State of the Realm Q2 2020 Update Coming Soon!
almost 4 years ago – Mon, Jul 06, 2020 at 09:02:41 PM

A very quick update to note that the IGS "State of the Realm" update for Q2 2020 will be coming shortly.  It's a bit overdue, as with July we're now technically into Q3, but I've been wanting to complete work on the Bestiary books, as well as to get some finalized artwork commissions from artists new and old, to provide a more well-rounded picture of things.

So much has happened so far in 2019 and 2020, between the much-longer-than-anticipated-to-lay-out Bestiary books, and of course the global pandemic, that my targets and estimates for most things in the pipeline are completely shot, and I'd like to provide an honest, updated sense of where things stand and what I'm working on, when.

As part of the State of the Realm, I'll be providing an updated estimate for all outstanding work.

So stay tuned... and as always, thank you for your patience and support!

Onward!

FlexTale v1.0 (re) Fulfilled
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Jun 19, 2020 at 02:48:26 AM

Hi all!  Just a quick note that as at least one backer noted to me recently that he never received a fulfillment copy of the currently-published FlexTale Encounter Generator v1.0, I just sent out a copy to all those entitled to one.

If you're entitled to v1.0, and you have still not yet received it from DriveThruRPG, please message me, email me, or comment below and I'll investigate ASAP.

Production Status

I'm still hard at work completing Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm, which is running behind, mostly due to the COVID-19 quarantine.  I'm on target to complete Volume 6 for 5E and P2E by the end of this month, so fingers crossed for more substantive updates in July regarding what this means for the timetable!

Onward!

Production Update: June 2020
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 09:08:42 AM

Hi all!  Just a quick update as to where things stand, particularly as we're into the June timeframe now.

Production Update

The short version is, I'm behind schedule.  I've just completed and published Volume 5 of the Bestiary books I've been working on, and I'm on target to complete Volume 6 by the end of the month.  The good news is that that's an incredible amount of monthly throughput; the bad news is that I've lost a few months now due mainly to the C19 pandemic and related implications.

What does this mean for FTEG 2?  It means it's delayed, but still very much a focus, but I have other prior commitments I need to wrap up before I'm able to dedicate full focus to it unfortunately.

The good news is that in parallel with finishing the Bestiary books, I've been continuing to develop all the tables and content I plan for the FTEG books, so it's hardly been idle time from the standpoint of this project. 

Depending on how quickly I can get the remaining stuff in the pipeline out the door, I may even publish a quick "version 1.5" of the FTEG core book which grants a lot of additional content as a stopgap thank-you for hanging in there during the delays.  I can attribute a lot of the delay--probably two whole months of time--to the impact of the quarantine, but it's a very stark reality that my estimation abilities are historically pretty awful to begin with, so there's that.  

Fulfillment of Current Version

For the many of you entitled to the current, version 1.0 of the FTEG Core book, you should have received your fulfillment copy many weeks ago; if for any reason you didn't receive it, please comment or message or email me and I'll resend it.

Conclusion

Thanks again for your support and interest... and patience!  Stay safe, and stay sane!

Onward!

Production Update: Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm Volume 4 for 5E & P2E Completed
almost 4 years ago – Sat, May 09, 2020 at 05:15:31 AM

Production Update

Just a quick note to announce that the next items in the pipeline, Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm Volume 4 for 5E/Fifth Edition and Pathfinder Second Edition, have been completed.  1,097 pages of crunchy goodness is all wrapped up.

If you're entitled to one or both of these, you should be receiving a notification from DriveThruRPG imminently with your free copy(ies).

Up next of course is Volume 5.  All told I've lost about 4-6 weeks of productive time to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I'm back at work full-tilt.  Based on the success of Volume 4, I would predict a reasonable ability to continue to pump out an additional volume every 4 weeks or so.

My plans for 2020 remain the same as when I announced the roadmap at the beginning of the year, I've just lost a bit of ground to the pandemic situation.  I'm still incredibly eager to finish ABRE and commence layout for the half-dozen-plus books on which work is entirely complete, so I expect to continue the current rate of churning out massive quantities of work every month.

As always during these bizarre times, I hope you are all staying safe and sane, and I thank you for your continued support, confidence, and well wishes.

Onward!

IGS, C19, & Production Update
about 4 years ago – Tue, Apr 07, 2020 at 09:45:54 PM

Hi all!  During these bizarre times, I hope that you and your families are staying sane and healthy, and that your lives and livelihood are as unaffected as possible.

I wanted to provide transparency as to how things have been going for Infinium Game Studio in the context of the global pandemic.  

TL;DR

The short version is that I've lost about 3-4 weeks of productive time, nearly entirely, from what I had been working on as my main focus.  However, I'm back online and being roughly as productive now as I had been prior to the quarantine situation starting.

The Situation: More Detail

For the past 3-4 weeks, I've been watching three young kids and taking care of my mother and mother-in-law so our older family members don't have to leave the house but are provisioned.  My wife has been finishing up her critical patient load so starting this week she can watch the kids at least half the time so I can be productive again.

Unemployment, reduced hours, and other factors have affected many of our family members and friends.   We're hardly alone in this, and truth to tell, we are extremely fortunate that one of us has a job that can be done 100% remotely, so we're better off than many who have been struck hard by the situation.

However, it's still an impact.  I continue to scrounge up every single minute and hour to throw at IGS work, and thanks to my new situation with my wife helping with the kids, I'm able to recover 3-4 hours per day, which is fantastic. 

But I've lost time.  I'll try to estimate what the impact to the timeline will be, but for the immediate situation, I've started Volume 4 of Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm for 5E and P2E editions.  Should be finished that by the end of the month at the latest.  I should be able to sustain that pace of two 500-page books per month for the foreseeable future.

The Good News

I've made available two "Quarantine Edition" bundles on DriveThruRPG, specifically for and to benefit those affected by the coronavirus crisis: one is a bundling of our four published mega-adventures, and the other is a Pathfinder-only assemblage of crunch.  Those have sold fairly well and all proceeds will be used to help friends and family affected by the crisis continue to manage life.

Also, my favorite RPG book reviewer, Endzeitgeist, has pored over many of our recent works and has found quite a lot to love.  As ever, his attention to detail unearthed some imperfections, and it's always useful to receive constructive critique.

In Closing

I greatly appreciate everyone who has sent me favorable and understanding messages over the past few weeks.  I realize that particularly for those without kids and under quarantine, this situation would benefit greatly from delivery of more of the products that you are owed.  

Despite the C19 delays over the past month, the outlook for 2020 I published earlier in the year remains solid, and remains the best outline of where things stand and where I expect them to be.

Please realize that despite the unprecedented craziness and anxious frustration of the situation, I continue to spend every available moment toward the goal of completing and delivering what I have committed to.  It's probably not an exaggeration to say that I have managed to remain sane largely because of the focus this work has given me, and I hope that for those who have received IGS products already, 

Roll20

One final note: given that many of my friends have much more free time these days, I've spun up a Dark Obelisk 1 game on Roll20.  I'm learning a great deal about the tool, and about what sorts of assets help a VTT experience.  As most of you know, we've always published standalone high-res map files with every adventure product, with an eye toward supporting VTT and remote play, but I realize already there are ways I can improve the experience in that regard.  More info as the situation develops, but it certainly is nice to play the adventures I've spent so much time creating!

Onward!