I'm trying to make sure that I touch base regularly, so that everybody is receiving the same info, rather than me answering emails as they come in.

Still hammering away on getting the Limited Edition finished and out to you -- although things have slowed down slightly, albeit for interesting reasons.

First (and probably of least interest to anybody outside of my family), I was away from the office from Thursday until last night, attending my oldest daughter's college graduation.  I worked during the trip -- but balancing a laptop on your knees in the back of a mini-van during a 2400-mile round trip?  Not as easy as I had hoped, and so I fell a bit behind.

Second (and far more of interest to you guys):  Tomorrow morning, I head out to Los Angeles until the end of the month...  where I have a bunch of meetings set up with various producers and other folks, and where the topic of conversation will include FAR WEST!   Some potentially nifty things could be coming down the pike -- and I'll make sure that you're the first to know about it.   I never imagined the response that we've been getting, and I have all of you to thank for it.

In the meantime, work will continue -- My evenings in the hotel will be spent lit by the glow of the laptop screen, burning up the shared Dropbox between me, T.S. and Rick.   Delivery will be pushed into June, but it won't be long.    I'll also make sure to post at least an entry or two on the FAR WEST website, so you'll have something to tide you over.

As always, any time you want to reach me, with questions, comments or just to say hello, I'm always available at gms@adamantentertainment.com, and welcome your contact.

With that, I'll leave you with another look at the artwork being done, as I get back to work.

Gareth-Michael Skarka

23 May 2012

Hey there--

The preview articles continue over at the FAR WEST website.  Today's entry features an overview of the combat system!

http://intothefarwest.com/2012/05/14/a-glimpse-of-combat/

The article features another new piece by Rick Hershey, which I've included below.  Well, OK, it's about half of a piece -- a close-up of a larger image which will appear in the book.

Back to work.  I've still got a bunch to do -- and later this week, I'm headed to my oldest daughter's graduation from college, which means I'll be spending time with my laptop in the back of a van as it heads across country!   No distance, nor discomfort, nor parental duty shall stay this rider from my appointed task!

Gareth-Michael Skarka

14 May 2012

Hey there, folks.

We've just posted a new development article up on the FAR WEST website, giving a glimpse of the steps of character creation:

http://intothefarwest.com/2012/05/08/a-glimpse-of-character-creation/

Also appearing at the top of that article (and included below with this update) is a selection of three character portraits, more examples of the Kickstarter backer images that Rick has done.   Who are these fine people?    Ah, but that would be telling.

Also live on the website today is the launch of the pre-order for the non-Kickstarter general-release Retail Edition of the game, which will be appearing in distributor catalogs in the next few weeks, solicited as an August release.   If you've got friends who missed out on the Kickstarter, feel free to point them to the webstore:

http://intothefarwest.com/store/

(The Retail Edition will not feature the bonus content that's appearing in the Limited, and will be black-and-white interior, rather than color.  There's also a chance that the cover may be different as well, although that will depend on whether or not Rick is still breathing at the end of his Herculean efforts!)

And now, back to work for me.

Gareth-Michael Skarka

8 May 2012

Ni hao-

As we enter the home stretch, I'll be updating you here more often, and posting more material to the website as well.

Speaking of the website-- be sure to check out the most recent posting, which features a look at some of the new interior artwork that Rick's been churning out (in addition to the cover, which I showed you last update):   http://intothefarwest.com/2012/04/26/art-preview/

We're currently looking at a May delivery of the PDF to backers.   We've had a request from some of the folks on the forum that we give you guys a couple of weeks with the PDF before we send it off to the printer, so that if there are any glaring errors, folks have a chance to spot them and let us know.   I'm certainly not going to turn down an offer like that -- and I love the idea of our backers, who have the driving force behind this project, helping us to make it the best that it can be.

On Monday, I'll be posting a new entry on the website giving a look at some of the rules of the Adventure Game, and further previews along those lines will continue right up until release.   I'll be sure to post an update via Kickstarter when it goes live, so you can check it out.

Also on Monday, we'll be opening the pre-order for the general retail edition of the game -- so if you've got friends who missed the Kickstarter, you can point them to it. The games catalogs from Diamond, Alliance and other distributors worldwide will feature the game in their next editions -- it's being solicited as an August release.   (Note that this is the retail edition -- lacking the bonus material that appears in the Kickstarter Limited, and with a black-and-white interior, rather than color.)

Finally, as we get closer to pulling the trigger on production, we're getting together the material for the follow-up Kickstarter, which will be for the FAR WEST fiction line -- at least two novels (Guns of the Seven Devils by Yours Truly, And Justice Rides WIth Me by T.S. Luikart), with additional books opening up as "stretch goals" if we meet our target.   Watch for that, coming soon   (As always, folks from this original Adventure Game Kickstarter who backed at the "Immortal" level will receive all of these products automatically.)

And now... back to work for me.

Gareth-Michael Skarka

4 May 2012