#457031
Greetings! I hope that the first part of 2019 has been treating you all well, and that you're ready for some First Edition news and project updates! If you're not a regular reader of the front page, you might not know that I've been writing a weekly column about 1E news and goings-on. The column posts every Wednesday and covers tournaments and 1E news from around the world. This regular column is meant to help fill the gaps between these larger status updates, and highlight good tidings from the world of 1E. I encourage you to check it out every Wednesday!
In the mean time, I don't want to keep you waiting any more so let's dive right into the March 2019 update on 1E projects. Let's start with the one I've been asked about more than any other:
The long and short is that most of the volunteers working on The Cage are pretty happy with where the file has ended up. There are some testers concerns about gaps in the faction the design team is working to address with some final tweaks (and even a new card added just recently.) The team is working with the playtesters to find ways to make sure these cards will be fun, functional, and impactful upon release without contributing to escalating power creep over decks. As I hope you can imagine, all of this requires a lot of time, energy, and balance - hence the delay.
Our goal is to have The Cage out before the end of Regional season, in late spring of 2019. That's a few months behind from our original target of early Spring. It's possible that we'll need to spend even more time with the file, but I am hopeful that as it stands, The Cage is going to be good to go in another revision or two. I will say that some production work has begun, with cards being proofread and art resources being gathered, so we're a little ahead of the game for The Cage's production.
One of the side effects of this work has been that we had to change up one of the signature cards - Preserver Obelisk. As this is going to be the release promo, the card had already been produced by Art but fortunately it had not been printed. The team was able to make the changes they needed to make, keeping the spirit of the card, and I'd like to share the finished alternate-image promo version of the card with you today:
Since we're talking about the block, here are some updates on the other two projects in the block:
Project G'Kar should begin testing any week now, and will be released approximately four (4) months after The Cage comes out.
They have several months before they will release their expansion to testers, so lots is going to change between now and then. But there is a talented team working on this file - aside from James, both Matthew Zinno [commdecker] and Michael Moskop [comicbookhero] are returning - while newcomer Daniel Matteson [OKCoyote] joins his first expansion. Stay tuned for more developments as we move through the block. You can expect this expansion to come out about eight (8) months after The Cage is released.
If you've volunteered to test out Project Keiko, please stay tuned. Once the first pass on this additional content is completed - in the next few weeks - we'll be getting this out for you to run through its paces. I'm hopeful, but not confident enough to promise, this will be out this summer in time for it to be used at GenCon, Continentals, and Worlds.[/quote]
The other three parts of this project are three (3) different and special sets of promo cards. We're still nailing down exactly how we're going to make these available for you, but these are all meant to celebrate the birthday of our favorite game. The first set of promos will be alternate-image promos of famous cards from the early era of the game (the PAQ era - <b><em>Premiere</em></b> + <b><em>Alternate Universe</em></b> + <em><b>Q Continuum</B></em>) but with non-TNG stories. For example, now that Black Hole is off the ban list, we might make a <em>Voyager</em> version (even though Black Hole is technically out of the PAQ era, it's close enough).
The second set of promos will be the opposite - famous and/or popular cards from non-TNG source that are remade with TNG-based alternate images. Note that due to property logos being a playable characteristic, all of the cards in these two promos sets will be verbs, i.e. not personnel or ships. But, to make up for that, we're doing the third set of promos: a high resolution set of the main bridge crew of <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>. You will finally be able to have and print out clean, crisp, high definition versions of the main TNG crew, all with alternate images from the HD Remastered versions of the show.
Excited yet? Stay tunes - we've got more tricks up our sleeves.
Ultimately, the deliverable of this project isn't going to be an expansion or new cards, but data. We'll know, and have data to back up, how all of the potential changes might impact the game and the playability of Nor cards. We'll use this data, with your help, to chart a course forward for these beloved but very complicated cards. And, as I've said before, this data will let us look at projects like a revision of the DS9 block (much like Coming of Age did for the TNG block) and new DS9-themed expansions. As an experimental design project, there are no deadlines or expected delivery dates; instead, we'll keep you updated as it progresses.[/quote]
We've got a few expansions that are on hold, or that haven't had much progress. Here's a summary of where those project are:
That's all for this update. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, anything I can give you more information on, or just if there's something you'd like to see more (or less of) in future updates. I'll endeavor to update more often, instead of waiting for significant news to pop up. I've always thought an update of "things are the same as last time" isn't something you'd be interested in, but I don't know for sure - do you want more frequent updates, even if that means things don't change as much? Let me know, and most of all, expand your power in the universe.
