Production update (following factory call)
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 11:10:31 PM

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update to share some more details following our call with the factory the other night. (We tried to take some screenshots during the call, but the Skype connection was sketchy so the pix came out rather compressed....)

1) The dice will be correct in the final boxes. :) Here's a pic of a correct set of dice:

2) The punchout tokens and map markers look great and they punch out nicely. :)

3) The cards look great!

4) The rulebook looks fantastic! Not only the spotUV and curved corners on the cover, but they curved the corners on the pages, too! Sweet!

5) The casebound GM Screens also look fantastic --

We discussed the schedule, and they expect to have the full run of the final R3 minis cleaned up and completed by Christmas Day (pending the power rationing), which will then allow them the following week or so to complete assembly and shrinkwrapping. If all of that goes as expected, they should be able to have them on a cargo vessel departing Shenzhen the week of January 10th. (They will also forward a copy or two of the final assembly by air so that I can take some clearer photos for you...)

Shipping speeds have picked up quite a bit in the last 2 months from the horrible delays that had plagued this past year. While we had been experiencing 12-14 weeks between leaving China and receiving in our warehouse, we've lately been down to about 7-8 weeks. So if that trend continues, we would hope to have these at Quartermaster toward the end of February for fulfillment in March. We will of course keep you posted as dates are able to be confirmed.

Other stuff

Drew and the team are finishing up the SOLO PLAY MODULE and FOES AND FACTIONS SUPPLEMENT, which we should have ready for the printer in early January. As soon as those files are proofed and approved, we will distribute all of the digital rewards through Backerkit. 

This means that we will be keeping Backerkit open for just a few more weeks.

We'll of course post an update as that date is set and looms closer.

In the meantime, we've also been working with our merch manufacturer on the patches, pins, and coin, and they are turning out really nice, too --

The rest of the stretch goal and bonus items are primarily printed goods which we will be sending to the printer in January. They are all being printed domestically, so they should arrive in plenty of time for fulfillment. 😊

That's all for now. We'll be posting more updates now as things start to come together in the new year! Until then, message us with any questions, and please keep spreading the word! Pre-orders will remain open until January!

Pix from the factory!!!
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 02:19:41 PM

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the silent few weeks. Lots of preoccupation these last two months of the year as we get our last three graphic novel campaigns shipped and our next 4 titles for 2022 to the printer. That, and quite frankly, not a lot of news from the manufacturer in China... I will be honest: I, like some of you, perhaps, was starting to wonder what was going on... they had promised to have everything completed with pix of a finished pre-shipment sample by December 6th, and here it was, December 12th...

I knew their productivity had been compromised by government electricity rationing which already added a few weeks to the schedule. (Believe it or not, China is limiting hours that factories can operate in a hardcore effort to curb carbon emissions...! Normally, Starry Games would run as late or for however many days necessary to complete a job, but now their hands are rather tied...) That revised schedule had everything hopefully complete last week, but as mentioned... we got no update.

Until this morning.

With a flood of pix. 🤩 Behold...

We're excited!!! It's really real!

I actually have a Skype meeting with the factory in an hour where they'll do the whole show and tell. If I get more pix or screenshots that look good, we'll share those soon.

They did mention that the minis shown here are "R1" castings -- their first pass, from which they will refine once or twice before final mass "R3" casting. I'm not sure what that means for the timeline, but I'll find out tonight. I suspect it will mean they won't be leaving Hong Kong until early January, but fortunately, shipping has gotten faster lately (tho certainly not cheaper... costs are growing INSANE...), so we're probably looking at being able to ship these in late-February/early-March.

If they can confirm some dates tonight, that will help determine when we lock Backerkit. Right now we are leaning towards keeping it open into January to give pre-orders a chance to come on board. I know many of you are eager for Backerkit to lock so that we can distribute the digital rewards, but as mentioned earlier: the SOLO MODULE and FOES AND FACTIONS are still in production and won't be available until January anyway, so that seems like the most realistic window.

In the meantime, please keep spreading the word... and the URL! www.carbon-grey.com!

Thanks for your patience everyone! We'll have more to report soon!

Omnibus photos!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 05:36:40 PM

Hi everyone!

A few more weeks have gone by since our last update, and as before it's not for lack of progress as much as not much really to show or see... until today. 😊

We received our first advance copies of the CARBON GREY OMNIBUS from the printer, and they look GREAT! Check out this flood of photos -- 

The Graphic Novel Omnibus is being printed by our regular book printer, while the Core Rulebook and Boxed Game are being printed and produced by a separate factory that is still hard at work on those items. They have been sending us PDF proofs to approve and photos of various stages for assembly confirmation, but frankly nothing visually exciting (blank white boxes, unprinted GM screen assembly, etc... nothing spectacular, all work in progress that wouldn't confidently represent the final product). They are definitely rolling forward at a good pace, although apparently, the Chinese government is starting to ration electricity in some factory regions of China... they are no longer allowed to run the machinery past regular business hours every day, so that has limited how much they can churn out per week... With that restriction in place, they estimate being able to send us photos of completed pre-shipment samples the first week of December. Assuming they look as good as we expect them to, the finished books and boxes should hopefully be on a boat before Christmas!

