Basic Fantasy Field Guide Volume 1

[SmootRK]

Last update for today on first post.

I will see about adding more from MedievalMan and LibraryLass.

That damn Bulette pic just does weird stuff. I had it in the file, produced a great looking pdf... then next time I open LibreOffice, the image renders so weird. I drop the image, re-insert it from scratch... make a new PDF (all good). Then boom, next time I open the LibreOffice it is jacked up all over again. So, for now I am skipping that image, but I know in the end it can be re-inserted to make a nice pdf when the time comes. Strange behavior in that image that I cannot troubleshoot where/what incongruity messes it up.

The extra images are really making the file look good. Cheers for the artists.

[SmokestackJones]

Sorry about the LibreOffice problems with my pic, Smoot. Hope it can work out for you.

BTW, M-Man suggested an index of monsters - I'm assuming he means an index in the back and i'm all for it. But we could also use a list of monsters already illustrated. That'd prevent toe-stepping and such.

-SJ

[Solomoriah]

Sometimes you need to change the picture so it's anchored to the page rather than the paragraph. Sometimes you need to anchor it as a character (so it becomes part of the text flow). Sometimes you need to put it in a paragraph that's not actually where you want it to appear, then go into the image properties and change the positioning there rather than dragging and dropping.

Trust me, I've done a ton of this.

Also, I almost always retouch the artwork I receive. I autocrop out excess whitespace, fix the DPI if it's not 300, and scale the image to fit either a single column (3.25") or more if it's going across a full page. Sometimes I white out scanner artifacts and/or dust; sometimes I have to fix an overly harsh scan. I save the retouched image separately from the original in case I need to do something different later.

[MedievalMan]

BTW, M-Man suggested an index of monsters - I'm assuming he means an index in the back and i'm all for it. But we could also use a list of monsters already illustrated. That'd prevent toe-stepping and such.

I meant index in the beginning for easy monster finding, but any index is a good index. Even a separate document would be nice.

@Smoot
If you want I could bash out a rough and ready list that we could use until the book is actually ready.

[SmootRK]

BTW, M-Man suggested an index of monsters - I'm assuming he means an index in the back and i'm all for it. But we could also use a list of monsters already illustrated. That'd prevent toe-stepping and such.

I meant index in the beginning for easy monster finding, but any index is a good index. Even a separate document would be nice.

@Smoot
If you want I could bash out a rough and ready list that we could use until the book is actually ready.

Sure, that would be great. I can update the first post of this thread topic with the list when you get it. But, like I said before, a proper internal index with page numbers (perhaps even internally hyperlinked too) will be a last effort, as will some other stuff that I would eventually like to see like more encounter tables (or just revised ones).

[SmootRK]

I just inserted Dan Buterbaugh's Rabbit Prince. I love that one. I have so much to add in (overwhelming considering I move so slow at times on this stuff). I recently got a pdf of tons of old-school creatures done for another such 'retro-clone'... I don't copy such things, but serves well as inspiration for stuff.

We gotta do some lunch and errand stuff, so that is it for a while today. However, snowy and cold, so writing will likely resume later.

[Solomoriah]

Suggestion... draw a line, temporally speaking, pack in what you've got up to that line, and let's release a new version. I know the critters are coming hot and heavy now, but letting the release version get too far behind does us little good.

On the plus side, even after I snag those monsters for the Core Rules, it looks like this may actually get big enough to go to print.

[SmootRK]

Suggestion... draw a line, temporally speaking, pack in what you've got up to that line, and let's release a new version. I know the critters are coming hot and heavy now, but letting the release version get too far behind does us little good.

On the plus side, even after I snag those monsters for the Core Rules, it looks like this may actually get big enough to go to print.

I was actually expecting you to put such a request in (some posts back I spoke of it).

I think it will be a work in progress for quite some time, however I am not adverse to Solomoriah putting a deadline upon me (and Shonuff & Crew) for a release 3 official launch (meaning put into place on the downloads page).
...
Now, as far as the end goal of a Print Edition... that is likewise up to me doing a lot more work. I keep high standards for how I write and how I transcribe other individual works into the FG, so it is slow. My hope is that my standards ultimately lead to a really high quality work, rather than just a hodge-podge of individual efforts and random writing styles by individual contributors... really subjective stuff... hard to exactly describe, but I know it when I have it down on the file.

So be it. Release 3 will get finalized with the critters that I currently have in it (minus any that Solo specifically tells me will be redundant with the new 3rd Edition Core Rules)... though, I will try to work with Shonuff and Smokestack, and ArtKid to fill in with as much art as we can. Still no firm date, but when the art and layout can get done, we shall have the official r.3 before going back into the fray for release 4.

While it was recently asked for, work on Indexes or additional stuff will be slated for that r4 later.

[MedievalMan]

Alright I will put off that index for now then.

[chiisu81]

If a Table of Contents and/or Index is still wanted by release time I can help out.

Encounter tables, I mayyy be able to at least start some work on those.