Status Update
about 9 years ago – Sat, Apr 18, 2015 at 04:01:27 AM

Hello,

Thank you all for your patience. I hope that you are having a good holiday season. I am sorry that it's been a while since I posted an update.

Background

The plan was to begin shipping in March but realistically I think it will happen in April/May. Timing has been very bad -- some things in my control, and some things out of my control. My wedding, honeymoon, family time over the holidays and shipping orders to my ecommerce customers during the very busy holiday season were all planned events that I took into consideration when creating the initial project schedule. Granted, I underestimated the amount of time required to plan a wedding (<--- typical guy).

Losing an employee who was responsible for managing about 10 pending projects for web design clients was the one major thing that was unplanned and out of my control (my hard drive failing had a big impact too but not the lasting effects of losing help). I have a small business and it's not easy to recover from losing staff. That said, I have been in a hiring freeze and have not been actively acquiring new clients for my marketing & design business, so that I have time to live up to all of my current responsibilities including this Kickstarter project. From experience it takes about 6 months to acclimate an employee, and spending that time on training someone new would result in a longer delay than just finishing certain aspects of various projects myself.

I have a responsibility to my design and marketing clients, and also to all of you, and it has been challenging to balance both. As I need the cashflow from my design business to both pay my bills and to subsidize this project, it was important to get some of those projects done. I'm putting somewhere between $18-21k of my own money into the printing and shipping of Scrapyard Empire over and above what was raised, so I have to make sure I have my bases covered financially so that I can complete and deliver the game to all of you.

I've got about half of the client projects off of my plate now, and Christmas season and personal responsibilities are now completed. So, I can focus again on this project to push it through the next phases.

Current Status

In terms of work done, the miniatures are the most time consuming piece of this project and there really isn't much left to do on them at this point. The printing does still need work though. I have redone the artwork several times over and I owe the printer another version that will hopefully pass inspection. Chinese New Year's is coming up though, so I'm sure that will affect the schedule.

Custom Cards

Regarding custom cards for the 12ish people who ordered them, I have been putting off asking people for images because honestly it's just one more thing to think about and I don't want those cards to sit in a drawer where they can get lost or damaged. Those cards are very quick to make. That said, I'm now comfortable with putting them in process. If you've pledged for custom cards, then please go ahead and send images to me now, at [email protected] - digital files in CMYK format and as little compression as possible, with these exact pixel dimensions are ideal: 434x574.

Summary

At any rate, please have confidence that I will deliver this project, albeit a little late. I'm not perfect, and I know that I have been lacking in the updates department. I am truly sorry about that. But I have integrity and I am just as eager as everyone to have the finished project in hand. Scrapyard Empire has been a labor of love and I want it to be something that all of you will enjoy for many years. 

-Dennis

Project in Process, on Schedule & Steampunk News
over 9 years ago – Mon, Oct 06, 2014 at 09:49:05 PM

Hi all, it's been about 1 month since my last update. I generally like to post more frequently but I've had some events come up that required my attention. My apologies for not posting an update sooner. The short, short story is that I lost an employee recently and have been busy tidying up some open-ended projects for clients at my day job. As Murphy's Law would dictate, the hard drive on my main computer crashed right around the same time (the one with all of my software and files on it) and I'm still trying to get it back up and running. Most of my non-personal files are on Dropbox, so nothing is lost regarding this or other projects I'm working on. 

Production is On Schedule

The beauty of collaborating with other companies is that even when things are bumpy internally, projects move along in the background without requiring my immediate intervention. All of the artwork was delivered to the printer a while ago, with the exception of the vector art for the custom dice. I need access to my broken computer to get that part out the door. The most difficult part of this process was the development of the miniatures, and all of the masters are completely done and ready for moulding, except that I want a few little things changed before that happens. Please note that the work is getting done in Hong Kong. I do not believe that the protests that we've been reading about in the news will affect production, but I'll let you know if I hear anything to the contrary.

Personalized Add-Ons

For the dozen or so of you who got custom cards, I just need a bit more time before putting this part in process. It's not going to delay your delivery at all, as those cards are printed stateside and the process is quick (it'll literally take 2 weeks to produce them once I submit them to the printer). Sorry I know I've said this a few times but I've had some unexpected events that are hindering my schedule to some degree.

Some Pictures For You

Below are behind-the-scenes shots of more masters for the miniatures (purple figure not included).

Steampunk News

For those of you who are avid Steampunk Enthusiasts, Halloween is just around the corner. Feel free to check out my website if you need a new pair of goggles. You can use coupon code SCRAPYARD2014 for 10% off your order thru Halloween. The steel goggles on our homepage are worn by teen star Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle (aka "Cat," the young Cat Woman) on Fox's current series, Gotham. It's not steampunk per se, but it's still really, really cool and it was a pleasure to work with their costume designer in choosing the right pair for the series.

Thanks,

Dennis

Scrapyard Empire PnP Files Sent to Backers, Preview of Miniature House
over 9 years ago – Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 05:16:23 PM

Hi!

I'm delighted to say that we've just emailed the Print 'n Play files to every Scrapyard Empire backer at the Picker level and above. If you pledged $5 or more towards the campaign, then please check your email box for a message from us. Those of you who put in a couple of bucks for the character expansion got a link to that file as well. If you don't see the message, then please check your spam box and look for a message from info ~at~ galliantgames.com. If you still can't find it, then send me a private message through Kickstarter and I'll help you out.

