Miniature Moulding and More
about 3 years ago – Thu, Feb 11, 2021 at 07:47:24 PM

Hi folks,

We've been having plenty of back and forth with the manufacturers to make sure we get the miniatures just right, and I thought you might like to see some of the process.

These are single piece miniatures, so the poses need to work within a certain maximum depth. We've been working with our Chinese counterparts to make sure we get the maximum amount of detail in them with this process. Here's an example:

We've been scaling the models up slightly to give them more table presence - they'll now be slightly closer to 32mm. As you can see the base remains the same size - important for legibility on the board where there can be some narrow spaces. Some details may be less visible in this image though, so let's look closer:

As you can see, visually the mini is very similar, but the depth around the torso has been significantly reduced by moving the gun closer to his chest. There have also been more subtle changes, like increasing the size of the buttons on his epaulettes, as the manufacturers felt they would be too small to be visible on the final physical models.

We've had several back-and-forths on these models to make sure they're perfect, like making certain the size increases to one are to scale with the others. It's now Chinese New Year, so the factory are taking a break, but we should have physical models to show you a week or two after they reopen (around mid-March).

In the meantime, Sniper Elite has made Tom Vasel's list of top ten most anticipated games of 2021! Here's what he had to say:

Finally, we welcome a full-time marketing body to the Unplugged team next week! He starts on Monday, so I'll give him a few days to settle in before introducing himself. We hear your requests for more frequent updates, and he will keep you fully appraised of everything from when late pledges are opening to what we'll be renaming the teller mine, while we keep our focus on making sure Sniper Elite is the game you are all looking forward to.

Best,

Duncan & the Rebellion Unplugged team

End of year update
over 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 22, 2020 at 11:52:29 PM

Hi folks,

We wanted to give you an update before years' end to let you know how things are shaping up and outline some of our plans to keep you better informed of our progress.

Rebellion Unplugged is quite a small team, and as a result we haven't prioritised keeping you up to date as much as we should have. As some of you have guessed from the comments, there have been times when an update with no new information feels futile, but we understand the value of saying even that much! With that in mind we're going to introduce a new member of staff in the new year, part of whose remit will be to regularly communicate with backers regarding updates.

That aside, there are two key pieces of information I'm sure you'd all love to hear: how are things progressing, and where are the surveys?

Manufacturing Progress

Things are moving as expected. The minis are with the manufacturer, who are making final tweaks ahead of mass production. We expect these to be extremely minor, stuff to the scale of slight adjustments of arm position so figures better fit the moulds. These are being worked on as we speak, and should arrive over the Christmas break for our approval as soon as we're back in January (we'll get pictures up here as soon as they're approved). From there manufacturing discussions move on to the other plastics (the deluxe tokens and the tray) in January, before a break for the Chinese New Year, then moving ahead to manufacturing of the bags and print components in March.

Surveys & Pledge Manager

We hit some delays early this year due to GDPR queries of ours, that have subsequently been resolved. This delay pushed us into November, and right into the path of the great shipping container shortage of 2020. 

You may or may not have heard about this from other Kickstarter projects, but in a nutshell, China reopened for manufacturing over the summer, as much of the West was shutting down. Ports and warehouses across Europe and America were operating at reduced capacity, so containers were not being unloaded at the rate they were arriving, meaning shipping containers were not being shipped back to China at the usual rate. As a result, there now simply aren't enough containers to meet demand, and freight costs have skyrocketed. Quotes in the region of $1,500-$2,500 are now coming in at $7,000-10,000, if they can be accessed at all. The result of this is that international shipping is now eye-wateringly expensive. This video from November provides some more relevant detail:

The good news is, this should have no effect on Sniper Elite. We're due to ship in June, and would expect all of this to have died down around the end of April/start of May (if not earlier). Trade should have had plenty of time to reset at that stage, and we'll be long past the post-Chinese New Year rush.

