Creative almost complete!
almost 3 years ago – Mon, May 03, 2021 at 12:52:21 AM

Dear Backers, 

We've been hard at work for the last few months creating an immense amount of new artwork, writing and game mechanics, and we're pleased to report the creative process for Expand the Universe is now almost complete. 

This might be the proudest we've been of our work since the very beginning. You people have a ton of amazing new content coming to you when this thing fulfils. You're going to love it. 

Here is a (hopefully) non-spoiler photo of all the new content laid out - don't look too closely! 

Testing has led to a few changes we thought you might like to hear about, if you're interested in the game design process:

Life Support

We initially wanted this to be an optional extra rule, where if a crewmember dies they can be revived if at least one other crewmember survives to the end of the chapter. 

While in testing this worked, it removed one of the most important aspects of the game - the tension which arises from the threat of death, and of a single death ending the entire game immediately. You got situations where it was optimal for a crewmember to take an action knowing it would kill them, but doing it anyway because they knew they could just be revived. The decision became way too 'gamey' and we lost some of the atmosphere, tension, and in-game thinking which makes this game sing. 

So, life support will now works like this: 

The crew begin the game with a life support model (LSM) which one crewmember needs to carry in their inventory. In a two-crew mission this is a single slot item, while in three and four crew missions it is a double-slot item (the card is reversible). 

As a 'between chapters' action, the crew can choose to activate the LSM, transferring HP from any number of donor crewmembers to one single recipient crewmember. In a two-crew game the recipient gets one more than the total amount donated, and in a three and four crew game the ratio is 1:1. Afterwards, the life support module is discarded. 

Making the LSM an inventory item leads to difficult decisions early in the mission as you are loading up with gear and as inventory space starts to run out. Should we drop the LSM to take the Flame Thrower? It could save a life later in the mission, but this thing can toast some alien scum right away...

Also, making the use of the LSM a between chapters action adds more weight to the decision, forcing you to plan ahead and try to use it at an optimal moment rather than it being triggered by a crewmember reaching zero HP which can happen when you don't want it to. 

Now you have the tactical problem of trying to 'save it until the end' only to find that no-one has enough HP left to donate at the critical moment, so you have to think about it and review that decision as the mission progresses. Much cooler and more interesting. 

Collector Box Layout

Testing of our final designs and materials with the factory has begun, and we've made some improvements to the layout of the Collector's Box to try and make best possible use of the space. 

Here is the new layout:

We're also adding some cool new items: 

A single-slot Ballistic Shield (gear) offering permanent damage reduction in ranged combat. 

A double-slot Chrono-Rig (gear) which allows the wearer a permanent limited re-roll ability. 

And two new cybernetic upgrades found in the item deck: Augmented Healing (which allows the crewmember to recover HP when taking the Take Cover action) and Advanced Targeting v2.0 (which allows the shooter to reroll any number of ammo dice, not just one). 

However, switching out your current cybernetic for one of these upgrades is a between chapters action and costs you 1HP, it is hard-wired to your brain after all! 

Production looms

We've got some more testing to do, and a few final bits of art and writing, but we are hoping to send the files to print before the end of May. That puts us just about on track for August delivery. Of course that date remains an estimate, given all the things which could arise to cause delays outside of our control. 

That's all for now, more soon! 

Final Call - Join the Crew / Become a Prisoner
about 3 years ago – Fri, Mar 19, 2021 at 02:14:28 PM

PLEASE NOTE: This update is only relevant to backers who pledged for the Join the Crew and/or Become a Prisoner add-ons.

Dear Backers,

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their photo for this amazing reward. 

Unfortunately, we are still waiting for some of your photos to come in and the deadline for submission was March 1st 2021 (see update here: https://bit.ly/3r388jM).

Our production deadlines are fast approaching, so this is the final call to submit your photo if you have not already. If we do not receive it by Monday 22nd March we will have to refund you for this item and remove it from your pledge.

We've emailed each of you directly (please check your spam) with another copy of the guidelines. 

Please drop us a line if you need any help.

Thanks, and we hope to hear from you soon!

Pledge Manager Closed - Next Steps
about 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 03, 2021 at 07:14:07 PM

Dear Backers 

The pledge manager has now closed. 

Huge thanks to those of you who completed your surveys on time - your pledges are locked-in and guaranteed for delivery in the first wave. This is a huge step. 

Payment Failures

A small number of you will have received a notification that your credit card payment failed, along with instructions about how to rectify this. Beyond checking you entered the correct details and have sufficient balance, there are a number of security reasons why credit card companies may deny a payment for a Kickstarter - most of which are easily solved by a quick call to your provider. If you can resolve this in the next 14 days, you will still be included in the first wave. 

Incomplete Surveys

If you have not yet completed your survey, unfortunately we cannot guarantee your pledge will ship with the first wave. However, please do complete your survey ASAP so we can tie up all the loose ends. 

