Today we'd like to share some of the new artwork being made for Substratum Protocol hitting 20k! Galen sent over some initial sketches for several pieces he's working on, and they're fantastic.
Let us know what you think!
The radio room at Mission Control.
The scientists inside their inflatable habitat
Difficulties of the expedition, based on notes from the unknown scientist
New Interviews Out
We were lucky enough to be invited to talk with the wonderful people at RPGs Uncovered andSword and Key about the Substratum Protocol. We had a ton of fun diving into who we are, and all the interesting ways we think players will engage with the game. Make sure to check them out!
Progress Updates
Editing: We are excited to announce that we have received the final edits from our editor, Eric Lazure, and are working through the over two hundred items he discovered on the latest pass!
Artwork and Layout: All existing artwork is in place, and the newly commissioned art is progressing along nicely! We should have another update for artwork by the end of next week. Layout for the main book is on hold until we get the new artwork, so we are going to spend the next week focusing on the solo journal and folios to make sure they're 100% polished and ready to go.
Proof Prints: We have submitted print files to our printers last week, and those books are being printed and sent to us currently. These early copies will let us know if we have our colors, margin, bleed, and more set correctly for the bigger print run.
The Gravity Inversion Zone
That's not the locator beacon we started this journey with. Must be a suit malfunction
For our next deep dive, voters wanted to hear about the Gravity Inversion Zone! Our thought behind this zone is to really start getting the players asking what could be happening to cause these anomalies. Our scientists go from descending into the core, to climbing up towards it.
There were several ideas we had as to what may cause this flip - from the idea that there's now more mass above you, then below as the core of the planet is disappearing. Gravity generators installed by alien creatures, or upward pressure of the portal's energies are now so great to overcome the planet's gravity at this point.
Ultimately, the answer is for you and the players to decide based upon the story you've built so far, but one thing is clear: at this intersection of gravities, things are very unstable. Structures are breaking apart, mass is being compressed rapidly into miniature black holes or superheated plasmas, and as forces from the portal intertwine, it causes hallucinations and reality to become blurred.
Powerful energies are at play here, and perhaps something from the portal is using these colliding powers to generate their own energy or perform experiments.
What clues will be discovered at this intersection of such powerful phenomena? Will the scientists be too battered by the unstable sector and focus on escape to the levels below, looking for respite from the chaos?
