Fulfillment update and Ambassador Points!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, May 03, 2022 at 10:24:05 PM

Hi everyone!

It has been a few weeks since the last update, and things are finally in hand! The massive shipment of books, boxed sets, and extra game elements all arrived at Quartermaster on Friday, and they are in the process of checking it all in (and counting to make sure it all arrived as expected). I asked if they could send some photos, but I don't want to interrupt their counting which is much higher priority. If they do send pix, we'll be sure to share them.

The palette full of figurines and Art Books from Hoang also reached QML last Friday, as did the printed copies of FOES & FACTIONS. All of the bonus stretch goal stuff has been there for a while, so now the only thing left to arrive is the printed SOLO PLAY module, but we're told that should be delivered today or tomorrow.

So basically, everything is now being checked in at Quartermaster, and assuming no surprises (like huge shortages of expected items), they should be ready to start assembling orders next week! At least, that's what I'm told. 😊 They have lots of other campaign projects being assembled, some much bigger than ours, so we can only hope that things proceed smoothly there. (They're professionals, so we aren't too worried, just being practical.)

Once they start, they're pretty efficient, and can usually get everything turned around in a week or two, so I feel pretty confident saying that most of you (primarily domestic backers) could very easily have your stuff this month.

International hub inventory will ship out as soon as counts are verified, so depending on freight speed to those territories and hub congestion, international backers could see their stuff towards the end of June...? We're just guessing; the hubs will tell us what is realistic once they have received the items. (Freight speed is the big wild card factor.) I should mention up front that we've been told about a backlog of work at Spiral Galaxy, the hub fulfilling our EU and UK orders, but they are working around the clock in an effort to catch up.  Hopefully they'll have done that by the time our freight order reaches them.

It has been a long journey (with a final lap or two left to go), but we are excited to see the end within reach. We've learned so much from this process and we can't wait to put those lessons into practice on our next several games currently in production. We're getting our next announcement scheduled, so stay tuned for news on that one, as well as the one right behind it! 😊

Now that we have physical books and boxes available in our warehouse, we're going to start sending out copies to press and reviewers, so hopefully we will also start to have some good press links to support the game's commercial launch. If anyone has any suggestions, we are open to all recommendations!

One other thing that we realized (quite by shock, actually) -- we had one more reward left to distribute!

Ambassador Points have now been awarded!

In case you missed the mention on the campaign page, everyone who pledged to the campaign will receive a number of Ambassador Points equivalent to their final pledge. What are Ambassador Points?  They are reward points that can be collected and redeemed for discount codes on our webstore, and a great way to further support Magnetic Press (while getting some cool books at a great price)!

If you are already a webstore customer and part of the program, just log into your webstore account (which should be the same email address as your Kickstarter/Backerkit account). You should see those new points added to your balance under the heading "CARBON GREY Kickstarter Points."

If you don't have an account on our webstore, your points have been entered, but you will need to complete registration to use them. 😊

For a walkthrough of how to register, just follow the steps in this update from a previous campaign:

You can use points for discount codes, gift cards, and pretty soon exclusive collectible items that you can only get using points! (Missing some Challenge Coins from previous campaigns...? Stay tuned!) It's definitely a fun program that we'll be building on very soon.

If you don't see those points in your account or have any questions about the above, please send us a message here on Kickstarter and we'll get back to you ASAP. Please note that if you haven't completed your Backerkit order, your points have not been awarded yet, so check to make sure your survey and any remaining payment are complete.

That's all for now. We've got a lot cooking, so expect more frequent updates as things start to roll out.

In the meantime, here are a couple of video interviews and reviews to build your excitement...

Thanks, everyone!

Quick update on digital deliveries...
about 2 years ago – Tue, Apr 12, 2022 at 10:33:22 AM

Hi everyone!

We hope you've had a chance to grab your digital goodies and dive into them over the weekend! A few minor adjustments have been addressed since the initial distribution on  Friday, which we wanted to mention here:

1) The Cannon Walker STL model seems to have been left out of the part 2 file, so we just distributed a new, separate .zip file with the full Cannon Walker model to those backers who ordered the STL pack. You can download that new, separate file directly from your Backerkit.

2) Although no one here mentioned it, a Mac-using peer asked why the two-page spreads were broken in the Omnibus and Rule book but not in the Solo module or Foes and Factions PDF. The simple answer is because the Solo module and F&F booklets were "self-covered" booklets while the Omnibus and Rulebook were hardcover books, with a separate cover added to the start of the file: one set has an odd number of pages before the spreads, the other has an even number of pages before the spreads. So if you are opening both files into the same viewer, there would be an extra page at the start of the Omnibus and Rulebook -- the book cover image -- that would throw off your viewer's display flow by one page. Most viewing programs let you toggle whether to show the first page of a PDF as a cover or not, so you would just have to flip that switch to get the two-page spreads to display correctly.

