers a discounted bundle price of $60 (regular cost is $75).
Schlock Mercenary comic books. This is a comic which ran on the web for twenty years. It is high action adventure combined with big ideas, big science, character driven stories, and lots of jokes. There are currently 16 in print with four more to come. Individual books are available and each book is a self contained story. If you're looking for a good place to start and sample a single Schlock Mercenary book, we recommend Longshoreman of the Apocalypse (book 10)or Random Access Memorabilia (book 13). If you'd rather dive right in and get the whole saga, we have a 16 book bundle at a discounted price. Retail on the bundle is $335, but we're offering it to you for $250.
Pre-orders still open
If you know someone who missed the Kickstarter, but who would love XDM2e, we have a pre-order page where they can claim a copy for themself. Please spread the word so others can get a hardback before they're sold out.
Thank you so much for backing our project! (And for reading a long reminder email.)
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team
Status Report #19
about 2 years ago
– Fri, Mar 18, 2022 at 09:30:03 PM
Greetings Backers,
Welcome to your regular status report.
TL;DR: We're sending this book to print before March 31, hopefully by next Friday. We're locking orders and charging cards on March 30, please make sure your order and card information are accurate. You will be able to update your shipping address closer to the shipping day. Tracy's work on the audiobook has been stalled by a cough/laryngitis combo but he's beginning to feel better and should be able to start recording soon. We will have more information on shipping schedules by our next update.
Announcement: Please finalize your order!
Please review your order and make sure you have added on all of the items you want to add. Do you need extra items for gifts? Have your finances changed making you need to adjust your order downward? Now is the time to get that done. You can check your order by using the survey link that was sent to you via email or by clicking here: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/ and entering the email you used when you backed the project. Backerkit orders will lock and cards will be charged on March 30. After that date if you want to change your order you will have to email [email protected] and request me to change it for you. Pre-ordering via Backerkit will remain open but, after the lock date, cards will be charged at the time the order is placed.
If you have any troubles with any of this, feel free to email [email protected]. I'm happy to help.
NOTE: this order checking and card charging only applies to those who have added items in Backerkit after the close of the funding period. If you added on items while the Kickstarter was live, Kickstarter charged cards at the close of the project and will not charge cards again.
Most of you have filled out your surveys. Thank you! If you're one of the 44 people who haven't, specific step-by-step instructions for the survey can be found here. If you didn't get your survey email, or have lost it, you can go to this link to get access to your survey: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
Status by Chapter
Intro & Chapter 1-15: Complete!
Appendices Complete: Accessibility, Bibliography, X-treme Guide to Conversational Storytelling, Secret History, DIY Initiation Rites, Riddles Answers, List of Legendary XDMs, Imposter Syndrome, QUIRK Generator, X-treme guide to comedy, XD20 updated Character sheet, X-treme Nonplayer Character & Creature Codex (NP3C).
Appendices nearing completion: XDM Leveling Chart, NPC Generator Tables, About the Contributors, Storythings Tables.
Illustrations done: 260 (+22 from last update, many of these are updated charts which now get counted as art, but also Howard keeps sneaking in additional illustrations.) (There are also 100 flipbook animation images for a total of 360 images in the 192 page book interior.)
Illustrations pending: 12 (Most are at least partially complete)
Pending illustrations include: 4 About the Contributor illustrations, 6 for end papers, the book plate image, and the design for the separate sketch page.
Flipbook animation: All in place and ready to go.
Table of Contents: Done!
Book Cover Design: Front cover is close to done (see image below). Back cover and spine are in process.
Once the book is off to print we'll tackle sketch page design, Character Stand Up PDF, and more desktop backgrounds.
Deliverables List
This is the comprehensive list of things we owe to you as part of this project.
XDM2e Hardback book: (includes the printed end papers and spot gloss): So close to done!
XDM2e PDF: This should release to backers with our next project update in early April.
XDM2e audiobook: Tracy has the files and will resume recording as soon as his cough goes away.
Signed Bookplates: In process now!
