Continuing wave 1 fulfillment and some potential Frosthaven delays
over 3 years ago
– Mon, Aug 03, 2020 at 02:26:01 AM
Hello! It is Friday and time for an update on fulfillment! I have info on US, AU/NZ, CN/SEA, and CA fulfillment, so let's break it down by region.
US: We have roughly 20% of the wave 1 shipments left to send out, so we're getting close. These orders will continue getting sent out today and early next week. Keep in mind, this is just wave 1. As stated in previous updates, wave 1.5 and Forgotten Circles will be coming later, and I'll update you on those as they get closer. If you have any concerns about your shipment, you can reach out to D6 Fulfillment at [email protected].
Canada: I previously told you that Canadian fulfillment would start tomorrow, but the Gloomhaven containers were a few days late on water and will be arriving at D6 Canada's warehouse next week. Wave 1/1.5 orders are already being prepared to hit the ground running as soon as the warehouse has things received. Confirmations for these orders will be sent out on Tuesday (8/4) from D6 Fulfillment, and this will be your last chance to update/change your address before fulfillment commences. Forgotten Circles won't be part of this fulfillment, so I will update you on that when it gets closer. If you have any concerns about your shipment, you can reach out to D6 Fulfillment at [email protected].
Australia and New Zealand: Aetherworks has completed wave 1/1.5 shipments, but orders may still be making their way through the post. Forgotten Circles wasn't part of this fulfillment, so I will update you on that when it gets closer. If you have any concerns about your order, reach out to us at [email protected].
China and Southeast Asia: The slight delay had the fortunate side effect of bumping us into the delivery of Forgotten Circles to VFI's warehouse (early next week) so VFI has begun preparing/shipping orders that did not include Forgotten Circles and will be able to wrap up Wave 1/1.5 and Forgotten Circles all in the same fulfillment wave once they receive the Forgotten Circles shipment. If you have any concerns about your order, reach out to us at [email protected].
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Next, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Josh McDowell, who is officially joining the Cephalofair Games staff next week! Josh has done all his previous work for us as a freelancer, but the stars have finally aligned for him to come aboard as the Associate Creative Director! We'll soon be seeing a lot more productivity on the graphic design side of this project, which I hope to share with you in the future. It will also just mean that Frosthaven will be a much better product in the end, with a much finer attention to detail. Yay!
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Speaking of productivity, I did have one bad thing to share with you. I broke my hand Saturday night, and while it is now feeling better, I'll probably only be at about 75% capacity for computer work for the next 6 weeks or so. And computer work is, well, all the work that I do.
And to be honest, even before the break, I was starting to feel like we might not be able to get everything done within the aggressive schedule we set for ourselves. Me breaking my hand pretty much just confirms it. We will be seeing some delays getting Frosthaven out the door.
Obviously no one wants delay announcements to be a regular occurrence - least of all me - so what I'd like to do is spend some time coming up with a new development schedule that we should be able to stick to, and then come back sometime in the coming weeks to give you a new, ideally final, estimated delivery date. Until we can do, that, though, I don't want to throw any new dates around. I just wanted to let you know what was going on as soon as I identified the problem.
And that's not to say we haven't continued to make progress this last week, despite being down some digits. Play testing is underway on the character classes, and I've been able to make a lot of refinements on the locked classes. I am really happy with the state of quite a few of them, though others still need more work.
I've also been working on a draft of the rule book so that Jason Kingsley can get started working on that.
I'll need to leave you here, though. I should go get ready for demoing Jaws of the Lion on the BGG Gen Con live stream, which will be happening from 5-5:30 EDT. You can join me there if you wish, and I'll talk to you next week!
Wave 2 opens, and some info on conditions
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Jul 25, 2020 at 03:42:38 AM
Hello! It took a little longer than expected, but we got wave 2 opened up yesterday. Everything appears to have gone smoothly, so if you were waiting for wave 2 to finalize your order, now is the time to do so! (Or any time in the next few months, really.) We won't be charging cards again until we officially close down the pledge manager around the end of the year, so no need to worry about that.
And if you are confused about what is in your cart, or how to edit stuff in your cart, no worries, we are here to help! First of all, you may want to look at the final section of last week's update on how your pledge was carried over into wave 2, and then Price whipped up a FAQ to hopefully deal with any other pressing issues:
How do I access the Wave 2 pledge manager survey?
The Wave 2 survey is accessed identically to the Wave 1 survey, through your original email or by logging in at backerkit.com using the email address associated with your Kickstarter account.
What if I only see my Wave 1 Pledge confirmation?
Based on whether you've already submitted your survey for Wave 1/2 product, you will need to follow these steps:
- 1) Click "Edit Your Address" or "View your Confirmation" on the survey confirmation screen.
- 2) Click "Edit Add-ons" at the bottom of the page.
- 3) Add any new items and resolve payment in cart.
How do I change my address?
If you've previously submitted your survey, but wish to change your address, please contact us at [email protected]
I still see my previous purchases in cart?