I also included a bonus link in the email. It's to a PnP for our next project, 5Pax. That's going to be a much lighter project than Scrapyard - simpler artwork, simpler rules, but lots of fun. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

Production Status

We've begun the manufacturing process for Scrapyard Empire and it's quite a journey. Right now we're in the sampling stage, meaning that we're testing to make sure everything will turn out the way we expect it to. We've delivered about half of the artwork to the manufacturer and should have the rest delivered by Monday. Everything's basically done but I just want to give it a once-over before we send it off for printing.

Miniatures

We've delivered our 3D source files to the model maker. As we mentioned on the project page, our concepts were a bit too detailed to actually work as miniatures without some simplification. We want to make sure that the final components look great and are reasonably durable, while preserving a nice level of detail. We started with the Strolling House because it presented one of the most interesting challenges. Basically, it had a lot of detail that just won't come through at 28mm scale, and while the thin legs that support it look great on screen, making them out of resin might prove problematic. We resolved these challenges by doing two things:

• We will be manufacturing the miniatures not at 28mm scale, but rather much closer to 54mm scale. The larger size allows us to preserve more of the details from our concepts.
• The legs to the house are reinforced on the inside with metal wires. That's right! This resin/metal hybrid solution will make the pieces much more durable for your enjoyment.

Below is the original master of the Strolling House. We had the model maker sharpen it up a bit, and we also made the decision to take the lifted leg and attach it to the base. We rearranged the legs into a more natural 4-legged stride, similar to how an animal's legs might be positioned while walking. In my opinion, not only does this look better, but the 4th leg just adds one more unit of support to the piece to make it stronger.

Please keep in mind, these images are zoomed-in and the actual size is much smaller than what you're likely to see on your screen. At the smaller scale, the details are much more forgiving. Plus don't forget, these are unpainted and you'll be amazed at what a touch of color can do! Overall, I love this piece, and I hope that you do too.

That's it for now - I hope you all enjoy the PnP files, and the images I've shared. We're working on the Glove of Ruin right now, and after that's done and I'm comfortable with the results, we'll push forward with the other 6 minis at once.

Talk soon!

Dennis

Deluxe Backers: Extra Style or Extra Functionality?
over 9 years ago – Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 01:33:37 PM

Backers for the Basic Edition got 3 extra dice at the $33k stretch goal, so I wanted to do something extra for backers of the Deluxe Edition as well. After much thought and feedback from backers on the last update, I think the two options below would be great. I can only do one of them though as budget is really tight at this point, so please give it a lot of thought and then express your opinion below in the comments.

Option 1: 4 Different Colored Dice

The Deluxe Edition will come with custom dice and we're working on another round of mock-ups for you based on the feedback we got on yesterday's update. The current plan is to do all of them in the same color. However, as Option 1, I can make each of the dice in a different color. For example, we could have one in brown, another green, one orange and the last blue to match the backs of the 4 decks. Or we could do a different set of four colors. We can vote on that. What's important is that with this option, each player would have a unique color for their die, which adds a nice style element to the game. Note that these would be solid colored dice. I could instead do mixed colors for the dice, but then they would all need to be the same. I think the four unique dice is the better option.

Option 2: Plastic Markers For Small Machine Abilities

As an alternative to the four unique dice, I can include 25 plastic markers in the box. You would still get the custom dice, and in addition, you'd get these circular bits. Each is approximately the size of a small coin and they would all be the same color, which we can vote on. This adds an element of functionality to the game, because you can use them to signify that a small machine's ability has been used, rather than turning the card sideways. This means that you can fit more cards onto the player mat. At this quantity, each player in a four-player game would be able to have as many as 6 abilities used before building a machine without turning a card sideways, and there would still be space on the board for more cards if needed. It also saves you from rearranging your cards slightly every time you turn a card sideways which might be a small annoyance for some people.

Please let me know which option you prefer in the comments below.

Thanks!

Rewards Survey Sent - Please Check Email
over 9 years ago – Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 01:32:33 PM

Hi,

Great news! I have completed the setup of our pledge manager through Backerkit. Please check your email for a link that's tied to your ID. If you do not receive it then you can visit this link and follow the prompts:

https://scrapyard.backerkit.com

IMPORTANT: In Backerkit, it's really important that you select the "Shipping" add-on and add it to your order. All backers must add a shipping level Add-On to their reward. It appears as the first item in the add-ons list after you log in to Backerkit. Select the option that matches your location and the items you would like to receive, then click ADD TO CART. Note: if you are getting only the Print n Play game then select "Digital Rewards Only" under "Country", "Print n Play" under "Primary Reward" and "Digital Rewards Only" under "Add-Ons." Backers getting either the painted or unpainted Deluxe Edition should select "Deluxe Edition."

Note: if you are getting only the Print n Play game then select "Digital Rewards Only" under "Country", "Print n Play" under "Primary Reward" and "Digital Rewards Only" under "Add-Ons." Backers getting either the painted or unpainted Deluxe Edition should select "Deluxe Edition."

You can select whether you wanted add-ons including the Character Card extension and/or other items, and shipping will adjust accordingly. If you set this to "no add-ons" but then find that you do in fact want a few things, then you can simply remove the Shipping item from your cart, and then re-add it with the proper options selected.

I know it's a little confusing so if you get caught in a jam, just send me a private message and I'll walk you through it as best as I can. 

Pledge manager lock-down date is tentatively August 15, 2014. This means that you should do your best to select everything you want in the next few days, and make any final changes before that date. If you decide that you want more stuff than what you originally pledged through Kickstarter, then just add those items in Backerkit, along with the appropriate payment information.

I'll post more updates later this week regarding design stuff, such as the direction for the custom dice. You may continue to add items to your pledge in Backerkit based on what you see in these updates (e.g. a set of custom dice if you got the Basic Edition) if you prefer to see what they look like first, as long as you get it in before the lock-down date.