Well I received from Mike a FILE (.ZIP) which contained a bunch of files and a TON of cards. That was supposed to be the archive with the Master Files to be used to produce the files for the Manufacturer in China (this was 2 weeks ago).
Little did I know how "out-dated" and filled with "minor" errors were these files... It makes me wonder if I got the WRONG files or nobody cared enough to maintain these files and "proof" them to ensure that they were all correct. And it's things like an OLDER icon is used on the Brethren Mission cards or ALL the Mission cards have a GLARING typo "S" instead of "M" (for Mission).
I'm almost 3/4 of the way to finishing up the Vanguard extras for those who pledged at that level. The Tactician took me a whole 15 minutes just to verify the model files and they are all 100%. But I've been up since 5:00 AM proofing and corrected Vanguard files... In a way, I'm exhausted. But what I really needed is a good break.
I will resume the editing process soon enough. I probably need to go through ALL the files and see what needs to be fixed. Honestly I was not expecting to have to go through so much hell...
To honor Mike's memory... I hope he find peace in Heaven. Mike passed away on the December 2 2019... For those not aware of his passing. He was only 38 years of age... Only the good die young.
Comments
Oh crap that's really too
Oh crap that's really too bad! I'm sorry!
For the files, hopefully these are things you can edit yourself..?
Yes ... but there are a LOT of files.
Yes I can do the editing. It's just that it's a LONG and REPETITIVE task. Same card fronts for 4 Factions (Identical except for Iconography and File Numbering) and then some cards are dual-sided (not just a Cardback), custom both sides... And other have a cardback for an entire series...
It's really NOT FUN to have to re-work all these files. It's like a JOB and a JOB you really don't want to do...!
There are over 500+ cards so think over 1,000+ FILES to manage. And then I got to manage Master Files (RGB) and Printer Files (CMYK), not to mention BLEEDS too.
It's quite the EFFORT. No doubt I will get through it. It's just that it won't take the 2 weeks I had thought. Maybe more like a Month and with Christmas break that means some time in January 2020 too. It will seem like another delay.
This is just what has happened to this project. Delay after delay... Even IF they are "explainable". Some people will complain. But fnck, there is only so much computing I can do in a day and then I want to "shut off"... So yeah, NOT FUN!
Terrible News
Really sorry to hear of your loss.
Here's to hoping you and the rest of the TradeWorlds team catch a break. I mean, sheesh. That's all horrible news.
That is very sad news
I saw you mentioning, that Mike left the business. Due to health issue's.
But I never imagined that it would be this bad. Seeing as how his father took over for the time being.
I am very sorry for your loss.
Thankfully I had a very loooong day
I managed to "proof" and pre-press 150 image files TODAY! I usually ONLY manage to do about 60 images per DAY. So this was a VERY long day. From another vantage point-of-view, I managed to produce 3/4 of the Vanguard material/content.
Only the Destined (4th Faction) remains to be reviewed.
That's some NICE progress... If I really wanted to PUSH-IT (and I don't; I'm freaken tired and just feel like vegging) I could do the Destined cards tonight.
I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow evening or Sunday afternoon.
P.S.: I know the BGDF community has a lot of "heart". I'll pass on your kind remarks to Stan (in my next e-mail).
Regards.
Condolences
That’s so sad. It really sucks to not be able to see something through and then continuity of the project is in jeopardy. It sounds like it will take a lot of hard work to keep the game on track. Don’t worry about the delay, or what people say. If you can, finish the game for your friend and dedicate it to him. Best of luck.
It is very "tragic" TBH
It feels all wrong. A person with a full life ahead of himself. I mean 38 is the NEW 18! If 40 is the new 20... So to speak... I know that business was a bit rough and the turn-out was not what they had hoped for (OLG). But this is in no way my responsibility. I left OLG in charge on pricing, manufacturing and fulfillment. All aspects they said they had experience with. And yes they do in fact have experience... It's just too bad that there have been so many "setbacks" during the journey.
