Address Lock Down and Current Shipping Estimates
about 5 years ago
– Thu, Feb 18, 2021 at 12:25:14 AM
Hi everyone!
Please read below on the current status of fulfillment and ensure that your addresses are correct and up to date by Friday.
Address Lock Down
Shortly after posting this update, we will send a 48-hour notice to all backers reminding you to check your address information provided on Backerkit. If you need to review your information or access your pledge for any reason, you can retrieve your information here: https://oath-chronicles-of-empire-and-exile.backerkit.com/
If you are moving and don’t know what address to use, please refer to the shipping outline below. If you are still unsure, please contact [email protected] and we’ll help you determine which address is safest to use.
Current Shipping Estimates
Any timelines discussed here are estimates and subject to change. With the unpredictability that Covid-19 has caused in transit lanes, processing times, and many other factors that contribute to delivering your pledges, we unfortunately cannot guarantee exact delivery dates. We ask you to be prepared for any potential delays, which we will communicate to you through these updates. Thank you for your patience!
Please also note that your tracking information may take some time to activate, and that your tracking notice at first may only show that your label has been generated, not that your package has left the shipping facility.
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UK, Europe, and Rest of World
Oath is en route to our shipping partner located in Germany. Currently, the boat is estimated to arrive in port around Feb 26thand will take 1-2 weeks to reach the shipper’s warehouse, though port congestion may cause some slight delay.
If all goes well, fulfillment may start as early as the first week of March and finish by late March or early April. Deliveries roughly take 1-2 weeks (Europe and UK) or 2-3 weeks (Rest of World) from the time you receive your shipment notification.
All in all, we expect backers in this region to receive their pledges before the end of April, if there is no delay in any part of this process.
A note on UK shipping: Our shipping partner has assured us that UK backers will not need to pay customs upon arrival and will not need to pay the VAT in order to ship your pledge.
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Australia and New Zealand
Oath is currently en route to VR Distribution in Australia and is expected to arrive at the port in early March. Allowing 1-2 weeks to unload the container and for transit to VR’s warehouse, fulfillment may start as early as mid or late March and finish in late April. Tracking notifications via email will be sent out when the shipping label has been created, and the package will usually arrive within 1-2 weeks.
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Asia
VFI currently has Oath in hand. After your addresses are locked down, we will provide them to VFI to begin shipping as early as next week. During this process, your pledges will be forwarded from VFI’s warehouse to your country’s distribution hub, where it will be fulfilled locally by their distribution partner.
The transit time to each hub varies depending on the destination and may take longer than usual due to the pandemic. Under normal circumstances, arrival to the destination country in Asia can take up to 30-45 days, but please allow extra time for extra processing time or potential delays. We anticipate fulfillment to finish by the end of April, with some potentially going into May.
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US, Canada, and Mexico
Unfortunately, our North American shipment has not left the factory yet. All of the shipping lanes are extremely crowded right now, and we are still waiting to secure passage. After the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, the shipping lanes will decongest and we can continue to secure a boat booking.
Currently, we estimate the games arriving in port sometime in late April. We anticipate fulfillment to finish by the end of May as long as nothing causes additional delay. So in total, this is about a month of delay from our initial estimates.
We appreciate your continued patience, and we will keep everyone updated.
Retail Pledges
Retail pledges adhere to the current estimated shipping timelines outlined above. However, as with all of our other campaigns, retail pledges will process right after individual backer orders have gone out.
Please also ensure that you have confirmed your shipping address with our sales director, Clay. If there are any questions regarding your pledge, you can contact him at [email protected].
Support and Questions
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.
Oath MPC Arrives and Estimate of Address Lock
about 5 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 5 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 5 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 5 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!
