On the Cusp of Mass Production
almost 4 years ago – Tue, May 31, 2022 at 05:07:43 PM

Hello Admirals! 

We have exciting news for you today! It’s been an awesome month for Old Salt and we are thrilled to show you some pictures and video of the samples we received.

TL:DR of the update: mass production is right around the corner, samples had some easy adjustments to make, game nights with Old Salt samples have gone incredibly well.

I pushed this update to the last day of the month in hopes of starting this update with the header of “we started mass production” but we are still a couple of days out from that. All that stands between mass production and this moment now is the need to review the latest e-proof that our manufacturer sent me and I need to find a solution for the damage tokens. E-proof is something I am progressing slowly on to ensure that the Old Salt copies don’t have a simple but glaring error that I missed. The damage tokens I got in the sample were, in a way, “slippery” and incorrectly sized. The size is no problem to fix, that was the simple part. The issue is the slippery part. Since the players will be placing damage tokens below the ships, it’s imperative that this is not a difficult or tricky task to accomplish. Having damage tokens that have a little more friction between them is what I am looking for. Once these two tasks are completed, we move into mass production!

Samples came in the first or second week of May and we were thrilled by the quality of the components.  I am happy to say that Old Salt is going to be a game that has quality components that should stand the test of time. While the components were at a level of quality that I am happy with, I kept encountering slight errors or miscommunications in the samples. Of course that's why samples are an important step in the process. We make sure we find these errors before going into mass production so it’s not a big deal that we did encounter errors or changes to make.  Below is a short list of items that were incorrect. Small but important adjustments to make.

• Ship tokens were 5mm too large, but they certainly look awesome but we need to have a little wiggle room with the boards tiles and the ship tokens that way if it's not placed 100% perfectly, no one will notice. These ship tokens take up more space and it gets crowded fast. 

• Plastic stands couldn’t accommodate the 2.5mm punchboard (they would shatter before fitting the punch board). 

• Damage tokens were incorrectly sized. We asked for 25mm hexagons, and 1 side is 25 mm, but the others are not. Red token below is a Zealot ship token that is 5mm too large overall. 

• Rulebook and Formations and Maneuvers booklet - quality of life adjustments and fixed errors.
• Insert - they made their own insert instead of the one I provided. Theirs didn’t accommodate the faction boxes. Red X's for each compartment that we don't need because the faction boxes contain those components (faction masts, faction tokens, faction banners). We are also reducing the size of the black damage tokens so the left side of the insert will be adjusted as well. 

• Punch Board sheets - quality of life adjustments for players
• Faction cards / faction glossary - clarified/reworded a couple of abilities

None of the issues were particularly glaring or game breaking so I set up game nights with friends who had never played Old Salt to get their thoughts on it. I used substitute damage tokens from previous prototypes and everyone consistently had a blast. A couple of the game nights were homebrewed to accommodate a 6 player game and a 2v1 match. The sample components have held up excellently and I am confident that the components backers receive will be long lasting.

Each of the game nights started off with the Old Salt base game components and about half way through the game we swapped out the punch board banners with the Naval Overhaul Kit banner blocks. It was incredible to see the table presence go from great to epic just with the banner blocks alone. 

The ship tokens are another component I wanted to bring up. The slot for the punchboard masts friction fit to the ship token and they are snug. While there is always a slight variance with manufacturing, the ship tokens that I received are spot on for what I envisioned. Also for admirals that want to have 2 or 3 people on a team, set your masts up in different ways to tell each other apart. Light side up, dark side up, and straight up. Picture below to show what we mean. Left is straight up / sideways. Middle is dark side up. Right is light side up. Up to 3 players playing 1 faction. 

Once I sign off on the e-proof and get a suitable solution for the damage tokens, Old Salt and the Naval Overhaul Kit will move into mass production. After that we will load up the copies onto a boat and set sail for our fulfillment company. Due to global events, it is incredibly difficult to know how long the boat will take but once that part is completed our fulfillment company will send backers their rewards.

That’s all for now admirals, as always, if you have any questions for me please email me at [email protected] or send me a message over Kickstarter and I’ll be in touch as soon as I can!

Cheers,

Tim

Old Salt Samples Are Looking Great
almost 4 years ago – Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 06:29:21 PM

April Update!

