cincydooley wrote:

 Artemis Black wrote:
It's not so much of a hassle if you aren't offering 'free stuff' stretch goals as then it only hits you once and you can account for it much more easily.

In

It is if you have purchasable add-ons at all.

 cincydooley wrote:
Yeah, seems to me it makes more sense for the companies running the KS projects to not charge for shipping until they last minute when they have the actual shipping costs.

 Artemis Black wrote:
Added to your campaign, unlocking 2-3 stretch goals, possibly of freebies so zero increase in actual sales (There may be a minor increase in sales if the unlocks are add ons).

 cincydooley wrote:
Honestly, I think the way CMoN is doing it now is probably the best way to do it. You estimate shipping, and then you have actual shipping at the end. The only better way is probably offering a "shipping credit."

 Dark Severance wrote:
It does but it is sometimes difficult to do for big projects because of sticker shock. I've heard some outrage at various KS because their shipping costs were so high and it was unexpected. It is used to be that creators calculated estimate, add 6-10% and absorb them as part of distrubtion cost. It is now becoming more of a trend to add shipping at the end of the campaign, charging what the actual total may be. Depending on who they use for shipping (distribution, simple postal service, ups, fedex) the differences can vary greatly from $5-50.

 cincydooley wrote:
Anything that has any additional weight or volume will factor into the shipping costs.

Doesn't matter if they're "free" or not.

ClockworkChaos wrote:
Hmm some weird drop of like 2k in the pledges occurred. It seems that scale games contacted people and its mostly due to financial occurrences on some peoples parts but I wonder why you would change now? I mean doesnt it make sense to make changes at the end? Then again maybe thats just me. I just dont like to see that total drop below 90K. Not cool. I mean I know a lot of people are going to be adding a lot of money post KS but still I hope most stay in for what they got.

Got a game in to Playtest today. I used the Ares alpha list and my buddy used the Riff alpha list. His list contained an assault squad led by Sihlas Fenn, a trooper squad with an officer, and a trooper squad with a heavy machinegunner. My list contained a soldier unit with both a sergeant and a gauss gunner, and a soldier squad with Bitsie. We set up the battlefield with the objective in the middle, and the four Krithium deposits. Riff setup first, and the Ares setup second. Ares win initiative and made the Riff activate first. (Pay no attention to my army loitering on the side)

The end of round 1.1 (round.phase), we moved into position around our deposits and figured out who was going to break the ice. By 1.3, Riff sent their middle trooper squad towards the objective. Bitsie squad chews them up pretty well, Sihlas squad moves behind the tower on the right. 2.1 comes around. I had taken the initiative in both 1.3 and 1.4. I won the initiative roll for 2.1. My Bitsie squad had taken a hit from the heavy machinegunner and the Riff player pinned them. Sihlas squad moved within assault range.

Here was my Ares dilemma. If I take initiative, two things happen. Bitsie would have to take her pinning morale check, and if she misses I am out a full squad and hero. I would also be fatigued, so my shooting would be at a disadvantage as well as an assault. If I pass the initiative, Sihlas gets the assault, and I would have a pinned disadvantage during my turn. I decided to try to take the initiative. I killed two of Sihlas squad, lessening the effect of his assault. Missed on the left hand side (where everyone is afraid of poking their head out. Sihlas assaults, gets three hits and miraculously I save them all. This would end up being a long combat because we kept missing or tying in casualties.

By the end of the game, Riff ended up getting two activations in a row setting up a move and fire against the left hand Ares squad, decimating them. Bitsie's squad finally took out Sihlas, but she was reduced to her and two soldiers. These were cut down eventually by the Riff machine gunner, securing the win for the Riff.

Conclusions:
There needs to be a starting level of command and Krithium. Waiting four phases before you can really use any cards was rough. We felt a good compromise would have been to give 3 command/3 Krithium to start, and then reduce the end of turn amounts by one automatic point each, and one per hero/leader and one per Krithium deposit.

Sihlas and the assault units seemed to lack a bit of shock and awe when assaulting. I rolled my saves really well, but it seems like my Ares should have feared them a bit more than I did.

Overall, we felt the Ares were a bit stronger overall, but with the small amount of units and cards, we're overlooking that at the moment.

All in all, we had a great time, and really love how the base system works so far. The timing of fatigue and activations make for some very stressful decisions, and we really liked it. Will play another game next weekend!

-Jason

Update #21

Nov 24 2014

Choose your own heroes for stretch goals!
2 comments
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Greetings backers,

We have been listening to your feedback, and today we bring you something which had been on our minds since we introduced the custom starter set: the ability to choose your own heroes for stretch goals.

This is how things are changing:

At $60k, $100k and $110k we unlock a free hero of your choice. This can be any hero from the add-ons section, regardless of faction.
Some heroes are going to be unlocked earlier. Bitsie has been moved to $55k, Hank has been moved to $97,5k ad Fink has been moved to $105k.
Magnus and Alexander have been added as $92,5k stretch goals as a complement for the Tharken 17 campaign (background story coming soon).

Of course we still have some more hidden surprises, so stay tuned!

 Pilgrim_uk wrote:
It does make a dedicated painters pledge kind of pointless now if you are getting 7 heroes plus the box set at a cheaper price than buying 7 heroes individually.

