Fin du PM le 1er mars et les masters des figs…
Update #35 - Shipping rates, closing the PM, images of the masters, and more
First, let me say that we wanted this update out a couple of weeks ago, but we just didn’t have everything in place to post it. The main hang up was the shipping rates, which took us far longer to get finished than anticipated. This was due to a few reasons, such as holidays, some of our contacts being on vacation, COVID issues in China, etc. But the largest factor was that we were getting multiple quotes from several different companies so we could get the most competitive rate possible, and with so many different companies involved, it took quite a while to get it all in and compile everything. But, finally, it is done!
We have lots to go over in this update, including the closing date of the PM, pics of some of the masters, new tile art, and more! Here we go!
Shipping Rates
After a lot of work to get the best quotes possible, we finally have shipping rates uploaded into the pledge manager! Please be sure to log into your survey and make sure everything looks correct, and make sure all of your info is up to date (address, credit card number, etc). If you can’t find your survey, you can request BackerKit to resend it to you on their login page.
While we don’t believe we made any mistakes uploading the shipping numbers, there’s always a chance we might have entered something incorrectly since this is our first project. If anything seems wrong, or if you have any questions, please email us at info@darkhorizongames.com .
Closing the Pledge Manager
We will be closing the pledge manger March 1st. That will be the final date that you can make changes to your pledge, add any additional items, or request a refund. As mentioned above, please be sure to log into your account and make sure all of your info is correct (address, credit card, etc). If you have any issues please contact us at the email address above.
Important Info Regarding Charging Cards
As mentioned in previous updates, we have NOT charged anyone for items added to pledges in the pledge manager, or for late pledges. When the pledge manager closes on March 1st, we will charge everyone for shipping and any outstanding balances (you can see what is unpaid by logging into your survey). Since it has been nearly a year since the campaign, please be sure your address and payment method is up to date!
Masters!
We received the masters a couple of weeks ago and they look fantastic! We spent a few days going over everything in detail to check for things that needed corrections, and we’re happy to say that the number of figures that need adjustments are very few (only five). That is good news, and will help keep things moving forward. For those that don’t know, the masters are what the factory use to make the molds for the miniatures, and I’m happy to say the process of creating those molds is already underway!
Only one of the figures requires any significant rework, and that is the Mind Killer from the core box. That one definitely didn’t turn out as well as we’d like, so we are working with LongPack to get it up to our expectations. The main issue with it was that it was too « flat », especially his left arm and cape. We should have a revised figure for approval in the beginning of February as the team at LongPack comes back from Chinese New Year. We’ll share new images of the Mind Killer when we get it, but for now, here are some images of the masters we received, starting with the Operatives in the core box:
The queen of AoE attacks
Billy exemplifies the concept of « one shot, one kill »
Don’t let the data pad fool you, she’s not JUST a scientist… (Note, this is one of the figures that need correction since she is not centered on her base)
Life saver, or life taker. Either way, Oscar has you covered
If you can’t kill them with style, why bother?
Commander Hicks provides his team with lots of benefits, like card draw, extra rerolls, and focus tokens
Here are the bosses from the core box:
Not only is Kaazag the ultimate general in the Xethan army, he packs enough firepower to be an army unto himself (note: his gun barrel being pinched at the end is a product of the sample print and will not look like that in its final form)
The Gravity Maw is a terrifying foe that is like trying to fight a black hole, as it draws you towards it and entraps you in its Event Horizon
In the next update we’ll share more images of the masters!
New World Killer Expansion Tiles
We received the new art for the outdoor tile set found in the World Killer expansion. These tiles open up new gameplay, such as fighting outdoors, guard towers, and even driving a truck! And not only do the tiles provide a new environment and new twists on gameplay, but they look amazing! Have a look at a few of the maps you’ll be running missions on in the expansion:
In this mission, the players have followed a bug they planted on a truck to find the location of the robotics plant. Time to take that thing out!
Rulebook Update
We are almost done with the final revision of the rulebook. It’s currently going through a few editing passes to check for mistakes, and we are still finishing the list of components section. We will share the final version with everyone in the next update. There has been a lot of streamlining done since the Kickstarter and the game plays smoother than ever, while still maintaining the tactical gameplay we were striving for. We will be sharing various rules updates as we move forward to show the changes and streamlining we’ve made. For today, we wanted to share our changes to the Squad Member system.
Squad Members
For those that don’t know, when playing with less than four players, Squad Members may be used on missions to help fill out the team. This is not necessary, and you can run a mission with less than four Operatives (the game difficulty adjusts based on Operative count), but some players may want to have some extra teammates with them to help round out the team’s skillset. To this end, each Operative’s dashboard in the game has a Squad Member side. Squad Members are designed to be easier to play than a full Operative because they do not have a deck, so you don’t have to play 2, 3, or 4 handed if you don’t want to (although you can play that way if you want).
To make up for their lack of a Tactics deck, Squad Members have a few bonuses available to them. First, each Squad Member has a passive skill printed on their Dashboard, and an extra starting focus, as seen here:
Secondly, each Squad Member has a unique Support card that gives them access to abilities based on your HQ level (your HQ level increases at specified points throughout the campaign). Each Support ability is activated by discarding a Focus token, and can be used multiple times per round unless stated otherwise.
Also, during mission setup, the players gain one All Clear token for each Squad Member on the team. All Clear tokens can be discarded to cancel any Threat card or Spawn Event. This is a powerful effect, and should be used wisely! Here is an example of a Support card and an All Clear token:
All in all, Squad Members have been the toughest things to balance and get right. They were often getting outclassed and felt a bit useless during the later parts of the campaign under the old systems. However, this newest system seems to be working at all levels of the campaign.
Timeframe
Things are going well, although we are still a bit behind on the writing and balancing side, but not so bad that it’s going to keep us from delivering this year. The main issue is making sure the missions are balanced and fun. There are also a lot of Operatives in the game, each with a lot of cards, so making sure those are balanced (and fun) is another top priority. Now that we have the shipping rates worked out, the PM set to close, the new art tiles finished, and the review of the masters complete, we can really buckle down and just test, test, test. Being able to focus almost exclusively on testing will make the process go much faster from here on out.
Currently we are planning on fulfillment in the fall, although we’ll have a more exact date once the molds are done (miniatures are the most time-consuming part of manufacturing).
Okay, that’s enough for this update! We’ll have another update in a few weeks reminding everyone about the closing of the PM, more images of the masters, and more gameplay details! Stay tuned!
Je cherchais l’info sur backerkit.