Chaosmos and Chaosmos: The Temple

Created by Joey Vigour

Explore planets to find and protect the most important object in the universe, the Ovoid. The Temple awaits...

Latest Updates from Our Project:

I'm not going anywhere! Proof of life video!
11 days ago – Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 02:48:11 PM

Hi everyone,

I want to keep doing regular updates; but since we're still in the waiting stage, I started filming some videos with my friend Jeff Siadek. He and I used to make videos a couple years ago, and we are going to try to release one new video per week, at least until Chaosmos in your hands. (After that, I'll be able to proceed with my life and my other projects, which have all been on hold until that game is delivered.)

This video is about how to make a game. Yes, I realize the irony here...  this game is 3 years late. But this video is not about the manufacturing world (which is where I got hung up this time), it's more about finding ways to understand yourself and see where your game fits into the world. It's also a sort of a "proof of life" video – I'm still here!

 
 

Special Gift Incoming...

As I mentioned, backers at the higher tiers will get something shockingly cool in their games – this outer wrapping is being hand crafted in the USA by some really special people, and there's a really cool item inside. I can't show it here. But it's one of the multiple ways I'm going to make it up to you.

Refunds

As I promised, if you want a refund, you'll get it – there's no time limit; you will always be entitled to getting your own money back. I haven't blown through the money; I'm about to go to print. If you can wait a bit longer, please try – the customer service back-and-forth is difficult for me because there's multiple payment platforms, each with various technical problems and the verification systems are slow. The "refund" button on Kickstarter literally does not work; I am not kidding. So if you can wait, wait, otherwise, hit me up.

I wanted to ship by end of month; but there were problems with the proofs, so I fixed those, and I'll let you know when I know.  Soon.

Much love!

-Joey

Quick Update
about 1 month ago – Tue, Feb 13, 2024 at 09:50:30 PM

Hello guys! 

What have you been playing recently? I tried Cthulhu Wars for the first time last night. Very thematic, and I appreciated the clean timing of all the triggered abilities and effects; very professionally designed. I controlled the Crawling Chaos, which was apropos, as I crawled into an embarrassing fourth place finish. The lore is a bit dark for me, but I loved the asymmetry of the factions. Okay, on with the update:

Video Update

(This shows the final revisions from back in December)

Chinese New Year

The manufacturer messaged me that we didn't make the Chinese New Year deadline, but they will be able to continue behind the scenes on the miniatures and other unfinished items, and we should have photos of the test prints soon. But we still have to wait for the factory to reopen (around March 4th, I believe, or later that week). They didn't mention any further issues with the files, so there shouldn't be any more technical delays; just logistical (CNY pretty much shuts down manufacturing for 2-3 weeks). 

All the promises I've made have always been made with the best of intentions. When a backer quotes one of the old updates, I can only apologize and remind them that we had TWO previous manufacturers, and I switched to this one (the third) due to "red flags" with the other two. And despite some previous problems, this manufacturer has been very responsive, and they did a good job on another game that was released just a few months ago (Battlestations: Dirtside, for which I produced the 3D buildings and miniatures). I like this manufacturer. The first year of delays was partly because the game was simply not as ready as I thought it was;100% my fault; I was not expecting to suddenly lose my team and my playtest groups, and there was a licensing issue that cost a ton of money and time. Due to the shipping and logistics cost increases, financials were bleak back then, and I made the error of thinking I could "wait out the pandemic." The second year was even tougher due to issues with the two manufacturers, and a chronic illness came back that made it almost impossible for me to work productively. Last year I had to redo all of the files (hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of files) with the new templates and color profiles, all of which is since long solved. I'm happy, and the game is going to be great. I can't wait to share the new things I've been working on. (Out of respect for you guys, I am holding off showing anything new until your games are actually shipping.)

I remember saying that I would consider canceling/refunding this project if I was still having problems come this year. But since everything is done on my end (and since the new project manager, Laura, has been helpful and responsive), it would be a tragedy to cancel it now. So let's not give up on the 98 yard line! Obviously, I'm willing to cancel individual orders, though; if you want a refund, you must first update your Kickstarter card to be a debit card that is linked to your primary bank account (refunding via Veem or PayPal are risky and have huge fees). If you can hold off a bit longer, please do so. And feel free to reach out (vigourgames[at gmail] [dot] com) if you you have questions.

