What?! You were expecting something else? Okay, but give me another hour or so...All right, maybe more than that... It is chore day, people. I have to wash, dry and fold all the clothes. Then I have to change fish tank water. Then it's off to shop for the groceries and put gas in the van. Not necessarily in that order.
Give me a little more time.
Meanwhile, amuse yourself watching this parody of MegaMan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aObes3Lzrdw&feature=related
It's got robots, so, ya know? Somewhat related, except for the last part. Heh.
Okay, got all that stuff done.
I have finally established reliable contact with our layout man. He has been catching up at work, attempting to do four weeks of work in two. Not easy – I’ve tried that myself (and was unsuccessfull; only managed to get three weeks worth done).
The holidays are upon us and the shoppers are in full cry – or as full a cry as they are going to get this year. I recently received the Ocelot II from Ian Stead, his final piece for the TRO. It looks good and is at the top of this blog. Click on it for a closer look.
David is finishing up various other projects and I have decided not to bother him until I am sure his other obligations are complete. He is working on the third interior plate and (hopefully) some black and white art.
Lee Madison has the remaining two projects – the Velite and the Striker II - still in progress. Meanwhile, he has received a portion of his payment in the form of old plastic models. These are the 1/48th scale Dougram TequilaGunner and the 1/72nd scale Destroid Tomahawk, along with some 1/72nd scale military vehicles and personnel for comparison. Took a while to get there, but I am sure it was worth the wait.
And that is all we are waiting on, guys. I went through the Ocelot II writeup and tightened it a bit, introducing a Riot Control Vehicle variant which I then ported over to the Record Sheet Annex. It now waits with the others. Christmas is not canceled, but my plans to release the TRO in time for Christmas certainly are.
I have a feeling the role-players are going to enjoy this TRO, mainly because we’ve got so many vehicles that approach the thirty-meter limit and thus, begin to cross over into RPG territory. Meaning, you might actually see (or drive) a Cortez during your adventures in the Inner Sphere.
I am having a hard time setting aside money to pay off my remaining artist commissions. It’s not just the season, it’s my having to get firewood and upgrade the car’s tires and replace worn cables and crap like that. To all of you – I am going to start sending it in smaller chunks. You will get it, just not all at once.
I bid reluctant goodbye to Eric and Ian – they’ve both been good artists, especially Eric, and their work, especially Eric’s, has pretty much re-written the standard for fan-made TROs.
As for printing the TRO? Well, it seems there are a few more people than I thought waiting for a copy – or expect one for their portfolio. I did a price check and discovered that printing an extra five copies will run $566 (as opposed to $478 for 20 copies). With a bit more effort, that’s what we’ll get – and there will be enough for everyone. They will be in the same format and binding as the company TROs.
Now to get back and take a look at a few more writeups. I need to make sure I catch all the crap – it’s been a bit disturbing, going into a writeup to answer a forum question and finding an awkward phrase lurking there. Still. After all this time and all this work.
Steve
6 comments:
Is it an hour yet?
Where did my original comment go?
Okay, you've had your hour, let's see what you've got?
Last week some *thing* came along and posted a generic comment, then linked it to a rip-off website. So I am requiring a captcha-style word and am moderating the posts.
Steve
I've been visiting here every couple of months to hear about progress and looking at the great mech/vehicle art in posts.
I just have to say it blows me away to hear that you are printing so few copies! I'd gladly pay twice what this is costing per unit for a work with this much great looking stuff in it - and throw in a donation to boot. And that is without even reading the descriptions and rules portions.
It surprises me that there aren't enough people that feel the same to warrant printing any more than 25.
Cheers!
I am sure you would pay twice what I am quoting for a copy. But would you pay - *could* you pay - the amount required for twenty-five copies? That is $566. And after shopping around quite a bit, it seems to be about the same no matter who I contact for a quote.
I have to put the money up front for those 25 copies, you see. I will probably recoup most of my costs in the end - after all, the copies are *reserved* for those people, not handed out gratis. If they decide to pass on their copy, I am sure there will be a market for it. I cannot afford to hand hundreds of dollars worth of TROs for free, not to mention the cost of shipping, just because the people participated in the project.
That said, yes, I am afraid most folks are sensibly waiting until they see the PDF version before committing their hard-earned dollars for a paper version, no matter how reasonably priced. After all, it's not like it is a canon book, regardless of the work we've put into making sure the material agrees with the current BT storyline.
Now, if someone at CG were to up and decide after reading the TRO that it was good enough to become canon, then you would see a flood of orders for paper copies. That will never happen, not if I live to be a thousand years old. The legal wrangle alone would probably not be worth CG's time, though they could conceivably purchase the entire thing, lock, stock and barrel. But the 'not invented here' urge is strong with them, and that's fine.
It's probably how I would feel, if I were in their boots.
Steve
Well I could - if we are just talking about financial wherewithal ;)
But just curious - is there anything stopping you from taking the money from those interested in advance, so you wouldn't be taking the ~$600 hit upfront yourself (or, as you say, be left with the chance of unpaid-for copies)?
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