SKEPTICS Update
about 2 years ago – Sat, Apr 02, 2022 at 01:26:52 AM

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give you a very quick update of the SKEPTICS progress.

Shipping and Pickup

Our manufacturer got back to us and said the booking for our US Shipment is now confirmed for pickup at their factory. The estimated dates are to leave Shanghai near 4/09 and arrive to NY around 5/09. From there, the palettes will be moved down to the port in Jacksonville, then onto our fulfillment center in Florida. We were cautioned that these are only estimated dates and they would most likely be delayed due to...well, everything going on in our World today. At least there is some progress though!

For the UK (and all other countries; our fulfillment center for rest of the world is in UK), booking has not been confirmed just yet due to a COVID lockdown but they are confident that the lockdown will end next week, and freight forwarding agencies should be able to resume normal operation. Upon that time the manufacturer can move forward with the booking. 

We have been told that the factory itself though is not affected by the lockdown, so that is some good news.

Soundtrack

The second 30-second soundtrack Sample is now up on Usiakgames.com/soundtrack. Both tracks will be available a few days before our first backers receive their games!

That is all I have for now, but wanted to keep you updated. I am off work this week, and spending a little time on.....future things :)

Thank you!

Jon 

Quick SKEPTICS Update
about 2 years ago – Sat, Mar 19, 2022 at 01:47:05 AM

Hello everyone!

I wanted to reach out this week to keep  you updated on our recent news and schedule and where things are up to this point. This won't be as in depth as one of Brian's amazing updates, but it should be enough to give you an idea of where things are at.

Manufacturer/Mass Production Copy (MPC)

So there is some good news, and some news that caused a delay. Nothing bad or major, but there was a delay with the manufacturer because they misprinted the Expansion Storybook in the MPC. All the colors were printed in a sepia tone, which wasn't too bad, but was not the intended, original colors. We would've probably rolled with it, but on page 2 one sentence was overlapping another and it looked bad. Something was offset on the printer. We also noticed a (double word) typo on page 10, so I figured if they had to reprint anyway, why not update that as well. They said production would take 2-3 more weeks, but they got back to me quickly and finished the print run sooner.  There was also a misprint on the Core Rulebook page 6 with some color shifts (middle image),  but it wasn't bad enough to reprint the entire 20 page Rulebook, so we made the decision to let it go.  The sample copy was perfect, but they use different machines for the MPC, so some things could get slightly off, as in this case. Otherwise, everything else came out great!

The Insert Tray design is now upgraded. Sleeved cards fit perfectly on the left and right slots, they pushed down another millimeter of space for the Magnifying Glasses. They upgraded the Dark Blue Clue Dice to the desired light blue to match the Key Dice (which are also corrected).  The Ghost Cards sit perfectly inside their slots, with the investigator tokens slot right under. I was very pleased with this final design. 

So now we are expecting a Cargo pickup on March 28th from the factory to go to the fulfillment centers. But like all things go in the shipping world, this could change.  I am also waiting on some VAT information so we can have everything set to go for our UK fulfillment center, which will ship out to the rest of the world (USA, Canada, and Mexico will come from our US fulfillment). Once that comes through we can finalize the UK cargo.

Soundtracks

The first of the two soundtracks are finished, with the second track going through final edits. I decided to split the tracks to be designed by two different sound designers instead of just one, just to get some variety. The first track is more of a sound based Environment track set in an abandoned Asylum. Where as the second track is more music and atmospheric with some minor sound effect additions. The first 30 seconds of the first soundtrack can be heard at the following link: usiakgames.com/soundtrack

The second track sample will be uploaded within the next week or so once all edits are completed.  The full versions will be released when the first copies of the games reach our backers, which is still set for Summer.

Final Words

Other than that, things are still in motion and still should be within the schedule Brian wrote up during the last update.  We really have no control on the speed of shipping once the Cargo gets picked up but will keep everyone updated as news arrives.

On a side note, I have been working on the next expansion. Mostly reference gathering and planning the design and layout. My goal is to give a bit more board space on this next design, and already have templates for a Quad Fold board, which when reduced should be the same size as the board in the Original game. I do not want to reveal what the design is yet, but you will get a hint with your copy of the Core game :)

Thank you everyone. Have a great weekend! If you have any questions please reach out. We will try to get back to you when we can!

Jon Usiak

Pledge Manager Closes Tomorrow (March 1st)!
about 2 years ago – Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 05:05:28 PM

Tomorrow (March 1st), we will be closing the Pledge Manager within BackerKit. 

There are still 46 backers at the $50+ level that have yet to complete their surveys (and 73 backers at the $1 level). Once the Pledge Manager closes, this process will be more difficult and could result in your games not arriving when other backers receive their games. This may happen because we need the finalized surveys to know how many copies of the game to send to the fulfillment centers in the US and worldwide. If we have to ship from the US to another country, it could result in higher shipping as well. So please complete your surveys in the next 24 hours to avoid any issues. 

