Necromolds Timeline Update
about 4 years ago – Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 10:05:52 AM

I hope you're having the best holiday season you can in 2020!

Over the last month, I've been requesting and receiving updates from everyone involved in the manufacturing and delivery of Necromolds. You may have caught a few of my small updates in the campaign comments as I've been working on this update. 

In this update, I unfortunately have to announce additional delays in our estimated timeline and fulfillment. If you're like me, reading that sentence was probably followed by a sigh of frustration. We are now anticipating freight to begin at the end of February or early March 2021. These delays are explained in more detail below.

If you need to update your shipping address between now and then, you're able to do so via BackerKit: https://necromolds.backerkit.com/

Freight/Shipping Delay

I've been informed by my shipping partner Rick at Funagain Logistics that we won't want to ship freight from the factory to the warehouse until after the Chinese New Year, which begins February 12th. 

Right now, they are seeing an unprecedented demand and delay in international freight. This high demand and low supply have resulted in freight costs doubling or tripling, while still being delayed by weeks. The demand will stay this high until the Chinese New Year ends. After that, demand is expected to normalize.

Finalizing Manufacturing

Before we begin freight after the Chinese New Year, we need to have our manufacturing completed. At this point, Panda is completing manufacturing on the plastics - which include the spellbooks, the rings, and the storage trays. Everything else has been completed and is awaiting the plastics to be assembled and packed up. Once we have packaged versions of the Battle Box and Monster Packs, we will send them to a 3rd party safety testing facility for EU and US certification. This is a step that we've been planning for and the manufacturing team feels confident in.

Below is a message from Peter, our project manager at Panda Games Manufacturing:

“2020 has been an unprecedented year for the tabletop game industry. In the early days of the pandemic, we extended our Chinese New Year shutdown to help slow the spread of the disease. Once it was safe to do so, Panda ramped our operations back up, but there’s been disruption at every stage of the supply chain, from raw material suppliers to tooling creation to shipping.

With the uncertainty and shutdown at the beginning of the year a lot of projects shifted later in the year. At the same time, with people confined to their homes, they’re playing more games than ever before. The demand for tabletop games soared, with new projects and many publishers ordering reprints or increasing the size of their existing orders.

In the case of Necromolds, the biggest challenge has been perfecting the rings and spellbooks. We want them to deliver monster molding and smashing fun, and there’s been a lot of testing and revisions to get them just right. With this quest for perfection amid the background of 2020’s chaos, it’s taken longer than hoped. At this point, though, everyone is happy with the performance of the rings and spellbooks, so we are working to complete production as quickly as possible.”

I understand how frustrating these delays are. I had expected to be sharing and enjoying Necromolds with you all this last fall, and having that pushed out further than I'd ever anticipated is not exciting. 

So with that bad news out of the way, I just want to end this update and this crazy year with some reflection and thanks. Thank you for joining me on this manufacturing journey in one of the most challenging years. Thank you for your continued excitement in not only playing Necromolds, but helping create a gateway skirmish game that kids will someday be nostalgic for themselves. And most of all, thank you for backing this project and giving us the opportunity and time to create Necromolds right.

It's a bit mindblowing to consider the fact that, with the support of enthusiastic tabletop gamers plus our manufacturing/fulfillment partners, our tiny passionate team is having a product manufactured on the other side of the world, shipped across an ocean, and shipped out across 30+ countries.

Even though our timeline has been delayed throughout the year, I've continued to prototype and develop new Necromolds content that I cannot wait to share with you. And I've been constantly humbled and energized by the commitment from Thad, Thomas, and the other artists and friends who have been involved with this process.

Happy holidays! And as always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments (facebook,discord,twitter)!

Clint

Behold! The Necromolds Spellbooks have been... MOLDED!
about 4 years ago – Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 11:05:18 PM

Greetings Necromolds Backers and Followers!