Surprises...

As I hinted previously, I will be rewarding those of you who have continued to support the project (and me). I'll be including one or two bonus physical objects into the shipments. These will be quite impressive to most of you. (I am not sure which backers will get which items yet; international shipping increases are crazy since 2020, so I'll keep you posted.) I will also be revealing new digital surprises for all backers. This includes a ton of new lore, plus "Project Egg" and four other variants. 

Videos?

I WILL be doing more videos soon; I really will. It's disheartening to put a lot of time into something and not get views, but I will continue to do videos as often as I can, and I hope to get into a rhythm of making them more regularly.

-Joey

P.S. There's some wild things planned for the future, both for this game and for other things; I just don't want to talk about anything publicly until your games are in the mail. But I've been very busy and productive behind the scenes. If you want to talk about anything, reach out.

Happy 2024!
3 months ago – Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at 11:16:57 PM

Hi everyone, happy new year!

I will try to begin doing more video updates in the future; it's fun to do them, but they take a long time to film and edit, so I had to pause my plans when I got busy. I have a lot of positive, exciting things in my life these days, but I have decided to hold off on talking about other projects until this game is shipping (which will happen in a matter of weeks).

I did not achieve my goal to go to print by end of year; I found issues with the proofs and I chose to spend the last several weeks fixing the numerous issues rather than continuously tear out my hair about them. It was a lot of work because the factory had sent me a few templates that were incorrect, so I ended up having to reformat all 216 cards, and redo about 20 files related to the dial/clock. But it's all solved now. I have not seen any photos of the miniatures yet, but I will send those when I get them.

When the factory gives me a timeline, I will relay it. I do not think it will ship before Chinese New Year begins early next month, but I am hoping to have it 100% printed and partially assembled, and should definitely ship by February or March. (There are several other projects getting made at the factory at the same time.) I'll pay for expedited shipping on the pre-press so we can go to mass production as soon as possible.

I am very proud of the game and the attention to detail in each file. If the final printed games end up having minor color or alignment issues, I'll be okay with it, because I've literally done everything possible to deliver quality files to the factory, and I've done everything possible to hold the factory to a high standard as well. When you love something, and you are proud of the work you do, you want the final result to be the way you see it in your head. I had so many delays on this project, between factory changes and health issues, but I did not compromise anything. The delays happened and I have learned from them. I have always been honest with you – the mistakes I've made were honest ones. If I was naïve before, you can be sure I am not anymore. If I have ever seemed evasive, it was simply because I am a relatively private person. But the problems are in the past. I'm more excited about this new year than I've ever been before. Your games will be done very soon.

If you are unhappy, just message me directly and I will try to make you happy again.

-J

Still here; pushing hard!
4 months ago – Mon, Dec 04, 2023 at 08:13:51 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Art and Lore [Video]
5 months ago – Wed, Oct 25, 2023 at 10:45:14 AM

Hello all, it took several weeks, but the manufacturer has submitted the final revision requests - these are the final tweaks before we print all the paper elements. (I don't know why it took them 3 weeks to give notes this minor, but that's the way it goes.) These will be done by Tuesday, and the first test copies will be produced next week. I can't believe how long it has taken to get to this point, but again - remember that this is the THIRD manufacturer I've worked with on the project. To their credit, they have given me a very detailed and clear plan for the next two weeks. I expect to post very quick updates every two weeks or so until the moment you get the games.

Video Update

Here's a new video where I talk about my friend William, who did most of the art and writing for the game (both the base game and new edition). At the beginning there's a brief zoological survey on Pendra and its lone surviving inhabitant, The Haghouhen.

Here's a previous video from several years ago where William discusses Atturnuk.

It turned out not to be easy to upload videos every Monday or every other Monday, partly because I have a very old computer and it isn't easy to get things exported. I've recorded several videos that I haven't posted; I am a bit suspicious of "social media" - does it make you feel more "social" than having social (in-person) interactions? 

I'm playing Chaosmos tonight! I'll get some pics.

Joey