We passed this news onto our backers on Kickstarter several weeks ago, and to keep the public in the loop: Eclipse Phase Second Edition is late, and will be released in 2018.
Response to the playtest has been spirited, and we're still working our way through rules issues and rewrites. An update to the playtest package was made available on November 16th, and more material is forthcoming. All of the book's art is in. We're tweaking and expanding the graphic design. And we're pushing forward with Kickstarter stretch goals and other Eclipse Phase projects.
Eclipse Phase Second Edition Delays
Our schedule for Eclipse Phase Second Edition was aggressive, and it got waylaid by several factors, some unexpected, and some just hit us harder than expected. Our long-term fans know that we've always operated on a slow-and-steady pace leading to high-quality books, and we will continue that in finishing Eclipse Phase Second Edition.
Our most notably delay involves hiring a freelancer to handle art direction, a hire which did not pan out and put us several months behind in art. Rather than attempt to hire someone else for that position, we picked up the pieces and handled it in-house, diverting attention from other aspects of the book. All of the book's artwork is now in hand and looks great, from a mix of established Eclipse Phase artists and some great new ones!
Pivo, by Mobo Boeheme
Playtest Update
On November 16th we pushed out an update to the Open Playtest: revised Game Mechanics and Creating Character chapters. If you've already grabbed the playtest on DriveThruRPG, those files are available to you now. If not, you can download them here! As always, you can discuss the Open Playtest on our forums.
We're currently working on the Mesh and Accelerated Future chapters, and taking into account feedback on both the Psi and the Action and Combat chapters.
Updated Release Dates
At this point, we are aiming to release the Eclipse Phase Second Edition PDF to backers in early 2018, with the print edition following by April.
We understand that this is a significant delay from our original estimate. When it became obvious that the core book was behind schedule, we re-evaluated the entire release schedule for the Eclipse Phase Second Edition line. We still have an aggressive schedule that we are pushing forward with, including the core rulebook, all the stretch goals from this Kickstarter project, and titles that have yet to be announced or that aren't associated with the Kickstarter.
It is important that our schedule keep moving forward on these projects, even if it means 100% of our attention isn't devoted to the Eclipse Phase Second Edition core rulebook, as the long-term success of the game line relies on support books following soon after the core rulebook.
O'Neill Cylinder by Lorenz Ruwwe
BackerKit and Pre-Orders
We still intend to allow pre-orders of Eclipse Phase Second Edition via BackerKit. However, that functionality will not open up until closer to the release date.
Quick-Start Rules
The EP2 Quick-Start Rules with a new adventure, Acrimony, are available to download for free!
