At long last, the curtain rises...!
7 months ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2024 at 09:50:50 AM

Hi Carboneers!

It has been QUITE A WHILE since we posted an update here... as much as we have wanted to share certain news for months now, our hands have been tied and our mouths gagged while we focused on getting everything ready for the next big announcement...

...which we're happy to say has finally been revealed!

https://www.ign.com/articles/become-an-intellectual-chimpanzee-in-planet-of-the-apes-tabletop-rpg

As you may suspect, this has been the monster project we have been hinting at for (two?) years now. It is a passion project by CARBON GREY lead designer Andrew Gaska, who has numerous ties to the property, including several official PLANET OF THE APES novels to his credit. He knows this universe inside and out, and has gathered a design team full of writers and artists with their own official creative ties to the series as well. To say this game is "official" is an understatement! 

Working very closely with 20th Century Studios (and Disney in general) has been an exciting journey, and their enthusiasm for what we've put together has been wonderful, to say the least. We're releasing not only a 300+ page core rulebook, (with cover by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz), but a separate 300-page sourcebook called THE ANSA FILES containing a wealth of resources taken directly from the original films, TV series, novels, and more!

And yes -- that image above doesn't lie... there will be minis! (And BIGgies!) In addition to the two books, we'll be releasing the FORBIDDEN ZONE Campaign Box full of maps, markers, custom dice, "Lawgiver" GM screen, and reference cards with a complete 72-page campaign module, and the RUINS OF TOMORROW Miniatures Set with 20 highly detailed playing pieces for use during your tabletop adventures.

More details will be revealed soon, including when and where to pre-order, but for now you are encouraged to pre-register at www.planetoftheapesrpg.com to get a linen cardstock print of Bill Sienkiewicz's cover art added to your eventual pre-order for FREE.

Unfortunately, while we have THE WHAT lined up and ready to go, we aren't able to reveal THE WHEN or THE WHERE just yet... "Pre-order coming soon!" And that "soon" is definitely imminent, especially with the new APES movie hitting theaters on May 10th...

That's great, but what about CARBON GREY?

Getting APES together has not only been a top creative priority for the team, but it has also been instrumental in getting our entire gaming enterprise positioned and organized. That includes several other projects that will be announced later this summer, as well as long-overdue content and materials for CARBON GREY. Drew and Eric have had a 12-episode campaign in the works for quite some time, as well as several more installments of THE LISTENING POST ready for layout, but they were all unfortunately backburnered while they focused on completing APES. Now that the 800lb gorilla is done, we're ready to get those projects back on the 2024 schedule. 

Granted, it has been a couple of years since its initial release, and CARBON GREY could really use a "reintroduction" to the wider gaming audience, but we're hoping that between APES and a slate of new CARBON GREY content, we'll start to attract a larger following for our D6MV projects. That includes a slate of RPG content based on BLACK BOX CHRONICLES as well, for those interested in interstellar salvaging adventures...

We are by nature cautiously optimistic here, but we're really hoping that APES will allow us to truly "level up." With those other previously mentioned, unannounced projects also in the pipeline, 2024 should prove to be a seismic shift for Magnetic Press. And to think it all started here with CARBON GREY... and YOUR SUPPORT! THANK YOU!!!

We'll be sure to post more APES news as soon as it is greenlit! Thanks for your patience and patronage, everyone! We appreciate you!

Our first (FREE!) content expansion, and art sale by CARBON GREY creator Hoang Nguyen!
about 1 year ago – Sun, Nov 05, 2023 at 04:26:49 PM

Hello, everyone!

It has been an incredibly busy year for us, and while you may not have heard much from us on the CARBON GREY front, it is not for lack of work or development behind the curtains... I know it seems like we haven't done much to support or follow up this awesome, unique RPG setting despite all of the clear potential and promises, but I promise we have NOT forgotten or abandoned this world we've built! In fact, we have recently released the first content expansion... for FREE!

THE LISTENING POST #1 - the first in a series!

