Pre-production and shipping update
about 1 year ago – Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 08:04:47 AM

Greetings world builders!

March already, and the end of...where is the time going?!

Anyway, let's take a look!

Physicals

The box

Those of you who backed a bundle tier (all-in, deluxe, and game ready) will be receiving one of these boxes crammed with goodies!

"Why is it brown? Other Kickstarters have sexy boxes"  yes, but the ATLAS bundle box is compostable (and recyclable), which is of huge importance to me. Once you have your delicious ATLAS goodies you can pop the box in your compost bin, bury it in your favourite garden area, or simply recycle it, and you'll be doing your part for the planet. That sense of accomplishment and goodness comes for free :)

Map Packs

These have come out better than I could have dreamed. They feel great, really great, and they're sturdy! I can't wait for you to get these on your table!!

Maps

The quality of these is astounding. I'll let you discover this organically when you get your packs, but the colours are incredibly vivid!

Humerous dice

Can you see it?

Yep, that's two 20s on the d20 (the moon should replace the '20'). No, that's not supposed to happen :) - although having two 20's wouldn't be a bad thing ;)

There was an error in the mold production, which will be fixed for the final dice (which will also have silver ink, the white ink here was another mistake).  Having said that, the dice are DELICIOUS (don't eat them please), and look SO good in person! Photos never do dice justice, but these are so deep and glittery!!

Digital card decks

Final digital cards will be sent this week, now that I'm sure everything has been locked for mass production there won't be any further changes to these - he says, while one of you will undoubtedly find a new error on a card :)

Timelines

Pre-production has all been received and signed off (the setups for the dice errors highlighted above are being changed as we speak). I'm awaiting confirmation from the manufacturer, and then they begin ONE RUN of mass production - this single full set gets made, assembled, and shipped to me (2-3 weeks) to sign-off so that they can continue mass production (2-3 weeks) and begin shipping (April - with no further delays).

Due to factory delays we're running a little behind schedule now (yes, typical, some of you called it), but do be assured that we're right at the finsh line now and everything will be with you really soon :)

Project we love - L'Arsene's Ledger of Treasures and Trinkets

If your players are anything like mine, they're huge fans of magic items, especially unique items that feel like their own! This new book has over 300 unique items, and they grow WITH the player (and a whole bunch of other stuff). This cannot be at my table soon enough!!

“L’Arsene’s Ledger enriches your world with bar-themed subclasses, adorable familiars, hundreds of gorgeously illustrated, fully-craftable magic items that level up with your players!”

“Create unforgettable moments with the whimsically dark L’Arsene’s Ledger of Treasure and Trinkets, a 5e supplement. Impress you players with over 300 gorgeously illustrated, fully-craftable magic items that level up as they do! Cause catastrophic chaos as a brewmaster barbarian, tavern brawler fighter, or charlatan rogue from amongst the bar-themed subclasses. Craft yourself an adorable new familiar with the magic of biomancy! Then cry as your GM cruelly disintegrates them forever.

Do you want a Mimic tankard at your table? What am I saying, of COURSE you want a Mimic tankard!

Find out more here - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/saltybot/larsenes-ledger-of-treasures-and-trinkets?ref=59eoyw

Happy gaming!

Ollie - Moonlight Maps

ATLAS end-game mini update
about 1 year ago – Tue, Feb 21, 2023 at 03:56:34 AM

Greetings world builders!

Just a little February update to keep you informed with recent info.

I've tried to keep these updates as regular as possible, but have definitely been held up by waiting for more substantial info to update you with. So I think I'll keep to smaller updates now as we move forward so you have the newest info asap.  This means that they won't always be exciting, but hopefully useful :)

Packaging

I've had to change the sizes on a couple of boxes (card decks and bundle boxes), following some slight measurement tweaks the manufacturers sent over.

Digital card decks

I held off delivering the final card deck files to make sure that the final files you got WERE the final files, and I didn't need to shoot out another updated version when changes happened. I will soon (in the next 3 weeks) be getting what will hopefully be the FINAL production test physicals, so once those are in my hands I will immediately send out the final digital cards to you.

Timelines

Final pre-production samples are currently in...production...and will be with me in the next 2-3 weeks (up to 2 weeks full build, 1 week courier). This it to test the mass production machine setups, as up to this point the manufacturers have been using a different method to produce physical proofs, so this phase ensures everything is still ok moving to the production machines.

