What's Going On?

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Tact-Tiles

I'm happy to report that we have entered production and are still on track to begin shipping in December. I can't promise that we'll get them all out the door by the end of the year, but that's our intent.

Second, we have a premium case, and a price point! Check it out!

We still have some concerns to work out in regards to international shipping, so there will be a slight delay on that front. But I'm hoping to get that worked out, for Tact-Tiles and the case, this weekend. Fair warning though, it's going to be expensive.

Some people have asked whether or not we'll be shipping their tiles in the premium cases. Unfortunately, the answer is no, they'll be shipped separately due to timing on the arrival of the cases, our storage capabilities, and other logistical kinks I won't bore you with.

Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition / Machinations in Print

I spent the weekend prepping Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition for print. Ugh. What a pain. DTRPG/Lightning Source has a lot of specific requirements that I, because I'm stupid, neglected to set up correctly the first time.

Oh well, live and learn. I got the interior done and now just need to finish up the covers. Next up: Machinations.

Strands of Fate and Strands of Power

They are both now available in print from our webstore.

Status Updates

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Tact-Tiles News

For cost reasons, we had to seek out a new injection mold company. We found them, and they intend to get started early next week! That means we are still on track for a December delivery.

We also go the first sample Premium Case in!

I'm pretty satisfied with it, but we're going to make some design tweaks. It doesn't need the finger holes in the tiles section. So I'm going to remove those, which will free up more space for the markers/eraser/dice section.

The Premium case will be available here on the website. However, we don't know the exact price yet, as we are still in negotiations with the supplier.

Nova Praxis: SWE News

We're still in the errata collection phase before going into printing. So if you find any errors, you can report them here.

This week I will begin work on the custom Nova Praxis Action Deck and the GM Screen PDF. The week after I'll begin on the Augmented PDF!

Also, if you like NP:SWE, please take a moment to drop us a review.

Machinations News

Like NP:SWE, we're still in the errata collection stage for Machinations. But we will be ordering print samples soon.

Please report errors found in Machinations here.

And as with NP:SWE, if you like Machinations, we'd appreciate it if you left us a review!

Machinations is now available!

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Machinations expands upon the Nova Praxis setting, delving deeper into the Coalition and Houses while also introducing several new factions. Machinations also offers new gameplay options, campaign advice, campaign examples, and a ready to run introductory scenario. This GM's companion is littered with plot hooks and inspiration for new and experienced Nova Praxis GMs.

Machinations includes...

... a quick overview of the Nova Praxis setting, hitting the high points in a concise manner to help new GM's more quickly become comfortable with the setting.

... a deeper look at the Coalition government, including the Protectorate.

... an expanded tour of the Houses, covering their political and economic domains, as well as their current ambitions and imminent dangers.

... a number of new factions, and expands upon existing ones. Machinationsintroduces or expands upon the Children of Dionysus, The Fallen, House Turin, Phalanx Formations, Progenisis Afflicted, Rings of Olympus, The Scholae Palatinae, Second Chances. Seraphim, Talons of Freedom and The Unseen Court

... rules for starting characters that are less experienced, or legends in their field.

... a new Savant Program. The Fog of War Program blacks out the mesh, allowing Savants and their crew to operate unnoticed by the Monitors or nosey SIMs.

... rules for Requisitioning gear from parent organizations.

... guidance for playing the elite Scholae Palatina; Coalition operatives outfitting with their own ship, a crew, and a mission to explore the galaxy and deal with the Coalition's biggest threats.

... a new rules framework that allows characters to shine as a member of the team, or operating alone. The new Sequences rules help the GM run scenarios in which the party stays together or splits into two or more groups to tackle complex challenges, without the need for detailed maps or NPC stats.

... four sample campaign arcs. These campaign arcs provide an outline for a series of short campaigns that can be played in order to form one massive campaign, or as stand-alone short campaigns. These arcs are structured to allow plenty of room to interject your own tangents, or provide inspiration for your own stories.

... the introductory scenario, Ghosts in Darkness. This scenario provides a starting point for new campaigns, and introduces the GM and players to the primary elements of the setting while also setting up a chilling villain that can haunt the PCs for years to come.

Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition PDF is Out!

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So, for you guys who don't know, the Savage Worlds version contains everything in the Fate version, plus a ton of new stuff. The setting was expanded a bit, with more detail given to the Houses and various locations. It also introduces several new factions, as well as hooks for scenarios, and even new play styles. It also includes four "Campaign Arcs" that provide the skeleton of an entire campaign.

Out intent was to make the setting deeper, more engaging, more mysterious, and even more interesting. We wanted to do a better job of guiding the GM into the setting, so the first chapter is very different than the Fate version. And we wanted to provide more hooks and ideas to spur the GMs imagination, while also providing a bit of guidance.

It also contains a ton of awesome new art!

Fans of the Fate version might be thinking "Well that's great and all, but I like Fate better and I already have that version".

That's a fair statement, and we've got you covered! I'm looking to release Machinations: The Nova Praxis GM's Companion next week, and it will include all of the new content from "Savage Praxis", as well as the intro scenario Ghosts in Darkness, and more!

Savage Worlds fans can also expect to see Ghosts in Darkness converted to Savage Worlds soon!

Going forward, it is our intent to support both game systems, meaning two versions of each new book will be released. We had toyed with the idea of "dual-statting" the books, but due to potential licensing issues, we have decided to keep them separate.

Funded!

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Yesterday evening we passed the $90,000 mark, funding the Kickstarter, and insuring that we'd have enough capital to put Tact-Tiles back into production.

I've wanted to bring Tact-Tiles back for a long time, and you guys made it all possible. Thank you all very much.

As I write this, we just passed the $100,000 mark, unlocking the first stretch goal. That means that every set of tiles will come with a cardboard carrying case to transport your tiles in. We've looked at several options, but haven't settled on one yet. I'll post more info as it becomes available.

If we pass the $120K mark, we'll make a premium box available as an Add-On. Unfortunately, that one is proving even more difficult to source. And we're running out of time. So here is what we're going to do: If we pass the $120K mark, we're going to find a case. And we're going to make it available to pre-order through our website. And if you order it through our site, we'll ship it with your tiles.

Thanks again!

Mike

GenCon!

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I just wanted to drop a post and tell you that if you need to reach me, I'll be at GenCon until Sunday. That means that I will have limited access to my email and social media. It also means that if you order a book through the site, it won't ship until I get back. 

If you are at the con, and you see me, please don't hesitate to say hi. I'll be the guy wearing the black Void Star Studios shirt with Nova Praxis on the back. I'd love to talk to you, sign a book, or whatever. I may even have a surprise for you. :)

Speaking of books, Studio 2 (section 1317) will be carrying Nova Praxis and Strands of Fate for us. We have a very limited supply of Strands of Fate and Strands of Power though, so grab them quick if you want them. 

We're also going to have several GM's demoing Tact-Tiles as part of their games. So be sure to check them out if you see them!

Hope to see you there!

Mike

Damn you United States Postal Service

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Since the Tact-Tiles Kickstarter began, the one thing that has constantly come back to haunt me is the price for international shipping. Simply put, people cannot believe it costs that much to ship a set of tiles outside the United States. Some have even implied that we're intentionally inflating the price and ripping people off.

Well, we're not. The USPS, using a Flat Rate Box, is the cheapest possible way to ship a set of Tact-Tiles. And even then, in some cases, we're going to take a hit to absorb some of the costs.

Don't believe me? This is a screen capture straight from the USPS website...

Now tack on what we're paying for packaging and handling with our fulfillment partner, and we're actually out a few bucks.

We've looked at UPS, FedEx and DHL, only to find they are FAR more expensive. We've also looked at different distribution methods, and potentially using Amazon for fulfillment. No luck there either. Our volumes don't simply don't justify the added expense, and the fact that Tact-Tiles are produced 100% in the US keeps us from being able to cut corners by distributing straight from an overseas factory.

So there you go. Now you know why it costs what it costs.

That said, we very much appreciate everyone who has backed Tact-Tiles, despite the excessive shipping costs.

Please continue to help us spread the word!

A Few Updates

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Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition - We're still tweaking things, but layout is underway. I'm about 70 pages in and plan to get with Sean sometime in the next few days to start applying the last few coats of polish.