I will send one last Reminder from BackerKit shortly after this update is posted. 

• The BackerKit email you should be looking for is from: [email protected]
• Subject should be something like: "Reminder — Response needed to deliver your reward for SKEPTICS relaunch"

Once we close the Pledge Manager, we will be compiling the backer data and providing it to the fulfillment partners for their internal processes to begin. We will also be providing the country and count data to the manufacturer and freight to ensure the correct number of copies are sent to their respective fulfillment centers. 

We expect to receive an update from the manufacturer early this week with news that SKEPTICS manufacturing is done and that they are sending us the final product sample to verify. We look forward to providing more information throughout the month. I suspect that we will have quite a few updates in March, very little in April while the games are on the boat, and more updates in late May as they are hopefully arriving at the docks. 

We can't wait for the games to be in your hands; we are getting closer and closer each week. Have a great week!

Brian and Jon

Usiak Games and Designs

Pledge Manager Closing on March 1st
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 09:37:03 AM

Hello all, 

Jon and I are both really busy with our day jobs, but we did want to give just a very quick update based on an update from the manufacturer. As we said in the last update, 

the Pledge Manager will be closing on March 1st.

Please get your shipping and add-ons paid for so we know what is being shipped where. We will only be sending a small number of additional copies to each major shipping hub; it will be very difficult getting games shipped out if you do not complete it before we get them palleted together ready for freight. Obviously, it is our responsibility to ensure you get your game, but please get your Pledge Manager sorted out as soon as possible so we can ensure a smoother process for everyone. Message us if you are having issues with the Pledge Manager or finishing your order. 

There are currently 52 backers at the $50/$100 level that have not completed their survey as well as 76 at the $1 level. I will be re-sending the surveys out in a few minutes, but I encourage you to check your email and spam/junk folder so you do not miss it. 

Schedule

As of now, our schedule from the Feb. 4th update is still what we are expecting. I will re-paste it here for your convenience: 

• Feb. 1 - Feb. 15 - Chinese New Year (manufacturing is offline)
• Feb. 16 - Feb. 28 - Manufacturing Finishes
• Mar. 1 ~ Pledge Manager Closes
• Mar. 7 - Mar. 8 - Final Manufacturing Copy Received by Jon.
• Mar. 9 - Late March - Games are being packaged and picked up by the freight company.
• Late March - Late May - Games are on the ocean headed to the US and UK shipping hubs.
• Mid June - Games are in route to the backers via local package delivery services.

Once we get the final manufacturing copy in hand, we will do another update (roughly 2~ish weeks if all goes according to plan). This manufacturing copy will be a single copy put together by the manufacturer based on what they think is a good "packaging" of the game. We will provide any changes we see as needed and give the approval for the remaining 1500~ copies to be packaged and put on 6-7 pallets for the freight company. 

We will have more to say and pictures for the early March update. Have a great week, 

Brian and Jon

Usiak Games and Designs

Early February Updates (Pledge Manager and Schedule)
about 2 years ago – Sat, Feb 05, 2022 at 03:26:26 PM

Good Day Everyone, 

First off, I hope 2022 is going well for you. For me, it has been an interesting start of the year already. 

Pledge Manager Surveys

There is less than a month before we are going to close the pledge manager. Please take the time to go in and complete your survey, pay for shipping, and make any additional purchases you would like. I will hit the button to send the reminder to everyone who is still pending survey completion. Once this survey closes, it becomes very difficult to process updates to your order beyond the occasional address update that may be needed. 

Schedule

There really isn't much to report regarding the project that hasn't already been reported, but I did want to confirm the updated schedule we believe we are on. These are estimates based on what the manufacturer, freight, and the distribution centers have told us their required times would be. I have once again put in a little extra time in the schedule to account for delays, but assuming the manufacturing wraps up this month, I think this is fairly realistic. 

• Feb. 1 - Feb. 15 - Chinese New Year (manufacturing is offline)
• Feb. 16 - Feb. 28 - Manufacturing Finishes
• Mar. 1 ~ Pledge Manager Closes; this may shift a week either direction based on Manufacturing status.
• Mar. 7 - Mar. 8 - Final Manufacturing Copy Received by Jon.
• Mar. 9 - Late March - Games are being packaged and picked up by the freight company.
• Late March - Late May - Games are on the ocean headed to the US and UK shipping hubs.
• Mid June - Games are in route to the backers via local package delivery services.

I wish I had more to report, but we are at that part of the project where all we can do is check status from our partners and provide those details to you all. Thank you all for your patience with the project; this being our first project, we have learned a lot especially about timelines that will help improve our future projects. Everyone being so supportive and providing positive feedback has been amazing and helps drive our passion for making even more games. 

Thank you again and expect another update from us around the last week of February when we expect manufacturing to be wrapping up and providing us a detailed status; we plan to ping them on the 23rd if they haven't reached out before then. We want to give them about a week to ramp back up because no one likes being bothered immediately after a holiday.  

Have a great weekend, 

Brian and Jon