I’m back! As mentioned in the sister Update to this one (for Aeon Trespass: Odyssey), my vacation did not go exactly as planned, but I’m almost back to full strength now.
Today’s Update is all about the PM… and some progress made on the game since last time we spoke! Oh, and a rough roadmap for our work in April!
Pledge Manager opens on 04/24!
I’m happy to say, we’ve settled on PM and the date it goes live. We will be again using Gamefound! If everything goes smoothly, the PM will be open on 04/24, so just 3 weeks from now! (after Easter 
).
Here are some tips and a mini-FAQ to get you started:
When the PM goes live, you will receive an invitation e-mail that will send you to Gamefound. There, you’ll be asked to input your shipping address and finalize your order.
You will also be able to upgrade your pledge level and add any add-ons you like. Kickstarter backers will enjoy a 3 week grace period, during which they retain original KS prices and discounts for anything they add, while the initial Late Pledgers will still get their games at some discount compared to the intended final price.
If for some reason the KS system has dropped your pledge – for example, by bouncing your transfer – you will be able to contact us to reinstate your order.
Note on Shipping: the system still requires us to charge shipping at the moment of finalizing the pledge, so we will have to collect that. However, seeing the shipping crisis is ongoing and not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past (see the latest ATO Update for details ), this will be an Advance on Shipping Fees. This means that if the final shipping price fluctuates much due to unforeseen circumstance, you may be later asked to add some funds for shipping – or some funds will be turned into credits if the shipping costs go substantially down (we don’t want to profit on your shipping fees). Note: The shipping costs are estimated with even more caution than last time, so we don’t anticipate major bumps in the price.
Open for business!
Roadmap: April
April is a very busy month for us! First, we’ll be preparing to move offices (see below). Second, we will be mapping out the interconnections between Knight campaigns and the Kingdoms. It may sound simple, but this will be arguably the most difficult and important task of the whole production.
Simply put, we’ll be connecting all the stories (of each Knight), quest by quest, to: other stories, other quests, Kingdoms, ability trees, gear and the monsters themselves. Just so everything works as intended.
I say ‘map’, not design, because it would be deceptively easy to just set every connection in stone at this point. However, this would hinder the design space later, both in terms of mechanics and narratives. So, instead, we’re creating a more flexible framework that will allow us to make some changes along the way, as the whole game begins to emerge.
April is also the month I’ll be going hands on with the next iteration of our UI, to turn the ugly duckling into a beautiful Swandra
Making KF as we have envisioned it is going to be a monumental task, so we’re…
Hiring!
And changing offices to accommodate the growing teams! April is also a month of mass hirings at ITU! We’re always looking for talented artists, both illustrators and 3D sculptors, but this time we’ll be bolstering our office teams with new testers, designers, utility artists, sculptors and more! We’ll be also hiring additional writers so we can flesh out the Kingdoms Forlorn world – from forsaken Utrebank all the way to the Machinated State…
Lictor Hunters Finished Art
Feast your eyes on this! Though the Lictor Hunters were a very late and impromptu addition to the party – as mentioned, some of the stuff we do during our campaigns is not pre-planned, and the Lictors certainly weren’t! – I really like these guys and they fit right into the game, complementing the ‘standard’ Firstmen and the White Ape Troll.
They roam the trecherous divide between the Sunken and the Bloom.
I’ve already done preliminary design for the Lictor Hunters, as they are a joy to work with. Ranged Ambushers who also employ team tactics, lay decoys, are indigenous to both the Sunken and Bloom Kingdoms and can call upon the White Ape Troll, this will be a very varied and fun battle!
I’ve also designed some Gear for them – I mentioned there’s going to be 5+ Gear cards and, true enough, I’m already at 6, so it will end up around 9 (with some duplicates)! Organ Blowgun Loot, Sunken Bloom Camouflage Armor, Lictor Mancatcher Weapon and more! Each of these is quite quirky, so I imagine you will want to go hunt the Lictors just for these… I’ll share more details on these Gear cards as soon as I get the artwork for them (should happen around the next Update!).
Bloom Aristocracy Miniatures
First Transmutation miniatures begin to arrive!
The Bloom Aristocracy from the Barony of Bountiful Harvest is going to be a very challenging opponent. Unlike other mobs, they will implement some of the rules only the giant Knight Vassals are normally subject to.
They also know a thing or two about parry/riposte, so you better not fail to hit them!
Deadly and beautiful… but mostly deadly.
Devil of the Ancient Dusk Miniature
And here’s the imposing Devil from the Sunken Kingdom of Utrebant, in full glory – the texture makes all the difference…
Do you know what he’s standing on?
Sneak Peek
Wait a minute…
Huh.
(c’est une augmentation de 200%, pas de 20% là)
)
; donc après, dans un an ça passe à 1000$ ? Pour un jeu que je ne parviens toujours pas à bien saisir en fin de campagne… La force d’ATO c’était 1) la proposition d’une alternative à KDM 2) un univers original 3) malgré la quantité de matériel (équivalent KDM, à part les figs PVC) une certaine sobriété dans la débauche (si je puis dire). Là KF c’est full baroque. Bon après, c’est dans le thème, le baroque…
.