Drakerys: Update und Verzögerung

Bei Drakerys gab es ein interessantes Kickstarter-Update.

First of all, please accept our apologies for being unusually silent. We were waiting to have the needed information, and solve the issues we faced.

WHAT HAPPENED?

(1) Unlocking the Aurium Dwarves was a calculated risk. At the end of the Kickstarter, we had to decide about unlocking this fourth army despite being under the 200K stretch goal we originally planned for it. They were unlocked at 185K, as we were planning a nice final impulse. Unfortunately, it did not happen. Nevertheless, we decided to maintain the Aurium Dwarves, even as the funding went below 185K in the last moments of the Kickstarter. This decision added quite some time for creation process, and the corresponding pack of molds to the production fee. The issue is solved: the Aurium Dwarves are still planned and will be produced.

(2) Delays with sculpture. As we realized the budget was tighter than expected, we decided to reduce the freelance artists’ pool and asked Mohand to sculpt as many miniatures as possible. It was a lot of work for a single man, but he achieved it. The issue is 99% solved: except for Isha The Dark Mother, all miniatures were studied by our Chinese manufacturers for quotations and molds. The good news is basically that our top sculptor made almost the whole range!

(3) Delays with factories and quotations. Some sculpts were not fit for plastic production, and details had to be corrected in order to reach an agreement and get mutually satisfying quotations. Going back and forth with China on the subject took six precious weeks. The delays with the sculpture process didn’t help either, as they had us crash on the Chinese New Year. In the meantime, our manufacturers’ order books were filled. The miniature production for the four armies will go from the early days of June to the end of August.

Please note we are still studying quotations for Playing Mats, specifically. A decision will be taken on the subject by April the 15th at the latest.

(4) Delays with rules. No mystery here: the core rules were lengthened and needed some serious editing. The Ashral Orcs and Irosia Paladinate armies were ready. We underestimated the time needed to create and balance the game profiles for the Avaren Elves and Aurium Dwarves, as well as the Valgar campaign scenarios.

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WHAT ABOUT DELIVERY?

The original delivery was planned for March, then delayed to June. Considering the decisions we took, delivery will happen in December. We are fully aware of the most needed improvements, and chose quality over punctuality. Please accept our apologies.

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RULES

• The French core rules are written. The layout process is about to begin.
• The French campaign rules were delivered last week, and are being revised.
• Once everything is done, we will start translation to English, which will be a much faster process.
• We will be happy to share these files as soon as we are satisfied with the result.

MORE DWARVES AND ELVES

Thanks to mold optimization, we are happy to announce the following changes:

• Avaren Crows Unit Box: 6 Crow miniatures (instead of the planned 5).
• Avaren Elves Army Box: 12 Avaren Crows (instead of 10).
• Aurium Soldiers Unit Box: 6 Soldier miniatures (instead of 5).
• Aurium Dwarves Army Box: 12 Aurium Soldiers (instead of 10).

All changes have been taken into account for the gameplay. Game balance is kept.

Please note these miniatures are not production casts.

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MAELAN, THE MAELSTROM ANGEL

Maelan was sculpted by Mohand. Thanks to Sébastien Picque for the painting!

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Overall, the work is progressing at a slow but sure pace. Though we are taking longer than expected, we receive positive feedback from players and miniature collectors. We hope it will be the same for you.

Thank you, once again, for backing Drakerys.

Zusammenfassung:

Don’t Panic Games sind bei ihrem Kickstarter auf mehrere Probleme gestoßen. Sculpting, Regeln und Produktion verzögern sich, teilweise wegen unerwarteter Komplexität, im Fall des Modellierens wegen nicht ideal kalkulierter Kosten. Die Fraktion der Aurium Dwarves wurde freigeschaltet, obwohl die gesteckte Zielmarke noch nicht erreicht war. Don’t Panic Games hatten auf positive Effekte und zusätzliche Backer gehofft, diese blieben aber aus. Aus diesem grund mussten die Kosten straffer kalkuliert werden, um die Ziele erfüllen zu können, und dazu musste unter anderem bei den Freelancern gespart werden. Mohand (der vor allem wegen seiner Eden-Modelle bekannt ist) hat die meisten Miniaturen für Drakerys deshalb selbst modelliert, was einerseits eine durchgehend hohe Qualität garantieren dürfte, aber zu Verzögerungen geführt hat.

Es gibt aber auch gute Nachrichten: Einige Boxen werden mehr Modelle enthalten als geplant, da die Gussformen optimiert werden konnten.

Quelle: Drakerys Kickstarter