Printing Finished & Next Steps
over 3 years ago – Wed, Oct 28, 2020 at 01:17:26 AM

Hi,

New mission control briefing has just arrived! And it contains a lot of news and even more pictures. Let's see:

• Printing is finished — Take a look!
• Translations — Join the Space Race team!
• Print and Play under construction — Will you make your own rocket fleet?

Lastly, the other game we currently have on Kickstarter, Project L: Finesse, has just entered the last 48 hours period, so it’s the last chance to check it out if you haven’t already. ;)

Printing Finished & Next Steps

To make sure that the manufacturing process is as smooth as possible, we always aim to be at the factory in person if at all possible. So, Marek and Pavel (our art director and graphic designer, respectively) spend two days in Krakow, Poland to oversee the printing process at Fabryka Kart.

During the two days they were there, Marek and Pavel made sure that all the colors are correctly matched across all print sheets and that all the printed components are perfect, all the while abiding by strict health and safety measures. This is why they were approving the numerous print sheets one by one in an isolated room instead of right next to the machines, and always waiting for up to four hours before they could see another one. This is because once a print sheet was approved, the factory immediately printed the complete batch before moving on.

Long story short, all the printed components for the game are already printed out, take a look.

The ability to supervise the printing in person is a great asset to the final quality of the production, and it is the reason why all printed components for the game are made in the EU, within our reach. This includes the game boxes, rulebooks, cards, player aids/faction HQs, mission tokens, project tiles, and boards. It also significantly speeds up the whole process as there is no need to ship samples in this case.

Now that all the components are printed, the next step is to cut them out and, where necessary, put together with their cardboard layer to create the sturdy boards, tiles, and boxes. Afterwards, they will wait the rest of the components that are made in China to arrive (that's the astronaut meeples, custom trays, and rocket models).

Meanwhile, the mass-production of the plastic (and wooden) components is in full swing too, and once they are ready, they will be shipped to EU to meet their printed counterparts. When they arrive, all components will be assembled into the final production games. A part of the games will be sent to the EU fulfillment center that will process EU deliveries, and a part will be loaded on a ship that will deliver them to the US.

Translations - Join the team!

Now that the English rulebook is ready, we can start working on translating Space Race to other languages. Our experience with our other games shows that the translations are best when done by players. We know that plenty of you have expressed interest in translating Space Race when the campaign was live, and we'd love to have you on board!

If you'd like to help us translate Space Race to your language, send a message to [email protected] and we can start working on it together.

Print and Play under construction

We know that many of you are waiting for the PnP files, and we are currently working on making them available! These will also include 3D printing files for the rocket so you can your own fleet! Stay tuned, we'll let you know as soon as they are it's ready! 🚀

🕹️ Project L: Finesse 🕹️ — Last 48 Hours

Our other game, Project L, is just entering the last 48 hours period on Kickstarter. So far, an amazing community of almost 7000 backers has joined us on a wonderful journey to the universe full of vibrant pieces and recessed puzzle boards that both new and seasoned gamers find captivating! If you like the attention to detail and quality components of Space Race as well as strategic gameplay and the necessity to plan ahead, we think you could like Project L as well. Go check it out if you haven’t already!

That’s all from us for today. We hope you’ve enjoyed the update and the pictures of all the prints. We’re working hard in order to see the Space Race boxes run out of the assembly line. Will you make your own starfleet once the print-and-play kit is ready?

Thank you for your amazing support!

Michal

Production News
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 01:07:50 AM

Hi,

Welcome to the regular mission report summary. We have great news from the production: All production data and samples are now approved! The next in line is mass-production, and after that the assembly and shipping! Let's take a look:

•  Project Status — Space Race is ready for mass-production!
•  Giveaway — Win one of the all-in bundles of our upcoming game, Project L: Finesse!

Production news

Production data for the rocket models, astronaut meeples, and the custom trays are approved (everything else is approved already). The tooling is now done, and the samples look splendid (see for yourself). This means that the remaining steps are the actual mass-production, assembly, and shipping. 

As our side of the game production is all done, the next step is for the manufacturer to put Space Race into their production queue, and as soon as this happens, we will receive an updated production timeline. Let's take a look at the samples we've received and the tweaks we made:

Rocket models: The manufacturer made two more tweaks in the rocket molds to make the final models look even better. We have received new samples of all the rockets (on the picture above) and also samples of potential colors. When inspecting them under different lighting conditions, it was clear that the white one absorbs a significant amount of detail. On the other hand, a conventional grey plastic doesn't fit the rockets from a thematic standpoint. The final rocket models will therefore be very light grey, which makes the detail on them clearly visible, and it is also very close to the color we see in actual rockets. Take a look below, the final color is the third from the left.

Snap bases: The snap bases are ready for production as well. To make sure the rockets will stand perfectly straight, the snap bases will be made of soft, flexible plastic instead of hard plastic.