Today's update is another big one... especially for those who aren't on our social channels (facebook, instagram, twitter). To summarize the update in one sentence: Mass-manufacturing is in-progress and the team is working hard to bring you the highest quality monster molding and smashing miniatures game possible!

Manufacturing

The mass-manufacturing process for Necromolds has been underway for over a month. As the plastics team and I have been finalizing the fit and assembly of the spellbooks, the digital team has been printing off thousands of boxes, gameboards, rulebooks, and punchboards! The team at Panda Games Manufacturing shared a few behind the scenes pictures of the early printing process.

The Necromolds (spellbooks!!!)

A few weeks ago, I received all 11 injection molded Necromolds spellbooks. And let me tell you, they look fantastic! Over the last two years, the spellbooks' design and functionality have evolved over many prototypes. The final retail spellbooks are the accumulation of hundreds of hours of work and a bag of holdings worth of passion. The monster molds and spellbooks have never looked better.

Like the colors of a poisonous toxic frog, the spellbooks' neon green pages and glossy black covers are a warning to all those who dare read from the monstrous tomes!

To ensure the most monster detail possible, the spellbooks feature little holes that allow trapped air to escape during the molding process. This is especially important for those who plan to mold and paint their monster armies. Oftentimes, a small amount of clay can get pushed through those holes too. Some of the final spellbook design adjustments were to give players the ability to pull apart their spellbooks for cleaning. 

The pages fit tightly to the covers to make sure they stay put during gameplay, so it takes a little bit of pull and wiggle to remove them. Luckily, this isn't something you'll need to do often - or ever if you don't want to. I've been playing with my full set of spellbooks for three weeks now without the need to clean them. I just wanted to make sure it was possible, as I can foresee myself wanting to shake out loose clay bits that might fall inside.

Spellbook Stickers

This week I received print copies of the final spellbook stickers. Something about the finish and material of the previously reviewed stickers was causing the illustrations to be less vibrant and sharp than I wanted. The manufacturing team took my feedback and worked to find a sticker solution that was vibrant, sharp, and durable.

These final stickers look fantastic! I really wish that they were already kiss-cut so I could apply them to the spellbooks myself!

The Deluxe Distance Tool

Included with the injection molded spellbooks was the final deluxe distance tool. This is something that every base-game Kickstarter backer is getting a free copy of. It's also still available for pre-order for those who missed the campaign.

The distance tool is made from a semi-flexible plastic and includes the neon green wrist strap. I originally designed the deluxe distance tool for myself to use when sculpting the monsters and playing the game. I loved it so much that I wanted to make it an accessory available at launch for everyone to enjoy!

Fulfillment

We're still deep in mass-manufacturing. I'll be sure to let you all know when that milestone is complete! At that point, all of our inventory will be shipped from the manufacturing factories to our distribution hubs.

What have I been up to in the meantime?

As the manufacturing team has been doing their thing, I've been keeping busy with my real-world job. I can't wait until I can actually start promoting and selling Necromolds! I am constantly writing down and playtesting new gameplay ideas, expanded lore, and of course, more monsters! Plus, I'm scripting out a new promotional video to be filmed once I have a final retail copy of the game.

Oh - and I just received an order of sweet Necromolds patches from Etsy. I mostly wanted them so I could update my leather jacket swag. They are super limited (only 15 of each), and I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with them all...

The coolest part is that they are not just threaded, but they are fuzzy - like the patches you'd find on a letterman jacket.

The next Necromolds' update will probably be announcing the completion of manufacturing. In the meantime, feel free to reach out with any questions.

All the best and I can't wait for the next big Necromolds update!

Clint

The Caster Rings have arrived!
over 4 years ago – Tue, Oct 06, 2020 at 02:32:12 AM

Hi Backers and project followers!

I hope you're all happy, healthy, and enjoying the fall weather. Today, I'm excited to share the final injection molded caster rings and update you on our manufacturing and fulfillment timeline.

One important bookkeeping note before I do...

There are 25 backers whose payments have errored.  This is typically due to the bank mistakenly flagging the charge or an expired card on file.

