Art, bodies and souls

Happy Monday folks!

*HUGS*! Well, it's been another busy week and weekend here at Rusty Towers - though a little calmer in some respects to the previous one. Unfortunately we did discover a bit of an issue with some of the production files having gone awry, which meant there were some delays in getting the early access episodes out on time. We believe that we've identified where the problems arose and it should be sorted now.

We're also very pleased to say that we've made our first donation to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Having looked around for the best way to do so, we have decided that doing so in installments via Facebook is currently our best option, as they are presently matching donations. Thanks to your amazing generosity & support, we are able to send them $1998 for March and we look on course for sending them more this month!

One bit of staff news at Rusty Towers - I'm very pleased to announce that April Sumner, who has been looking after RQGaming and doing the amazing art for RQ Streams, has been promoted to Production Manager! She will now be overseeing production for all our shows and reward content for Patreon, ensuring that our workflows are up-to-scratch to handle everything that we want to do, and that our producers & editors are well looked after.

Now, something that many folks have been asking about, for a long while, is a Patron RSS feed for the early access episodes - to make it easier to listen to them on your preferred platform. So, as of this week, we will be enabling the Patreon-native option of having that at your disposal. This RSS feed is unique to your account and dependent on your subscription being in effect.

We were hesitant about enabling this to date because of concerns about security and feed sharing, but at this point we've been unable to find anything better. If we do find that material & RSS feeds are being shared, then we will have to take steps to close any leaks.

Also, a quick note to say that for Rusty Noble fans of the recent RQGaming special, 4Thought, we will be doing a Discord Live AMA this Friday at 10pm BST with Bryn Monroe to talk about inspirations for and running such a game.

And so onto my main news!

When we debuted the new logo for The Magnus Archives a few weeks back, many folks asked if it would be available as merch. Well, I'm pleased to say the answer is YES! and not only, yes, but THIS WEEK! As of this weekend, the design will be available in our Redbubble store for folks to order!

But why the wait?! Well, that's not the only design that's going to be available. I am very pleased to finally be able to announce that not one, not two, but EIGHT (8) designs are coming to the store! Alongside the TMA logo, are the long-awaited Azu & Grizzop designs for RQGaming from Anna Landin, the Stellar Firma logo by Anika Khan and some of April's RQ Streams art - 'Good Cow' and a brand new 'Stream Team' image! (Readers may note there is only one Azu image shown - there is a second image but it's undergoing some last-minute tweaks to be ready for Saturday.)

We will be revealing the new designs to the public on Saturday's RQ Streams show, after which they will then be available on the storefront. We will also send round a post later this week with links to higher quality versions of the pictures that you can download.

I know it's been a very long time since we added any new designs, but we are in the process of reversing that dearth. Unfortunately due to various real world woes and instability we've had in retaining a Marketing Officer, it's been longer than we have liked, but CMO Callum is now properly getting to grips with the task. And I'm pleased to say, that this is just Wave 1 of our new merch for 2020. Expect details of Wave 2, coming later this summer!

And, here's what you can expect from us this week (all shows release at 4pm UK time, unless otherwise stated):

Note: This weekend's RQ Streams shows may change depending on tech issues and Mike's availability/having an Internet connection due to his recent house move.

Tue 14th April
RQG151 - Returning to the Battle* (Patreon)

Wed 15th April
MAG163 - In the Trenches (Patreon)
RQG151 - Returning to the Battle* (Public)
RQ Streams - Anil plays... Machinarium (5pm) 

Thu 16th April
STL044 - Misunderstandings and Mediation (Patreon)
MAG163 - In the Trenches (Public)

Fri 17th April
Knight/Noble Bonus - RQG Sidequest: Exploration, Part 2
Citizen/Knight/Noble Bonus - Titlecard Speedpaint: The Witcher 3
STL044 - Misunderstandings and Mediation (Public)
Noble Discord Live - 4Thought AMA with Bryn Monroe (10pm)

Sat 18th April
RQ Streams - Mike & Anil play... XCom (3pm)

Sun 19th April
RQ Streams - Sandbox Sunday: Trivi-Anil Pursuit - Rusty Quill Quiz (2pm)

* Provisional title

Have a great week all!

Anil
Community Manager