Thank you for an Amazing Kickstarter!
That was an amazing 30-day trip through space! In the last few minutes of the Seven Worlds Kickstarter we achieved enough escape velocity to break the $20,000 line by just 24 dollars! And that means everyone's getting a new, to-be-written short adventure set in the universe of the Seven Worlds!
The Seven Worlds Kickstarter is now officially over. As a result of your support, today according to Kicktraq we broke two records:
- The Seven Worlds Kickstarter is now the #2 all-time most-funded third-party Science-Fiction setting for Savage Worlds (behind Interface Zero), and #4 counting Pinnacle Kickstarters (RIFTS and The Last Parsec).
- The Seven Worlds Kickstarter is, as of today, in the top-five most-funded all-time Savage Worlds Kickstarters run by a third-party (not Pinnacle).
And now, after spending thirty-days in space, we've finally landed, and now we're again under the effects of planetary gravity. Don't worry, all Seven Worlds ships have gravity-gyms (G-Gyms), so you've had enough exercise to help you cope with this. So, you may be asking yourselves, what happens now?
Well, first of all, the last 24 hours of the Kickstarter were notable not only because the game got funded. I regret to inform you that in those last 24 hours Seven Worlds became outdated.
"Outdated?!? What are you talking about? The thing just got funded!"
Yep! One of the joys and challenges of creating a realistic science-fiction game is that science changes so quickly and so much. And two days ago astronomers announced the discovery of a new world, orbiting nearby red dwarf star Ross 128, that might be appropriate for Earth-like life. This kind of thing has happened several times since I "finished" writing Seven Worlds, most recently with the January discovery of a planet around Proxima Centauri b. In this last case the planet seems to be too bombarded by radiation to be habitable, but Ross 128b looks more promising.
So what now? Do we change the name of the game to EIGHT Worlds? Do we need to change the history of mankind's ascension to the stars?
Well, the good news is, we have several stretch goals to produce, including two archetypes and now (by a stretch goal achieved minutes before the Kickstarter ended) a new adventure. Several people have been asking for more details about the archetypes. I don't want to give them since I have not written them yet but the discovery of Ross 128b has given me several ideas.
So, in a nutshell: If you are one of those people who likes your science-fiction games to be updated to the latest, I'm happy to share that we're going to find a way to leverage the archetypes and/or the adventure to update Seven Worlds to consider the two-day-old discovery of Ross-128b! (please don't ask me how yet).
There! Seven Worlds is not obsolete anymore. Instead, it'll be the most scientifically-up-to-date game on the market! Isn't science great?
"Ok, for real now: What's next?"
First, enjoy the sights and sounds of being on a new planet. In other words, thank you for this amazing level of support!
Then, now comes the part where I work and you wait. There are Kickstarter pledges to collect, surveys to send (so we get the names you want to appear in the backer pages of the PDF and Print Setting Guides), PDFs to finish and publish for all of you, stretch goals to write and deliver, and much more!
My most urgent goal is to get the PDF Setting Guide in the hands of all valid backers as quickly as I can! In order to do this the following needs to happen:
- Kickstarter needs to clear all pledges and collect funds from backers. This takes about two weeks.
- In the meantime, I need to get your name as you want it to appear in the Setting Guide backer pages, as well as your email address to receive it via DriveThruRPG. Expect to receive a survey soon.
- As soon as I have final backer email addresses and Kickstarter's final backer list, I'll send you the Setting Guide PDF.
Rest assured that I'm constantly looking for shortcuts in this process, so you can get the PDF even faster. Stay tuned.
Once the Setting Guide PDF is in your hands, the next activities (in parallel) will be:
- Working the logistics of printing Setting Guides, and getting shipping information and payment to get them to you. As you know, we've unlocked the offset-print-run stretch goal, which means print backers will receive hardcover books, and we should have stock to send to stores.
- Starting the distribution of the Campaign modules, one every two-to-four weeks. You should get them in PDF from DriveThruRPG as well.
- Starting the production of the missing stretch goals, such as the two new archetype characters, Fate Accelerated conversion document, GM screen, the new adventure, and others.
- Finally, working out the logistics of printing Campaign Guides and shipping them, along with printed starmaps, to all Epsilon-level backers. These will be needed once all seven modules are distributed.
I'll keep you updated on the progress of these activities, as well as on any hiccups should they occur.