Hello Admirals! In this update we will cover the samples situation, expected timeline to get us to mass production, our vision for how players could use the masts, and a small update on Backerkit Survyes. This update is the wood components of our samples, if you'd like to see the other components (punchboard, board, rulebook, etc) check out the previous update! 

TL:DR - Samples are done, being shipped our way, will make adjustments as needed then begin mass production ASAP. 

Sample delay

We’ve been at the mercy of Covid resurgences these past few months. We had been waiting on Naval Overhaul Kit and Old Salt samples for about 2 months and we finally have confirmation that they are completed. Phew! From what we can tell in the videos and pictures we have received, the quality of our game pieces are top notch. Our manufacturer is air shipping Old Salt and Naval Overhaul Kit samples our way, once they arrive we can deep dive into making any adjustments and alterations that need to be made. 

Expected timeline leading up to mass production

We aren’t putting any dates to this because of the potential back and forth of alterations. There is a possibility the adjustments we make will come out correctly and we can move swiftly into mass production. There’s also the possibility our adjustments go through a few rounds of checking and re-adjusting. The biggest priority is quality. Below is a gist of what we are expecting to go through before starting mass production.

• Once we get the samples our first priority is to inspect each component, box, board and page to check for errors (on our end or errors from printing).
• From there we will relay those changes or concerns to the manufacturer, work with them to correct the adjustments
• Wait for the manufacturer to make adjusted components.
• Review the new samples and assess the adjustments via video call (if needed, we will pay for air freight to physically inspect new samples)
• If everything turns out smoothly, we’ll move into mass production and make Old Salt a reality.
• Otherwise we’ll repeat the process until we are 100% satisfied with what will become our flagship game.

NOK Samples

Our favorite Naval Overhaul Kit components so far are the Engineer's Fortification pyramids. These pyramids will rest on the top of the banner blocks to have an intimidating table presence. We also love how the tradewind tokens came out, very clear, very slick. Based on video, one concern we have is the color difference between the Eternal Blue color and Bootlegger Purple color. When we submitted the colors for the banner blocks, they appeared greater in contrast. We’ll see how they show up in person but that is an adjustment we might be making right off the bat.

NOK picture

Base game ship tokens video

In this video we see the ship tokens and the slot for where the mast goes. The masts have a light side and a dark side with the faction symbol split in the middle. First and foremost, masts identify what faction a ship belongs to. Aside from that, having a light and dark side mast opens up some exciting possibilities for players to explore such as tapping used ships or having multiple players to a faction.

“Tapping” Used Ships: In a scenario where players can sail all of their ships each turn, it can be easy to forget which ships you’ve already used. Flipping the faction mast from light to dark (or vice versa) after using a ship is a quick way for all players to identify which ships are still ready for action each turn.

Multiple players per faction: In the event players wanted to have 2 players to a faction, one player could have their masts showing the light side and another player could have their mast showing the dark side. This quickly tells players whose ships are whose. A 3rd player could have their mast vertically to allow for a 3rd player to a single faction as well. Imagine playing Old Salt where you have 3 Engineer players vs 2 Barbarian players vs 1 Forgotten player. Lots of options open up with light and dark sided masts.

Backerkit Status:

Because of the Covid delays we’ve been experiencing, we are holding off on charging cards until we get closer to that point. This gives backers additional time to update addresses or payment methods. When we do charge cards for the cost of shipping your game to you, we will be very vocal about the date so there are no surprises.

Potential for a revised timeline if Covid resurgences continue to halt progress.

Outside of the samples update, there isn’t much else to discuss. We are really hoping to start mass production by the end of May but with these Covid resurgences halting production entirely, it’s really difficult to predict. In the event mass production does not begin by end of May, we will likely need to push back the expected delivery date. If we end up doing that, we will work with the manufacturer to reassess what an appropriate timeline is. Crossing our fingers we don’t have to deal with that in the slightest. 

Questions?
As always, please let me know if you have any questions about anything. Typically I respond to emails inside 24 hours. I will be visiting family for 6 days this week and will likely not be able to reply until I get back. I will do my best to reply, but I wanted to give a notice just in case. My email is [email protected] or reach out over Kickstarter via comment or direct message!

