Update #93
Nov 28 2014
BLACK FRIDAY UPDATE!!!
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Two years ago, the Kingdom Death: Monster campaign was launched. Our humble project was met with such enthusiasm and support, it pushed our ambitions into the stratosphere!
Before I really get into it, let me just cover the major highlights in summary form.
Official Fulfillment is TBA. Estimated Summer 2015.
International backers should expect packages shipped from the United States. For legal reasons, it cannot be marked as a gift.
There is a possibility
EU backers will have their rewards shipped from within the
EU. Do not expect it and do not count on it. This all boils down to logistics, budget, and liability which cannot be finalized yet.
Only 4 kits remain to be tooled by the plastic manufacturer!
It’s Black Friday, many things in the store are 50% off and we have taking pre-orders for an encore run of the very popular Satan miniature(s).
Black Friday 2014 Last Chance Backers Welcome!
Just like last year, we are honoring black friday by opening the door and allowing late backers into the fold. I was very mixed coming to this decision, as I feel that you backers are sacred and should be taken care of. It wasn’t the emails from fans begging to be part of the project, nor the ones asking me questions about “piggybacking” a practice I am sorry but we cannot officially support. Rather it was the kind and very genuine emails from fans patiently awaiting the public release, knowing full well that the final price is much higher than what we kickstarted it for.
It is for those patient and understanding fans, that I have decided to make an exception for black friday. They are just excited, have grabbed whatever resin miniatures they could, and have stated they are happy to pay our final retail price! Please come on board now, while we are still mid-production so I can offer you some of the benefits our current backers have. Granted, the pledge rates for things have increased since we pitched, the shift to hard plastic was brutal on the budget.
We have 3 black friday packages and they are based on the current pledge manager rates. If you you were looking to show your support while we are still mid-production, now is the time.
Plastic Production Info
Here is an updated plastic production list:
There are currently 5 kits still being worked on.
Dragon Armor Kit, tooling complete samples in the mail.
Silk Armor Kit, currently being tooled.
Gorm Armor Kit, currently being tooled.
Sunstalker Armor Kit, Currently being tooled.
Green Knight Kit, Currently being tooled.
The contents of the core game and the survivor level rewards all need to be boxed and packaged. We are still working out the details, but it looks like this process will take a team of 10 people around 1.5 months.
Paper Production Info
We have the proofs for all the cards, the game boards, the tokens, everything except the game box itself which might need some final size adjustments.
Our current drop dead delivery date on all the expansions to the printer is end of Feb. The printer is pushing us for the end of Jan, but I am currently unsure. There is so much content, and I need to ensure that our internal team here, delivers the best possible version for mass production.
The printer did a fantastic job! I also sprung for the more expensive matte coating, instead of the aqueous coating you normally see on game cards. It really supports the art and it gives all the cards this wonderful physical feel.
Holding the rulebook feels magical. This is just a print proof / sample, but everything came out so incredibly nice. I don’t think I’ve ever held a game book that has this much art in it. Perhaps I went a little overboard?
lol 
Miniatures
Here are the hard plastic miniatures!
With this, all the core game miniatures have been finished, approved and are currently in production! YAY! I also screwed up on the Phoenix Kit and put x6 of PK21. It went into production, so I guess we can all enjoy 6 handless Sonic Tomahawks, instead of the planned 1!
The Dragon King is utterly huge and mesmerizing. The hard plastic version is nearly identical to the original resin version. The process of scanning and cleaning really seems to lend itself well to large monsters.
The Dragon King Human form turned out great! It is actually the personal favorite of our Project manager at the plastic factory. The Dragon People come with an extra pair of armor kit compatible heads, and their hands are also armor kit compatible.
Playing with the Spidicules is really cool. Unlike every other monster thus far, the monster has no “base”. Instead you use can either use a 2x2 square shadow token or place its downward facing hands in the center of 4 squares, to indicate where the spider’s main body is. The Spidicules showdown has been the studio favorite. I’ll get more into detail about it next time. Oh yeah, we also added 6 spidering miniatures to the expansion!
Lonely Tree Upgrade
Yeah so… this was originally going to be just a tree, with a few cards that modified a couple of fights. Buuutt… I figured what the hell, so we went in, made it so the Lonely Tree is actually a battle with its own Hit Location / AI deck and also includes a special Lonely Muse Miniature, along with some story events to support the small campaign arc!