Yes. Due to the functionality of Backerkit, you will see all Gloomhaven/Frosthaven items previously "locked" during the Wave 1 pledge manager. These items do not reflect against any current balance/credits and are "locked" in by your previous order.
I'm in a $0 pledge level but had previously backed as "$285 All-In" pledge?
Any pledges containing Wave 1 product that were previously unresolved have been moved to the $0 reward level and given a full credit for any original partial payment collected.
When will the Wave 2 Pledge Manager close?
Estimated closure is November 30th 2020
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One more important thing to mention with the pledge manager: we screwed up a bit and initially didn't implement a question for the "Slay an Ooze" reward (basically, in which name would you like me to slay an ooze). We've implemented the question now, but there are a large number of people who have that in their cart, but weren't given a response field for it.
We've now added a work-around, though. If you previously purchased that reward, there is now a new item that was added to your cart that allows you to very easily input a name for us. This is entirely optional, of course, but if you have a name you'd like to be included in the video I will eventually make, and you've already paid for the reward, just go into your pledge manager and fill in a response.
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Moving onto some small fulfillment updates. Shipping went underway in Australia, New Zealand and the US on Wednesday, so Aetherworks and D6 are still in the process of getting everything shipped out. Don't panic if you have a wave 1 product coming and haven't received a shipping email yet.
In addition, one of the shipments to VFI got delayed, so China and Southeast Asia won't start shipping until early next week.
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And now, I have some preliminary challenge coin pictures! They are still preliminary and obviously don't have the colored enamel, but I thought you'd like to see the progress we're making on them.
The coins are still available in the wave 2 pledge manager, and all profits on the sales will still be going to UNICEF!
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Finally, I wanted to spend a little more time talking about the game itself. Specifically, the new conditions we'll be adding to the game, which I don't think I've discussed in detail in an update before. One of which I certainly haven't, because I just decided to add it this week. So let's go through them!
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Regenerate: At the start of each of your turns, perform a "Heal 1, self" action. Removed when you take damage.
This was added in Forgotten Circles, but if you haven't played that, it will still be new to you. Technically, it was added to Frosthaven first with the Banner Spear (I've been working on this game a loooong time), but Marcel liked the idea and incorporated it into his Diviner design. Anyway, it is basically the opposite of wound, and can be pretty powerful if you can avoid getting hit.
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Bane: At the end of your next turn, suffer 10 damage and remove the condition. It is also removed if you are healed.
This was added later for a locked class as a more measured way to basically kill something, but without it being an actual instant kill effect, which has caused some problems in the original Gloomhaven (it can be overly powerful, especially against stronger and higher level monsters). The monster still gets one more turn, and it only suffers 10 damage, so it'll still be mostly fine if it started with 30 or something. This is also a rare condition applied by some monsters and is very effective at making you lose a card if you don't get rid of it.
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Injure: You cannot use items. Removed at the end of your next turn.
Unlike all other conditions, this can only be applied by monsters to characters, as they are the only ones who can use items anyway. I wanted another mean thing I could do to players, and this seemed like a logical choice. It's generally not too much of a hindrance, but can certainly prove to be an annoyance.
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Brittle: The next time you suffer damage, suffer twice the damage and remove the condition. It is also removed if you are healed.
Like Bane, this can be very dangerous and do some serious damage when played well. (For extra fun, Bane and Brittle the same monster, then wait for it to explode.) Just remember that this isn't part of an attack - it triggers on damage from any source, and is applied after all other damage calculations are made. Luckily, it is applied before you choose whether to lose a card to negate damage, so it will still go away even if you do that.
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Ward: The next time you suffer damage, suffer half the damage (rounded down) and remove the condition.
So this is the final one I've been playing around with this week. It seemed like a natural addition as the opposite of Brittle. It's not quite as potent as Brittle (halving things generally isn't as exciting as doubling them), but certainly has its uses. I figure, on average, a single application will save you 2-3 damage, but it is better than a heal, because it can be applied at full health. It will also cancel out the effect of Brittle. And when monsters use it? Yeah, that will be annoying.
So, yeah, I hope you found that interesting. I'm hoping to bring you all in on some more stuff we've been developing in the coming weeks and months, but for now, I think that's it. Talk to you next week!
Pledge manager opening early next week, and some info on the start of fulfillment
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Jul 18, 2020 at 01:42:08 AM
Hello! Happy 50th update! Today I just wanted to let you know that the pledge manager for wave 2 will be opening early next week, and to give you some info on the fulfillment that will be starting in some regions next week.
I've seen some confusion going around about what the different waves are, and 50 updates is a lot to read through to figure it out, so I'll try to break it down for you as simply as I can before we move on.
Your first resource is the main page "Add-Ons" graphic (quarter of the way down the page) that color-codes specific products as wave 1 or 2. Basically, most Frosthaven-related products are wave 2, and most Gloomhaven and Forgotten Circles-related products are wave 1. There are some exceptions, though, like the Envelope X box, which is for Gloomhaven, but will be shipped in wave 2. And metal coins will be active for both waves. Just look at the graphic to get a clear picture.
