Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 moogle001 Jul 15, 2003 0:34:35	Well I've dropped off my updates, so I figured I'd let you guys know whats going on. I haven't made any progress updates recently mainly because we're trying to wrap up a lot of stuff at this point. It doesn't look like we'll have the entire book ready for GenCon due to the additional flavor text, even though that has been moving at a great rate in thanks to a couple of talented bloods. Instead I imagine we'll have the character, faction, feat, and skill sections sprused up so they can be used by the DM's there. The campaign book itself is not far off, and when you see it you'll know why its taken us so many months now. I'm estimating it'll be between 200-300 pages long, rivaling the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting itself! :D Also we have a talented webmonkey working on getting the website up and going, and so a new and final version of the planewalker site should be showing up as soon as she gets access to the server.
#2 weenie Jul 16, 2003 3:34:04	Erm... any word on estimated file size? I have a 33.6 modem connection... Also, are we going to see more faction previews, or anything like that?
#3 zombiegleemax Jul 16, 2003 4:12:12	Originally posted by Weenie Erm... any word on estimated file size? I have a 33.6 modem connection... Yay!! I get to call myself a webmonkey now!! *makes monkey sounds and insists on getting paid in bananas* ;) And regarding those with modems of ill health... there's a reason I've been riding moogle001 to make sure to split the book into sections to make for an easier download. I know what the size of a pdf of a book like say the FR base book is. (Not that I've seen the pdf or anything...) And since it's more than enough to write a modem user into the deadbook, so I'll be putting my input on that end of things.
#4 zombiegleemax Jul 16, 2003 5:32:55	Depending on the design (and by this I mean especially backgrounds and other embellishments) and resolution, I'd say that they could have anything from 5 MB to about 20 MB. If they're going for a 'printable' ebook style, I'd say that a modem could handle the file, given a few hours of good connection.
#5 Shemeska_the_Marauder Jul 16, 2003 12:03:20	*throws Bananas at the webmonkey girl thing* And I apologize in advance for the modem death sure to ensue from my bits and pieces. I didn't write for brevity... you expect the King of the Crosstrade to be brief? *polite chuckle* Expect good things, everyone's work looks awesome from what I've seen.
#6 moogle001 Jul 16, 2003 16:38:16	An .rtf version will be available for those wishing a speedier download (in fact the .pdf format will probably come a while later).
#7 weenie Jul 21, 2003 14:33:51	Originally posted by Bast I've been riding moogle001 to make sure to split the book into sections to make for an easier download. I know what the size of a pdf of a book like say the FR base book is. (Not that I've seen the pdf or anything...) The pdfs you're talking about are scans, that's why they go into the 70+ MB range... (the largest ones I've seen were Call of Cthulhu and d20 Modern Core, both over 100 MB). When people do OCR, the size usually drops several times. With "normal" pdfs, I'd be surprised if you go over 20 MB, pics and all... and I never quite understood what split sections have to do with speed if you're using some download utility. Just get it done already!
#8 zombiegleemax Jul 23, 2003 20:40:51	Just wait, if they release it too soon there may be mistakes. I would rather see it released when they feel it is ready.
#9 saurstalk Jul 24, 2003 11:51:55	Originally posted by Dracon Just wait, if they release it too soon there may be mistakes. I would rather see it released when they feel it is ready. In part, I agree. However, there are bound to be mistakes. That's because the drafters cannot account for every variance of "rules approach" that comes up in play. We will be the ultimate play-testers. Because this is free, there's no push for solid deadlines. However, when the team feels like they've got the workings of a seemingly complete project, I'd encourage them to let it fly and let us all play test it to hell. I imagine I'll actually invest in some piles of color ink jet cartridges, good quality paper and maybe even get mine bound. But I'll probably wait for a few months after release just to see whether any problems arise, that is, after it's been play-tested.
