Chaosmos coming to Tabletop Simulator! Join Discord! Plus, holding off payments.
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 02:32:34 AM

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing ok. I'm moving the payment date for add-ons and shipping to at least June and not closing the BackerKit pledge manager until mid to late May. Scroll down to see.

"Immediate Shipping" backers - charging Thursday

Some backers paid extra to have their base games and/or grip mats (which are already produced) shipped early. For credit card backers who selected "Immediate Shipping" - I will charge your (complete) shipping and add-on costs this Thursday April 2nd unless you email me (vigourgames at gmail dot com) to request I NOT do so. Most PayPal backers in the USA should already have received their game if they paid for Immediate Shipping. But there's some exceptions due to the pandemic.

Outside the USA: Some of my shipping companies have not responded to my shipping queries, so I am assuming that they have reduced staffing and things will take longer than normal. I'll send an email to those backers when I received a tracking number for them. Please expect it may take a month or even longer as a result of this global issue. I have limited quantities of games in Europe and almost none in Asia right now, so things will simply take time.

Within the USA: I don't leave the house much anymore. I live in California, which has the highest cases of the virus on the west coast of America. We are currently under a lockdown. Within the USA, I've decided to ship games in batches once per week, when I do a grocery run. The post office has a method of allowing me to drop pre-labeled shipments directly at the loading dock so I don't have to venture inside or come in contact with anyone. Shipping in batches also reduces the load on the post office.

If the situation in L.A. does not improve soon then it is likely all shipments from me will cease for a while (except copies of Chaosmos or GROWL that are already in distribution centers). I'll keep you updated and try to keep spirits up if the situation gets worse.

Payment Date for Add-Ons Moved to June 1st.

Out of concern for backers who may have financial concerns due to the virus, I have decided to hold off charging your cards for shipping and add-ons until at least June 1st and closing BackerKit mid to late May. (PayPal people have already paid.) At that date I'll survey backers before charging.

If you want me to instead charge your card now, email vigourgames at gmail dot com and Halley or I will take care of your order manually.

Here's what I have been up to...  

With incredible assistance from backers Junni and Father911, I've converted all of Chaosmos and the expansion into a digital format. It requires Steam, which is a free download platform for games, and Tabletop Simulator, which is well worth the $20 fee, especially during these crazy times.

We start playtests on Friday - join the Discord!

Join the Chaosmos Discord server to follow our progress at converting Chaosmos playtests to an online experience. We hope to solve the bugs this weekend, and then we'll be hosting games for free.

I'll be sending another update with room invites and additional information probably next week. It would be best if interested players download Tabletop Simulator to familiarize yourself with the experience.

Feel free to share the Discord server with your friends who have Tabletop Simulator and when we do our official launch, we'll let you know.

https://discord.gg/2N5KetY

-Joey

BackerKit surveys are going out. Plus, COVID-19.
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 11:50:03 PM

We've sent a "smoke test" to 5% of our backers, and by evening tonight, we'll have sent surveys to all backers.

COVID-19

We are concerned, along with you, for those most affected by the viral pandemic. We likely have a lot of backers directly affected by the illness in Europe and Asia, and many of you may have financial concerns as a consequence of your place of work being closed. If you are feeling down, or need to speak up about your thoughts about anything, feel free to post here or message me privately.

In order to give some padding for the backers who are concerned, we have decided to wait a full month (April 15), or longer, before charging cards, and we will give you plenty of notice before we do so. However, we still need you to fill out the survey as soon as possible so we can plan the manufacturing and know how many of each item we'll need. We don't need your money right now; we just need to know what items you want.

New Add-On: Plastic Flags & Bases

The base game comes with 3D punchboard bases and we didn't offer plastic bases during the campaign. However, due to popular request, we are making a trio of plastic bases miniatures a $7 add-on.

We also created a new add-on, which bundles 98 plastic landing flags (in 14 colors) with the new plastic bases. This is 101 new miniatures for only $24.

This add-on is expensive to produce (especially in small quantity), but we wanted everyone to at least have the option to own these - they are really nice to play with. 

I want my game shipped immediately!

If you live in the USA or Canada, select the add-on for Immediate Shipping. The cost goes up by $10usd (USA) or $15usd (Canada). We can only ship the Chaosmos base games and Collector Edition base games early - the other items are going into production later this year and will be shipped separately.

If you live outside the USA and want your game shipped immediately, you will need to email us at vigourgames at gmail dot com to find out how much immediate shipping would cost. It is probably not worth the extra expense for most backers.

We also can ship GripMats early, but we have such a limited supply that we're requiring you email us if you need immediate shipping on that outside the USA.

Did Shipping Prices Go Up?

No, these are the same as the prices that are on the KS page. You'll be able to see how your shipping is affected by add-ons once you select your add-ons and enter your address. It is possible we made minor errors for certain shipping regions, so email us (vigourgames at gmail dot com) if you have questions.

Rushing to make a Tabletop Simulator version!

For those of you home-bound, we would like to make a Tabletop Simulator version available. Please message me if you want to help.

