Ltheb Silverfrond said:
Hey Ltheb mate!
Too long amigo.
Not doing too bad thanks for asking, hope you have been keeping well yourself?
An interesting strategy, getting assistance in writing the book; As I recall, the 3E IH was written 'quickly', (Still was slow) but it was a series of editing updates that delayed the heck out of it. (And the art) Do you have a plan to minimize things of that nature?
My strategy for future books is for me to write say, 14 pages which will act as a sort of blueprint for the other writers. I'll give them 6 weeks to turn in their 14 pages. While they are writing I will do the interior art and commission the cover. I am working towards a quicker art style.
So hopefully a turnover of about 2 months per 64 page pdf/book will be (theoretically) possible.
The key is for me to have the work done first. I have a month off coming up in February (and again in May) so it should be fairly easy to keep ahead of the game.
Heck, what program do you use to publish? (It seemed like doing the edits for the IH caused alot of formatting headaches and so were difficult to input).
I recently upgraded to Adobe INDesign CS4. Considering I was using Pagemaker 6.5 previously thats a big step-up.
Getting a 'group' together to write a book like the IH is quite the undertaking.
Hopefully by writing my sections first I can 'compartmentalise' the work of the others, and give them enough ideas to act as a springboard for their own ideas.
Do you have the mechanical systems ironed out? (As I recall, scaling becomes difficult past epic tier without either rewriting the system, introducing more factors, or introducing absolutes)
I have the mechanics ironed out. From my investigations you don't need to make a lot of changes above 30th. In fact I think I have only made two.
I am very confident I have the Legendary Tier 'sussed'. I am however, worried about the Immortal Tier and (eventual) Sidereal Tiers. Should Dimensions replace Portfolios at the Immortal Tier or should they be saved for Sidereals only? Should Classes continue into the Sidereal Tiers or should something else replace those? etc.
Do you have a method of communication the writers can use to discuss their works while keeping your unique ideas 'in house'? (Good communication might help foster ideas, and drive the production speed along, and help squash bugs before they arise)
Well if we can all arrange (perhaps bi-weekly) meet dates on MSN Messenger I think we could iron out any problems.
Of course individuals can always be contacted via email.
Do you have a calender date to meet? (Really, stop laughing!)
I haven't even chosen the writers yet. I don't think a physical meet-up would be applicable.
Do you have any compilation concerns that need to be addressed before the book is put into motion? (Using a set of publishing software? A limited pagecount? Etc)
It would be nice if everyone was using a version of Adobe InDesign, but its not crucial. Copying and pasting (then tweaking) of about 14 pages won't take more than an hour at the most. So even if someone is sending in Word documents its not that much of an annoyance.
The page counts won't be set in stone, but I'd need a good reason for breaking them.
Playtest Considerations? (Its difficult to playtest just one part of the whole; If Person A writes good powers, but Person B introduces bad Feats/Class features, testing them separately might not show that)
If we get everything done in 6 weeks then we can have 2 weeks for each of us to read over it and comment on possible problems or design flaws.
It sounds like you definitely want to start out on a good note this time around;
I have so many ideas that its going to be a massive shame to waste them. Just for fun I worked out a schedule the other day and even assuming a book every 2 months I had enough ideas to take us up to 2020 or something like that. Obviously I don't see that happening, but it just gives you an glimpse into how many ideas there are waiting in the wings.
I'd offer to help, but I have little previous writing experience. I am quite familiar with 4E (Followed design since 3E, and have run a bi-weekly game since it was released; I design tons of custom stuff for my games which works out quite well). Also I am, as you know, familiar with your previous works and I think I have a good idea of the directions you might want to take this book.
As I always said, I don't consider myself anything more than a competent writer.
There are likely better writers and designers out there, but I do like designing and debunking, and the IH is one book I would like to see published.
Well I can throw you into the mix if you want. I won't be deciding who's in until probably December.
You have some good ideas U_K; I can't wait see them in print. (Though, due to the linear nature of time, without exercising transcendental powers, I guess I must wait...)
Every Achilles has a heel.