If you're one of the 25, you should have received an email from BackerKit earlier today. I also directly emailed ([email protected]) each of the affected backers on September 30th. Please be sure to check your spam folder.

The Caster Rings

Let me start off by saying that the rings look... fantastic!  These are the final plastic rings straight off of the injection molds. It feels so great to finally wear an official Necromolds Caster Ring on my finger!

There are two main styles of the Caster Rings to collect.  Our standard Basalt color scheme and a fully glow-in-the-dark version.

Kickstarter backers who went "All-In" will be getting a special set of Toxic Glitter caster rings!

Not only do the rings themselves look great, but the details in their monster molds are even more impressive! With 22 unique ring molds in series 1 for you to discover, I'm sure you'll find a favorite or two!

There were a lot of important decisions that went into the design of the caster ring. For example, the six towers protruding from the top of the ring not only look cool but function as a buffer between the clay and the battle map.  Otherwise, a full forced spell clay smash would result in the clay getting stuck in the ring!

A lot of thought also went into the shapes and angles of the ring - particularly in how they catch the light. If you look closely at the Necromolds logo, you'll notice that I tapered each side.  That taper allows for the light to catch in a way that gives the ring more dimension (and a sharper, evil look 😈).

Click here to watch me unboxing the caster rings on Facebook Live.

Timeline Updates

This part of the update is less fun to share. After talking with my manufacturing manager, our new estimate on the completion of manufacturing and assembly is late November/early December. As I learned, they are still working through the manufacturing side effects of COVID. Many games that were scheduled to be printed in the Spring and Summer were delayed because of the virus and market uncertainty. Now, all of those games are being manufactured at once - which has resulted in the factory working 24 hours, 6 days a week to keep up with the demand.

I was really devastated to learn this news, as I was looking forward to sharing and promoting Necromolds for the holidays.

Once the manufacturing is complete, everything gets loaded into containers and shipped across the world. It typically takes 1.5 months for the containers to move from China to our US fulfillment warehouse in Indianapolis. By having a deposit in with our fulfillment company, we'll be at the top of their list to ship to backers once the product arrives. That puts our estimated delivery and fulfillment into January.

So what's next?

Currently, all of our print materials (boxes, booklets, gameboards) and caster rings are in mass-manufacturing. Once the factories re-open at the end of Golden Week (a national holiday in China that ends October 8th), the team will be sending me the final injection molded spellbooks.  They had planned to send them along with the rings but caught a mold flow issue that they needed to fix.

So the next big update from me will be showing off our final Necromolds spellbooks. I've been looking forward to these for a long, long time and cannot wait to finally get them in my hands!

Thank you again everyone for staying positive and patient as we all fight through 2020. Please leave a comment or question below!

Clint

REMINDER: BackerKit is charging cards this Thursday
over 4 years ago – Thu, Sep 24, 2020 at 10:09:28 PM

Just a very short but important reminder for all backers and preorders:

This Thursday, September 24th, BackerKit will be processing credit card payments.

You'll still be able to update your address in BackerKit up until we're ready to begin fulfillment.

If you have any questions about your BackerKit balance and order, please message me.

Some minor project updates to mention:

Two weeks ago, we started the mass manufacturing process on all of our print materials. The manufacturing team has also run the first samples of our plastic Caster Rings from the injection mold. They are shipping me these final samples to review!

When running the first samples of the spellbooks, the team caught a mold flow issue that they're addressing. I'm hoping to have the spellbook samples shortly after receiving the rings.

That's all for now! As I learn more and receive these final plastic samples, I'll be sure to share them with you all!

Clint

Shipping Updates - ACTION REQUIRED
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 09, 2020 at 12:23:59 PM

Exciting news backers!

The BackerKit pledge manager has finally been updated to reflect the correct localized shipping and handling costs for your order.

Three Important Steps You Must Take

1) Log into your BackerKit account: https://necromolds.backerkit.com/

2) Review your Necromolds order on BackerKit. Shipping prices have been adjusted.