May the winds favor you well, Admirals! And I will do my best to get mass production underway by the end of May! 

Tim

Old Salt Team

Old Salt Samples (mostly) for March Update
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 10:43:24 PM

 March update is here!

Hello Admirals! Another month down, another update to check out for Old Salt. 

TL:DR of the update is: Backerkit surveys are locked, samples were delayed but mostly completed (video links in middle of update). 2 banner types are reverting back to original tattered look. 

Backerkit Surveys

Orders have been locked. I believe that everyone who backed the Kickstarter and wanted to receive the game has completed their survey. Nice work everyone! We will charge cards when we are closer to fulfillment but are still a ways out from that. September/October is still my goal for fulfillment and it looks like we are still on track for that.

Manufacturer

The sampling process was delayed but a majority of the sampling process has been completed. Below are a few links to YouTube videos of the samples we have seen so far. We are, for the most part, thrilled with how the samples have turned out. There are a couple of small details we need to address before going to mass production but those are small fixes. Otherwise, very happy with how these are turning out. We are most excited to get the samples shipped our way when the wood components are completed so we can verify the strength and quality of the components. We really want Old Salt to be a game that can be played for years to come.

https://youtu.be/chm-uCyhXpU - Punch Board

https://youtu.be/Jz97dK7_Tts - Rulebook

https://youtube.com/shorts/1ee4OEwlSTw - Faction Boxes

https://youtube.com/shorts/7PegQMN-V9A - Box

The timeline for us to feel comfortable moving forward with mass production:

Complete Samples

Air ship samples to the team

Check strength and quality of the components (durability/life of the component is very important)

Adjust as needed (if significant alterations are made, repeat air ship of adjusted components)

Video verification of adjusted components

Mass production

Cause Of The Sample Delay

As it was relayed to me, the reason our samples are taking longer than originally expected is because we have a higher portion of wood components than they were expecting. A portion of those wood components are a unique pantone color which takes some time to mix and customize. The 2nd reason is the biggest reason and also quite unfortunate in and of itself. The resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks in neighboring cities to our manufacturer is the major cause of the delays. This resurgence restricted deliveries and the capacity for our sample to be created and is delaying components from being sent back to the manufacturer. Our point of contact reassured us that this delay should be wrapped up next week.

Banner changes part 2.

We are going to use the cut line of the cleaner Barbarian and Bootlegger banner’s but we are going to revert back to the original tattered Barbarian and Bootlegger banner vibes. The tattered look is iconic to these two factions as they are a bit more off the map and certainly less professional than the Elite or Eternal factions. Also there would have been a slight disconnect between the banners on the board vs the banners in the rulebook and on faction cards. Very happy to return to the original intent of these 2 faction banners.

Outside of that, things are starting to look up. We had a solid few months of small updates and I feel like things are about to ramp up and really take off. Stay tuned for next months update! And as always, if you have any questions for me, please message me here on Kickstarter or over email at [email protected] 

Cheers Admirals! 

Tim

February Old Salt update!
about 4 years ago – Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 10:53:57 PM

February has reached its end and it’s time for our monthly update for Old Salt!  TL;DR for the update. Backerkit Survey's close March 4th. Manufacturer communication restored. Slight visual change for 2 faction banners. 2nd booklet is bigger than we planned for. Old Salt the video game still in progress and will eventually contain VA. 

Surveys!!! 

A reminder to fill out your surveys if you’d like to receive your reward for backing this Kickstarter campaign. March 4th is the deadline. To quote the January update: 

“I'll be closing surveys on Friday, March 4th.  Considering it takes 4 minutes or less (1 backer did their survey in ~30 seconds). Any backers who do not complete the survey in that time span will not be getting their reward because I do not know where to ship the game and I don't have your shipping payment to send it your way. In the event you contact me after the surveys have been closed, I will charge you the cost to individually ship a game to you. This cost is undoubtedly higher than the cost to ship with everyone else. You all are great. But this is important to do.”

If you do not have your survey, or you don't know anything about this survey I’ve been talking about each month since the Kickstarter reached its funding goal, please send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll send you a link to your survey! 

