The Post-Kickstarter Discussion Thread: Bask in the Afterglow

[ThePhantasm]

BELKAR STORY! And its awesome!

[The Giant]

Beat me to it. There's a discussion thread for the Belkar story (and all future PDFs) now on this board.

[Peelee]

Future PDF question (unsure if spoiler for the Belkar one)

Spoiler

Show

As the other PDFs are also prequels, I'll assume they'll be B&W as well, but I want to check and make sure due to the teaser poster when the kick starter was announced - will the O-Chul PDF be black and white, or full color?

[The Giant]

I answered this in the other thread:

O-Chul will be in "bluescale," or monochrome blue. Think black-and-white, but with shades of blue instead of shades of grey. Therkla's story will probably be the same way, since she's from Azure City too. If you want to see what it looks like, check out the cover image I used for O-Chul's story during the Kickstarter.

The other prequel stories (C.P.P.D and Sir Francois & the Dragon), the StickTales (Haleo and Julelan), and Julio Scoundrél will be in black-and-white, to match the existing stories of the same group from Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales. Dim Sun will be in full color.

[Peelee]

I answered this in the other thread:

Must have missed that. Thanks!

EDIT: Eek. Or I just deleted the question and restated it here due to the "please don't discuss future PDFs" clause I'm the thread intro. Must've done it while you were already typing the answer. I seem to be doing that quite freqyently lately. My bad.

[Alaska Fan]

I thought I'd report that my goodies from the Kickstarter Campaign were donated to an Alaska charity for a fundraising banquet. There must have been OOTS readers among the bidders: the package went for $390. And I had high-graded some of the refrigerator magnets before donating it.

I get a tax donation for my charitable gift. The charity - an adoption agency - got $390. And Rich has some new fans in a group that hadn't been reading web comics. Pretty good outcome.

Thanks, Rich.

[dtilque]

The two most recent strips have been on successive days, a Monday and a Tuesday (today). During the Kickstarter campaign there was a promise of a full week of strips if we reached a certain goal. Which we did. It was going to be done within a year of the campaign, but the failure of Sir Thumb to have presciently taken the Dashing Swordsman prestige class put that on hold.

So is this the promised week? I didn't see any announcement, but could have missed it.

[The Giant]

The two most recent strips have been on successive days, a Monday and a Tuesday (today). During the Kickstarter campaign there was a promise of a full week of strips if we reached a certain goal. Which we did. It was going to be done within a year of the campaign, but the failure of Sir Thumb to have presciently taken the Dashing Swordsman prestige class put that on hold.

So is this the promised week? I didn't see any announcement, but could have missed it.

I answered this on Twitter, too, and the answer is: Maybe. It's certainly my hope, but as of this point, I don't have all nine strips that would be needed finished. And my thumb may not be up to the task of getting them done in time.

So, if in another seven days, I've posted seven more comics, then yes, this was the Kickstarter reward. If not, then no, it wasn't, and that will still come at some point down the road.

[Sir_Leorik]

I answered this on Twitter, too, and the answer is: Maybe. It's certainly my hope, but as of this point, I don't have all nine strips that would be needed finished. And my thumb may not be up to the task of getting them done in time.

So, if in another seven days, I've posted seven more comics, then yes, this was the Kickstarter reward. If not, then no, it wasn't, and that will still come at some point down the road.

I think its better that you don't overtax your thumb!

[The Giant]

I think its better that you don't overtax your thumb!

And if it gets to the point where I think that continuing will, in fact, overtax it, then I'll stop. That's why I didn't formally announce, "This is the nine-in-a-row."

But at the risk of being rude, that's my call to make, not anyone else's. I'm the one who is living with the pressure of a hundred or more pages of unfinished commitments that people paid for over a year ago. If I think I can clear one of those off the plate, then I'm going to. I would be working on pages every day right now regardless, it would just be for one of the backer stories that you then saw all at once. This is no different than that.

