General Update - cover art, schedule
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Jul 05, 2020 at 01:17:37 AM

Hi friends.

The last few months have been very unusual for a lot of reasons. During the quarantine here I've been very productive on this project... mostly I've been working alone since the pandemic lockdowns have prevented regular in-person playtests. I'm almost finished with all the files, other than the back of the box and the rulebook, which I still have not laid out into graphical format. I am hoping to get that done within a week or two or three. Hoping to submit the files for print by August 15th.

Here's the most recent cover art for the Expanded Edition (the big box). It isn't 100% done as we're still making some decisions about what character and pose to feature on the left side. Might remove it entirely. The goal was to have Vroon observing and tracking the movements of the universe, but it might just look like a green guy floating in space without a spacesuit.

Card Changes

For those of you playing the Tabletop Simulator version, you will know that there is a new flip card called Trust Locker. Even though the card works and is interesting, it is so confusing for players that it is almost never used, and certainly I have rarely seen it utilized effectively. So the Trust Locker is going to be changed. I'm playtesting a version where the Trust Locker functions like an opaque vault - only the activator of the locker, and their Ally, can see inside. Other players can only take cards at random (unless they have the Decrypter), before losing control of it. It is much simpler and seems to fulfill the same goals.

Guerilla Sneakbot is also changing names to be more consistent with the other cards. Currently I'm trying out Squeeze Claw, which makes it consistent with Squeeze Trap. I have been loving all these new Claw cards; there are lots of fun new strategies that don't involve simply collecting weapons.

Zones

The base game has 2 basic card locations that are hidden: the planet envelopes and player hands. The Temple expansion occasionally allows for the Cosmic Pool or Void to be face-down. There's also the Temple Clock, which has hidden Events. So instead of only 2 types of hidden card locations, there are now several. So Drusu's scrying power and most scrying cards and abilities will now be updated to say "Scry any zone" and a zone is any location where cards can be hidden. Scrying a face-down Cosmic Pool or Void or Temple Clock will allow you to see all the cards there. Clean and simple.

Moving as Quickly as Possible

Even though I have not been badly affected by the quarantine and pandemic, some of my artist collaborators have not been as lucky. I'm being as compassionate as possible but also trying to nudge them along. I'm waiting on about 6 images.

I'm about a month away from submitting all the files, which means I am still on track for a December shipment, but please recognize that the factory and shipping lanes may be backed up due to the pandemic and things can get delayed even if I submit on time. This is a crazy year and I'm trying hard to get this all done. I'm also launching an expansion for another game in August, so it's been a busy time for me. Busy, but good.

If you have contacted me this year and are still waiting on me to respond, please try again. I am mostly caught up but I have a lot of chaos in my head due to the various projects.

Tabletop Simulator

The latest Tabletop Simulator mod for Chaosmos is working great. Let me know if you have questions. I've been having a blast playtesting online.

Joey

Locking orders June 1st + Preview of new art
almost 4 years ago – Tue, May 26, 2020 at 01:25:20 AM

Hi backers,

I had offered to continue delaying charging for their add-ons. I had no problem waiting much longer but I was surprised to see that approximately 3/4 of survey respondents much prefer to have their cards charged immediately. It's a difficult decision, since if 1/4 of backers don't want to be charged for a while but the other 3/4 do, I want to respect those with financial fears even though they are vastly outnumbered. So I'll just have to handle their requests manually.

We will lock remaining orders on June 1st and charge by June 3rd.

If you need us to hold off charging your card for shipping/add-ons, just message us at the email address (shown at bottom) with subject "HOLD CHARGE" and we'll keep your order from getting locked on June 1st. PLEASE don't message me with these requests, as Halley is handling these manually through the email system.

Those of you who ordered grip mats and base games (only) will start to receive those by June 10th, as we can't ship those until the cards go through. We're still working on the new content for the expansion, which is getting printed later in the year.

Drafts of new cards

Here's some images for more of the new cards. Final color and shading is not complete.

Tabletop Simulator Update

We've been playing a lot of Chaosmos on TTS recently. Annoyingly, the new update from 48 hours ago seems to have severely damaged our mod. (The card thickness changed, and it had some ripple effects in the size of the different hidden zones, so cards get hidden in the table.) Hopefully we can get this fixed in the next couple days. I'll announce in the Discord when it is fixed.

Join the Discord channel here.

Ok, things are moving forward. I'll let you know when the rulebook is finished.

-Joey and Halley & team

vigourgames [at] gmail [dot] com

Pandemic Lockdown - Survey and Update!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 17, 2020 at 10:15:19 PM

When Should I Charge for Shipping and Add-Ons?

I assume a lot of you are concerned about the next few months because of the pandemic. I had originally offered to delay charging your cards until at least June 1st. Should I delay even longer?

Take the single-question survey!

Playtesting Impact

Playtesting has been impacted a lot by the lockdowns here in Los Angeles. I have a 1200+ person local playtester Meetup group, and there hasn't been a single physical meetup in months. Los Angeles is currently slated to be completely locked down at least another 3 months!!!

ALL of my playtests since funding the project have been online. I haven't played a physical game of Chaosmos since this one back in February.

