Component typos in rulebook and shipping update
over 2 years ago – Fri, Sep 08, 2023 at 06:02:10 AM

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update as it's come to my attention there are some typos in the rulebook I want to make everyone aware of. This relates to the component counts for the core game - the mistakes / corrections are as follows:

Castle Deck

It says there are 10 cards when there are 8.

Dark Tower

It says there are 10 when there are 5.

Heirlooms Deck

It says there are 24 when there are actually 25.

I apologise to you all for these errors and will look into how this has happened.It is so, so deeply frustrating for me, especially as I must have looked through that rulebook a million times.

Shipping update

The games have started arriving for backers in the UK and are imminent for those in Europe, which has been fantastic to see - thank you to everyone for all the positive feedback thus far! 

Shipments to Asia, New Zealand and Australia should begin next week. Things are running around a week behind the North America and the rest of the world due to the previous delay at customs, but I am confident fulfilment will begin on the week beginning the 18th of September at the latest. I will keep in touch as I receive any additional updates.

For those in North America and the rest of the world, can we use this as an opportunity just to double check that all the addresses listed are correct - check your pledge here: https://damnation.backerkit.com/

Thanks everyone - I'll be in touch next week with another update.

Kris

Shipping update - delivery has started
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Sep 05, 2023 at 07:18:27 PM

Hi everyone,

We're getting ever closer to delivery, with the UK and Europe on route as I type! Here's a quick update in terms of where we are:

UK  / Europe

Delivery has started. You should all have received an email notification to confirm this. If you haven't, or if you run into any issues, please contact [email protected] and they will be able to help in the first instance.

Asia

Everything is ready to go. We're just in a queue and waiting for everything to be dispatched. These orders will be fulfilled by VFI Asia. I hope that these will be sent out from early next week. 

Australia and New Zealand

These orders are all ready to go. Apparently there are several Kickstarters being fulfilled around this time so things are taking slightly longer than they usually would. As with Asia, we're just waiting for delivery to begin - I'm currently hoping for early next week. These will be fulfilled by Lets Play Games.

North America and Rest of World

There was a delay of around a week getting these through customs so these are a little behind the others, but we're only talking a matter of days. At the latest, these should start being sent out the week beginning 18th, although I'm hoping it will be before that. I will keep in touch on this on the comment section. These will be fulfilled by Bridge Distribution.

Video How to Play

We've linked up with the awesome board game channel, Die Rollin', to produce a how to play video. There's a link to this page in the rulebook, and it will also be linked on the website as soon as it's ready.

The video isn't quite ready to be published yet, but it will go live as soon as it is.

This section of the website will also include a form and double as a place where you can go to ask for rule clarifications. So it will hopefully be a useful resource. 

Next Steps

We're nearly there everyone! I'll keep in touch with you as soon as I hear any additional information via the comments. And I'll do another proper update early next week so everyone is up to speed in terms of where we are.

For the people who receive the game before then, I truly hope you enjoy it. 

Kris

Important information - faulty component and shipping update
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 04:25:15 AM

Hi everyone,

Since the last update the games have all been shipped and have reached their destination ports. We're waiting on a couple of batches to reach their respective fulfilment companies, but everything is on track with that and I'll be in touch to confirm a pretty solid estimated delivery date in the near future. However, I have a more pressing issue to make everyone aware of today.

During the filming of the unboxing video I discovered one of the components in the game to be faulty: the bases. Essentially what's happened is the slot in the plastic base that holds the standee upright has been cut too narrow (so the standees don't fit). This was a production error - the proof samples we approved were fine.

The manufacturer does not believe the issue affects all the games, but obviously we know it affects some. Without a way to know the number affected, we have to assume it's all of them.

As you can imagine, this was pretty upsetting (to say the least)! The games were all on ships at that point so I had no way of changing the bases that had already been packed and sent. Unfortunately there was no way around it.

So what have we done to fix the problem?

We have ordered the production of an entirely new set of bases. These new bases will be included in the shipping box alongside your order - they won't be packed inside the game box itself. So please keep an eye out for them when you open your shipping box.

