I know it's been a while since we've posted an update, but under the surface a lot has been going on.
For reasons I'm sure you can all work out, I'm not going to go deep into the finances, but we're paying for the reprint and shipping those cards to our backers out of our own pockets. This means we've been trying to cut the best deal possible, which has been complicated by materials shortages driving up the cost of paper and ink.
Additionally, one issue we encountered that would never have occurred to me before this process is the cost associated with finding an ink mixture match. Large companies, like Wizards of the Coast, who know they will be printing millions and millions of cards purchase their supplies in very large volumes. As our goals were somewhat less ambitious, we did not lay away a huge amount of extra ink.
When our printers started testing inks for the reprints, they indicated some initial difficulty in matching the same colors as the previous cards at the prevailing prices. It's not so much that the old colors can't be duplicated, but it's a matter of trial and error, and these tests also are not free.
But the process is now far enough along that I feel confident posting a public update. I know sometimes it seems as though we go a little longer without providing information, but I prefer to wait until I can speak with a reasonable degree of certainty, and even then, as you know, I've been wrong in the past.
We expect the reprint process to start around late May or early June. Therefore, it is imperative that you check your shipping information on BackerKit. You won't be able to change the shipping info since your profile will be listed as "Shipped" (from the initial sending of rewards), but you can always email us at [email protected] if any of the listed information is incorrect.
This is a good time to also remind anyone with any outstanding issues from the initial fulfillment that they should contact us so we can try to address them. We haven't heard from anyone in a while, which is comforting, but if any of the few people we had been working with (or someone who has thus far sat in silence) is still in need of assistance, please let us know.
While working through the reprint process, we've also been forging ahead on future expansions, and we are about to begin playtesting on the next two ship decks. These decks have been designed to fulfill a significant number (virtually all) of the outstanding backer-specific cards. If you're interested in helping out, please swing by our website. We will be administering the playtesting process through our forums, so you will need to register an account to participate.
Over the last couple of months, we've also been exploring the idea of porting the game to an online format. There will be a lot more to say about this in the future, but for now I can say that a computer game adaptation will be coming.
I've included a screen shot of the UI we're using the test the game. Most of these elements are at an alpha stage, and the final look will likely undergo revision (especially once we're ready to start playtesting), but it at least gives an idea of what we're up to.
Test UI mock up
Crew Without Borders
almost 7 years ago
– Thu, Feb 01, 2018 at 09:09:43 PM
tl:dr Cards will be reprinted, and the replacement versions will be shipped to backers. Process likely to stretch into the spring.
Main fulfillment 90% complete. Some progress being made on problem cases, but most will have to wait until after main fulfillment finishes.
To date, we've shipped 724/799, or a shade over 90%. With the end of main fulfillment approaching, we've also started making progress on some of the problem cases (mis-shipped, damaged, missing items, etc), but most of those will have to wait until we've finished main fulfillment.
We have also reached a decision to reprint the Crew cards and we're taking the opportunity to fix the small number of non-Crew that were incorrect due to the use of wrong/outdated files.
Fortunately the rulebook did come out correct. The inserts in ship decks did not, but they won't be reprinted due to the high cost of materials (that glossy paper is expensive), the overall suitability of the inserts, and the availability of corrected versions on our website for download.
The reprinted cards will be shipped to backers as direct replacements. That is, only the reprinted cards are being sent, not entire decks, and the number each backer receives will correspond to what they had ordered in their pledge. There were a few Crew that were not misprinted, and those are not being reprinted. They are:
BuffBot-3000
Mark Appleton
Dezihdhodhunde Mehro
Jeeves
Flint
This process is going to stretch into the spring. It will also delay the availability date of product in our online store, as we need to wait for the reprints, then repackage the decks. We'll be sure to include more information on that as we get it.
In the meantime, we invite you to come by the website, join your fellow captains on the forums and enjoy Ian's musings about the game on the Developer's Corner.
