August 2021 Sitrep

What’s happened so far

I had a week off in August, and while I think I didn’t get as much done in it as I wanted to, it was productive nonetheless. Not just low hanging fruit, but some more concrete tasks have been addressed (and a few even completed!)

As I expected, going beyond 3rd Elysium has meant dealing with some more record keeping as well as other administrata that I had, to be honest, kind of neglected. For example: the multiple engagements in the latter part of the battle meant that there was actually opportunity for multiple opportunities to gain crew grade, as well as merge damaged small craft squadrons. Fortunately this didn’t have any actual impact to the battle, but it’s something I’ll have to keep in mind for the future.

The writing engine has been building back up again, as I’m forcing it to reclaim time that I’ve previously put aside to play games with my friends so that I can stay sane. COVID’s still doing a number on all that, but at least for me and mine things have gotten a little bit closer to normal… what passes for normal. I’m glad that I can put a bit more time in to writing. I’m feeling the bug chew at the back of my brain more and more; I’ve missed it.

What’s happening next?

Next thing is to write about the aftermath of 3rd Elysium and to start processing turns, both of which have now started to happen. I’ve gotten some work done on both, and am looking forward to getting the next events all hammered out. The challenge at the moment is not actually generating ideas, but at present deciding which ones will be happening next, and getting them written out while trying not to overload the next few months. Otherwise there’s going to be a storm of posts, and then a long dry season afterwards with little bits of filler where nothing really happens (and that’s kinda boring IMO). It’s all doable of course, but it needs to be done right.

2021 Goals

These goals are approximately in order of priority and in order of precedence (IE have to do #1 before you can do #2). There’s some goals from 2020 that are coming back, but a lot of them are going to be brand new ones as well. It’s also a longer list as well, but some of those entries are one-and-done tasks that shouldn’t be as hard as others to complete.

1) Finish 3rd Elysium

Stories here have been written and done. What comes next is the conclusion of the chase, and the denouement of the conflict on Elysium itself.

2) Complete turn processing for all empires up to turn 160

With 3rd Elysium completed, this is now being looked at. Turn 160 is perhaps a bit aggressive given the time left in 2021, but at the least 150 is plausible.

3) Do a full overhaul and update of my map (as seen on Fleet Management Mk2) so it’s all on one well-organized map WITH space to expand

Done! See it’s own post for more details.

4) Write up a new Mk2 commissioning contract

Cracked open the documents and did an initial review. Definitely some useful information here; will be aiming for a proper review process as part of my November break.

5) Update my internal deWulf Story Document

No new progress here.

6) Finish playtesting and balancing for Scenario Book 1 – The First Contact War

No progress here.

7) Finish the writing work for Scenario Book 1 – The First Contact War

No progress here.

8) Introduce and post completed artwork

All previously completed artwork has now been posted and is on the website.

9) Go do a second pass on the artwork for Scenario Book 1, incorporating new details and design concepts over the past year

Nothing new here, but that’s to be expected as there’s artwork and other things still outstanding.

10) Start fishing in my contacts to find someone who can do proofreading for Scenario Book

This task is sitting low on the to-do list for fairly obvious reasons. Need to be done writing and my own edit pass before the work can get handed off to an editor.