ADVENTURES & ARTWORK
about 2 years ago – Fri, Feb 04, 2022 at 03:39:30 PM

Hey everyone. I know, it's only a few weeks since my last update, but a lot has happened. For one, my editor has finally sent me back files, so I can start finishing up my layout. 

I got a bunch of stuff to share in the meantime. 

A NEW ARTIST

In order to accelerate production, I have brought on someone to help my dependable brother-from-another-mother, Nick Greenwood, on this project. 

Everyone, Memphis Wong. 

Memphis Wong, everyone. 

I must admit, I really like this work, and I appreciate how well this new artist blends with the stuff Nick is putting out.

Speaking off, I got a bunch of final images from Nick as well!

A lot came in, actually, but I'll hold that off for next time.

ADVENTURE PODCAST

You asked for it. We delivered.

For the first time in five years, I finally got behind the GM screen. We are doing weekly adventures using Affinity. Every week, we will be switching settings. This first one was our fantasy setting, Paradise. Next week will be Conestoga.

ANYWAY, things are moving fast, so I should have more for you soon.

Chris

A NEW YEAR
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jan 17, 2022 at 01:01:45 AM

HEY EVERYONE

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a safe and fun New Year. I worked when I could as I am still waiting on artwork (which got delayed) and editing (which got delayed). But it gave me time to work on the novel, which I can totally absolutely confirm is finished…

...for now. 

I mean, I am going to read through it again. Just saying. But the audio play is in the hands of its producer, so hopefully, we'll have something cool to report for you soon.

As I said, I am waiting on other elements of the production. I decided to take this opportunity to add more content. Not much. Thanks to a backer's recommendation, I played with a few rules, added a new armor to Conestoga, and decided to add more guns in Torus. Like that setting needed more guns over the hundred it already has. But it turns out that some countries played with lethal air-compressed firearms in the old days. 

So…now Torus offers lethal air-compressed firearms. Like most other weapons on Torus, these will possess their own unique rules. There will also be added inscriptions that apply only to them.

PLAYING THE ADVENTURES

This week, I gathered a group of players to create characters for an upcoming Affinity game. Each player is developing three different characters, one for each setting, employing the same line of ability scores. Every week will switch settings. I am currently checking the feasibility of recording them for your enjoyment. Maybe we'll even put it in on video if it works well. I hope there is some interest.

This will also provide some needed testing for the adventures and some needed game time for me. While I have been a player during this pandemic, I have not GMed a game in nearly five years, not since my last Amethyst game ended.

As stated previously, these three adventures ended up not being equal, with the Conestoga module being significantly larger than the other two, despite my opinion that Torus may be longer in actual gameplay, just not in module length. This game will verify that.

The retail prices on these modules will still be the same—Conestoga will simply be a better value (those already receiving these need not worry about that).

LEARNING CURVE

Given my free time, I have also decided that I need to finally bite the bullet and admit that I just cannot use Microsoft Publisher anymore. It's a resource hog and has proven to bugger up some files (I believe my use of Publisher is the reason for UM5-REDUX's size girth. So, I have finally put in the investment to acquire Adobe InDesign. I mean, how different can it be? (Famous last words).

LIVESTREAM

I have decided to jump onto a Livestream to answer everyone's questions. Post them here or during the broadcast. I'll be going through all the sketches we have made thus far. It will be on Sunday, January 16rd at 12:00 PST on YouTube and Facebook.

MORE ART

I won't leave you without sharing some new artwork.

That's it for now.

Don't forget about the live stream, post your questions below, and I promise to have more in our next update.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ART, & AUDIO
over 2 years ago – Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 03:23:09 AM

HEY EVERYONE

Chris here from DEM…

Let me start with the obvious. I'm sorry.

I was hopeful that the digital release of Affinity would be released by now. Several complications arose, including medical issues with my artist and delays in editing. When artwork is finalized, the process from layout to release is remarkably fast.

