An epic fantasy game pitting 1-4 heroes against an intelligent, malevolent tower.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
We're at a critical stage of the project. The purpose of this update is to provide you with all of the current information about the status of production and fulfillment. I'm going to skip the shiny photos and the like so I can use this update as a reference for the next month or so. I promise I'll post something fun next time.
We've mentioned this before, and you might have seen stories: International freight, i.e., getting the games from the factory to the fulfillment centers, is an absolute nightmare right now. Or, as Steve Jackson Games put it, an extinction level event. Every day something new seems to pop up. I recently recorded a podcast episode with Rolling Dice and Taking names on this topic, along with Scott Morris of GTS Distribution, in which we discussed the topic at length, including our thoughts on how and when things will start to improve. It should drop in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for it if you want to find out more about the issue.
I won't go into much detail here. But, most relevant, there is a severe container shortage. When a company manufactures goods outside the US, such as in China, they need to go in a container, get loaded onto a ship, and make the long trip across the ocean. Normally, finding a container takes a couple of weeks. These days, it can take much longer, months in fact. (I'm talking about China to US here, but the problems are worldwide regardless of route.)
Related, container prices (well, the price to rent the container and put it on a boat bound for the US) are skyrocketing as a result of the disparity between supply and demand. Normally, a container runs us $5,000. These days, we're seeing prices north of $20,000.
I'm not providing this information to discourage you. But these are the facts on the ground, and we have to deal with them.
So where are we with this project? In the last update, I mentioned that Tower production had started and that Panda were forwarding their components to Capable for final assembly. One of the effects of the container shortage is that the factories are having to store more completed goods because they can't make it on to boats. We ended up in a situation where Panda had finished the goods and wanted to get them out of their factory, but Capable didn't have room in theirs. We ended up having to rent an off-site warehouse near Capable to store the Panda components so Capable can draw from them as need them. That has now happened, and the first 2,000 finished games should be ready to leave the warehouse this week. Capable estimates 3,000 completed games per week from here on out.
At this point, we have a steady stream of completed games that will be coming off the line. So really it is now just a matter of when we can get the containers to ship them in. I had previously mentioned that we would likely start Asia fulfillment by the end of this month. Given the uncertainty with the containers, we've decided we need to be a bit more nimble in our approach. We're going to basically take every container we can get and continue moving the games to fulfillment hubs as they become available. If we hit a lull, where we can't get a container for a shipment, that's when we'll send a batch to the Asia fulfillment hub. So, as a practical matter, we don't know yet where that first batch will go.
Related, some of you have asked about how the rise in container cost will impact the project. It's not ideal, of course, but we will not ask you all to bear any of that additional expense. This was one of the factors in raising the MSRP to $190.
These are chaotic times. Given the size of the project, there is a good chance we will still see some disruptions, causing fulfillment to stretch out longer than intended. But I want to make sure you all know that I will keep you posted on things as they develop.
I'm pretty sure everyone reading this update is engaged enough with the project that you've already completed your survey in BackerKit. If, for some reason, you have not, please do so immediately. We've got to confirm final counts to the fulfillment hubs, and we need the backer names to put in the app. So we're really out of runway. Likewise, I've been helping folks on an individual basis to adjust their orders, but I will no longer be able to do that as of this update.
While the surveys need to be locked down, you can still go in and make changes to your shipping address. I won't be locking down addresses for another few weeks (depending on how the containers get sorted out and where you are located). I will post an update expressly notifying folks when the addresses are locked down (and even then, we can manually update them up to the point of shipment). If you have moved, please go into BackerKit and correct your address there.
If you have trouble, please reach out to BackerKit support first. Then, if you are still having issues, you can always message me here on Kickstarter.
That's it for now. Soon, I'll be getting copies of Dark Horde, Alliances, the foil art prints, coin, and sleeves, and I'm excited to show them off. Until then, thanks, as always, for your patience.
Another chunky update for you, so let's jump in.
We got our production sample of the Coffers tokens in from Panda, and wowzers are they gorgeous. Reminder, these are acrylic tokens with color heat transfer graphics to replace the warrior, spirit, and influence tokens from the base game and Alliances respectively. How about some photos:
And, the oh-so-satisfying slo-mo token drop video:
Meanwhile, Rob has been working hard with the engineers to fine-tune the light and sounds show. For those of you wondering, this work continues past the start of production because we can load the files into the Tower, but how and when we call each sound or light effect is part of the firmware that is pushed out by the app. Here's a little glimpse of all the sound files that are stored in the Tower.
Of course, this is separate from all of the sounds stored in the app itself.
