UPDATE PRINTING, PDFS
almost 3 years ago – Thu, May 20, 2021 at 06:21:04 PM

Hello everyone,

PDFS

Well, the maps are ready. Although they won't be PDFs. We realized the majority of folks will want to use the maps in VTTs or on screens and PDFs are not idea for that. So I've created the maps as JPEGs. Each map has a grid on it set at 75 dpi. I'll release these maps as soon as I've gotten the all clear from Backerkit. 

PRINTING

We had a one week delay as the printers offered us an alternative lamination process which seemed to make the maps look clearer as it was a matt coating. After getting the samples however, we discovered that the matt not only did not make the maps clearer, but also did not erase dry or wet markers as easily. 

However, that is now behind us, and the books have gone for print. It is a great day when the books hit print, and also a terrifying day! 3000 books will be printed, laminated, hand-folded, and bound. 

SHIPPING

Once the books are finished being produced they are being sent to two distribution hubs - one in the USA and one here in the UK. From there, the distribution teams take over and you'll get your books as soon as possible. 

Thank you again for your tremendous support on this project, 

Guy, Martin and Derrick. 

The Maps are at the printers!
almost 3 years ago – Wed, May 12, 2021 at 04:15:46 PM

Hello!

I have great news to report to you all.  

BACKER KIT CLOSES

You may have received an email by now from Backerkit informing you that the backerkit will close on the 12th of May. This means that you won't be able to upgrade your pledges any further. 

You WILL still be able to update your delivery address until the 20th of May. 

IF YOUR DELIVERY ADDRESS HAS CHANGED OR WILL CHANGE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS PLEASE UPDATE IT NOW!

We will not be held responsible for books shipped to old or wrong addresses if you supplied the wrong address. 

CREDIT CARD RUNS

We will run the credit cards/accounts on the 21st of May. Once the credit cards have been run by Backerkit, you will not be able to change your details, delivery address and so on. It will all be locked. Please make sure everything is correct. 

GONE TO PRINT

It is with great joy that I now present a short photographic essay of our work on Friday at the printers in the UK. 

Martin and I spent a long afternoon on Friday setting out the printer master. OK, ok, Martin did the setting out, I was just there to take photographs and check that the maps looked good. 

Each book contains 30 maps. Each map is made using 2 separate pages. Some maps are folded three times, some twice. Both sides of the page contain maps and so much be aligned and bound in the correct sequence. 

Once all of the pages were lined up, the guys at the printing company bound the books together for us. One master copy for them, and one master copy for us. 

These pages in the photos are not yet laminated, that's step two of the printing process. The printer machines are an impressive stack of 12 print-heads which do their thing. 

We had to check everything we could to make sure the books are ready. Here are two books put side by side for a 70 inch long jungle crawl to a forgotten temple. 

At the end of the day, we signed off on the books and handed over the master copy to the Print Master - Andy (nice guy). The book is now in the processing phase. 

More updates to follow...

Regards,

Guy, Martin, and the team

UPDATE 29.04.21 Why we were silent...
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 01:29:08 AM

Hello everyone! 

Here is our update, which I think some of you will really like, and all of you should be excited for! 

PRINTING

Next week Monday the book goes to print! Well, digital print. We'll get on Thursday next a digital reproduction of the book to check once and for all. I'll be taking a train down to the printers and will be meeting up with Martin (with Covid safe PPE) to do the final check. Thereafter, the book goes into the full print run of over 3000 books! 

SHIPPING

The biggest reason why we've been so quiet is because we have been trying to navigate the very, very murky waters of international shipping. I'll spare you the details but suffice it to say, it has literally taken three weeks for us to sign up a new shipping partner for the USA and Canada. This means backers in the USA, Canada and some other parts of the world will see - when you head to the backerkit - a significant drop in shipping price!

I wish I could say - shipping a cargo container of books from the UK to the US is easy... is isn't, and you'll get 20 quotes that are all totally different. Derrick - who is handling all the shipping - has been working flat out to find the best and most reliable shipping options for us. 

Backerkit and Pledge Manager

We are at 91% complete on the pledge manager, so if you haven't finalized your pledge yet, please do so. If you have already finalized, and you live in the USA, your savings on shipping could be used to upgrade your pledge, or to add another book, so please just check and update as required. 

Home Stretch

Printing and shipping is the last step on this journey and we're hoping to have it all wrapped up by no later than the end of June. We have learned a lot, we have grown ... older and perhaps wiser and we want to thank each and every one of you for supporting the project. 

Happy gaming,

Guy, Martin, and Derrick.

UPDATE AND QUESTION!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 14, 2021 at 03:21:11 AM

Hello all,

We have been working as fast as possible on the maps and the book, and on the difficulties that COVID seems to be throwing at shipping. No one can give us clear answers and we want to make sure that whatever we do, we do it right! I'll keep you posted as soon as I know more on that front. 

QUESTION

Below is the first glimpse of the battlemaps in all their glory.. these are the 'town' maps all combined together. The critical thing to bear in mind is that I designed these to fit in a specific pattern, however, you are free to place them in any shape you like or orientation you like. The question we have for you is: 

DO YOU WANT US TO INDICATE ON EACH MAP HOW IT FITS INTO THE BIG PICTURE OR NOT?

Let us know in the comments below!

You wouldn't need a map this big all in one go, and if you did you'd need 6 copies of the book... this just gives you an idea of how it all works. This is the largest "combo" map grouping. The other map collections are usually 2 or 3 maps. 

ALL THE MAPS WORK AS STAND-ALONE MAPS AND ALL BOOKS CONTAIN THE SAME MAPS

You do not need to buy multiple books to get all the maps, every book has them all. It's only if you want to make massive layouts that you'd need more than books. 

GRIDLESS

Although the printed books will all have a grid that we've designed, the PDF versions of the maps for use in VTTs will be gridless allowing you to add any grid you like. The maps are designed at 1 inch equals a 1 square. 

TIMELINES

We are still on track and everything is progressing forward as we have planned it to. Once we know your answer to the question above we can finalize the maps and send them off to printing!

Until the next update,

Happy gaming,

Guy, Martin and Derrick

EPIC BATTLEMAPS UPDATE 30,03,21
about 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 02:23:07 PM

Hello folks! 

Just finished my meeting with Martin from layout. The book is looking super cool with all the maps in. I can't wait to showcase some of it with you in the near future. At the moment, it's covered in bright pink stickers! 

These stickers denote changes I need to make to the maps due to the ring-binder, or color changes or minor issues here and there. So I've got those notes and over the next week or so I'll be making all those corrections as fast but accurately as possible. 

After that, Martin replaces the maps and we'll be ready to rock and roll! It'll be off to the printers and then distribution. 

Speaking of which, if you haven't finished the backer survey yet, please look to do so soon. As you can see we're moving forward at pace on the final product and won't be able to ship until we have all your details. If you need to change your details, I believe you can still do that in the backer kit survey section.  Some of you have sent through change of addresses already, and I'll be double checking before we ship anything anywhere to make sure things are right. 

Thank you all for your patience and support, 

Regards

Guy and the team