Scrapyard Empire Funded! What Happens Next?
almost 10 years ago – Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 06:24:20 AM

Hi!

I am so thrilled that we surpassed our funding goal and have almost 700 solid backers like you who committed time and dollars to the project. Thank you so much for being a part of this epic adventure! I appreciate all of the help with promoting the campaign through social media and word of mouth, and of course I appreciate the funds and taking action with upgrades and add-ons to help us reach our goal. Thank YOU!

Of course I couldn't do it without my wonderful team here at Galliant Games, either, and I'm happy to have found such talented people to collaborate with and see this project through to fruition.

What Happens Next?

The most important thing is to remain subscribed to my email updates. I will do my best not to bother you too much with frivolous things while I report the news to you on what's going on. You can expect a survey from me shortly, where I ask you for important details like your address and the add-ons you want for those extra funds you had put into the campaign over your reward amount. I'll have more details in the coming days. It is extremely important that you use the system I set up to get me your address and other important information. If you move or change your  email address after answering the survey, please let me know promptly so that I can update my records.

Over the next 1-2 weeks I'll post a few discussions and polls where you can chime in on some of the design direction behind elements of the game, and we'll also do some voting via Facebook Likes. I would encourage all of you to participate. I can't please everyone on everything, but I can hopefully please most people on most things, and your opinion and constructive feedback is very important to me.

After that, you can expect me to post updates approximately once per week when lots of stuff is happening, and once or twice a month during the slow times when we're mostly just waiting for our vendors to do their part while we nag them periodically to keep things in motion.

First Discussion: Deluxe Edition Dice

For those of you who are backing the Deluxe Edition, we've come up with a few ideas for the dice. I'd encourage you to participate even if you're not backing the Deluxe Edition. It's a lot of fun, and we might even offer these dice as an add-on of sorts if there's enough interest.

The plan is to include four 16mm dice, each with one custom face, using one of these designs, with one color for all of the dice that come with the game. We can also mock up 1 or 2 other design concepts if some good (and doable) ideas come out of this discussion. The first step is to take a look at the ideas below and tell me what you like best. Keep in mind that the face of a die is only 16mm, so we're limited in how much detail can be added.

Questions:

1) Which 1 or 2 designs (1-6) do you like best and why? If you don't like any of them, do you have another concept that might be nice?

2) Which color(s) do you like best and why? My opinion here: keep the board color in mind. I happen to like the brown dice a lot, but I don't like how they're the same color as the boards. Personally I like for the dice to contrast with the board. As a side note, we are not locked into these color choices. I will also look into some ideas for translucent colors to show you, for example. Be sure to comment on the color of both the die itself, and the color of the pips (i.e. white vs. gold). Also keep in mind that these are mock-ups, so try to visualize the yellowish tone as more of a golden color. Have another color combo in mind? Let us know and we'll mock up the most popular ideas.

Here are the boards and mats for reference. Please keep in mind that the board designs are more or less finalized, so we don't want to slow down the production schedule by changing them. Again keep in mind the context and if you like/dislike more or less contrast between the color of the dice and the board.

3) Do you have a preference for round or square corners on your dice? I generally like rounded corners because of how the dice roll, but I know that there have been some studies suggesting that square corners roll more fairly. People with kids should keep the thought of walking barefoot on those sharp edges in mind, too.

After a bit of discussion, we'll start adjusting the list of options and then come up with a couple of choices to vote on through an official-ish poll using Facebook Likes. Let me know what you think!

5 Hours Left - Another Stretch Goal + Add-on Option For International Backers
almost 10 years ago – Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 11:57:18 AM

Hi!

With only a few more hours left on the campaign we have surpassed the last stretch goal of $34,000 and I'd like to go for one more stretch goal if people are into it. Plus I've got some (hopefully) good news for international backers regarding add-ons.

Stretch Goal @ $37,000

People came up with lots of great ideas but there isn't a lot of time to crunch numbers and make a decision, so here's what I'd like to do:

If we reach $37,000, I will do some sort of qualitative improvement to both the Basic and Deluxe game, or I'll include a small item of some sort. I need to talk to my manufacturer about costs at night when they're most available, and then I'll either decide on something or (more than likely) present a couple of options for people to vote on.

