ZEITGEIST Zeitgeist going by the wayside

[Sedric the Hero]

I'm starting to think you guys don't care about Zeitgeist anymore. Adventure 7 is long overdue...and I'm wondering if I've wasted my money paying for this. Any idea when the next adventure will be out?

 

[RangerWickett]

ZEITGEIST is all I'm working on. Adventure 7 is in layout right now. 9 is being written, 8 is nearly done. I've got the text for the compilation mostly complete for the 4e version.

It is overdue. I'm disappointed that I did not finish the text of 7 fast enough to get it in layout when I originally wanted, but I'm working to catch up to try to maintain the schedule we set back in the summer.

 

[Morrus]

If we didn't care about it, all 13 adventures would have been released in the first six weeks!

I promise you that every instalment is obsessed over and crafted to the very limits of our ability. Ryan writes the very best he possible can, and I (personally) feel that shows. Eric's layout is painstakingly crafted. We get the very best art done that we can.

Ryan could have sent it to layout earlier - but it wouldn't be as good. I promise you that we care about Zeitgeist more than you can possible know, and we hope that as a result we're producing work that ranks amongst the very finest there is.

 

[Truename]

If we didn't care about it, all 13 adventures would have been released in the first six weeks!

I promise you that every instalment is obsessed over and crafted to the very limits of our ability. Ryan writes the very best he possible can, and I (personally) feel that shows. Eric's layout is painstakingly crafted. We get the very best art done that we can.

Ryan could have sent it to layout earlier - but it wouldn't be as good. I promise you that we care about Zeitgeist more than you can possible know, and we hope that as a result we're producing work that ranks amongst the very finest there is.

I agree. I've avoided reading much of Zeitgeist, because I'm hoping to be a player in it some day, but the stuff I have seen is top-notch. Amazing production values and the first adventure was perhaps the best 4e adventure I've read. It blew me away, and this is coming from someone who's known and loved Ryan's work on WotBS. I loved it the work you guys are putting into it so much, I sprung for the three-book hardcover set. Even if I don't ever run it or play it, I expect it to make a beautiful coffee table piece.

So I say this with the utmost love and respect: I think you're falling into *the* classic scheduling mistake: you're telling people to expect stuff according to when you hope it will be done, seasoned with a dash of estimating based on things going well. But things never go well. The only real way to schedule is to look how long it has *actually* taken in the past, including the weird, never-gonna-happen-again delays. That's how long it will take. There will be no catching up; different never-gonna-happen-again delays will occur. There never is; they always do.

So, it's taken, what, 4 or so months per adventure so far? That's what I expect it to keep on taking. Personally, I'm okay with that. Keep putting out amazing work. I'll wait.

 

[Ajar]

So I say this with the utmost love and respect: I think you're falling into *the* classic scheduling mistake: you're telling people to expect stuff according to when you hope it will be done, seasoned with a dash of estimating based on things going well. But things never go well. The only real way to schedule is to look how long it has *actually* taken in the past, including the weird, never-gonna-happen-again delays. That's how long it will take. There will be no catching up; different never-gonna-happen-again delays will occur. There never is; they always do.

I have to spread XP around before giving you more, but I agree completely. The delays haven't affected my game at all, and almost certainly won't, but the people who are in danger of catching up need realistic estimates rather than optimistic ones. There's also the added benefit that you might actually beat a realistic estimate, but you have almost no chance of beating an optimistic estimate since there's no fat built in.

 

[Morrus]

I have to spread XP around before giving you more, but I agree completely. The delays haven't affected my game at all, and almost certainly won't, but the people who are in danger of catching up need realistic estimates rather than optimistic ones. There's also the added benefit that you might actually beat a realistic estimate, but you have almost no chance of beating an optimistic estimate since there's no fat built in.

I agree. I always want to say "2015" and have happy people when it arrives a year early, but Ryan insists on saying, like "November" and stuff!

 

[Janx]

If we didn't care about it, all 13 adventures would have been released in the first six weeks!

I promise you that every instalment is obsessed over and crafted to the very limits of our ability. Ryan writes the very best he possible can, and I (personally) feel that shows. Eric's layout is painstakingly crafted. We get the very best art done that we can.

Ryan could have sent it to layout earlier - but it wouldn't be as good. I promise you that we care about Zeitgeist more than you can possible know, and we hope that as a result we're producing work that ranks amongst the very finest there is.

Having seen some of RangerWickett's post for villainous ideas and such, it's clear to me it's being worked on.

Good luck, and I hope your fans continue to be patient for quality work to get finished.

 

[Morrus]

I'm just looking at the (4e version of) the latest adventure right now. Assuming I see no showstopping issues, I'll try to get it uploaded tonight/tomorrow depending no my internet connection.

 

[gideonpepys]

Fantastic. Christmas comes early.

I'm in total support of getting the product right before shipping it. My main concern with the schedule is that 'every three months barring unforeseen circumstances' resets every time an adventure gets released. Meaning, I presume, that we now need to wait til March for adventure 8. If that adventure gets delayed til May (for example), we'll be looking at August for 9, and so on.

It would be wonderful if once - just once - an episode could come out on time, or hot on the heels of the previous episode, if only to demonstrate good faith - particularly in the light of all the positivity from fans and publishers alike during the Hardcover Collection Kickstarter, and the promise of extra manpower being freed up to sidestep logjams.

That said, keep up the good work.

 

[Morrus]

As a side note, please remember the new location is in the downloads section. I'll add a note in the old area when I get chance.