Man Hunter
We scaled the Man Hunter miniautre up a tiny bit. And we really added a ton to the expansion! Next time I'll share a little about how the Man Hunter expansion can improve your hunt phase, making tracking down difficult targets a little bit easier. This was our play testers top request, so we were thrilled to make it happen in a way that made sense.
Dung Beetle Knight
My personal favorite! The DBK has been scaled up and the pair of survivors wearing the rolling armor turned out great! Hector Moran, actually cleaned up the scan data of the this hand sculpted knight monster. We very much on purpose made the effect of its carapace much more pronounced so that it would be nice and crisp for the hard plastic incarnation. The Shoulder pads and leg pads features on the rolling armored survivors are hollow underneath. This allows for a lot more freedom placing them on other armor kits.
Schedule and Fulfillment
Black friday, for me, is the only day that is the exception for all exceptions. From the very place I sit right now (on my mom's couch!), the kickstarter was launched and my vision for the most insane and ambitious tabletop game I could conjure up was set into motion. Never did I expect my humble idea to capture the interest of so many people and for it to bloom into what is now, a truly massive experience with a score of content-packed expansions!
So for once a year, I will share my earnest opinion rather than hard facts on where we are. Over the course of communicating with everyone in the last 2 years, this is something I've learned to be a big no-no... but screw it!
Based on the estimate from the plastic factory, production of the core game, the survivor level pledge box, and all the expansions will be finished in a month and a half. Then all of this will be shipped over to the factory that is handling our paper printing needs (boxes, cards, rulebooks etc). This means that everything will be all ready to go... just in time for Chinese new year. During the Chinese New Year, all of the factories are closed. Usually it lasts about a month as people travel to see their loved ones and then travel back to work and the factories wind up again.
Our internal schedule is simple. We will work like crazy the rest of November, December, January and February, to get all of the content in the expansions to the same polished level the core game currently is. Up until the very last day, I will cram in as much artwork, content, and love into everything. Starting March, printing of all the expansions will begin, with final proofs estimated to be on their way to us in may. If things look good, then it all gets packed into containers and loaded onto a boat. At that point, its 4-7 weeks away from the containers arriving at our door, wherein we will unpack and begin fulfillment. Leaving us looking at... June or July 2015.
I know... I know. This seems insane. How could all of this possibly take so long?! Dear backers, I really hope that sharing this entire process and the roller coaster that it has been sheds some light on that. The over funding lead to a tremendous amount more content then we pitched, swapping to hard plastic and ensuring that it came out right was... just a task that I couldn't even fathom how massive it would be. Finally, play testing, polishing, writing clean rules, and making sure the experience was as fun and rewarding as the vision intended, was yet another huge challenge.
All of it has been awesome. And more and more I find myself wishing I had the extra time so I could actually attempt my own run of the core campaign. The game has such a tremendous variability I am really curious to see how my settlement and survivors might evolve! It really forces you to think, as going into the game with a straight "yolo" attitude has resulted in a campaign wipe every time.
You Backers
You guys are the best. Finishing the project to the absolute best the team can offer is certainly something each one of us wants, craves, and needs. But underlying that almost visceral feeling is the desire to bring something to all of you that will give you the utmost joy and pride for being a part of it. Well that is, until you start playing it and it crushes you!
lol Seriously tho. None of this would have happened without you guys. Kingdom Death would have never made it this far. We never would have stretched towards (what I am being told) creating some of the best hard plastic kits the industry has ever seen. Nor would I have been so driven to make sure the vision for the world, the stories told between the gear, cards, resources and story events of the campaigns, were as polished and complete as they have turned out to be.
This truly is a once in a lifetime project. And I can honestly say, I have given this my all. And I am more then ready for our last 3 month sprint at the end of this very long marathon.
So thank you. Thank you all so very much!
We can see the lantern light at the end of this long tunnel, leading us to a bounty of hard plastic miniatures and the start of your journey into Kingdom Death.
(more)
(building)
(less)
Tacticool always trumps tactics
. Having similar tastes in media, food, games, and alcohol is pretty nice.
