Post Update! Fly my pretties, fly!
about 6 years ago – Tue, Apr 10, 2018 at 01:56:21 AM

Hey folks! This is a message sent from a cave I've made out of shredded paper and zip lock bags... Sanity in doubt, parcel delivery a certainty!

The first batch of orders are being picked up today for delivery 5-7 days from now. I'm still on target to have everything dispatched by the end of the week. During this period I've not been able to keep up with comment threads on social media, so here are a couple of specific announcements, and some FAQ style answers: 

UK Parcels with Rulebook

Some of these were too heavy for Royal Mail, and so I've split the parcels in to two- the book being sent separately in a book wrap mailer. So if your order turns up incomplete don't panic! It's been split in to two. Now, inevitably some people are going to miss this message and make enquiries- if you see anyone ask about this on Social Media please do pitch in and relay this message to them. I'm snowed under here, and not really in a position to be answering people's public enquiries in comment threads. So far I'm keeping up with enquiries through the proper channels though (here, facebook messaging, website enquiries). 

Rest of World Parcels with Rulebook

These don't need to be split, so all non-UK backers can expect a single package. 

Where's my stuff!?

Please hold off on these questions for the moment. You should not be expecting a package any time within the next 5 days, and only the first batch have been sent. We (I!) am still in the process of packaging up parcels. I'm about 50% through the process. I hope some people will begin to get their parcels early next week, and then, due to the vagaries of the postal services, it'll be a trickle of deliveries over the 14 days after that. 

So when can I start worrying!?

If you haven't received a package by the end of the month then it's time to get in touch and let me know. 

Can I add to my order? 

No, I'm afraid not. However, the website is now taking pre-orders. 

I just realised I never completed my survey. Is it too late? 

It's too late for it to go out with the rest of the Kickstarter orders, but if you complete your survey and pay postage in Backerkit you will definitely receive your stuff. I can't guarantee a timescale on this though. I expect I'll be caught up by May the 1st. 

And one final thing. We will be Salute 2018, at the Excel centre in London, on Saturday April 14th!

Almost there!
about 6 years ago – Fri, Apr 06, 2018 at 08:31:35 PM

So, news! 

First on the agenda, with the exception of one small component which should be arriving by close of play today, or tomorrow (and only effects a small amount of pledges) I have everything assembled, bagged, and ready to be parcelled up! I begun that process today: 

 Now, I must confess, as I'm new to all this, I'm not entirely sure how long it's going to take, but early estimates seem like parcels will start going out on Monday, and I should be able to get everything off in the post to you all by the end of next week. 

Today was, in fact, billed as the retail launch, however, due to the various delays we've had with the rulebook problems and some casting complications (nothing serious, just scheduling and a few lost pieces which needed to be re-cast), I've postponed that indefinitely. No retail stock or pre-orders will go out before the very last Kickstarter pledge. 

Salute! 

I know a few of you have been asking, and yes we'll be at Salute next weekend demoing and promoting the game as hard as we can! Do pop along and ask for a demo, or just say hi! 

 A Few Important Notes:

Now the parcels are going out, there are a few small details I'd like people to be aware of as they open them up. Namely, a few tiny components which might be easy to miss! 

And yes... to those of you wondering, I really did hand-make every single one of those wax seals... About half way through the process I seriously began to question my sanity!

 Anyway, I've got plenty to get on with, so best plan is to stop prevaricating here, and crack on! I'll keep you all updated as and when timescales change. So close!

Back on the straight and narrow!
about 6 years ago – Sat, Mar 24, 2018 at 08:16:40 PM

Hey folks! 

So, after wrangling with the printers we're currently waiting on a second delivery of the rulebook. I've just received some production photos of the previously problematic pages. I've changed the background of the Table of Contents- an excess of ink, in combination with cold weather and shrink wrapping, seems to have been the cause of the previous issue. 

 So I am hoping to have the books with me by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week, at which stage I'll be in a position to start posting them out to people. More on that as and when. 

Therefore it looks like we're going to be fulfilling a month early instead of the two months I had originally hoped for, but still not too bad I think!

In other news, I thought you folks might like to hear about a little something extra I decided to include, for everyone who bought at least one faction starter: 

 You know when you've designed the perfect list, but you've just got a few extra points left over, bugging you for a lack of efficiency? Well, Effect Cards are your friend! I'll be blogging about these during the week, with a few tactical tips. Who knows, in the future perhaps we'll see a wider variety of these? 