Andrew and Eric have a big list of content that we will be releasing (again, for FREE) as issues of the digital-only "Listening Post" series, 12-16+ pages each, offering new vehicle and item stats, mini-missions, legendary NPCs to roll into your adventure, and optional rules for you to implement (if your scenario demands).

You can get the first LISTENING POST (at the risk of redundancy for FREE) on DrivethruRPG now by visiting: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/451122/Carbon-Grey-Listening-Post-1

While we have made it free (did we mention that yet?), you certainly can leave us a tip or pay what you want at check out if you'd like... It's not expected, but certainly appreciated! And every little bit will help elevate the series profile as we (finally) inject some growth hormones into this beast!

Other plans are in the works, including a 12-episode epic campaign and, yes, still in design, an Air Combat expansion. There's a lot going on here at Magnetic Press Play, and while we've teased about future projects for months now, our hesitancy to announce anything has not been for our lack of excitement (more a matter of our license partners determining what can be said and when we can say anything... you'll understand shortly...) The curtain will be pulled back soon! We expect big things to start popping off pretty immediately after New Year's Eve, so stay tuned!

In the meantime...

Pick up some sweet art by Carbon Grey creator HOANG NGUYEN!

Hoang Nguyen produced CARBON GREY independently for many years before we partnered up for the RPG, and in that time, he has produced quite a few art books and beautiful portfolios. While he had originally made them available through several successful Kickstarters, he has recently put some of the remaining treasures up for sale on Indiegogo:

It is admittedly a different platform with a different audience worth reaching, one that is certainly not as pervasive or active as Kickstarter... So the campaign could use some traffic if you're so inclined to pick up some of his gorgeous art! Some pieces might look familiar but there is a lot of stuff not included in our Carbon Grey releases including other, personal projects of his.

Please check it out! Only 24 hours or so left!

Thanks for your support, everyone! We're excited by what's (genuinely) on the horizon... it has been a long time coming, and these things have taken a lot more time than we anticipated, but it will all be worth the wait! 😎

Carbon Grey nominated for an ENnie Award!!!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jul 19, 2023 at 06:15:56 PM

A much-belated update, but we have exciting news...

CARBON GREY (our first RPG) has been nominated for our first ENnie Award!

We are in some fine company in the category of BEST PRODUCTION VALUES, but we think we have a nice shot! 🙂 

Voting is now open to the public through July 23rd -- just 5 more days! Please, it would be GREAT if everyone could go to https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2023/ and vote for us! We will be at GenCon (wandering the floor and taking meetings) when the winners are announced, and it would be AMAZING to actually take home a trophy for our first release! 😊

We do have more CARBON GREY in the works, and this nomination has certainly put some extra fuel in the tank to get them ready sooner than later. We're also mere weeks away from announcing our next (BIG) D6MV title (perhaps just ahead of GenCon), so hopefully it could all gather into some nice collective synergy...

Thanks for your support, everyone! More is coming, we promise! 

Actual CARBON GREY news!
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Feb 16, 2023 at 08:06:10 AM

Hi everyone!

We hope you are all doing well and having a good 2023 so far. It has been several months since our last update (and that one was admittedly more focused on our last campaign for KLAW: WERE-WARS), but a lot has been happening around here lately, particularly with CARBON GREY and the D6MV platform in general. While it admittedly seems like CARBON GREY has been running silent and unsupported since its release, we want to assure you that is not the case! We kind of liken it to a tulip bulb that has just taken a bit longer than expected to blossom. 😉

Since the end of the CG campaign fulfillment, all of the inventory had remained at Quartermaster, with Backerkit continuing to be the primary pre-order site for late backers and new orders. That wasn't the most efficient system, as QML did not monitor new Backerkit orders, and the Backerkit page itself wasn't very informative. So last month we finally transferred all of the inventory to our webstore warehouse so that new orders can be filled promptly and automatically. Step #1 complete!

Then, just this week, we revised the official Carbon Grey webpage to include purchase buttons for all of the items currently available, including the remaining extra dice, extra mini sets, GM screens, and printed expansion sets (Foes & Factions and Badge of Blood Solo Adventure).  Now, new fans can order the game with confidence that it will ship immediately! Step #2 complete!