-crp
In the mean time, I don't want to keep you waiting any more so let's dive right into the March 2019 update on 1E projects. Let's start with the one I've been asked about more than any other:
The CageThe Cage, as Project Delenn will be known, has been very close to done for months, but the last few adjustments are proving to be time consuming and difficult to lock in. While that does mean that The Cage will be arriving later in the year than we'd hoped, it also means you'll be getting the best possible version of the expansion. The core issue has to do with the final power level of the new cards in the expansion, and getting them dialed into the right levels. The new cards were aiming for a level of power and simplicity that ranked a little ahead of , to give new and returning players an easier time using the new cards; however, it turns out that a few interactions were pushing them up to near levels in power. After much discussion and deliberation, it was agreed that we don't want the power of some current decks to be the new baseline, so adjustments had to be made. And those adjustments required a few other adjustments, and etc.
(Formerly known as Project Delenn)
STATUS:PRE-DESIGN>DESIGN> DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCTION
(Project Delenn is the first expansion of Block 5, the TOS block, and focuses on .)
The long and short is that most of the volunteers working on The Cage are pretty happy with where the file has ended up. There are some testers concerns about gaps in the faction the design team is working to address with some final tweaks (and even a new card added just recently.) The team is working with the playtesters to find ways to make sure these cards will be fun, functional, and impactful upon release without contributing to escalating power creep over decks. As I hope you can imagine, all of this requires a lot of time, energy, and balance - hence the delay.
Our goal is to have The Cage out before the end of Regional season, in late spring of 2019. That's a few months behind from our original target of early Spring. It's possible that we'll need to spend even more time with the file, but I am hopeful that as it stands, The Cage is going to be good to go in another revision or two. I will say that some production work has begun, with cards being proofread and art resources being gathered, so we're a little ahead of the game for The Cage's production.
One of the side effects of this work has been that we had to change up one of the signature cards - Preserver Obelisk. As this is going to be the release promo, the card had already been produced by Art but fortunately it had not been printed. The team was able to make the changes they needed to make, keeping the spirit of the card, and I'd like to share the finished alternate-image promo version of the card with you today:
Since we're talking about the block, here are some updates on the other two projects in the block:
Project G'KarProject G'Kar has been done with design for a few weeks, and is currently patiently waiting in the queue for The Cage to finish up before rolling out to testers. Paddy Tye [KazonPADD] and Niall Matthews [sexecutioner], the project co-lead designers, have been taking advantage of the time to polish their initial designs. Additionally, the team has been doing internal testing and following the testing of The Cage and the adjustments to the metagame due to recent errata; where it's been needed, they have been making tweaks. There are some really cool cards and mechanics in Project G'Kar, including cards but going beyond as well. (I hope the Trelane-related card works out as well as I think it will!)
STATUS:PRE-DESIGN>DESIGN> DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCTION
(Project Delenn is the second expansion of Block 5, the TOS block, and focuses on .)
Project G'Kar should begin testing any week now, and will be released approximately four (4) months after The Cage comes out.
Project LondoJames Monsebroten [Orbin] and his team have been hard at work, brainstorming ideas and fleshing out the themes they want to give to Original Series Klingons. There's a nice cycle of cards that was ultimately cut from The Cage with the intention that James would rescue them in Project Londo, so I'm glad to see them still in the file. Klingons are deserving of their own suite of cards, fully developing a faction that's only been half in the game since The Trouble With Tribbles.
STATUS:PRE-DESIGN> DESIGN > DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCTION
(Project Londo is the third expansion in the TOS block, and will feature cards.)
They have several months before they will release their expansion to testers, so lots is going to change between now and then. But there is a talented team working on this file - aside from James, both Matthew Zinno [commdecker] and Michael Moskop [comicbookhero] are returning - while newcomer Daniel Matteson [OKCoyote] joins his first expansion. Stay tuned for more developments as we move through the block. You can expect this expansion to come out about eight (8) months after The Cage is released.
Project KeikoWhile we've got one more round of testing the scripted game to go, we're actively working on finishing up the rest of the project around that scripted game. Early testing indicated that players wanted a guide to the different card types, and icon guide - these are a where a large part of the work is happening. We're also working on getting updated graphics for some of the cards used and fleshing out the next steps for players after they've gone through the walk through.
STATUS:PRE-DESIGN>DESIGN>DEVELOPMENT> PRODUCTION
(Project Keiko is a scripted learn-to-play experience for new players.)
If you've volunteered to test out Project Keiko, please stay tuned. Once the first pass on this additional content is completed - in the next few weeks - we'll be getting this out for you to run through its paces. I'm hopeful, but not confident enough to promise, this will be out this summer in time for it to be used at GenCon, Continentals, and Worlds.[/quote]
Project ArgentumProject Argentum is really four (4) different projects, all designed to celebrate the 25th birthday of the Star Trek: Customizable Card Game. The first part, that I've previously told you about, is a boutique expansion with a cool story theme. I don't want to spoil this just yet, but the idea is that each card in the finished product will share a specific trait; I'm confident it will be something you guys will really enjoy.
