Oath MPC Arrives and Estimate of Address Lock
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jan 08, 2021 at 02:42:32 AM

Hi everyone,

Well things got a little delayed thanks to the holiday postal traffic, but we now have the Oath MPC in the office. Please find some lovely pictures below!

We are happy to report that we found no errors in the MPC. The tray works beautifully and everything fits snugly (with sleeves or without). At this point everything is in final assembly. We're getting very close!

Now, before we get too excited, we should add that we don't have any additional clarity on our shipping estimates. If you follow any other Kickstarters or work in logistics, you know that it's espeically difficult to predict things right now, so we're sticking with our original March-April estimate. Among other things, there's an actual shortage of physical containers! But, rest assured, we are sorting through it as best we can, and we are doing our best to get you this lovely game ASAP.

Address Lockdown

Typically, we lock down addresses once our games are loaded onto the boat. As we still await the ocean freight status, we expect to be locking your shipping addresses by early February and will send an automated 48 hour notice before doing so. Please ensure the address you provide is valid until March/April 2021. If you need to review your pledge information, you can retrieve it here.

Upcoming Streams

Today, Patrick and I will be talking about some of the new Root content at 2pm CST on the Leder Games Twitch channel. Then, since we have the Oath MPC in hand, we'll finally be able to do a proper unboxing and a solo playthrough! We're not sure exactly when we'll schedule those things, so keep an eye on our social media and we'll keep you all updated. And, of course, we'll be sure to back up any stream on YouTube and then post links to them in future Kickstarter updates.  

Support and Other Assistance

If you need any assistance, please email us at [email protected] and we'll help you out! Please refrain from using the Kickstarter messaging system for questions or assistance. We are still making our way through the holiday backlog, but, rest assured, we will get to your message. 

Production and Shipping Update
over 3 years ago – Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 12:54:01 AM

Dear backers,

I hope the season finds you all well! Here in Saint Paul things have been unusually warm, so a lot of us have been doing our best to spend some time outside before Minnesota's winter gets started in earnest.

Today we wanted to update you on a few things related to the project, its production, and its release timeline. Over the past several months I had mentioned that the project was running a little behind schedule. But, we've avoided mentioning any specifics simply because we didn't have any yet! Well, we've got some provisional dates now, so we can bring everyone up to speed.

Production Status

Oath is in full production at the moment and is moving along at a good pace. Every project we've done has presented its own challenges, but I don't think any of us have ever worked on a game like this. This is a big project by any metric, and its size is complicated by the fact that we wanted to design a box and insert that players wouldn't just throw away when they got the game. This has required a lot of back-and-forth and additional time in the assembly process. But we think you will all find the final product well worth the cost.

Because of this, the assembly process is running a little behind our earlier estimates. I had hoped we'd be able to show you the first factory copy in early December, but it looks like we won't be getting that MPC (mass production copy) until the end of the month. Rest assured that the moment we get the game, we'll be showing it off with lots of photos, new setup videos, and maybe some plays of the game. A lot of folks have requested a playthrough with the bot as well, which we'll be happy to do.

Shipping Estimate

Right now everyone is working hard to get Oath on the water by the end of January 2021. In the past, this wouldn't be a difficult thing, but the pandemic has had huge impacts on global shipping. While the Pacific ocean hasn't gotten any wider, the shortage of ships and delays at ports have created a situation where the journey across the ocean and unloading process can be two or three times longer than previous transits. The U.S. trucking industry that brings containers inland has also seen major delays which leads to a container shortage abroad. This makes it fairly difficult to estimate exactly when we will be fulfilling the game.

Here's our current guess: We'll be fulfilling the game sometime between March and April of this year. As usual, our European backers should expect their copies a few weeks later. I know some of you have concerns about Underworld's fulfillment to Europe, but rest assured we have a new European partner who we have been working with for several months on projects like Fort and orders from the Leder Games webstore. They have done exceptional work and they are well-prepared for Oath's arrival.

