Getting closer but a bit behind, drop-in games in Discord, Coin & GM screen update
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Sep 03, 2024 at 09:40:34 AM
First, let me acknowledge my hubris for thinking that moving was not going to impact things so much. I moved a month and a half ago and though I am no longer pulling extremely late nights and early mornings, I am still cramming things in to all my waking hours. Having the whole family get Covid while we were moving definitely made shit harder ... but more than that was just my own over-assumptions of what I could handle and get done.
So yes, we are behind schedule, and yes, this will impact delivery. We won't make our expected October delivery date. I will be working with the Exalted Funeral crew to work on getting you all a new ETA for this project.
While we are still waiting on just a few art pieces to come in for the core book, I am going to be using that time to polish up layout and design work and get a bit more feedback from folks who have a keener eye for detail than I do.
The Coin of Wheel and Woa!
The coin ended up being massively more work than we expected. Mostly because the folks producing it just couldn't quite get a sculpt looking like we wanted so there was tons of back and forth. On the plus side, this resulted in us hiring a sculptor and the results are so much better than we had originally planned. I am so much more excited about this than I originally was! This thing is going to be a hefty metal coin! Imagine this in gold.
We originally planned just to create the coin, but since working on this it was too good to just leave it alone. I wrote up a ritual for use with both in-game mechanical results and out-of-game divinatory use. So after being a huge headache, everything with the coin is done and looking amazing.
GM Screen
I wrapped up the GM screen design and printed out pages to create a personal prototype for using while running games in the Abyss. I am still playing around with where I am placing the license info.
Discord Server
I have started running a drop-in game of Abyss of Hallucinations in the Max Moon Games Discord server. The first session was this past Thursday evening, and while everyone managed to get a character through the Unicursal Heptagram, I think we had only 2/5 of the starting characters survive, but I have to commend them on their brilliant problem-solving! It was horribly lovely way to spend an evening and I can't wait to do it again soon.
What's Left?
- Fine-tune some minor layout and design improvements.
- Plug in the final art pieces to the core book.
- Review the player's guide and volume 3 zine files.
- Finish layout on final two pamphlets.
- Send off all files to prepress and move toward production.
- Print and assemble the cursed editions of Volume 3.
So, not much! That being said, there is lots of room for things to get slowed down again once things are out of our hands.
I am grateful for all your support and all of your patience. This project is a new scale for me and without the help of Exalted Funeral and especially you all, this wouldn't be possible.
I'll end this update with the line from Book of Lies that has been meandering through my head each day lately:
"It is not necessary to understand, it is enough to adore."
I hope you all find some time to play and swim in the shadows.
By Night,
Max Moon
Not much to update, but we have a Discord server now!
about 2 years ago
– Mon, Jul 22, 2024 at 03:33:23 PM
In my last update, I mentioned that I was moving, which would slow things down a bit. I got COVID right before moving, and it was rough. But I am healthy and have moved and set up my new office. Now, I just need to get the studio space set up. Hopefully, I will have a bit more for you next month!
That said, I am excited to share that we have opened up the Max Moon Games Discord server, and I set up an Abyss of Hallucinations channel. I am also hoping to run some open games of Abyss online, but that will take me a little longer to get to.
Come join us on Discord!
Look out for more info on the development and production timeline in the next update!
By Night,
Max Moon
93/93/93
Layout complete! PDF being proofed.
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Jun 13, 2024 at 11:08:18 AM
Here is a quick list of some of the key things that have wrapped up since the last update.
- Layout for the collected edition is complete and on to proofing!
- Layout for the volume 3 zine is complete and will go to proofing soon!
- Layout for the Book of Lies is complete and has been proofed but will get another round of proofing since updating the page dimensions.
- Field of Night Adventure Pamphlet by Janaka Stucky is written and I will start layout for that soon!
This month I will be focusing on getting as much ready for print production as possible. That includes;
- Layout for pamphlets
- Adding the final pages for the player's guide
- Finalizing designs and art for the Coin of Wheel and Woa
We are about one month behind where I had hoped to be, but for a project this size, that feels ok to me. Especially considering my studio and office space flooded (again) which was a massive disruption.
On that note, I am anticipating moving in about a month. If everything goes smoothly, then I don't expect that to slow anything down with the Abyss, but if I am slow to respond to messages or if we miss an update, don't worry, I am just busting my already busted back moving objects through space and time.
Oh, and you should definitely check out Robin Harris aka Mystic Barbarism's illustration of the Sword of the Hawk (page 93)
Ok, that's all for now!
By Night,
Max Moon
Layout preview video! Also, don't miss out on Mystic Punks!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 09, 2024 at 02:29:39 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Digital soundtrack released! Includes 2d66 tables for rolling up altars found in the Abyss!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 05:40:10 PM
Stay False by Cthulugans Now on Bandcamp!
Download codes coming via Backerkit shortly!
I am terribly excited to share this album with you. I think we accomplished our goal of creating a soundtrack that will induce an altered state priming you for the ritual exploration of the Abyss of Hallucinations. I have spent a number of nights laying in bed with headphones listening to this beginning to end and awakening only to find myself wholly dissolved into nothingness.
We have been on a modular synth journey for a long while now, but this is the first album where we got to put it to serious use. It allowed us to get way more lush with subtle complexities and just go outright weird at times. We are constantly learning and I expect much more modular work in the future! Likewise, I think this album is markedly our findest work to date!
So go give it a listen!
And here's some shots of the j-card...PDFs are available via Bandcamp and will also be distributed through Backerkit along with download codes.
How to redeem your code
You will receive a download code via Backerkit. To redeem that code visit the link below and enter your code.
cthulugans.bandcamp.com/yum
The album is currently a private release for backers only!
Production Update
- First round of editing the full manuscript is complete. Second round has started!
- Most of the core artwork is in progress. I expect after layout we will discover need for a number of spot illustrations, flourishes, etc.
- Layout work has started focusing on the collected edition. Volume 3 layout will be completed after the collected edition is done.
- The Coin of Wheel and Woa text is written and the files for creating the coin are in review. We are still working on package design and determining needs for additional art.
- T-shirt art has been passed on to the screen printer and we are working with them on printing details at the moment.
- Book of Lies layout is complete!
- Soundtrack and contents are all complete so tapes can get to production soon!
- GM screen contents are still be fine-tuned and layout for the interior of the GM screen will wait until the collected edition is complete.
- One of the pamphlet adventures is written, and the other two will be coming down the line. Production for these will be easier than most other parts of this campaign.
By Night,
Max Moon
