Box Back Preview
almost 11 years ago – Sun, May 24, 2015 at 09:35:41 AM

Just thought I would share our progress with the box clean-up for Nova Cry.  It is coming along really well!

My graphic designer and I are committed to a "no more improvements" policy here within the next 14 days.  Once we hit that deadline, our visual/aesthetic choices for the game's components will be final.  We have a "passable" product as is right now, but I want to honor the wishes of those backers who have requested that I make everything as polished and perfect as possible.

I have been committed from the get-go to delivering an exciting and beautiful product and I think we are very close to that goal!

As I hope this will be a game you will play for years to come, I hope an extra week or two in visual refinements of the game's components/rulebook/etc. will not be an issue in the long run. (There are also a few new symbols we will be dropping onto the planet cards).

As far as the frequency of updates go, I will be posting a large update once a month or so as I have been. Thank you again for your patience, and it's exciting to see how you all are anticipating the game!

Have a great week,

Steve

Clean Up
almost 11 years ago – Fri, May 15, 2015 at 07:31:46 AM

Hey Backers!

Just wanted to share with you where we are with NC. These last few weeks especially I’ve been re-formatting/re-doing the old NC rulebook that was passed to us from Game Salute, the victory point track, symbols, and layouts, on top of several other changes I have been in the process of completing with my team.

That said, a price comes with every time I choose to make a tweak to the files, graphics, etc. (and the resulting back and forth e-mails with my team, especially if there are changes) even if I get closer the “perfect product” that I want this game to be. This is the danger of perfectionism and going forward I am going to do my best to strike a better balance between delivering this game on time while making sure this is a quality product from top to bottom.

Delivering a quality product requires a constant reexamination of priorities. Yes, maybe another illustrative detail is needed in the rulebook or the back of the box (for example), but how many days will be lost in attempting to finish that? Is there a chance that a change in this detail could result in bigger problems? And so on.

We have lost a few weeks here as far our delivery date is concerned, and I am open to hearing from you all how important a game delivered asap is more important than a game being delivered in pristine form, from rulebook to box design to font sizing…you name it. I can always find something to improve. Personally, there have been Kickstarters I’ve been a part of where I was far more impatient to simply receive the product rather than wait for a certain element or item to be improved from an A- grade to an A+ grade. It is always a tough call.

Regardless, I have brought out the proverbial scythe this week to cut away what is not essential in making this game delivered at this point. Panda has provided a final quote and the ball is completely in my court. Though I can say the final product you will receive will be better than if I had dumped the files on Panda 3 weeks ago, there is some point where I have to say it is ready for print.

Such is the life of a KS project creator! :) Thank you as always for your enthusiasm and patience. I know it has been a while since our last update, but rest assured I will post any information that I know will be worthwhile to you all as backers as soon as it comes my way.

Steve

Pre-Production Update
almost 11 years ago – Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 06:41:47 AM

Hey Backers,

I've returned from a very short break here and I'm really excited as we launch headfirst into pre-production for Nova Cry!  I have a couple of important updates to mention:

-We are finalizing the quote with our manufacturer that includes all the stretch goals and extras that we unlocked during the campaign.  While we certainly had a quote in hand before the campaign began, as well as a solid estimate of what individual upgrades would cost, we have to create one final quote that includes exactly what our final production items will be.  We are in the process of that now.

-That said, our manufacturer is now saying that we are going to hit some delays.  This is NOT due to any of the stretch goals or extras we planned on producing (I made positively sure they would not cause delays), but rather because "we are extremely backlogged due to the Chinese New Year" (per their e-mail.)  On Nov 5th and Nov 28th I was told that the total pre-prod/production time for NC would be 70-110 days, but our manufacturer is now estimating 154 days (22 weeks).  I asked again if the manufacturer could pinpoint what exactly is causing the delay but they only pointed again to the reason of being backlogged. 

-Despite our manufactuerer being as busy as they are, I don't think it is worth it to explore our options elsewhere.  I have been very impressed with their past work and I am positive we will have a great product on our hands. I will do what I can to speed things along as quickly as possible, but my influence is quite limited at this point. (Also, this past week's sabbatical that I took was absolutely necessary and the blame for that lost week can certainly not fall on our manufacturer. That was my decision).

-In the next weeks ahead, our manufactuer will be running me through the pre-production steps as we prepare the files for the printer. I will also at some point here be receiving a test copy of NC, which I will certainly post for you all as soon as I receive it.

I will have more to report in a few weeks or sooner, so stay tuned.  Thank you as always for your patience, and my sincerest apologies for the news of the delay.  I even inquired about offering a rush fee and they said this wasn't possible.  If anything at all changes regarding our timeline or us getting closer to our original estimate, I will certainly let you all know.

Steve

Gearing Up for Pre-Production
about 11 years ago – Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 10:56:35 AM

Hey Backers!

Congrats on our Backerkit progress--we've unlocked our Backerkit stretch goal!  I am excited how this upgrade is really going to add a level of polish to Nova Cry.

We have thankfully exited the Chinese New Year about a week ago.  I am now in the pre-production stages with a contact at Panda (our manufacturer) and am finalizing our payments with them (the Amazon payments posted to my account this past Friday). As more info becomes available, I will be sure to share it with you all!

In the meantime, I have been able to put the game through another ~15 playtests with several different game groups of various sizes.  I am hoping to continue to make any necessary small refinements to the gameplay until the moment the art files hit the printer.  It's not good manners to boast, but after so many years, so much effort, and so much patience, I think we have a real winner on our hands.

Thank you again to all of you who have made this possible!

-Steve

Backerkit Surveys Sent!
about 11 years ago – Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 09:04:13 PM

Hey Backers!

It's been an exciting weekend as I have continued our preparations for production!  In just a few minutes you all will receive an invite to Backerkit which will allow you to manage your shipping info, review your items, and upgrade your pledge!

Our First Backerkit Stretch goal is waiting for us!

We need to raise just $2,284 in additional funds to hit this next goal. Once we do, a new stretch goal will be revealed!

Thank you all for such an exciting, awesome campaign!  I can't wait to see what more we can achieve in the upcoming days!

As always, I will provide news regarding production as we hit new milestones here!

-Steve