What it does have an effect on is the shipping quotes we've got right now. Usually we'd use these quotes as the basis for our shipping charges, but if we do that then the prices we have to charge for shipping would be higher than we would like. We'd prefer to delay the surveys than charge any of you more than we have to. 

Come January the Christmas freight panic should have eased, and we can build a much more accurate picture of the actual costs involved. This our priority once we return, and as soon as we have more concrete information we will share it with you all.

Late Pledges

In order to be as transparent as possible, we're going to hold the late pledge option back until our questions around freight are closer to resolution. We know this is frustrating for the many people who have messaged us eager to get their hands on the game. We promise it's coming, but again, we want to do it right the first time.

I hope you're all keeping safe, and having the best holiday you can under the circumstances.

Best,

Duncan & the Rebellion Unplugged team.

All quiet on the western front
over 3 years ago – Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 07:59:34 PM

Hi folks,

Just a quick note to let you all know that development is going well! We're ironing out some queries with out preferred pledge manager, which is moving more slowly than I'd like, but that is almost complete at this point.

For those of you who do not regularly use Kickstarter, a pledge manager is a third-party service which will allow you to amend your address and order details until a certain cut-off date, beyond which they're locked in. Anyone who backed at the £1 Scout level will be able to upgrade to a different level at the Kickstarter price. Late backers will also be able to pledge ahead of manufacturing.

Playtesting is currently focused on the Allied Snipers expansion. The snipers need to feel different, on top of just having different mechanics. As mentioned in a previous update, Jun's ability sacrifices future flexibility for a massive impact when she needs it. By contract Rosa's use of a Delisle Carbine limits the range of her shots, but greatly reduces the risk of being revealed due to noise. Of course, this knowledge in itself can be a limitation to be exploited by a savvy defender.

As the solo mode interacts with the shot bag in fundamentally different ways to the competitive game, the ways in which the allied snipers work will need to be equally different between those modes. Duncan will be continuing development on the multiplayer while David Turczi works on integrating them into the single player. We'll be consulting closely with one another to make sure the feel is similar, even as the mechanics diverge.

Keep well everyone, and expect another update next week.

On to the real work
over 3 years ago – Mon, Nov 02, 2020 at 12:32:21 PM

And we're finished! Thank you so much to everyone for your support. As this is Rebellion's first board game Kickstarter we very much appreciate the faith and excitement you've all shown Sniper Elite the Board Game. We promise it'll live up to it.

We're going to take a few days to debrief, but we'll be back in touch very soon with pledge manager plans, development updates and more. We're very excited. Thanks again!

A look at Specialists
over 3 years ago – Sun, Sep 06, 2020 at 12:09:54 PM

Hi folks,

The defending Specialist Officers can have a massive impact on the flow of the game, so much so that the sniper chooses their load out after the specialists have been selected. With that in mind, let's take a look at some important uses of the unlocked specialists.

Kennel Master

While some specialist abilities are reactive, the Kennel Master revolves around careful forward planning. Twice per game the Kennel Master can tether a guard dog to his current space. The dogs are held in position so cannot attack, but they can sniff out anyone who moves nearby, allowing the Kennel Master to monitor multiple areas at once for sniper movement.

This ability is best used once some concrete information has been gathered: leave it too early and the dogs will be guarding the wrong area; too late and their information will be of limited use.

Defending Sniper

The Defending Sniper, like the Jager, grants the ability to attack from distance, which is massive. Unlike the Jager, the defending sniper does not have to press as aggressively. By acting as a deterrent to ending their turn in entire sections of the board, a well-placed defending sniper can force the sniper player to completely alter their strategy.

Radioman

One of the main limitations on the defenders is that officers can must be within their own sector to bring a new soldier onto the board. Not so with the radioman. Not only can he deploy a soldier in any sector, he can deploy a soldier from any squad. This gives the unit huge utility, and is best used in active pursuit.

The different combinations of specialist officers will lead to many emergent strategies, even dependant on which squads the specialists are assigned to. With six specialists, three squads and four maps, there are 480 possible combinations. Best get to planning.