I have tried to keep busy on my end with the novel and audiobook, explaining why those have moved alongside the game rather than after. After I received notes from readers, I made about a hundred changes with plans to add a few more before the final release. I then simultaneously started working on the script for the audiobook being produced by Jon Fink. That has also been finished.

AUDIOBOOK

I have not talked much about this as there was not much to discuss. But as I just stated, this project has accelerated. The audio script has been adapted from the novel, and our aspirations and hopes regarding the recording side have been realized. I admit I am pleased about this.

While some were expecting a singular voice reading out the book with a smattering of sound effects and musical cues, we have scaled up and brought on an entire voice cast. That's right. We are still in the planning stages of recording, so some final changes may be made, but so far, we have a fantastic mix of voice, TV, stage, and film actors on board. Don't ask me how I got them all—trade secret. In total, we have more than a dozen actors involved. Here is a rundown of most of them:

Mark Meer (Mass Effect Trilogy, Tiny Plastic Men, Dragon Age)

Helen Belay (Studio Theatre, Dating Bytes)

Jon Cor (The Flash, Shadowhunters, Dark Matter)

Peter Graham (Project Blue Book, The Arrow, Benchwarmers 2)

Giselle Fernandez (Wasteland 3, Fire Emblem, Cookie Run: Kingdom)

Jennifer Stewart (Helix, The Walking Dead, Constantine)

James Douglas (The Doctor's Case, Wicked Ways, A Great North Christmas)

Eddie Pence (How To Be A Grown Up, Eddie Pence's (Un)Special, The Ralph Report)

Stewart Cawood (The Doctor's Case, A Great North Christmas, The Way to The Heart)

Tucker Fortson (MechWarrior 5, Heavy Metal Machines, Brotherly Sins)

Crystal Mora (iCarly, Victorious, The John Kerwin Show)

Matt Goodson (Smite, The Necroseam Chronicles, Blues For Johnny Raven)

Thomas Trinh (ElfQuest, The Eye)

And more…

We are going to start recording probably in the next few weeks.

ADVENTURES

I can declare that the three AFFINITY adventures are finished and are moving into the testing phase.

The maps have also been sketched, awaiting my cartographer's upgraded "professional" version. This leads me to ask:

Would you like to have your hands on these adventures now to test and read with the sketched maps, OR would you rather wait until they are ready for publication? If the former, I'll add it to the Playtest Directory. Post your comments below.

AFFINITY ART PORTFOLIO

I have started uploading illustrations for the Art-Portfolio; this is a bonus for certain pledge levels that includes every sketch, map, rejected idea, and final illustration for the final product. This file has already been sent out to eligible backers, so check your spam folder if you don't already have this notice. I'll be uploading more over the course of many weeks, all the way until the digital release of the core books and subsequent adventures.

ART

Speaking of, I got a bunch of new sketches to share…

Anyways, I have not eliminated another update this year. Once the illustrations have been finalized, I'll be crunching on layout. I've also switched layout programs, finally biting the bullet and adopting Adobe, which…sigh…I didn't want to do it, but Publisher is growing too old, and it proved to be a frustrating experience with Ultramodern5.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

CHRIS

ADVENTURES IN ILLUSTRATIONS
over 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 22, 2021 at 12:39:16 PM

Hey everyone!

I’m happy to report that I have finished writing the three adventures that were part of our last stretch goal.

The ORIGINAL plan was to have these as short vignettes, between 10,000 and 15,000 words.

…

…by now, you can probably tell where this is going…

The Paradisemodule, The Plague of Phylax, ended up being 25,000 words, which I thought was a bit high and assumed it an outlier. When I finished the Torusmodule, The Taking of the Grand Odyssey, and it ended at 20,000 words, I figured this would be correct. Given my initial outline, I was worried the Conestoga adventure, Conquest of Arcadia, would end up too short.

…wellll, it ended up at 30,000 words.

There’s a good chance these values will increase as we edit the whole thing.

I swear I’m not doing this intentionally.

What are these adventures about? Glad you asked.

