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2 days ago
Joe Wetzel
commented on a project update@Greg: Just sent you one. Did it arrive yet? (May need to double check a spam filter or give it an hour or two. Most email is near-instant, but sometimes a message takes a strange route.)
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2 days ago
Joe Wetzel
Posted project update #24Bad News, Good News, More Bad News, More Good News
As the title says, we've got some bad news, good news, more bad news but more good news.
As an aside: If you're missing a reward (other than the physical minis, stands & boxes) send me a message. I think I'm up to date. Also note that for backers who downloaded the "all" stock art, you may want to go back to the download site because the art has been updated with the last pieces that arrived.
Now A Bit of Bad News
As most of you know, I provided the Monster Stand-Ins (minis) as a PDF on RPGNow and gave backers of that reward a free download. A couple of people reviewed it and one gave it 4 stars and another 3 stars, out of 5. Of course the goal is always 5 stars but since one can't 100% please 100% of people then an average over 4 stars is ok. But we didn't meet that compromise goal.
I think the feedback can be summed up as follows, with a short response in brackets:
- The pages had too much white space. [We tried to accommodate most printers by using a 1" margin. And because of how monsters were laid out, in some cases the widths were 1/2" short of that.]
- Too many duplicates. [I'm not sure if this in about having 4 versions of some creatures, or that some images were repeated. We felt it was worthwhile to have several versions of some creatures so you might have a kobold shaman and an archer and a leader as well as a normal grunt kobold. Also, because you may encounter these in packs of 6 or even 10, we figured giving you half a page of them was a worthwhile way to arrange the creatures.]
- Grouping was odd. [This comment was in the context of "no matter how you lay them out some people will think the grouping is odd" so I appreciate the understanding. One other note was that we did duplicates on some pages because we felt that was better than having just one or two of many different creatures on a page. In most cases, you're more likely to encounter several of a creature type than an arbitrary pair of gnolls, a medusa, two trolls, two minotaur, two vegepygmies, a harpy, and two kobolds to take an extreme example.]
- Some creatures should have been bigger I believe Dragons and Giants were called out. [I think I goofed on the Dragons. I think the Giants were OK, but if anyone can be specific and site a source, please do.]
- Not enough creatures for the money. [See below.]
Now a Bit of Good News
In response to the feedback above I've revised the PDF as follows:
- First, most dragons have an even larger version. Whites and Blacks and Brass and Copper tend to be smaller, so they didn't get the largest size.
- Second, we've added a bunch of creatures to the PDF. The original PDF had 92 different monsters (when you count all the versions of a creature count as one, so the kobold leader/shaman/archer/grunt count is just one in this counting method.) There were 148 different monster images. (Where the 4 different kobolds count as 4.) There were also 56 PCs/NPCs (among the 7 core races) and 27 different animals or 36 different animal pictures, depending on how you count. Now we've got 20 more monsters and 20 more animals with a picture for each. Some of these come from other stock art collections, and some are from shifting the colors or other minor changes to art already in the collection. Here's a list of the new monsters: Catoplebas, Blink Dog, 4 Metallic Dragons (Brass, Bronze, Copper, Silver--we already had Gold), Harpy, Homunculus, Hydra, Lamia, Locathah, Merrow, Mimic, Phase Spider, Pseudodragon, Retriever, Shadow, Shrieker, Triton, & Wyvern.
The new version of the document should be available to anyone who received the prior document. Just log back into your RPGNow account and you should be able to re-download it. Send me an message if you have trouble getting it.
If anyone has further ideas to make the PDF better please email me. And if you are one of the reviewers on RPGNow, please contact me so we can see if this is better and to clarify any remaining issues.
But More Bad News
Reworking the PDF has put me behind schedule on shipping the physical products. I still expect/hope to finish in the first half of June. I'm not going to finalize the files for a couple days in case I get further feedback on the PDF.