#10 zombiegleemax Jul 24, 2003 12:08:47	Originally posted by Saurstalk In part, I agree. However, there are bound to be mistakes. That's because the drafters cannot account for every variance of "rules approach" that comes up in play. We will be the ultimate play-testers. Because this is free, there's no push for solid deadlines. However, when the team feels like they've got the workings of a seemingly complete project, I'd encourage them to let it fly and let us all play test it to hell. I imagine I'll actually invest in some piles of color ink jet cartridges, good quality paper and maybe even get mine bound. But I'll probably wait for a few months after release just to see whether any problems arise, that is, after it's been play-tested. That's what I plan on doing. I plan to print it off for all of my friends, & if it is particually good - get it bound.
#11 manowater989 Jul 27, 2003 22:35:00	Yes, but you have to remember a good campaign book is more than just rules, just as important is all the so-called "flavor text", illustrations, and descriptions of creatures and places that give it it's flavor. These are the things that made Planescape popular in the first place, like they say it's about Ideas not Dice. I hope you're not neglecting everything that gave Planescape it's particular feel and texture, that's far more important than Skills and Feats. So what's the moral?: just cuz it's an online release, dont neglect your illustrations, your quotes, your feel. Try to make it come alive with vibrant descriptions of the sights, sounds, textures and flavors of the Planes, and for gods' sake try to get DiTerlizzi to illustrate!
#12 moogle001 Jul 28, 2003 1:11:02	I'm afraid popular artists do not work for free.
#13 manowater989 Jul 28, 2003 15:41:55	Ok fine, so don't get DiTerlizzi to do the drawings, but will you at least do all the other stuff?
#14 Shemeska_the_Marauder Jul 28, 2003 15:59:51	The material is being released somewhat piecemeal, and it just happens that the material thus far released is more game mechanics and numbers than flavor text and descriptions. Trust me, it's all on the way and the folks working on everything from the factions to the gatetowns are talented and fully aware of the feel of the setting. And I must say from what I've seen, they're doing it more than justice. Just be a little patient and I think you'll be more than pleased. Sigil is on the way, 100+ pages of fluffy, descriptive goodness. As far as the art goes, I've had the chance to see some of the art done thats not up on the preview page so far, and it looks really nice. I've tried my darndest to get one artist on board, and possibly one other, and they're not small talents. It's hard however to get folks to do art for free. However as either personal favors in some cases, or free advertisement for their art ability or my favorite, love of the setting, we've got artists doing illustrations. And they look nice.
#15 zombiegleemax Jul 28, 2003 16:03:30	It seems like the last release was mostly put out to allow people to play 3e Planescape at Gen Con. Understanding this, I would not be suprised by the fact that it is majority numbers & stats.
#16 manowater989 Jul 28, 2003 16:34:41	Well, do you guys (Planewalker.com peeps) want me to try to get "popular artists" to work for free? I could be like your Begging Director. Maybe I could have better luck than you guys by, y'know, appealing to their sense of charity?
#17 manowater989 Jul 28, 2003 16:42:58	If you did get professional artists to do pics, tho, you probably still wouldn't replace the ones submitted by fans, even if they were a bit, um, 6-year-oldish, just so as not to be rude, am I right? Also, I'm just curious: remember how in the original DM's Guide To The Planes, there was a short write-up of each plane, with more detail being promised in later expansions? Well, is the 3E Campaign Book going to have short info on all the planes, maybe even includng the never-before-official Ordial Plane? And also, while I'm on that topic, are you eventually planning 3E conversions of Planes Of Chaos, Planes Of Balance, Inner Planes, and all those?
#18 saurstalk Jul 28, 2003 18:17:40	Originally posted by Shemeska the Marauder The material is being released somewhat piecemeal.... Does this mean that there won't be a final download for the entire package deal? Or is it that it's only being released piecemeal as sections get finished, but once the entire thing's done, it'll be formatted for a single download? Just curious.
