Hello Subscribers a.k.a. the Substack Uncrank’d Crew,
I wanted to start off by giving a shoutout to my first paid subscriber. Thank you so much! I know some stuff can be repetitive so I will do my best to keep the old news limited to a few words.
So, I’ll start with…
🌟Uncrank’d Calendar 📅& Book reservations/wish list 📋
Here’s the old news: While the reserve for the upcoming books and calendars has been mentioned a few times already, this is the new part, for any Substack or zine subs who reserve the calendars or any of the books I will give you a 15% discount off your entire order when the pre-order links go live later this year. I have a separate spreadsheet created where I can add a note to your name. It’s the least thing I can do. I will also try and throw in a sub-only bookmark.
🤖Bot attack🤖
Last week, the AMA and the Uncrank’d book/Calendar forms was attacked by a bot that sent in 1500+ bogus entries to the AMA, and over 29 000 to the Uncrank’d reservation form. It took about an hour to clear out the 1500 deleting them one by one to make sure no legit responses were in between. For the 29000, I saw one legit question that I copied, then I deleted the rest. I couldn’t go one by one. I really hope there wasn’t any legit questions that got deleted. Google said there were too many answers to open Sheets to view all of the entries. I had to go to “individual responses” to find the one good entry.
📣Ask me (Almost) Anything📣
There’s the Uncrank’d AMA. I received some questions and started recording my answers. Again, it won’t be a livestream. I don’t have the setup nor the stage presence, so to speak, to do livestreaming. As it stands now, it will be integrated into the season 3 premiere of Uncrank’d TV. If I receive more than 5 questions, it will be a separate video. Click the form link to send in a question or if you already sent in a question and it may have gotten mixed up with the bot attack, send it again. I open the G-Sheets as soon as a response comes in and copy them to a Excel sheet.
💭Playdate Direct or Uncrank’d Branded summer show? 🤔
Despite posting about it from April, there hasn’t been any trailer submissions. Devs are always releasing game. I don’t want to spam on any Playdate Discord servers about the Direct. I will reach out before the end of the week, and if nothing comes in by June 15th, I will have to change the show to an Uncrank’d branded show. I already have a name, but I will wait before releasing it. While D.I.V.A., D.E.V.A.N. & Luna Perl will make an appearance, they will not be hosting the show. If anyone wants to host, leave a comment and I’ll be in touch.
The main theme will be done by choosh. They has made some great songs, like the Spilled Mushroom OST and Refractive DX for the Gravity Express OST. I got a listen to the song today and it’s a really chill summer vibe.
There will be a music section with Gnarthex , a focus on the games and devs of the Fun in the Sun bundle, issue 8 and maybe some other projects. I’m waiting to get a confirmation from the other devs.
As always with Fun in the Sun, there will be a few bundles options for purchase.
FITS 25 Option 1: Issue 8 only
FITS 25 Option 2: Issue 8 with the FITS zine
FITS 25 Option 3: Issue 8, FITS zine and the FITS merch
FITS 25 Option 4: Issue, FITS zine, and two merch items.
If you’re already a zine print or digital subscriber, you will be getting Option 2. I will also email everyone to see which of the FITS items they would like.
I had to change some items due to the recent changes to shipping items made in China to the US. The Fun in the Sun 2025 game bundle will start on July 26th and run for 31 days. I’m still working with the devs to find the right price. The booklet design is done and now it’s just to finish off some more art and follow up with the devs.
🎉2nd Anniversary🎉
As mentioned in the Uncrank’d News Update #16, I really want to make this anniversary a big one. I already talked to a few people and they’re on board with interviews. I will release those names closer to issue 9.
I think this issue will be a bigger than normal issue. I don’t want to go too high with the page count but I hope it will be something big for the community.
🔮Looking ahead…
Sales for issues 1 through 3 have gone down drastically. Yes, we’re at that point that I may stop keeping them in stock or printing them altogether. By September, issues 1,2,3 will be marked as “Special Order Only” zines. When the order comes in, an order is sent to the printer the same day. It can take between 5-9 business days for printing and shipping to me. Then the zines can be sent off to you once I do quality control.
For Euro subs, it can take up to 7-14 business days for delivery. US subs, it varies from 5 to 10 business days now. Canada Post is still on strike so things are taking their time to move in Canada. There are UPS, Fed ex, and DHL, but the prices are astronomical. Issue 4 is still very popular, 5,6,7 are doing well.
I have a few options in mind but I will make a full announcement during the show on July 26th.
Another subscriber post will come later this month where I can share some of the pricing for the books and calendars. Enjoy Season 2, keep being amazing, and until the next post. Cheers!
- XL