Having said that, however, Andrew felt the four files should be consistent so that users don't have to keep changing viewer settings between files, so he added an additional page after the Omnibus and Rulebook covers so that the spreads would fall on the same even/odd pages as the other self-cover supplements. We added those versions of the PDFs to Drivethru, so if you are having trouble seeing the spreads properly and are unsure how to change your viewer settings, you can download those adjusted versions from your Drivethru account. 

In addition to that extra blank page, we also added bookmarks to this new revised version of the Rulebook. 😊 Sorry those got messed up in the first file! Beyond those two changes, the actual, informational gameplay content of the Rulebook has not changed.

3) By popular (and reasonable) request, we just distributed a new PDF through Backerkit containing blank character sheets. The PDF has both full-color and toner-friendly version (a single-color, mimeograph blue that prints well as black and white/greyscale). You will find this download in your Backerkit now too.

If anyone has any other issues or problems, please feel free to send us a message here on Kickstarter! We'll do what we can to help you out!

The wait is over! DIGITAL REWARDS HAVE BEEN POSTED!
about 2 years ago – Sat, Apr 09, 2022 at 04:18:54 PM

Hi everyone!

Exciting milestone update to kick off the weekend:

DIGITAL REWARDS HAVE BEEN SENT!

By now, most of you receiving any form of digital reward or bonus item should have gotten at least one (possibly up to 13!) notification from either Backerkit or DriveThruRPG or both with links and instructions for downloading your goodies. If you haven't gotten an email, either you aren't listed to receive a digital reward or it may be caught in spam. As a reminder, here are the digital rewards being sent:

• Digital Copy of CARBON GREY OMNIBUS Graphic Novel 
• Digital Copy of CARBON GREY: THE RPG CORE RULE BOOK
• Digital Copy of FOES & FACTIONS EXPANSION SUPPLEMENT
• Digital Copy of BADGE OF BLOOD SOLO PLAY ADVENTURE
• Digital STL Mode pack (in 6 parts... its a lot of data!)
• Digital Print/Wallpaper pack
• Digital Gamplay Extras pack
• Digital Audio Files pack

Most of you get at least one or two of them, many of you get all of them, but if you don't get a link and you're expecting one, please check your Backerkit cart or message us to investigate.

I believe both Backerkit and DriveThruRPG send a unique message for each item, so you would get one for each download. These messages would have been directed to your email address associated with this Kickstarter account, so be sure to check there.

The files provided by Backerkit directly can be accessed from your Backerkit account (located at https://carbon-grey.backerkit.com/). Your dashboard should look like this when you log in:

Click on the "Get Your Digital Downloads" button, and you'll see something like this:

Just click on the download button next to an item and save the file! Easy as that!

For the DriveThruRPG items (the core of the project):

Those items will look like this in your list of downloads on Backerkit:

Just follow the instructions to find your rewards ALREADY WAITING FOR YOU AT DRIVETHRURPG!

If you don't have a DriveThruRPG account, it's free and easy to set up from their website (linked in the instructions). Just be sure to sign up using the email address associated with your Kickstarter/Backerkit account since that is where your stuff is waiting. 😊 If you have an account and don't see your stuff in your library after following in the instructions, message OpenBookShelf (DriveThru) from the link right there on their site and they'll be able to help you. (And if they can't, message us and we'll see what we can do.)

You should also (have) receive(d) a separate email directly from DriveThruRPG to your email address, including your unique download codes. If you haven't gotten those messages, check your spam folder.  The links are the same as just logging into their site though... two paths to the same destination...

If you have any problems getting your stuff or have any questions about accessing or opening the files, just send us a message and we'll try to respond in as timely a fashion as possible.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT EVERYONE THINKS! (Hopefully all good...) 😜😨😎

SHIPPING UPDATE!

The games are OFF THE BOAT AND ON A TRUCK TO FLORIDA RIGHT NOW!

We expect them to reach QML by next Friday, along with the last bits of stretch goal swag (eg. the SOLO Moldule, Foes and Factions, etc). They will immediately check in that last inventory and start pre-assembly that week. Assuming assembly goes smoothly, not only should the domestic orders be ready for the following week's post, but international hub inventory will be on its way overseas!