Once I can 'ok' these (please, oh please let there be no errors...), everything will be set up for mass-production, and I will be sent the first run of everything as a final checking gate, this will take 2-3 weeks. If this is all A-OK, we hit the green light on mass production for ATLAS (mass production will take up to 3 weeks in total).

So we're pushing the envelope for shipping to begin in March. That's still the plan, however any delays at these points, or bottlenecks at the port, may push us slightly into April. But I'll keep you all updated every step of the way.

Final note

We're right there, it's just around the corner. I cannot wait for this to be in your hands, and on your tables, and to see photos of you all using ATLAS in the wild. This has been a dream of mine for many years, and is for sure going to be a strange feeling when it's all out there!

Thankfully now that I have manufacturers in place, shipping companies, and supply chains all set up, future projects will take a fraction of this time to complete. The thought of being able to create something new, and have it produced and in your hands in a few short months is....yeah...wow.

Project we love - Studium | No Exit

I'm SUPER excited about this. Studium | No Exit is going to blow the boardgame world apart! The Kickstarter holding page has only just opened and they're already well over 1,000!

For fans of Kingdom Death, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Gloomhaven, Descent. An essential for any board game nerd (like me) really!

Unravel the mysteries of the Studium in a gothic horror fantasy roleplaying board game.

Players take on the role of newcomers held at the mercy of the menacing forces that control the labyrinthian Studium. Having been brought together to form a house, they are tasked with delving into the darkest depths of the Studium to eradicate unspeakable horrors.

No Exit also includes more than 40 master-sculpted miniatures, which alone make this box a must have!

Find out more here.

Happy gaming!
Ollie - Moonlight Maps

Packaging closer look, and timelines
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jan 20, 2023 at 07:10:51 AM

Greetings world builders!

Welcome to the January update!

Firstly...actually, firstly I hope you all had a good holiday season, it's important to take that wholseome time to relax as best you can, so...second FIRSTLY (for all you tl;dr folk), we're on track for March shipping!

Anywho, let's take a look at what's been happening.

Packaging

I've spent this last month working with the manufacturers on final packaging and box designs, and fine-tuning templates. This phase consists of finalising a design and sending physical tests to make sure everything fits, and functions, correctly. If it doesn't, we tweak it, and try again. There's lots of back and forth here.

Here's a look at the final Dusk box, and card decks - Combat, and Monsters Deck 1.

Timelines

I'm currently waiting for the manufacturers to return to work (February 2nd), following the Chinese New Year celebrations, so they can do a final test run of all packages, and send them to me for my final approval. If everything works (and travels, this is important) as it should, I can hit the 'mass production GO' button.

Mass production should take anything up to 1 month to produce, and to get ready for handover to shipping. Then everything is sent away, to the wild, en route to you fine people.

Digital

You should all have all digital products now (final digital encounter and monster cards, to replace your beta decks, will be going out soon, I kept hold of those in case any final changes happened pre-printing), if there's something you don't have but think you should, let me know and I'll get it fixed for you.

That's all to really update on at the moment. Unless...did you want to hear about the joys of international tax/VAT setups?...No?...yeah me neither...

Project we love - RPG ESSENTIALS: Acrylic Creature Tokens for TTRPGs

Super excited for this project! You may well recognise some of these, because I commissioned Splattered Ink to make tokens for ATLAS. Their own Kickstarter has some different tokens, as well as some of their own creature creations coming soon!

RPG Essentials offers a new perspective on fantasy gaming minis. These acrylic, top-down tokens are durable, portable, and a great price on Kickstarter. Each monster is illustrated from above so they beautifully and seamlessly integrate into your TTRPG maps.

Acrylic creatures, monsters, heroes and NPCs, cut to shape for easy and immersive use in your tabletop roleplaying games. RPG Essentials gives you all the creatures you need to make your encounters unique and tactically impactful.

Find out more here - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/splatteredink/top-down-acrylic-minis-rpg-essentials?ref=be8cum

Happy gaming!
Ollie - Moonlight Maps

Let's get physical, physical!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 01:20:22 AM

Greetings world builders!

Welcome to the November update!

Firstly, the October update eventually fell into November due to test manufacturing of a batch of physical items. I wanted to have something substantial to update you with, and these products kept getting delayed/re-designed/tweaked. And here we are!

So here we go, let's look at the most recent batch of physical items from ATLAS, and I'll lead you through what's currently happening with each one and where they are RIGHT now!

