Funded!

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Yesterday evening we passed the $90,000 mark, funding the Kickstarter, and insuring that we'd have enough capital to put Tact-Tiles back into production.

I've wanted to bring Tact-Tiles back for a long time, and you guys made it all possible. Thank you all very much.

As I write this, we just passed the $100,000 mark, unlocking the first stretch goal. That means that every set of tiles will come with a cardboard carrying case to transport your tiles in. We've looked at several options, but haven't settled on one yet. I'll post more info as it becomes available.

If we pass the $120K mark, we'll make a premium box available as an Add-On. Unfortunately, that one is proving even more difficult to source. And we're running out of time. So here is what we're going to do: If we pass the $120K mark, we're going to find a case. And we're going to make it available to pre-order through our website. And if you order it through our site, we'll ship it with your tiles.

Thanks again!

Mike

GenCon!

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I just wanted to drop a post and tell you that if you need to reach me, I'll be at GenCon until Sunday. That means that I will have limited access to my email and social media. It also means that if you order a book through the site, it won't ship until I get back. 

If you are at the con, and you see me, please don't hesitate to say hi. I'll be the guy wearing the black Void Star Studios shirt with Nova Praxis on the back. I'd love to talk to you, sign a book, or whatever. I may even have a surprise for you. :)

Speaking of books, Studio 2 (section 1317) will be carrying Nova Praxis and Strands of Fate for us. We have a very limited supply of Strands of Fate and Strands of Power though, so grab them quick if you want them. 

We're also going to have several GM's demoing Tact-Tiles as part of their games. So be sure to check them out if you see them!

Hope to see you there!

Mike

Damn you United States Postal Service

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Since the Tact-Tiles Kickstarter began, the one thing that has constantly come back to haunt me is the price for international shipping. Simply put, people cannot believe it costs that much to ship a set of tiles outside the United States. Some have even implied that we're intentionally inflating the price and ripping people off.

Well, we're not. The USPS, using a Flat Rate Box, is the cheapest possible way to ship a set of Tact-Tiles. And even then, in some cases, we're going to take a hit to absorb some of the costs.

Don't believe me? This is a screen capture straight from the USPS website...

Now tack on what we're paying for packaging and handling with our fulfillment partner, and we're actually out a few bucks.

We've looked at UPS, FedEx and DHL, only to find they are FAR more expensive. We've also looked at different distribution methods, and potentially using Amazon for fulfillment. No luck there either. Our volumes don't simply don't justify the added expense, and the fact that Tact-Tiles are produced 100% in the US keeps us from being able to cut corners by distributing straight from an overseas factory.

So there you go. Now you know why it costs what it costs.

That said, we very much appreciate everyone who has backed Tact-Tiles, despite the excessive shipping costs.

Please continue to help us spread the word!

A Few Updates

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Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition - We're still tweaking things, but layout is underway. I'm about 70 pages in and plan to get with Sean sometime in the next few days to start applying the last few coats of polish.

Tact-Tiles - This has probably been the most infuriating project I've ever tackled, but thing continue to look up. We did some ink testing yesterday, and got the first 100 tiles in the queue for printing tomorrow or Thursday. I'm hoping to shoot the video for the Kickstarter this weekend!

Machinations - Content is mostly complete. Layout is mostly complete. Art is getting closer. Vague I know. Sorry. With everything else going on I've had trouble getting it wrapped up. But I promise it frustrates me more than it does you.

More Tact-Tiles News

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We received our first 100 Tact-Tiles yesterday. These were produced to test inks, fit, flatness, etc. They had a few minor issues, but nothing that can't be fixed relatively easily. And I was able to test the marker adhesion, which proved to stick to the tiles as we'd hoped, and easily wipe away clean.

We dropped several off with our silk-screener, who will hopefully (fingers crossed!) be testing the ink today.

Our hope is to have a few sets of "finished" Tact-Tiles to endurance test over the weekend. We're going to be making sure the plastic doesn't scratch too easily and that the ink doesn't chip off or easily scratch away.

Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition is Funded!

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Stick a fork in her, she's done folks! 185% funded for $12K. Many thanks to all of you!

We are going to try our best to hit an August release in hopes of getting the book out in time for GenCon.

We'll be keeping you up to date, and if it looks like we're going to hit GenCon, I'll let everyone know if they'll be able to pick up their print copies there.

We also managed to unlock the following Stretch goals:

$8,000 - The Augmented PDF - We will develop an Augmented version of the PDF. Evolved backers will get both the regular PDF, and the Augmented PDF, at no additional cost.

$8,500 - Game Master's Screen - We will develop a Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition Game Master's Screen PDF. Evolved backers will get this PDF for free.

$9,500 - Ghosts in Darkness - We will develop and release the introductory scenario, Ghosts in Darkness for Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition. Evolved backers will get this PDF for free when it is released.

$10,000 - Work Hazards - We will begin developing Work Hazards, a book of alien creatures, biotechnological horrors, combat drones, terrorists, pirates and other NPCs to challenge your players with. Evolved backers will get this PDF for free when it is released. Work Hazards will be released featuring both Savage Worlds and Fate stats.