STATUS: PRE-DESIGN > DESIGN > DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCTION
(Project Argentum is an project to celebrate the 25th anniversary of STCCG.)
The other three parts of this project are three (3) different and special sets of promo cards. We're still nailing down exactly how we're going to make these available for you, but these are all meant to celebrate the birthday of our favorite game. The first set of promos will be alternate-image promos of famous cards from the early era of the game (the PAQ era - <b><em>Premiere</em></b> + <b><em>Alternate Universe</em></b> + <em><b>Q Continuum</B></em>) but with non-TNG stories. For example, now that Black Hole is off the ban list, we might make a <em>Voyager</em> version (even though Black Hole is technically out of the PAQ era, it's close enough).
The second set of promos will be the opposite - famous and/or popular cards from non-TNG source that are remade with TNG-based alternate images. Note that due to property logos being a playable characteristic, all of the cards in these two promos sets will be verbs, i.e. not personnel or ships. But, to make up for that, we're doing the third set of promos: a high resolution set of the main bridge crew of <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>. You will finally be able to have and print out clean, crisp, high definition versions of the main TNG crew, all with alternate images from the HD Remastered versions of the show.
Excited yet? Stay tunes - we've got more tricks up our sleeves.
Project BabylonThis project, under the leadership of Paddy Tye [KazonPADD], is already underway studying the nuances of Nor use and their mechanics. A number of games have been played already to get a firm baseline established, and then the team will be leaving no stone unturned in their examination of ways to address "the Nor problems." That includes new cards, errata, rules changes, and even a new version of existing Nors that allows players to ignore all the extra baggage. A number of you have suggested "a way for you to play Nors the old way and me to use a simple version," and that's on the table as well.
STATUS: EXPLORATORY DESIGN
(Project Babylon is an exploratory design project looking at the problems with Nors, and potential solutions to those problems.)
Ultimately, the deliverable of this project isn't going to be an expansion or new cards, but data. We'll know, and have data to back up, how all of the potential changes might impact the game and the playability of Nor cards. We'll use this data, with your help, to chart a course forward for these beloved but very complicated cards. And, as I've said before, this data will let us look at projects like a revision of the DS9 block (much like Coming of Age did for the TNG block) and new DS9-themed expansions. As an experimental design project, there are no deadlines or expected delivery dates; instead, we'll keep you updated as it progresses.[/quote]
We've got a few expansions that are on hold, or that haven't had much progress. Here's a summary of where those project are:
Project En GardeWith basically the entire team of this project also working on Project G'Kar, it's been put on the back burner. However, it's also an opportunity to combine the two projects and get two birds with one stone. The goal of En Gard, as always, is to give casual, newer, and returning players a pair of decks that will let them play fun, kitchen table games with their friends. And once they are comfortable, they can take them to a tournament and compete without getting obliterated. Right now, the plan is for these decks to be vs with a "Chain of Command" theme.[/quote]
STATUS:PRE-DESIGN> DESIGN > DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCTION
(Project En Garde is a pair of balanced decks designed to give great games against each other, and fit into tournament play.)
Project WarriorAllen Gould [AllenGould] and Jon Carter [pfti] have both been quite busy with other projects, and since exploratory design projects are always the lowest priority, nothing much has happened with this project. However, at our most recent staff meeting, both volunteers reaffirmed their desire to work on this, so hopefully some movement will be happening soon.
STATUS: EXPLORATORY DESIGN
(Project Warrior is an exploratory design project looking for ways to do to ground combat what Tactics did for ship combat.)
Project AnnikaThough things have been slow, Andreas Rhinelander [Dukat] has agreed to take on the lead of this project to keep things moving. Andreas, Jorn, and the rest of the team will be working on this as they can and hopefully, someday in the not-too-distant future, give us some cool direction to take the Borg.
STATUS: EXPLORATORY DESIGN
(Project Annika is an exploratory design project looking for ways to play Borg along with other affiliations.)
That's all for this update. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, anything I can give you more information on, or just if there's something you'd like to see more (or less of) in future updates. I'll endeavor to update more often, instead of waiting for significant news to pop up. I've always thought an update of "things are the same as last time" isn't something you'd be interested in, but I don't know for sure - do you want more frequent updates, even if that means things don't change as much? Let me know, and most of all, expand your power in the universe.
-crp
Director of First Edition, 2019 - now
"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Symbolizing the elements that create truth and beauty."
Klingons say TRANS RIGHTS.
"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Symbolizing the elements that create truth and beauty."
Klingons say TRANS RIGHTS.