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my life... which seems to be all about ziplock bags, in the tens of thousands, at the moment! No doubt I'm on some kind of police register by now!

 That's all for now folks!

The course of true love.... and Kickstarters!
about 6 years ago – Fri, Mar 16, 2018 at 11:43:12 PM

Well, I don't mind telling you, I was getting a little cocky, so I guess it's about time a spanner got thrown in the works. I've been working in the last few days to ensure it isn't too catastrophic, and I'm hoping it won't delay things much past a few days. Nonetheless, it's only fair I keep you all informed about what's going on!

As you all know, the Kickstarter is billed for delivery in May 2018, but I've been sailing along lately with the expectation of delivering 2 months early... In March! 

Now it's looking more like the first week of April. While I was hoping to dispatch in the middle of March, it's now looking like the last week of March, if all goes well. 
The miniatures are running a little over time, but that's to be expected, and I can make up for those delays by roping friends in to help process them as they arrive (they all require sorting in to little zip lock bags, with bases, etc, which takes about 4 hours for each batch of models). 

However, on Tuesday this week the rulebooks turned up. Initially all looked good, but as I opened more (they're shrink wrapped) I realised most of them had wrinkled front pages: 

 Now, I know some people won't mind, but I think you should all be getting a perfect product, so today they are all going back to the printers (half way across Europe, no less!) to be re-bound with new endpapers. Best estimates, this will take about a week. Worst estimates, two. So we're looking at my posting out pledges in the last week of March, presuming all goes well. 

I'm really itchy to get you all your toys, so this is of course frustrating and disappointing (and has wasted a huge amount of time this week, which is the last opportunity I'll have for hardcore marketing before the package assembly process begins!). Buuuuuut, I guess when aiming to deliver 2 months early, knocking back the deadline a week or so isn't that big a deal (or so my supportive friends, who've been trying to stop me pulling my hair out, tell me! 

In other news though, the rulebook was looking pretty awesome otherwise: 

The book has been such a labour of love for me- I spend most of last year writing the fluff sections, and re-writing the rules for clarity and streamlining. 

I've ensured the book is properly cross-referenced, with an extensive Table of Contents as well as an Index, and with lots of internal page references to make navigating to find what you need as easy as possible. I commissioned a heap more art, and really spent a lot of time with the graphic design, so that it was attractive, yet easy to use.
More than half of the pages, and 2/3 of the word-count is fluff, really going in to depth about the world, locations, personalities and history of Ulaya. I'm pretty sure you'll all be happy with it. 

Anyway, I'd rather keep bad news short, so I'll sign off here, but expect a more positive update some time during the week, and in the meantime, enjoy some pictures from TDE Towers!

 So lots of work, but not everybody feels like helping: 

It's all coming together!!
about 6 years ago – Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 03:42:22 PM

Hey folks! 

A few rather fun things to keep you all appraised of. In general, the news is "it's all happening!". 

I take receipt of the first batch of miniatures next week, and the week after that the rulebooks and cards should be arriving. Then it's a long process of sorting lots of tiny little pieces in to bags, and beginning to send things off to people! 

This is tentative, because of course this is all new ground for me, but I expect to have all parcels in the post before the end of next month, presuming that delivery of the goods runs along schedule. 

Please don't take that as anything more than an estimate at this stage. I'll be keeping you as up to date as I am myself. 

With pictures too! Here's a few: 

 I calculated that the Kickstarter fulfilment consists of 40,000 individual minature parts... and someone has to sort them all in to little zip lock bags... Oh joy! 
Not that I'm complaining, mind. I simply cannot wait to get you all your stuff, and see people beginning to play the game! 

The Wayfarers Program

Every good miniatures game has an "Ambassadors" system, right? Well, you may remember that the "people" voted, during the Kickstarter, and the name we decided on was the Wayfarers. Since then I decided to name our mercenary faction after them as well, but it's time to get organised.

If you're interested in signing on as an ambassador to coordinate games, give demos and promote The Drowned Earth in your local community get in touch with me! I cannot stress how crucial this kind of thing is to the longer term success of a game like this, and as you remember I have every intention of establishing TDE as a permanent fixture in the market place. (in fact, I've already started work on the first release schedule... new models! Yay!). 

More updates as they happen!