In the Plague of Phylax, the heroes find themselves in Saltenburrow shortly before the arrival of the Auragon Crusade, an army spreading the faith of the Ascension to the anarchic lands of Planitia. Upon discovering potential riches within the nearby mountain of Phylax, which many know as once a planet that fell thousands of years prior, the crusade diverts from its quest, but not before drafting the able men of the town. Unknown to everyone, an ancient evil resides within the mountain, trapped since its fall. As characters investigate the colossal seven-kilometer-long cave network within Phylax, they eventually encounter this menace as it plans to escape its prison.

In The Taking of the Grand Odyssey, a local land baron tasks the heroes to locate and board a legendary ghost train, finally seen after decades. After suffering competition from the pirate train The Delightfully Damned, the characters manage to jump aboard the unstoppable Grand Odyssey, only to discover that its unique power source, an intelligent alien entity, has gained control of not only the entire train but reality within it. A simple smash-and-grab for lost riches turns into a nightmarish horror as cars twist, bend, and expand, and all manners of strange monsters held within seek new prey.

In Conquest of Arcadia, the heroes rescue a band of refugees from predatory scabs, only to discover the expatriates as former jackers, part of a religious cult committed to locating an Eden-like habitat central to their faith. Upon locating a never-before-seen exclave, the Covenant assert it as their promised home. Soon after, the cult oppresses the residential alien population, with later plans to employ the habitat as a base of operations in strikes against rivals. The heroes locate Arcadia and discover it corrupted by the Covenant, unaware that it’s a prison for an alien intelligence that has promised the religious leaders unlimited power upon its release.

Like the main books, there are similarities with these adventures, but each features unique maps, monsters, and stories. I should have these available for testing by the end of the month.

ILLUSTRATIONS

ANYWAY, I got more to show off soon. 

Stay safe! 

Take care, everyone.

CHRIS

ART AND UPDATES
over 2 years ago – Wed, Oct 27, 2021 at 03:40:47 AM

Hey everyone!

I wish I had more to report…wait…I do.

ADVENTURES

I have spent the last two months working on the included adventures for AFFINITY, one for each.

PARADISE – THE PLAGUE OF PHYLAX

TORUS – THE TAKING OF THE GRAND ODYSSEY

CONESTOGA – CONQUEST OF ARCADIA

NOW, as readers are well aware, I try to keep to a budget. Affinity was originally intended to be 100 pages (+/-) for each book, and then exploded to 250+. I had also planned that each module would be just around 20 pages not including new monsters.

WELLL…as you can probably tell from the previous pattern. I just finished the Paradise adventure… at 48 pages. Now, this is not an accurate representation of the final product. There’s no layout or maps or illustrations. And despite my insistence on keeping the sourcebooks all at the same length, give or take, I won't let myself be bound by that in regard to these three adventures.

I am partway through the Torus adventure and should have that finished by the end of the month.

All three modules will be added to the playtest directories once they are finished so people can try their hand at them.

Readers will recognize a similar…ahem…affinity between the three modules as they all share a similar menace. They will also add more monsters, many of which I am considering adding into the core books. It will depend on our art budget.

Speaking of…

ART

I mentioned some issues with the artwork that created a few delays. 

Thankfully, Nick picked up the pace...

                                                                      ...until he broke his wrist. 

Thankfully, it was the OTHER hand, and we're doing our best to keep work consistent.  Thankfully, we got a whole lot to share.

Nick drew this on a whim, so I created a monster for it.  It belongs to Torus now, and I decided to call it a plagurwocky. Unlike other images, this is a final, not a sketch.

We have psionics in Conestoga.

Scrimm from Conestoga. This is a playable race.

An Ascension purgitan from Paradise.

A gunman from Torus wielding an enchanted firearm.

A pirate train from Torus.

An Aegis power armor from Paradise.

A watcher from Conestoga.

ANYWAYS, there's actually a lot more artwork than that, but I don't want to share them all right now.  I'll save that for next time. 

We also got our mapmaker working on the geography of all three worlds.

BE SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!