Howdy!

I've updated the Exoplanet Index to include two new planets for all to explore. I've also added a brand-new cover and a brief introduction section to the book. Keep reading until the end of the post to learn more about the new planets, which now bring the count up to 10 (a third of the entire index!) But first! an important announcement:

This will be the final free preview!

This will be the final version of that you can download without having bought the book. With this update, I'm realeasing Exoplanet Index as pay-what-you-want. You can still download this one for free, but all subsequent versions will have a fixed minimum price. What that price will be is still TBD, but if you want access to future versions, you'll have to pay at some point.

However, until that next update (which I'll be sharing details on below), if you pay even the itch.io minimum of 1.00, you'll get access to all future versions. Consider this an early supporter's discount. My way of saying thanks to those who've been following the project from day one.

Also, as someone who's reaped their fare share of free content in the past, I'll make sure to always include some way of getting all or partial access to the book for free. Either in the form of community copies, a forever-free preview with a selection of pages, or a plain text copy. Something of the sort will be available. That's in addition to the planet assets I produce myself, which I plan on releasing as CC0 at some point (not yet though-- they're still full copyright for the time being).

As for why I'm putting my work up for sale, let's get to that next update: The Ashcan edition. Ashcans seem a popular thing to do these days so unless someone comes up with a different term, I'll be sticking with that. It will be:

• 15 full planets
• At least 1 full double page spread. Maybe more!
• Revamped planet art. I've learned a lot about making them since starting the project.
• The aforementioned CC0 planet art pack.
• More features of the final book. Glossary, Front and back matter, etc.
• Not free.

That version, when released, will be the launching off point for the rest of the book to be completed. My end vision for the book is a glossy, hardback product that is both inspiring and fun to look at and hold. That vision is a long ways off, but until then I'm looking to commission art and layout for the nat-geo inspired infographics inside. All that requires funding, and is why this will be the last free preview.

Now for the new planets. Without further ado, they are:

1. Mandlebrot is a partially habitable gas giant where folks of all kind battle it out for control of the planet's main resource: floating islands!
   
2. Ruzaani Station is my favourite so far. It's a tidally locked dwarf planet with a frozen desert and a community of pseudo-religious miners.

Happy Travels,

- Dan