Further, when I made that commitment in the first place, it was ALWAYS my intent to honor it at this exact point in the story. It's just that we were supposed to get here last September or so.

So, while I always appreciate well-wishes and encouragement, it's my call.

[Sir_Leorik]

And if it gets to the point where I think that continuing will, in fact, overtax it, then I'll stop. That's why I didn't formally announce, "This is the nine-in-a-row."

But at the risk of being rude, that's my call to make, not anyone else's. I'm the one who is living with the pressure of a hundred or more pages of unfinished commitments that people paid for over a year ago. If I think I can clear one of those off the plate, then I'm going to. I would be working on pages every day right now regardless, it would just be for one of the backer stories that you then saw all at once. This is no different than that.

Further, when I made that commitment in the first place, it was ALWAYS my intent to honor it at this exact point in the story. It's just that we were supposed to get here last September or so.

So, while I always appreciate well-wishes and encouragement, it's my call.

Understood, I didn't mean to come across as rude. Get better!

[Duskranger]

Well however it is I am seriously enjoying the prizes I have gotten up to now.

If this is the prize of a comic a day I love it, I am again starting to get addicted to OOTS. And if not, well still a lot of comics to read.

Nice work Giant ,nice work

[CoffeeIncluded]

Out of curiosity, what made you want to pick this sequence in particular to do the "update a day" special?

[The Giant]

Out of curiosity, what made you want to pick this sequence in particular to do the "update a day" special?

Ask me again when it's over.

[CoffeeIncluded]

...Oh, I most certainly will. Unless the question's been answered.

[MartectX]

Out of curiosity, what made you want to pick this sequence in particular to do the "update a day" special?

Maybe The Giant is planning on some children-making of his own?

[Letums Gate]

I was curious if the "walk-on cameo" is going to be a big thing or if it is going to be subtle and when it is planed to happen since Rich's thumb injury?

Sorry if this has already been addressed I just dont have the time to read all of this thread....and maybe the last one for an answer.

[MartectX]

I was curious if the "walk-on cameo" is going to be a big thing or if it is going to be subtle and when it is planed to happen since Rich's thumb injury?

Sorry if this has already been addressed I just dont have the time to read all of this thread....and maybe the last one for an answer.

Rich said he planned one (or some?) strip where the OotS meet a random individual, one year from the Kickstarter. So that's more like one-and-a-half years now. And I guess this event will be after they find the current gate and prevent (or cause or whatever...) its destruction. I also recall him posting that it will be obvious, in one way or another, who is the walk-on character.

[Gift Jeraff]

He said he'll announce it as well.

[Ninja Dragon]

Ask me again when it's over.

Guys, something really awesome is coming. Brace yourselves. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.

[SavageWombat]

Remember that the first time he guaranteed a week of daily strips, it was the evil opposite battle royale.

So it's

A: awesome (already stated)
B: something that would drive the readers nuts waiting for updates

and I think this battle is shaping up to that.

[Dwy]

I answered this on Twitter, too, and the answer is: Maybe. It's certainly my hope, but as of this point, I don't have all nine strips that would be needed finished. And my thumb may not be up to the task of getting them done in time.

So, if in another seven days, I've posted seven more comics, then yes, this was the Kickstarter reward. If not, then no, it wasn't, and that will still come at some point down the road.

This whole statement is incredible, nothing less.

The 9-in-a-row effectively cannot fail, because if it does, then this never was it, and the real one will be in the future (resulting in at least an additional, awesome 3-in-a-row, by now).

Creds to the Giant for being the most service minded author I've come across.

[lio45]

This whole statement is incredible, nothing less.

The 9-in-a-row effectively cannot fail, because if it does, then this never was it, and the real one will be in the future (resulting in at least an additional, awesome 3-in-a-row, by now).

Creds to the Giant for being the most service minded author I've come across.

