September Chapters Update
over 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 28, 2023 at 07:21:50 AM

Hey, everyone!

Happy Autumn, friends! As the fall rolls in and the threat of winter begins to linger, we’ve been busy at Magpie Games HQ. It’s time for our monthly update and we are excited to show the progress happening!

Let’s dive in!

Chapter Update: September 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

• On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
• Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
• Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
• Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
• Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
• Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
• Art: art is added to the chapter.
  

Urban Shadows Chapters (Sept 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - writing
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - dev editing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - copy editing
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - proofing/art
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - developmental editing
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies - proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - layout
• Chapter 10: City Guides - Chicago (layout) + Santiago (writing)
• Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

For this month, we’re excited to say that the chapter writing for the core chapters are in great shape, and we are now working on the opening material we’ve held off on. We mentioned in previous updates that these sections are held until the end–which is now! Editing passes are being finished up on the core chapters. Things are looking great!

In addition, Chapter 9 is moving to layout this week, so we will have that chapter as a preview for you all next month (and some more exciting previews as well)! We know that the faction turn is an exciting new part of US2E, so we’ve been focusing on getting more information about that out to you all early for comment and proofing!

We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting—which will be very very soon—so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Thank you, as always, for your support and kindness. We are drawing ever closer to being able to send you a preview PDF of the book and the anticipation is intense! You’ve all been so kind despite the intense delays on this project and we just can’t wait for you see the finished chapters! Stay tuned and we’ll see you next month!

August Chapters Update
over 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 31, 2023 at 04:35:21 PM

Hey, everyone!

It’s the end of summer and it has been a busy August! We’re back from Gen Con where we ran a lot of Urban Shadows and got some great feedback from players! After a short break to recover from the convention, we’re here for our monthly update!

Let’s dive in!

Chapter Update: August 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

• On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
• Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
• Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
• Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
• Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
• Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
• Art: art is added to the chapter.

Urban Shadows Chapters (August 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - copy editing
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - proofing/art 
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - developmental editing
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies -proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - copy editing
• Chapter 10: City Guides -Chicago (layout) + Santiago (writing)
• Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

This month, we moved Chapter 4 all the way through layout to the proofing/art stage, as well as worked closely with our layout and art teams on purchasing the remaining art for the book. Several other chapters are close to the proofing/art stage, but they aren’t quite done yet. We’ll have previews of them as they are finished!

We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting—we’re getting close!—so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Chapter 4 Preview

We’ve finished the layout for Chapter 4, so we’re adding it here so you all can see the full instructions for character creation! You can get your copy of the new chapter preview via Backerkit’s digital download system. We’ve already pushed out the files to your account, and you should have received an email letting you know that the files are ready for download. If you didn’t, you can access them directly from Backerkit here:

https://urban-shadows-second-edition.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

Please let us know your thoughts! We’ve put a lot of time into figuring out the best way to convey the nuance of making a great Urban Shadows character, and we’re excited to hear your take on the material! If you have any feedback to send, please email us at [email protected] using the subject “US2E Feedback: Chapter 4”. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Thank you so much for your continued support! We’re so excited to have most of the chapters out of writing! Please let us know your thoughts on Chapter 4. We’ll be back next month with another update and more Urban Shadows news!

July Chapters Update
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jul 31, 2023 at 03:49:10 PM

Hey friends! Happy July! Things, as always, are busy at Magpie Games HQ! We are all headed to Gen Con and we hope to see you there! Let’s talk about what we got done in July!

Chapter Update: July 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

• On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
  
• Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
  
• Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
  
• Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
  
• Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
  
• Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
  
• Art: art is added to the chapter.
  

Urban Shadows Chapters (June 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - copy editing
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - layout
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - developmental editing
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies -proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - copy editing
• Chapter 10: City Guides -Chicago (layout) + Santiago (writing)
  Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

Just like last month, we’ve been focusing on Chapter 3. This heft chapter has moved out of developmental editing and into copy editing! That means that the content of the chapter is done and we’re having our copy editor work on any errors in the text that we didn’t catch! We’re so excited to get another chapter fully out of development and onto the next stage!