Addresses for shipping

You don't need to worry about this yet. While we have locked down pledges (there can be no further changes to the items you're getting) we have not yet locked down shipping addresses. We'll make a final call when we are gearing up to ship your rewards (hopefully in August 2021) asking you to confirm your current address for shipping at that time, so don't worry if you move in the next few months - just log in to your survey and update your address there any time you like. 

What's next?

Over the next month or so we'll be putting the finishing touches to the creative for this project, continuing to playtest the mechanics, and reviewing final materials with our factory. The aim is to submit the files for mass production in April. 

We'll keep you posted as we go if we have anything cool to share. 

Back soon!

Pledge Manager Closing!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 01, 2021 at 08:14:22 AM

Dear Backers,

This weekend is your last chance to purchase add-ons and make changes to your pledge in Backerkit.

On Monday March 1st we will lock down your selections to calculate our final numbers for manufacture. After that you'll no longer be able to adjust which items you are getting. Please log in to your survey to make one final pass, and be sure to grab everything you want.

Credit cards will be run on March 1st for any outstanding amounts, so please also double check you have correctly entered your card details to help this step go as smoothly as possible.

If you have any questions we're here to help at [email protected].

Thank you all for your support!

Sneak Peek # 4: The Sector Collector's Box
about 3 years ago – Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 02:00:01 AM

Dear Backers,

We're delighted to share with you the fourth and final of our 'behind the scenes' updates, where we bring you inside the Themeborne studio and show you what we're working on. If you missed the first two instalments, check them out on the updates tab here.

Please remember what you see in these updates is not final, and some things might be a little rough around the edges, but that is part of the fun! The aim is to show you glimpses of how cool the new stuff is going to be, without ever revealing so much that it feels like spoilers - enjoy.

Sector Collector's Box

1) The Box

While it contains some of our best game content yet (see below) a big part of the allure of this product is simply the storage system - holding all game content for Escape the Dark Sector in a way which is not only elegant and satisfying but helps to reduce setup time. 

Everything you need to grab for every step of game setup is separated out into easy to manage sections as shown below: 

2) Bosses & Start Cards

The Sector Collector's Box includes a whopping FOUR new bosses. We're definitely not going to show you these  - that would be a big spoiler and we feel that where possible bosses should always be a total surprise when you discover them during play.  But the suspense is killing us (just as the bosses will you). 

You'll also get 3 new Start Cards. Again, we're not going to spoil them, but these will present you with an immediate choice to make about exactly how your mission begins...

3) Artwork

Featuring perhaps some of the coolest visuals in the Escape the Dark series so far, we give you: 

THE DEMOLITION MECH

As it's name suggests, the Demolition Mech is not designed for combat, but it's industrial systems can certainly be put to devastating use by a skilled pilot. 

4) Mechanics

 The Mech

This is a four-slot 'item' which enters play via a special event card draw from the item deck, offering one crewmember the chance to drop all their other gear & weapons and hop in for a short-lived burst of extreme aggression. 

For as long as it's systems remain undamaged, the Mech offers the pilot a Demolition Cannon firing explosive ammo in ranged combat and a Wrecking Ball for close quarters. 

Every time you take damage in the Mech, regardless of how much damage, instead of losing HP you must flip over one of the four cards comprising the Mech. Doing so may deactivate one of the weapon systems, but you can flip them in any order you choose for maximum tactical flexibility. 

You can stay in the suit as long as you like, but if you are still inside when it takes it's fourth and final hit and the last card is flipped over, it explodes and you take heavy damage! Our advice? Keep your finger on the eject button. 

Life Support

Your Galactic Alliance space suits are equipped with emergency life support systems. When playing with this optional rule, if the HP of a member of the crew reaches zero they are knocked out instead of killed - play may continue until the end of the chapter unless all members of the crew are knocked out, in which case you lose the game. 

If at least one member of the crew survives the chapter with their HP above zero, they can, as a new action between chapters, Activate Life Support - sacrificing HP from their own system and transferring that amount of HP directly into the system of a fellow crewmember. 

The mission can only continue if all crewmembers have at least 1HP.  No-one gets left behind, so if any member of the crew cannot be revived to above zero HP the game is over. Mission Failed. 

5) Other stuff

You may have seen these already in previous updates, but thanks to your great support during the dates of the campaign you unlocked stretch goals for the Sector Collector's Box which benefit everyone. 

It now includes a metal YOU token to denote the Acting Captain for the chapter,  4 x Medical Record Dials to give you a reusable alternative to the pads and pencils, and of course the 13th member of the crew, the android K-100.

As if that wasn't enough, there are of course a few other items in the box not detailed here - we'll aim to post the full spec of every product in the range just before they go to print when the final counts are locked in.

That's all for now, we better get back to it.

This is the last of our sneak peek series, and we hope you enjoyed these tastes of what we have in store. We'll be back again very soon with another update as we draw close to the all important step of locking down the Pledge Manager and finalising numbers for mass production. Exciting times. 

Bye for now!