Update #53
Jun 16 2015
More Details of Wave 1.5, New Hero Preview, Caverns of Cynder Preview, Painting Events!
Hello Brimstone Gang!
We're just poking our heads up from the avalanche of work to let you know that we are making progress. Not dead, just dead tired. We have bitten off an enormous amount of design, development, art, and testing with all of the expansion material in the Stretch Goals and Add-Ons from the
KS.
A new illustration of the Feral Vampires from veteran artist, Tom Baxa.
We are proud of the fact that, against the odds and without much sleep for several months, we delivered the Core Sets within a year of the
KS ending. It is an unfortunate truth that many companies are using
KS as more of a pre-order, rather than funding project development as it was intended. We say unfortunate, because it creates unrealistic expectations from backers - "Company "Y" sent out Game "X" 3 months after the
KS ended, why can't you?!?" The truth is proper game development takes time, and when it is done right, you end up with a great game that will be enjoyed for years. That's what we do. We can't bring ourselves to shove something out the door prematurely because the wolves are at the gates growling.
Hence, we are overwhelmed, but trying hard to make amazing stuff that we know that people will enjoy once the dust settles. Any veterans of
KS can tell you about many projects that were rushed and ended up completely disappointing. Many of us have backed several projects that had to come out with apologetic 2nd edition rulebooks and card sets to fix all of the broken material that was delivered. While development of our mountain of content is taking time, rest assured that we are not cutting corners and everyone will benefit from solid expansions.
That being said, we are currently still on track to deliver Wave 1.5 in early Fall...
What is Wave 1.5
First, let's be sure that everyone understands what Wave 1.5 is about. During the Pledge Manager, we offered an option for
KS Backers to purchase an extra shipping wave (Wave 1.5) between Wave 1 (the actual Core Game Sets,
KS Exclusive Outlaw, Paint Sets) and Wave 2 (Everything else, once every last bit is completed). The biggest two questions we receive about Wave 1.5 are "What will be in Wave 1.5?" and "Will you re-open Wave 1.5 so I can purchase that option?"
What Will be in Wave 1.5?
It's still too early to know exactly what will be contained in Wave 1.5. We have many miniature sets in production, but problems can crop up and we'll get a better picture as we get closer to the Fall. Right now, we estimate that it should include:
Caverns of Cynder OtherWorld Expansion
Lava Men
Expanded Frontier Town Expansion
Bandits
DarkStone Brutes (Minecart or Add-on)
The Guardian (Minecart or Add-on)
Trun Hunters (Add-on)
Sourge Rats
Serpentmen Warriors
Serpentmen Shaman
Void Sorcerers
Void Hounds
Doorways Set (Minecart or Add-on)
Trederran Raiders
Harvesters
The Burrower (Minecart or Add-on)
Dead Man's Bounty Game Supplement
Treasures of the Void Game Supplement
Badlands Expedition Game Supplement
Targa Artifacts Game Supplement (Add-on)
Jargono Artifacts Game Supplement (Add-on)
Cynder Artifacts Game Supplement (Add-on)
Blank Card Set: Threats (Add-on)
Blank Card Set: Mine (Add-on)
Blank Card Set: Jargono (Add-on)
Blank Card Set: Targa (Add-on)
Prospector Hero Class - with Male and Female Miniatures
Orphan Hero Class - with Male and Female Miniatures
Drifter Hero Class - with Male and Female Miniatures
Outlaw Hero Miniatures - Male and Female
Additional Enemy Sets
Additional Game Supplement Card Sets
The retail value of the items contained in Wave 1.5 is estimated at over $600! Please note that none of these items are set in stone. If a problem crops up with one of these items, it may not make it into Wave 1.5. We also know now that Wave 1.5 will not have any Mission Packs or OtherWorld Expansions beyond Caverns of Cynder.
Will you re-open Wave 1.5 so I can purchase that option?
I think everyone will agree that this seems like a no-brainer - people get stuff earlier and are even willing to pay for shipping to do it! But, it's not that obvious a decision. We have learned some hard lessons during this
KS experience - we had to hire on many temporary workers during Wave 1 and it still took months to get all the orders out. Shipping within the
EU is filled with difficulties that we did not foresee. Also, Wave 1.5 will be different for every backer - some are Minecart, some are Outlaw, some added Trun or a Guardian or a Burrower, others did not. So, each order will be unique. Long story short, we are planning to add Wave 1.5 shipping for purchase in the Web Store in September for $50 within the USA and $125 International.
