Galatic Strike Force Kickstarter discussion

General GTG General Discussion
21

I cannot help but think, and I have seen comments indicating such, that had they spent a little more time thinking through the initial presentation of the project, the initial kickstarter project page, this project could have more momentum.  When everyone's first response is excitement followed by brakes slamming and "huh?" When you get to the fantasy themed races, that cannot be good for first impressions.  Follow that with a complete lack of any significant explanation of game play on that first day and you have a lot of people that looked and moved on, probably not to return. I am backing the game plus minis because I have had great times with Sentinels and am sure it will be fun, but for anyone not familiR with >G that was not an easy sell with that setup. 

I think they have realized what a mistake those things were and have made corrections, but I think this thing would have been so different if the had taken just a bit more time and reflected on their presentation.  I think the game itself and the stretch goals look solid enough and I get the need for a more toned down project if they lost money on the ST project, I just think a lot of the momentum problems could have been curbed with better salesmanship from the outset. 

22

More Q&A!

What is the retail price of GSF?

$39.95

Cause I just remembered since you are using the same delivery system as ST KS campaign?

We are using the same shipper (FedEx). However, we anticipate being able to ship everything out much more quickly without as much of a time lag this time.

Is everyone also getting charged $10 for delivery (for in states) cause someone brought up a good point that GSF is more expensive than SOTM. Unless this is the planned course.

We are charging $10 for shipping for GSF, exactly like we have done for every single Kickstarter we have run to date. If you look at the IR/EE Kickstarter from last spring, you will see that the cost for getting the GSF core game via this Kickstarter campaign is exactly the same as the cost for getting Enhanced Edition from that campaign. 

Are miniatures planned for future expansions of GSF?

Yes. Every GSF expansion will also be released with optional miniatures. 

Not sure if its possible, but is it possible for you to take your "funds" you received for playtesting you got as a side bonus and boost the stretch goal?

Yes, we are definitely doing this!

I just think a lot of the momentum problems could have been curbed with better salesmanship from the outset. 

You are right, there are definitely things that could have been constructed better with regards to this Kickstarter! Every time we run them, we learn new things. With Rook City, we learned what sorts of levels people care about and what sorts they don't. On IR/EE, we learned that offering stretch rewards as "add money to your pledge" add-ons (what we did with Unity) is a huge hassle for us and also irritates people. On ST, we learned that there is definitely such a thing as too much complication when it comes to stretch rewards. And for GSF, we are learning the difference in expectations from fans between a Kickstarter for an expansions vs a Kickstarter for a brand new game. We did not run a Kickstarter for the original SotM, so this is our very first time trying it out with a new game.

However, we are thrilled to have funded, and intend to keep releasing more information about the game as the Kickstart progresses (including some stuff about the box, probably early next week once we have 100% solid information from the printer, etc). Right now, our primary goal is making GSF an awesome game!

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WOO INEVITABLE GSF-SOTM CROSSOVER! :D

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And with the new update today and revised stretch goals, you have done it!  This game will be great.  Thanks for the quick and earnest response and for constructively taking all of our criticism. We love you games and want them to succeed as much as you do. 

25

I love the Kickstarter update today too, both the info about the box and the SotM crossover extra panel.  Maybe a little extra info about how the non-stretch box will still be a worthy solution for people who are still on the fence, even if we don't get the expanded box, might be good?  We want people telling their friends, "It'll be great if we hit the goal, but it'll still be good if we don't".

26

Ooh, revised stretch goals. They look like a good balance between realistic and swag. Definitely stoked about the more attainable superminis. Props for being flexible, and hopefully this will bring in some of the people hanging out on the fence.

27

I posted on BGG a copy/paste of the info about how the non-upgraded boxes will still be good, and mentioned the altered Kickstarter stretch levels.  Hope that helps to generate some traffic.

28

Paul,

The new stretch rewards are great. This looks much better than how you had it previously (although I understand why with the printer uncertainty). The promo sector (bonus points for sotm xover) is a wonderf surprises that adds an excitement factor the station cards just could not. 

Also, does the legacy line extend all these millennia in the future? You don't have to answer, but if you could blink once for yes and twice for no, that would be great

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Oh gods, if he does then he must be near omnipotent. He'll have hundreds of powers now, after all...

30

Paul thanks for actively answering our questions. I have also copied them to Board Game Geek in order to help bring exposure.

I will say knowing about the box and seeing the re-arranged goal everything looks really promising.

Has anyone imagined if we would ever see Tempest in space or Thorian Flagship make an appearance. Really seems like a possibility given the new sector release.

 

 

Might I suggest listing it at least in the shipping or FAQ.

Cause I am sure a lot of US people are looking at the game and thinking the MSRP is gonna be $50 since it wasn't explicitly stated.

In Infernal Relic and Shattered Timelines the extra shipping cost was explained.

Hopefully this helps my initial confusion.

31

Nice rework!! I think this will take care of a lot of stuff. Very excited about this. 

I think the very peripheral cross-over is an excellent way to tie it in to the multiverse while still keeping its identity as a separate project. A Thorathian flagship and/or Maerinyan strike force would be pretty awesome, but I think that would  be better set for future expansions when the GSF world is already established. 

32

I've been watching the Kickstarter campaign since it started. I am a huge fan of SOTM but I do not like any deck-building games so I am not interested in GSF. However, I am also a fan of >G Games and would love to see them succeed.

Some changes I would like for them to consider:

1. Publicize like crazy about the minis. Mini games are selling like crazy, even when people hardly know what the gameplay will be like. Investigate the success of "Cool Minis or Not" and do more of their ideas.

2. On the other hand, how about the gameplay? Besides a kind of tedious series of videos of explanation, there has been no more sharing about the gameplay.

3. Change the front page. The static picture of GSF should be changed to a video and videos should be embedded into the front page, not just links with text below them.

The game is funded so I guess everyone can be happy enough, but I think they are leaving a lot of money on the table when the time might be right now to ride this tide. I hope these ideas can spark people to get on board with their game.

33

The only explanation I can think of for why there hasn't been a video of actual gameplay is that they have no friends who will play with them.  Otherwise, you'd think that would already be up there. ;)

34

Ha. I am tempted to become a playtester just so I can make a gameplay video they can use... but surely there are existing playtesters out there who have the skills and drive necessary (and in greater quantities than I) to make it happen. 

35

Is the new sector a KS exclusive?

36

I imagine, like all other promos, it will be available for purchase later.

37

The Vognild Prime sector will be distributed exactly like the alternate hero character cards for SotM; that is, it will be sent out to Kickstarter backers, and available for Sentinels Points at conventions, but will not be sold otherwise.

38

Good thing I have more than plenty of Sentinel Points.

39

 

Hooray for [redacted], coming soon to an [undisclosed location] near you!

40

We've been bad (I guess).  No Kickstarter update today for us! ;)