With the webpage now complete (barring some more aesthetic adjustments we still wish to make), we also set up the official URL so that it is easy to locate: www.carbon-grey.com. That is where we will be hosting all news, updates, and info on the series moving forward. If you wish to direct any friends to the game, that easy-to-remember URL will be the one-stop shop moving forward! Step #3 complete!

While the webpage is currently just a single-page site with overview info and purchasing links, it will be the basis of a larger platform in the months ahead. Some of the things we are looking to add in 2023 include:

•  A new, serialized campaign adventure. Andrew and Eric have a 12-episode series outlined, which we would release monthly digitally before collecting into a full campaign sourcebook once complete. This is still being scheduled, but stay tuned!
•  Downloadable gameplay resources: new tables, content, and print-at-home materials.
• We are also looking into getting a VTT or Roll20 system set up. Admittedly, we don't know much about building one of these ourselves, but we are actively looking for assistance in this matter. If anyone knows of any good, available VTT developers, we welcome suggestions!
• Similarly, we are looking into online game hosting services, such as Startplaying.com. We're still in the info-gathering stage, but if anyone has any experience or suggestions, please let us know!
• We would really like to be more available to answer questions with more promptness. I know a few Qs have popped up in comments here on Kickstarter, but as this campaign is quite old, they too often go completely unnoticed (particularly by the designers who would know how to answer). Backer Audun Lovlie has set up an excellent Carbon Grey RPG Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/carbongreyrpg), and while Andrew and Eric are both involved, we'll try to monitor Qs and threads there as regularly as we can.  We would like to embed the Group FB feed into the website to prompt more activity there.
• Hoang has been working on a brand new 4-issue CG comic series arc, and while it is a labor of love for him, he does have a pretty demanding full-time day job (working for interactive app studio Pixelberry). We're not sure how long it will take for him to complete, but he says the first two issues are nearly finished. Stay tuned for more info!

Now that we've taken the steps to make the game easier to find and obtain online, we have also (re)engaged the PR team that helped launch the original Kickstarter campaign to get finished copies into more hands for more social coverage. We have just sent out a wave of review copies to a number of outlets with the goal of (re)announcing the title now that it is more easily available. Hopefully that will turn into more articles and YT videos in the weeks ahead. It has been quite a while since the Kickstarter, so to many gaming outlets, it is still unknown and "brand new." Hopefully this will ignite a fresh wave of awareness this Spring. 😊 If/when coverage starts to appear online, we'll try to share it all here and on the FB group. Step #4 is underway! 

(Side note: we think there might be some extra heat underneath the PR coverage we are soliciting in a few months as we will be announcing our next D6MV title soon... I can't reveal what it is yet, but let's just say that it is a VERY COOL, GLOBALLY-RECOGNIZED property, and we cannot wait to pull back the curtain...) 😎

Okay, that's all the news ready to report as of today, but there will be more to share soon!

Thanks, everyone! 😃

KLAW: WERE-WARS Combat Card and Dice Game is now LIVE!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 02:44:29 AM

Hi everyone!

If you haven't already received notification, here's a formal update to let you know that the KLAW: WERE-WARS campaign is now live!

We met our initial goal in just under 6 hours, and are excited to see where the momentum will take us!

As this is only Magnetic Press Play's second Kickstarter campaign, we still have a way to go to establish a strong track record and passionate following, so if you can please check out the new game and other terrific reward items, we could really use your support. 😊

The game itself is a lot of fun and filled with twists and turns and unpredictable moments, and the extra items really are nice, from the gaming mats to the custom dice tower to the limited edition statuettes... and of course the amazing source graphic novel series itself...!

We think this game lives up to the quality bar we set for ourselves with CARBON GREY, and even though it isn't an RPG, its graphic novel origins are clearly imprinted in its DNA. Plus, its hella fun! 

So please check it out and spread the word if you can! 😊 A success today helps bring even more great projects to the table tomorrow!