We're off the Road Map. Small delays and a little bad news.
almost 3 years ago
– Wed, Jul 07, 2021 at 03:58:45 PM
Hi everyone. I hope you're having a good summer. Here in Portland we just came off our hottest week ever, with temperatures up to 115. For context, we're used to hot days being in the 89- 93 range. It was awful. So I hope you're staying cool and comfortable!
Anyway, today we have some disappointing news to share.
Earlier this year Nick and I were really excited to share a Road Map of our plans for Yeld in 2021 (the one posted above). This was a pretty ambitious set of releases, with two Kickstaters, a box set and 5 expansions planned for the first 7 months of the year. We knew it would be a lot of work, and we were a little worried that we may have bit off more than we could chew, but we thought that we could stick to our schedule if we worked hard and everything went well.
We bit off more than we could chew. Please disregard the Road Map.
We have worked hard, and mostly everything has gone well, but we've had a few unexpected setbacks, and the amount of work has just ended up being overwhelming. I won't go into the details, but we ended up working TOO HARD and getting exhausted.
The good news is that we're not actually running that far behind. Let me give you some details of what you can expect:
Mermaid Hunters Kickstarter fulfillment: Mermaid Hunters is taking a little longer than we expected. Late stage stuff like proofreading and ordering some components have been unexpectedly time consuming. We had originally hoped to ship Mermaid Hunters (and other Kickstarter rewards) this month, but it looks like we'll be shipping in August instead. Digital copies of Mermaid Hunters and other Kickstarter rewards should be available later this month.
Sword Master Job Guide: On our Road Map we had planned to release this expansion in May. Obviously we didn't! Sword Master is done, but its taking awhile to get it printed. We plan to release it as both a book and a PDF along side the rest of the Mermaid Hunters Kickstarter rewards.
Witch Hunter Job Guide: The Road Map says the Witch Hunter Job Guide is coming this month. We're just too overwhelmed, and haven't been able to make much progress on the expansion. So we're going to push it back. It will appear in either August or September. We don't expect this to delay the unnamed November expansion. We're real sorry for the delay, because we know a lot of you were looking forward to Witch Hunter. We have a smaller fun Patreon update planned for July in its place. Look for that around the 15th.
Our next Kickstarter: We've decided to delay our next Kickstarter until after we ship all Mermaid Hunters rewards and we're caught up on work. So later this year. We should have news to share next month. Along with an updated roadmap!
Thank you all for your patience and support. It stinks to have to come to you and tell you that we're not meeting our schedule. On the other hand, setting such an aggressive schedule allowed us to get a LOT more work done. We've produced more Yeld content in the last 5 months than in the last year and a half. Next month you'll have Mermaid Hunters, Sword Master, Summer Collection 202, the Rank 1 Adventure Set and the deluxe Action Board in hand and I think you'll be impressed by the amount of new content!
We'll have more news for you soon, including a new Yeldcast this month!
Again, thanks for your support and patience! Please contact us if you have any questions.
- Jake
1st Yeldcast on Friday!
almost 3 years ago
– Fri, Jun 11, 2021 at 10:37:16 AM
Hi everyone! Our first Yeldcast will be this Friday (tomorrow) at 6pm (PST). Join us on Yeld's Discord, or watch later on Youtube!
Nick and Jake will be live on Discord answering questions, sharing Yeld news, previewing art and rules, talking about game design and more!
Come and ask questions! Jake may answer some Modest Medusa questions too!
June update: Charging for shipping, art previews, Yeldcast and more!
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, Jun 08, 2021 at 09:20:02 PM
Hi everyone! I hope you're having a good summer. June as arrived so fast, I can hardly believe it. Thankfully we seem to be on schedule, and we still expect to ship Kickstarter rewards in late July!
We want to cover a few things with you today.
1. Charging your cards through Backerkit. This Thursday the 10th we will be finally charging you for shipping and add-ons through Backerkit. Backerkit recommended we wait to charge cards until about 45 days before we plan to ship, and that time has come. To be clear, this charge will cover your shipping costs and the costs of any add-ons you selected through Backerkit. If you are only receiving digital rewards you won't be charged (unless you selected additional digital rewards as add-ons).
A few of you still have not filled out your Backerkit survey. If you're just getting digital rewards than this doesn't really matter, but if you are getting anything shipped to you we need to to fill out the survey so we can charge you for shipping. Otherwise we won't be able to send you your Kickstarter rewards. If you haven't filled out your survey I'll be sending you another reminder this evening. Please look for it in your email. If you need help or have questions please contact us at [email protected]!
If you've recently moved or will be moving this summer, don't worry. before we start shipping packages we'll give everyone a chance to update their addresses!
2. Our first Yeldcast! Starting this month Nick and I will be doing a semi-monthly Yeldcast. We'll be live on Discord answering questions, sharing Yeld news, previewing art and rules, talking about game design and more! In the future we may also do some live demos and have some special guests! Each broadcast will be recorded and posted on the Yeld youtube channel too! The first Yeldcast will be this Friday, June 11th starting at 6pm (PST). We hope you can join us on the Yeld Discord! We'll be previewing the Sword Master Advanced Job Guide and the Rank 1 Adventure Set and talking about our next Kickstarter!
