Hey guys, update time.
My life has been busy and stressful, as immediately following tough exams I went on a transcontinental train trip by myself, and then proceeded to fly back to a full-time research position and moving in. It was hard, extremely stressful and mentally taxing. I had very little internet on the train, so I got far less accomplished than I wanted to.
I'm back now, though, and my room is fully furnished and it looks nice (I set it up like an office!). Leoven is an absolutely incredible co-host and we worked through the country card setup, and we have everything formatted with a clear vision of what we're doing for this BoP. I have my late afternoons mostly free (I'm planning a conference on the side), so I can begin work on all of your individual country cards, while Leoven prepares Turn 0 reports and country card fluff for each of you. Realistically speaking, I do not see a reason why we should not have cards and reports out by the 26th, although obviously things can come up.
In terms of a long-term view, Leoven and I deliberately set this game up to run a little bit like a BoP-lite in the sense that the country card itself is relatively minimal, while your reports will be heavy. Thus, expect this game to be less "game-y" and more roleplay-like. This is in order to make the game more fun for us - it is more enjoyable for me to consider the effects of your actions and write a longer report even if I'm short on time, rather than crunch numbers. The goal here is sustainability, as it's clear that with the exception of Pixel's ongoing and extremely successful BoP, games tend to die early. We want you to give your time and effort for this game, and I cannot do that in good conscience unless you can trust that this game will last.
Thanks.