There will be a bag of 9 bases with every copy of the core game, and if you have ordered the expansion, you will receive an additional pack of 6 bases.

The good news

The good news is that all of this work has already been done - this is something I have been working on in the background over the past few weeks. The bases are due to arrive with the fulfilment companies at the beginning of next week and so as things stand there will be no impact in terms of delivery to you.

What next?

As I said above, please keep an eye out for the new bases that will be packed in the shipping box, not the game box. If you prefer the style of the original base then you can use these if you file the slot down a little bit first. Please do not force the standees into the bases that are included in the game.

***

Thank you to everyone for your continued patience and understanding. It's been a very stressful few weeks for me personally but we have a solution that won't actually cause any delay, which is a big relief. Everything is on track for delivery - I'm confident that the games will start arriving from early September, or possibly even earlier in some regions.

I'll be in touch with another update as soon as the fulfilment centres begin dispatch.

Kris

Shipping update, soundtrack sample and more photos
almost 3 years ago – Fri, Jun 23, 2023 at 10:08:08 AM

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all doing great. I'm going to be heading away for a week on Monday and just wanted to send out a quick update to let everyone know where we are with things.

In the last update we announced that we'd be charging shipping / tax and that's largely gone through without too many issues. If anyone is having a problem with payment please let me know and I'll get it resolved for you. Just please bear with me if it takes a little longer to get back to you while I'm away.

You might also want to double check that your listed address is still correct. If you click this link you should be able to see your pledge and double check that everything is in order: https://damnation.backerkit.com/

Now, onto the big news...!

Shipping is imminent

The games have gone through testing, everything is packed and ready to go. They will now be collected and shipped to various distribution centres around the world. This is a huge moment for the project as we've now entered the final stage where the games begin their journey to your homes.

Here are some more photos that I received since the last update that I want to share with you. The final two show everything all packed up and loaded onto pallets, ready to go :)

In terms of delivery dates, these are still somewhat up in the air. I'll be able to give a better estimate once the games have been loaded onto the boats. I've been told that it should take around 8-10 weeks to get to you from this point, but of course with these things there's always the potential that things could get held up. I will keep you all updated.

Soundtrack sample

I'm delighted to share another tune from the soundtrack for the game. The guys at The Fordj really have poured their heart and soul into this process and have done an incredible job. This latest track is a little more ambient. The title isn't finalised just yet. I hope you like it :)

I'm going to be hosting an interview with Jack from The Fordj, which I'll be posting in a future update. If anyone has any questions you'd like me to ask please let me know in the comments.

Unboxing

I have a final version of the game currently being sent to me by FedEx. It will be amazing to see it in it's final form - literally the culmination of years of work by so many super talented people. One of the things I want to do is test the insert to see which card sleeves fit so I can give anyone who plans to sleeve the game a heads up on the best brand to use.

But I also wanted to get your thoughts on whether you want me to do an unboxing style video? I know some people prefer to go through things like this themselves. But if you'd like me to do one then I will - let me know your thoughts.

Finally

There is still lots going on behind the scenes as we're trying to manage this important stage in the process. We've also started working with Die Rollin on the how to play video, which will be ready in plenty of time.

At some point I plan on writing a post outlining this whole journey, which will hopefully be of interest to some people. But is there anything else you'd like me to write about? Any topics in relation to the game or process that you'd like me to cover in an update?

That's about it for this one. The next time I post an update your copy of the game will be on a boat and I'll be able to give you a more concrete idea of when you can expect to receive it. As always, thanks everyone for all your support. We're nearly there :)

Kris

Huge update - shipping, completion date, photos and more
about 3 years ago – Tue, May 23, 2023 at 08:13:13 AM

Hi everyone,

I have some great news to share with you all - the game is on the verge of completion. Everything is in the final stages of manufacture and is on course to be finished by the end of this month. After what has been a long journey, we're now nearing the end of a very important milestone.