But More Good News
I'll try to include most of the new art & creatures in the physical products, even if I have to include an extra sheet free. I probably can't provide 3 different sizes of all 10 dragons, but I can likely include the most common sizes.
So to sum up, because I want this to be a 5 star product I've revised the PDF with 20 more monsters and 20 more animals. If you've got other ideas to make it better, please contact me. The physical products will be delayed about two weeks, but should still be sent by the middle of June. There will likely be an extra bonus sheet for everyone who pledged for the physical minis.
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2 days ago
Joe Wetzel
commented on a project@Kurt: Yep, that's the idea of the far future set. The far future example store (posted in a prior update) is a rather tame example that was bound by the idea I wanted all the buildings in that sample set to be the same building type.
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3 days ago
Joe Wetzel
Posted project update #3Very Early & Simple Random City Layouts
As mentioned in my prior update, I've been hard at work on the random city street layout and building fill-in algorithms. Now I've finally got a couple of samples to show.
Keep in mind that there will likely be several different algorithms that specialize in different city layouts: a grid algorithm for a planned city like Indianapolis; a radial algorithm for something like Paris; a more haphazard layout for something like London. Plus there will be several variations of each. Further, placement of rivers, a harbor, city walls, etc., add more variety.
A lot of the work goes into the infrastructure that all the algorithms need (such as aligning the buildings adjacent to the road or making sure the buildings don't overlap each other.) So I hope/expect to make faster progress on the algorithms going forward. Event the existing one will get better as we increase randomness and add features.
The samples below show two different runs of a medieval city using a grid algorithm. The first picture shows most of the map at a very zoomed out level. Then we see a small part of that map zoomed in. The next picture shows another map made with the same algorithm but with a more circular look to the overall city. And finally we have part of that map enlarged.
Overall, the project is looking on target. We're just past the halfway point time-wise and funding-wise. I think now that I've got the initial algorithm prototyped, I can show progress more often and hopefully that can drive some pledges. If it looks like we can shoot past the goal, I'm happy to add some stretch goals. If you'd really love to see the project and would really like to see it with some extra bells and whistles in the initial release, please mention it on your blogs or any message boards where you participate.
Back to the main point (the previews) please remember this is an early, early version and as we add features the resulting maps will drastically improve.
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Jeffrey 2 days ago
I am sure that after refining it there will be less empty green space. So far so good. What I am really going to enjoy more than random generating is getting right down to it and making the city.
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3 days ago
Joe Wetzel
commented on a projectMatt C: Yep, I've got it on my list to include damaged buildings of all genres. The floor plan I'm still trying to decide if the art will be simple line art (like the Inkwell Ideas Random Inn Generator's floorplan) or battlemat style like Dungeonographer's battlemat style art set. Yes you'll be able to export the whole map as a large image. Jeffry: You can look at when the first backed backed the project. Usually that happens on the first day. Sometimes a bit later, but that's the best I think anyone who didn't start the project can tell.
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4 days ago
Joe Wetzel
commented on a projectJeffrey: Actually we're one day shy of half way, from when the project launched, so it we have the same pledging we'd get $10,500 or $11,000. Things could slow down, but there are plenty of reasons for the rate to stay the same or go up. We had a few slow days over the weekend, but as I post new news or get the word out to new audiences things can go up. Plus there is usually a last minute rush. Yep, I did get the typo.
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on May 17
Joe Wetzel
Posted project update #2New Rewards, Building Icon Samples, and Promotion
Thank you for all your support, and thank you to everyone who has written a blog post about the project, posted to a message board, etc. Please do keep that up as much as you are comfortable. Hexographer and my other projects spread mostly by word of mouth, and it is still the best advertising. Hopefully we've got a few new pieces of information here that are worthy of another post.
Below the text of this message you should see some samples of a store in multiple genres (far future, modern, wild west and fantasy.) Keith's working up a steampunk sample. Keith really gets the purpose we're after, I think. Are there any other genres I'm overlooking that are roughly as popular (or more) and would have different building types/architectures?
