Projects currently in development

Post by **Halaster Blackcloak** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:21 am

Here's what's happening with the Back In Print Project at the moment. We have several projects ready and more in the works!

Halaster's Monster Tome - Available now! (Future expansions coming soon!)
Caves of Sydwall Adventure - Available now!
Complete Illusionist Handbook - Awaiting development team - no current release date.
Curse of Lemora - Awaiting free time - no current release date.
Ruins of Undermountain III: The Deadly Levels - Coming March 2010!

I hope no one remembers my promise to publicly lynch myself if I don't have Curse of Lemora ready by July 4th!

Post by **McDeath** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:42 am

Wouldn't a back up clone of you be activated?

Post by **Halaster Blackcloak** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:18 am

Shhhh! I was going to simply lynch a clone and no one would know the difference!

Post by **Thorn Blackstone** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:22 am

I was looking really forward to Lemora, and I have lots of rope!

Just kidding Hal!

Well, maybe not!

Any word on when Lemora is coming out?

Also, wasn't there supposed to be an update for the Halaster's Monster Tome? Was it ever put into .pdf format?

Post by **Halaster Blackcloak** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:38 am

[Note to self: never mention lynching oneself for missing a deadline...people remember these things]

Let's see. I have a nice handful of monsters to add to the Tome, I just need an artist to render them. All I need to do is type it up in HTML and insert it. I'm just waiting to find the artists. I was going to ask Brannon (our Sydwall artist) to do it, but I can't access him because hs contact info is still on the damned crashed hard drive and I won't know until sometime in March whether or not I can recover it.

I really am going to get back into my old habit of backing everything up in hardcopy format, ie printing it up on paper and putting it in files!

Lemora I want to have ready for either July or October. If it's ready in time for July except for the art, I'll just release it without art and worry about that later. If it isn't ready by July, then I can still search for an artist until October and then if we still haven't found one, release it art-less.

Ruins of Undermountain III: The Deadly Levels I want done by October, but the real problem is finding an artist. That's the main hold up, and we can't release it without art. And we need a serious, dedicated artist who can bust his ass and come through in a timely manner.

So that's where everything stands right now. I'm hoping other people will have some projects of any size that they can share via BIP in the meantime.

Post by **Halaster Blackcloak** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:34 pm

Well, so far Ruins of Undermountain III: The Deadly Levels looks like it's running right on time. In fact, it may be out sooner than October. We'll see.

Curse of Lemora is looking really iffy for the July release date. It all depends on how much energy and free time I can muster. Right now it's so hectic finishing up the Ruins of Undermountain III: The Deadly Levels that I'm not sure I can devote any time to Lemora (or anything else) until after that. We'll have to see.

Complete Illusionist Handbook is pissing me off to the point where I just want to forget it. Three development teams and no progress. It seems to be a doomed project unless and until someone with the drive to really take over it steps up. I just can't devote any time to it.

Halaster's Tome of Monsters will be getting expanded shortly.

Still, overall we're forging ahead, which is good!

Post by **Varl** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:08 am

Halaster Blackcloak wrote: Complete Illusionist Handbook is pissing me off to the point where I just want to forget it. Three development teams and no progress. It seems to be a doomed project unless and until someone with the drive to really take over it steps up. I just can't devote any time to it.

Illusions are a tricky thing to decide upon. I have my own interepretations of how I run illusions, and I'm fairly certain not everyone would agree with how I run them, so creating an illusionists handbook based on my interpretations would be setting precedents moreso than your typical adventure product. Perhaps that's why people aren't getting into developing this handbook? I was going to use the time excuse, but that doesn't fly. We all need more time in a day.

I'm thinking we're starting to spread ourselves thin with these projects, and perhaps that's why some are being left high and dry. They're definitely commitments of time and motivation.

I've got an opportunity to get into a killer job working with friends with a new online company we've started up, and while that's going to take a lot of my time once it gets going, I'll still have some time in the evenings to dedicate to one project.

Post by **Zherbus** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:24 am

I have limited time to work on stuff. I added some ideas for feedback on Illusions but I felt like I was working alone. I barely get 20 minutes at a time to work on stuff before being pulled away.

Post by **Minstrel** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:30 am

Have you considered using a wiki? It's a terrific tool for collaborative works. You could set up the shell of the illusionists handbook, with blank pages for each chapter or section, and of course each page has a discussion page attached, so you could work out details on the actual class chapter where it's less "throw in a new spell in when you have a minute, we need X total for each level and here's a template" and more of a process.

Another good part is it makes it easier for people to just work on it 15 or 20 minutes at a time, and their work is right there immediately for feedback or editing.

I've got this idea of using one for a collaboratively designed dungeon, not on the scale of the Bloodstone Lands Project, but that's another story. Gotta keep my ambitions in check...

Post by **Varl** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:35 am

Mmm. A wiki. Good idea Minstrel. That'd be a good idea to consider, Halaster.

Post by **jeffx** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:26 pm

Halaster Blackcloak wrote: Complete Illusionist Handbook is pissing me off to the point where I just want to forget it. Three development teams and no progress. It seems to be a doomed project unless and until someone with the drive to really take over it steps up. I just can't devote any time to it.

Who is currently running this? I'll go read the scope. I don't spend enough time with D&D already. Maybe I'll contribute.

Post by **Zherbus** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:40 pm

I'm a developer (having written some spells and a kit, working on another kit and other stuff as I get time). I don't even know who is involved anymore.

Post by **Halaster Blackcloak** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:53 pm

Not real fond of a Wiki thing, as it changes the entire format of BIP (ie normal releases of supplements and adventures). I know Zherbus has been doing some work on the illusionist project, but aside from him I've forgotten who's even currently developing it. It's been that quiet and we've had so many people fall off the face of the earth that I just can't keep track.

It seems that every project needs a "team leader", so to speak, to keep things moving, to keep people motivated, etc. I myself have my hands more than full with just the Undermountain project, which is by itself far more work intensive than everything else combined. So it certainly can't be me fronting the illusionist book.

Unless I can actually clone myself, which would indeed be cool!

Post by **Halaster Blackcloak** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:25 am

Just updated the release dates in my original post.

Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:29 pm

Updated some release info, with a few changes and high hopes for being able to hit the deadline for Undermountain.