Custom tray: We have further tweaked the card compartments so all the cards fit snuggly inside. Before you ask, yes the tray can hold both sleeved and unsleeved cards. :) We have also significantly enlarged the space for handling the rocket models (this is especially the case with the big Cold War rockets) to make it easier to take them in and out of the tray (see below).

Lid: Thanks to a few tweaks in the design, the lid is now much easier to take out of the tray. We have also added protective elements in corners of the lid so it safely holds the game board in place.

Astronaut meeples: We have improved the silk-screen print design on the black astronaut meeple so it stands out better and also more closely corresponds to the space suits that are currently being used.

Playmat packaging: Well.. it just looks so great that we wanted to share it with you as well! :)

Project L: Finesse Coming On Kickstarter

If you like Space Race and the attention to detail we have for its components, looks, and strategic gameplay, we think you could love Project L as well! It is a fast-paced engine building game for 1-5 players and will launch on Kickstarter on October 12 with a new expansion, Finesse. Check out the campaign preview here, we would really appreciate your feedback!

To celebrate the launch, we are giving away 5+ all-in deluxe bundles of the game! There’s also a launch event scheduled on Facebook for all those who’re interested in Project L, and we're adding extra bundle into the giveaway for every 200 attendees.

Enter the giveaway | Join the Launch Event | Check out the campaign

That’s all from us for now. What do you think about the new samples? We’ll keep you updated with more news from the manufacturer.

Thank you for your amazing support!

Michal

Production Update
over 3 years ago – Thu, Aug 27, 2020 at 01:41:55 AM

Hi,

Welcome to the latest interstellar mission status briefing! We'll take at production news and also talk about what the quality control process in board games is all about.

• Production update — Tray, playmat, miniature molds, and more!
• Quality control — Learn more about the process here.

Production update

Custom tray: Check out the two pictures (one above and one below) — that's the latest sample of the custom tray for the game! We are currently tweaking small details to further improve some of the compartments. Compared to the prototype on the pictures, the final version will have:

• a bit more space to fit unsleeved cards,
• elevated elements near the corners on top of the transparent lid so it keeps the folded board that will lay on top of it securely in place,
• more room in the areas for taking out the rocket models out of the tray,
• more room for colored snap bases at the bottom of the rockets,
• more room for the Project tiles (upper-right corner),
• tiny tweaks to the compartment divisions between the cards.

The insert will hold both sleeved and unsleeved cards. Unsleeved cards will fit vertically (as you can see on the picture below) while sleeved cards will fit into the same compartments but horizontally.

Rocket miniatures: The manufacturer made the mold for the rocket miniatures, which they are currently tweaking to make sure it's absolutely perfect. This should be finished during this week. Once it is done, the manufacturer will send us samples of the final rocket models including three different color variants.

Printed components: Data for all printed components are finished (that's the rulebook, cards, Mission tokens, Project tiles, and Player Aids/Faction HQs). At this point, the printer is checking the data and preparing them for the printing process.

Playmat: All work on the playmat is finished and it is now ready for production. We're really excited about how it turned out, check out the photo below.

Quality control in board games

In the last project update (Update #34), we were talking about the sampling process. But we thought you might also like to know more about what the actual quality control process looks like, and what is involved in making sure all the game components of Space Race are absolutely perfect.

We have published an article based on an interview with Marek, Boardcubator’s art director, in which he shares what goes into the quality control from the first reference prototype all the way to the final mass-production copy of a game.

• Take a look at the article here: Quality Control: Good Checks Take Time 

That's all from us for now. Have you enjoyed reading the article? And what do you think about the trays? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you very much for your amazing support!

Michal

Production Process and Delivery Estimates
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 07:47:32 PM

Hi,

Welcome to our regular mission status broadcast! In this one, we'll show you the latest version of the rulebook, talk about the production process, and show you the next steps and updated delivery estimates based on the production timeline of the manufacturer:

• Production process — A detailed look into the production.
• Next steps and delivery estimates — Check out what will happen next.
• Rulebook preview — Take a look at the improved rulebook!

Production process

In the last update (Update #33), we went through the complete checkup of all the components. Now let's take a more detailed look at the whole production process. As you know, we pay a lot of attention to every step of the production because we believe that component quality plays a significant role in the overall enjoyment of a game.

A great asset to the final quality of the production is the ability to supervise it in person, which is why all the printed components will be made in the EU which is within our reach. This includes the game boxes, rulebooks, cards, player aids/faction HQs, mission tokens, and project tiles. Apart from having more control over the final product, it saves a significant amount of time during sampling and quality control.

Rocket models, astronaut meeples, and custom trays (that's the rest of the components) are being made in China since it's not possible to produce them in the EU in the quality we expect for a reasonable price. This, however, means that it takes more time to do proper feedback and quality control of the production samples.