Manufacturer:

This month, I was having growing concerns regarding the lack of communication with our manufacturer. I had expected a significant delay from the Lunar New Year celebrations. We all did. But after the celebrations ended and I still wasn’t receiving email replies, I had some worry spring up. Turns out our point of contact had undergone surgery after the New Year celebrations and recovery took them out of work for a period of time. Thankfully they seem to be doing well with their recovery and now that communication has been restored, we can get Old Salt rolling again. When creating the timeline for Old Salt’s fulfillment, I built in some buffer in case the Lunar New year took longer than expected or if the boat took more time than expected. So we are still in good shape. 

Possible banner changes: 

The Bootlegger and Barbarian banners bottom half has proven to be a little tricky for the punch board cutter and turns out looking a little strange. We are looking at some viable options but will likely end up modifying the bottom half of those two banners to be more “intact” compared to the “tattered” look we had originally. This will not impact gameplay. This will make these two banners look more intact compared to being on the verge of falling apart (if they weren't made of punchboard of course). 

Formations and Maneuvers booklet ended up being about 12 pages longer than we originally expected. This game is bursting with replayability. Hope you enjoy the additional content! 

Old Salt the video game: 

When I lock orders for the surveys (March 4th). If you added on the Old Salt the steam game, I’ll be sending you your “CD key” to unlock it on Steam via the email you have with Backerkit. Michael has been working hard on Old Salt and we have added AI and Multiplayer into the mix but there are still some bugs here and there. The tutorial and campaign are the next critical items to add-in. Also, pretty excited to say that the finalized steam game will include VA for players to enjoy with each faction. This might be a game you’ll want to have the sound on for. 

As always, any questions for me, please reach out at [email protected] and I’ll be in touch! Stay safe out there admirals. 

Tim 

January Update for Old Salt
about 4 years ago – Wed, Feb 02, 2022 at 06:54:53 PM

Hello Admirals! 

I held off this update in the hopes that something more exciting might pop up to add into this month's update but it was a pretty quiet month now that the manufacturer has the files and the Lunar New Year has been in full swing. 

Backerkit surveys. 75% of backers have completed the Backerkit survey. This is pretty great however not quite the 100% that we are aiming for. To those of you who are procrastinating and waiting for me to give a deadline, here is the first official notice. I'll be closing surveys on Friday, March 4th.  Considering it takes 4 minutes or less (1 backer did their survey in ~30 seconds), 2 months is more than generous. Any backers who do not complete the survey in that time span will not be getting their reward because I do not know where to ship the game and I don't have your shipping payment to send it your way. In the event you contact me after the surveys have been closed, I will charge you the cost to individually ship a game to you. This cost is undoubtedly higher than the cost to ship with everyone else. You all are great. But this is important to do. 

Files have been sent off to our manufacturer, Gameland. We did end up getting them submitted before 2022 began which was our goal. With lunar New Year celebrations, operations overseas have taken a bit of a pause but that was built into the timeline so no worries there. When Gameland returns to business as usual, we will get our first article sorted, and if there are no issues, we will begin full production from there. Regarding the timeline, we are on track and on time with our estimated timeline from the Kickstarter. Hooray for that!

QR Code for Faction and Mission Templates. As many of you know, Old Salt will include a 2nd booklet called "Formations and Maneuvers." This was not mentioned in the components list during the Kickstarter campaign since I didn't want to overpromise and let you down. The 2nd booklet will include 6 faction missions, a 9 mission campaign, and 3 alternate game modes for players to enjoy. The exciting part is that there will be blank mission and faction templates in the booklet and a QR code that will bring players to a google drive folder so they can print out extra blank faction and mission templates. This allows players to homebrew their own factions and create their own custom missions to enjoy and experiment with. I also plan to use the google drive folder as a collection of fan-created missions and factions for other players around the world to try out and enjoy.  

Old Salt the video game is coming along quite nicely, we recently got AI introduced into the game and have been refining that so that you can play vs a computer that actually puts up a fight. Very excited for the next update that should be here in the next couple of weeks. 

Kind of a bland update I know but at least it's an update where there is no bad news. I hope you all have a wonderful month, I'll be making another Kickstarter update in late February. I will plan to dive into any details regarding the manufacturing process and share any pictures if I have any! 

Cheers, Admirals! 

Tim