Agreed! It's really daring, and really good reader service, of him to undertake the 9-in-a-row without being even sure he'll be able to make it (in which case, we the readers will have enjoyed an completely extra n-in-a-row, 3 < n < 9).

Think about it: it would have been easy for the Giant to simply postpone the start of the 9-in-a-row until he had created a pretty safe buffer of a few more drawn strips. Merely starting the 9-in-a-row the following week instead would've likely greatly increased the chances of being able to go through it, and would've gone all but un-noticed by the readership (already used to irregular updates, especially in the AT era (After Thumb), so what's one more week?).

So, wow. Thanks!

[Douglas]

Agreed! It's really daring, and really good reader service, of him to undertake the 9-in-a-row without being even sure he'll be able to make it (in which case, we the readers will have enjoyed an completely extra n-in-a-row, 3 < n < 9).

Think about it: it would have been easy for the Giant to simply postpone the start of the 9-in-a-row until he had created a pretty safe buffer of a few more drawn strips. Merely starting the 9-in-a-row the following week instead would've likely greatly increased the chances of being able to go through it, and would've gone all but un-noticed by the readership (already used to irregular updates, especially in the AT era (After Thumb), so what's one more week?).

So, wow. Thanks!

I remember Rich posting at some point that buffers just don't work for him. If he tries, he ends up wasting an excessive amount of time going back and tweaking what's in the buffer, leaving too little time to actually produce more comics.

[lio45]

I remember Rich posting at some point that buffers just don't work for him. If he tries, he ends up wasting an excessive amount of time going back and tweaking what's in the buffer, leaving too little time to actually produce more comics.

Generally speaking, sure, a buffer is an invitation to keep tweaking endlessly, but for the purposes of this one promised 9-in-a-row, the strips that would've been posted anyway could be set aside and considered pretty much final... I mean, if Rich feels he's satisfied and completely ready to post the strip as is -- which he was for #871, #872 and #873 -- then he probably has enough self-control to leave them as they are while he builds up a much-needed buffer for his "challenge". It's much easier to refrain from touching the buffer strip for this ONE single occasion where they're really needed than it is to keep buffer strips all the time and never touch them.

Plus, he actually could still tweak the buffered strips if he wanted to... that would simply push back the start of the 9-in-a-row a bit, but we wouldn't know about it anyway...

[Mutant Sheep]

Generally speaking, sure, a buffer is an invitation to keep tweaking endlessly, but for the purposes of this one promised 9-in-a-row, the strips that would've been posted anyway could be set aside and considered pretty much final... I mean, if Rich feels he's satisfied and completely ready to post the strip as is -- which he was for #871, #872 and #873 -- then he probably has enough self-control to leave them as they are while he builds up a much-needed buffer for his "challenge". It's much easier to refrain from touching the buffer strip for this ONE single occasion where they're really needed than it is to keep buffer strips all the time and never touch them.

Plus, he actually could still tweak the buffered strips if he wanted to... that would simply push back the start of the 9-in-a-row a bit, but we wouldn't know about it anyway...

I don't think you are more qualified than the Giant to speak on how the Giant thinks.

"Tweaking" isn't a once-and-done thing. If he did all nine comics and had them decent, he might "have the self control" (it isn't an addiction, it is a feeling that hey, that strip could be better and better is good!) to not mess around, he announces it, he starts putting them out. Then on day three, he might think that the wording is crap on day 4 and the art on day 7 isn't good enough or whatever Giant's feel is inadaquate about their stick-person webcomic. It's not exactly simple to have this 9 comic buildup in the first place anyways. To make this buffer, he has to not update the comic for a pretty long time compared to just putting them up when he gets done with them. He'd also put off working on the Kickstarter things. It isn't some crippling addiction of going back and redoing everything, it's just not that easy to have 9 comics, some of them possible double page, all lined up and ready to go while still maintaining the Giant's admirable (I'm a terrible procrastinator, work ethics amaze me) work ethic and rough scheduling.

