Wearing the Cape: Special Edition is Ready!
almost 7 years ago
– Tue, Jul 11, 2017 at 08:52:48 PM
I just noted that it's been a month since my last update, for which I apologize. Several parts of the project have been moving forward simultaneously, which has been taking up my attention; I have answered all direct queries, but should have posted previously to let everyone know where we are. So, here's the news!
Barlow's Guide and the B-Files
A few Sentinels and Cape-Files backers have not yet provided their input for the characters they backed for (some for good reasons, others I've simply never heard from), and we are moving ahead without them. I feel bad for the backers who pledged for a character but will not have one in the book, but with 20 characters from the books and 60+ original characters fitted to the Post-Event world (many of them fantastic examples of what the Fate System is capable of and the world itself will allow), I think that everyone will be very happy with the end result.
Even if it's taking longer than planned. Much longer. Much, much longer. (Sigh)
I encourage anyone interested in seeing some of the progress to check out the Google+ community page ( https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101484222420788421171 ), where I've been posting snippets. Meanwhile, here's an example of another backer-created character (you can find the full-sized image at the community page):
.
Wearing the Cape: The Special Edition
The editing and art phase of production took a little longer than I expected (it always does), but a mobi. file edition has been sent to all backers who opted to receive the electronic edition of the book. I am also preparing a PDF edition as well, which everyone will also be able to download if that is their preferred format. The next steps, which are preparing the book for hardback and paperback printing, should go quickly. The paperback edition will be through Createspace, the same company that has handled all of my books, and the hardback is being printed separately as its own run.
Anyone interested in picking up the special edition now, can find it here.
https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/216143/Wearing-the-Cape-Special-Edition
It will also be available on Amazon very soon.
Everything Else
The dice are still in production, but I'm told it should be only a few more weeks. The Archon Files are also still in development (since it will only be an electronic sourcebook, I've pushed this to last so I can get the stuff that needs to go to the printer done first).
A Black and White Gamebook
While everything else is still in progress, I have at least managed to ship the gamebook to everyone for whom WtC:RPG was the only physical item in their pledge. I wish everything else was moving faster, and for everyone who would like a physical copy of the rules that they can print-and-play with now, I have arranged for a black-and-white PDF of the game, without art. Anyone who would like a download of this black-and-white edition, post me through your Kickstarter account and I'll send it to you!
Also, if you're interested in picking up an additional copy of the gamebook, or have a friend who didn't participate in the Kickstarter who wants one, they will be selling direct from Indie Press Revolution ( http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/home.phpby ) by the end of the week. The price will be $49.95, same as the Kickstarter cost, but purchasers will not get the electronic edition at a discount. (And of course no signed bookplate.)
And GenCon
And it turns out that I am attending GenCon this August after all! I'm mainly going since WtC:RPG is one of the gamebooks nominated for an ENnie, and also since I've never been to GenCon and this is as good an excuse as any. I will be there mostly as a fan, but two tables at the convention will be carrying a few of the gamebooks: the Indie Press Revolution booth, and Maxwell Alexander Drake's author table (we're good friends and he offered). I will spend at least a few hours at Drake's table doing signings, and I would love to meet any WtC fans who are also attending.
Whew! That's a mouthful of news. Again, thanks everyone who has been supplying feedback and encouragement through the fulfillment process; for everyone who has received their gamebooks already, I hope they are everything you thought they'd be! I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions to the sourcebook (which will of course be available on PDF long before the printed editions ship).
Stay cool in this hot summer.
Marion G. Harmon
The First Wave is Away!
almost 7 years ago
– Mon, Jun 12, 2017 at 11:40:08 PM
The first shipping wave of Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game went out today. The shipped books are going via Media Mail inside the US, 1st Class Shipping internationally. The first wave of books is going to all backers who did not order any dice, the sourcebook, or the special edition along with their gamebook. I look forward to hearing what you think when you see the gamebook!
Meanwhile, it's looking like the electronic copy of Wearing the Cape: Special Edition will be out within a couple of weeks at most. I'm really loving the six pieces of interior art provided by Kasia.
And of course, work on the sourcebook continues. Just as a hint of what's coming, the sourcebook will contain cape-files for the Sentinels not listed in the gamebook, as well as a few of the Young Sentinels (plus plenty of more characters). It will also contain "updated" cape-files of Astra and Artemis to show how they've grown between Book 1 and the end of Book 6.
(Note: if you haven't read the series yet, don't look down: spoilers.)
I hope you like this taste of things to come.
Marion G. Harmon
Wallpaper, Shipping, and a Character-Call
almost 7 years ago
– Thu, Jun 08, 2017 at 10:46:40 PM
Hello, everyone! I have three announcements today.
Wallpaper
First off, the wallpaper has been posted! We finally decided on two wallpapers (we couldn't choose), and decided to post them where everyone could pick them up, rather than try and set up a mass-mailing (I think that some emails are winding up in peoples spam boxes).
You can find both wallpapers in multiple sizes, here:
http://www.wearingthecape.com/wallpapers
Shipping
The first wave of fulfillment shipments will be going out next week. This first wave will be to those who backed for the printed edition of the gamebook, but not the sourcebook, novel, or dice. They will be sent USPS.
I began this campaign with no idea of the shipping/handling costs, and so I ball-parked it based on flat shipping rates. The shipping will, in most cases, cost less than I expected, but the handling is costing more. (For anyone wondering, the books are being shipped in nice, sturdy book-boxes, with a layer of foam wrap to ensure no sliding/rubbing during shipping: I've seen too many books arrive with damaged corners.) The shipping/handling fees everyone payed with their pledges should be enough in almost all cases, and in the few cases where they're not, I will eat the cost. However, to ensure that costs stay as low as possible, all backer fulfillments will be shipped as single packages (nobody is getting their printed gamebook first, then the printed sourcebook later, for example). I hope the fact that the PDFs will be going out much more quickly will make up for the wait.
