Sláinte, y'all!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Sep 18, 2020 at 06:58:19 PM

You guys! We did it! YOU did it! What a ride!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Whew.

We're gonna need a minute to catch our breath.

Just to give you an idea what the next steps will be:

1) Kickstarter will now start collecting all of your pledges. If they run into any problems with your payment method on record, they'll let you know and you'll have a week to make any corrections. If you're unable to fix your payment method in that time frame, they'll mark your pledge as "Dropped" and we won't be able to fulfill it, so watch for any notifications from them in this regard.

2) Once they've finished that process, we'll transfer all of your data into Backerkit, where we'll have all of the add-ons and such set up and ready to go (including those precious 20 vinyl). We will give everyone a 48-hour and 24-hour advance notice of when the surveys will be sent out, as well as all of the other technical details here in an update.

3) We're proofing the final build of the book right now and aim to send it to the printer next week, now that we know how many campaign exclusive variants to order. If all goes well, we'll probably receive them in our warehouse just before Christmas (like, literally a couple of days before Christmas). So while we will try to start fulfillment that week, our warehouse staff might have other thoughts on that matter. Regardless, we don't see any reason why you shouldn't have your stuff in January. (International backers might take a couple weeks longer since you'll have to include the extra time for us to dropship everything to our UK fulfillment provider.)

Okay. Whew.

Did I say "thank you" yet?

THANK YOU!!

Final stretch goal revealed! Plus: Add-on info.
over 3 years ago – Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 02:19:47 AM

Hey everyone!

We're getting down to the wire... 3 days left, and just a few hundred bucks left to unlock the free cardstock print at $56k...! While we're confident we'll hit that, we decided to just pull back the curtain on the last -- and maybe nicest? -- bonus item stretch goal at $65k: A sweet, 2.5" enamel pin!

We really want to believe we can hit that final goal... Kicktraq shows us coming in just under that number, but we've beaten Kicktraq projections in the past, so nothing is impossible!

Tell your friends, family, neighbors, strangers, EVERYBODY to back this awesome campaign so that EVERYONE* can get this full load of bonus freebies!

(*everyone at a physical reward tier... if you're at a digital tier or below, consider upgrading, now that each package is worth SO MUCH MORE...!)

Just look at all this EXTRA stuff you get FOR THE PRICE OF JUST BACKING THE BOOK...!

Add up the SRP value of all of that stuff, and it's well over $95 worth of BONUS collectible items... all included at the base $35 book tier and above! (That's... that's insane. What are we doing...? Huh. Um... huh. Wow.)

If you are at all still on the fence whether to back this campaign, we're trying to make it as convincing a prospect as possible...

And if you're thinking about getting some extra things as Add-ons later, consider increasing your pledge before the campaign is up just so we can all get those final bonus items!

Here's how that can work:

When the campaign ends, we will be setting up Backerkit to not only help coordinate the fulfillment of all pledge packages, but provide you the opportunity to add extra items to your package. As of now, we plan on offering these items as add-ons:

• Additional copies of ASTER OF PAN hardcover (either cover A or B, both will be available): $30 each 
• Additional copies of PISTOUVI: $20 each 
• Additional copies of the SKETCHBOOK: $10 each (limited quantities will be available) 
• Additional copies of the PATCH: $15 each (limited quantities will be available) 
• Additional copies of the DODGE BALL: $10 each (limited quantities will be available) 
• Additional DL codes for the SOUNDTRACK: $9 each  
• Plus the previously mentioned 20 copies of the Vinyl single for $40 each 

We may offer other additional items through that Backerkit "storefront", but for sure those things above.

So, if you are pretty sure you're leaning towards adding any of those things to your pledge package after the fact, consider adding that equivalent in funding to your current pledge! You will get full credit for every dollar pledged through Kickstarter, so when Backerkit comes around, you'll already have pre-paid credit on your balance for anything you add to your cart!

Note that each backer will only get one free copy of each of the unlocked stretch goal items -- these are per-backer, not per-copy of the book ordered.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments or message us directly.

Thanks, everyone! 

...THREE DAYS LEFT!

