Upwind RPG - Treasure Planet meets Studio Ghibli

Upwind BackerKit Closing 11.30!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Nov 24, 2018 at 09:12:13 PM

In case you were considering adding more items to your Upwind pledge, or in case you have gamer friends who might want to get aboard before this skyship sails, I wanted to let you know that the Upwind BackerKit will be closing soon - on November 30th to be precise. There are a lot of goodies there to add to your pledge or to pre-order, but time is limited so check out the site. 

As another production teaser, here's a picture of the Grand Amplifier campaign source book. It's only a POD proof, but given how good it looks the off-set book is going to be gorgeous! Can't wait!

The Proof is in the Proofs
over 5 years ago – Sun, Nov 04, 2018 at 08:45:31 PM

I am excited to share that the final printer proofs for both the Upwind core book and the Grand Amplifier campaign have been received, reviewed and approved for printing. This means production is underway and delivery is only a matter of how fast the fine folks at Jostens Printing can make your books - four to six weeks is the estimate!

In the meantime, here is some proof of the...um...proofs. 

Black and White Update
over 5 years ago – Fri, Oct 12, 2018 at 02:34:12 AM

Today marks the two year anniversary of the start of the Upwind Kickstarter campaign, which means today also marks the fact that Upwind is officially a year overdue. As you know, Stewart's passing cost the game - and the industry - much more than just a missed deadline, and we are deeply grateful for your ongoing understanding and patience. You have all been amazing (especially the folks at Nocturnal), and I think Stewart would be touched by your support. 

That said, I would like to recognize the passage of this anniversary with a pair of important updates. 

First, just this week, as we readied the final files for the printer, we opted to do spot UV on the covers - that's the process by which select elements on an otherwise matte finish cover are highlighted with a gloss varnish, making the art pop and giving the cover a standout appearance. In the image below, the black areas mark what will be gloss and the white mark what will be matte. Black and white - get it? Cool, huh? Can't wait to see the finished product!

Second, and perhaps more importantly, we are about to submit these final files to the printer, and assuming all goes well over the next few days, they will ACTUALLY START PRINTING UPWIND BOOKS! The time required varies, but a recent Nocturnal project took about eight weeks. The cool thing is that we are printing Upwind in the US, so that once the books are ready to go, shipping will not involve two months on a boat and clearing customs. Instead, hot off the press, Upwind will be shipped to our fulfillment center and then off to all of you! 

I am not enough of a gambler to give you a black and white delivery date yet (see what I did there?), but every day that goes by, we will have a better idea of just when the physical rewards will be headed your way (the posters and cards are ready and waiting). Fingers crossed, that will be around the new year, and though I know it still seems a good while away, given the rough sky we have already sailed through, that's nothing - and the winds ahead look fair...

Proofs and Playtests
over 5 years ago – Sun, Sep 30, 2018 at 07:15:13 PM

Just a pair of quick updates this time around. 

We expect to see the final, off-set proofs for Upwind and the Grand Amplifier any day now, so - assuming they are copacetic - we should then get an accurate delivery date for your rewards! It's been a long road but your support and patience are what have gotten us here and we are deeply grateful!

In case you have suggestions to make, October 15th is the last chance to submit Upwind: Incursion playtest feedback. You can find the raw text rules here. I am working on a final content edit as I type and will be passing it off for copy editing and layout on the 15th, so if you want to have a say, please email me your input ([email protected]) by then. 

Thank you!

Knight's Deck PnP
over 5 years ago – Mon, Sep 03, 2018 at 06:10:06 PM

Production continues apace on the physical Upwind rewards, but in the meantime I thought I would pass along the print-and-play version of the Knight's Deck for those who backed the cards. I figured the hardcore among us who want to bust out the perforated, poker card, cardstock and print their own could get on it. For the rest of us, I figured the files would simply make a cool preview. 

As usual, you will shortly receive a link through the Kickstarter message system that should take you to the Google drive file. 

From my perspective I think the Knight's Deck is one of the sharpest parts of the project, and I can't wait to send out the actual cards. Enjoy!