For posting deck designs for feedback from other players and members of the community.
 
 - New Member
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#537699
Hey folks, I was wondering if there is a 2E template somewhere? Perhaps a Photoshop PSD or some other card maker? The new cards are really nice and high res I'd like to try making some as well.
 
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#537710
Ok cool I sent an invite request to the dojo. Do you know how the new expansions are made? They look really slick, are the assets located somewhere?
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By SudenKapala (Suden Käpälä)
 - Delta Quadrant
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#537733
It would be great if we had a standardized reply for these kinds of questions somewhere, that "we" -- mods, CC "agents" ( :lol: ), and regular members alike -- can copy-paste for people who ask about these kinds of issues.
Right now, I think many of us feel "awkward" when a genuinely enthusiastic and creative dream card maker pops in and asks resources to make their cards...? I do. I mean, I make my own cards for private enjoyment. (Who doesn't?) But they don't leave my PC; and I feel reluctant to tell anyone that I can't or won't help them, because I'm too happy with the status quo.

But the ensueing silence, however understandable, might be less constructive than possible -- it might be (and often actually seems to be) the last we ever hear of such people. It would be great if we could let these newcomers know that their energy is appreciated, but... and... that they're very welcome to participate with us in many other ways of the game.

It might be good to have such a message available as a reply template -- including friendly invitation to other ways of participation? -- in the FAQ page, perhaps? So that anyone can copy-paste it?

Also, it might be good to address the differences between the dream card community and the CC with regards to all this. On the one hand, the CC being a "dream card factory" in itself (whose closedness does raise the underdstandable eyebrow, if one doesn't know the whole story?); on the other hand, it being a legal entity with some responsibility -- does that sum it up? But it can probably be addressed a little better... :lol:

I hope we can avoid a hornet's nest here, and just work towards a better public understanding about this.

Or perhaps I misunderstand things; and if so, please jump in and correct me. (But don't step into that hive. No, not ther-- :borg: )
 
 - New Member
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#537741
Longer design process doesn't bother me at all, but no worries I totally understand if that's something that isn't willingly shared. When you spend time creating something it's hard to just hand it over haha
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By Gorgo Primus (Benjamin Rostoker)
 - Delta Quadrant
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#537754
Note, I'm not a member of the CC board/am not a 'Green Badge', so you don't have to take any of what I'm about to say as the official line/word from the people in charge here.

So, the Continuing Committee is a non-profit semi-elected organization that 'runs' 2E. They handle rules, errata, new card design releases, tournament coordination, etc. The company that made 2E basically handed them all their stuff when they went bankrupt and said " you can sort of officially unofficially continue to make and run the game now, just don't get in trouble with Paramount/CBS cause we won't be able to back you up". So they aren't going to hand out their template to people, and they don't want people making cards with their templates and posting them here for a whole host of reasons - one of which is they don't want fan dreamcards being confused for their official releases/tournament legal cards.

However, if you want to make dream cards some fans who aren't affiliated with the CC have made their own templates they mocked up and share with each other in places like the Dojo and have fun making whatever cards they want - and that's great and you should feel free to join in with them if you want to. They'll probably even have a whole host of tips for you on how to make them look as good and real as possible. There aren't really any rules or processes to follow for dream cards cause all that really matters is "does this look cool to me/does it make me happy". I don't pay much attention to dreamcards, but I know they even sometimes make some for 2E that include Doctor Who or other IPs. None of them are ever tournament legal here.

How CC expansions are made here (roughly speaking): Designers who have been hired and trained by the CC from the community either pitch or get given briefs on a theme or objective for an expansion by the 2E Game Director. They then volunteer/get assigned to said expansion project in teams of 2+. They spend several weeks or months coming up with cards, checking in with various departments along the way to make sure they work. When their work is approved by the 2E Director and is ready to go they then send a 'version A' of their set to the head of Playtesting who then runs it through extensive playtesting with volunteers (which you can easily join and help out with if you are interested). The results of this goes back to Design who then tweaks things and sends out Version B. This goes on til there are no issues with the cards and everyone seems content with the set. At the very end it goes to Rules for a last check, Art to set it up as real cards with official templates and images, and Creative who help make sure the lore and fluff are top notch. This entire process can take several months to a year for each expansion depending on how things go and who is in charge. Then they are released to the public with a lot of fanfare and become tournament legal a week after that.

If you wanted to get involved with expansion creation, my advice would be that your best bet in the short-term is to consider volunteering for playtesting to get inserted into the process right away (albeit not as a designer yourself). In the long term I'd suggest playing in tournaments and keeping an eye out for any calls for Volunteers/Help Wanted that the CC puts out for any position you qualify for and think you could do a really good job with. Make a name for yourself, gain experience with the game, and show people in the CC in charge of hiring that you can be a reliable and trusted volunteer and someone they'd want to work with.

Hope that answers all your questions.
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Executive Officer
By jadziadax8 (Maggie Geppert)
 - Executive Officer
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2E North American Continental Semi-Finalist 2023
ibbles  Trek Masters Tribbles Champion 2023
2E Deep Space 9 Regional Champion 2023
#537764
Thanks for answering that @SudenKapala and @Gorgo Primus. This weekend has been busy and I haven’t been able to be on that much.
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By SudenKapala (Suden Käpälä)
 - Delta Quadrant
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#537772
Gorgo Primus wrote: Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:39 pmHope that answers all your questions.
Well, it did answer some of my questions which I didn't know I had. 8) I guess the design process is similar for 1e? (Can someone corroborate that, or quickly point out any huge differences?)

Primus, are you OK with being quoted on this, in future cases?

And/or, would it be good to add a link in the FAQ to this post, for reasons I mentioned in my prev. post? Or put it up as an article or some such? So that it's easy to find if the next enthusiast comes asking -- which they will.
Last edited by SudenKapala on Sun Jan 03, 2021 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Gorgo Primus (Benjamin Rostoker)
 - Delta Quadrant
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#537775
I mean, like I said, I’m not capable of giving an official answer as I’m not a Green Badge, but I’m glad you found it helpful. And yes, you can quote me if you want so long as they know the context of where and from whom it came from so as to not potentially mislead anyone. I can’t speak to 1E, but I do have full confidence that that is a roughly accurate account of how 2E design works. I doubt things are radically different for 1E, but it is a completely different department full of people I’ve never spoken to before as I don’t play 1E or visit their forums.
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