Immortals Handbook: Ascension 3.5E Print version...do you want one?

[Upper_Krust]

im fine with waiting with as long as you need

Cheers amigo,

I have reloaded the pdf. It is now 50 Mb, instead of 947 Mb. Hopefully that sorts all the issues.

I still do not know how it got to 947 in the first place, the AfPub file is only 16 Mb! I think it must have been some feature in the Export to pdf function. Instead (this time) I used the Print to PDF function, which got it to 90 Mb (which still seems weirdly high) and then used a file compressor to get it to 50 Mb, quality of the pdf still seems good.

 

[Upper_Krust]

I also just double checked and both previews (Quick Preview and Full Size Preview) are working - so that should be it.

I need to get some sleep here, so lets hope no more problems for at least the next 8 hours.

For those who get to see the pdf, post here if the quality is fine and/or any issues with it and I'll get to it as soon as I wake up.

 

[Alzrius]

For those who get to see the pdf, post here if the quality is fine and/or any issues with it and I'll get to it as soon as I wake up.

Looking the previews over now, they look great! (Also, that artwork is un-frickin-believable!) The only thing I'd note is that the text of the full-size preview (once you turn off the watermark layer) doesn't seem to be OCR'd; looking at the table of contents, you can clearly tell that the entry for Appendix 2 is a more recent addition, based on how it seems sharper than the rest of the lettering.

But it's entirely possible that's an issue that's specific to the preview, so it might be nothing.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey Alzrius buddy!

Looking the previews over now, they look great! (Also, that artwork is un-frickin-believable!)

Well in fairness the heavy lifting was done by Midjourney although EVERY image had to be repainted by me to some degree. Some were massive repaints...like the cover (which took almost 30 hours), others only required minor touching up - for those that know Midjourney they'll know every single hand in the book would have to be completely repainted because they generally turn out like a wild octopus.

But really glad you like the art, there is a ton of it in the book and a handful of big double page spreads, one of which features a certain golem.

Pages 58-59 are my favourite though. You can all discover that for yourselves.

The only thing I'd note is that the text of the full-size preview (once you turn off the watermark layer) doesn't seem to be OCR'd; looking at the table of contents, you can clearly tell that the entry for Appendix 2 is a more recent addition, based on how it seems sharper than the rest of the lettering.

But it's entirely possible that's an issue that's specific to the preview, so it might be nothing.

I am looking at my Print Copy and the Contents page text looks seamless. So hopefully its only an issue with the Preview.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey all, any thoughts from any of you guys who picked up the PDF? (I noticed a few people have grabbed a copy - I'm assuming one or two from the forums here).

Just curious to know if it all downloaded smoothly and looks good enough. Plus any other feedback. Thanks in advance.

 

[RoyDude]

Hey all, any thoughts from any of you guys who picked up the PDF? (I noticed a few people have grabbed a copy - I'm assuming one or two from the forums here).

i was able to download it and i love it
there are entries like the mirror masks that dont say what they do and the epic new special weapon ability gets cut off for echoing
i think the font for hectate items are different to the rest but it could just be me

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey Roydude buddy!

i was able to download it

Fantastic news and apologies again for my error with the file size the first time around.

and i love it

That's the response I am hoping for.

there are entries like the mirror masks that dont say what they do and the epic new special weapon ability gets cut off for echoing

Fiddlesticks. How the heck I miss that.

i think the font for hectate items are different to the rest but it could just be me

I was using the same body and sub-header font (Celestia Antiqua), but I must have originally done something with the kerning back in 2007 and I couldn't get it replicated precisely. So if it looks a tiny bit off, that's why.

The Header fonts in the Appendix should of course be the same as the rest of the book (they didn't embed in the Gods & Monsters document - likely my fault) but because of the split underline (underlines being Affinity Publisher's biggest weakness vs Pagemaker* and InDesign** ) I decided to leave it alone, it was going to be a massive pain in the bum to fix. Plus I no longer had that original Header font though I do have a near exact font called Willow.

*Pagemaker 6.5 used for the original Epic Bestiary (2005) and Ascension (2007).
**InDesign used for the Vampire Bestiary (2012), but since they switched to a subscription model its just not financially viable so I am now using Affinity Publisher which seemingly does everything InDesign can do except (bizarrely) underline to column width.

Thanks again for the feedback. Much appreciated RoyDude.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey guys,

the Mixam copies were delivered a day early!

As you can tell from the images these are the 'special edition' versions, there is no title, so you can see the full cover art. Orange end sheets, orange ribbon (in keeping with the fiery theme). Glossy pages look amazing. The whole book (as you can see from the image) is at least 33% thinner than the Drivethru version.

Very happy how they turned out (although the spine is not as 'orange-y' as I had hoped).