Meanwhile, Capable continues to move forward with Tower production, while Panda is forwarding the remaining components for assembly. We've forwarded a sample of the first production copies to our Asian fulfillment partner to do some test shipments to Andrew, our engineering consultant in China, to make sure we have a good packaging plan when the games hit the fulfillment hubs. As of now, there remains no change to the fulfillment schedule. For those of you who haven't been keeping up with the updates, that means fulfillment starting by the end of August to Asia first. Followed by the more distant fulfillment hubs as logistics permits. If you've been hearing the horror stories, it all sounds pretty depressing. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do but have our logistics partner work the problem. If anything develops, for good or ill, we will let you all know.
Speaking of production, here are some nifty videos of the folks at Capable working to build your Towers.
A worker clips the support struts from the crimson crystal shell piece:
Workers clean and apply the crimson crystal platforms to the Tower alcoves:
Every single Tower circuit board is hand tested to ensure its electronic integrity:
While all this fun stuff is going on, I have the thankless job of toiling away in the word mines. Every string of text that will show up in the app is in a massive spreadsheet thousands of lines long. I'm going through and doing an editing and polish pass to tighten it all up, squash typos, and the like. It's more challenging than it sounds. Anyone on the team will tell you that my prose tends a bit to the florid side. So I'm trying to keep myself in check and balance some exciting prose with clear game text to make sure the players know what is happening and what they need to do.
That's it for now. I'm planning an update in the next week or so to clarify the fulfillment process as that part spins up. As always, if you need to update your address, do that directly in BackerKit. If you have a problem with your order or something else, please DM me in Kickstarter. For now, you know what that means: Back to the word mines for me.
I know you've been waiting for this update for awhile, so I'll spare the long introduction. The Alliances expansion is designed to provide a more dynamic challenge once you've gotten comfortable with the base game. We've shown hints of the Alliances expansion here and there, but let's do a little bit of a deeper dive and show you all of the stuff in the box.
Rulebook: Let's start with the rulebook. You can download the pdf of the rules HERE. From a top-level view, the base game pressures the players with completing a main objective and managing the board state. As you can see, Alliances adds a third vector the players must deal with in the form of the guilds. (Along with the power skulls that affect the board state, but more on them later.)
Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let's take a look at the box. Here's the box top:
Each of those icons represents one of the guilds. Note the subtle pattern underneath, which hints at their area of expertise.
And now, let's take a gander at the box bottom that shows off some of the components within:
New Heroes: Alliances features two new heroes, the Archwright and the Haunted Recluse. They offer new playstyles to take on the Tower. These heroes can be used in the base game as well, without the other Alliances components.
The Archwright comes with a supply of battlement tokens she can erect on the board. Each battlement grants +1 Wild Advantage when a hero takes the Battle action in that space. These battlements can be used by the other heroes in the game as well. Using them effectively requires you to strategize where and when to place them. And, of course, she comes with a suite of virtues that enhances their power.
The Haunted Recluse dabbles in dark magic. Where most heroes want to cleanse and avoid the skulls spit out from the Tower, they use skulls as a resource to power their potent abilities. Playing the Haunted Recluse will require you to balance power and safety.
The Guilds: The main feature of the Alliances expansion is the introduction of the guilds. Each guild is represented by a board that is randomly assigned to a kingdom at the start of the game (they're double-sided). Each board has four ranks, reflecting that guild's disposition towards the cause. They start at level 1 and actively hamper the heroes. The guilds also provide a new quest each month, further straining the resources and attention of the heroes. You can Reinforce at a guild hall to increase their rank, swaying them to your side. As the guild rank increases, their effects turn from negative to positive and also give you a companion (one of the twelve new ones in the expansion). To do that, you'll need Influence.
Influence is a new resource in the game. Unlike warriors and spirit, Influence is a pool, shared by all the players, requiring them to work together to decide how best to use it. Influence is gained at the end of the month based on buildings without skulls and also with the new Influence heroic action.
Power Skulls: Here's a brand new feature of the expansion that we've somehow managed to keep secret until now. These skulls are four different colors, representing four different types with four different effects. At the beginning of the game, based on the chosen foes, the app will direct you to replace some of the standard skulls with certain power skulls. Instead of a general supply, the skulls are placed in the supplied skull bag. Then, when you need to take a skull from the supply, you randomly draw it from the bag instead. When your hero enters a space with a power skull on it, you lose resources based on the type of skull. For example, the green blight skulls force you to lose an item when you enter their space. This can make moving around the board require more planning. Perhaps equally importantly ... they just look super cool.
New Treasures: The Alliances expansion also comes with 20 new treasures. Many of them directly interact with the other new elements of the expansion, such as Influence, guilds, and power skulls. (Some do not and can be freely added to the base game.)
Finally, your regular fulfillment update. No news is good news these days, and there's nothing new to report. Mass production is underway. I'll post an update with some photos and videos in the next few weeks so you can get a behind-the-scenes look at what is a very cool process.