Quest for the Tavern PDF: We'll actually be giving you two versions, the original is ready for you to download as soon as you fill out your survey. The updated one with numbers matching the mechanical changes to the XD20 system will come later.
Desktop Backgrounds: If these are included in your pledge level, you can get zip files of the desktop backgrounds as soon as you fill out your survey. More will be coming as Howard makes art and we'll do a drop of additional aspect ratios before we're done.
PDF of printable character stand ups: The full PDF will available shortly after the book goes to print.
Sketches in books (or on separate papers): These will be hand drawn by Howard Tayler. We can't get started on these until after the printed books arrive in our hands. We'll collect information on customizing sketches as we get closer to being ready to sketch.
Attack on Santa's Workshop PDF: Complete! Available to you as soon as you fill out your survey.
Game with Tracy for the 6 backers who picked that level: Complete!
Streamed book Illustrations: as complete as it is going to get. Sorry we didn't deliver more of these. Howard's Twitch has recordings of past streams. We've prioritized getting illustrations done over streaming the creation of illustrations.
How the past weeks went
We are so close to done! And we have a shiny cover to show you!
Book Cover of Tracy & Curtis Hickman's XDM X-treme Dungeon Mastery The Exceedlingly X-treme Second Edition Illustrated by Howard Tayler, Edited by Sandra Tayler, with an Introduction by Jim Zub. Cover image shows a group of adventurers in front of a partially open castle door.
This cover is not finalized. We've probably got dozens more tweaks to make before it is. We've also got to fully design the book spine and back cover as well. But what we have is shiny. Also Howard plans for the end paper to match up with the cover. So on the front of the cover you see the party standing outside the door then you open the cover to enter see them having entered the door and on their way to a learning adventure. We're really, really happy we get to do the printed end papers instead of plain ones.
This week was also our first test print.
Open page spread of X-treme Dungeon Mastery which has been spiral bound. Small flip book animation is visible on lower right hand corner of the right hand page.
When we print pages from our at home printers there is a white border around all the edges of the pages. This cut off the feet of our little flip book animation barbarian. So we went to a print shop and had them print with full bleed so we could make sure that the flip book animation is working. It is! He runs and smashes things when we thumb through the pages. It is a small touch, but it makes us happy.
This test print is also my opportunity to take a red marker and find all of the mistakes in the book that need to be corrected. I mark each mistake with a tape flag.
Printed test copy of XDM2e with a forest of 50-100 tape flags sprouting from the pages.
I found some mistakes to fix. Then I went through and fixed them. Then we reprint the book again (this time on our home printer because we're not checking the little barbarian's feet anymore). Then I go through and find another forest of mistakes. Then I fix those. This will be my work for the next five or six days as hopefully we find fewer and fewer mistakes to correct.
We won't catch them all, but we're going to try our hardest.
Some of the notes amuse me.
On a list saying "tape flags or stick notes" there is a footnote. Footnote reads "Witty footnote about being in the pocket of Big Sticky Note." The footnote is circled in red with hand written words "keep or rewrite?"
On one hand there is a meta joke in the footnote as it stands, letting the reader tell themselves a joke about being in the pocket of Big Sticky Note. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure this is just a writer telling themself to be smart later and the general topic on which to be smart. Howard re-wrote the note. Putting the re-written note into place is on my list for today. I've also got some last copy edits pending and I need to chase down Tracy and Curtis for updated About the Contributors information. We're so close to uploading these files to the printer and moving on to the next stage of the project.
Your next update will be either Thursday March 31 or Saturday April 2, because we don't want to have our updates mixed up in the Internet's tendency to post misleading information on April 1st.
Thank you so much for backing our project!
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team
Puzzle Alert!
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Mar 17, 2022 at 09:56:54 PM
This puzzle will be manufactured by and ship directly from TopatoCo. It will only happen if enough people pledge for one, so if you have a friend you think would love this puzzle, please share the link. You can see more details and place your order by clicking the image above or this link: https://go.topatoco.com/products/space-turtle
Tomorrow I'll have your detailed XDM2e update which is full of new details about the last bits of work before we send things to print.
