Miska Fredman

Captain's Starlog 2024.08.02 - News & Updates

Added 2024-08-03 10:55:00 +0000 UTC

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since my last Captain's Starlog and I know this is a pretty long post, but this post includes some very important changes to how this Patreon will continue to operate.

It's been a bit slow lately with the new releases and I apologize for this. Let's address this first and go to other news and updates after this.

Drifting in Fog [THE STORY]

In March, I made an update about my plans to change the style of my maps to a more hand-drawn look. Well, I really didn't get this started until very recently. Making fewer releases and being less active was never my intention, but for the past six months, I've realized at the end of the month that I have not been as productive as I had planned. Yes, I have suffered from severe anxiety and borderline burnout lately. But these are just symptoms. Let's dig deeper into the causes.

During July, I've been working on serious self-reflection and took some distance from the situation to face the facts. I came to a few painful realizations:

Work Methods: During the past two years, I have started using various map-making tools (i.e., Dungeondraft & Inkarnate) to make my maps, and I had an assistant helping out with the maps (plus one part-time at one point). Then, I had a look at my maps from before this, and there was a huge difference. Sure, maps made with map-making tools have a cleaner look, but they also look more sterile and "soulless". They don't feel the same. They don't feel like Miska's Maps to me, and, to be brutally honest, I realized that because of this, I'm not particularly eager to share them online.
Art vs Business: I've noticed that running Miska's Maps like a business churning out new products has alienated me from my community (You people) and the joy of making TTRPG stuff. I love making maps and creating stories to inspire and help others (You) to run great game sessions. I feel that in my current situation, I have not been able to do this as well as I would like to.
Excessive Workload: During the past 2-3 years, I have expanded to support Foundry VTT, Dungeondraft, map assets, three Patreon projects, and to support four different marketplaces. There's a lot of work in running a single Patreon project and only making maps. All this would require maybe 3-4 persons to run properly. I'm working alone now; this much work is exhausting and unmanageable. This leads only to delays, distractions, stress and eventually to burnout.
Sense of Self. Finally, I had to face the fact–and this woke me up–that all the things above had changed how I see myself and my work. I was not in a good place. I did not feel like myself. I felt like I had lost my way and drifted in fog without visibility. In July, there was an event that made me snap out of this state of mind. This was also the point when I realized that I needed to change the way Miska's Maps works.

Facing all this made me realize I have to make some tough decisions.

I must reduce my workload - less stress and reacting, more creativity and planning in advance.
I must focus on work methods I enjoy - less map-making tools and more hands-on drawing.
I am an artist first, not a businessman - Quality & Sharing matters more to me than Quantity & Margins.
I want to engage more with my community - I want to inspire and help people on their TTRPG journey.

Reboot Required... The Upcoming Major Changes [THE IMPORTANT BIT]

So, what is changing?

