Stormsunder: Heirs of Ruin

UK Backers – Read this Update Now; Plus State of the Game
over 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 11:20:07 PM

Hello folks,

Let's not waste time:

UK Backers to Be Charged on December 31st

More than a little last minute here, but I’m sure you’re aware of the new UK VAT rules that will take effect on January 1st, 2021 (You can see the changes here) 

This excerpt is the most relevant for Stormsunder (bolding mine):

Transactions before 1 January 2021

The new rules will apply to all sales that have a time of supply for VAT purposes of 1 January 2021 or later.

For example, if an order is placed and payment received from the customer on 31 December 2020 then the new rules will not apply, even if dispatch and delivery take place after 1 January 2021. Therefore, for imports the consignment will remain subject to import VAT (unless it is below the Low Value Consignment Relief threshold of £15) and supply VAT should not be charged. For goods already in the UK at the time of supply the VAT liability will remain with the seller rather than the OMP.

So, unless we’re crazy over here, it sounds like we (you) can avoid the new VAT for Stormsunder, for Wave 1 at least, if we charge you before January 1st. So, barring uproarious objection, that is exactly what we plan to do. If you are a UK backer and have finalized your pledge (entered payment and address info, etc), we will charge your credit card on December 31st. If you are in the UK and do not want your card charged, please send us a private message via Kickstarter immediately. If you haven't finalized your pledge, but need to, please do that as soon as possible.

State of the Game

Since the end of 2020 is rapidly approaching, we’ve taken a long hard look this month at every aspect of Stormsunder’s development and production and if we can realistically meet Wave 1’s fulfillment month of May 2021. Unfortunately, I just don’t see that as possible. There isn’t one answer to the simple question of “why” (trust me, I’d love to just say “COVID” and call it a day), but a myriad of obstacles, unplanned issues and events that have stacked up or dragged our attention away and pushed most of what we needed to accomplish this year back in one way or another. I’ll go further into detail below, but the summary is we’re delaying until November 2021. So, with that said, where is Stormsunder actually at?

Miniatures

Sculpting was finished shortly after the campaign (and the Villains and Civilians shortly after that), but that’s not the end of the story for producing Stormsunder’s miniatures (and Stormsunder has a *ton* of miniatures). We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time optimizing the tiniest of details for each miniature. It’s painfully slow work, but our efforts have been rewarded with highly-detailed masters that we look forward to seeing our manufacturer turn into gorgeous production miniatures. The original samples we received for Lady Renata and Capac were fantastic, but over the past few months we’ve learned a lot on how to enhance details even further, promising the final result will be something truly special. Check out what Nikolas of NRM Paint did with both below (and just imagine what they will look like once our lead sculptor enhances their details).

Nikolas was also kind enough to make a tutorial for Capac, showing how to make metallic gold with non-metallic paint  here. You can see Nikolas's other work here: https://www.instagram.com/nrmpaint/.

Anyway, we divided Heirs of Ruin into three batches. You’ve already seen masters for the first two; we’re working on better optimizing them as well as using our newly earned knowledge to finalize batch three. Each batch has been quicker than the last (and the much-easier terrain accounts for a large percentage of what remains after the core game), so, while we are more behind than we’d like, we are still in good shape.

Campaign Book

The campaign book is made up of several categories that have their own sections, including illustrations and testing, but we’ll focus on the narrative here. Heirs of Ruin’s plot and web of paths (and where those paths lead to encounters) has long since been mapped and much of the actual narrative has been written for it. I say “much” instead of “most” as when I actually get to a particular section of the story, there are often new paths that present themselves, so there is more than a little creep. That doesn’t necessarily mean the campaign book will exceed our 300-page estimate, only that there is only so much you can outline out of such a massive undertaking. The campaign book will always be our biggest obstacle to finishing Stormsunder (after testing, of course), and it has been the greatest victim of delays and therefore will be the greatest benefactor of additional time.

Gameplay/Design

Pretty much all of Stormsunder’s core rules were finished before we launched the campaign, with a few notable exceptions and a couple of unannounced spoiler-ific twists. The big hurdle was (and still is) designing the remaining equipment, adversaries, stretch goal heroes, etc, that were not part of the massive demo we put together. We expect the last bit of this to be done in January, thankfully, so we’re in great shape for this part.