Wave 1 has been further complicated by a split between wave 1 and 1.5, which is based on a scarcity of product that we could deliver within our original projections. This ended up only affecting US backers, so if you are not in the US, no need to worry about it. If you are in the US and ordered a product labeled as "1.5" in the pledge manager, then it will be arriving in wave 1.5 (August) instead of wave 1 (July).
The last complication is that we couldn't get a new printing of Forgotten Circles out fast enough to coincide with either wave 1 or 1.5, so it will be shipped separately a little later than anything else (late August or early September).
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All right, so with that out of the way, let's talk about wave 1 fulfillment for the US, Australia and New Zealand, and China and Southeast Asia, all of which will be starting next week (according to the chart from last week's update).
US - On Monday, D6 Fulfillment (Cornerbox) will send an order confirmation to all US backers in wave 1, giving them a final 48 hours to review/approve their address. No action is required otherwise, and all orders will begin shipping by Wednesday from their warehouse in Iowa.
AU/NZ - On Monday, Aetherworks will be sending a fulfillment notification to all AU/NZ backers in wave 1/1.5, giving them a final 48 hours to change their address. No action is required otherwise, and all orders will begin shipping by Wednesday from their warehouse located outside Sydney.
China/Southeast Asia - VFI Asia does not send a pre-shipping email, but will begin shipping wave 1/1.5 orders out to their numerous dispatch hubs next week who will then email to inform each backer before their order ships. Local hubs can be contacted at that time for any last minute delivery changes.
I'll update you with news on other regions and US wave 1.5 shipping once we get closer to those dates.
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And finally, lets talk about the wave 2 pledge manager. This will open on Monday or Tuesday, pending some last minute development work needed over the weekend.
Wave 2 pledges $100/$145/$240 will be carried over if not previously submitted during Wave 1 and will now require submission if not done previously.
Any unresolved "All-In Pledge" tiers (because wave 1 product is shipping and no longer available) will be dropped down to the $0 reward tier, and a credit in the amount of their original pledge will be made to their cart.
Any unresolved carts with wave 1 products (excluding metal coins) will find those items removed and credit returned to their cart.
All backers will see products previously ordered in the wave 1 pledge manager, but will only have the ability to add/remove new products from their cart.
I may send out another small update when the wave 2 pledge manager launches, depending on whether anything else needs to be cleared up. Otherwise, I'll talk to you next Friday!
Mistaken alert
almost 4 years ago
– Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 02:57:57 AM
Hello! Sorry for the extra update, but we accidentally sent out an alert today to people that were not involved in wave 1 telling them to lock in their shipping address, and this alert should be ignored. It's not even possible to lock your orders at the moment, since the pledge manager is not live as we prepare for wave 2.
We're sorry about sending this out and causing the confusion that it did.
So, for clarity, the email you should ignore looks something like this:
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Subject: Last call to update your shipping address for Frosthaven
---NO REPLY NEEDED---
Looks like Frosthaven is about to ship your rewards soon!
If you do not need to update your shipping address, you do not need to take any further actions. You're all set!
If you need to update your shipping address, please make any final changes here.
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Obviously we're not about to ship Frosthaven. No action is needed by anybody right now, so, again, please ignore this message.
Sorry again for the inconvenience, and I'll talk to you again on Friday!
Wave 1/1.5 shipping dates
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 04:09:46 AM
Hello! I hope you have had a great week. It has been pretty productive around here and I have a couple things to share.
The main thing is that I wanted to nail down some dates for shipping wave 1/1.5 products. I'm not going to reiterate any information from update 44, I just wanted to give you this handy chart of when we expect fulfillment to actually begin for wave 1 and 1.5 for all the various regions of the world.
Keep in mind these are still estimates, and it is when fulfillment will begin. We have a lot of stuff to ship out, so don't expect to receive a shipping notification exactly on that day.
Also, importantly, these dates do not include shipments of Forgotten Circles, which will happen in a separate fulfillment. There were some production delays on the new printing, so we are now expecting to fulfill that in late August / early September. We still don't have a firm timeline on that, but I'll let you know when we do.
One last note is that if you ordered both Forgotten Circles and the removable stickers for Forgotten Circles, the stickers will also ship later with the copy of the game. (If you just ordered the stickers and no game, though, it will fulfill at the normal time listed on the chart.)
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We are still on track to open up wave 2 of the pledge manager in one week, so look for that if you didn't complete your pledge manager in wave 1 or need to make changes.
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And finally, things are still moving along on the development side. I'm seeing a lot of guest design work starting to come in, so that is exciting. There are some really cool ideas I'm looking forward to implementing.
I have also done significant work on all the locked characters' perk lists and attack modifier decks in preparation for more extensive play testing we are gearing up for. The play testing will still be internal and done primarily over Tabletop Simulator.
Which brings me to an interesting question that has been rolling around in my brain. Would there be any interest in me streaming some (probably solo) play testing on Twitch? I would most definitely be playing around with locked character classes, so spoilers would be prolific. But it might just be a good way to get a little extra feedback and perspective on what I am working on. Let me know what you think.
With that, I'll leave you with some more summon art from Alexandr! You can probably guess what class this is from:
