July Update - WAYWARD STARS Live - Music Snippets - Fulfilment Update
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jul 22, 2021 at 11:39:42 AM

Hi everyone 

Zach here! Hope you're all well. We're hard at work here at SoulMuppet HQ to get Orbital Blues ready. We'll keep the update short for you and start showering about goodies. 

Production Update

• The Core Book is fully laid out, has had a proof pass, and we're looking at compiling these edits into a final version we can release before the end of the month. 
•  Chris has been hard at work at the EP, and we can share one of the new tracks. Here's a Soundcloud link to RUNAWAY SPACE TRUCK. We'll share more tracks in the next couple of updates.  
• We're still polishing up the BackerKit (the new VAT shipping regulations out of the UK have made things difficult to handle), but we're expecting this to go live at the same time as the Core Book PDF. 
• You'll be able to use BackerKit to move around your pledge level, pick up extra items and provide shipping info. 
• In terms of shipping dates, we think late August is still realistic for our UK/EU customers, but may prove difficult for US customers, as it is very difficult to get books across the Atlantic Ocean from our EU printers currently. This might get easier as the number of flight increases, but until we say otherwise, I would expect mid/late September for US customers as the provisional date. 

We've lined up an finalised print specs for all our products, so we should be able to get physicals rolling pretty soon. 

But in the meanwhile we have GOOD NEWS.

Wayward Stars - Art Book

Joshua has finished WAYWARD STARS and it's a beauty. We've readied it up for release and sent copies to all backers above £25 on DriveThruRPG. Check the email address you used for your Kickstarter account, and a free coupon should have dropped in your inbox. Drop an email to [email protected] if you have any issues!

The core book might not be ready yet, but you can check out this 72 page PDF of work-in-progress images and special commentary from Joshua himself. The book is also packed with secret tidbits of lore allowing it to act a worldbuilding book as well as a visual spectacle. There are a bunch of pieces in here we haven't shown off yet that will be slamming into your inbox as part of the Core Book in the next coupe of weeks. 

If you didn't back above £25 for the Art Book PDF, you can find the storepage here. Even if you did, let you friends know about it and they can buy a copy also. 

Thanks for your patience. Can't wait to get the final physicals into your hands. 

Until Next Time,

See You, Space Cowboys!

- Sleney, Clark, & Cox

Post-Campaign Production Update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jul 06, 2021 at 03:26:05 PM

Hey Everyone!

A couple of you have requested updates to the campaign's progress so I'm popping in today to fill everyone in with our internal timelines. Everything is still on track for delivery in August as planned, this is just an update explaining the checkpoints that are going on behind the scenes between now and then. 

Final layout will be in-hand by the end of this week, if not a few hours after this update gets posted. Myself, Zach and Josh have been working with Lone to bring these up to speed and get every page and spread looking as good as it possibly can, and we're immensely pleased with how it's all coming together.  Below are some WIP spreads we've workshopped this week - they're all in the final stages, but still have some work ahead of them to get them looking even better. 

After that the layout's done, we expect the third and final round of proofing of the text within the laid-out document to take another 2 weeks, give or take. 

Once that's done, the final .PDF should hit by mid to late July - we'll keep you all updated on how exactly this is progressing closer to the time, so you know exactly when it releases and where you should head to download it. It'll be on DTRPG, so expect download emails! 

Printing will then take up the remainder of July, before we ship/distribute for the maintained delivery date of August!

Meanwhile, Wayward Stars is also finished, currently undergoing proofing and final layout checks. Whilst I might have some bias, this is an absolutely phenomenal book Josh has put together - even though it's brimming with pieces I've watched develop or given feedback on in the past, it is an absolutely captivating read and the alternative angle from Josh's development perspective made me feel like I was looking at something completely new with every page. It's a fantastic coffee table book, talking point and source of inspiration for your games, and anyone who has snagged this with their pledge has really lucked out.

I'm pleased to let you all know that Wayward Stars remains on the same track as the corebook, with no delays expected. It'll go to print with the core book, and ship alongside it for those of you who backed for it. 

As for the Stretch-Goal Adventures, all of our writers have been contracted and paid up, with adventures well underway with art inbound. As we're managing a stable of several individual writers with various other projects and commitments (as well as a wide variety of ideas and contributions!) we'll have another update on the status and contents of the stretch-goal adventures at a later date, giving them the full focus and attention deserved. For now, our plan remains firmly focused on delivering the core campaign contents. Rest assured however, the stretch-goal adventures won't be far behind.

That about covers everything we have underway on our end. Production continues apace and we're really excited to get the books out there and into your hands - we all sincerely hope everyone enjoys Orbital Blues, and we can't wait to see what everyone does with it. We hope everyone has a great weekend, and be sure to let us know what you think of the previews today over on the SoulMuppet Discord!

Until Next Time,

See You, Space Cowboys!

- Sleney, Clark, & Cox

SEE YOU, SPACE COWBOYS! | 700% FUNDING | POST-CAMPAIGN
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jun 17, 2021 at 02:10:41 PM

FUNDED!