The wait is coming to an end, and FAST!

Fighting the tide
about 2 years ago – Tue, Apr 05, 2022 at 07:25:10 PM

Hey everyone!

Overdue update, once again the result of expecting confirmation or new news to report any day and those days stacking up like so many empty pint glasses while we wait... While we did get news that the vessel containing our precious cargo landed a while ago, we just this morning received news that the cargo has FINALLY cleared customs and has been offloaded to the NYC freight station for unpacking. Discussing what this means with our shipping company, they venture an estimate that it could finally be at Quartermaster by the 15th or so. Frankly, that's what we're now aiming for and what Quartermaster is preparing for, so fingers crossed nothing slips further.

With that target on the calendar, they should be able to get the international hub stock out to their respective ports by the end of the month and they believe they could have domestic/North American orders out the door the first week of May. Those are all still estimates until the goods are finally actually at Quartermaster, but that's how it's looking as of today.

Digital rewards are also on their way very soon... as mentioned previously, that distribution was waiting on the two expansion supplements to be finished which we admittedly reported was the case in the previous update. Proofing, however, has taken a bit longer than expected, as we naturally want to get full feedback and approval from CARBON GREY creators Hoang Nguyen and Paul Gardner, both of whom have day jobs as well... That said, we really need to lock these no later than Wednesday for printing to hit the above-mentioned fulfillment schedule, so with that target set, we would then aim to start sending out digital rewards THIS WEEKEND. 😊 I know, finally, right?

Thank you all for your immense patience and continued excitement. We're hoping to start getting some more press and PR behind the game once we finally have hard copies in hand in a few weeks. This is just the beginning! 😎

The boat has docked! Solo Module expanded and finished! Digital rewards scheduled!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Mar 22, 2022 at 09:56:09 PM

Hi everyone!

Sorry for such a delay in updates. With the goods being on a slow boat from China, there wasn't much to report other than GPS coordinates (well, not really, we didn't have access to those), but as of last week we have confirmation: 

The boat has reached New York!

We are told that it is in the queue for unloading and are waiting for an estimate on how long that will take, or more specifically, how long it will take for the goods to get the rest of the way from the port to Quartermaster Logistics for fulfillment. We've been preparing QML with all of the order data and other assembly instructions, so they should be ready to hit the ground running as soon as the shipment reaches their warehouse. If I had to guess, that might mean packages start going out in the next 3 weeks or so (but don't quote me on that until we get actual confirmation from the folks actually doing the shipping).

International backers, please note that the bulk inventory shipments to the regional fulfillment centers in the UK, Australia, and Asia will leave QML at the same time as domestic packages, and since there is an extra cycle of freight + packing at those regional centers, your items will take a few extra weeks. We will of course keep you posted, but please understand the many gates and checkpoints involved in this process... worldwide logistics is complex! We'll do the best we can to get these to you as smoothly and timely as possible!

In the meantime...

The Solo Play Module and Foes and Factions Supplement are done and in final proofing!

We're in the final process of reviewing the Solo Play Module and F&F Supplement as I write this update with the aim of having them approved and print-ready no later than next Monday. Here's a sneak peek: 

We know you've been waiting a while for the digital rewards, and these have been the key items holding up that process. Frankly, much of the delay was our commitment to making sure the Solo Play Module is as fun and solid as it deserves to be. As almost a complete standalone game in and of itself, it really demanded proper time in the hopper. And in that process, decisions had to be made... such as deciding to EXPAND IT FROM THE ORIGINAL 48-page PROMISE TO A WHOPPING 72-pages (PLUS COVER)! 😎 It is now 150% more bang for your buck!

Once these have cleared proofing and are sent to the printers, we will bundle them up with the rest of the digital rewards and begin distribution of those items through Backerkit. So expect to get those notifications sometime next week! We will, of course, post an update once those are ready.

It has been a long road to get here, and wow have we learned a LOT. Our original estimate of shipping in December was adorably optimistic, but in the grand scheme of things, with everything going on in the world affecting international manufacturing and shipping, a four-month delay isn't too bad... You'll still be receiving this bad boy within NINE MONTHS OF THE CAMPAIGN. Compared to a lot of other games here on Kickstarter, that's pretty good! (We're still waiting on some games from big companies that ended in 2020...) And with all of the lessons learned this first time out, we expect our next products will be able to ship even faster (or at least closer to better-estimated delivery dates).

Speaking of next products... we're already hard at work on the next TWO projects to be revealed later this summer... 

The D6MV library of games will be growing this year! Stay tuned for more news!