Howdy!
Welcome back! We have been hard at work on the TRO, doing most of the work in layout mode while the last of the art is completed and paid off.
Progress…
- Bill has revamped his computer after a hard drive crash. He is re-installing Photoshop so we can fix the text errors on the back cover (they look like crap) and re-build the front cover with new art and a header more to our liking.
- We corrected the writing errors as noted in the last blog post. However, there were serious errors in the numbers, most due to the way the design program rounded up armor points (instead of rounding them down, as is now the norm). Donald Hawkins not only made a large contribution to the art fund through the PayPal button, he tracked down all the numerical errors, eleven pages in all. There were also issues with the numbers mentioned in the writeup not matching what was in the actual technical data. Don also nailed those. I have finished entering all the errata he spotted.
- We converted all the text from Times New Roman to Myriad Pro, to conform more closely to standard TRO formatting. The font remains 9 point for easier reading.
- We still have issues with the OmniMech and OmniTanks. It has to do with pod space and allocation. We are working out the details with Don and John Baker, and they should be done pretty soon. As always, real life takes priority.
- We are, at long last, finished with individual art pieces. The last piece (by Stephen Huda) was done for a secret Bonus Entry at the end of the Art Section. All I can say is that it is Capellan and intended for the Trinity Alliance.
- The Art Section is some forty pages of sketches, miniatures and pieces that were finished but never made it into the TRO due to format changes. It represents a lot of money wasted otherwise, so I put it all together for your viewing pleasure. I am told by the handful of people who have seen it that it represents a very unique look at the game and the process of creating a TRO. We think you will enjoy it.
- I am not going to update the MUL with the new BVs – the difference in most cases is a matter of one or two points due to the addition or removal of a single point of armor. Not worth the time and effort.
- We are working with Denis Pottkämper in Germany to create new-style Record Sheets – the HM series of programs offer only the old style and I want to keep this TRO firmly aligned with the look and feel of more recent company offerings. The Record Sheets are going to be bundled in a separate PDF – the web version of the TRO already takes up more than 45 megabytes. These Record Sheets will feature the artwork found in the TRO and will include every variant mentioned in the writeups (well, excepting the failures).
Welcome back! We have been hard at work on the TRO, doing most of the work in layout mode while the last of the art is completed and paid off.
Progress…
- Bill has revamped his computer after a hard drive crash. He is re-installing Photoshop so we can fix the text errors on the back cover (they look like crap) and re-build the front cover with new art and a header more to our liking.
- We corrected the writing errors as noted in the last blog post. However, there were serious errors in the numbers, most due to the way the design program rounded up armor points (instead of rounding them down, as is now the norm). Donald Hawkins not only made a large contribution to the art fund through the PayPal button, he tracked down all the numerical errors, eleven pages in all. There were also issues with the numbers mentioned in the writeup not matching what was in the actual technical data. Don also nailed those. I have finished entering all the errata he spotted.
- We converted all the text from Times New Roman to Myriad Pro, to conform more closely to standard TRO formatting. The font remains 9 point for easier reading.
- We still have issues with the OmniMech and OmniTanks. It has to do with pod space and allocation. We are working out the details with Don and John Baker, and they should be done pretty soon. As always, real life takes priority.
- We are, at long last, finished with individual art pieces. The last piece (by Stephen Huda) was done for a secret Bonus Entry at the end of the Art Section. All I can say is that it is Capellan and intended for the Trinity Alliance.
- The Art Section is some forty pages of sketches, miniatures and pieces that were finished but never made it into the TRO due to format changes. It represents a lot of money wasted otherwise, so I put it all together for your viewing pleasure. I am told by the handful of people who have seen it that it represents a very unique look at the game and the process of creating a TRO. We think you will enjoy it.
- I am not going to update the MUL with the new BVs – the difference in most cases is a matter of one or two points due to the addition or removal of a single point of armor. Not worth the time and effort.
- We are working with Denis Pottkämper in Germany to create new-style Record Sheets – the HM series of programs offer only the old style and I want to keep this TRO firmly aligned with the look and feel of more recent company offerings. The Record Sheets are going to be bundled in a separate PDF – the web version of the TRO already takes up more than 45 megabytes. These Record Sheets will feature the artwork found in the TRO and will include every variant mentioned in the writeups (well, excepting the failures).
- MekWars: Legends (an online BattleTech game) has begun adding the machines from this fan TRO to their list of available equipment. Let me know if you need more information, guys!
[Click on the image for a closer look]
My apologies for the lack of art – we usually have more available, but we really are coming to a close here. I am looking at the end of March with fingers crossed.Finally, my heartfelt thanks goes out to a BattleTech fan who is currently in Afghanistan. He donated $250 through the PayPal button and enabled me to pay off nearly all the remaining art in one shot. Thank you, Jeffrey! I hope you enjoyed your look at the latest Prototype (v9.2).
Thanks for stopping by.
Steve
2 comments:
Hi Steve,
I’ve been away from the blogosphere for a while, so you may have answered this question, but I bet there may be others interested in reading the answer to the following question. How do you plan on distributing copies of this wonderful “not for profit” TRO once it goes to press? I ask because I definitely will buy one when they are ready. Thank you for bringing this project to fruition.
Jason
http://reinwood99.blogspot.com/
I plan to offer three packages - the TRO proper, the Record Sheets and the "Art of the TRO". They will be bundled in a zipfile and you can download them for free. You cannot buy them because they are not for sale!
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