Keep in mind the core product will have about 50 medieval fantasy buildings, probably about the same number of modern buildings, nearly as many futuristic buildings and probably 20-25 wild west and 20-25 steampunk buildings. (There will also be other graphics for other items for each genre. Ex: road signs, cars, road textures, etc.) Beyond that, there will be at least three different icon packs for the three main genres (medieval fantasy, modern, and far future) of 150+ buildings and 100+ other graphics each. Hopefully we can do more.
I've added a few new rewards based on your feedback:
- First, there is a $5 thank you reward. If you've been using the free versions/tools at Inkwell Ideas and want to thank me/us, but can't justify buying a license, please consider it.
- Next is a $70 reward that gets you any 4 software/icon packs. I had the suggestion of offering multiple Cityographer licenses. I also had several people email me asking to have a way to get Hexographer and Dungeonographer as part of the rewards. So this reward neatly addresses both requests, I hope. It offers the same deal offered otherwise: one can get Hexographer & Dungeonographer & Cityographer & an icon pack for this price either by ordering on the Hex/Dungeonographer websites and backing for Cityographer or you may pick this reward. Or you can use it to buy Cityographer for yourself and 3 friends, or get Cityographer and an icon pack for yourself and a friend, etc.
- Finally, I've added a $250 reward if you'd like to get custom config files set up for your favorite game. (In addition to getting Cityographer and 3 icon packs (or 3 other products.) As the reward states, "The config files determine names, NPC characteristics, item lists, etc. and they will come in generic medieval fantasy, modern and futuristic versions, as well as a D&D (edition roughly neutral) version." The config files & format will be available for anyone to customize, but if you pick this reward, we'll do the work for you.
Finally, I've been deep into the random city map generation algorithms. I've been converting & updating an algorithm I developed previously. But it also is laying the groundwork for generic methods needed to place buildings next to roads, prevent buildings from overlapping, etc. I hope to have something to show in about a week.
Thanks again, and please spread the word!
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Edward Hamilton on May 17
These look beautiful. Already imagining potential applications for that tank of propane...
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on May 16
Joe Wetzel
commented on a project@Espen: I'll try to keep that in mind, and see how I can integrate it.
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on May 16
Joe Wetzel
commented on a projectIn the longer term I'm eyeing a feature like that. But some of the infrastructure isn't there and it is something that is probably about 6 months out. Thanks for the comment/interest!
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on May 16
Joe Wetzel
commented on a project updateThanks for the feedback so far. I got busy with random street/building generation and won't have time to do an update tonight. I'm still taking feedback on the higher and lower level goals. I like the idea of having a level which allows you to get multiple licenses in case you want one for a friend or two. Letting people name things may not be a good fit because the name generation will be configurable and if you want to have a name be a possible store name or NPC name or whatever, just edit the text config file. I guess it might be nice to be part of the default configurations, but I guess it isn't something I would pay for. But if there's more to it, please explain what I'm missing. The custom icon is a good idea, but becomes a bit combersome just because of how Kickstarter only lets you pick one reward when you back. (When you do combinations people are sometimes not sure if they pledged the right amount, and I'm not sure what they pledged for until I send the survey, etc.) I have gotten feedback from several others who can't comment due to not having backed and they would like a option that bundles the other programs... so I'm still weighing all of these ideas and still welcoming other ideas. Thanks!
Joe Wetzel
Ashburn, VA
* I've been a gamer ever since 4th grade, 20-something years ago, and have written a few RPG articles. * I'm also a programmer. I created and continue to update the game/fantasy map software programs "Hexographer" and "Dungeonographer" among numerous other projects.
Hello
I never received the email to log into RPGnow to get my PDF reward
Could You help me please
@Greg: Just sent you one. Did it arrive yet? (May need to double check a spam filter or give it an hour or two. Most email is near-instant, but sometimes a message takes a strange route.)