A gorgeous sci-fi card game for 2-6 players, combining all the excitement of a big 4X game! Just $29.
Some of you requested more pics of the sample once I received the physical copy myself. I apologize for the blurriness...my phone lens has some major scratches on it. Anyways, enjoy!
Hi Backers,
Just a very quick update to let you all know that I received the actual NC sample about a week or so ago, and I'm providing the final comments/adjustments to our manufacturer now.
Things about the sample:
-I'm happy with the box cover. Very sturdy, good colors, size looks right/good use of space.
-Plastic tray looks great. Plenty of room for sleeves, both width and height. As mentioned before, plenty of room for expansions as well should more come in the future.
-The card text/images were blurry. I'm being reassured this is because it was done on a laser printer, rather than an offset printer which is what will be used for the actual print run. I have seen enough samples from this manufacturer to know that their final quality component will show crisp and clear text/images.
-Discovery Table was too small (my fault). There were issues with the die line, shrinking the size of the image, so I am going to have the manufacturer address this.
-Discovery Table/Point Tracker thickness was just right. I was concerned it might not be thick enough, but it was.
-I am addressing the issue of the pawns with the manufacturer. I have asked for more expensive pawn options, but I don't know what they will have available. If they don't have something on hand readily available, we will probably have to go with what we have.
-The clear cubes have a bubble in the middle, which bothers me and looks a little unprofessional. I am going to request cubes without this issue and we'll see what happens.
-Component count was correct.
I will let you all know once I have the final production sample and/or proofs from manufacturer, and we will go from there!
-Steve
Incoming Transmission #489AD3324-467 from Sector C-14, Solemnity ship:
"We have sightings of the Nova Cry game samples. The specimen is intact. Proceed with mass proliferation?"
Hey Backers,
Woo-hoo! I was just sent some sample pics of our game just an hour ago and I decided to forgo a little sleep to share the excitement. The pics you see here are of a sample that will be shipped to me asap for an actual physical check, but it's something in the meantime to look at.
Keep in mind:
-The colors of the pawns and cubes are not final and many of these will be changed. I asked for a sampling of different colors. (The black pawn will certainly go.) I will of course choose colors that stand out well against the cards and point track while matching our color scheme of the game.
-The rulebook is wrinkly due to not being put in their de-humidifier. The final rulebook will be smooth.
-The white borders of the cards are off, but readjustment to fix a one-off sample takes a lot of time. These will be fixed for our mass production copy.
-No drawstring bag is shown but will be included in the final game.
-It is hard to tell from the picture if the thickness of the Victory Point track and Discovery Table is sufficient enough, since we upgraded to heavy cardstock with those. I will make sure those components are not flimsy.
-I will check to make sure the wells in the tray allow wiggle room for sleeves. I know this is important to many of you, so I will do my best to try to make it happen. (No promises though since we are very tight on space in the insert, as you can see. The dividing wall between the two main card decks are very thin already). I did ask the manufacturer for extra room so I hope they accommodated.
-The trays have room for all the Kickstarter expansions (as shown in the final pic) and additional room should we release more content in the future.
I know this update is not as good as having the game in hand, but I hope to provide that update very soon.
-Steve
Just a very quick update to let you all know that our manufacturer is estimating to be done with our game sample on or before Sept 16, about a week and a half from now. There was a 3-day public holiday in China as well as a convention they attended that slowed our process a bit. Also, there was a weeks' worth of delay on my end due to requesting additional contractual coverage (an OEM) before we began. Still, good news overall.
I will post more once the sample has been received.
-Steve
Hi Backers,
While we are waiting on our pre-production copy to arrive from the manufacturer, I thought I would take this time to get your feedback on the direction that Nova Cry could take in the future. Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!
-Organized Play: I know it's a tad early to assume there would be a demand/interest in this area, but is this something that you as backers would be excited to see? There is a fair amount of work/coordination involved with finding stores that are willing to host small tournaments, but I would like to pursue this if there was sufficient interest. I would like to have a plan in place just in case enthusiasm for the game builds quickly.
-Convention Presence: There is a small possibility of World Within having a booth at Origins, GenCon, etc. next year. I would think that showing games released a few months after GenCon (like NC) would be old news by the next convention. Or is this done all the time by publishers? I don't doubt that NC would sell at a booth, but I am wondering if showcasing a game that late has any worthwhile impact, or worse, strikes gamers as stale.
-Upgraded/downgraded versions: Have there been any instances of a Kickstarter project that sold either a more "deluxe" version or a "cheaper" version in stores after the Kickstarter? Naturally, I am thinking that our 2nd print run for stores/distributors will probably not include all the nice Kickstarter goodies, like the felt bag, the heavier cardstock, and possibly no plastic insert. This is something I was happy to do for our Kickstarter, but would be prohibitive in the long run should we continue to sell more copies. Do non-KS buyers dislike this? However, on the flip side, if the game does extremely well, I have considered producing a "deluxe" version of the game. This would contain a lot of the extras we never unlocked, including stand-up ship punchouts, an illustrated Discovery Table, etc. As backers is this something you would be excited about or dislike? Is the reaction to this usually, "Now I have a copy that's not as good"?
Thank you for your thoughts and feedback!
-Steve