To be honest its something they should have done from the beginning is give the customer choice. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

Update #24

Nov 25 2014

Presenting: Sayx Vulcans
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Since the Sayx first encountered Ares operators at Magellan they realized that the firepower of their regular troops was insufficient to confront their new enemy. Even their elite units found enormous difficulties in penetrating the thick armor of Ares troops. At that moment began the Vulcan project: An armored suit agile enough to deploy in squadrons from a ship or shuttle and capable of piecing any personal or light vehicle armor.

Vulcans are deployed as mobile weapon platform and provide covering fire to advancing ground troops. Their long range and high firepower excel at clearing andvance corridors and help in covering strategic areas of the battlefield. The Vulcans have a high defense but they are not prepared for combat at close range, and their lack of mobility can make them vulnerable in melee.

Update #25

Nov 26 2014

Black Freeday & Presenting: Despair

Black Freeday

This Friday we are going to be done with our second week on kickstarter, and so we wanted to give you all a little treat for sticking with us this long. Now we cannot tell you exactly what we are going to be doing yet, however “someone” sent me this little image and I just had to share it with you...



Despair

Jeri Hansen was the seventh child out of nine. A star pupil and she excelled at gymnastics too. She was the star flag twirler for her college gymnastic team, no one could match her grace and cat like reflexes. But that afternoon at the colony stadium everything was so fast not even she could react.

She was struck by some kind of stunning beam and fell immediately to the ground. A blurred shape was before her, as her eyes began to focus she saw a mechanical body looking down at her with eyes glowing red. Once Jeri was fully awake and aware she realized everybody surrounding her was dead. Thousands of them.

“Please designate your identity.”, she heard in her head. “Are you going to kill me too?” “No, you are a valuable exception. Please designate your identity.”

She said nothing. All she could think of was that her family and relatives were probably among the dead bodies. The metallic voice then said:

“Despair is now your designated identity, prepare for orders.”

But she wasn’t prepared for the pain that followed.

 Alpharius wrote:
Good to see some forward momentum here finally!

I wonder what got this one going again?

Maybe a lack of truly 'good deals' in the USA "Black Friday" sales?

Update #28

Nov 28 2014

Black Freeday is here!
10 comments
11 likes

Hello everyone,

Fallen Frontiers is heading into its last week of funding, so let’s kick it off with a bang!

As some of you may have noticed, we are not doing Black Friday deals today, but instead we are having our own special day: Black Feeday!

To thank all of you for your generous support, we are giving out FREE stuff to all people who pledged at the Assault Trooper level or higher, and the higher level you pledged, the more goodies you get!

Now then, who gets what FREE goodies?

Assault Trooper = 5x Scenic Bases
Faction = 5x Scenic Bases + 1x Hero
Battle Squad = 5x Scenic Bases + 1x Hero + 1x Resin Scenery
Elite Squad = 5x Scenic Bases + 2x Hero + 2x Resin Scenery
Commander = 10x Scenic Bases + 3x Hero + 3x Resin Scenery

So, what are you waiting for? Share this post, tell your friends and enjoy your new FREE goodies!

Now about Cyber Monday...

Update #31

Nov 30 2014

Gameplay Example: Cards & Units



Today we are going to show you an example of the cards and units interact with each other. Note that this a simplified example for illustration purposes, and that some of the card text is going to change.

The table setup is pretty straightforward. The Ares player is on top with 1 squad, whilst the Riffs player is at the bottom with 2 squads, one of which contains Sihlas Fenn. The Riffs player also has a “March” card in his hand.

The Riff player, knowing that his Berserkers excel in close combat, has a clever plan. Since the Ares troopers are outside of the Berserkers assault range, he is going to use the “March” card to help him close the gap. “March” allows his Berserkers to move 2 extra inches, and with the special ability of Sihlas Fenn, which allows his squad to move D3 extra inches, that should be plenty to assault.



The Riffs have the initiative, and the player sets his plan in motion. He declares an assault, which allows his Berserkers to move 6”. Then he rolls a D3 for Sihlas Fenn’s ability, and gets a 2, allowing his Berserkers to move 8”. Finally he plays the March card by spending 1 Command point, which allows his Berserkes to move 10”, reaching the Ares troopers.

However before he gets to move, his opponent plays the “Cyber Hack” card. “Cyber Hack” has a Reaction effect, meaning it can be played during the Riffs players turn, and it nullifies the effects of “March”.



After having resolved all cards effect, they are both discarded, and now the Riffs player gets to complete his actions. He moves both of his squads forward, trying to set up an assault for the next phase. Note that the Berserkers still get to move 8” thanks to Silhas Fenn’s ability.



The next phase starts, and the Ares have the Initiative. The player decides to make the Ares troopers shoot at the Berserkers, and manages to inflict 3 wounds. However before the wounds are resolved, the Riffs player uses a “First Aid” card. “First Aid” allows a unit to remove wounds on a result of 4+. The player rolls 3 dice, and scores 4+ only 1 time, meaning that the Berserkers lose 2 models.

That’s it for right now. We hope you enjoyed this little gameplay example, and if you have any questions please post them in the comments below!