I know life is a journey not a destination. But sometimes you wish the road was a bit less "rocky". That's what I have learned most about life. People complain about their jobs and then there are people working their butts off to try to bring something to market and ... don't make any monies off of the product even IF it gets "out-there" in the market.
It makes me think, "day jobs" are not so bad after all. If you can find something that is reasonable in income generation and then pursue your design dreams in the "after-hours", that to me sounds like the ONLY way to make it in this crazy industry of Tabletop design.
I will share with Stan your sympathies and hope that we can finish what we initially set forth to do!
Sorry to hear about Mike passing
In life there is death. I'm grateful to know that there is life after death!! Quest what can I do to help with your project?
Thanks ... I appreciate your offer to help!
But TBH it's all a question of proofing and MAKING the Pre-Press cards ready for manufacturing. I've got to be rigorous with my handling of this task. Basically I need to be methodical and PROOF/MAKE cards each and every day. If I do this... I should be okay with regards to making the game "correct" and not filled with errors that were NOT spotted on the "Final" prototype.
It's now my task to do this... And I will do it to the BEST of my abilities...
Cheers!
I originally set up my cards
I originally set up my cards in NanDeck for prototyping, but at this point I'm just going to use it for the final version, and that was a pretty good choice because if I were doing each card individually in photoshop (which is how the 17 cards for Heroes & Treasure were done), I'd probably be going a little crazy :) Good luck!
Well Mike did a lot of "fancy" stuff with the cards
There is a lot of "alpha channel" blending going on. Plus embedded textures in the various parts of the cards too. From the samples you've shown, you just have card artwork, a simple border, some stats and text. My cards (to compare) have a flag with a "drop shadow", a faction logo with shadows (Alpha), a card name over a plasma field, an image, then there is (IMHO) a HUD which is comprised of 4 distinct layers, then there is a texture as background where text is (and it fades with alpha channels too) and lastly on the bottom the card number on top of some funky textured + plasma layers.
I know I cannot open the file in Paintshop Pro ... It says "Unsupported Features" ... So imagine a tool like NanDeck. I would have to use PNGs... and how would I convert them to CMYK for printing???
BTW if ANYONE wonders WHY(?) your images print too DARK over at "The Game Crafter" it's probably because you are using RGB (additive coloring) with PNGs. IF you TRY using CMYK (subtractive coloring), using lossless JPGs (which are about 1Mb in size per card), you might find that the card definition is better and there is more DETAIL displayed on the cards.
If you have the "TOO DARK" problem, give this solution a try... Another reason to try this is IF you are "MISSING DETAILS" but can see them ON-SCREEN. Again this is a CMYK/RGB error. The CMYK are naturally LIGHTER because they use less color in the pigmentation. So if you have EITHER of these problems ... Try using CMYK Lossless .JPG files.
True, I am working in PNGs
True, I am working in PNGs and ultimately not caring about the final shift to CMYK which will happen at the manufacturer.
But I think nandeck can do all sorts of weird alpha-ness, in various ways.
Hmm...
Well that's the problem with colors looking TOO DARK or not enough DETAILS on the cards themselves... But when you look at them ON-SCREEN they look great. That's because they are RGB. For the PRINT-QUALITY to be BETTER it is recommended to use CMYK. And you'll notice that BLACK is NOT (0, 0, 0) it's like (30,40,40,100) (or something like that). They call it the Blackest Black available to CMYK printing.
As far as "Alpha" is concerned, you'd need LAYERING. If NanDeck has layering, it might be possible. But then I'd need to export each layer as a transparent PNG. Of course this wouldn't work for CMKY...
No I'd rather stick to Photoshop and Illustrator. The files EXIST already, it's just a matter of going through them... And there are a LOT of files too proof. CMYK conversion is rather simple, I just do a COPY-MERGE and Paste in place into a CMYK template... That adjusts all the colors and I can proof with the layers beneath it...