We are planning to ship Wave 1.5 from the USA and the cost will cover shipping and hiring staff to process orders. We are currently estimating that Wave 1.5 could start shipping out sometime in October and we will begin with international orders to even out travel time.
Painting Events
One of the best ways to trick out your Brimstone game is to paint the miniatures. We've seen some awesome painted minis over the last several months from
KS Backers and other fans of the game. Many fans have emailed us to say that they never painted figures before Shadows of Brimstone and they are really enjoying it!
At Flying Frog, we have all been gaming with miniatures and painting them for most of our lives and it gives us great joy to share this experience with others. It's also one of the reasons that we are so proud to have our own Shadows of Brimstone Paint Sets - we carefully selected/created all of the colors to give a full range for painting the miniatures from the game and its expansions.
We are excited to announce two upcoming Shadows of Brimstone Painting Events so that fans have a chance to show off their cool painted minis from the game!
The first will be at
Gen Con at the Flying Frog Booth on August 1st in Indianapolis, IN. Pro Painter, Aaron Lovejoy, will be back again this year to share tips and tricks and help judge the event at the booth. The second painting event will be online in October and fans can send in photos of their miniatures (more details later). The categories for both the
Gen Con and Online Events include:
Single Brimstone Hero - One Shadows of Brimstone Hero on a base. It must be an official Shadows of Brimstone miniature, but may be modified to alter the pose or add details (different weapons, different head or hat, etc).
Single Brimstone Creature - One Shadows of Brimstone Enemy on a base. It must be an official Shadows of Brimstone miniature, but may be modified to alter the pose or add details (extra horns, fur, etc).
Brimstone Bounty - This is sort of a catch all category that could include multiple miniatures on one base or diorama, or a grouping of Heroes or Monsters. It must include at least one official Shadows of Brimstone miniature, but may be modified to alter the pose or add details.
Best models shown in each category may win prizes including Flying Frog games, miniatures, or promo items not available in stores.
Caverns of Cynder Preview
The first major expansion for Shadows of Brimstone is being manufactured right now! Caverns of Cynder is the first of the OtherWorld Expansions which introduce a new world to explore. In the two Core Sets, players are introduced to the swamp world of Jargono and the frozen ancient alien city of the Targa Plateau. Cynder is an entirely new world featuring vast underground tunnels and chambers with ancient platforms marking paths across boiling magma.
A fiery dimension of lava and ash, the burning Caverns of Cynder are home to many dark and ancient evils, imprisoned within! Rivers of molten rock flow and pool into lakes of fire, forging fiendish Lava Men to assault any who dare cross over into their world. But there are also treasures to be found, gold and priceless artifacts pulled from across space and time to fill the vaults of Cynder, and the pockets of any traveler bold enough to seek them out!
The Caverns of Cynder Expansion introduces a brand new OtherWorld for the Heroes to explore! This includes a full set of 18 new Map Tiles depicting the fiery Caverns of Cynder, with dangerous new Lava Spaces that can burn the Heroes, and crumbling crust that can fall away under your feet! These Map Tiles also have an all new set of unique Mine rooms on the reverse, bringing more variety and new Encounters to discover throughout the Mines. All of the cards needed for this searing lava world are included, such as Cynder Encounters, Artifacts, Map Cards, OtherWorld Threats, and more, as well as a host of new cards for adventuring in the Mines!
6 New Missions will challenge your Heroes, as they hunker down to Defend the Bridge against hordes of attacking creatures, or race to seal Cracks in Reality that have opened up, threatening to tear the world apart! But beware, this new world is overrun with a deadly new Enemy - Lava Men, emerging from the fiery depths to destroy all that would set foot into the Caverns of Cynder!
Last Call for the Get It Now Offer
In April, we created a special offer called the "Get It Now!" Pack. It made four new Shadows of Brimstone Card Supplements available to backers early for the cost of shipping. This was very popular and many people took advantage of the offer. We will be removing the "Get It Now" offer from the web store at the end of June. So, if you want to get the offer, don't wait. Here is the link to these items in the Web Store:
http://flyingfrogproductions.mybigcommerce.com/ks-backer-special/
Summer is coming...
We are working on our plans for
Gen Con next month and will have another update in July with new enemy previews and more info about the big show. Besides the Shadows of Brimstone Painting Event, we have some exciting previews and games planned, and some surprises in store! We hope to see many of you at the Flying Frog Booth at
Gen Con!
Cheers,
Scott and Jason