Alone™: 2nd Print Run with New Contents and Localizations

A miniature is being promoted... gameplay development update, expansion rulebooks preview, and more!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 04, 2019 at 01:12:04 AM

Hello, backers!

After a few updates talking about the status of the production, we thought it was a good idea to share with you a few updates regarding the decisions we took during the development of the new gameplay concepts unlocked during the second Alone campaign.

One of our biggest development challenges has been to come up with a game system allowing the Evil players to take decisions in a more independent way; during the campaign, this set of rules was nicknamed the "Avatars".

The initial concept we tested would bring the Avatar figure linked to a specific Reaction deck into play under the direct to control of the player using that deck, while in a 4 player game the "neutral" Evil player (the one allowed to draw from both Reaction decks) would have a different system of actions to use, allowing them to control either of the two Avatars in play. After the first rounds of playtests, though, it quickly became clear that this was not the best solution, since the physical presence of a "personal" Avatar was very important for the new game mechanism to work and "feel" right, as it was directly connected to the individual decisions taken by each Evil player. Whenever you add something to a game, its rules expand, and we as game developers must pay close attention to it, as we need to avoid to overwhelm people.

Therefore, we realised that if we "promoted" the Alpha Android miniature to "Neutral Avatar" status, it would add much more value to the game than if it was used as a Mob or a Character (as we already have a great variety of powers already via all the other Mob and Character cards unlocked during the campaign for the other miniature). A small step for the Alpha Android, a giant leap for the Avatar mechanism (and the game as a whole)... please welcome the "A.I. Avatar"!

The introduction of the A.I. Avatar allowed us to finally make the Avatar mechanism as a whole to work as we envisioned when we introduced it during the campaign as an answer to your request to give a more "personal" involvement to each Evil player, their own "thing" to control and move across the game map. However, to allow this change to happen, the list of printed components we communicated during the KS will need to be slightly changed: the Mission card, Mob card and Character card linked to the Alpha Android will all be replaced by the "Neutral Avatar dashboard" (of which you can see an early preview above). The miniature itself won't be affected by this change.

We understand that a change on what was agreed during the campaign might not be well received, but we firmly believe that this change is for the best. We are commited to make the gameplay and the game experience of Alone the best possible above anything else, and we hope you will understand. We would love to hear your feedback about this change down in the comments, though! =)

If you want to give a more in-depth look at the Avatar rules and the other new gameplay elements introduced with the second Alone campaign, you can take an early look at the rulebooks of the Avatar expansion and the Deep expansion. Please keep in mind that we're still tweaking the layout of these rulebooks a little bit, and that a few more proofreading rounds may be needed, but the gameplay is basically there. Don't hesitate to report any typo or share any other kind of feedbacks!

Talking about game experiences, one final note: if you follow us on social media you may already be aware that we're soon going to launch another kickstarter campaign. Please allow us to introduce you to... Unicorn Fever, a tactical betting game where unwitting unicorns and their mindless desire to run on rainbows are exploited by unscrupulous citizens of the magical realm for profit... and glory!

When compared to Alone, Unicorn Fever is a completely different kind of product (both from an aesthetic and a gameplay point of view), but if you've come to know us and our catalog of games, from Railroad Ink and Potion Explosion to Alone, you already know that we love fun games, whatever form they might take, and that we always strive to adopt a different approach from what the average products on the market offer when we develop our games. We hope you will check it out!

If unicorns and rainbows are not your thing, we still want to reassure you: even if the campaign for Unicorn Fever will launch before we start the shipment of Alone, Unicorn Fever has a completely different production schedule that will in no way overlap with Alone (whose production process has already started and is proceeding well). Unicorn Fever will not affect the shipping date of Alone in any meaningful way (speaking of which, we should be able to give you a more precise idea of when it is going to happen soon, as well as more production updates including the add-ons, stay tuned).

As usual, we're at your disposal to hear and answer any doubt or concern you may have!

Sincerely,

the Horrible team

A Midsummer Production Update :)
almost 5 years ago – Mon, Jul 29, 2019 at 10:15:07 PM

Dear backers,

here we are for a new update!

Let's start with the (slightly) bad news: the final batch of resin miniatures we were supposed to receive a few days after our last update actually only arrived last week—an unexpected delay on our resin caster's part that messed a little bit with our productionschedule. The chances we could make the Essen pickup option happen were already pretty low, but this is the final nail in the coffin... we won't be able to offer an Essen pickup option as we desired back when our campaign was running, sorry people! =/

The good news, though, is that all the resin sculpts are now finally in the hands of our Chinese manufacturer and the molds are being prepared for the first test injection! We can't wait to see (and then show to you) the first production samples of our new miniatures!

Here you can find some final reference pictures of the long-awaited final batch of resin miniatures (parts attached/glued here at our 'Horrible' office!):

Here's a few other pictures of some minis from the first batch we received, also polished, assembled and photographed moments before being shipped to the factory!

