Insert and Trays, Custom Dice, Wooden Box, Pledge Manager
about 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 29, 2023 at 02:41:34 PM

Hello my friends!

We are excited to show you some actual pictures of the progress we are making on Forges of Ravenshire. Also, shout-out to all of our backers and friends who came by to see us at Origins Game Fair. It was awesome to see you and have you take a closer look at the game in person. The feedback has been exceptional and I can't wait to get this game into your hands!

So, let's talk about our progress.

Insert and Resource Trays

We have an iteration of the insert and resource trays being shipped to us so we can do a personal inspection and component check. We will test it in a few ways.

#1) Sleeving Test - Do all of the cards fit when they are sleeved? Can you get them out without flipping the entire tray over? I am (Sam) personally a sleever. If it doesn't fit sleeves, I am upset.

#2) Set-up Test - A good insert and trays will help you to set-up the game quickly and efficiently. There is still some limitations based on the box size and fitting everything into the box but the ability to set-up a game quickly is a top priority. Time to beat, 3 min. or less with 4 people playing with 1 person setting up.

#3) Clean-up Test - Next we will test to see how quickly the game puts away and is ready for set-up. Does it allow other players to help? Does it make logical sense? Another important factor when considering the final design. Time to beat, 3 min. or less for a 4 player game with 1 person cleaning up.

#4) Shake and Drop Test - Finally, we will see how well the insert and trays take to sudden changes and applications of force; AKA, Shake and Bake and Drop it like it's hot! Sadly there will be prototype games harmed in the making of the final game.

Here are some images of the brave prototypes willing to sacrifice their lives for the greater good of production. Note, there will be lids. They are not shown in these images.

Custom Dice Update from Downpour Dice

We have had some tests done for the custom dice being made by Downpour Dice and I am pretty excited about the test batches. See for yourself. Tweaks and changes will still be made but here is a little sneak peak. Note that the final dice will use actual numbers in a font that matches the game boards and not pips.

I am pretty excited about these and looking forward to giving you more updates as they come. Note, there are a few remaining sets left in the pledge manager if you are interested. Not many but they are available as an add-on.

Wooden Boxes

We are getting the final wooden box design nailed down for the game as we near the final files for production. However, we have some obstacles to overcome and the main one being the wood being used for the box. The original plan was to use Mahogany for the boxes but the price of Mahogany with our partner has gone up quite significantly over the last few months. We would like to switch to Baltic Birch but we needed to bring it up to backers and get their thoughts. If we were to switch to Baltic Birch, would anyone have a problem with the new wood color? For reference, see picture below:

You can make your opinions clear in the comments below, in the main comments section, send us a Kickstarter message, or you can email [email protected]. Any of those ways will work to let us know how you feel and your thoughts on the matter.

Special Note For Europe - We have a few of you who have ordered boxes and we would like to have 10+ more orders for the boxes in order to decrease shipping costs. The more people who order will decrease the cost for everyone in Europe. We will keep you updated and informed before we lock any final shipping to you in Europe. 

Pledge Manager 

Some of you have seen the Pledge Manager notifications that have been sent out. Please check over the Pledge Manager and let us know if you spot any issues. 

If you haven't seen it yet, don't worry. We are getting some final results from our Smoke Test (5% of backers receive the Pledge Manager to test for issues, mistakes, errors, etc.). The rest of you will be seeing the Pledge Manager notifications next week.

Special Note For Everyone - When you fill out the Pledge Manager, the shipping estimate will not be correct until you input your address into the system. Then the shipping will reflect more accurately your shipping costs.

Retailer Backers - We will be contacting you directly at a later date to get a better numbers count of what you want to pre-order and will invoice you when we are 1-2 months from fulfillment.

Thank you all for being a part of this project and if you are attending Gencon, stop by and say hi! Booth #424.

Until next time my friends,

Sam Stockton

Quick Update: Pledge Manager Coming Soon and Progress
about 1 year ago – Fri, Jun 09, 2023 at 12:28:43 AM

Pledge Manager Coming Soon

The money transfer has finally come in from Kickstarter and we have the Pledge Manager information in. We are currently doing some testing and triple checking to make sure all of the information provided in the Pledge Manager is correct. 

Smoke Test

A few of you may start seeing emails in the next week or two, this is called a Smoke Test. It's a lot like a Beta test, where we take a small sample from every pledge level to fill out the Pledge Manager. That way we can test a few of you and fix any problems before we let everyone into the system.