*This is a long update, feel free to scroll to the items you're most excited about!*

Physical Items

GM Screen

The GM Screen has gone through some changes, mostly in the realms of 'finish', meaning that we got rid of the cut-off board edges and added a wrap-around so there are no 'ugly' edges. It also now has a nicer finish,  more easily flexible so it will hold it's shape, and is much thicker than originally conceived - I want this to be a staple GM Screen, not a flimsy thin card screen. This will LAST!

The interior 'info' section has had an upgrade since this test was manufactured - The text frames/borders are much nicer now (they're white, and include more of the frame designs from other ATLAS elements, the paper texture is now also a bluer hue), this has brought the GM Screen into the general ATLAS branding. There's also a whole bunch of illustrations throughout the screen, as well as the 'colour pip' section explaining how the encounter cards & maps match up with the colour pip system. Let me tell you, this GM Screen looks and FEELS great! I can't wait for you to get your hands on it!

Cards cards cards

- Monsters

169 monster cards, with custom monster art, and detailed stat blocks. These feel so nice, I genuinely got excited while thumbing through them. I really think these are an awesome aid for adventures!

You'll notice blank 'barcodes' - this round of samples were shipped before barcodes were finalised (they are now finalised), there's also been some other tweaks to get the layout working better, and looking more...'right'. The decks will also be a richer red with the final version, I think the colour in these samples is a bit dull and feels a bit more brown than red. Little updates :)

*Some details and layout here have since been moved around.

The next shipment of Monster Decks should be the final checks before hitting the big green GO button for mass production!

- Encounters

50 Combat encounters, and 30 Mystery encounters, spread over 2 decks. Having had time to play through some of these encounters, and having the cards, I can honestly say that I think these are an essential GM tool. So easy to grab a card and run an encounter with 0 prep - which was exactly what I was hoping for when I first thought of them! 

You may notice some strangely sized letters on these, the monster decks, and the encounter cards themselves - there's been a glitch somewhere in the font/pdf/export world which we're currently working on fixing. Hey, this is what sampling is for! Frustrating, but at least we caught it before they were sent out!

I can confirm - the wrapper peel on these is worth it's own Kickstarter. One of the highlights for sure!

Tokens

So, so many tokens. So many. Every token is carefully made to the size/scale they represent in the game (eg Huge creatures operate in a 3x3 inch square, as you probably know), so you and your players EASILY know just how big the creature is that they're in combat with!

Every token has the name on the back, so you can always find them no matter how they've landed.

The quality of these is insane! Not actually insane...but damn impressive! The colour and fx of each creature is perfect, and they feel great! Just wait til you pop them, I'll save that for your own experience!

Stickers

Strange side-note, but these smell like a new paddling pool on a summers day. Accidental bonus :)

The tree set didn't get cut, for some reason. So we're addressing that with the manufacturers for the next final proofs. Other than that peculiar error, the stickers are absolutely wonderful!

Let's take a look at how they work in the field! Here's the Castle Bridge map, with my 'mini for scale'. 

He could certainly do with some cover...

Let's throw in a barrow, some barrels, and a crate on top of the barrow. Crisis averted!

The stickers work so well, just as I hoped! Easy to peel off the backing, place them where you like, and keep moving them as much as you want. As they have 0 adhesive (they work by the natural static friction vinyl creates) you can peel and re-peel as much as you like! Nothing gets sticky. Nothing rips. Absolute permanence. And what's even better? They suit the map style 100%, so nothing takes your players out of the immersion of the moment!

Final note on manufacturing

I'm so excited to get all of this in your hands! I can't wait til you get to unbox everything and get playing with it!! One thing that I've learnt through this process is how long this stage takes... A product gets 'finished', the manufacturers get the files and make templates for their machines to create the item, item gets made, the item gets shipped to me to check (in a batch with other items, not individually), I receive item and review it, I make changes to product files, rinse and repeat. 

This process takes a lot of time, and I want everything here to be perfect.

We're right at the end now! Just a few things to check after the next batch of samples arrives, and we'll be ready to hit GO on mass production! This will happen as we hit the new year, when there's a slot for mass production, making sure that everything can go straight to freight and shipment (so the items don't sit in storage - which costs money per day).

Very exciting times! And more exciting still - now that these partners, templates, logistics, and designs, are all in place, it means that future projects will take no time at all!

We'll look at more of the maps, the dice, and the pins in the next update.

Project we love - Ultimate Guide to Foraging, Harvesting and Natural Discovery

This project looks awesome, any opportunity to enhance the natural adventuring of a party is a winner for me!