3. Sword Master art preview: Speaking of previews, take a look at some art from the new Sword Master book. The Sword Master book has really come together nicely and we think you're going to really like it!
Sword Master Mentors
Sword Styles of Yeld
We'll have more art and previews from the Sword Master Job Guide, the Rank 1 Adventure set and new Mermaid Hunters to show off on Friday's Yeldcast!
- Jake
Answering Backerkit and Shipping questions
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, May 18, 2021 at 01:54:17 PM
Hi everyone! We just wanted to give you a quick update to address a few questions we've received about shipping and Backerkit.
We closed the Backerkit page yesterday. This means that your order has now been finalized and locked in (actually, you still ae about 4 hours to make final changes). So we no know exactly what each of you will be receiving and we can place our orders with manufacturers!
A few of you still haven't filled out your Backerkit survey. That's not a problem if you're just getting digital rewards. But for those of you receiving stuff in the mail, Backerkit is how we charge you shipping. So we can't ship your rewards until you fill out your survey! If you're having trouble figuring it out please let us know!
Cards will be charged on June 10th! We originally thought we would be charging your cards yesterday, but it turns out that's not how Backerkit works. Backerkit suggests we wait to charge you closer to our shipping date. So well be charging your cards on June 10th. This charge will be for shipping and any add-ons you selected through Backerkit. So if you're watching your bank account to make sure funds are still available, June 10th is the date to watch for!
We still hope to ship in early July. Obviously this is subject to change, but right now we're more or less on schedule! We'll have a better idea of shipping dates (and release dates for PDF content) next month. Thank you all for your patience! And don't worry, we'll give you a chance to update your address if you need to before we ship!
That's it for now. We'll be back later this month with a fun update showing off some new stuff from the Sword Master Job Guide and rank 1 Adventure Set!
- Jake
Big update! International shipping changes, Backerkit deadline and more!
almost 3 years ago
– Wed, May 12, 2021 at 05:23:55 PM
Hi everyone! I hope you're having a nice May! May is a big month for our family. Nick and I both have our birthday's in may, as do our other two siblings. Since we're mostly all vaccinated we got to actually see each other last weekend to celebrate birthdays! It was nice!
Today we have a VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE for you. Please read all of it! Here's what we'll talk about:
International shipping price changes
Backerkit deadline
New content for Mermaid Hunters
International Shipping price Changes! We have mostly good news and a little bad news for our international backers. You all know that international shipping is super expensive right now. We really appreciate that you decided to support our project despite those high costs, and we promised we'd try to find you the very best shipping price. The good news is that we have!
International backers whose packages weigh between 11 and 64 ounces (which is most of you) can check on Backerkit right now to see that your shipping costs have been dramatically reduced. Shipping is still expensive, and savings vary based on location and weight, but international backers can expect to save between $8 and $22! That's a big deal, and we're really glad we could figure this out for you!
Here's the bad news. The savings don't apply to packages that weigh more than 64 ounces (4 pounds). So those of you that placed very large orders are stuck with very expensive shipping prices. I'm really sorry about that. We don't want you to be punished with higher prices because you wanted to support us more!
We do have a possible solution for international backers with packages that weigh more than 64 ounces. We can try to split your order into two smaller boxes and mail them separately (at the same time). This won't save you MUCH money, but it will be a small savings. Unfortunately, we can't really set this up in Backerkit. We're also not exactly sure how much this will cost, and we won't know until we actually mail packages in July. So what we'll have to do is ask you to pay full shipping fees in Backerkit and then after we ship your package we will send you a refund (through Backerkit or Paypal) for whatever the savings is. We recognize that this is not ideal at all. Unfortunately, its the best solution we can come up with.
If you have questions about international shipping please contact us on Kickstarter or at [email protected]
Backerkit deadline: Our Backerkit page closes this coming Sunday the 16th of May. This will be the day we will charge you all for shipping and any extra add-on items you added to your pledge in Backerkit. Before Saturday we need you to make sure you have filled out your Backerkit survey. Even if you're not adding anything at all and won't be charged shipping. If you haven't received your survey, lost it or need help please let us know!
Also, make sure you have selected all the add-on items you want. We're offering nearly everything from the Kickstarter as add-ons, as well as the brand new Summer Collection 2021 book!
If you live in the Portland area we will have an official local pick up day sometime in July. Make sure to select the "local Pickup" option in backer kit and skip shipping fees!
New content for Mermaid Hunters: Last but not least, we're excited to tell you that Mermaid Hunters will include some new content, including a new Boss Monster, Mentor and Red Spell designed with the help of Kickstarter Backers. We think this content is pretty great, and we hope you'll really like it! Here's your first look at the unstoppable Avalanche Slime, designed with Kickstarter backer Glucifer!