Note to Retailers

We are not going to be filling out your information in the pledge manager. When we get closer to the actual delivery of the game to Kickstarter backers, we will contact you and get your orders through our own system and invoice you. You will be creditied the amount you already pledged on the Kickstarter. Since you are a backer, you will also get your games at the same time as all other backers. If you have any questions as a retailer, please email [email protected] for more details about the process. Note though that more details will be coming as we get closer to fulfillment.

Progress

We have been working diligently in the background on Forges of Ravenshire. I am doing a special playtest this weekend with all of the new Guild tokens, updates to the player board, and updates to the Assistant cards (player powers). 

Many of the graphic design elements are done but we can't finalize the numbers until we have finished testing the Guild tokens and the Assistant cards.

Guild Tokens

We did an extensive rebalancing and addition of Guild tokens in order to provide more variety of combinations, strategies, and engine builds. Pretty excited to see the playtest results this weekend. 

Inserts

We are also working with our manufacturer on the insert designs and making sure it provides the following 2 things:

1) Significantly speed up set-up and tear down.

2) Organize the components so as to be easily understood.

Downpour Dice

The master molds have been acquired and they have begun the process of color desigining the various dice. We are excited to share more information and pictures when we have them.

Future Updates

We will be sure to keep you posted regularly as we go through this process. If you have any questions, feel free to let us know in the comments here, on the main page, or via email at: [email protected].

Until next time my friends, keep forging on!

-Sam Stockton

Shield Results, Game Cover Survey, and Current Progress
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 24, 2023 at 09:36:03 PM

Heyo my friends! It's been a little bit but wanted to give you some results, a new survey, and a progress report. So, let's get started.

Shield Results

Here are the results of the voting. Remember, we may have to make a few adustments to the name depending on space on the card, etc but we will do our very best to stay true to the names chosen by you.

Game Cover Survey

Today, we start voting on which cover you like better, but even more importantly, we are looking at your thoughts and reasons why. This is an area where we will be taking your feedback and creating a final cover for the game. However, we have the final say for the game cover. There are a number of factors to consider for retail, etc. 

Now, that being said, keep in mind that these images are merely mock-ups and some will have issues in terms of size, spacing, coloring, etc. but we want you to keep an open mind and see what the potential of the cover could be. Please share with us your thoughts. 

Survey is here: https://forms.office.com/r/EkVnzxGZPJ

Again, vote here: https://forms.office.com/r/EkVnzxGZPJ. Also, please leave comments on why or how you chose your favorite.

Progress Report

We have been making progress on the final files and have done a number of playtests on some of the additional content. We are getting good feedback and this week we are doing another balance pass in order to tighten some things up. 

We will make sure to keep you updated.

Until next time, keep forging on!

-Sam Stockton

Thank you! You are the best backers ever!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 11, 2023 at 06:01:13 PM

Thank you

It has been a blistering last 72 hours and you all have been the absolute best backers we could have asked for! Thank you for joining us on this campaign and because of you, this game is being made. 

Unlocked All the Stretch Goals

You all rocked it and we are now over 700 Gold! Which means we unlocked all of the stretch goals.

Congratulations! Looking forward to getting these new elements made for the game.

What Happens Next?

Here is the timeline that we are using in order to keep us on track and let you know what to expect from this campaign. We feel confident that we can keep this schedule and we will keep you updated on at least a monthly basis on what is happening.

The Pledge Manager

Once the campaign closes, our goal is to have the pledge manager available to you within a month's time. It will take time to deal with money transfers, exporting lists, setting up the pledge manager, etc.

For all backers, you will be able to modify your pledge in the pledge manager once it opens up. 

Surveys

We have one survey left to vote on, the cover of the game. That will happen next week where we will also release the survey results for the shields.

Thank You Again

We appreciate your support and until the update next week. Keep Forging On!!

-Sam Stockton

Final Hours of the campaign!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 11, 2023 at 08:58:34 AM

It's the Final Countdown!

We are almost to the end and I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have decided to back us on this campaign. It has been a ride and we are grateful for the support.

There will be one last update this evening marking the final count for Stretch Goals. This is your last chance to share the campaign, follow us on the various social media sites, and follow us on BGG (Board Game Geek). 

We'll talk soon and we will see you on the other side!