We're also happy to let you know that our development department delivered most of the final files to our graphics! After a great amount of playtesting, numerous defeats of our Alone hero, alien blood split all over the spaceship, and lights on and off, most of the new gameplay elements are final enough to start working on the layout side of things! =D

Once more, we apologise for not being able to provide the Essen pick-up for you who counted on it, but once more we're happy with the gameplay final results and we're sure the right calls were made during the production process to provide another product we're proud of.

Until next time, stay tuned!

Sincerely,

the Horrible team

URGENT: Only two days left to answer your surveys!
almost 5 years ago – Wed, Jun 12, 2019 at 02:34:13 AM

Dear backers,

just a quick update today: remember that you only have time until next friday to answer your surveys (that's two days from now)! Most of you already did, and many also did after our latest reminder last week, but there's still about 300 of you who still need to answer their Backerkit survey... if you are one of these backers, you have to hurry up! After the pledge manager closes, you will not be able to complete your pledge or add any optional add-ons to your order, and for logistic reasons you will not receive your rewards at the same time of the other backers!

If you already answered your pledge, instead, no further action on your side is needed. After the deadline, you won't be able to add any more items to your order, but you will still be able to update your shipping address until we lock those too, later this year.

If you didn't receive or lost your survey email, you can recover it at this link.

Stay tuned for the next update!

Sincerely,

the Horrible team

One week left to answer your Backerkit surveys & production update!
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jun 08, 2019 at 01:06:25 AM

Dear backers,

there is only one week left before we close our pledge manager and the late pledge store on Backerkit. Only about 10% of people is missing (357 backer to be precise). If you didn't answer your survey yet, remember to do so before the 14 June deadline (next friday)! If you missed your survey, you can recover it from here.

If you already answered your survey, you will still be able to update your shipping address even after the deadline (we will lock these later) but remember that you won't be able to change your order (to add or remove items), so make sure you added everything you want to purchase before 14 June! Also remember that if you opted to pay by credit card, these will be progressively charged between 14 and 18 June, so make sure you have enough funds available.

And now, a small production update! First of all, we finally have pictures of the trasparent dice add-on! If you were on the fence about these, this picture may convince you to purchase your set before the pledge manager closes next friday!

As we anticipated in our previous update, we also received the first resin copies of the miniatures. Unfortunately, we only received a first batch, with 5 models missing from this shipment after an unexpected delay experienced by the resin caster we're working with. Even if we should receive the second (and final) batch next week, this makes meeting the deadline allowing the Essen pick-up option even more difficult than it already was. We are sorry for all of you who were hoping to pick up their copy in Essen but, as we said, we think the final quality of the product is more important and we do not want to rush things. We will still be in Essen with our booth and our other games, though, and we will be more than happy to meet and chat with all of you who will attend SPIEL. We will keep you posted on our Essen plans in future updates.

In the meantime, take a look at these pictures of the resin copies! These are the final step before the realization of the actual molds that will be used during mass production. Note that all these resin copies still need to be polished, and many are in multiple parts and have not been assembled yet (but you will receive them all pre-assembled in your boxes, of course).

That's all for today's update, folks! See you next time, and stay tuned!

Sincerely,

the Horrible team

Essen Pickup option update, all sculptures ready, & survey deadline reminder!
almost 5 years ago – Tue, May 28, 2019 at 01:32:02 AM

Dear backers,

it's been a while since our last update, but we've been working hard to bring this project to fruition. Let's start with the bad news first: unfortunately, we most probably won't be able to meet the deadline needed to allow the Essen Pickup option some of you desired to take advantage of. It is still not out of the realm of possibility, but it would require that we rush things more than we would be comfortable with, and we prefer to focus on the quality of the final product (which is our main concern).

Some of you expressed a desire to get a refund if the Essen pickup option was not guaranteed: if that is your case, contact us at [email protected] and we'll sort it out. If you do not intend to cancel your pledge, instead, please answer your survey and input your shipping address: should we somehow manage to make the Essen pickup happen and announce it again at a later date (like we did for the first campaign), we will 100% refund you any shipping costs you paid. Sorry for the inconvenience. :)

With that said, while for the same reasons of the above we can't confirm a final shipment date yet, we are still aiming to deliver the game before the end of the year, if not by mid-late October as originally planned. We'll keep you posted!

Let's continue on happier notes now: Stephane Simon completed the sculptures of the two missing avatars! All sculptures have already been sent to our trusted resin caster, and we should receive the first batch of resin copies in the next few days! If these will have no issues (as we expect), they will be forwarded to our Chinese manufacturer right away, to start working on the injection molds for the mass production. We'll share pictures of the resin copies when we'll receive them; in the meantime, take a look at the two final sculptures, straight from Stephane's workbench!

Finally, a quick update on the status of our pledge manager. Almost 90% of you already answered their surveys, and with two and a half weeks left before the June 14 deadline, we are at good point. If you didn't answer your survey yet, though, don't forget to do so before the deadline! If you didn't receive your survey by email, you can retrieve it here.

Sincerely,

the Horrible team