How Much of Leviathans Will Release Electronically Before Its Print Publication?

With the recent release of more ships in the James’ Fighting Leviathans: Excerpt From 1910 Edition PDF, I’ve seen some questions about how much of the material in the Core Box Set will be released in PDF format prior to the release of the box set.

At the current time that simply is unknown. We’re forging into unknown territories with the release of Leviathans under Creative Commons and embracing electronic distribution to spread awareness of this cool, new property far and wide; if this was a game set in the early age of sale this would be the “Here Be Dragons” part of the map.

As such I can’t provide specific details. Instead, we’ll be watching very closely to see the reception to the release of various PDFs, which will help us decide what future material we release.

For example, if you’ve been following my blogs you know the rules are divided into 3 rules booklets: Lieutenant’s Manual, Commander’s Manual, and Captain’s Manual. The Lieutenant’s Manual release in late November is basically identical to what will be found in the box set; obviously it was tweaked to make it appropriate for use as a stand-alone PDF (i.e. a map, ship cut-outs, ship cards and so on). Some of you are wondering if we’ll release the Commander’s Manual in this fashion? We’ve already had several discussions of the pros and cons and I’m sure more will come before we make a final decision of whether to set sail at that particular heading.

What I do want to clarify is that while the specific ships included in the Lieutenant’s Manual PDF are currently slated for publication in the Core Box Set, the specific ships included in the James’ Fighting Leviathans: Excerpt From 1910 Edition PDF are not currently scheduled for publication in the Core Box Set. And yes we’ve plans for more “James’ Fighting Leviathans: Excerpt From 1910 Edition” PDFs to release in the coming weeks, with current plans that none of those releases will appear in the Core box Set; i.e. we want to ensure that such releases bring further enjoyment of the game but ultimately won’t detract from the final enjoyment players will find once the Core box Set is released.

Why am I sharing all of this? From the very beginning I envisioned Leviathans as a community experience and wanted to be as transparent as possible, providing players with an un-parralled look at the full breadth of development of a game and universe. And that includes noting the endless discussions that occur as we do forge into new territory and try and balance what’s best for expanding the community (i.e. how much do we release ahead ahead of schedule, how much we hold back and so on) while still ensuring that ultimately when the print product hits stores it sells. Despite all we do to push the game experience through various low-priced electronic avenues, at the end of the day we still have to sell the physical game successfully for the game to continue.

Thanks for all the great comments seen to date…keep ‘em coming!

See ya next duty shift!

Randall