Focus on Miska's Sci-Fi Maps. Lately, I've had too many distractions, and I have not been able to put as much focus on this Patreon project as I should have. This will change now. This is my original map art project. It deserves the attention it used to have. So, let's put priorities back in order.
I had to discontinue Mythos Maps. I relaunched Mythos Maps when I had two assistants (one full-time, one part-time). Now I'm working alone and I just cannot support a third Patreon at the moment. I haven't made any new Mythos Maps releases since February/March 2024 anyway, and still, it has haunted me every month and distracted me from other tasks.
Cyberpunk Maps will be separated from Miska's Sci-Fi Maps (this project). I understand it has been convenient to get sci-fi and cyberpunk maps from one place, but it has become a big problem for me: 1) It is confusing for people who try to figure out where to get the cyberpunk maps. 2) Making releases is double the usual work. 3) Foundry VTT content still needs a Cyberpunk Maps subscription. 4) Cyberpunk Maps uses Inkarnate assets (mixed with some of my assets), and they do not represent my style. No new Cyberpunk Maps will be released through this project after August 2024.
Smuggler Tier will be Discontinued. The $3 Smuggler tier is no longer available. Current patrons will have access to their rewards until further notice, but the Basic JPG packs will no longer be available with the upcoming releases after the 1st of September 2024.
PDF Map Packs will be discontinued. This is probably my least-used reward, and it is quite easy to print out the JPG maps anyway. I'll make a tutorial for this.
Releases as "Creations," not "Products." Sure, I need to keep some consistency with new releases, but I have found out that sometimes, sticking to a specific format restricts creativity and style. What I mean by this is that the future releases could be something else than just map packs. They might be short adventures (a scenario and a single map variant instead of multiple variants), spaceship blueprints (A wireframe blueprint instead of a rendered battle map), and so on.
Changes to Tier Rewards. All these changes require updates to the tier rewards—especially the Starlord tier, as the changes will impact it most. I'll make a separate post about the tier updates very soon. However, I intend to keep things fair and I have something in mind to replace the Mythos Maps and Cyberpunk Maps.
Foundry VTT modules as the main release. I've wanted to do this for a long time, but because of other distractions and the workload, I haven't been able to commit to it fully. Now, I'm finally making the switch, and Foundry releases are no longer some extra support, but each release is designed for Foundry VTT first. This does not affect the JPG map packs or PNG asset packs. Those are released as usual and will be compatible with all the other VTTs. I have some pending modules to do, but all new releases will have Foundry VTT modules released with them.
More Hand-Drawn Maps. I will be creating more maps as hand-drawn maps. While different map-making tools can be really fast and practical, they have their limitations. Also, I want to improve as an artist, and map-making tools don't make you better at drawing :)
Greater Variety in Styles and Genres. It's been four years (IIRC) since I switched to making sci-fi maps. Before this, I made around 50/50 sci-fi and fantasy. I have to admit I miss making fantasy maps, and I would like to quit thinking of Miska's Maps as exclusively sci-fi or cyberpunk maps and occasionally make something else, too. Mostly to experiment with something, for variety, and/or to vent out an idea. These might not just be fantasy maps; they can be something else, too.
Art Experiments. I really would like to make art of characters and scenery. But, to be honest, I haven't had the time and inspiration for this because of my current workload. I want to dedicate a day per week, for example, to practicing new techniques or doing something other than maps.

I think that's all the major things I've been thinking about.

Some of these changes will take effect immediately (e.g., Smuggler tier, Mythos Maps, Foundry VTT releases), some at the turn of the next month (effectively the 1st of September), and some will happen gradually as I have managed to restructure my work, and gotten some pending work out of the way (Foundry VTT modules, new website, new map catalog on Notion, etc.)

Foundry Modules and moving to V12

Based on the recent poll, most people have already updated to Foundry VTT v12 or are planning to do it soon. Because of this, I have decided to switch to v12 and all upcoming modules are made with v12.

Based on testing, older v11 modules work on v12, and I will update the version numbers with the upcoming updates.

Upcoming Assets

Sci-Fi Train and Junk Planet assets are planned for August.

In the previous Sci-Fi Train poll, industrial transport and secure transport were the most popular options, so I'll focus on something suited for transporting valuable ores or hyperspace fuel.

For the Junk Planet assets, I'll focus on something that can be used for scrap yards like the ones in Jedi: Fallen Order or Starfinder's Junker's Delight or even something from Necromunda/40K.

There are also some older assets that I need to go through and see if I can find something extra there.

Streaming

I have my streaming setup in place, and I intend to start streaming next week. The schedule is still TBD, but I believe the streaming times will be a late evening for US people (roughly between 9 PM and 2 AM). I plan to stream drawing and Foundry VTT work, but let's see how this turns out. I'll have to see how much I can chat during the streams without getting too distracted from work, but let's worry about that later :D

The streams will be live on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/miskasmaps

The videos will be available later as VODs on my Twitch channel for a week and likely on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/miskasmaps).

Coming in August

I have a bunch of maps already done and waiting for Foundry VTT support before their release. There should be 1-2 weekly releases for the rest of the month starting next week.