Those pesky Chamax...
almost 7 years ago
– Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 12:41:56 AM
tl;dr Printing errors of varying severity discovered, some more easily resolved than others. Make sure to bookmark our website's Downloads section to get the latest versions of the rulebook, rules inserts and errata.
As of today, we have shipped to 609/799 backers, or a shade over 75%. 1/31 still looks like a reasonable date for the end of main fulfillment. Cases involving shipping or receipt difficulty will be processed once that is complete, and will take into February.
Unfortunately, we have discovered a few problems which we did not expect, and only even came to realize as backers posted questions on our website and elsewhere.
We, as the producers, are solely responsible for the state of our product. In detailing the errors and what occurred, I don't mean to shift blame in any sense. In fact, I don't think blame is really a useful concept in this situation. Rather, it is our goal to explain the process, where it went wrong, and what we can do about it.
Right before full production printing, we approved what are called Proof Sheets. These showed the cards as they would appear in their final versions (but before cutting, hence the red dielines). Here's an example of one card, Bulk Hauling.
Bulk Hauling: Proof Version
Unfortunately, what was printed was an older and incorrect version. Note the three yellow Passage icons, rather than the three green Cargo icons.
Bulk Hauling: Print Version
Apparently, after we approved the proof versions, an older set of files were used to produce the cards, the rulebook, and the rule inserts.
The files were a previous version, and though in the vast majority of cases identical to the proof version, there were a few misprinted cards and the rulebook and inserts are all outdated as well.
We believe the outdated printed materials are limited to:
Rulebook
Quick Play and Card Anatomy Inserts
and the following cards:
Bulk Hauling (adventure card)
Tukera Lanes Subcontract (adventure card, and actually just the complication half, Cryptic Rider)
Lt. Cmdr Sir Sandar van Othlezee
Time is Money
Dramatic Renegotiation
Q-Ship Conversion
On the Lam
Neural Gun
In some cases the errors are relatively minor, in others very drastic. While any errors are annoying, if this were the sum total of the issue, we may have just swallowed it. Unfortunately, there's a much bigger problem.
Crew skills are supposed to be represented by an icon within a geometric shape, bounded by a colored border. Unfortunately, crew cards have been almost entirely misprinted. Except for a very few crew, the skill icons in the crew skill slots were not printed correctly, and as a result, they don't have borders on the icons, which makes it much more difficult and confusing.
Here's an example of the correct version:
Correct Skill Icon
Notice the gold border? Unfortunately, almost all crew cards have been misprinted:
Incorrect Skill Icon
Initially, we were 100% baffled by how this could be, because we never produced borderless skill icons. But interestingly (at least if you find printing interesting), the borders actually do exist, they're just covered by the black ink. Neither we nor the printers entirely know why this has happened.
But since it impacts almost every crew card, the issue is pretty serious. We're still working out exactly what kind of solutions we can offer. At this point, nothing is certain. The factory is working with us with the aim of reprinting the erroneous cards, which we would then ship out to backers individually. This is our preferred solution, but it is the most expensive. Other potential fixes include offering the cards on our website so individual backers could print them or retain print-on-demand services.
If reprinting does happen, this would be a process that would stretch out for weeks. In the meantime, we've produced a guide (included below at the end of this update), which will also be available in the downloads section of our website, which shows the icon equivalence (the correct rulebook and insert files are already available there).
We're severely disappointed by this turn of events, which honestly came at us out of left field. All of us feel very keenly our obligation to our backers and the wider Travellercommunity, to put out a high quality product.
We will keep the community updated as this process unfolds. in the meantime, we're going to continue with fulfillment, and we're doing our best to get packages out to everyone as quickly as possible.
It's impossible for us to express our appreciate for our backer community. We're going to do our best to do right by you all, and that commitment is driving every aspect of our efforts.
Crew Skill Icon Correction Sheet
Travellerccg.com, now no longer an Amber Zone!
almost 7 years ago
– Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 10:21:00 PM
tl;dr Website is live at travellerccg.com. Shipping is around 2/3rds complete. Main fulfillment should be done (as in shipped, not necessarily received) by 1/31. Tidying up the loose ends will take into February.