We did it, we made Orbital Blues a reality! 700% funded, by over 2,000 people from all over the world. We're all incredibly grateful for the excitement and enthusiasm from everyone, and as SoulMuppet Publishing's most successful project thus far, we couldn't have done it without all of our fans, new and old, supporting and sharing throughout. 

With 700%, upgrades will be made to the Cassettes, packing each with guitar picks, an inlay, and an A6 tri-fold scenario Adventure. This upgrade comes at no extra cost, and is simply a better version of the cassette that we can now afford to deliver in greater numbers.

Writers of the Stretch Goal adventures have been contracted and are getting to work, layout was already well underway once we launched, and only a handful of art pieces remain - even given all the additional content and material we've added to this project over the course of the campaign, we've paced ourselves well enough that we're still on course to deliver physical books and pledges by the given campaign estimate of August of this year. 

Pledge managers and post-campaign add-on options will open in the near future, allowing anyone to add or upgrade orders before final prints are sent out. We will have more in-depth updates about this in the coming days & weeks, and we'll give plenty of notice for such managers and additional ordering systems opening and closing to ensure nobody misses out on anything in the post-campaign. If at any point you're worried you might have missed something, or don't know when something might be available to order, sling an email to [email protected] and we'll get back to you. 

From all of us here on the Orbital Blues team, a great big thank you for allowing us to make our game about sad space cowboys a reality. We hope that you all enjoy Orbital Blues, and that it brings you many a bluesy, emotive space tale around your gaming tables. A game like this doesn't come into reality quickly, and the creative process has had its back and forths, but overall we've all loved pouring heart and soul into it over the past year, and to see it pay off like this has been incredibly affirming.

From me, Sam, it's been a cathartic experience making a game about the troubles of gig work, blues of all kinds, and as the Fear of a Black Dragon Podcast put it, 'a game about conversations at gas stations.' Orbital Blues is an homage to the Pulp and Americana fiction and music I grew up on, and of course, Cowboy Bebop, and I hope it lives up to everyone's ideals and expectations. 

Though it might seem weird to give him a shout-out on his own Kickstarter, I'd like to take a moment here to thank Zach in particular, for making this project a reality. If there are any creatives out there reading this, hit the guy up for your next big idea - he's a real force for change and good working practices in the independent RPG industry, and a killer project manager to boot. If you've got something good you want to get out, Zach, and SoulMuppet Publishing is the place. Maybe give him a hot minute to get this Kickstarter delivered though. 

As to Josh, whose art has adorned every inch of the campaign story and update thus far, huge props to him for realising the vision of Orbital Blues that floating around in mine and Zach's heads. He's an incredibly talented artist, with a knack for capturing tone, mood and atmosphere in stunning, simplistic and stylish pieces. His contributions to world building can be seen in the smallest details (every ad you can see in the book's art piece has legible copy in it! Ask him about it!) We can't wait to show you the final book brought to life by the skilled hands of him and Lone Archivist. 

Finally, one last shout out to all our backers - this time for keeping it real. SoulMuppet is a small indie outfit with only Zach working at it with regularity, and though Orbital Blues has been a collaborative effort amongst us all, it's still been a small-scale gig with all of us doing bits whenever we could to hold this campaign and the project together. Thanks to all of you, our backers, for your patience and understanding throughout. Though this might be an indie book, we're confident that we'll be putting into your hands and onto your shelves in the next few months will be a top-tier product that goes toe-to-toe with the industry's best. 

Expect to hear from us with shipping and fulfilment details over the next few weeks, and be sure to keep an eye on your emails for any information or requests for up-to-date shipping info. We may also have spreads, character sheets or other minutiae from the book to share as and when it's ready so you all know we're still grafting away!

Until Next Time!

See You, Space Cowboys!

- Sleney, Clark, & Cox

500% FUNDING | DICE | ADVENTURES | ADD-ONS
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 06, 2021 at 03:57:49 PM

Good Evening!

A huge, huge thank you to everyone raising this campaign up to this level - we've come way further than we ever imagined or thought possible, so to everyone who has made it possible, you have our deepest thanks and we hope that you all enjoy the book when it ships as much as we've enjoyed making it and campaigning for its launch. 

I'm sure with 500% funding, many of you will be wondering what we'll make to celebrate this milestone; so without any further ado...

These required some behind the scenes calculations - dice are expensive to make, and we didn't want their production to have any knock-on effects to any other aspect of the campaign - we're sure any Kickstarter veterans out there will understand. However, in reaching 50k, we're confident in announcing that a set 4 Orbital Blues dice will now be included with all Interstellar Kingpin pledges. This will not increase the price on that pledge. 

We'll have some proofs of the dice with us within the week, but rest assured, they're just as glossy and polished as the rest of the project.

If you want to pick up these dice outside of the Interstellar Kingpin pledge, they'll be available in the post-campaign pledge manager for add-ons. 

We keep talking about this, and a great many of you are counting on picking up certain accessories or doubling up on books in the post-campaign for budgeting - apologies for how late into this campaign this info has come about, but we've been working on shipping and production costs to ensure everything goes smoothly in the post-campaign. 

