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Dark Souls™ - The Board Game

Created by Steamforged Games Ltd

Dark Souls™ - The Board Game is a strategically challenging, deeply immersive combat exploration game for 1-4 players.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

18:55GMT Still Awaiting Update on Import Progress
over 7 years ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2016 at 11:45:00 PM

 Hey unkindled,

It is 18:55GMT as we write this here in the UK. We will be working throughout the evening and act the minute we have the latest update/info from BackerKit.

The last email we had from them was at 18:05GMT stating they are still awaiting on the dev team to get the formats aligned. For everyone's information this stage is super important as it ensures that all correct amounts are attached to the right backers for a smooth completion process.

The BackerKit review team are ready the minute the import has been done to do their final checks and the Steamforged crew are on-hand (up until about 21:00GMT tonight) to press the GO button when we can.

Thank you once again to everyone for the positive and supportive messages we have been receiving over this small delay. It speaks volumes at the strength of the community we have build around the development and production of this game.

We will update as and when we have information!

Lets all Praise the Sun \[T]/ - we could all do with Solaire's help on this one!

UPDATE: As of 19:04GMT They have just informed me the import is about half way done and in progress. Again we will keep you up to date as we find out!

BackerKit Update - ETA Wednesday :(
over 7 years ago – Tue, Nov 01, 2016 at 12:43:51 AM

 

Hey unkindled,

The BackerKit all being well should be launched on Wednesday.

Unfortunately despite our best efforts the customer data is still proving a little difficult to import into the system:

 As you can see from the image above, we have completed every step of the creation apart from the Import of the Backers.

Usually on a Kickstarter it is a simple as pressing the import button within BackerKit - however due to the scale of our project and the late pledges through Stripe/PayPal we have had to do a custom import by the BackerKit Development Team.

We were expecting this today but unfortunately it has taken a little longer than we had hoped. We plan to give you an update daily (and launch as soon as we can!) but the likely launch now is Wednesday.

To slightly make up for it, we have a image of The Old Iron King which feels appropriate to share on Haloween...

Thank you once again to all the backers for their support and patience with this stage of the project. Although this isn't the news you want to hear we at SFG endeavor to give you the honest and transparent status of the project at all stages when we can.

Praise the sun \[T]/

BackerKit Launch Progress
over 7 years ago – Mon, Oct 31, 2016 at 11:03:36 PM

 Hey unkindled,

We are still working furiously in the background to get the BackerKit live. We have a couple of remaining countries we are still locking down postage for and we are finalizing the full import of all backers (including late pledges, etc.).

To stop people refreshing Kickstarter all day, we will do the next update at 21:00GMT.

Catch you later guys!

BackerKit Progress & China Factory Visit
over 7 years ago – Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 12:50:22 AM

Hi unkindled,  

Before anything else - we are still working on BackerKit and are planning to meet our 31st October roll-out as announced. 

Apologies to everyone for our lack of updates over the last few weeks. As some of the backers have been talking about it has literally been due to our huge workload ensuring that the quality of the product we plan to deliver is of the highest we can achieve. Part of this involved a trip to China... Hopefully this update will give you a 'behind the scenes' look at the logistical challenges a project like this poses to a company.

We felt with a project on this scale we needed to visit the factories involved directly. So Rich Loxam (Managing Director) & Mat Hart (Creative Director) went on the 12 hour flight across the world to personally see how progress was going. 

The awesome Ludo Fact Asia Office - so many shiny toys inside!
The awesome Ludo Fact Asia Office - so many shiny toys inside!

 

After travelling from Hong Kong to mainland China we met up with Ludo Fact Asia in the city of Dongguan. They had arranged a full trip to the various factories that are producing each element of the Dark Souls project and gave us a full run down of exactly how it was all happening.

To give you an idea of how production of this project happens essentially:

  • Models, Components and some Printed Products are produced in China
  • These items are then shipped to LudoFact Germany & LudoFact USA
  • Both these locations and LudoFact Asia then compete the printing and assembling processes of the product
  • Once completed, these are then sent to multiple distribution hubs around the world
  • Once at the hub, parcels are pick/packed and then sent to the customers
On our visit in China, we stopped off at one of the main printing factories that deals with most of the gaming industry printed components.

One of the large scale printers within the factory - yes that is a man poking out of the bottom end...
One of the large scale printers within the factory - yes that is a man poking out of the bottom end...

Pretty much every major board game was seen our our trip round (unfortunately we cannot show you images of them!) and we were shown the various stages they go through to make sure the components are of the highest quality. Some of these processes included:

  • Cold/Heat treatment of the board components so warping doesn't occur
  • Machine fed card cutting for accurate centering (yes, rounded corners!)
  • Digital file checking and error flagging from prototype creation and digital samples
  • Calibration of machines for perfect wrapping of graphical packaging around outer boxes, etc.
It was incredibly impressive the level of quality checking that happens and confirmed to us we had made the right choice for Dark Souls.

Stages of Production - 3D Print Approval Samples (Orange) and Pre-Tooling Samples (White)
Stages of Production - 3D Print Approval Samples (Orange) and Pre-Tooling Samples (White)
Another key stop on our trip was to the modelling manufacturer. We were shown the entire process from mould and tooling creation to production samples. The image above shows some of the various stages the current Dark Souls models were at.

The level of detail achieved on these miniatures is incredible. We cannot wait to update you with the photos of the final production samples over the next few months. We have recently gone through a similar process with our Guild Ball range of miniatures (see steamforged.com - Kick Off! for details) and we are so happy that the level of quality is some of the highest seen in board gaming.
Titanite Demon 3D Sample Prior to Tooling Sample...and yes thats a 75mm base!
Titanite Demon 3D Sample Prior to Tooling Sample...and yes thats a 75mm base!

 

Top Down look at the Gargoyle - with tape measure for scale.
Top Down look at the Gargoyle - with tape measure for scale.

 

A selection of base sizes from 25mm - 75mm. Don't worry, they come pre-assembled on the models in the box :)
A selection of base sizes from 25mm - 75mm. Don't worry, they come pre-assembled on the models in the box :)
After a few exhausting days we come back from China with a full sense of excitement and amazement at the sheer scale of what is involved behind the screen of emails and communication we normally get to see when producing a new game. 

We also have full confidence that the final products will be well received by our backers and customers.

Finally, we can now confirm that every single model unlocked on the campaign is now sculpted and at various stages of approval/production.
The next update from us will be relating specifically with the BackerKit and should arrive on October 31st as planned.

Praise the Sun! \[T]/



Update: Sorcerer Player Character Render
over 7 years ago – Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 12:23:39 AM

Hello Unkindled,  

This week we have, for you, the Sorcerer Player Character Render. We replaced the knife, that was originally displayed in the Kickstarter image, with a staff.

 

 If you'd like to watch the Steamforged News in which they appear then click the link below:

Praise the Sun \[T]/