September 2024 Update
over 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 05, 2024 at 12:58:53 PM

The last of the commissioned art has been turned in - Yay! Last update I mentioned the Vehicle chapter, and it has been turned in. I've also finished composition of the the Spaceship and Travel chapter, which includes statistics for a variety of 4HU vessels, and turned it in for editing. I'm currently working on the Mercenary Operations chapter and finalizing the abstract mass combat system. Since this isn't a war game, it will be a high-level view to help Narrators and the Players resolve what's going on in a battle quickly without breaking out the sand table and rulers.

Those who follow me elsewhere may have seen I recently suffered an injury. I'm out of the hospital, home, and will be back at work by the weekend.

Colonels should have received instructions on how to submit their unit TOEs. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hopefully the next update will have even more good news as we close in on the goal line. 

Art Back On Track
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 02, 2024 at 12:08:32 PM

How about an update with only good news?

Our CASPer artist was able to get back to work and has nearly wrapped up all outstanding art. We have art for all eight Marks of CASPers, so readers and players will have a frame of reference for the evolution of Earth's iconic war machines.

Mark and I are continuing work on text. We just locked another chapter, and I'm almost done with the vehicle chapter, which will include our rules for building 4HU vehicles in Savage Worlds ranging from hover skiffs to dropships to the mighty Zuul fusion tank. The chapter includes a broad selection of vehicles, many from the books with Savage Worlds stat blocks.

With the commissioned art finished, we should see progress on layout as each chapter passes editing. I'm excited that the end of this project is growing closer, and we thank you all for your patience over the travails and roadblocks that have delayed getting this book into your hands.

Kill Aliens, Get Paid!

Going into May 2024
almost 2 years ago – Sun, Apr 28, 2024 at 11:52:45 AM

So where are we? On the text front, I just finished my draft for the last of what I call "super chapters" - Aliens. These huge chapters have 25k to 35k words. To give you a comparison, a typical 4HU novel is 100k to 120k words. This is also the last chapter that required heavy research, which slowed down the process. It goes to Mark for a continuity pass, then on to editing and layout.

How about art? We just received the final installment of alien art. That's the good news. The bad news is that our CASPer artist suffered a computer meltdown. It looks like the files can be salvaged from the hard drive as soon as she gets her replacement computer. Worse case scenario, she works in physical medium, so once she gets her new computer she can rescan the physical art.

To give you an idea of the CASPer art, I'm sharing the concept art thumbnails, which shows all the CASPers compared to each other for scale. This is the first public look at this art.

Hopefully the next update will see a wrap on text drafting and editing, and we'll be deep in layout. Lead the Charge!

February 2024 Update
about 2 years ago – Tue, Feb 27, 2024 at 02:24:28 PM

Tame? Don't say that in front of the Tortantula

Both art and text proceed slower than we'd like. The last two 'mega-chapters' - Setting and Aliens are almost done. Research has slowed me down on these, and they're pretty big for chapters - in the neighborhood of 30k words. That's because we want this to be useful as a guidebook for non-gaming 4HU fans as well as provide plenty of material for gamers.

It's also because there's a lot of material in the 4HU. Even though we've limited the timeline to the beginning of the Omega Wars, there's plenty of material included from after the last book in the Revelation Cycle. To write about and alien or world, I'd check multiple books for references, compile, and reconcile the information.

So where are we? We're closing in on the end of text work, and hopefully artwork will wrap soon. Then it's edits (for what hasn't already been edited - our editors tackles the chapters as we finish them), layout (already underway for completed chapters), and galley reviews (where we go over the layouts to check for any format artifacts/issues and double check for anything that might have slipped through edit passes).

Once we have those done, we'll set up the printing, and can begin delivery on electronic materials. As for printing production, that will be a whole new kettle of fish. We are printing in the US, so shipping won't be an issue.

What about the new Science Fiction Companion?

Pinnacle has launched a Kickstarter for the SWADE Science Fiction Companion. As much as I look forward to seeing what's in it, the new SCF won't have any impact on Rules of Engagement. First of all, it would slow us down to wait on it. Second, the 4HU has aliens, equipment, and rules specific to the setting. I'll be getting the SWADE SCF, but it won't affect RoE.

Valhalla Awaits!
 - Jon

The Field Briefing has Arrived!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 18, 2023 at 06:20:55 PM

We can't thank you enough.

We are aware of how much longer this has taken than we planned, and how wonderful our supporters are. With that in mind, we've put together something for you to enjoy.

The Field Briefing gives you a real feel for the nuts and bolts of the game we've created, including some aliens, weapons, and settings. Below you'll find the link to a page where you can download it. 

From Jon (Oz) Osborne, Mark and Joy Wandrey, we hope you like what we've put together, and the final game isn't far behind!

https://www.worldmaker.us/home/fieldbriefing

Password is CASPer

Enjoy!