Like our other projects, the game's official retail release will occur several months after the vast majority of Kickstarter backers have their copies. Right now we're guessing June or July but that date will depend on how fulfillment goes.

So, in grand sum, we're looking at a 2-3 month delay on our original estimate. Considering the scope of this project and everything that's happened this year, we're all pretty happy with everyone's work, and the fact the delay is only a few months is a huge testament to everyone on the team. Rest assured, the game will be worth the wait.

"What if I don't want to wait?"

Well, you're in luck. You can play right now! Usually, it's our general policy not to update online platforms like Tabletop Simulator with a game's final version until after the retail release. However, because the game is running a little late, we've decided to keep the game's official Tabletop Simulator mod updated with the game's final files. And, we've got some handy features in the works that we'll be folding in over the next few months. Right now the mod is about 97% feature complete and contains pretty much all of the game's final art. You can find the mod here. Also, you can find all of the game's rulebooks and a swanky card database over on our website here. 

VASSAL users, don't worry, we'll be commissioning an Oath mod soon! 

Looking for Players?

If you want to play Oath but need a group, check out the Woodland Warriors Discord Server here.

When you join the server, you can subscribe to any of the game channels you'd like to easily find players. Lately, the server's been hosting one or two games of Oath each night and there's a really active discussion about the game. 

Support and Other Assistance

If you need any assistance, please email us at [email protected] and we'll help you out! Please refrain from using the Kickstarter messaging system for questions or assistance.

Pre-Production Copy Arrives!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Oct 20, 2020 at 11:45:36 PM

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, we got a very exciting box from our manufacturer that contained a pre-production copy of Oath. No matter how many times I go through this process, packages like this still make me giddy.

At this point, our team has been working on this title for over a year. For most of that time, we were all working on something that didn't really exist outside of our imaginations. For games as big as Oath, it can be hard to get a handle on the scope of the project—especially when so many of play tests were done digitally. Well, no longer. Oath is here, and it is massive.

As you can see, this box is a little bigger than the usual Leder Game, and it is brimming with content. Within minutes of getting the package here in Saint Paul, the full team began going through everything with a fine-toothed comb. 

The PPC review process basically has three components. First, it's critical for us to review everything. This means we took the game through its built-in tutorial and double-checked both the Chronicle Phase and Setup procedures. I single out these two things because the TTS module automated both of those parts of the design. It's also true that traditionally the setup and teardown of each game tend to be ignored by experienced players who do it from memory. This makes them far more prone to potential errors. Happily, we didn't find any errors, but we did decide to improve the wording of a section. 

After that's done, we go through everything and make sure that all of the pieces are the right size and are easily handled. In the office we play on size-reduced kits (5-15%). This is done mostly to make printing the kits easier, which saves a lot of time cutting and assembling and allows us to spend more time working on game development. Towards the end of development, I usually build a 1:1 scale copy of the game, but it's important to double check everything with the PPC. Happily again, the production is lovely and we didn't find any problems.

We also made sure to play a game with the cards sleeved to make sure everything fit.

Again, I'm happy to report that pretty much everything checked out. Today, we'll be submitting some revised files to the factory to cover a few small cosmetic improvements and other small fixes. 

The final aspect of the PPC is making sure everything fits in the box (both sleeved and unsleeved). This stage is a little tricky and won't be done for a few weeks. Basically, we need to wait for our factory to finish the prototype of the plastic tray. This doesn't delay us since everything else will be in production and/or drying while they make the trays and get ready for assembly. A good chunk of my time this week will be spent working on that.

As soon as we lock the box size and get a little further into production, we'll be sure to give everyone here an update on our official timeline. As I said in the last update, with everything that has happened this year, we are running a little behind on our original date. But the game's files are ready, and the production is looking excellent. Thank you all again for allowing us to work on such an ambitious project. I cannot wait for you all to get your copies.

