Once again, we have changed the software we use for managing our news, but we’re hopeful that Expression Engine will be something that we will stick with for a very long while. We’re also hoping that it will allow us to introduce some new features to the site, to the benefit of us as well as our visitors.
If you are a regular visitor to Westeros, you will notice that the news & updates are now being handled differently. From now on, the Westeros: Updates journal (this one, that is) will contain only updates relating to the site itself, divided up into categories that correspond to the sections of the site. Any news relating to George R.R. Martin or A Song of Ice and Fire will be found in the All Sorts of Weird Stuff: News journal, found within the new section that we are in the process of launching. We have also moved announcements dealing with game news (as opposed to news about the game’s website) to the Blood of Dragons: Announcements journal.
However, for those who prefer to have all the news in one place, we have also put up a Westeros: Digest journal, complete with matching RSS feeds, that incorporates all the news from the aforementioned journals. As always, we’re very interested in hearing about any problems you may be experiencing as a result of these changes. If, for example, you have linked to the old news & updates archives, or made use of the old RSS feeds, you will want to make sure to update these links as those pages will be removed shortly.
As previously rumoured, Subterranean Press has purchased the rights to continue publishing the limited A Song of Ice and Fire editions. An announcement regarding this can be found on their website.
A report from To Be Continued IV in Chicago were GRRM is the Guest of Honour has been added to the So Spake Martin section, and more will likely follow in a day or two.
According to GRRM he has about 100 manuscript pages left to write of AFfC, and he expects that the publishers will rush the book out as quickly as possible once its all handed in. He also noted that he has some chapters done of the next book, and half of the next Dunk & Egg story.
This year’s Brotherhood Without Banners t-shirt is now available for pre-ordering. Pre-orders receive a discount of $5.
A survey has been added to the board on behalf of Testors, the company that will be producing the A Song of Ice and Fire miniatures and wargame. For a chance to win nice prices, head over there to fill it out.
Guardians of Order have published the third issue of their newsletter, and it includes information on an interesting offer. From now on, all who pre-order certain books (such as the A Game of Thrones Deluxe Limited Edition) from them will also receive a PDF of the same title.
They have also have released the 4th preview from the A Game of Thrones RPG.
If you are thinking of getting this year’s Brotherhood Without Banners t-shirt, check out this thread on the board for more information.
Today’s Ctrl+Alt+Del might be amusing to fans.
GRRM’s official site has been updated with, among other things, a new sample chapter and information about upcoming releases from Fantasy Flight Games for the CCG. Also, don’t miss the sneak preview of the first miniature due from Testors.
A poll has been added to the board on behalf of Testors, the company that will be producing the A Song of Ice and Fire miniatures and wargame. For a chance to win an artist’s proof of one of the upcoming figures, head over there to cast your vote.
As our visitors may have noticed, the layout of Westeros has changed somewhat recently. This is part of a larger project to partially redesign all of the sections and to move some content around as we add a new section. Hopefully, this transition will be as smooth as possible, but in the coming weeks it is possible that you will encounter various errors (missing pages, layout issues, etc) as we go through each step of the process.
If you come across any errors that don’t go away if you reload the page a moment or two later, feel free to drop us a line about it, as it will help us get them fixed more quickly. If the issue is layout related, please include a mention of which browser and operating system you are using. As the new designs we are introducing will be purely CSS based, we are expecting issues with older browsers, but we’re not quite sure which it is that can’t handle it. However, it should work fine in IE 6 and any of the recent Mozilla-based browsers.
GRRM’s official site has been updated with information about the release of the limited edition of A Clash of Kings and more information about the upcoming series of miniatures based on A Song of Ice and Fire.
According to this press release, The Testor Corporation will be producing a line of pre-painted collectible miniatures, a line of metal signature pieces and a miniatures game based on A Song of Ice and Fire.
The series of pre-painted, collectible 1:18 scale miniatures will be released in September 2005. In January 2006, the line of 54 mm metal signature pieces will follow, and in the third quarter of 2006 the miniature game will debut.
According to Meisha Merlin, the limited edition of A Clash of Kings will finally ship on April 11th.
Another Boskone report has been added to the So Spake Martin section.