3) If you haven't already, enter payment information and complete your survey.

Payments will be processed on Thursday, September 24th, 2020.

If you need to change your address, you can still do so in BackerKit. If you have any questions regarding your order, please feel free to private message me via Kickstarter!

After an intensive couple of months learning the ins-and-outs of international freight and fulfillment, I'm happy to announce that we'll be working with Funagain Logistics to get Necromolds into your hands. They have experience delivering a number of huge Kickstarter games like Gloomhaven, Mint Works, Mistfall, and Scythe!

With backers in over 36 countries(!), it was important to me to work with an experienced fulfillment company with negotiated international shipping rates that were competitive. This was especially critical because our product size and weight have increased due to an expanded Battle Box, upgraded materials, and additional content.

Even with that, the majority of backers will find that their shipping fees are less than the previous placeholder amount in Backerkit.

Retailers

Today I emailed retail backers individually to confirm their brick and mortar retailer status. If you didn't receive an email, please check your spam folder or message me via Kickstarter.

I've also emailed retail backers whose orders are over 40 lbs to get a personalized shipping quote. Our logistics partner recommends shipping orders over 40 lbs in multiple boxes or on a pallet to avoid product damage. I want to make sure we're getting the product to you as safely and efficiently as possible.

International Backers

Thank you again for supporting Necromolds and helping it already cross in 36 countries! I've been working very hard to bring you all the best international fulfillment I can.

All future Necromolds orders (post-fulfillment) will be shipped from the US. That means this is the best opportunity for international fans to grab a copy of Necromolds!  We won't be offering localized international shipping again until we run a second printing. If you have friends that would be into Necromolds, please let them know before late pledges close!

VAT Friendly Shipping (International Backers)

What is VAT friendly shipping?

International backers who live in counties with a VAT tax are required by law to pay a VAT on their Kickstarter pledge. VAT friendly shipping means that VAT will be charged during checkout via BackerKit and paid to the respective countries during import.

If your country is not listed as VAT friendly, you may be required to pay a VAT tax upon delivery of your package. There may be additional small fees charged by your local delivery service to process the tax.

Below is a list of countries that we support with VAT friendly shipping:

 EU VAT Friendly Countries

• France
• Germany
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• UK
• Ireland
• Italy
• Spain
• Portugal
• Austria
• Switzerland
• Denmark
• Hungary
• Poland
• Czech Republic
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Estonia
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Sweden
• Greece
• Iceland
• Finland
• Croatia
• Romania
• Serbia
• Bulgaria
• Norway
• Cyprus
• Malta

Other VAT Friendly Countries

• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• China

Project Updates

Last week, I received a shipment from Panda Games Manufacturing with revised prototypes for me to review and approve.

1) Collector's Edition Sleeve: In the last update, I mentioned we were adjusting the color of the foil on the collector's edition box sleeve.  The new foil looks fantastic (it's more of a lime green now) and I'm sure you're going to love it.

2) Spell Clay: I received a revised batch of spell clay to review.  As I've talked about in past updates, getting the recipe for the spell clay right has been challenging, as its a trial and error process (with international shipping in-between each test!). 

I'm really happy to share that I've approved this last batches' formula! It not only molds and removes easily from the Necromolds spellbooks, but it air drys really well too.

What's next?

In the next week or so, I should be receiving an update from the manufacturer on our final injection mold tools for the spellbooks and caster rings! That update should include a shipment of the final injection molded plastics.  This is the last real step that stands between Necromolds and mass-manufacturing!

I have asked about our current mass-manufacturing timeline and am hoping to receive updates on that soon. Part of that original timeline was tooling out the injection molds, which is already underway.

That's it for now!  I'll keep you all updated as I hear more.  Again, review your BackerKit order and send me a personal message via Kickstarter if you have any questions.

Thanks again everyone for believing in this crazy project and following along as it becomes real!

Clint