Here are some photos of the production to share with you:

Deathknell cards

I had big hopes for this component. Given the huge impact these have on the game, from the very beginning, I didn't want them to 'feel' like just another card. These should feel like 'something more'. So these have been created as mounted cards - think of each one as being like a large, rectangular token. To make these even more special, I had the back of each one foil stamped. This process wasn't able to be tested before now as it would be too expensive to set up for a small number, but here we can see the end result and I honestly couldn't be happier. These will look absolutely amazing! I hope you like them :)

The Plastic Tray

I don't know if you'll remember, but after receiving the test sample I decided to increase the thickness of the cards in the game. They were 'OK' as they were, but I wanted to just go that extra mile to increase the quality of the components. An unforeseen consequence of this, which was only discovered much later, was that the cards no longer fit in the plastic tray that was designed - this was a stupid mistake by me and it lead to the most recent delay, which I can only apologise for again.

Thankfully the tray has been redone by the brilliant team at Eastar and it's all looking great.

Shipping

Once manufacture is completed, the games will need to be tested for safety, which can take up to 2 weeks. Once that's done, they will be picked up and make their way to various fulfilment centres, which will then deliver them to your homes. I will post a delivery estimate as soon as they're picked up by our shipping partner. It's too early to give an exact estimate, but they should start arriving around August time - hopefully sooner.

As we've made clear from the beginning of the campaign, our plan was to charge shipping and taxes as close to fulfilment as possible to ensure the costs are accurate. We're now at that stage and these charges will be issued on the 30th of May. The costs are listed below and are dependent on where you live.

Region 1: USA

- £18

Region 2: Canada

- £23

Region 3: UK

- £12

Region 4: Europe minus the countries listed as Region 5

- £18

Region 5: Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Switzerland

- £22

Region 6: Australia

- £17

Region 7: New Zealand

- £23

Region 8: China and Hong Kong

- £11

Region 9: Rest of Asia

- £26

Region 10: South America

- £50

Pledge Manager

As we're getting close to shipping could you please take a look at your pledge manager details and just check everything you've listed is correct. In addition, can you please ensure you've added your phone number. Certain carriers require a phone number in order to make a delivery and so this will really help ensure everything goes smoothly.

To access your pledge manager, please click the following link: https://damnation.backerkit.com/

Retailers

We're always keen to work with retailers. If you are interested in stocking copies of the game, please contact [email protected].

Rules video

Some people like to learn the rules to a game by reading the rulebook, while others prefer to learn from watching a 'How to Play' video - personally, I'm a video person! As such, I'm  really happy to say we're going to be working with the lovely people from the 'Die Rollin' channel on a 'How to Play' video, which will be ready to go as soon as you start receiving copies of the game.

In the mean time, I highly recommend checking out their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXZdZngAPAmlYtqujRVtcLw

Soundtrack

In a previous update, we ran a competition to come up with a name for an untitled track from the forthcoming Damnation: The Gothic Game soundtrack. A big, big thank you to everyone who entered. The team at THE FORJ have declared the winning submission as 'Nyctophobia'. The person who submitted the name has been contacted and will receive a free download of the soundtrack as soon as it is ready.

Excitingly, THE FORJ were so inspired by some of the submissions that they're hoping to use a few more. Those people have all been contacted directly.

On top of that, we've also got another track from the soundtrack to share with you. This one is called Attack! It's not the 100% final mix, and it's another working title, but you can definitely get a good sense of what this one will sound like. Enjoy :)

Next Steps

As I wrote in the intro, we're nearing a huge milestone. Once manufacture and safety testing is complete, the games will be loaded on ships and begin the journey to their final destination: your hands! Please don't forget to check your pledge manager page to ensure all your details are correct, and to add a phone number to ensure everything goes as smooth as is possible. Here's that link again: https://damnation.backerkit.com/.

Shipping and taxes will be charged on the 30th of May and I will post another update as soon as the games are loaded on to the ships, at which point I'll be able to provide you with a delivery estimate for each region.

All that remains for me to say is a huge thank you to everyone for your continued support and patience - I'm honestly so, so grateful to you all. This project has definitely seen some ups and downs, but now the finish line is in sight, I'm just happy we can look forward to everyone getting their copy of the game.

All the best,

Kris