We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting, so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Join us at Gen Con!

Most of team are off to Indianapolis to join the chaos that is Gen Con! We’re running over 300 games over the weekend, an entire room devoted to Avatar Legends: the Roleplaying Game, a big booth in the main hall, and a game area in Lucas Oil Stadium! These three key locations are where you can find us if you’re attending and want to see us!

In Lucas Oil Stadium, you can play games! As we said, we’re running over 300 events. Almost all of them are sold out, but there are usually no-shows! If you don’t have a ticket and want to play, drop by at 10 AM, 2 PM or 6 PM when games start and we’ll try to slide you in!

At ICC 130, we’re selling our newest game: Avatar Legends: the Roleplaying Game! Check out this fun room where you can try the newest character creation tools from Demiplane, play in a 30 minute demo of the game with professional GMs, and take a selfie with Appa!

Finally, our big booth is #2745! We’ll be selling all sorts of games, like Root: the RPG, Wizard Kittens, Bluebeard’s Bride, and more! Come check it out and grab a game you haven’t tried yet!

We can’t wait to see you there!

Thank You!

Thanks once again for being such amazing backers! We will continue to move forward monthly and report to you what got done! Thank you as always for your insights and feedback. We really can’t stress how important this key aspect has been to this game’s development! We hope you have a great Summer and we’ll see you at the end of August!

June Chapters Update
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 01:33:49 PM

Hey friends! We hope you’re staying cool, playing games, and enjoying the summer months! Some of our team got to hang out and play games with a few of you at RinCon in Tucson recently! We had a blast rolling dice and hanging out with amazing gamers like you!

We’re back for another chapters update!

Chapter Update: June 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

• On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
  
• Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
  
• Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
  
• Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
  
• Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
  
• Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
  
• Art: art is added to the chapter.
  

Urban Shadows Chapters (June 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - developmental editing
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - layout
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - developmental editing
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies -proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - copy editing
• Chapter 10: City Guides -Chicago (layout) + Santiago (writing)
  Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

We’re excited to say that Chapter 3 is now in developmental editing. We’ve seen a fair bit of writing on a few other chapters but they aren’t quite ready to move to the next phase. As always, we’ll continue to keep you abreast of any changes or developments as we proceed!

We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting, so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Thank You!

We are excited to continue working hard to bring you Urban Shadows 2E! A huge thank you to all of you amazing backers, our Discord community, and the amazing folks who keep sending feedback! This game is going to be epic because of you! We’ll see you next month with more news!

May Chapters Update
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 31, 2023 at 01:00:41 PM

Hey friends! Welcome back to another monthly update! As we promised before, we’ll be doing monthly check-ins to let you know where the chapters are, what progress we’ve made, and what’s going on over at Magpie Games HQ! Let’s jump in!

Chapter Update: May 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

•  On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
   
•  Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
   
•  Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
   
•  Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
   
•  Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
   
•  Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
   
•  Art: art is added to the chapter.
   

Urban Shadows Chapters (May 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - writing
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - layout
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - developmental editing
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies -proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - copy editing
• Chapter 10: City Guides -Chicago (layout) + Santiago (writing)
  Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

As you can see, we haven’t moved any of the chapters in writing out of writing, which is a key focus for the team. While progress is being made, they aren’t complete yet, and so haven’t changed status. We are excited to say that we have brought on two writers to the projects who have previously been working on the Avatar Legends: the Roleplaying Game books! They’re jumping in immediately and we expect those chapters to be changing status shortly!

While the chapters aren’t finished, we’re excited about what writing was worked on in May. We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting, so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Thank You!

We are continually grateful for your kindness and support through this process. We’ll be back next month with more updates on what’s happening with the chapters, what we’ve been working, the progress we made, and any new developments! Have a great June and we’ll see you at the end of the month!