If you email me at agooddesigner@hotmail.com your address (or private message it to me on this forum) and paypal me (my paypal is the same as my email address):
~ $60 (if you are in North America) - postage from here to US is $29.50 or something crazy like that.
~ £30 (if you are in the UK)
~ €40 (if you are in Europe)
~ If you are elsewhere in the world, email me your address first and I will check the minimum I can post it for.

The above covers printing, postage & packaging, I am not making money on these.

 

[Obly99]

If we give you our names, can you dedicate and sign our copy?

 

[Upper_Krust]

If we give you our names, can you dedicate and sign our copy?

Absolutely. I will number and sign the books and give a personal thanks/dedication.

 

[Armando_81]

Hey all, any thoughts from any of you guys who picked up the PDF? (I noticed a few people have grabbed a copy - I'm assuming one or two from the forums here).

Just curious to know if it all downloaded smoothly and looks good enough. Plus any other feedback. Thanks in advance.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think something untoward has happened during pdf creation. I can see the same issue as @Alzrius, where the newly-added text and images are sharp but the old text is pretty badly compressed. Here are some pairs of images comparing the new version with the 2008 version at the same magnification:

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think something untoward has happened during pdf creation. I can see the same issue as @Alzrius, where the newly-added text and images are sharp but the old text is pretty badly compressed. Here are some pairs of images comparing the new version with the 2008 version at the same magnification:
View attachment 275507
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View attachment 275509View attachment 275510

Thanks for the heads up - must be due to the most recent round of compression. I double-checked both print books and the text looks perfect on both (albeit those were from 947 Mb files).

The uncompressed file is (now) 92 Mb (down from the 947 Mb used in both print books), the Compressed file I went with is 50 Mb.

I will do another pdf tonight - fix the errata and upload that without compression and we will see how that goes. Hopefully 90 Mb will be small enough.

The massive file size came from me 'Exporting' as a pdf. Whereas the smaller size was from 'Print' as a pdf.

 

[Upper_Krust]

By the way for those who emailed me about the Limited Edition copies I will be replying to you all shortly and will be posting the books tomorrow.

 

[Beefermatic]

Just got the Drivethru copy in the post...

View attachment 275281

Oh that's rad af!

 

[Beefermatic]

i remember that there was a comic bestiary around and i just found the word doc about it
it has stats for a few things but the dragon stat blocks for the age categories are messed up somehow

Yeah I put that together from entries from the forum, it's an old file type, I think a .docx it barely functions anymore sadly, but you should be able to look it up in compatability mode. Should work to some degree.

 

[Beefermatic]

UK, I am on the limited edition copy list correct?

 

[Upper_Krust]

UK, I am on the limited edition copy list correct?

Absolutely amigo.

Although either way you want to do it buddy is fine by me.

If anyone wants the Drivethru copy instead of one of these Limited Edition versions I'm fine with that. The Drivethru version was better than I anticipated. Although the quality of the Mixam version is incredible.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey all,

minor delay, took me slightly longer than expected signing and packing the books. So I didn't get any posted today (If I had ran the mile and a half to the Post Office with the packages I might have made it a few minutes before the place closed, but I decided I'll just wait until tomorrow).

On each copy I noted on the inside end sheet at the top "Book 'x' (of 20)". However, Mixam sent me 21 books and while I initially thought what a stroke of luck; a free book, I noticed when I laid them all out on the table; a glint of light off one of the covers differently which had a small 1 cm bubble warp on the cover (where the Tarrasque bites Surtur's kneecap). So one of them must have warped a bit and they printed another and just sent me the warped one as well.

So I'll keep the warped copy, technically Book #21 (of 20). Meaning there is an extra copy up for grabs.

A few people on the list have not messaged me about their copy - I will private message them later. I'm guessing a few couldn't wait and just bought on Drivethru - which is totally fine.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey guys I uploaded the Ascension 2023 v1.2 document to Drivethru. Two lines of text are fixed and two images were tweaked.

I did remove the (unfinished) Mirror Mask item from No Cha's entry. One reason being the image in the book is No Cha before assuming his "Mythic Form" (the giant 3-headed version), but the other reason is I just couldn't remember what the heck I was going to do with the mask in the first place.

I will think of something for when I release the 5E version (No Cha is actually one of the sample deities therein) and it will be a bit more comprehensive.

 

[Chess435]

The font on the statblock headers is a little wonky. I will echo the comments that the new art is absolutely incredible, and can't wait to see it on paper. Especially like the dark pages where the text goes to white on black alongside the art, kind of sells the notion that these beings are so powerful the rules themselves become eclipsed. Will admit I was hopeful for a bit more stuff for Eternal level, even just a couple of sample statblocks.