$11,000 - Nova Praxis Cards - We will develop a custom set of Nova Praxis playing cards for use in determining initiative. These cards will be available through DrivethruCards around the same time the book releases. Evolved backers will get a PDF of these cards for free.

$12,000 - Fragmentation - Mike McConnell will begin writing Fragmentation, a Nova Praxis novel. Evolved backers will get this ebook/PDF for free when it is released.

The primary focus for the next two months will be getting the printed version of NP:SWE out the door. The Augmented PDF will be developed somewhat in parallel, and should follow a few weeks.

The other projects will follow shortly after, with attention shifting to the novel as the other products start wrapping up.

Playtesting

Playtesting for NP:SWE will continue. All backers will continue to have access to the live playtest doc until June 27th, after which this playtest doc will no longer be available. Evolved and Transcendent backers will continue to receive occasional updates until release.

In addition, Evolved and Transcendent backers will receive an alpha version sometime before Monday, June 16th. This alpha verison will be a cobbled together blend of setting material from the Fate version and the new rules. Layout and art will not be complete, or even close, but the alpha version will be around 90% content complete.

Tact-Tiles Progress! For real this time!

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After one unspeakably frustrating false start after another, we've finally got a pseudo-sample tile in hand.

What you're looking at in the pics below (click to see more) is one of the original Tact-Tiles (left) mated with the first new Tact-Tile (black) to be produced in nearly a decade. This one is actually from a sample of the material they had on hand today. The real material won't be in for a few days yet, and will obviously be lighter. This was just produced to make sure the mold is okay, and to do a fit check.

It passed! It mates really well, and it's nice, flat, and rigid.

The finished version will look like the one on the left, but with gray lines instead of brown.

We're going to push hard to get these out in the same release window as D&D5e and the Savage Worlds version of Nova Praxis. Expect the Kickstarter to fire up sometime in the next few weeks!

Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition is Funded!

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We did it! With 11 days to go, the Kickstarter for the Savage Worlds version of Nova Praxis has been funded!

Now to see if we can hit some of those stretch goals!

In other news, I suppose I should give an update on our other projects.

Tact-Tiles

We're cursed. That's the only explanation. The gods hate Tact-Tiles. They loaded the tool into the injection machine, turned it on, and blew a bunch of bolts. Repairs are under way. This is, I believe, the third time the machine has gone down.

Machinations

It's basically done. We just need to get the remaining art and finalize layout. I'm hoping to get it released around the same time as "Savage Praxis".

Almost there!

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With 16 days to go, the Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition is almost funded. Development is well underway. And while we've hit a few snags, we are still on track to deliver a playtest document to backers early next week.

And while we've heard it before, we're finally supposed to get samples from the plastic injection molders for Tact-Tiles this week. We've been bumped by larger customers more than once, and had the machine break down a few times, but dammit I think we're finally getting there.

Status Update

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The Nova Praxis Savage Worlds Edition Kickstarter is doing well. It became over half-way funded in 3 days. But we're still a ways off from being fully backed, and even farther from those great stretch goals. So please, continue to spread the word!

The bad news this week is that we've hit yet another snag with the manufacturer for Tact-Tiles. We're promised samples early next week, but then, we were promised samples last week and the week before that too though. Samples are running a month late. Enough is enough.

I'm not putting a hold on them in case, by some miracle, we actually do get samples next week. But we're going to start looking for another supplier.

The state of Machinations remains much the same as it was in the last update. I got the edits back from Joshua and he has done a wonderful job of catching typos, grammar issues, and editing for clarity. Now the big wait is for art. I've got a few orders out, and will post them as they become available, starting with this one...

If you've been following me on G+, or watching the NP:SWE Kickstarter, you've probably already seen this. It's a piece featuring a Samurai from House Kimura and his recon frame.

The Latest

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Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds Edition

We're going live Tuesday! Click here to see the preview page.

Tact-Tiles

So they finally got the machine repaired. They're going to have a scheduling meeting tomorrow and we've been promised that we're first in line to get our samples.

Machinations

Machinations and "Savage Praxis" share some art. Otherwise, that's just about all we're waiting on before its release.

Nova Praxis

We just released an update to the PDFs for the original Nova Praxis. Check it out!

*sigh* More Delays

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On the Tact-Tiles front, it would appear that our mold is STILL stuck in the machine and the repair guy is, I guess, riding in from Cambodia on a unicycle. It boggles my mind that this is taking as long as it is, but it's out of our hands.

The weather hasn't helped. As you may have heard, we've had some nasty storms here in North Alabama this week, which also delayed the meeting I'd planned to have with Sean to discuss the Savage Worlds version of Nova Praxis. We're planning to have that meeting tonight.

Speaking of "Savage Praxis", I got some more art ordered and the Kickstarter page is pretty much done. Now I just have to figure out why Amazon locked me out of my payments account. I can't fire up the Kickstarter until that gets sorted out, so I guess that's the next hurdle to clear.

In other news, someone mentioned that I didn't plug our Facebook site in the last post. We have one, but the truth is I just don't like Facebook all that much so it doesn't get as much love as our G+ or Reddit site. Same for Twitter. But if you use those, and want to follow me, click on CONTACT AND RETAILER INFO above for the links.