Update 31a: Quick update about the language add on packs!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Sep 17, 2022 at 06:03:03 AM

Many of you have pointed out that the language packs are giving an error when selected.  We have BackerKit looking into this, but they are apparently very busy today so we're not sure if this will get resolved today or not until Monday.  Everything looks good on our end, so we aren't really sure what the issue is, but as soon as BackerKit lets us know things are working correctly, we'll let everyone know! Thanks for your patience!

Update #31a, additional info regarding language translations!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Aug 14, 2022 at 11:48:22 PM

Hey everyone, after our last update, several people in both the comments and direct messaging have asked about the option of translated add on packs. This is something we weren't sure people would be interested in, but clearly some people are!  

Before we could offer this as an option, we of course need to verify if there is enough interest in such an add on.  To be transparent with everyone, the cost to have a full translation printed is over $6,100 per language.  That does NOT include the cost of paying the translator.  The $6,100+ is just the cost the manufacturer requires to do what they call a "plate change".  We, as a company, would be willing to eat some of these costs for printing the material, but we can't absorb all of it.  That's where the language add on packs would come in.  

Spanish and Italian

It doesn't look like we will have enough backers from the Italian and Spanish speaking regions to offer an add on pack, unfortunately.   At this point the best we can offer Spanish and Italian speakers is the PDF translation, or a full refund if a PDF won't work for you. 

German and French

We should have enough backers from German and French speaking regions however, as long as enough people are interested in the add on packs.

For German and French speakers, we have put together a poll below to gauge interest in the add on packs.  Note that these are cost ESTIMATES, but they should be pretty close.  Please keep in mind that this is just a poll to see how much interest there is, it's not a guarantee that we will be able to offer any of these options. 

Here are the options we are looking at, please post your selection in the comments:

A. I would pay for a translation pack for all components and books in the game (approximately $30 USD)

B. I would pay for a translation pack of all components with PDF books (approximately $20 USD)

C. A PDF translation of all components would be fine with me

D. I don't want to pay for an add on pack, and a PDF won't work for me, therefore I would like a refund.

If more than one option would apply for you, list each one that you would be okay with.  For instance if you would settle for a PDF but would be willing to pay for a full or partial translation if that was available, you would put options A, B, and C.

Please let us know if you have any questions, or if any of this isn't clear.  Thanks!

Update #31 Important info for non-English backers, please read!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Aug 14, 2022 at 02:19:07 AM

Hello all, this is an update specifically for backers who choose a language for their game other than English. If that’s not you then this update doesn't pertain to your pledges.

We had planned to send an email out to each individual backer that had selected a language other than English, but as we were pulling the reports from BackerKit’s page, we were afraid someone might get missed that had selected English in the pledge manager but were actually interested in a variant language option (some people have contacted us saying as much). So, we figured an update might be best, even though it doesn’t pertain to all backers, that way no one gets missed.

After analyzing the numbers for each region, and the costs involved for each translation, we’ve decided the best course of action is to provide PDF translations for each language (French, Italian, Spanish, and German) for all cards and books in the game. 

While we would have ideally liked to have printed versions of each language, unfortunately it’s just not feasible with the number of backers that we have for those regions, and the amount of text in the game (specifically in the Rulebook and Campaign Books).

Why did it take us so long to make a decision on this? Well, we had been making efforts to reach out to various content creators and partners from the regions we wanted to grow our presence, and had some success there, but unfortunately, those efforts didn’t amount to the kind of numbers we would need to make printed editions feasible.

However, just to put your mind at ease, the PDF’s will not be done with Google Translate or anything shoddy like that, we have professionals with experience working on each individual language. The good news is that doing it this way, there will be no delay in manufacturing due to translations because the PDF’s can be completed independently of the printed material.

If anyone is unhappy with PDF versions, or has any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we’ll address the issue with you. 

As we stated during the campaign, if you want a refund because you aren’t happy with the level of language support, that will be provided, but hopefully most of you will be satisfied with a professional PDF translation.

