October 2021 Sitrep

What’s happened so far

Only a few things got really done in October, but what got done was good. I finally finished off the last parts of 3rd Elysium, bringing the battle to a full and final close. There’s a little more follow up that needs to eventually be written, a bit of a denouement for Elysium, but that will happen in its own good time.

I’ve got some time off this November, and I’m working to take as much advantage of that time off as I can. Some of that time is going to be spent just kicking back (it is vacation time), but I’ll be putting some of that time aside to work on the deWulf. With a bit of luck I can bash off a few more things on that to-do list!

What’s happening next?

With 3rd Elysium finally done, I can get on with the rest of the story and with the next couple tasks on the list! It took a while, but it’s SO good to be done. I actually looked at my calendar, and I realized that 3rd Elysium and its aftermath actually took a whole year. A year! Mind you it was a big battle with a lot of moving parts, but it was nice to get it all done. I can finally start hammering away on a bunch of other plot threads and actually do new stuff. I’ve had a chance to hammer out a couple story bits that have been sitting around for gods knows how long, as well as get a couple other things done and done (like getting a new tranche of commissioning contracts done and sent out).

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

Written, completed, and posted!

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

I’m hoping to do a pass of the scenarios and start looking for play testers next month.

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.