-Joey and team

Pledge Manager launches NEXT MONDAY!
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 02:00:34 AM

Hi all!

Halley and I are working hard on the pledge manager and need a few more days to complete the tests. We'll launch the pledge manager one week from today, Monday the 16th. We're using BackerKit.

Please message me if you have unique concerns that need to be addressed. Those of you who have ordered items with limited quantities will already have your items added to your cart.

What is happening with plastic planetary base minis?

54% of the 200+ people who responded to the survey said they wanted to buy plastic planetary base minis. Most of the remaining respondents also want the bases, but cost is a factor and they don't want to have to buy the bases as well as the plastic landing flags. So the goal is to make it all affordable as a bundle.

We'll let you know by next Monday what we decide. The landing flags are awesome, and the planetary bases will be awesome as well when they are finished. And the giant box will hold everything nicely.

What about me? I have a tier that already is getting the landing flags!

Don't worry, you can get the bases also! I don't think they'll be totally free for you, but they will be very very inexpensive.

What about me? I own the Collector already! What do I do?

You'll get the "Limited Edition" stuff as well if you select the add-on in the BackerKit. Each item has to get packed separately in your order, and the warehouse charges us a $1 fee per item - so there may be a small packing fee for those of you who want the new Limited stuff, but nothing outrageous. If you own the Collector and did not buy it from the original Chaosmos Kickstarter, message us so we know to get you set up with the new flags and stuff.

Happy Monday!

What games did you play over the weekend? I ran my deckbuilder playtest, a playtest of GROWL's new expansion, a playtest of Bad Koalas, and some friends and I ran a Magic draft for Unstable and the new Un-set, Unsanctioned. It was a blast.

Ok! That's it for now; have a great week!

-Joey and team

Pledge Manager Next Week! One-Question Miniatures Survey for You!
about 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 06, 2020 at 10:48:46 PM

Hi everyone!

We've been building the BackerKit system, which is coming middle of next week (hopefully Wednesday). You will be able to select your add-ons and take care of shipping.

Planetary Base Miniatures Update

We didn't quite achieve the stretch goal to create plastic planetary base miniatures. We have received numerous requests for them from backers, and my brother Danny even went so far as to model and 3D print prototypes for the bases!

However, it is unfortunately very expensive to make these minis due to assembly and tooling costs.  (Plus, 3 minis would be needed, not just 1, so they would require their own dedicated mold.) Our budget is very tight since we're not producing the expansion in bulk, and there's minimum order requirements with our manufacturer. Sorry!

What about the miniatures as an Add-On?

A couple backers have suggested doing the base miniatures as an add-on. Please fill out this survey - if 200 or more people are willing to purchase the bases as an add-on then we'll produce them, even if we take a tiny loss on it. Either way, I'm quite happy with the punchboard bases, so I don't want people feeling their game is incomplete if we can't produce the base minis. And the 3D printable files will be available for free either way. See survey link below:

 GO TO THE SURVEY! 

Bulk Orders at 50% off

To help reduce the unfortunately high shipping prices, we have introduced a bulk-order tier, which you and your friends can upgrade to in the pledge manager.  To qualify for 50% off, you'll jump into the "$0" tier and add the "Bulk Order" add-on for your items. Message us if you want more than 5 copies of a tier.

Other add-ons and shipping prices are not discounted. We can handle custom orders beginning late next week, so message us directly via Kickstarter if you want to ask for custom assistance with a bulk order.

What is the "premium clock base" from Limited?

Collector and Limited Editions will come with some kind of premium base for your Temple Clocks, to raise them up a bit over the board (they will also compatible with the old wood clock from Collector). Our manufacturer informs us that we will be able to produce wood (rather than plastic) stands for the clocks. When the shape is designed we'll let you know.  The clock base stands will not be available for sale outside Collector and Limited.

What about Coronavirus?

Our factory is opening next week and we should be unaffected since we won't go to print until June or July. If the virus makes manufacturing with our previous company impossible, then we will work out a different solution.

Super excited! We're deep into playtesting and art, and should have most of the components ready to submit for manufacturing in a couple months.

-Joey and team

Thank you!
about 4 years ago – Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 12:58:13 AM

Well guys, we did great! A campaign with almost no social media buzz or mainstream attention did more than 5 times our goal.

Many of you have a lot of specific technical or logistical questions. In about 2-3 weeks we'll have a pledge manager (BackerKit) all set up for you. Don't fret about your rewards, your tiers, stretch goals, add-ons, anything at all. In the pledge manager it will be easy to see what you are getting and not getting, and nearly everyone will get exactly the items they want.

I made a few typos with the tiers (landing flag people get 98 flags, not 48!), and Collector people also get Limited stuff. We'll sort it all out. If you have questions, feel free to message us. I'm (Joey) taking a day or two off, but I'll be responding when I can.

Thanks for the great campaign. Hopefully you enjoy the new gameplay video. Now, without cheating by skipping ahead... who do you think will win the game?  [left to right: Joey, James, Danny, Halley, Sam]

- The Chaosmos Team!