Two Week Check-In
over 9 years ago – Wed, Oct 05, 2016 at 11:02:32 PM

 Hey everyone, just a quick update on production.

There were a few changes that needed to be made to the initial sample. The tray needed to be revised slightly to make the ships sit a little better and also the Mothership logo at the top was in the wrong font. That's been fixed now and here's an updated photo from WinGo:

The little sections for the ships are now square instead of sloped and larger fingers should be able to scoop them out much easier.

I was a little picky with the contrast of the texture on the back of all the cards and WinGo has fixed that up. Here's a photo from them with them standard edition asteroids:

 Some dice samples have come through but I'm waiting on some changes before I show everyone. Also the plastic molds are being tooled as we speak.

Actually, not 'as we speak' because there's another week long public holiday in China! But I'm sure when they come back they'll be hard at work before starting the full production run.

That's all for this week! Will have more info on my whereabouts at PAX Melbourne in the next update. I'm running around trying to get flyers and posters done for that which should be ready in the next two weeks.

Peter

Two Week Check-In
over 9 years ago – Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 11:03:20 PM

Hey everyone, this is just a check in to let you know what I'm up to.

No significant updates from WinGo as they had few days off due to some public holidays. Seriously China seems to have more public holidays than Australia which is saying something...

*does some Googling*

Okay, well yeah, they do. China has 17 public holidays a year, just behind India (21) and the Philippines (18). We have a lousy 13-ish. I reckon we should be allowed to have public holidays of other countries, YEAH WHO'S WITH ME?!

Mothership at PAX Aus

I'll be at PAX Australia this year with Mothership which is being held in Melbourne on Nov 4-6. I'm frantically getting ready for that with hopefully some new artwork and a full demo. If you're around, come down and say hi! Or if you don't want to say hi just stare at me from across the room.

Sleeved Cards

Justin commented in the previous update that he would like to see a photo of the cards sleeved and fitting in the tray, so here you go!

Just ignore all the LEGO in the background heh...

So yes, I can confirm that when all the cards are sleeved they fit in the tray for transport. This means you won't have loose cards in the rest of the box. Of course, for the action cards at least, there's no way they will stack in a single compartment (that would mean making the tray more than double the height). There is also plenty of wiggle room for the cards, just make sure you buy the right size (Bridge sized cards are 57 x 87 mm, 2.25 inches x 3.5 inches).

My main focus for the card tray was making sure all cards fit when packing up the game. Keep in mind my sleeves may be different to your favorite brand so your mileage may vary.

Changing Your Address

Remember you can change your shipping address when ever you want using the BackerKit recovery page: https://mothership.backerkit.com/

I won't be locking down address changes until just before we ship and I will send out a few reminder emails before I do that.

Games I'm playing at the moment: Catan, FTL and Age of Empires 2.

Cya again in about 2 weeks!

Peter

Mothership Sample Bonanza!
over 9 years ago – Thu, Sep 08, 2016 at 08:09:17 PM

This week I received the first sample (or draft) of Mothership! Keep in mind, these samples are printed using a different process to the final copies and some things need to change which I will outline below.

The Box

...is perfect. I love it. It rocks. Turned out great.

Inside

The tray is perfect except for the two compartments on the top right. They are way too small to hold the red and blue counters and are going to have to be removed. It's not a drastic compromise however as you don't need constant access to the counters after the game starts anyway.

 The card holder is probably my favorite part of the whole tray.

I have tested card sleeves and yes! They do fit. Now keep in mind: You need to get bridge sized card sleeves. Bridge cards are a standard size and the brand I tested were tight and worked great. There is a little leeway for thick sleeves...but not too thick!

I couldn't make the card tray any taller so at the beginning of the game cards do stick out of the top (because of all the extra cards I added to the game!) but after the first round you won't notice it.

Board and Asteroids

The board looks great, premium asteroids look even better. The silver and black really pops on the board and I couldn't be happier with them.

Counters and Ships

Counters look as you would expect!

 WinGo have really nailed the ships. It's hard to convey scale over the internet (without a banana anyway) but the detail they were able to achieve in such a small area was impressive.

 And here's the planet with capture marker. Also remember these will all be coloured in the final version.

 Cool huh? I'm super stoked to see my game come to life like this and again I couldn't have done it without the support of you cool awesome people!

The next sample I get will include custom dice, the four player board and standard asteroids.

Peter

First look at the exclusive box!
over 9 years ago – Thu, Aug 25, 2016 at 12:46:41 AM

Oh boy oh boy, I got some photos fresh from WinGo the game is lookin' pretty slick!

How cool does the box look! The tray is also looking great, WinGo have really done a fantastic job of the initial prints. 

I'll have another update soon when I get everything in the mail. It's all coming together, thanks again to everyone for their support!

In other news, I just backed Unfair from Good Games Publishing. Go check it out!

- Peter

First miniature samples!
over 9 years ago – Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 12:11:52 AM

I wasn't planning on posting an update this week, but WinGo sent me some photos of the first miniature samples! Check em out:

So the white-ish models are the prototypes and the grey samples have just been made.

I am SUPER excited seeing these photos. WinGo have done a great job of recreating the game pieces and I can't wait to see them in colour.

I'll post more updates as they come in :)

Peter