Illustrations

Our illustrator has been pumping out illustrations at breakneck speed, but just like miniatures, Stormsunder has *a lot* of illustrations. For example, there are almost 300 unique illustrations for equipment alone. Our illustrator has recently been focused on finishing each card type one by one, beginning with the hero/adversary illustrations (which are now all done; you can see the ones we haven’t shown before below). Some of the illustrations were unplanned (we had originally intended to have fewer equipment illustrations, for example), while others have just taken longer than we had hoped (character illustrations, especially).

Testing

Like I said, COVID is an easy scapegoat for a late Kickstarter, but when it comes to testing, I’m fine blaming the thing that ruined 2020. Our internal testing is well behind where we wanted it to be this year. That said, we’re steadily approaching the point where we want to start limited backer testing (we’ve already selected a group), which we will likely begin in February, with a broader sample of folks in April. COVID kind of kept pushing us away from our plans to hire additional testers, so we have instead focused our efforts on developing some rudimentary software to streamline things. Appsunder (which absolutely no one is calling it) will be easier for us to use and update than Tabletopia or Tabletop Simulator while also allowing us to create any number of encounter setups that can be easily accessed. This will make online testing much more efficient, which is necessary in our post-human contact world.

Pledge Manager and Wave 2

This is more about our plans than delays now. For the pledge manager, we’re semi-firm on charging folks' cards at the end of January (on or around the 29th, so consider this the announcement). That said, we know there are folks who are still on the fence (Wild Assent backers, specifically) and since we’re delaying delivery of Wave 1 until November, that means we don’t have a pressing need to close the PM, so we won’t. So, to review, we’ll be charging cards at the end of January and again when we decide to close the pledge manager (not the same cards, mind you).

You may have noticed I didn’t mention Wave 2’s fulfillment and that was totally intentional. It’s safe to assume it will be at least six months late, but I don’t want to make any declarations this far out (six months late for Wave 2 would be September 2022, which is difficult to fathom at the moment).

Anyway, this update was a lot different than originally planned, so we’ll cover equipment in our next update in January. I’ll be around in the comments (after dinner) if you have any questions or concerns. 

Until next time, we hope you have a safe and Happy New year and we’ll see you in the Storm (its New Year’s resolution is to be less of a wallflower).

- LSG

Masters of the... Storm?
over 3 years ago – Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 11:56:47 PM

Hello, folks!

Batch 2 of the Stormsunder masters are here, and they are just full of undead (see below, now in Front-o-Brick Vision). We'll cover equipment in our next update sometime before the end of the year, complete with some never-before-seen cards. Also (also)! We're not closing the PM yet, but if you're already set on what you want to get, please hop into BackerKit and make your choices, so we can get a better idea of where we are at. We'll give everyone plenty of notice before we charge your cards; current estimate is still end of January 2021.

Until next time, stay safe, be happy and we'll see you in the Storm (jaunty tunes are not appreciated by the local fauna, FYI). 

- LSG

Adversaries and Masters, Just in Time for Turkey-Day
over 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 26, 2020 at 03:27:08 AM

Hello, folks!

We just wanted to pop in before Thanksgiving to talk about adversaries, as requested (don’t worry equipment-voters, we’ll get you another time). We also received the first masters from our manufacturer and wanted to show some proper pictures that highlight the amazing details their advanced gardening device was not able to capture.

Gameplay Highlight: Adversaries

The adversaries in Stormsunder often stand between the heroes and their objectives. Adversaries are not always the enemy, however, and some might help the heroes achieve their immediate or long-term goals. We made a point of mentioning it in the rulebook, but I’ll say it again here: note that adversaries do not target heroes; only enemies. That’s an intentional word choice so that adversary allegiance can remain fluid. I’d go into greater detail, but, you know, spoilers.