Lots and lots of stuff to talk about. Everything is picking up the pace as we finalize manufacturing. To keep this update from getting too long, I'm going to update you all on the fulfillment timeline and then do some quick hits about a number of other things. Let's get to it!
I know this is foremost in your mind as it is in ours. In our January update, we updated our fulfillment timeline, indicating that fulfillment would start in July. Since that update, two issues have cropped up that we have had to deal with and that have pushed that timeline back. We now expect fulfillment to begin in August. Just as I noted last time, this is when fulfillment is due to start. We don't know just how long it will take to complete fulfillment, but I want to caution that the complexity of the manufacturing process along with the general chaos in worldwide logistics could draw that process out. There is nothing we can do now to avoid whatever the situation ends up looking like when we are ready to freight, but I will say that our logistics company is the best in the business and have already been doing a great job for us navigating the current trouble.
I'll be able to provide increasingly specific information as we get closer to local shipping. In the interest of transparency, I'll note the two issues here.
Materials Sourcing: The biggest issue is one I talked about on social media a bit. If you've been trying to build or upgrade your computer in recent months, you'll notice that it's been quite difficult to source parts, such as processors and memory chips. If you haven't, this article is a good summary of the problem. When the issue first popped up, we literally couldn't find the parts we had previously been quoted. Not gonna lie, I was legit terrified at what the worst-case outcomes were for a bit there. Fortunately, this is part of why we retained a local engineering consultant, Andrew, in China to directly liaise with the manufacturer. He was able to scramble and source alternate components, but it did result in a delay.
Transit Testing: After we received the FEP (Final Engineering Prototype) I mentioned in this update last month, one of the last parts of the process is transit testing. The manufacturer takes a few cases of the game and simulates a long overseas voyage and a very careless courier. After much testing, we were noticing some unacceptable damage to the game. So we've had to reformat the packout. Among other things, the game will now be one game per carton rather than two and will feature additional protective bits and bobs to keep everything secure. This is an important step that we want to make sure we get right, but it did result in a delay.
Now that we've dealt with the elephant in the room, I've got a number of other items to review, including some questions specifically asked by you all in the comments. So, here goes.
Updated MSRP: Direct fallout from the two items above is that the unit cost has increased a bit from the initial quote. As a point of comparison, the unit cost of the Tower alone is roughly double the unit cost of Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar. Our project manager, Tim Burrell-Saward is also preparing a GDC presentation on the development of the game and recently asked me what our total development costs were. The answer is $1.5 million! That's development costs, not manufacturing costs. I've often said that producing this game is much more like a video game than a board game. As a result of all of this, we have decided to raise the MSRP of the game to $190. To be extra clear, this will not impact you, the backers, at all.
Address Changes: I routinely get questions about folks who need to change their addresses. As a reminder, you need to keep your address updated in BackerKit, not in KS. We will not be locking down addresses until the games are on their way to the fulfillment hubs, starting next month. I will do another update warning everyone when that deadline arrives. If you have issues updating your address in BackerKit, please contact their customer service.
RTDT RPG: We just announced a licensing deal with 9th Level Games for them to produce a standalone role-playing game set in the world of Return to Dark Tower. We're big fans of RPGs over here, so we're super excited to see what they come up with. The game will use their award-winning Polymorph system. If you want to see a bit of what it's like, you can check out their Mazes Kickstarter campaign going on right now.
Dice Tower Playthrough: If you missed it, you can catch it over on their YouTube channel. You can see how far the game has come and the fun the guys are having. You might also notice that the game wasn't overly challenging for them. Not to worry, this is something we were immediately aware of, and it highlights one of the game's strengths. We identified the largest issue as the very quiet, very long month 2, which allowed them to get ahead and "coast" to the final battle. Because of the digital component to the game, we're able to tighten up those guardrails and make sure folks don't have things too easy. And if we overcorrect and make the game too hard, we can tweak that too.
Tower Lights: Another thing you might have noticed in the playthrough is that the Tower didn't put on a light show. We're working on the lights as we speak, coordinating specific routines to specific game events. When combined with the sounds, it really is impressive. The award for board game with best table presence will have to be retired! I'll do a separate update down the road showing off some of what it can do. We don't want to show everything before you get the game. (I feel the same way about movie trailers.)
It might have gotten lost in all the talk of the fulfillment delay, but the manufacturing process is already well under way. Print materials are almost done. Plastics are being churned out as we speak. And we're wrapping up a lot of the expansions and accessories. Figured I'd show you a few photos of some of these other goodies.
Obviously, we've got a lot more to show you. I hope to have an update to show off all the Alliances stuff soon, including something we haven't announced yet. As always, thanks for coming with us on this journey and your patience as we navigate the bumps along the way.