In addition: if we hit $37,000 I will also include something extra for backers who picked up the Deluxe Edition. Again it will depend on the costs involved but know that I will do right by you and do the best that I can with something cool added. Most likely it will be something printed, but again I need to talk to the manufacturer. You can assume that it will be something that I would be happy to receive if I were a backer of this game myself.

Last Call on 15 Character Add-Ons

Add Ons For International Backers

One backer suggested shipping add-ons like coins, coasters, dice cups and prints separately to international backers to save on the international shipping. I didn't go this route previously because the math is a little confusing, and because I didn't want to upset people with extra shipping charges. However if you are really interested in some of these special add-ons then here's something that will save you a couple of bucks, particularly if you're getting the Deluxe Edition.

Canada, UK, Germany, China, Taiwan:

Shipping on the game and extra character cards is still free, and will be shipped from within the EU to UK and Germany. If you want the other add-ons, you can add $10 shipping to your order to have them shipped separately from the US. Please note that these add-on items will ship from the US and I will need to be honest with customs declarations.

So for example: Deluxe Edition ($65) + Coin ($12) + 1 set of Coasters ($20) + Add-On Shipping ($10) = $107 total pledge.

Western Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden)

Shipping on the game is still $10 for Basic or $12 for Deluxe and it will be shipped from within the EU. If you want the other add-ons shipped separately from the US, you can add $10 shipping to your order for a total of $20 or $22. Please note that these add-on items will ship from the US and I will need to be honest with customs declarations.

So for example: Deluxe Edition ($65 + $12 to ship from within EU) + Coin ($12) + 1 set of Coasters ($20) + Add-On Shipping ($10) = $119 total pledge.

Everywhere Else

You do not need to add anything extra as your stuff is already shipping from the US.

So for example: Deluxe Edition ($65 + $37) + Coin ($12) + 1 set of Coasters ($20) = $134 total pledge.

Here's the chart for reference:

Let's Rock!

Again, thank you so much for believing in me and backing Scrapyard Empire! I am so excited that this game will be published and I will do everything in my power to get it to you in the best quality and in the most timely fashion that I can. I'll post a longer note at the conclusion of the campaign. 

Thanks!!!

Dennis

1 Day Left to Pledge - New Stretch Goals, Extra Character Cards & Add-Ons
almost 10 years ago – Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 01:13:25 PM

We're in the home stretch! There is roughly 1 day left on this campaign and we're on track to hit all of our stretch goals. Millimeters separate us from that $31,000 stretch goal for a 10th character card. So what's next? More stretch goals!

$33,000 - 4 Dice in Basic Edition

Currently, the Basic Edition comes with one die. It's perfectly fine for playing a game and you've probably got extras around the house, but wouldn't it be nice if each player had their very own die? Get us to $33,000 and I'll include 4 dice in the box!

$34,000 - Thicker Stock for Character Cards

Character cards are indeed special and should stand out from the rest of the deck. So let's make it happen! If we hit this stretch goal, not only will I make all of the characters cards in both the Basic AND the Deluxe Edition out of a heavier stock, but I'll ALSO make all of the cards in the 15-character add-on set out of a heavier stock.  For those of you who know paper, the main decks will be made from premium 300gsm card stock with a linen finish, and if we hit this stretch goal, the character cards will be made from 350gsm card stock with a linen finish, roughly 17% thicker than the rest of the deck. This heavy weight is what I would call "just right" for those lovely character cards. Please note that this does not apply to the custom character card set.

How Do We Get There? Add-Ons!

By now many of you have really pushed this project through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, on BoardGameGeek, through your blogs, podcasts and other social outlets. Thank you!!! At this point, if you can still share the project, please do. But regardless, please give those add-ons another look. The 15-character add-on is just $10 to the US, and $11 anywhere else in the world. It's a great deal and will add quite a bit of value to the game. 

People with US addresses can check out our rundown of some of the other add-ons including full color prints, drink coasters, coins, decks of cards, dice cups and t-shirts here.

Let's do this!