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Latest news about the design of the new V:TES set to be released by the Vampire: Elder Kindred Network in 2012.
For further information on this, please read the official announcement.
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Greetings from the V:EKN Design Team!
The mid-round report from the playtesters arrived last week, and we've been taking a look at the feedback and deciding what changes we may want to make in preparation for Round Three. Personally, I take a fatalistic pleasure in watching the playtesters take our beautiful creations and smash them to bits. Partly for that reason, we're having the playtesters test a larger number of cards than the set will include.
Based on playtester feedback, some cards from Round One did not make the cut for Round Two and were sent back to the Design Team for further development. It is entirely possible that similar cuts will be made for Round Three. There are other reasons for testing more cards than will be in the set. Representing the World of Darkness source material well in V:TES is a high priority for us, and we want more than just our own opinions as to whether the cards we've designed reflect that world respectfully. We're also keen to have this set be comprised of the best cards we've designed for the needs they're intended to address. So, in some respects, we're treating the playtesters as having the role of a focus group for the larger V:TES community as well as having their normal playtesting responsibilities. We do have a clear direction and goal in mind, and we're using the feedback from the playtesters to determine which of the options we've created will get us to that goal.
Among our additional tasks for Round Two is to determine which cards are certain to make the final cut for the set and are thereby approved for having artwork commissioned for them. Some cards received this approval after Round One, and we look forward to seeing more cards join them after Round Two. We won't be doing official sneak previews until the weeks leading up to the set's release sometime this summer. However, look for concept sketches in the coming Designers' Diary entries.
Regards,
Ben Peal and the V:EKN Design Team |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 07 April 2012 11:13 |
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Greetings from the V:EKN Design Team!
We're glad to announce that Round Two of playtest has begun! We're grateful for the effort and feedback that the playtesters gave into Round One, and the information they've provided us has allowed us to further shape, mold, and refine the set. To a large extent, the playtesters have more experience with playtesting V:TES cards than we designers have with designing them. As such, it's imperative that we in the Design Team trust the playtest teams, and as much as we're designing the cards, the playtest teams have a very clear and direct effect on how these cards develop. We very much look forward to their feedback in Round Two!
So, how is the set shaping up? As we mentioned previously, the crypt will be entirely Group 5 Sabbat, filling in and rounding out needs and holes for the standard Sabbat clans. As for the library, we are indeed developing Sabbat-specific political actions. It's a tough challenge to come up with a political action card on the level of Reckless Agitation or (gasp!) Parity Shift that is still interesting and creative in its own way. We're presently testing half a dozen or so political actions, some being pool loss/redistribution schemes, some being something else entirely. As always, we'll see what the playtesters do with them and what feedback they give us, and eventually one or more of these cards will make their way into your hands.
What do we mean by "eventually"? Right now, we're looking at a summer release for this set. We'll have a much clearer picture of a release date as we move into Round Three and as more of the artwork is created. Now that we're a second round into the playtest process, we'll have more frequent Designers' Diary updates for you. We'll do another one at the end of March, so stay tuned!
Regards,
The V:EKN Design Team |
Greetings from the V:EKN Design Team,
The V:EKN Design Team is pleased to announce that the first draft of the new V:TES card set has been finalized.
The set has been sent to the V:EKN Playtest Team for the first round of playtesting. Playtest groups from a wide cross-section of countries will participate. As was the case with White Wolf and CCP developed sets, the V:EKN anticipates at least three rounds of playtest, each having a duration of about a month. These timelines are just guidelines - quality is our top priority, not haste.
Art direction is currently underway and is proceeding in parallel with playtest. As we receive feedback from the Playtest Team, the Design Team will continue to make adjustments to card strength, fine-tuning where possible, and eliminating or adding cards as deemed necessary.
As a result, we are now comfortable releasing a bit more information about the contents of the set. We anticipate roughly 20 new vampires for Group 5: two from each of the major Sabbat clans including Pander, and a possible third vampire for the bifurcated Gangrel antitribu. In addition there will be over a dozen library cards.