Late Pledges and Backerkit Closes on Nov 30th

We also just wanted to take this time with a friendly reminder that if you are either new to the campaign or have not yet converted your $1 pledge, you have until November 30th to get Oath for less than MSRP, and with the Kickstarter item extras included for free.

Once the game releases at retail, MSRP for solely the core game of Oath will be $120 USD (an increase from our previous estimate of $110 USD during the campaign). We can only continue to emphasize the value found in the box and the quality of components provided here.

Support and Other Assistance

If you need any assistance, please email us at [email protected] and we'll help you out! Please refrain from using the Kickstarter messaging system for questions or assistance.

Studio AMA, Pre-Press Begins, and Charging Starts Soon
over 3 years ago – Wed, Sep 02, 2020 at 03:52:06 AM

Dear Backers,

Work continues apace! With any luck, we'll be submitting the lion's share of the game to the factory by the end of the week and initiate the pre-press process for most of the print assets. This submission will begin a couple weeks of back-and-forth as we make sure all of the files clear our manufacture's standards.

Today, I have a number of things I want to share with you. First, Patrick and I will be live for a public AMA on the Leder Game's Twitch stream this afternoon at 1PM CDT. We're happy to take any questions you might have about Oath or any other upcoming projects for Leder Games.

You'll be able to tune into that stream on Twitch and Facebook.

Second, It's my pleasure to reveal the game's final map!

This map is pretty similar to the last one I shared with you, but we've cleaned up some of the text and made some small layout adjustments. I went ahead and put some cards on the map to show the game's starting position. As soon as we get the neoprene map from the factory, I'll be sure to share some photos with you all. We also might make some very small adjustments to the mat after we play with it in person, but this is very near to done. 

Speaking of reveals, we now have the near-final playbook and rulebooks in hand.

We went ahead and left the dropbox comments open and would be happy to have any feedback you might want to offer. The structure of these documents and much of their wording has been informed by a lot of play-testing and tons of blind rules reads. So, we won't be changing anything major but if you spot something that you think can be improved, let us know and we might be able to fold in that change.

Hopefully these rulebooks give you a sense of how close we are to the finish line! Pati and Josh have both done a remarkable job putting them together. I cannot wait for all of you to see the final game! 

Reminders and Support

Charge Date - September 4th

Just a quick reminder that September 4th is when we will be locking addresses and charging credit cards on Backerkit for shipping, add-ons, and late pledges. After this date, you will need to email [email protected] if you would like to change your address or add any items to your pledge. 

Last Day to Make Changes or Late Pledges?

Around November is when we expect to no longer accept new late pledges or address changes. This will be communicated in greater detail in an update closer to that full close-down date. Any new late pledges submitted past September 4th will be processed on a weekly/bi-weekly basis, not at the time of submission.

Lost Your Survey?

If you have lost your survey, you can retrieve access here: https://oath-chronicles-of-empire-and-exile.backerkit.com/

Support and Other Assistance

If you need any assistance, please email us at [email protected] and we'll help you out! Please refrain from using the Kickstarter messaging system for questions or assistance.

Alright, that's it for now. You'll hear from us next when we have a complete pre-production copy in hand!

Production Update, Sleeve Design, and Some Sneak Peaks
over 3 years ago – Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 10:26:17 PM

Dear backers,

Over the past few weeks, the whole team has been working hard on finishing the game. On the development side, our work has been mostly limited to small adjustments to a few key systems, some alterations to card balance, and seeing through the end of our final usability study. On the graphic design front, everyone has been pushing the files into final layout and Kyle has been producing some amazing art pieces. The whole project is coming together nicely. No matter how many times I do this, I'm always amazing at how much polish is added to a game in the final weeks. 

