2022 Roadmap and Changes (Patreon)

As we roll into 2022 and rapidly approach the one year anniversary of HellScape, it is time to talk about the future of this Patreon, starting with a refresh of the tiers. Don't worry! Prices aren't going up, and your benefits are not changing. The tiers are being re-named and expanded to recognize those of you who have backed HellScape from the start, and to offer long requested benefits to those who wish to have them.

Changes to Tiers

Starting today, the base tier ($1 USD) is being re-named to Founding Supporter, with the total number of members capped at 200. Once that cap is reached, that tier will be hidden, and your price will be locked in forever. Afterwards, a new base tier called 'crew' will be introduced.

Voting Member is being renamed to Legendary Ship Captain, as these Patrons help guide our proverbial ship, and have been pledging their support and votes since the beginning. Beyond that, you will find higher tiers designed for those who wish to provide more support, as well as for those interested in the forthcoming commercial usage rights. Like Founding Supporters, those of you who are currently at the $5 USD level will be shifted to the new Legendary Ship Captain tier as a show of thanks for your early support. This role will be hidden and you will be given the same benefits as the standard Ship Captain tier (More stuff for the same price!)

Overview of the New Tiers

This base tier offers everything you need to create starships, ruined and radioactive cities and modern metropolises. This tier is a great fit for any DM or GM who is ready to dive into Dungeondraft and start creating.

The Founder tier is reserved for the earliest among the crew who pledged their support. It is identical to 'crew' in all but price, and is locked in forever.

For those who wish to have a say about where the ship is headed, the Command Crew tier enables voting, as well as other benefits related to custom assets and map edits. Command Crew vote every month to help decide what get's made next.

Ship Captains generously provide more to the HellScape community while gaining access to additional resources as they arrive in the near future.

The role of Fleet Commander is reserved for creators looking to integrate HellScape assets into their own commercial products. Commercial licensing is scheduled for March of this year. The terms and conditions of commercial use are still being hammered out, but I hope to have them available as soon as possible (Lawyers are expensive!). Pledging early in this tier helps to accelerate the legal work while locking in a lower price.

What's Next

Beyond the reshuffle of tiers, 2022 will be a year of expanding resources. The world doesn't just lack Scifi, modern and post apocalyptic battlemaps. It lacks sounds, soundscapes and effects to go along with them. As HellScape grows, I'm able to shift more of my time to expanding into new areas like these. The eventual goal is to provide a ready-to-go package for game masters looking to create their own worlds, or drop in pre-built experiences. Many of you enjoy making your own starships or bombed out bunkers, but sometimes you just need a shady underground bar, or derelict space station to drop in front of your players. Foundry VTT integration is core to 2022's roadmap, along with Universal VTT files for those using other virtual tabletops.

Community

If you're anything like me, you probably already have a long list of VTT Discord communities you are a part of. I've hesitated creating a Discord for HellScape for this very reason. But as a Patron of Baileywiki, Jan Loos, DevinNight, and Forgotten Adventures, I've seen how much value those communities provide to Patrons. Pending your feedback, I would like to start a HellScape discord server for discussing the contents of this Patreon, as well as sharing kit-bashed creations, battlemaps, starships and more.

Moulinette Integration

Having instant access to every sandbag, alien egg and ship-to-ship missile is essential to running fast pace, dynamic games. I personally find Forgotten Adventures' Moulinette support to be vital to my 5E game, and so integrating these assets into that powerful system is a major goal this year. It does have a reoccurring cost, so it will depend on the growth of HellScape. But rest assured it is on the roadmap.

Asset Refactoring

A final item on this year's list (as of this writing anyway) is a refactoring of the early assets, most of which are within the AirShip pack. My early philosophy was all about battlemap production speed, meaning I baked shadows into many objects right from the start. With the feedback from other creators, and a change in direction, it has become clear that creators want full control over their scene's lighting. Older packs will need to be brought up to date, including a switch from a 1 or 2 pixel line/stroke to a 3 pixel line stroke, further matching HellScape to other popular assets so that you can mix and match them.

Don't hesitate to comment with feedback if you feel strongly for or against these changes. Your feedback carries a lot of weight, given the current size of our community. Would you use ambient background sounds in your game? Do you play using a VTT that would benefit from further integrations? Do animated battlemaps or effects you can add to your own interest you?