Every time the manufacturer requires a feedback on a component, they send us a sample so we can evaluate it. Unfortunately, deliveries from China are still delayed by coronavirus-related issues as the delivery companies are currently overloaded with parcels. This means that every sampling round now takes approximately three weeks instead of the usual one week.

There were quite a few sampling rounds necessary before the components reached the appropriate quality. For example, upgrading the thickness and mold of the custom trays required additional data transfers between us and the manufacturer, which was also the case with the Private Sector astronauts that we wanted to look better on the board than their former models. Yet, the most difficult part to get right were the rocket models which required multiple sampling rounds as we were increasing the level of details on them. The manufacturer has also redesigned some of the rockets so they are easier to make with the mass-production technologies (the most notable changes were on the fins and boosters — see the image below), and we were working on getting the proper shapes back so they look as close as possible to their real-life counterparts.

Next steps and delivery estimates:

According to the manufacturer in China, all the rocket models, astronaut meeples, and custom trays (these are all the components that are being manufactured in China) will be ready to leave the factory on 28 September. After that, they will be loaded on ships and sent to a factory in Europe, which will in the meantime produce the rest of the game (that's the box, rulebooks, player aids / HQs, cards, mission tiles, and project tiles). Once all the components are together, they will be assembled into the finished games. A part of them will be sent into the EU fulfillment center that will process EU deliveries, and a part will be loaded on a ship that will deliver them to the US.

We have updated the delivery estimates based on the manufacturer's production timeline:

• EU: 01/2021
• USA: 02/2021
• RotW: 02-03/2021

Rulebook preview

Thanks to the amazing help from Paul Grogan and the rest of the Gaming Rules! team, we were able to reduce the rulebook to less than half of it's original size! The resulting clarity of the explanation will let you to read much less and make the general experience of learning the game a lot easier. Still, if you're not a fan of reading the rules at all, Paul will make a live tutorial and playthrough video of the game as well.

The current version of the rulebook is almost finished, as it is only missing some extended flavor texts and an update of a few images. Take a look!

This is all from us for now. What do you think about the rulebook layout? We're expecting to receive more samples from the manufacturer, so we'll be back once they arrive.

Thank you very much for your amazing support and for being a part of this amazing mission!

Michal

Production Status
almost 4 years ago – Mon, Jun 15, 2020 at 04:56:39 PM

Hi,

Welcome to the latest command center briefing! In this one, we'll take a look at the latest developments in our space mission and see where we're heading next:

• Production status — Check out new samples and the next steps in production.
• Giveaway — What's your take on game components? (enter the giveaway here).

Production status

Astronauts — Samples of wooden astronaut meeples with silkscreen print arrived, and they're just splendid! We'll be tweaking the black Private Sector Astronauts in order to make their table presence more prominent, and so we'll get another set of samples to make sure they are ready for the first mission. Apart from that, the Astronauts are ready for production. Which one is your favorite?

Rocket models — Rocket samples have landed successfully! Since the rockets are the most difficult part of the whole production process, we're so excited to say that the samples have passed the pre-production check! Compared to the picture below, the only tweak we made was rendering the characteristic cross pattern on the N1 (third from the right) more prominent. With the samples are approved, the manufacturer has already started the tooling process, which means that molds for them are now being made. Once the molds are finished, we'll get the rocket models in the final quality to make sure everything is perfect, after which the production gets a green light.

Plastic tray — We've made several upgrades to the tray that will hold the components. It will be manufactured using an aluminum mold instead of the usual copper mold, which will make a significant difference to the level of detail it can produce. The tray itself will then consist of 1.5 mm polystyrene instead of the standard 1 mm to make sure it is strong enough to handle all the custom compartments. 

New illustrations — Our illustrator Dalibor has completed all the illustrations for the rocket-specific Control cards! Each Control card in the game has an initiative value between 0 and 7, and the higher one you use, the more likely it is that you will be the first who gets to play. However, this is not just a number on the card: All illustrations on the Control cards have unique elements that reflect not only the specific rocket / faction you play for but also its initiative value! Check out the examples below.

Rulebook — The graphic layout and most of the text is now finished, and it amazing to see the piece of art that Paul Grogan and Pavel, our graphic designer, have created together. What's left is just a round overview that goes to the last page and a final check to make sure that the text corresponds to the layout (references to page numbers and so on). We'll share the rulebook with you once this is done.

Printed components — All the other printed components are finished, and today we have submitted the data to the printer. Among these are cards, Mission tokens, Player Aids / Faction HQs, and Projects.

Giveaway: What's your take on game components?

You have probably noticed that we pay a lot of attention to the quality of the components and to the tactile aspect of games, so it is great to both play the game and play with it. Being so grateful for all the amazing feedback we keep getting from you, we'd also really love to hear what you think about what kind/shape/material of components you enjoy in games, and we want to give away one of our games in the process.

Let us know what you think by following the link below — we would appreciate is so much!

• Enter the giveaway

This is all from us for now. Which rocket model is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you very much for you amazing support!

Michal