Final missing copies & general sale
over 3 years ago
– Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 11:31:13 PM
Hey folks! Just a quick one from me today. I've had a very exciting weekend after getting featured in the Shut Up & Sit Down gift guide, which has seen the game rocket up to the very top of the itch.io sales chart. Pretty cool huh?!
This will probably be one of the last updates! (have I said that before?)
What a journey it's been...
Anyway, just two quick items of business to wrap (?) us up (??):
Missing Deluxe Editions
Are you still waiting for your Deluxe Edition order? Let me know, it should've arrived by now! I'm planning on selling most of what I've got left in a couple of weeks, so if you could let me know by the 14th December I'll make sure to put one aside for you. Drop me a message on Kickstarter or to [email protected]
General Sale
I've got maybe 30 Deluxe Editions left over from the campaign, and another hundred or so regular zines. If you're interested in picking one up, you can join my mailing list I created solely for this purpose. I'll be doing a second print run some time in early 2021, but the Deluxe boxes will not be on sale again.
That's it! A whimper, not a bang — but that's okay. Bye everyone!
J
October Update
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Oct 22, 2020 at 10:44:50 PM
Hey folks,
Apologies if I've been slow getting back to you — if you saw my update for ORBITAL you'll know that our second child arrived five weeks early which has kind of thrown us all in a loop!
Anyway, just a few orders of business.
Missing zines 2.0
Thanks to all the single-zine backers who let me know they hadn't received their copy of Artefact yet. I'm glad there were only 18 of you, and some of you have subsequently contacted me to say your copy arrived (where the hell have they been?!). If you're a zine + art print backer (£15) and you're still waiting for your rewards, please let me know here. At the end of the month, I'm going to process & ship all the missing rewards you've told me about. Then we'll talk Deluxe Editions, and see how those have fared.
Accessible editions
You may have already seen that a couple of weeks ago I launched revised, more accessible versions of the ARTEFACT digital files on itch.io. This means two main things:
- The game book and bonus content are now formatted for use in screen readers (they look unchanged otherwise)
- Plain-text alternatives of the game book & bonus content with dyslexic friendly fonts, bigger type size and spacing and image descriptions are now available.
As I said in the itch.io update, I'm hopeful that now even more people can enjoy the game in a way that is optimised for their needs. It's something I wanted to do from the beginning (and it's a day one part of the ORBITAL release) so I'm glad to finally check this one off.
Selling off excess stock
I've got about 150 zines left over from the campaign, and somewhere between 50 and 80 people in the world who still need their rewards. This means that, at some point in the next couple of months, I'll feel confident selling off some of what I've got left.
I'll be assembling as many deluxe editions as I can first (probably 30-40), and then selling individual zines. If you or anyone you know is interested, you can sign up to the mailing list I created for this sole purpose.
Cheers!
Jack
New project announcement (!!!) & shipping update
over 3 years ago
– Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 10:51:34 PM
If I never fold a box or seal an envelope in my life, it'll be too soon!
But we're done... mostly done. More on that in a second — and if you're still waiting on rewards don't worry, I have not forgotten about you in the excitement of...
A new project: ORBITAL
The pre-launch page for my next project, ORBITAL, is now live. I've been working on this one in the background for a while, but it was important to me that (pretty much) all of the rewards for Artefact had been shipped out to backers before I launched a new project. And, 2000 zines later, here we are! The Kickstarter will launch on the 25th August.
ORBITAL gives us airlocks and control panels, pensive faces looking out into the cosmos, improvised fixes for critical systems, military-sponsored subterfuge, warm embraces in the cold vacuum, frantic struggles in zero-gravity and unknowable ancient technology, asking WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?
It's a 36-page RPG zine that concentrates play around a single space station of your own creation, supporting both 'slice of life' and more tense, dramatic stories. It can be played GM-less with up to 6 players, or with a GM and 1-4 players.
If you liked the look & feel of the physical presentation of Artefact, then you'll be glad to hear that Orbital will be following a similar route; premium uncoated papers, risograph inks (including metallics!), and singer-stitched binding using a lovely white thread.
Your continued support into this next project would mean the world to me. You'll be able to read plenty more about the game & rewards when the campaign launches in just over a week. Hopefully I'll see you there!
Shipping Updates
Okay, so thankfully now most of you should have your rewards. For those of you still waiting, I'm 100% committed to making sure you get them in the end, despite the best efforts of certain autocrats to destroy public infrastructure. So here we go:
For those of you who completed your survey in time, and are expecting a single zine: I'll be opening up a survey at the end of the month to capture missing zines and arrange a second attempt. I'll be covering the cost of these entirely, but if you'd like to add tracked shipping as an option then I'll offer that as an upgrade.
For those of you who completed your survey in time, and are expecting a single zine and single art print: These shipped a little later, so I'll be opening up a survey in mid-September to capture missing zines and arrange a second attempt. I'll be covering the cost of these entirely, but if you'd like to add tracked shipping as an option then I'll offer that as an upgrade.
For those of you who completed your survey in time, and are expecting a boxed edition: These only shipped a couple of weeks ago, so it'll be another couple of months before we can consider any of them 'lost'.
For those of you who didn't supply a correct or complete address, I've had your zines returned to me. I'll be in contact shortly to arrange redelivery to a correct address, and I'll be asking for contributions towards shipping (splitting the cost with me, 50/50).
For those of you who completed/complete your survey late, I'll be shipping out your rewards roughly once a month.
Hopefully that covers all groups - let me know if you don't think you fall into one of these! Rest assured I've still got ~120 zines and ~30 boxed editions in reserve. If you backed this project, you'll get your rewards.
Digital Freebies
I made a couple of free supplemental mini-games to go with Artefact, one that went out with all copies (All Walks of Life, a Keeper generator) and one that only went out with deluxe editions (Burrows & Bloodlines, a game of epic rodent history). Both are now available to download from the game's itch.io page.
Wrapping up
With the project now approaching its conclusion (though with a long tail of getting those last few copies where they need to be!), I just want to take one last opportunity to thank you all for you support. From the exhilarating campaign to coverage from my favourite board-game boys at Shut Up & Sit Down, Artefact has been successful beyond my wildest dreams — allowing me to create a finished product that really meets my ambitions for what I think small-press RPG products should look like.
I hope you've enjoyed the ride, and that you'll join me again for another turn soon!
Deluxe shipping
almost 4 years ago
– Fri, Jul 17, 2020 at 01:13:52 AM
Hey folks, just a quick one. Packaging of the deluxe editions is going well - although it’s slow going - I hope to be shipping everything out the door by the end of July.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but international shipping at the moment is in very poor shape, to the US doubly so. The £3-6 shipping I’ve charged for the deluxe editions is for Royal Mail’s International Standard service, which usually reliably gets things delivered in 5-7 days. With the zines I’ve sent already, it’s been taking 6-8 *weeks* or more for things to arrive.
So this update is for two things. First, just to say that once shipped, you might be looking at another interminable wait for your parcel to arrive, especially in the US. Secondly, if anyone wants to upgrade to Tracked shipping, which is typically a day or two quicker and will allow you to view the progress of your parcel, send me a message by the end of July. It’ll be about £5 extra.
Cheers!
J