We’ll be checking the comments here obviously, but the best way to have any questions or concerns addressed is through the email above. Thank you!

Update #30 Project status, updated rules, and Gen Con!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 02, 2022 at 05:30:21 AM

Hello everyone, we’re a bit late on this update, and we apologize for that! We were waiting to send this update until we had a few things in place (see below), but they took longer than anticipated. We'll try to get the next one out in about 3 weeks so we can get "caught up" :) 

So, without further ado, on to the update!

Gen Con!

We will be at Gen Con this coming weekend (Aug 4th through the 7th). We won’t have a booth, but we will be there with a prototype and will be doing demos throughout the con. Since we don’t have a booth, we will just be setting up in the gaming hall at various times throughout the weekend whenever there is time and space. If you plan on being at Gen Con and would like to try the game out firsthand, email us at [email protected] and we’ll coordinate something with you!

Current State of Production

Miniature Files

We received two batches of our STL files back from Longpack with their suggested revisions. We’ve been going through each of these in painstaking detail…which is more work than you might think! Things are proceeding nicely though, and we are accumulating our feedback to send to Longpack. With any luck, we should have these STL files wrapped up in the next week! There are still a few that we haven’t received from Longpack yet, but we should have those soon as well for us to review. 

Here's an example of the kind of revisions that LongPack is suggesting (each circled area on the old model indicates a change, although many are very small and hard to notice):

Card Art

We received another batch of gear art (this time for the alien tech), and it all looks great! Our artist is currently working on the last three Specialist cards and the remaining art for the human gear in the core box. After that, all that will be left, art wise, is the gear art for the expansion and stretch goal cards. So, all of the art SHOULD be wrapped up in the next month, give or take! Exciting! Here is a sample of some of the newest gear art we received:

Rules

The rules tweaks we’ve made to streamline the rules have been coming along nicely in our playtesting. So much so, that we’ve gone ahead and updated the rulebook with these changes. One thing to point out with these changes, is that we’ve managed to trim four pages out of the rulebook! That’s feels really good, especially since the rule tweaks do not compromise the gameplay at all.  

Below is a link to the updated rulebook. Keep in mind that it’s still a WIP and has only been through a single editing pass since the updates, so there may be mistakes (and likely are).  That being said, if you have any feedback, suggestions, criticisms, or just want to say hi, feel free to email us over at [email protected].

What's Left?

As far as development goes, we are still testing some missions and campaign elements, and still finishing the Campaign Book, and Expansion Campaign Book.  Nearly all cards in the game have been fully developed at this point, but many still need to be laid out on the final cards.  We don't have a firm date on when the written material will be done, but we are working on it as fast as we can.  Luckily, printed material like Campaign Books can be some of the last things we submit since they require less set up on the manufacturer's end over things like miniature files. 

TTS and Tabletopia

We’ve also updated our TTS mod with the new rule changes (cards and rules) so you can try out the first mission and see what you think for yourself:

 Earth Under Siege on Table Top Simulator 

Also, the fine folks over at Tabletopia have created a mod for Earth Under Siege! So, if you prefer to play on Tabletopia vs TTS, you can check it out here:

 Earth Under Siege on Tabletopia 

Again, any and all feedback is welcome!  Please send any feedback to [email protected]! 

Pledge Manager

At this point we are still planning on locking down the pledge manager in mid-September.  At that time, we should have final shipping costs, and we are hoping rates continue to come down before that time so we can offer the best rates possible.  As stated previously, we will send out multiple updates announcing the closing of the pledge manager once we have that date nailed down. Once we lock down the pledge manager, everyone's cards will be charged for any outstanding amounts, including shipping, and refunds will no longer be offered since we will be moving to mass production at that point.