This book expands on the Foraging and Harvesting appendices from Alchemy, Crafting & Enchanting, as well as offering new player options for downtime activities that allow them to upgrade items, advance in their guild, and enrich their character with new experiences outside of adventuring. It also continues the Magic Item Compendium, originally found in Alchemy, Crafting & Enchanting, with its own chapter featuring 200 new magic items.

Find out more, and get your free goodies, here - Ultimate Guide to Foraging, Harvesting and Natural Discovery

Happy gaming!
Ollie - Moonlight Maps

Physical items update & timeline
over 1 year ago – Sat, Oct 01, 2022 at 02:40:42 AM

Greetings world builders!

Welcome to the September update!

This month's update will look at where the physical items are right now in terms of production, and what the new timeline for delivery will likely be - October will not be the shipping date for ATLAS, and I'll go into those factors below - BUT it's not far away! :)

Apologies for the long update!

Timeline

Some of you may have already seen some updates, I've given a few updates to backers on other channels, and in reply to some questions, but I'll go into some more detail here.

Where are we?

Everything is made, and ready for production, we've been there for a while now. We're currently fine tuning box designs and packing logistics, ready to hit GO on mass production.

Shipping timeline -

The reason for the timeline shift is the time of year the shipping was due to happen. As simple as that sounds. Shipping (including freight) fees go up a LOT this time of year. The end of year bottle-neck, rush, and increased volume of demands for Christmas/festive periods means there are strains on the shipping & freight industries, which means that costs are increased. 

All partners I'm working with have advised to avoid this period. If we didn't avoid this period the cost of shipping would go up significantly (which, for the volume we're creating, and 3,000+ shipments, any price increase multiplies very quickly), which would mean either passing the price increase to backers - which I wouldnt want to ever do -, or taking the hit personally - which would put a very tangable strain on the future of ATLAS, if it would be possible to do at all. 

This festive period (and price increases) runs from around November to February. So the new shipping/delivery date will be February so we avoid this period and return to healthier shipping fees.

The next few months will fly by, while we all enjoy our own festive periods, and we'll be greeted at the start of 2023 with a huge package from ATLAS! :)

Positives

What this does mean, is that I have a slightly longer window to refine materials, designs, and every other element of the manufacturing process - which will now begin a little closer to the shipping date so extended storage fees aren't incurred. (Yes, there are surprise fees everywhere :) )

I've recently been working with the manufacturing teams refining the design of the map box, and I wanted to share a peek here so you can have an insight into that process :)

(These are plain 'white samples')

Here is a look at one of the options we were working with, effectionately referred to as '4-walls'. This version functions a bit more like a box of maps, but the 4th wall made it a bit more fiddly to turn the map pages, as well as removing them from the binder.

This is the 3-wall design, this is probably what we're running with. We're still fine-tuning some design elements though, so this probably won't be the final product. As you can see, it's much easier to flip through the maps and have them lay flat. We're also awaiting a 2-ring binder option, which we think will be another quality-of-life upgrade (not having to fiddle lining 4 holes up, etc).

The good news with manufacturing is that once these designs are locked in, they are ready for all future projects to launch immediately. So there is no design stage for future ATLAS projects!

Beta encounter decks

You should have all received your digital BETA Encounter Decks now (message me if you haven't). These are the final 80 Encounter cards - Combat & Mystery - having a last chance proof read by the masses. If you notice any grammatical, spelling, or any other errors please do let me know via the channel outlined in the download description :)

The final copies will be going out in a couple of weeks to give everyone time to browse them and find errors :)

Digital rewards

Digital Monster Cards will also be going out to everyone soon (don't talk to me about vampires.....), so if you wanted to get your hands on all digital items with immediate access you can do that by making a new order here https://atlas.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders (or send me a private message and I can add items to your order).

Project we love - Riftborne: Champions of the Multiverse!

I've been waiting for Riftborne for a long time, and it's finally here! Just, look at it! It's going to be EPIC!

Riftborne - Champions of the Multiverse is a cataclysmic package that brings unforgettable boss battles to your table. Flood your world with chaos as rifts between worlds open, bringing catastrophic devastation, inquisitive new races, flavorful subclasses, and a tide of monsters yearning to make a foothold in the land you call home. Complementing this 300+ page book are hand-drawn battlemaps, incredibly detailed physical minis (and STLs), and an arena combat system for your battle-hungry players.

Find out more, and get your free goodies, here - Riftborne

Happy gaming!
Ollie - Moonlight Maps