Quick November Update
over 4 years ago – Fri, Nov 08, 2019 at 02:11:50 AM

Quick update

Great news: we're printing on the 22nd of this month and we should be shipping shortly thereafter! Since this is about two weeks away, we're locking in shipping addresses within the next 48 hours. You should get an email detailing how to change your address, if it's changed since the Kickstarter. If you need, you should be able to go to darkmatter.backerkit.com to change it manually as well.

Let us know if you have any problems or questions!

October Update
over 4 years ago – Wed, Oct 23, 2019 at 01:44:06 AM

Hey all! I've got a grab-bag of exclusively good news this time around!

Proofs! Printing! Soon!

We've been through two rounds of physical proofs with our new printers (who are amazing), and we've spent plenty of time getting the lighting just right so none of that fantastic art looks too muddled or washed out. I really ought to have taken a mountain of images to document the process and drum up hype, but the turnaround was so quick that being good at social media kind of slipped my mind. 

With all that said, I should have definitive dates for printing within the week and should be shipping by December 1st! 

Character Sheet: Now Form-Fillable

It's possible that some faster means exists to build form-fillable character sheets, but as it stands, I used a wickedly slow method. Of course, it's hard to argue with results! BackerKit has a download for the form-fillable sheet, which we also plan to release on the blog for free when hardcover sales go live.

Dark Matter 1.3: Final Version?

This latest update comes with 6 new pages of material, bringing the total page count up to 304! You can look forward to new Gadgeteer options, new spells, new ships, and a few new pieces of art. Plus, this update has rocket fists. Who doesn't love rocket fists? 

These new pages and art also improve the presentation, in that there's no longer drastic gaps without art in any of those chapters. 

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After fiddling extensively with compression options, we've also got the file for Dark Matter 1.3 down to 70 Mb without image degradation, which should improve performance for everyone who was feeling slowdown while it was open. We'll be using these export settings for future projects as well, so you can expect smaller files and smooth performance going forward. 

Future Updates

We're officially at the end of proper development on this book! Instead of being monthly, updates will land when there's important information about printing and shipping.

September Update
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 09:14:56 PM

Unexpected Delay

Hey guys, I have some bad news regarding print schedules. Due to ongoing problems between our printer and the suppliers they were using for the book's covers, our printer dropped the project entirely earlier last week, pushing our schedule back considerably. 

This is unfortunate, since we've had this printer lined up for more than a year, but it has some upsides. First and foremost, we're adding 6 brand new pages of material to the book! Principally, this is to make the book cheaper to print, since 304 pages is divisible evenly by 16, which makes it work better with traditional inline printing. Secondly, it means we should be getting a better final hardcover product. Our previous printers had to make some small presentation concessions with the book (most notably, not being able to include black end sheets, nor being able to do sewn binding), which we won't have to make anymore. We'll also probably be getting beefier pages and a thicker book as a result of a new printer.

Moving Fast

As of right now, we've selected a new printer (a very, very good one in Texas), got a quote, and worked our butts off to write 6 pages of material for the book, and completed new pieces of art for the new pages. Very soon, we'll be totally rebounded with new pages to show for it.

I hate being the bearer of bad news, but I'm also committed to being as transparent as possible. We've learned some big lessons from this whole printing process, which I'm certain will make our next project far, far smoother. Thank you for your patience -- we're working hard on making the final product worth it. Next month's update should have new art and content! 

August Update
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 01:18:24 AM

Woo! Another update! 

We've got one more Dark Matter version -- hopefully the very final one. We took our time, scoured the book for any lingering mistakes, and tidied up the dimensions and files for printing. As a result, the book is looking a lot tighter:

Okay, you might have to squint a little, but there really is a difference! The margins are a bit tighter, and as a result, it'll look way better in print.

You can get your updated file on BackerKit, or via whatever website you originally downloaded it. On BackerKit, check the Dark Matter Final 1.0 download!

Other than that, there's almost no content changes, with one notable exception. We removed the Shugenja subclass, Matter and Void, and replaced it with another Ranger subclass, Deadeye Sniper, plus some extra art for the rogue. Why? Though the Shugenja class has some great qualities, we don't plan on supporting it in the future. It's not a great class for the MHP lineup for a myriad of reasons: it has a problematic name, it tends to confuse new players, and is too thematically to the wizard. If you still want to play the Matter and Void duality, it'll be up on magehandpress.com for free next week.

Oh, and here's the last bit of art we've added:

Lastly, I lied when I said this was the very last version of the book. I plan to get a much smaller web-ready version of Dark Matter together by next month. For now, however, you have a very pretty, but sizable file. I'll also be finishing up the form-fillable character sheet by then as well. 

Where's the Hardcover??

The book's files are at the printer! With any luck, we'll be seeing proofs and getting exact info on shipping and delivery dates very soon. You'll be seeing that process every step of the way.

July Update
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 01:02:33 AM

It's been a while since our last update -- sorry for the delay on this one. But I'm happy to announce that the digital copy is finished! This should be the last real update to the book, other than small changes here and there.

New Changes in the Final PDF

Over the last couple months, we've converted the book into a format that's a little more print-ready (though, if everything went right, you should hardly notice) and done a metric ton of proofreading. The book's total length is up to 298 pages, which includes:

New art all over the place

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Swanky new sidebars and better looking quote boxes

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A new concept art section

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A new monster, Vortirrackt, to fill in CR 6 and 9 with a good xenomorph-like enemy

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Plus, we've made a lot of tiny changes for quality of life, from changing statblocks into a very similar font with much more readable numbers, to improving the PDF bookmarks and page number navigation. 

Last Call For Your Name

If you supported this Kickstarter, this is your last chance to get your name in the book. If your name isn't in the Backers section (or is in the backer section incorrectly) go to this form and let us know!

MHP Starter Pack

Along with the finished PDF, we're also (finally) sending out the completed MHP Starter Pack to everyone who backed at that level during the Kickstarter. The Starter Pack saw far more development than originally anticipated, since the Alchemist, Craftsman, and Warden each saw total reworks since the project began. These reworks, along with a couple of other classes, are included in the Starter Pack.

When's it Shipping???

We're printing very, very soon. All we have to do is dot some I's and cross some T's. And by that I mean: do some print color adjustments and make some final changes to the front and back covers now that we know the dimensions. I should have a final date soon, but my guess is that you'll have your physical copies sometime in October; sooner, if the print job happens quickly.