Focus on Oscar “Frosty” Vazquez

“Sigh. Is there a more unrewarding job than battlefield medic? Not only is everyone always bossing you around like ‘hey Frosty, check that corner’ or ‘hey Frosty, don’t just stand there, shoot that bad guy’ or ‘oh god, someone help me, I think my guts are falling out!’ Blah, blah, blah. As if all of that isn’t bad enough, every time I patch someone up they just get shot again. Or stabbed. Or partially melted by some alien weapon. And back to work I go, patching up the same people, again and again. And do I get a thank you? Maybe even a ‘hey Frosty, that gunshot feels much better now’. Or maybe a ‘thanks for picking up my arm and bringing it back to base‘. Nope, nada. Just stuff like, ‘Frosty I thought you checked that corner’? Or ‘Frosty, why aren’t you shooting that dude’? Or ‘Frosty, why are so-and-so's guts all over the ground’? Blah, blah, blah, same ‘ole same ‘ole, and back to work I go.”

*Note that Oscar's foot had to be adjusted because having it hang off the side of the base was problematic, but we don't have a fancy render of that.

Oscar is the ultimate medic. No one in the game is better at healing damage and removing negative conditions than good ‘ole Frosty. But that’s not the only trick up his sleeve! Oscar is also good at boosting his teammates in other ways, such as giving them extra dice on checks, or giving Focus tokens or Armor tokens. He can also be shaped into a respectable combat orientated Operative by focusing on cards that boost his attack and/or inflict negative conditions on the Enemy (if you choose to build him that way).  As a matter of fact, during one of our previous playtest campaigns, Oscar became known as the "stab medic" because he found himself a nice Xethan sword and proceeded to stab a lot of bad guys with it! :)

Well that’s it for this update, make sure to share your thoughts on the updated rulebook, TTS, and Tabletopia mods! We definitely take feedback into consideration!

Until next time, watch your six!

Update #29 State of the game and current progress!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 04:15:34 AM

Hey everyone, welcome to another update!  Lots has been going on, and there’s lots to share, so let’s get started!

Sculpted Bases and Project Status

First, we are happy to announce that all of the sculpted bases have been completed and we’re very happy with how they turned out! Here's a sample:

Manufacturing Status

Miniatures: 98% of the STL files have been handed over to LongPack for review. They will send us revisions that they feel are necessary to make them ready for mold creation.  We are supposed to receive the suggested revisions within the next 3 weeks.  After we receive them, we have to proof them and approve the changes, which will probably take a few days to a week. If everything is approved, LongPack will create the masters which will again be sent to us for approval.  From there, the masters will be used to create the molds.  The only STL files that haven't been sent to LongPack yet are the 3d Terrain pieces, and that is because we are still making tweaks (mostly trying to determine the best overall size for them). 

Art: nearly all art is complete, with the only work still needing to be done is roughly 50% of the Gear cards, and three Specialist cards. 

Cards and Books: nearly all core box written material is complete.  We still have some writing to do for the Campaign Book which is roughly 75% complete.  The Campaign Book for the expansion is less further along, but work is progressing. The core box Rulebook is still being tweaked as we focus on streamlining the rules.  Speaking of which, read below for an example of some of the changes we are testing:

Revised Spawn Cards 

One change we are testing (which has been going well), is a change to how the Spawn cards are designed. Originally how it worked was that each individual enemy type had three Spawn cards associated with it (so the Vormacht Grunts had three spawn cards, the Ravager had three spawn cards, etc.).  When setting up a mission, you would look at the Enemies being used for that mission, then build the Spawn decks by taking the three Spawn cards for each Enemy type present and shuffling them together into two decks (Basic and Elite).  However, in our efforts to streamline the game, we redesigned the Spawn cards so that the Spawn decks were always the same, and there would no longer be a need to build the decks and take them apart during setup and teardown. This makes tabling the game easier by reducing the need to assemble anything other than the board. 