We are very fortunate to have a strong, global volunteer community to help make this new V:TES set become reality.
Regards,
The V:EKN Design Team
Greetings from the V:EKN Design Team,
The V:EKN Design Team is pleased to announce that the first draft of the new V:TES card set has been finalized.
The set has been sent to the V:EKN Playtest Team for the first round of playtesting. Playtest groups from a wide cross-section of countries will participate. As was the case with White Wolf and CCP developed sets, the V:EKN anticipates at least three rounds of playtest, each having a duration of about a month. These timelines are just guidelines - quality is our top priority, not haste.
Art direction is currently underway and is proceeding in parallel with playtest. As we receive feedback from the Playtest Team, the Design Team will continue to make adjustments to card strength, fine-tuning where possible, and eliminating or adding cards as deemed necessary.
As a result, we are now comfortable releasing a bit more information about the contents of the set. We anticipate roughly 20 new vampires for Group 5: two from each of the major Sabbat clans including Pander, and a possible third vampire for the bifurcated Gangrel antitribu. In addition there will be over a dozen library cards.
We are very fortunate to have a strong, global volunteer community to help make this new V:TES set become reality.
Regards,
The V:EKN Design Team |
By now you may have heard the news that the VEKN, the official player organization for VTES, is going to publish a PDF-format card set in 2012. We would like to give you some background information and a general overview of what you can expect.
We recognize that there may be some concerns over the development of a VEKN set. One of our key motivations is to help preserve the value of the VTES intellectual property in hopes that a future company will eventually pick up the game again. This includes keeping players interested and excited about VTES as well as providing a solid base of new card content for future license holders to publish in a physical format. Our hope is that this is a temporary measure which will sustain the game and its player base until VTES leaves torpor once again.
The VEKN Design Team was assembled according to suggestions and feedback from the Inner Circle and National Coordinators. The members are enthusiastic players who are long-standing members of the VTES community and have previously contributed to the game in one form or another. Some have served in an official capacity within the VEKN while others have been past playtesters for VTES sets. There is a good balance in the team between canon knowledge, interests of the casual player and concerns of competitive tournament players.
The biggest change to our process compared with that of the WW/CCP era is that the design process is separated from the rules team (though the rules director is still providing feedback on the design process). Also, the design team now consists of more than just one person. This collective design arrangement has the positive result in that card proposals and mechanics are discussed and fine-tuned in often excruciating detail. The downside, however, is that the process itself takes a bit longer.
The design team strove to achieve several goals for the set. Among them, and not necessarily in any order of priority:
1. Preserving game balance and card balance.
2. Adhering to World of Darkness canon for crypt and library cards
3. Creating cards which enable portions of the game which are lacking or underdeveloped. (We are not making "hosers.")
4. Developing high-caliber cards which can be feasible in tournaments and fun in casual games.
The new set does not yet have a name. It will consist of over 30 cards, all of which will have original artwork. It is no big secret that the traditional Sabbat clans lack Group 5 crypt cards, so these will comprise a large portion of the set. We hope this will provide more options for viable Sabbat G4/5 crypts and additional synergy with G5/6 Bloodlines. The new G4/5 vampires are intended to work well with those previously established in G4, and we hope that G4/5 plays to different strengths and weaknesses than G2/3.
In addition to the new vampires, the Design Team focused on three other main themes. Stay tuned for more information on those in a future update.
Playtesting will hopefully start with the beginning of the new year. To keep things as professional as possible, we will emulate the process used by WW/CCP in the past. Playtesting will not be open, but there is a public application process and anyone who wishes to apply will be considered for participation. We intend for there to be substantial communication between the designers and the playtesters to create the best possible end product. There will also be a special discussion forum for playtesters to discuss issues amongst themselves.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy the resulting set in 2012 and appreciate the efforts of your volunteer VTES community.
Regards,
The VEKN Design Team |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 14:25 |
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Designers' Diary