Sentinel and Cape File Fulfillment
Most Sentinel and Cape File backers have been good about getting their characters submitted and worked with me through the vetting/development process. And that's been very important, since Kasia, our amazing artist, can only work so fast and has other projects. However, of the 76 who pledged with intent to get their superhero in the sourcebooks, only 53 have so far gone through the process. A small number have had to bow out, but a surprising number simply haven't answered emails requesting that they initiate the process.
I have come to the conclusion that, for some reason, significant number of backers simply aren't receiving their emails (perhaps they are getting caught in the spam filter), but as we push to get the sourcebooks finished, there will come a point where I won't be able to wait for them any longer. Any Sentinel or Cape File backers who do not complete the process will not receive a refund, the exception being those few who have gone through the development process with me and with whom I have not been able to work out a character that they want and that fits the setting. I am committed to X number of commissions with Kasia, and any shortfall in the character commissions will be made up for by extra art elsewhere in the book.
Following is a list of submitted/completed characters. If you are a Sentinel/Cape File backer, and don't see your character below, or simply haven't submitted yet, contact me at [email protected].
Agent G,
Aiko,
Alice,
Ambrosius,
Ami Hasikawa,
Black Powder,
Breezy,
Chronicler,
Commander Freedom,
Compendium,
Cricket,
DOA,
Daydream,
Daystar,
Diamond Jack,
Doolittle,
Dragon ,
Eagle Wing,
Enammorata,
Erica Free,
Expediter,
False Spark,
Firewall,
Flicker,
Foresight,
Gulliver,
Hi-Tek,
Heimdarl,
Il Capitano,
Inspector Di,
Iri Pegason,
Kukkuu,
Luckshadow,
Lux,
Malmsturm ,
Minnow,
Morrigan,
Onyx,
Pararescue,
Pinky,
Prism,
Rift,
Roulette ,
Shortspark,
Sif,
Slice,
Stockman,
Tenebrae,
Toxic Apple,
Vermillion ,
Wafflebat,
White Samurai.
The Gamebooks Have Arrived!
almost 7 years ago
– Thu, Jun 01, 2017 at 10:08:30 PM
Printing Complete.
Would you look at that?
Sorry about the grainy images. I've got to say, they're beautiful. For some reason the printer did the covers in matte rather than the shiny I'd expected, but I think they look better this way. Also, comparing the gamebook to other gamebooks I own, I could have made the font slightly smaller and the lines closer together, to get more content for the same number of pages. But, all things considered, it's a gorgeous book.
So that's a milestone. We're looking at the shipping options now, but everyone who ordered just the gamebook should have theirs in the mail late next week (we need to physically check the whole inventory first, add the signed bookplates, etc). For those who ordered the sourcebook, novel, or dice as well, we're looking at options; if we can ship them separately for less than you've payed us for postage, then we'll do it so that you don't need to wait!
Barlow's Guide & The B-Files
We press forward on the sourcebooks. It's taking longer than I'd hoped, and that is mostly my fault, although several backers have yet to submit their characters for approval. If it comes down to it, where everything else is completed and we're still waiting on Sentinels and Cape-Watcher characters, the book will go to print. I think everyone will be surprised by the creativity shown with many of these new characters (I already have my eye on a couple of them that are going to make cameo appearances in the next book).
For the Rest.
The Special Edition: Fully edited, with half the art completed, and hopefully gone to print by the middle of this month.
The Archon Files: Still in layout phase.
The Dice: I hope to see them by the end of the month.
Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer! I will do an update when the first wave of gamebooks ships.
Marion G. Harmon
Moving Right Along
almost 7 years ago
– Mon, May 15, 2017 at 11:40:01 PM
So things have been happening in the last two weeks. I'll hit them in order.
More Art
Commander Freedom and Doolittle: not the team-up made in heaven.
Kasia continues to turn out amazing artwork for the highly imaginative characters being submitted by Sentinel and Cape-File backers. She is also committed to providing the cover for the sourcebook as well, and is doing the six black-and-white interior illustrations for Wearing the Cape: Special Edition. The sourcebook looks to be on track for completion in June-July.
Wearing the Cape
The edited manuscript for the special edition of Wearing the Cape has been approved! This means that, if all goes well, backers who pledged for the book will be getting their ebook editions in June; backers who pledged for the paperback edition may be getting theirs in June if they are to be shipped separately. The hardback printing should be finished in July and ready to ship. I am really looking forward to this beautiful special edition.
The ENnies
Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game has been successfully submitted for an ENnie Award, in the Best Electronic Book category. It would have also been submitted in the Best Game category, but we could not meet the publication date requirement. Perhaps we will be able to submit for that category in 2018. Speaking of publication dates. . .
WtC:RPG Publication
We are still on track for a mid-June shipping date for WtC:RPG gamebooks. This first shipment round will of course go to those who only ordered the gamebook, or to people who's orders we can split up and still come in under the paid postage requirements. Others will need to wait to get everything at once. I know this would frustrate me to no end if I were a backer who'd ordered The One With Everything; all I can say is I hope you will all be patient. At least the electronic editions of everything will be in your hands long before then.
Anyway, that's all for now. Thank you, everyone, for your support and for your great reviews on DriveThruRPG!
Marion G. Harmon