We won’t talk much about adversary statistics as they share a lot in common with heroes. Unlike heroes, however, adversary levels tell you how powerful that adversary is compared to other adversaries of the same name. A level 10 Aleksander is generally more powerful than a level 5 Vanessa, while a level 1 Unsated isn’t quite in the same weight class as, say, a level 1 Lord Gregor. In the demo we had mostly level 1 and level 2 adversaries (front and back); in the final version of the game the levels will be staggered (level 1/3 on one card and level 2/4 on the other).

The Action Deck

When we made Wild Assent, we made the Wild Creature cards only show basic stats and passive abilities and put the meat (targeting and attacks) in the same deck for all Creatures (each Creature had 5 cards to make up their A.I.). We had a lot of adversaries planned for Stormsunder, so we decided to make adversary tactics consistent by placing them on their card but leaving the targeting in the deck to keep a bit of the “unknown” from Wild Assent’s Instinct Deck. We called it the Adversary Deck (currently the Action Deck) and, honestly, didn’t really show off what we had planned very well in the demo. The art didn’t match thematically for what we were going for and it was missing some elements we didn’t have time to squeeze into what was, honestly, already a massive showcase for the game.

Not all adversaries are villainous, but most of them are, so we’ve traded out the valkyrie-esque art for Assault to something a little more pirate-y. Assault is one of the default basic action deck cards, meaning it is there to provide a target for the activating adversary and a modest boost to their attack.

Onslaught is a default advanced action deck card, operating the same as its basic counterpart, but with a little more “oomph.”

Missing from the demo, location action cards like The Council’s Command are added to the pool of available action cards from which you make your deck. They are added depending on how your decisions affect the region you are currently in, and do not always help the adversaries.

Davor’s Assassin is a special type of action card that is added to your pool as a specific consequence of your action or actions. This card also has a location, so it is affected if you, for example, choose to leave the city (Davor didn’t pay for travel expenses). It’s numbered so it can be retrieved without viewing the card (or any others), for folks who like that sort of thing to be a surprise.

Finally, we have the hero action cards. These are technically the best kind of cards to pull from the deck as they have no extra bonuses for the attacking adversary. Of course, certain encounters will instruct players to include *more* of a particular hero or heroes, setting up those unlucky souls for a world of hurt. Originally, we went with the same art as the hero cards but have since decided to do some sprucin’ there as well.

Stormsunder: Master Class

Below are the promised fancy masters pictures. They look great, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Our lead sculptor hasn’t gotten his “set” yet, so we haven’t provided feedback, but I can tell you that Wynter will need to be redone as the wrong file was used. There was an issue with the manufacturer’s enhancement of her originally that included the hilt of her sword going a little “off” (okay, a lot off) and somehow that made it to the master rather than the corrected file. That’s one of the reasons we go through this sort of process, however. We want to make sure that you get the best game everyone on this side of the things can make, and that includes fixing any mistakes, which will always happen (I’ve made more than a few).

That’s it for now! Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving and we’ll see you in the Storm (keep an eye out for some unpardoned turkeys)!

- LSG

First Stormsunder Masters!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 10:41:23 PM

Hello, folks!

Sorry for the long gap between updates, we were waiting for this…

This, and the ones below, are our first resin masters for Stormsunder (technically we had ones before we picked a manufacturer, but you know what I mean)! What is a resin master? It’s the first physical step toward production. Understand that while there might be a tiny amount of detail loss between the master and the final PVC, they are an indicator of how good the miniatures you will receive will look, especially based on the two PVC minis we already have (Capac and Lady Renata). 

Please note the photos were taken by our manufacturer with some sort of advanced gardening device. Also, we won’t have them in our hands until next week, so there are certainly issues that will need to be fixed before we take the next step of making molds (giving feedback based on pictures simply won’t do).

That’s actually it for now, as we’re going to have a new update the week of Thanksgiving (after we have the masters in our hands). We’ll have another closer look at gameplay then; I was thinking of delving into either equipment or adversaries this time around. Which would you prefer (vote in the comments)? 

Until then, we'll see you in the Storm. Keep a look out for any restaurant chains.

- LSG

Revised Twins and a Closer Look at Havens (and more)!
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 05, 2020 at 08:50:34 AM

Hello, folks!

