March 31st, 2020 Production Update - PPCs Have Arrived!
about 4 years ago – Wed, Apr 01, 2020 at 01:50:23 AM

Hello everyone!

A little bit of excitement here at SKG HQ over the weekend. The PPCs (pre-production copies) of all four decks have arrived. These are decks made as close a possible to the final product to check things like color, that the correct fronts and backs are together, that the package markings are all correct, and a final round of proofing.

After a thorough review of each deck and a meeting with our project manager at Panda I determined that some of the art was too dark. I spent yesterday tweaking art so it would be the best quality possible and the files have been re-uploaded to the manufacturer. We will get one last round of digital proofs and if I approve them, full scale production will start next week.

Tentatively, we should receive the printed decks around mid July. This is far later than I had hoped but with everything going on in the world right now I'm grateful we have forward momentum. Thank you for your patience.

PDF News

Once the final proofs are approved, I will jump into making the PDFs. I had hoped to wait until the printed decks were available before sending out the PDFs but with the delays, I don't want to deny anyone for too long. I expect we will be fulfilling the PDF pledges in early May but I'm also thinking I will provide a PDF sampler with cards from all four decks to all backer levels in April as a thank you for the extended wait time.

That's all for now! Thank you for your continued support and I'll be back in about two weeks.

Cheers - Ed

March 17th, 2020 Production Update + New Merch
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 17, 2020 at 11:50:35 PM

Greeting all,

We have a little bit of news regarding Dossier Decks. Things are back in motion in China and we are told that our PPC (Pre-Production Copy) will be on it's way to us very soon. I'm hoping we will receive it next week and I will be updating the moment it reaches up to show it off. Once I approve it, full production can begin. At this time, with the current state of everything, I cannot be sure when this project will deliver. My guess is July and my hope is June. Once I approve the PPC I will get an accurate timeline from our project manager and let you know.

Lately we have been gearing up for convention season which looks to be canceled for the next couple months. Our intention was to launch a line of SkeleonKey Games and Arcane Scrollworks related merchandise at GaryCon at the end of the month. Since that has been canceled, we are launching it today in our online store.

Currently we have T-shirts, phone cases, mugs, and art prints with more coming monthly. Check it out here and let us know if there are any of our designs you would like turned into merch.

Thank you all for your support and patience. Be well and I'll have more to show off soon.

Cheers - Ed

February 25th, 2020 Production Update + Pledges Locking
about 4 years ago – Tue, Feb 25, 2020 at 06:59:06 PM

Hello everyone,

Just a brief update this time around. The digital card proofs have been reviewed from last time and resubmitted. The new files were approved by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, that's where we stand. I still haven't seen digital proofs of the packages but I'm hopeful it will happen this week.

The manufacturers are trickling back open in China due to the Coronavirus and the reality is that everything over there is behind because of it. I'm pinging my project manager weekly and we should have movement on this project soon.

BackerKit Locks Friday, Feb 28th.

For 95% of you, you are good to go. There are some lingerers that have yet to finalize your pledge and I sent out reminders yesterday. If you got one, follow the link and wrap it up if you would be so kind. Once locked, cards will be charged (Anyone using PayPal has already been charged) and the final funds will be collected for shipping and additional add-ons.

Thanks and I hope to have good news for you in a couple weeks or less.

Cheers - Ed

February 12th, 2020 Production Update + Dirt
about 4 years ago – Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 07:37:33 PM

Hey all,

The revised packaging has been sent to the printer. We are just waiting for them to come back to the factory which is being held up by the Coronavirus. I'm told work should resume Monday of next week.

In the meantime, I did get a hold of the files for the card press sheets which I will be reviewing over the next couple days. Want a sneak peek at all 208 cards? Check it out -

As you can see I have lots to review but I'm excited to do it and check another step off the list of getting these to everyone. With any luck I will have the final package proofs to review next week and we can go into prototype approval.

DIRT

If you want to see what Lars White, the lead writer of Dossier Decks, has going on next you should check out Dirt.

Dirt is a tabletop roleplaying game about survival and discovery in a post-apocalyptic world that would have once been considered a classic fantasy setting.  Dirt is a stand-alone zine containing all the information you need to play.

Lars is creating Dirt as part of Kickstarter's Zine Quest and I'm along for the ride with some art duties.

Please take a look and consider backing this cool little project.

I'll be back within the next two weeks to update everyone on what's happening with Dossier Decks. Until then, good gaming!

Ed

February 5th, 2020 Production Update + PDF functionality questions
about 4 years ago – Thu, Feb 06, 2020 at 01:50:20 AM

Greetings everyone,

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the winter. Here is the latest look behind the scenes at getting Dossier Decks into your hands.

The US based project manager for the manufacturer came back from their holiday with a slight setback. I've been informed that all the package files used the wrong template and need to be adjusted. This is despite the fact that I used a template generated by them. From their latest email the say - I’m so sorry for the confusion on the size. I spoke to our tech team and they informed me that we recently updated our tuckbox sizing, but that the template generator hasn’t been updated yet to reflect the change.

The image above aligns the two templates where I have placed a green circle and you can see the problems radiating out from there. So tomorrow I will rework each package and get it proofed one more time and send it back over to the manufacturer. Although this is slightly frustrating these small things pop up here and there. In the end we are talking about a couple of hours of my time to fix.

As long as I have this in by the end of the week it shouldn't effect the timeline. Unfortunately that's because the Coronavirus is keeping the team in China shut down for an extra week per our project manager - Our factory team is taking this additional week off due to the current Coronavirus situation in China. We’re hoping the extra week off will help reduce the potential spread of the virus and ensure our team is healthy and well-rested when they return to work. I’ll keep you posted if anything changes on that front. And as they keep me posted, I will keep you posted.

I hope to have an accurate production schedule from our project manager soon and intend to push for a quick turnaround.

PDF Usage Questions

For those that backed the PDFs, please tell me a little bit about how you intend to use them in the comments below.

• Will you be printing them out or referencing them digitally?
• Would you prefer four fronts per page with corresponding backs matched up to just cut and fold?
• Or would you prefer eight fronts per page with the matching backs on the next page?
• Share any other thoughts on PDF usage please.

I'm deciding how to format the PDFs for the best functionality. The print files are one card = one page with the fronts and backs being completely different files. That doesn't seem like the most user friendly for home use.

When it comes to delivery, we will be sending out the PDFs at the same time we start shipping the physical products to backers. It is simpler to fulfill all the pledges at once instead of trying to keep tracks of multiple waves and types of fulfillment. Thank you for your patience and understanding on this.

Arcane Scrollworks 4

We are currently running a new Kickstarter campaign for the next installment of our Arcane Scrollworks line. Please take a few minutes to check it out if you are interested in cool hand-finished props. They make great gifts for GMs and players and pledge levels start at $12.

The Ultimate Guide to Alchemy, Crafting, and Enchanting for 5e

Our friends over at Nord Games have a new campaign running as well. Check it out for some great 5e content!

That's all for this update! I'll be back in two weeks or less with any news on the progress of Dossier Decks. 

Cheers - Ed