Dodge Ball unlocked -- next stretch goal revealed!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 02:06:54 PM

Hi everyone!

Woot! Another bonus item unlocked! Thanks to everyone's support and interest, every physical pledge package will include an official Celestial Mechanics Orb!

Next up, if we can hit $56k, every physical reward package will include a beautiful bonus linen cardstock print!

This beauty will look nice framed on any wall.

Beyond that, we have one last stretch goal lined up at the $65k level, and one might say we saved the best for last... a beautiful thing that will be added for free to every reward package... We'll reveal it when we unlock this next goal for the print (which it seems we're well on our way towards...!)

Can we make it there in the next 7 days?? The suspense...!

Buckle up -- Not one, not two, but THREE big announcements inside...
over 3 years ago – Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 02:23:53 AM

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a nice weekend! Ours was busy, despite the extra day we were supposed to take off for Labor Day, but boy is it worth it for what we're about to roll out to you right now...

First, we just posted a great new interview video with Merwan talking about ASTER OF PAN. Check it out (and stay for a big announcement at the end...)

Did you stay to the end? Where he pretty much announced to the world that he's starting to outline a sequel to ASTER OF PAN?? Ssssscoooop! You heard it here first (I think)!

But that's not the only big announcement for this update -- he has also agreed to create 20 original sketches for a handful of lucky backers! Check out the new tier we just opened up at the $250 level!

This is big news and an amazingly generous offer as his original pages go for thousands of Euro. The above image is a rough dedication sketch from over a decade ago, so his style and technique has changed a lot since then, but it is meant to suggest a character portrait you might be able to imagine. He'll draw a character of your request, or you can let him chase inspiration and work his magic on his own... He might add color, maybe even full watercolor, we really don't know, but they will definitely be amazing and personally priceless...

I'm sure a few of you at the lucky-vinyl level are now wondering how to upgrade to this without giving up your vinyl. Yeah, that's a tricky choice to navigate, but we want you to have a shot at having both. So here's what we're gonna do... (today's third big announcement...)

We are going to offer 20 more vinyl singles as ADD-ONS AVAILABLE THROUGH BACKERKIT AFTER THE CAMPAIGN IS OVER.

This will solve 2 things at once: 

1) Current vinyl backers who want to upgrade to the sketch tier will have a shot at adding a vinyl single back onto their tier in order to get both 

2) Anyone who didn't get a shot at one of the singles the first time around will have an equal opportunity to nab one when the Backerkit surveys go out, with fair notice before hand. (Granted, if any vinyl backer does upgrade to the sketch tier, that vinyl reward will open back up, so if you've got your eye on one, stay sharp and be ready to jump on it!) With a total production run of only 70 copies, these will still be a precious collectible commodity...

We hope you find these three announcements as exciting as we do... and we haven't even unlocked the last three stretch goals yet! Stay tuned! These last 9 days are gonna be a ride!

Patch unlocked! Next up: official "Celestial Mechanics" Orbs!
over 3 years ago – Sat, Sep 05, 2020 at 02:04:43 AM

Hey Everyone!

Hope you're all getting ready for a relaxing long Labor Day weekend (in the states... everyone else is very welcome to have a relaxing regular-length weekend). You all managed to unlock another stretch goal for the week -- the 4" fabric team patch! 

So everyone at a physical reward tier will be getting one of these for FREE with their pledge package! We may have extras of these, so unlike the Coins and Vinyl, we may be able to offer them as add-ons after the campaign if you'd like more than one, but each backer (again, at a physical reward tier) will get one automatically.

Next up, we're bringing out another cool artifact straight from the book -- an official "Celestial Mechanics" orb!

These soft, foam rubber balls are pretty darn close to what they're using in the story, maybe just a tad smaller, but they still feel good, and don't hurt if you get hit by one. They'll feature the competition colors and star, just like in the third round of the match, but that's the most distinct one of the three anyway. Like the patches, we may have a few left to offer as add-ons if you'd like an extra, but that'll depend on our final ending count. Stay tuned!

We've got something else really cool lined up at $56k just beyond that, so let's see how far we can get in the next week! Only 13 days left to go!