[lio45]

I don't think you are more qualified than the Giant to speak on how the Giant thinks.

Neither do I, which is why I have been using words like "probably" and "likely"...

"Tweaking" isn't a once-and-done thing. If he did all nine comics and had them decent, he might "have the self control" (it isn't an addiction, it is a feeling that hey, that strip could be better and better is good!) to not mess around, he announces it, he starts putting them out. Then on day three, he might think that the wording is crap on day 4 and the art on day 7 isn't good enough or whatever Giant's feel is inadaquate about their stick-person webcomic. It's not exactly simple to have this 9 comic buildup in the first place anyways. To make this buffer, he has to not update the comic for a pretty long time compared to just putting them up when he gets done with them. He'd also put off working on the Kickstarter things. It isn't some crippling addiction of going back and redoing everything, it's just not that easy to have 9 comics, some of them possible double page, all lined up and ready to go while still maintaining the Giant's admirable (I'm a terrible procrastinator, work ethics amaze me) work ethic and rough scheduling.

Note that I wasn't talking about waiting until there are a full NINE comics ready... at all... 'cause you're totally right, piling up nine ready comics would definitely mean a longer-than-usual time with no updates, and that wouldn't go unnoticed. What I was talking about was something like delaying the start of the 9-in-a-row a week or so. (Just look at my post above again if you don't believe me ;)).

Rich appears to think he can do this 9-in-a-row despite apparently not having so many ready comics piled up at the moment, so with the production rate he's planning that he's going to have for the #871-879 sequence, I imagine he could easily have piled up a few extra buffer comics had he delayed the start of his 9-in-a-row by a full week, and these few extra comics (say, 2, 3 or 4, i.e. the approx. result of a week of production) could very well have turned out to be the difference between pulling off the 9-in-a-row or not.


I hope it's clear that my posts have been congratulating Rich for deciding to not play it safe, knowing that a "failure" would simply mean a freebie several-comics-in-a-row for us, and extra effort for him, when the odds of avoiding said "failure" could've been easily improved by simply waiting a bit more (like one more week), without anyone noticing.

[Mutant Sheep]

The whole comic is for free, and the Kickstarter streak isn't really something that was paid for as much as Rich being a pioneer in Kickstarting with the motivational goals for fundraising.

Neither do I, which is why I used words like "probably" and "likely"...

I'm sorry. I tend to read words like "probably" with negative connotations, which you weren't using, now that I look closer. You were talking in a way different than I was reading it. I was reading it as "Rich was foolish for having done it this way..." Instead of "He could guarantee the 9 comic in a row streak by delaying posting strips, we wouldn't know".

[lio45]

I'm sorry. I tend to read words like "probably" with negative connotations, which you weren't using, now that I look closer.

Out of curiosity, English not being my first language, hope you'll pardon me for the threadjack but I have to ask: why would you read words like "probably" any other way than simply literally? "I'm not sure, but it's likely that..." "I'm not sure, but it would be logical that..." "I'm not sure, but there are reason(s) to believe that..." I don't see anything negative there; uncertainty, yes, negativity, no.

When I'm not sure, I make it clear that I'm not sure; but in doing so, if I have been choosing words that can (and do) have a negative connotation to English speakers, then it would be nice to know it so I can adjust my vocabulary. Unless you're the oddball one, and then I won't. ;)

[SaintRidley]

The use of "probably" can function positively. However, especially when in conjunction with traits attributable to a person (probably has enough self-control, can probably wait), it explicitly highlights the uncertainty and doubt aspect as well. Someone doesn't "probably have enough self-control" if we feel certain, they simply have enough self-control. The "probably" raises the possibility that they don't and actually places emphasis on the doubt. In the case of attributable traits, as above, it's very easy to read the use of "probably" as an indicator of sarcasm by way of calling attention to that doubt and uncertainty inherent in the word.

Hope that helps.