If you would like to play the expansion, PLEASE join the Discord and join in a game with Tabletop Simulator. I need to be playtesting (and observing playtesting) multiple times per week.

Artist Impact

I have one primary artist, William (who does all the aliens designs), and he is impacted by the pandemic. I also have several other artists who I work with regularly and they are taking much longer to reply to emails than normal. I don't think this will impact the game's release, as I am not planning to go to press until September. It is frustrating but I am trying to be patient - I know a lot of people don't have financial security right now and in some cases have actually lost loved ones to the pandemic.

Drafts of some of the new cards:

Wood Clock Stand - Limited/Collector

Here's the general shape we're thinking of for the Limited Edition clock stand. Remember that if you are a Collector Edition backer from the original Kickstarter, please email me [vigourgames at gmail dot com] with the number on your sleeve and we'll make sure you also get the clock stand. We'll add the clock stand for the old Collector people for a very small packing fee (a few dollars). Current Collector and Limited Edition people already get the clock stand.

We are planning to have the clock stand be compatible with the Event cards - even if you are using the old wood clock from Collector Edition. Basically, there will be a tray for each card, and you'll see a sliver of the card poking out from under the wood clock with the trigger turn highlighted.

Turn Guide - New Actions!

Here's the turn guide, which will be on the back of the rulebook along with all the planetary effect tokens.

Personal Update

The lockdowns have allowed me to be very focused and creative. I'm working with Halley on Chaosmos and with a new assistant, Conor, on my other projects, including a documentary and development on my other games.

It's very difficult to be consistently productive on Chaosmos without the momentum of regular in-person playtests, but I'm finishing the rulebook this month and once playtests are complete I can finish the remaining files for everything other than the cards. The new cards are awaiting the updated art. So things are good but I've lost touch with a lot of friends and colleagues in the last couple months. I don't really like email so I'm thinking about doing more video updates instead.

Reach out if you need anything.

-Joey

 

Chaosmos Online is LIVE! How to Set it Up!
about 4 years ago – Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 01:43:36 AM

Hi folks, playtesting continues in earnest, via the internet. We're on the Tabletop Simulator platform instead of real life right now. I even got to see what it is like to have a player who is wearing a VR headset. "Chaosmos in VR" sounds like the future to me.

Online rules primers, demos, and full games are open!

There's no cost to play if you join our Discord and have Tabletop Simulator already installed. All you have to do is post in the forums your requested session type and timezone. By request, myself or another active member of the server will teach the game to you at a time convenient to you. To set up a quick demo, post in the "Schedule a Rules Primer." If you need more players you can meet them and schedule games on the "Schedule a Casual Game" channel for the Discord server. Note: we don't do tech support! Get your microphone, headphones, Steam, and Tabletop Simulator working prior to your game or demo.

How to Set Up Chaosmos Online - video

I recorded a little monologue explaining the Tabletop Simulator platform. 

Is this is the full expansion or just the base game?

Chaosmos Online has some rough patches but other than some missing art elements and minor balancing, it is the full expanded version of the game. But each part of the expansion is modular so you can take out Events, Favors, extra planets, extra players, new aliens, ally and upgrade abilities, etc. if you wish.

I hope you guys are having a safe and productive week. My grandest thanks to all the backers who worked with me the past two weeks to make this project happen, but especially Junni Saku and Father911.

-Joey

Tabletop Simulator 50% off! Play Chaosmos online!
about 4 years ago – Sun, Apr 05, 2020 at 08:08:03 PM

Hi friends,

I hope you are safe and healthy. I've hit the ground running since the pandemic began. All my playtests were canceled and there's a complete lockdown in Los Angeles. So...

Yesterday we ran our first-ever online game of Chaosmos, with the Temple expansion! Thanks again to backers Junni and Father911 for all the scripting and graphics work, and to Jeff, Criddles, and Brian for the four player game. Jeff used a CLAW of KHATUN to steal the Ovoid and I formed an alliance with him and used the Temporal Displacer to take the win! All you need to play is Discord (free), Steam (free), and Tabletop Simulator (50% off).

Tabletop Simulator is 50% off today and tomorrow!

Tabletop Simulator is how a lot of board games are played online, and it is only about $7 to $10 today, depending on your country. It takes about an hour of getting used to, and then you can play almost any tabletop board game online for FREE! Pick it up today!

I'm running one game of Chaosmos (or the expansion) per day this week for hardcore gamers (people who want to learn the game to teach others or begin hosting their own sessions. If you want to come play this week, join the Discord group and post in the "Schedule a Demo" channel. I'll run sessions for players in any timezone; we just need to schedule it.

Join the Chaosmos Discord channel!

Sign up for a free account and ask your rules questions, schedule an online demo game via Tabletop Simulator, and maybe even become a playtester.

https://discord.gg/2N5KetY

Here's me demoing how the cards get automatically dealt into the envelopes!

Okay, that's it!

Please call your friends and family and make sure they are doing ok. As I mentioned in the last post, some copies of the Chaosmos base game and grip mats are still yet to be shipped out, as I only do postal drop-offs once per week due the lockdown. Most backers should not expect their games and expansions until the end of the year.

The expansion and reprint items should not be delayed by the pandemic as long as my factory is up and working at full capacity by August. Until then, see you online!

-Joey