That is, admittedly, a few weeks later than our original target schedule, which means fulfillment will likely begin in February (barring any further delays), but considering how chaotic global shipping and supply chain issues have been lately, that's not too bad. Not the bullseye date we were aiming for, but it's still on the board!

Digital rewards will still likely go out in early January, with the Solo Module and Foes and Factions Supplement being printed domestically at that time.

And we will also hopefully pull back the curtain on the next exciting piece of the property in January, too! Based on a bunch of comments here throughout the campaign, we think you'll find it very intriguing... 😉 (Let the speculation begin...!) 😎

Dice Pix!!!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 11, 2021 at 10:16:43 PM

Hi everyone!

Hope you all are doing well -- it's been a few weeks, hasn't it? 😉

The silence hasn't been a lack of progress; the factory has been finishing digital proofs for mass production and finishing molds for the miniatures and the vacuum trays that will hold them (in the main box as well as all of their individual packaging). Look! We even have pictures of OUR ACTUAL DICE, designed and resin-mixed specifically for us based on our color and ink specifications!

We found a mix of colors that sincerely feel like MOLTEN LAVA STONE for the "Stone Die" and picked a pearlescent pair of reds and oranges that feel like ROILING SOLAR GASES for the "Fire Die", and the SPARKLY, CLOUD-LIKE "Wild Die" are sweet with the gold printing. We couldn't be more satisfied... and wish we had ordered more!

As it stands, there are only about 40 sets left as Add-ons, so if you didn't back at the Deluxe Box level or add on a set with your Kickstarter Pledge or afterward in Backerkit, HOP ON THEM NOW! We won't be able to increase the print run at this point, and if reprints are even possible, they wouldn't be available for 6 months or more!

Beyond the dice, all print material proofs have been approved, so it's now a matter of Starry Games hitting the "PRINT ALL" button and mass-producing it all!

And then getting it all packaged and shrinkwrapped and put on a boat.

And then getting that boat to the US.

And then unloading that boat and getting the stuff on a truck to Quartermaster...

Sounds easy, doesn't it? This is definitely an interesting time to be a publisher!

Just for the record: we're looking good for January fulfillment.

But we did want to point out Kickstarter's own article on the topic, in case anyone still wasn't aware of how bad global shipping has become:

Those of you who have backed our other campaigns may have heard the news in those updates, but it bears repeating in case anyone isn't clear on just how bad it has gotten these days.

But please know this:

...we're doing everything we can to minimize the impact on your pledge!

We here at Magnetic have been living this increasingly complicated reality for 18 months, so for better or worse, we have at the very least learned how to anticipate these complications and plan accordingly. And to that end, our padded schedule for CARBON GREY is still holding to current projections. That's not to say things can't get worse in the next 3 months, but as of today, we are still looking good for a January ship date. We will, of course, keep you all posted.

In the meantime, if you're looking for a cool graphic novel to tide you over until CARBON GREY arrives, or if you'd like to have a cool graphic novel added to your CARBON GREY package WITH NO ADDITIONAL SHIPPING, please check out THE WALL! The campaign ends on Friday, and there are some cool (FREE) stretch goals already unlocked! And since you backed CARBON GREY, you can qualify for FREE SHIPPING! Check out the campaign for more info!

Hero minis now available as an add-on (limited)
about 3 years ago – Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 04:38:45 AM

Hi everyone!

Just a real quick update to let you all know that we have worked out an arrangement with our manufacturer to provide a limited number of extra sets of the 11 Hero Miniatures as separate add ons!

Full explanation: In accounting for the extra dice, soldier minis, demon minis, etc, it seemed logical for us to produce an equal quantity of all pieces so that we would then have equal quantities of extra sets for add-ons or replacements. So while we had already based our limited offering of dice, soldier minis, GM screens, etc, we hadn't offered the 11 primary hero minis outside of the boxed set.

But now we can. 😊

The set is offered for $40, and will include the 11 key archetype minis:

• 1x Dharman Adept
• 1x Royal Operative
• 1x Dogfighter
• 1x Free Lady
• 1x Master Spy
• 1x Moonlighter
• 1x Sovereign
• 1x REluctant Mentor
• 1x Giselle
• 1x Wolf General
• 1x Fenris wolf

So yes, you can get nearly all of the elements from the Boxed Set separately, but they cost a lot more when purchased individually... the Boxed Set is still the most cost-effective way to get everything. 😊

But if you're just interested in the book and minis, you can now customize your order to just that.

Note: the 4 different Add-on sets of minis will all come in labeled white boxes with plastic vacuum trays to keep the pieces safe. They're not just going to arrive loose in a ziplock baggie. 😉

These extra items are very limited (capped off at 200 copies of everything, with many already nearly sold out), so you might want to jump on something if you're interested in it before it is gone!

In the meantime, check out this quickstart review by RPGGamer on Youtube!