How this works now, is that most missions will have seven different Enemy types, arranged by Initiative value, from 1-7, as seen here:

Old Spawn cards were designed so that when they were drawn it would tell you a specific Enemy to spawn and show a Spawn Event to resolve.  The new Spawn cards instead spawn by INITATIVE value rather than a specific Enemy type as seen below: 

To resolve a Spawn card, you look at the Initiative number in the upper right corner and spawn the Enemy type that has the matching Initiative value, then resolve the appropriate Spawn Event.

So, in the above example, if you drew this Spawn card you would look at which Enemy was in the #1 Initiative slot, spawn that Enemy, and resolve the Spawn Event for that Enemy (in this case, Grunts). 

This new system presents some challenges, design wise, because we can't have Enemies with the same Initiative value in the same mission.  So, in the example card used above, we couldn't have a mission that has Grunts alongside Gun Drones and/or Ravagers. But, while that does constrain our design a bit (and required the changing of several existing missions), we feel that reducing the set up and teardown time is much more beneficial to the player than it is a hinderance to mission design. So far our testing has been very positive with these changes and we are quite happy with the time it saves when we play.  We hope you agree, but be sure to share your thoughts in the comments!

New Art!

We received some new art recently for a couple of our Specialist cards and some Xethan Gear.   Check out the new art below (note: this isn't all of the gear art we received, just a sample):

For those that aren't aware, Specialist cards are NPC's that can be gained as rewards in certain Special Ops missions that can either give the team a benefit during the HQ Phase, or during mission setup.

Focus on Olivia "Mad Doc" Moss

Olivia “Mad Doc” Moss

“First of all, let’s get something straight right off the bat. I’m not JUST a scientist.  Sure, I can talk quantum mechanics all day, but I can also shoot bad guys in the face with the best of them.  I mean, I’d rather spend my time hacking the enemy’s pathetic excuse for server security, but if you need some bad guys shot then I’m there for that too.  So, what I’m saying is… hold on a sec…I need to check some calculations…yep, looks correct, as usual.  Anyway, what was I saying?  Oh yeah, shooting bad guys. The rest of the team likes to talk trash and say scientists are a liability in a gunfight, but I hold my own just fine. What I like to say when they’re talkin’ trash is that I can always learn to shoot better, but they're never going to get smarter.”

Olivia isn't just good at science, she's very good at killing bad guys...as long as she has a Xethan weapon.  Most of her combat orientated cards center around using Xethan weapons and give her big combat boosts when she has one. This limitation may make her seem like a bit of a slow starter when you first begin a campaign, but Olivia is a combo character that rewards players for developing her over time.   Like all Operatives, she has multiple ways she can be built, such as focusing on being a combat powerhouse with a Xethan weapon, or focusing on Science cards which have great synergy and allow for some powerful deck manipulation and fun tricks, or a mixture of the two.

Pledge Manager

We still have quite a few backers that have not completed their survey yet, so if you haven't, please do!  We know that a lot of people are waiting on shipping rates, and that is perfectly understandable.  As with many other projects that have launched recently, we are waiting as long as possible to get the most accurate rates possible. We hate that uncertainty as much as you do. Believe me, it's stressful for us. We are going to keep the pledge manager open as long as possible (basically until right before the manufacturer begins mass production).  We will announce when the pledge manager will be closing well in advance, and will do so multiple times in multiple places. When we do have a set date for the close of the PM we will announce the shipping rates at that time so that everyone has the chance to review them. Anyone that isn't happy with the rates we have and wants a refund will be given one (minus the standard 10% fees). After the pledge manager closes, all cards will be charged, orders locked, and refunds will no longer be offered.  Again, we will give everyone plenty of notice before this happens (at least a full month).  With the current state of the project, I would expect the PM to close either end of August, or September, but we will see how things progress.

Translated Editions

For those backers that chose a language option other than English, we will be sending out an email to each of you individually to explain the current status of the translations based on each region and to get your thoughts and feedback.  Those emails should be going out within the next two weeks, so keep your eye out for those if you are one of these backers.

That's it for now, we'll be back next month with more updates!  Until then, watch your six!