ONE CRAZY WEEK DOWN (BIG NEWS)
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 07, 2021 at 11:45:44 PM

One week down, and I couldn't be happier with the progress of this campaign. We funded in an hour and crossed $40,000 in a week. It is moving faster than Ultramodern5 did, and the feedback has been especially helpful! 

I got a bunch of things to go over; let's get to it.

THE AFFINITY PDF PREVIEW

Apparently, for the first four days of the campaign, the PREVIEW link has been pointing to a Kickstarter preview, not the BOOK preview. I'm honestly surprised it took that long for someone to ask, "Why does the preview link just point to a PDF of the Kickstarter campaign?"

(sigh)

My bad. Okay, so the link has been fixed.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v84bFcvELShwc1hhqHrtrFPo7gFgTOA6/view?usp=sharing

Although it states in the file, I'll reiterate that these chapters represent an early build of AFFINITY, lacking any editing as well as final choices regarding font, background, and layout. It also lacks any artwork. These mechanics haven't gone through final testing and, to be perfectly honest, probably need another pass over with a spell checker. :)

However, they will give you a rough idea of the direction we're heading regarding fluff and mechanical content. One chapter from each book is being offered up. Given the number of stretch goals we've already crossed and the number we are expecting to hit, the final look of the book will not resemble this one very much, and it just stands as a testament of how much this project will grow thanks to the support from everyone involved.

ANOTHER TWO STRETCH GOALS CROSSED!

We have unlocked all the new races, though there is technically one more "concealed" within the golem stretch goal due to pop up soon. We also unlocked SPOT UV, but I will be going into that later in this update.

THE PHYSICAL BOOK

With the 2019 Ultramodern5-REDUX book, the DELUXE edition was a stretch goal made available as an add-on, an add-on that more than 120 people took advantage of. With AFFINITY, I decided to keep most of the cool physical book upgrades with the core edition that everyone backing the print edition will receive.

Given the campaign's progress, we are likely going to unlock the 108g premium paper, which was the high-quality stock used in the Ultramodern5-Deluxe. Spot UV coating, another exclusive to the UM5 deluxe, was JUST unlocked. However, one upgrade that we never had the chance to offer with UM5 was foil-stamping.

Here is an example of foil stamping.

If we reach those goals, the cover image and the Affinity logo will be spot UV with the name of the specific book foil stamped.

The final paper upgrade will increase to quality to 120g luxury.

Admittedly, all of these upgrades will certainly increase the weight of the final books (as well as the content stretch goals that could push each book to 250 pages). That being said, shipping rates (and VAT) will not change.

The whole point to adding the shipping costs (and VAT) with the pledge is that backers won't get shocked at VAT and shipping charges after the fact when the pledge manager launches. It's all been paid for in advance.

BUT WILL THERE BE A DELUXE AFFINITY?

We'll see.

It is a stretch goal that, according to our metrics, we are likely to meet. If so, this deluxe set will be offered as a pair of new pledges anyone can upgrade to. You will also be able to upgrade via the pledge manager after the fact, so if you don't want to upgrade during the campaign, you can do it after, though upgrading during the campaign can possibly unlock more stretch goals. No pressure, though.

I cannot offer prices or the details on this deluxe AFFINITY as we are still ironing out what it will include. I know some people are wondering why I didn't offer it as a pledge level from the beginning…well…my priority was for the content of the book—that will reward everyone, not just those getting the physical books. I know such a deluxe edition will likely boast 128g art paper internally and potentially be leather-wrapped, adding to the illusion that it will appear as an in-setting tome characters would encounter in their journey.

Here's an example of a leather-wrapped book.

SHIPPING RATES AMENDED FOR ASIA

We had a minor oversight regarding shipping rates to Asia. We had rates to China but not to any of the other countries in that region, which are cheaper than the "Rest of the World" rate. These have been added. If you are backing the game and do not see your country listed, feel free to reach out to me so I can check the number and add the rate if needed. If you have already backed and live in an Asian country, feel free to check your pledge and reduce if necessary.

SHARING THE LOVE

The foil-stamped and leather-wrapped book examples, by the way, are from an excellent RPG called The Red Opera, which hit Kickstarter in September of last year. DEM is not associated with Apotheosis Studios (despite having a book called Apotheosis), but I admit being inspired by their production design.

Continuing this trend, they have a new Kickstarter, Sirens: Battle of the Bards, a 5E campaign & setting launching on April 22nd.

This tier 1 to 4 epic Campaign and Setting places your party not only in the crucible of conquest—but at the heart of a battle for the very soul of a growing empire. The Setting of Salvata features a variety of performance locations including taverns, amphitheaters, comedy clubs, Bard Colleges, and other locations of interest. Sirens: Battle of the Bards can easily be scaled to suit all tiers of play, and each adventure contained within offers boundless opportunities for side quests and improvisation.

You can check out their upcoming project here…

http://www.thebardbook.com/

ANOTHER PLUG

Ralph Levi Clark has supported my UM5 products with original character sheets, so I figured I would share that love in return, as he has a Kickstarter running right now.

5E Magic Items: Special Magical Mystery Collections

A complete box set of classic Decks, a Limited Edition Tome, an exclusive Signature collection, and even more Magical Mystery!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sessionzero/5e-magic-items-special-magical-mystery-collections

WRAPPING UP

We got an incredible surprise for our next update. I can't wait to show you all.

Until next time.