#19 moogle001 Jul 28, 2003 18:53:06	There will be a final compiled version in .pdf format with artwork once we've finished everything and our reasonably sure there won't be any more corrections. No point in going through the extra work if we're going to have to do it over and over again. In regards to the flavor information, as mentioned there is a good portion of material written that will provide a complete guide to Planescape for any players, with size easily rivaling the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. This material will likely not be released until the end because 1) it takes more work to tweak game issues and thus that has been the focus of the groups, 2) the flavor aspect of Planescape is my greatest concern and is something that will continue to require a lot of discussion, and 3) as most people who are Planescape fans have Planescape material already, the game mechanics are the essentials needed for a Planescape campaign at the moment. As to our future plans, tons of ideas have been thrown around in the past about future products, but they have been put on the back burner as we focused on the campaign setting. Right now I am most concerned with "reviving" Planescape..and that will likely be a process all its own. But to be certain we do have plans for additional products after the Planescape setting.
#20 manowater989 Jul 28, 2003 19:03:48	Alright, well, that sounds good. I suppose I have nothing to worry about, except you didn't answer my question about wether there would be breif descriptions of each plane in this Forgotten Realms-rivaling campaign book. I'm just curious, what do you think will be the next chapter or section you will release?
#21 zombiegleemax Jul 28, 2003 21:50:50	can you at least post what you've got for the descriptions of the factions? i'm a planescape newbie, and i want to learn more about the background.
#22 moogle001 Jul 30, 2003 15:04:19	I'm working on the faction drafts as we speak. Hopefully they'll be released within a week.
#23 wyvern76 Jul 31, 2003 5:17:07	Originally posted by Shemeska the Marauder As far as the art goes, I've had the chance to see some of the art done thats not up on the preview page so far, and it looks really nice. I've tried my darndest to get one artist on board, and possibly one other, and they're not small talents. It's hard however to get folks to do art for free. However as either personal favors in some cases, or free advertisement for their art ability or my favorite, love of the setting, we've got artists doing illustrations. And they look nice. That reminds me of something I meant to comment on earlier... IIRC, you had some sample pieces up at planewalker.com before the last remodeling. Whatever happened to it? I was very impressed when I saw that Claudio Pozas was one of the artists. He's definitely not a small talent. I'd seen the Planescape pics on his site before, but I didn't put two and two together. Wyvern
#24 wyvern76 Jul 31, 2003 5:24:18	Originally posted by Manowater989 Alright, well, that sounds good. I suppose I have nothing to worry about, except you didn't answer my question about wether there would be breif descriptions of each plane in this Forgotten Realms-rivaling campaign book. No, it's going to consist of 250 pages of baatezu recipes. Wyvern
#25 moogle001 Jul 31, 2003 11:14:00	Yes, there will be a description of the majority of the planes somewhat larger than that found in the Planewalker's Handbook, but shorter and more directed at players than the Manual of the Planes.
#26 saurstalk Jul 31, 2003 12:23:11	Originally posted by moogle001 Yes, there will be a description of the majority of the planes somewhat larger than that found in the Planewalker's Handbook, but shorter and more directed at players than the Manual of the Planes. As if I wasn't curious before! Not to rush things, but could you give us an update as to where things stand overall? I.e., for each chapter of the book, how near to completion are you? And could you identify what each chapter is and entails? (I'd love to see a "draft" Table of Content" and how far along you are with each section within the Table.) Thanks.
#27 moogle001 Aug 04, 2003 2:11:23	Originally posted by Saurstalk As if I wasn't curious before! Not to rush things, but could you give us an update as to where things stand overall? I.e., for each chapter of the book, how near to completion are you? And could you identify what each chapter is and entails? (I'd love to see a "draft" Table of Content" and how far along you are with each section within the Table.) Thanks. I'm afraid you'll have to be kept in the dark on such matters. Whatever I told, it'd probably take longer anyways, such are the ways of deadlines ;)