These are our estimated costs, including a TBA left in for an additional physical stretch goal we might achieve by the campaign's end if we continue apace - we're still figuring out the behind the scenes details on that one, and seeing how the remainder of the campaign goes. It's worth mentioning everything you see here can be picked up cheaper in a pledge, so if you're after a few things it might be worth updating or upgrading your pledge tier - this can also make shipping easier for both us and you.

Lastly, what's next?

Well, we're currently in talks with another contributing writer for another adventure, taking the total up to FIVE supplementary adventures that will release in the weeks and months following the arrival of your core book.

Who, and What they write is still under wraps, but we'll have more information in the coming days. 

This campaign has been an absolute whirlwind for us, with more success than we anticipated. Thanks to all of our backers thus far for their patience, understanding, and above all - support. We wouldn't be where we are without you. Whilst his update might seem a little sparse, rest assured - it's only because we're getting things into place for a suitable finish. As we go into the final week of the campaign, we hope we can take this project to the next level, and deliver the product that all our new-found fans and supporters deserve. 

Until Next Time,

See You, Space Cowboys!

- Sleney, Clark, & Cox

600% FUNDING | ONE LAST JOB... | CASSETTE ++ | 24 HOURS REMAIN |
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 06, 2021 at 03:56:58 PM

Hey All!

Another astounding week on this Kickstarter, as we surpassed 600% funding with a grand total of £60,000 raised. We had hoped to announce our next writer a little ahead of hitting £60k, but the goal came and went as we all slept! So, without any further ado...

Upon reaching £60,000, we're proud to announce we'll be putting this additional funding towards adding the talented Basheer Ghouse to our roster of contributing writers on Orbital Blues, with one last job...

The job was simple. Run the briefcase to the Rock of Tariq, make sure no-one opens it, and get the sort of pay-out that crews retire on. The journey wasn't exactly safe, but for that sort of money, who cares? 

Yet when you arrived at the Rock, you found your employer dead and no-one able to pay you.

Now half a dozen factions want the cargo, and most of them are willing to kill to get it. Now you're in a race against time. Figure out what's going on, offload your cargo, and get out of there. Or else you'll join the growing list of bodies on the infamous Rock of Tariq.

Basheer  (@BasheerGhouse) is a writer and cultural consultant based out of San Jose, California. In addition to work for companies like Kobold Press and Rowan, Rook, and Deckard, he's independently published RPGs that range from absurdist comedy to collaborative horror. His contributions can be found in products like Alien Archive 4, Warlock Grimoire 2, and Spire: Shadow Operations, and his personal work can be found at his itch.io page.

For us, Basheer is delivering a pulp pressure cooker of an adventure, where Interstellar Outlaw Crews will find themselves pitted against dangerous opponents in a high-risk, high-stakes, and high-reward play of intrigue and action. We're incredibly excited to add Basheer and The Rock of Tariq to our collection of adventures and scenarios from a wealth of talented creators, and we hope you all enjoy the works of those we've chosen to partner with over the course of this campaign.

Adventure Prints?

A few people have asked if we'll be printing these adventures, and the answer is that in the short-term, unfortunately not yet, but in the long-term, most likely, yes! 

We launched this project with the intent to make the core book, and with the plan that if we had any additional funding, we'd put that towards paying new people to write new material to support and expand on the corebook's contents. We've managed to achieve both of those very well, and we're very thankful for that, but in putting the additional material to print we've found that we would risk extending the timeframes and scheduling on the core Orbital Blues rule book, and complicating the shipping process when it comes to shipping and distributing print runs of these adventures in the short-term. For now, we're focusing on delivering the core product promised, and we'll be distributing these adventures digitally to all backers of this Kickstarter, for free. Once the dust has settled and everyone has their core books and pledge rewards however, we'll look to these adventures and additional content for expanding Orbital Blues' physical print range, and look into ways people who supported this Kickstarter can get print versions at discount.

Onwards and upwards, and as we approach the final 24 hours of this campaign, we're setting our sights on one last stretch goal - an upgrade to the cassettes that so many of you have pledged for. How much can you upgrade a 60 year-old storage medium, we hear you wonder. Well, at 700% funding we'll be;

• Adding Limited Edition Orbital Blues Guitar Picks to each Cassette
• Putting more content on the inlays
• Adding an A6 Tri-fold Scenario to every Cassette

We're looking into ensuring the Cassettes are of the highest quality, so even if you don't have a tape player, they will still make for stylish display pieces in their own right. Currently we're looking at BandCDs to fulfil the cassette prints, and you can see a portfolio of their work below - we're confident the Orbital Blues Cassette will be a gorgeous compliment to an already stunning game.

Overall, this campaign has exceeded even our wildest expectations, and as we enter our final 24 hours, we want to take the time to thank everyone who has supported us, shared kind words online or via the SoulMuppet Discord, and helped make this project what it has been with their community spirit and support. We hope to deliver this book in the best possible quality and timeliness that we can, and we hope to deliver on everyone's excitement and expectations. 

Keep sharing and supporting, and expect to hear from us again in the next 24 hours as we conclude!

See You, Space Cowboys!

- Sleney, Clark, & Cox