Chris

DEM

UNLOCKS BEFORE THE WEEKEND
about 3 years ago – Sat, Apr 03, 2021 at 09:02:44 PM

Good day everyone!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

We have unlocked TWO more stretch goals as we crossed $30,000 (and yes, we are working on redoing those stretch images, so they are more understandable).

We will be revealing two more sometime early next week.

Meanwhile…

INSPIRATION

As we decided early on to shift focus to making this project all it can be, the preview chapters and initial images don't really convey the final product's quality. I just finished a meeting with Nick Greenwood, DEM's principal artist, and we both agreed on the visual uniqueness of Affinity project.

We had discussed my inspiration, tapping wide and strange sources, including video games like Destiny and Dead Space as well as movies like Cloud Atlas. But there were also a few books as well that helped provide some guidance. One of which is known as the Codex Seraphinianus. A bizarre encyclopedia depicting a bizarre imaginary world and written in an indecipherable script.

One aspect of Affinity is that part of it is presented as an in-setting field manual, with bizarre sketches and glyphs scattered around the page bordered. The challenge I made to Nick is make each page appear unique.

RACES

We have unlocked two more races with another coming up, so I wanted to go into detail what these are.

AEGIS

These are the technologically advanced humans with a god complex that rule the world of Paradise. They are not the strongest people, but they do start life in a game with powered armor.

DAEMONS

Hiding among the general population of Bythos are the daemons, beings of pure light able to keep their identity secret via a suit of human skin they wear.

EFFIGY

Would you want to play a ghost? Is it ghost or just a human phased from reality? Regardless, these beings can only materialize in the physical world when touching a totem, which is commonly a weapon.

ENDOLONS

These aliens are known for their agility, intelligence, and their unfortunate difficulty to breathe normal air, requiring the use of technology to survive alongside humans.

LOGINOIDS

Some may call them robots, but loginoids possess genuine emotions and independence. They are also almost entirely composed of held together scrap parts and garbage.

NAGOMJII

Evolved from deep-sea bio-luminescent sea creatures, the nagomjii are now able to survive on the surface, possessing the capability to communicate via lights and a bizarre expression of throat singing.

SCABS

Although often considered a threat, players can assume the role of scab, an independent insectoid that has broken away from its hive.

SCRIMM

One of the most alien creatures found in the Conestoga, the bird-like scrimm, are known for their high-intelligence and their wings.

ZODIAC

Not much to say about the zodiacs. They are sentient zombies held together in powered exoskeletons.

There are plans to include as many as three additional races in Affinity depending on how far the project goes.

SEE YOU ALL NEXT WEEK!

CHRIS

FIRST DAY DOWN!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 01, 2021 at 11:01:42 PM

No, I won't be posting every day. But we're only 24 hours into the campaign, and with $20K already raised, it points to a promising future regarding the ultimate quality of AFFINITY, both digital and in print.

We have crossed three stretch goals already, increasing the number of illustrations as well as the paper quality of the print product. 

The next three expand the race options for each book, adding in more detail and content.

We've also revealed the following FOUR stretch goals…

The last three will be increasing each book's page count, swelling the value of each pledge.

Currently, the page counts sit at the following:

PARADISE: 207 pages

CONESTOGA: 210 pages

TORUS: 213 pages

These amounts don't consider the additional artwork that will be commissioned due to the recent stretch goals.

And there are a bunch more goals to come, some I can't WAIT to reveal!

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

CHRIS

FUNDED IN ONE HOUR!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 30, 2021 at 03:29:00 PM

Well, that was fast.

Technically, it was an hour and ten minutes, but I will be rounding down for the promotion.

(cough) Let me have this…

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Those that have come over from previous projects know that I do my best to answer everyone, and I am always upfront and honest about our progress. To new backers, welcome!

A couple things really quick as later updates will offer some cool content, including more narrative segments and sneak peeks at some of the mechanics showing up in all three books.

SIMILARITY

The game's name is Affinity, so I will go into more detail about what I believe to be the project's most exciting feature in coming updates.

It was inspired by movies like CLOUD ATLAS and THE FOUNTAIN, three stories that somehow relate in both subtle and obvious ways. Of course, this has NO bearing on gameplay as I imagine few GMs would take on the challenge to run three games at once. It is entirely offered as narrative value to make the experience of reading the books more appealing. Can an RPG convey the same enjoyment factor as a novel?

That's my experiment, and that's what I hope to create.

SHIPPING

Yes, no doubt, people in the EU were shocked by the shipping charges. The recently updated shipping prices from Quartermaster Logistics actually reduced rates for regions like New Zealand and the US, but DRASTICALLY increased the rates for the EU and the UK.

Why? Well, there are two reasons.

1: BREXIT.

Gamequest, which handles shipping for QML for most of Eurasia, is located in the UK, so with them leaving the EU, that cheap inroad is now gone. That immediately resulted in a drastic increase in shipping costs to EU countries.

2: VAT REVISIONS.

Both the EU and the UK have revised their Valued Added Tax policies, and it is now virtually impossible to offer "friendly" shipping anymore. Before, a company could circumvent the need to pay VAT and thus pass that benefit to backers. This is no longer the case. So, companies are left with a choice? Pay the VAT (which we are doing for backers), or let backers get a surprise charge when the books arrive at their homes.

I know it really sucks for people living in the EU, but if you have been reading the posts in design groups, there is a worry that these new policies will kill small publishers, or at least kill their capacity to ship either outside or into the EU.

Thankfully, there are still the digital editions of Affinity, which I know most board games don't have as an option.

Until next time EVERYONE!!!