Tact-Tiles - This has probably been the most infuriating project I've ever tackled, but thing continue to look up. We did some ink testing yesterday, and got the first 100 tiles in the queue for printing tomorrow or Thursday. I'm hoping to shoot the video for the Kickstarter this weekend!

Machinations - Content is mostly complete. Layout is mostly complete. Art is getting closer. Vague I know. Sorry. With everything else going on I've had trouble getting it wrapped up. But I promise it frustrates me more than it does you.

More Tact-Tiles News

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We received our first 100 Tact-Tiles yesterday. These were produced to test inks, fit, flatness, etc. They had a few minor issues, but nothing that can't be fixed relatively easily. And I was able to test the marker adhesion, which proved to stick to the tiles as we'd hoped, and easily wipe away clean.

We dropped several off with our silk-screener, who will hopefully (fingers crossed!) be testing the ink today.

Our hope is to have a few sets of "finished" Tact-Tiles to endurance test over the weekend. We're going to be making sure the plastic doesn't scratch too easily and that the ink doesn't chip off or easily scratch away.

Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition is Funded!

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Stick a fork in her, she's done folks! 185% funded for $12K. Many thanks to all of you!

We are going to try our best to hit an August release in hopes of getting the book out in time for GenCon.

We'll be keeping you up to date, and if it looks like we're going to hit GenCon, I'll let everyone know if they'll be able to pick up their print copies there.

We also managed to unlock the following Stretch goals:

$8,000 - The Augmented PDF - We will develop an Augmented version of the PDF. Evolved backers will get both the regular PDF, and the Augmented PDF, at no additional cost.

$8,500 - Game Master's Screen - We will develop a Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition Game Master's Screen PDF. Evolved backers will get this PDF for free.

$9,500 - Ghosts in Darkness - We will develop and release the introductory scenario, Ghosts in Darkness for Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition. Evolved backers will get this PDF for free when it is released.

$10,000 - Work Hazards - We will begin developing Work Hazards, a book of alien creatures, biotechnological horrors, combat drones, terrorists, pirates and other NPCs to challenge your players with. Evolved backers will get this PDF for free when it is released. Work Hazards will be released featuring both Savage Worlds and Fate stats.

$11,000 - Nova Praxis Cards - We will develop a custom set of Nova Praxis playing cards for use in determining initiative. These cards will be available through DrivethruCards around the same time the book releases. Evolved backers will get a PDF of these cards for free.

$12,000 - Fragmentation - Mike McConnell will begin writing Fragmentation, a Nova Praxis novel. Evolved backers will get this ebook/PDF for free when it is released.

The primary focus for the next two months will be getting the printed version of NP:SWE out the door. The Augmented PDF will be developed somewhat in parallel, and should follow a few weeks.

The other projects will follow shortly after, with attention shifting to the novel as the other products start wrapping up.

Playtesting

Playtesting for NP:SWE will continue. All backers will continue to have access to the live playtest doc until June 27th, after which this playtest doc will no longer be available. Evolved and Transcendent backers will continue to receive occasional updates until release.

In addition, Evolved and Transcendent backers will receive an alpha version sometime before Monday, June 16th. This alpha verison will be a cobbled together blend of setting material from the Fate version and the new rules. Layout and art will not be complete, or even close, but the alpha version will be around 90% content complete.

Tact-Tiles Progress! For real this time!

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After one unspeakably frustrating false start after another, we've finally got a pseudo-sample tile in hand.

What you're looking at in the pics below (click to see more) is one of the original Tact-Tiles (left) mated with the first new Tact-Tile (black) to be produced in nearly a decade. This one is actually from a sample of the material they had on hand today. The real material won't be in for a few days yet, and will obviously be lighter. This was just produced to make sure the mold is okay, and to do a fit check.

It passed! It mates really well, and it's nice, flat, and rigid.

The finished version will look like the one on the left, but with gray lines instead of brown.

We're going to push hard to get these out in the same release window as D&D5e and the Savage Worlds version of Nova Praxis. Expect the Kickstarter to fire up sometime in the next few weeks!