Welcome to the latest entry in our Designer Diary series.

Game design is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the tabletop game business. It is unfortunate, then, that I have had so little time to actually pursue it over the past couple of months.

As many of you know, the reality of this business, particularly following a successful Kickstarter, is that a massive amount of time goes into team management and logistics. That is exactly what I have been elbow-deep in since the autumn. Shadows Over Sol 2e has been the biggest, most successful, and most complex Kickstarter campaign we have ever run. When it is all said and done, we will certainly have learned some very valuable lessons from the experience.

Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the logistics tunnel. Next week, we will be releasing the finalized PDFs of the Shadows Over Sol 2e core rulebook, along with updated versions of all supplements and unlocked extras.

At that point, we will order the last round of printing proofs. Once those are reviewed and approved, we will place the bulk orders. While there is still a fair amount of logistics involved in that final phase, Matthew largely handles that part of the process (thank you, Matthew!), which will finally free me up to return my focus to writing and design.

My first order of design business will be outlining an expanded powers system that will eventually see use in our future game lines. Once that is drafted, we will share it with you, our faithful backers, so you can be the first to review and playtest it. In parallel, we will also begin assembling material for our first big Shadows Over Sol 2e expansion, which will focus heavily on Mars.

Hopefully, the next few Designer Diaries will be much more exciting, featuring new mechanics to share and fresh material to preview.

In the meantime, I would love to solicit your feedback: In a hypothetical Shadows Over Sol 2e supplement focusing on Mars, what would you most like to see? A detailed gazetteer of the Martian colonies? Scenarios specifically set on the Red Planet? New character options? Stat blocks for important NPCs? Something else entirely?

Let us know in the comments!