TAS cards coming after fulfillment. Remaining individual backer cards in future sets or print-on-demand (see below for details).
Our website, www.travellerccg.com is no longer on Imperial Interdiction. We're open for visitors!
The Kickstarter forum flair that is part of your backer rewards package is a medal attached to your profile on our discussion boards. In order to claim it, you need to sign up to the forums using the same email address you supplied to BackerKit/Kickstarter. Then, you should be awarded the medal automatically.
If you encounter difficulties with your medal, or if you no longer have access to that email address, you need to make an account and send me a private message on our forums, and I will sort it out. My account there is Horizon Jeff.
Visitors will notice our site has a store, but while you may browse, it is not currently possible to purchase anything (all items have been set to Out of Stock). We will not sell product while main fulfillment is still underway. We don't think it is appropriate to offer sales while backers are waiting for their pledge, and we're 100% focused on finishing shipment.
That's a good segue into a shipping update. As of today, we are approximately 2/3rds complete with main fulfillment. We hope to get virtually all the packages shipped by the end of January. I say virtually all, because there are a few (and likely to be a few more) that, for whatever reason, encounter difficulties of various natures. Depending on when they occur and what the difficulty is, those unfortunate cases may linger into February.
Backers entitled to TAS cards will notice their order does not include them. We are still in need of information from some backers, and we'd like to place the orders all at once, so after fulfillment is complete, I am going to circle back and get those done.
Also regarding TAS and Patron awards, as I indicated back on 4/1/17 in update 20, many backer cards are still outstanding. I laid out the reasons in that update, so I won't repeat them.
Here's what we're doing about it:
We already have the next sets planned, and they include many more backer cards. Now, we're only going to be able to make additional sets if we manage the sales to support it.
But what if we don't?
Obviously we hope our game is a success, but in the event it is not, we will produce the backer cards and make them available on our website for download suitable for print-on-demand for everyone. We'll also send physical cards to the specific backer in question.
What's next?
Right now we honestly are 100% focused on fulfillment. After that process is complete, we will be offering our remaining stock for sale through our site. We're also working through options to have our game in game stores, so a retail distribution is a possibility in the future.
Our first goal is to finish fulfillment. Our second is to translate the amazing, patient and enthusiastic support of our backers into the core of a growing user base. So if you are interested in the future of the Traveller Customizable Card Game, I invite you to join our website, follow us on twitter (@travellerccg), on Facebook, Boardgamegeek and elsewhere on the web.
Last Train to Clarksville
almost 7 years ago
– Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 12:06:40 AM
tl;dr This update only applies to backers who never responded to BackerKit. If you're one of the 99% who have, you can ignore this.
We are posting this as a separate update to increase visibility. Although only a very small number of backers are involved, we don't want anyone to feel overlooked.
We have a total of 799 backers, between Kickstarter and BackerKit. Of those, 11 (or 1.3%) have never answered a BackerKit survey or contacted us over Kickstarter. It is impossible for us to fulfill your pledge if you do not communicate with us, as we won't know which items you want or even where to send them.
Of the outstanding 11, seven backers never submitted payment information, so they were never charged and their pledge is marked Pledge Failed on BackerKit. We left these pledges in the system in the hopes that the backers would eventually update their payment information, but on Friday, January 12th, we will be removing them from our system to get them off our books.
For the remaining 4 who have paid some or all of their pledge, but have never completed a survey or contacted us, we will continue to honor our obligation to you if you can reach out to us, but honestly there's nothing we can do until we hear from you.
With fulfillment in full swing, we're really looking to lock down any strays, so if you're one of the missing 11, please check in!
EDIT: For privacy reasons, we don't think it appropriate to publish a list of the 11 backers. And, as some of the pledges currently involve outstanding amounts, we don't want to look like we're trying to embarrass anyone. We just want to exhaust every option in trying to reach them.
If you're unclear or ever want to check your BackerKit survey, you can do so with this link:
