Miska Fredman

Captain's Starlog: Monthly Update - Feb 2023

Added 2023-02-07 05:57:15 +0000 UTC

Hi everyone,

What a start for a new year!

A lot has happened in our TTRPG community over a short period, and last month we saw seven new map releases - four sci-fi releases and three more cyberpunk and mythos maps.

In this post, I’ll share my thoughts on the OGL (Open Gaming License) situation, and let’s have a look at this month’s plans and some plans for the upcoming Foundry VTT updates after that. Finally, it’s time to move to a new “storyline” or map theme, and there’s a poll related to this at the end of the post.

January Releases

OGL & Miska’s Maps

I assume you might have already heard about the “OGL-gate” enough, so I won’t discuss further details here. However, if you haven’t heard about this, you can find a good recap here and on the #OpenDnD movement’s official site here. And about the results and current situation here and the WotC’s official announcement here.

How does this affect Miska’s Maps?

Well, not directly. At the moment. I’m doing mostly maps, but the OGL 1.0a has become so widely used over the past 23 years that it affects other creators I collaborate with and some of my content and future plans too. Also, I’m a co-founder of an indie RPG publishing company Ironspine Press, and our plans were pretty much based on the Fifth Edition SRD and the OGL. So, to put it briefly, my schedule and plans for January were pretty much devastated on the first week of January :) This is also why most of January’s releases came out at the end of the month.

During the past month, there have been several announcements of new systems coming out (Cubicle 7, MCDM, and Kobold Press are all working on their own systems, for example) and a surge in new players for Pathfinder and other non-DnD games. Also, Paizo has announced that they are working on a new independent and irrevocable open gaming license, ORC, and Free League announced that they are also working on their own OGL and an updated Year Zero Engine SRD. So, the TTRPG landscape is certainly changing.

Now that the current Fifth Edition rules (SRD 5.1) are published under the Creative Commons license (CC-BY-4.0), this means that it’s here to stay, and it seems that there will be more open systems coming into the market. However, while most of these systems will be fantasy-themed, there is some interesting news for sci-fi TTRPGs as well. The updated Year Zero Engine SRD definitely is something I’m interested in, and Mongoose Publishing announced that they are making an updated and open SRD for Traveller (Based on the 2022 Update Edition). I also looked into Death in Space, which is a rules-lite open system with some old-school feel to it.

Right now, I don’t have any big announcements to make, but I am certainly interested in expanding into adventures and looking into options on that front. It would be great to know in the comments if you would be interested in Foundry VTT-ready adventures prepared for a certain game system. Thanks!

February Plans

Ok, let’s move on to map stuff.

This month’s maps will include one larger spaceship deckplan and additional levels for the recent Imperial Research Station deckplan. This week there is a spaceport cargo hangar/warehouse map coming out, and the final map of the month is still a mystery. This will depend on the new map theme you can vote for at the end of this post.

February release schedule (not including the cyberpunk and mythos maps):

1) Spaceport Cargo Warehouse

2) Stealth Cruiser Deckplan

3) Imperial Research Station extra levels

4) New Map Theme map

For assets, we have a few updates coming throughout the month. Some new archaic/fantasy and sci-fi assets are coming as PNG packs soon, and by the end of the month, we will see some new cyberpunk-themed assets and the first batch of assets related to the new map theme.

Foundry Updates

There are changes coming to Foundry VTT module releases. Instead of a list of manifest links in a Patreon post, from now on, you will receive a direct message through Patreon, including manifest URLs for any new modules and news regarding any major Foundry VTT module updates and news.

Content available through Moulinette Cloud will be unaffected by these changes.

The current list of manifest URLs in the Foundry VTT archive post will be removed with the next module update. As a backup, I will send all current manifest URLs to all eligible active patrons in a direct message through Patreon so that you will have the links in your messages.

I have a new sci-fi collection (vol 4) prepared for release. It needs a few fixes and a quick test before release, but otherwise, it’s ready. I expect the release to come out in a day or two.

Besides the manifest URL updates, I’ve been looking into how to improve the Foundry module content. Some features I’ve been looking into:

Audio
Journal notes
Foreground images
Tiles

These upgrades will be worked on in March, and I’ll keep you updated as things clarify.

Our Next Destination

It’s soon time to leave the Galactic Ecumenopolis behind and head for a new destination. In other words, it’s time to vote for the next map theme.

Here are some possible themes to explore in the upcoming maps and assets. Vote for your favorite by the 15th of February.

Terraforming Colony WA-443

Watanabe-Abrams Corporation is one of the megacorporations spearheading humankind’s terraforming efforts to settle new worlds on distant star systems. Terraforming colony WA-443 is one of the many small colonies at the edge of colonized space. The 120-person terraforming operation has worked as planned for the past decade, and a second phase colony ark with 3000 new colonists is arriving in the system within days. However, the science team Jonesy has not reported in, and they are not responding.

This theme will explore frontier space and space colony maps and assets with aesthetics inspired by movies and games like Alien, Halo, Mass Effect, and Star Trek.

Biomechanical Xeno-structures

Amidst the floating debris of an asteroid field, a derelict biomechanical spaceship was discovered. Its exterior was covered in tightly packed ice and dust, but its interior held secrets of advanced organic technology and interstellar travel. As the team boarded the abandoned vessel, they were filled with a sense of wonder and excitement, ready to unravel the mysteries hidden within, unaware of what they had just awakened.

Some species and cultures have developed biomechanical technology either as a biological extension to their species or as a highly advanced technological invention. With this theme, we will explore various biomechanical and organic space vessels and alien structures inspired by the Engineers and Xenomorphs from the Alien universe, Eoxian culture from Starfinder, and the protomolecule from the Expanse.

Industrial Undercity

In the shadows of the towering spire city of Ferromortis, a group of young gang members is brought face to face with a thing, not of this world. The beast, its form as otherworldly as its roar, had come to this grim, darkened corner of the galaxy seeking something only it knew. The young braves, born and raised in the war-torn wasteland of the Undercity, would soon realize that this encounter would shape their lives forever. For in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war, and the coming storm would be like no other.

This theme dives deep under a kilometer-high imperial city into its vast and ancient industrial sectors, abandoned mines, and mutant-infested waste-processing facilities. You can expect to see maps decayed industrial mazes, and props inspired by Warhammer 40 K. There will be ornamental skulls… lots of skulls.

Battlefields

A lone soldier, surrounded by the chaos of battle, raced across the war-torn battlefield. The fate of countless lives rested upon his shoulders as he desperately sought to reach his fallen comrade, who held the shield generator key, the only means to stop the enemy's ongoing bombardment. Through explosions and laser fire, the soldier pressed on, driven by the belief in his mission and the strength of his unwavering courage. For in the face of danger, a true hero rises.

A war is raging in the galaxy, and there are whole worlds ravaged by endless battles. This theme will include assets and maps for different kinds of space opera battlefield maps and assets, from ruined settlements to crashlanded ships.

That's all for now. Thank you for your support!

- Miska