After a crazy month of pledge manager / late pledge shenanigans, we’re back with some updated sculpts and a deep look at another part of Stormsunder’s gameplay: Havens. Let’s get to it!

Pledge Manager and Communication

It looks like the pledge manager is working well enough for folks (most/all of the issues we’ve had have been with late pledgers). Over half of you have already completed your pledges, so carry on and let us know if you need any help. After being buried with correspondence, we are once again caught up on emails, Kickstarter messages, etc, so if you dropped us a line and haven’t heard back, please feel free to badger us. The best place to contact us is within Kickstarter’s private message system, as it gives us access to your pledge directly (so we don’t need your email address, etc to help you with the PM, for example).

Updated Sculpts

Aleksander was one of the first sculpts ever made for Stormsunder, and he matched his original card art, which has since changed. We’ve updated his head to closer resemble that current art:

With siblings (especially twins), it’s important that it doesn’t appear you are playing favorites, so we gave Aleksandra’s sculpt an update as well! Aleksandra is sporting a more dynamic pose showing off her mad leaping skills:

Gameplay Highlight: Havens

Continuing what we started last month with a deeper look into Stormsunder’s gameplay, today we will be talking about Havens. Before we get started, please know that one of our priorities in these features is to make sure we are not spoiling anything with Stormsunder’s story (or at least, not very much). I am not above altering images, removing or adding text, etc, so feel free to peruse without wondering if even looking will spoil the story for you.

Anyway, Havens! Havens are special hubs the heroes use to go on their various adventures. Players can save their game at a haven, heal their heroes and change out their party. Below is the first haven players will encounter, the Cabin:

As we can see, there are four locations players can choose from while resting at the Cabin: City of Tarpitt, Mokatta, The Southern Burrows and Roam the Desert. Notice that these locations can have certain requirements, either that specific heroes need to (or can’t be) in the party or the party must have (or can’t have) a specific title.

Hero requirements allow us to ensure the story of Stormsunder remains engaging. The required characters will interact with one another, (and possibly others who you bring along), lowering the amount of the word “you” in the text and providing their unique perspectives during that part of the adventure. Unsurprisingly, a trip to Tarpitt, city of vampires, requires the vampire twins Aleksander and Aleksandra, while finding Mokatta in the middle of the Storm would necessitate the aid of the party’s resident Nyere, Vanessa. If you don’t have Vanessa (or the twins), these pathways are closed, but others may open to take their place.

Titles work just like flags do in programming, which are especially useful in roleplaying games. Complete a quest in World of Warcraft and the quest-giver knows you are due the rewards. Make a drastic decision in Mass Effect, and the story will unfold accordingly. Players cannot travel to Mokatta (at least from the Cabin) if they have the “Eye Spy” title. The title may be earned by the players choosing the location earlier and finishing that part of the story, or it could be they did something that prevents entry (if you blow up Mokatta, there’s no reason to go back there, for example).

The last location, Roam the Desert, is a bit of a standard for most havens. This allows players to roll on a specific event table in the hopes of finding loot or, at least, something to kill to gain loot (and experience). Actions you take in the story might change the events and encounters available in the event tables, as your dice rolls are modified to compensate for your consequential decisions.

Small Production Update

We’re in the boring-est stage of pre-production (at least for me) as we and our manufacturer send .STL files back and forth to make sure all details are enhanced for mold-creation and any needed changes to the sculpts maintain how awesome they all currently look. We’ll start posting pictures once we get more of that plastic goodness. In the meantime, King of Average received the Capac and Lady Renata samples (and he always has that fancy HD turntable, which really shows off the details our manufacturer was able to retain):

 Stormsunder Box: 1, King of Average: 0

Discord and Gameplay Streams

Want to talk about random Stormsunder stuff (or random random stuff?), stop by the Stormsunder Discord:   https://discord.gg/RFp7V57 . One lucky member, GIBray, got a hold of one of the Stormsunder demos and has been streaming Discord-member gameplay sessions on the Youtubes.

That's it for now! Until next time, we'll see you in the Storm (the next haven has to be around here somewhere).

- LSG