FTB NewsIntroductionFor a while now there have been concerns expressed about a lack of communication from myself to you on the forums. This post is going to be an attempt to try and remedy this situation. From this point on, I am going to attempt to put out a post every weekend with updates on different areas of FTB. Even if that update is “No new news”. The idea is to break us down into various areas and then we can see what sort of information we can come up with. If there are any areas missing that you would like me to add, make the suggestion and I can take a look at them.For now though, I think the main areas will beFTB LauncherFTB ModpacksFTB WebsiteFTB ArtFTB StoreOther NewsNow lets take a crack at this.FTB LauncherDevelopment on the new launcher has ceased most probably until the new year. Work has started on a web interface and the new mods backend that will hook into the new launcher. Once this is complete we can get back to developing the updated launcher. Meanwhile a series of hotfixes have gone out to help resolve problems that some people seem to have with the 1.6.4 packs on the original launcher.FTB ModpacksWe have several modpacks out for public testing, although none of these are technically considered stable yet, they are functioning and we are pushing updates as fast as we can to them. However most packs will soon switch back to the standard format of release on a Monday after a period of testing.Our upcoming flagship pack is still in internal testing although I expect it to be added as a private pack for mainstream testing any day now.FTB WebsiteWork has started behind the scenes on the server side programming for the launcher. We are also taking a look at revamping the Tech Support area and we are hoping to introduce new software to make the process much more user friendly in the new year.FTB ArtBigBadChris has completed a new set of artwork for the new packs. You can see a preview of the new artwork here http://i.imgur.com/dxJsUQN.png FTB StoreWe will be taking pre-orders for t-shirts etc for the new artwork on the store soon. These unfortunately won’t be ready in time for christmas but we hope to be able to take pre-orders this weekend. This will go on for about a week and we expect to be able to ship these out early January. The new designs that BigBadChris has come up with should make for cheaper printing costs and hopefully this will be reflected in the price of the t-shirts. Additionally I expect there to be a discount added for all pre-orders.Other NewsThe first of the FTB T-shirts signed by Mojang staff and friends that attended minecon will go up for auction over the christmas period. Proceeds from this will go to a yet to be determined charity. I have a few ideas on this, but want to explore them before deciding how I want to go about this.