I’d made plans to post last week and share a couple of images from my updates for the game. Instead, I foolishly agreed to update my iPad to iOS 26.
Long story short, Apple’s precious attempt to fix what was never broken ended up breaking my post-warranty iPad. Several attempts to update via iTunes and perform factory resets resulted in more heartbreak… and an entirely new iPad Air setup.
Brand new iPad with an Apple Pencil Pro (because of course my trusty old Pencil wouldn’t be compatible with a newer device) and a third-party keyboard case. The old, Apple-approved Logitech keyboard case does work with this new version, but it’s been disconnecting while I type, and it probably won’t be too long before that goes kaput. This new keyboard does have great reviews on Amazon, yet it’ll take some getting used to. For one, it needs to be charged separately from the iPad, unlike the Logitech’s convenience of running off the iPad’s power. For another, the detachable keyboard needs to be moved around the case to fold it up and to accommodate the iPad. I’m sure this will all become second nature over time.
I just miss my old dinky rig.
(Also, I know that’s the wrong screen protector for this version of the iPad Air. I just needed something to protect the screen in the meantime.)
Even if I wouldn’t have been able to procure a new iPad, I could have continued to work on my card files in Affinity. Fortunately, I’d had the foresight to turn on automatic backups, so nothing was lost. Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to retrieve the art I was doing in Procreate since that’s an iOS exclusive. Yeah, I could create new art for the cards in a Windows app, or even on paper and scan it, but I was really on a roll with the sketches.
You know, it isn’t until you go without digital tools for a while that you start to realize your reliance on them. I need to retrain myself to draw on paper.
In addition to being reunited with my dependencies, the iPad also serves as my portable workstation for grad school business. I plan on taking this thing with me to PAX East so I can take notes during my Unpub session and continue my coursework in the hotel room. But after this whole bullcrap, I’m pretty much done with Apple as a customer. (I’ll probably hang on to iCloud, though. You can never have too much cloud storage.)
I’m already thinking of future alternatives. I played around with a few Samsung tablets while awaiting the diagnostics results at Best Buy. The art software and pencils are pretty decent. I’ve heard good things about the S series. Of course, by the time this new iPad dies (or get bricked), Samsung will probably have come out with an new line of devices. We’ll see in 3-4 years.
I will share one bit of progress I’ve made with the TTG:
Boards for the cards! The bigger, wood-looking one is for the main quest cards, and the four smaller ones are for the players. They look like wood, but they’re really canvases painted over with a mix of alcohol inks and watercolor paints. I didn’t have a clear vision of what I wanted; I just didn’t want plain canvases. Half an afternoon and several brush swipes later, this is the weird result. I’ll probably cover them in shrink wrap and label them with vinyl cutouts for the game.
Also, a tip for anyone working with alcohol ink: if you’re going to experiment with a medium besides isopropyl alcohol, label the bottles. Mineral oil does not dry very well, if at all. Sure, you’ll be able to keep coherent thoughts while painting… and breathe… but just label the bottles.
Next update, I just might have some improved cards to show off. If this winter storm knocks out the power over the weekend, I might even have an entirely new setup and more hand-created items.