Heya Folks!

It's been a few weeks now since the Basic version of Crisis Council was released here and I thought it was time I finally updated you all on how things are going with the full release of the project. Today we'll be looking at what's done as well as the few things that need to be wrapped up. Hopefully this will give you all an idea of where I'm at with the project and how far out the final release is.

What's Already Done

Let's start by discussing what I already have finished up. It's actually a lot more than you may be expecting, but the silence between the initial upload and now wasn't for nothing!

1. Obviously, the BASIC version of the game is complete, however, there are a few things that have been expanded on:
   1. Standard Role cards have been made. They include rules for playing a strictly "BASIC" game BUT will also provide optional rules for the full game. To explain, I gave the "standard" cards an end of game ability that gives you an idea of what sorts of things might be on the other cards. Those are still private, but allow me to share the ability for this role here:  During the final roll treat the threat level as if it were 1 lower.
   2. What's this "threat level" I'm talking about? That's actually part two of the BASIC game modifications I've made. I've completely overhauled the way the rules are written and presented (though some things are NOT complete due to what we'll discuss in the next section, so you won't see these updated rules for a bit) all for your benefit! The BASIC version of the game will eventually include the full rulebook (a standard practice when digital rulebooks are available) so you can see how this new term and all the mechanics will work if you buy into the full version of the game.
2. All "Arbiter" and "Player" role cards have been finalized in terms of content. I have created the following:
   1. A total of 6 Arbiter role cards, one of which is the "standard" version found in the BASIC game
   2. A total of 6 Player role cards, one of which includes what's outlined above (3x copies)
3. About 3 "Emergency Policy" cards have been designed. What are these? Good question!
   1. Emergency Policy cards are something the Arbiter will put into play at the END of every round, generally effecting how something works in the next or providing an immediate effect. These range from good to bad but one MUST always be played each round. There may be times where you are forced to make a less optimal choice as you see fewer cards each round and the pool the cards are pulled from continue to decrease. The bad cards are projected to get worse over time, so you may play one early to avoid a whammy later!
   2. I am designing these two different ways right now so these are not finalized, but the few I've made are allowing me to make a better choice. Here are the two structures I'm currently exploring:
      1. One deck of 9-18 cards (number tbd based on what I can come up with and what ultimately ends up feeling right) with 3 sections on each card. Each of the sections indicates what you should do based on the current round number. This might sound complicated, but it is probably what I'll go with as it is elegant and allows for more creative design decisions.
      2. The alternative is 3 separate decks that funnel cards into a final deck. Meaning in round 1 you would see cards, and the cards you DON'T USE would forward to the later decks. This would require a bit more work on my end to pull off, but it is an interesting idea pitched to me by a playtester. My worry is that this is perhaps a bit too fiddly, but again, this design decision is not yet finalized, just content has been.
4. Finally, I have created and finalized about 80% of the artwork for this game. This mostly applies to card art and components as you can see on the game's page that the other stuff is obviously finished.

What Needs to be Done

As you can see there are still a few things left, so let's quickly go over all of that.

1. First up on the docket is to create all the Emergency Policy cards. I have folks looking at the ones I create and a playtest group on standby once they are ready. This is probably going to take me another 1-4 weeks to finish as they are critical to making the game play the way I want to, and need the most work. I can't promise this schedule will be super accurate at this time thanks to the state of the world, so please take my date estimations with a grain of salt.
2. Speaking of cards, the 20% of artwork not done? That's the cards themselves (well a bit of it is)! Here's what I need to do for cards:
   1. Layout needs to be finalized. I have rough outlines for all cards but I need to ensure they look good from a player perspective. While I haven't had these out to groups, the Player and Arbiter cards are more-or-less finished sans some minor tweaking. The Policy Cards are going to be what take me the longest.
   2. The reason for that is the software that I use to create the cards. They make print-ready cards, which is great long-term, but I'm hitting a small issue that I need to get a bit creative on before I can move forward. This may sound stupid, but FONT is actually eating my time. The font I use for everything can't be imported into this program, so I'm having to get a bit creative with image layers and stuff, which is highly inefficient but worthwhile for a cohesive looking product.
3. Rules re-write. I won't lie, the BASIC rules that you can currently download are not the best. Some things are slightly unclear and it's mostly organized the way it is for the sake of brevity, just to get the product out there, above anything else. The plan has always been to overhaul this document anyway, but I don't feel the existing document is negatively effecting the product. The new rules, when ready, will be the full rulebook regardless of whether you buy into the full game or not. The BASIC game will be free as "demo" on here with all the print-and-play stuff with the full rulebook. If you buy into the game, you'll get the pnp stuff for that. Easy!
4. Playtesting! I still need to do a few more rounds of playing the game as things get tweaked. No big surprise there. I have a system in place for this now so this is pretty easy once I get to it.
5. Release the DIGITAL product here.
6. Get the physical version ready for sale and release! More info on that as we get closer to that step, it will involve more on my end but you guys shouldn't have anything you need to worry about. I would estimate an additional 2-3 week wait between digital and physical release.

Until Next Time!

That's it for now, I just really wanted to let you know how things were looking. Overall, I'd say the game could be completed within the next month or two no problem. I will make another update post once things are almost ready, or actually ready. I appreciate everyone's patience with this and sincerely hope you look forward to the finalized version of Crisis Council!