Here's what the immediate future of the project looks like: First, in about two weeks we'll be sending files off to the factory to begin the pre-press process. Right now all of the hard components have been approved and are in production. Our hope is to get all of the printed components approved by early September. Once that happens, the factory will put together a Pre-Production Copy (PPC) which we will then go over with a fine-tooth comb. After that we'll pass them some revised files and hopefully mass production on the printed components will begin by October. This puts us a little bit behind our originally projected schedule, but we won't be exactly sure about our fulfillment timeline until later this fall once every element of the game is in production. Given everything that has happened this year, I'm immensely proud of the team for keeping the project on course. And, as soon as we have a better sense of our timeline, we will let you all know.

Okay, time for show-and-tell!

Card Sleeves

In basically every update folks have asked us about card sleeves in the comments. This was always at tricky thing because from a production side it's one of the last things we are able to work on. Thankfully, we are now close enough to the end that I can reveal specifics. First, quantities. The card sleeve set for Oath will contain sleeves for every card that gets shuffled (basically everything but the tutorial cards).

This amounts to:

• 23 Land Cards (115x89mm)
• 209 Bridge Cards (57x89mm)
• 20 Relic Cards (57x57mm)

That's a lot of sleeves! It's also worth mentioning that because Oath has a couple of funny card sizes, this will probably be your best bet for finding sleeves for this game. In terms of quality, these will be gloss premium grade sleeves (100 microns).

We also wanted to make these sleeves special. We considered doing full art sleeves, but the sad truth is that the print quality on the card stock is always going to be higher than the quality of a print on a plastic sleeve, and we didn't want to diminish Kyle's amazing work. So, instead of just mimicking the card backs, the sleeves will instead have a printed frame in black and gold.

The full price for this pack of 252 sleeves is $30. We will likely be selling them directly from our store after the Kickstarter, though the price could go up a little bit. For sleeves like this, this is a really good deal. 

The Chronicle Journal

Over the past few weeks we've also been working on the Chronicle Journal. I don't have pictures of the sample yet, but I thought I'd share a few pictures of how the pages work. So basically every two-page spread in the journal looks like this:

We tried to keep the format open so it could be used in a wide number of ways. Players could freely draw pictures, comics, maps, or just use the blank space for writing. In addition, we provided hooks for recording the date of the game, the name of the session, the oath it was played under, and then also included space at the bottom for recording how the game was resolved.

In addition, we are using the end-papers of the book as space for players to record a timeline or list of kings and queens or any other metagame information they would like. Players can also fill in the chart in the bottom right corner to record the suits of the cards added to the deck each game so new players can quickly get a sense of the deck's composition.

If you'd like to learn more about the thought process behind the endpaper design, I wrote a little thread on twitter here.

Exciting Files Coming Soon

In a couple weeks we'll also be happy to share the final rulebook and playbook. One of our graphic designers, Pati Hyun has done a brilliant job with them. And, of course, much credit is owed to our editor Josh Yearsley and the many, many playtesters and readers who have helped make these books better.

Speaking of files which we're almost ready to show you all. Kyle completed the final art for the map awhile back. Currently it's waiting to go into final layout, after which we'll be sure to share it in all of its final glory. But since we'll be uploading the new map with our playtesting UI to the TTS mod soon, it only seems fair to share it here as well. 

 Cards Charging Soon! 

Lastly, we wanted to remind everyone that all pending balances on your Oath surveys on Backerkit (i.e. shipping costs, late pledges, additional copies, etc.) will charge credit cards on file on September 4th. Please note that this process will also lock down your addresses on file at the same time so you will no longer be able to change your shipping address on your own after this date. If you would like to change your shipping address after September 4th, please email [email protected]. A final address reminder will be communicated later on when we are closer to beginning the fulfillment process.

Late pledge abilities will remain open until November and any new pledges will be charged on a bi-weekly basis, not at the time you place your pledge. Now that we've signed our final quote from the factory, I cannot stress how much of a good deal this is going to be for backers. 

Questions and/or Support?

Please email us at [email protected] for any questions or assistance. Please do not use the Kickstarter messaging system to contact us.