Viele Updates: Kickstarter Shipping

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 28. Mai 2024 von DarkISI

Ich bin durch das letzte AMA mit Ray und Aaron durch und habe Fragen und Antworten zusammengestellt. Aber die wichtigste Meldung, frisch vom Tuesday News Day:

Der Kickstarter sollte nächste Woche (7 – 10 Tage von heute) mit dem Versand beginnen. Es fehlen wohl nur noch kleine Items, die per Luftpost eingeflogen werden, damit alle Hubs loslegen können.

Und hier nun die gesammelten Infos vom AMA:

Will you continue the story with the Lone Wolves/Fox Patrol in more short stories, or will they be getting their own book?

I’m working on a new Fox Patrol/Lone Wolves story now. And I have a synopsis written for a Fox Patrol novel that happens after the battle of Sudeten. So…. Yeah….  I think we’ll see more Fox Patrol as long as folks keep asking for it as hard as everyone seems to be.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1243607743479283762/1243650294001172560

What happened with the QA on the new Mad Dog (Vulture) Premium mini?

I won’t throw anyone under the bus—but feel free to imagine me doing so vigorously—and simply say that we now (as of this week) have a new QA process in place for future releases. There are about 2-3 more to be released prior to this process.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240826641622765729

What are the chances of seeing plastic fighter Force Packs?

Yes. „if you build it, they will come“ If we can create a new fun AeroSpace-based game, we will produce a miniature line.

Note the „if“

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240825469587296317

We’ve been asked various versions of the question „what about aerospace??“ over the last few years. We knew that doing the Shilone, and now the Visigoth, would prompt those questions.

Tl;dr – aerospace rules, either the current version or any potential new version of them, are NOT the subject of current development.

In recent months, we’ve opened up some loose discussion about them–myself very much included. But (IMO), I think that may have been a mistake, because it mis-represented our intentions there.

Many of the issues folks have raised, we’re aware of–not the least of which is the current organization (or lack thereof) of the existing rules.

Could a thorough re-writing and reorganization of what we have be enough? (I can hear everyone screaming „YES,“ I assure you.) Do we need to re-develop some or all of these rules? Is there the potential to thoroughly re-write and organize what we have, and do something new and separate with AS? These are valid questions, but we’re not currently trying to answer them.

„Well, why not??“ Because we have a crushing amount to do already, frankly. I’m not saying we’ll never get there. It’s just a matter of priorities.

So, if we’re tighter about answering or discussing aerospace rules in the near future, don’t take it personally. We have seen the passion for aerospace that folks have, and it’s been borne out in the questions submitted tonight. But that passion deserves thoughtful consideration and formal response at the developer level, not a bunch of cocktail napkin ideas thrown toward you.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240827629100073060

Any plans for Fox Patrol merch like other mercs get? Patches, t-shirts, enamel pins, dice?

It’s possible, yes.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240830336355799040

Master Unit List

„Will more resources be allocated to either rebuilding the Master Unit List, or making a successor?“

Yes, it’s currently the focus of a fairly major digital project.

About a year or more ago, I asked Josh Perian, now our Associate Developer for Digital Projects, to evaluate the state of the MUL and what it would take to bring it „in-house“ in terms of hosted on CGL-controlled servers.

(Real quick, a shout-out to Joshua Franklin, Assoc Dev for Alpha Strike, as well as Sartris and the MUL team for their long, hard work in keeping the current MUL alive and turning it into what it is now.)

The short version is that the MUL began as a community tool, built and maintained on a volunteer basis. But the original person who built it and had the server space it was hosted on, had taken it as far as they were interested in taking it, so it was time to move it over to CGL servers. In doing so, Josh explained (over the course of many many intricate conversations, because I am a liberal arts major) that there was a great chance to rebuild the MUL in all new architecture to make it fly, and future proof it for further expansion and development.

So, a ground-up rewrite has taken place in .php, and it’s now in SQL not Azure. I’ve seen the beta, and holy crap is it fast, fast, fast.

There’s still some more work to be done, as well as internal planning on ongoing operation structure, making sure that the MUL is fully integrated into our development processes. But we expect to launch the new MUL in the next few weeks.

And when it launches, it will include Classic BT record sheets for Mech units, available for download–and, iirc, incorporated into the Force Builder just like AS cards are.

Last thing before we go back to Ray – I especially want to shout out Jeff Gordon, a web developer who has been working with Josh on this important project. You may know the name from his work with Savage Worlds digital tools.

Jeff has given far, far more than we deserve, and we are thrilled and honored that his incredible work will help ensure that the MUL remains the indispensible tool for all forms of BT play that it’s grown into. (And it shouldn’t crash right before tournament weekends anymore, either.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240830709787004979

When will the new SLDF Command Lance be available at other retailers?

Can’t asnwer this. We have a new production/traffic coordinator, and he’s still getting up to speed. This is in his wheelhouse if I understand correctly.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240834199540465664

I believe sellsheets for the new SLDF box went out, so the process is happening.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240834394495913994

Way back in 2019/2020 a set of new BattleMech blueprints where announced. The new special edition Universe book comes with a set of blueprints. Are these the same blueprints? if so will they be made available seperately?

Yes, it has been, and currently is, a matter of priority.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240834315672092714

When will the Tactical Companion app get further updates?

Can’t comment, I’ve heard totally contradictory things recently.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240834556773535815

Will we see the speed pick up moving forward with the ilClan Era? As it stands we been kinda stuck in the same 18 month period for the last 3 years and are still waiting on the final sourcebook.

Yes, the 18-month period was by design.

But no, we’re deliberatly going at a slow pace.

Getting the setting back in hand after Hour required going around the clock, segment by segment, to set up an actual new Era in all the various places. So we needed to cover the same calendar span in different areas.

Right, so in terms of product, I don’t know that we’ll do another cycle of „clock“ books, but the idea is not to plow through 15 in universe years in 5 years.

We don’t want to create opportunities for play and fiction, and then steamroll past them. As a fan of the setting, I can’t stand that.

Clan Nova Cat / Clan Protectorate Force Pack, when?

couldn’t say. Not on the long, long list at the moment.

https://discord.com/channels/1157414258133442710/1239689626248151101/1240838511700082728