The Arena immortal backers have been drafted: Check out if you are among them! And an update about the art development
4 months ago
– Tue, Jun 25, 2024 at 01:22:11 PM
You are in the game!
We drafted the backers who will have their portraits captured forever on the (playable) Community Asteroid! Congratulations!
Let me briefly go through the participation rules: you had to be a backer, you had to be a Light Speed: Arena fan on BGG, and you had to share your BGG nickname on the backer survey by June 17 :) This is the order in which they have been drafted!
Backer: Daniel R. BGG: TKEYI52
Backer: Braxton Shane Avery BGG: YGOTCGamer
Backer: Carlo Emanuele Lanzavecchia BGG: magocharlie
Backer: Sylvain Zimmer BGG: sylvinus
Backer: Dixit BGG: dixitt
Backer: Yannick Hoffmann BGG: YansenP
Backer: Uffe Gram Christensen BGG: Uster
Backer: foracoffee BGG: foracoffee
I will PM you soon and ask for some material for our artist :) But your fame starts today.
Apart from the epic tone, this stretch goal is to thank all of you. For us, you are all on that asteroid!
The sponsored asteroids designed by Loghos and Erik
Our artist Marco Salogni started to work on the sponsored asteroids suggested by Loghs and Erik, the winner of our small game design contest.
The oil tank powering up your spaceship's lasers will likely be 'AstrofueLLL', while the smallest asteroid (but also the most valuable) will be called 'The Nugget'. A curiosity: The pattern on the Nugget comes from a Renaissance Sforza armor.
Expansions' art
So far, we have playtested with placeholders for most of the expansion spaceships. Now Marco is on them as well and he's doing a fantastic job. If you are curious, this is what a draft table looks like.
A note about the beta companion app on Apple devices
On TestFlight, beta apps have an expiration date. As promised, we uploaded a new version to make sure you can keep shooting laser beams with the print&play. If the one you have expired, you might just need to install the new one!
Write you soon,
Leonardo and Emanuele
IMPORTANT INFO! Please, read this one carefully :) Pledge manager and retailers, chosen sponsored asteroids, your portraits on the community asteroid, and a shoutout
4 months ago
– Mon, Jun 10, 2024 at 08:09:29 AM
Dear commanders,
Thank you once again! Returning to work, aware of your enthusiasm for Light Speed: Arena, is fantastic.
Pledge manager and retailers
The next step towards fulfilling this campaign is the opening of the pledge manager, likely on Gamefound. For those unfamiliar, a pledge manager is a free online tool commonly used after Kickstarter campaigns to collect data from backers and allow more people to support the project.
In the first stage, the pledge manager will enable late pledges for players who missed the campaign. Prices will be slightly higher than for our Kickstarter backers.
In the second stage, you will be able to upgrade your pledge if you want, finalize your order by paying for shipping and taxes (where applicable), and share your delivery address.
IMPORTANT. To get a general idea of where you want your game to get shipped, we'll send out a Kickstarter survey asking for your address and a few other details. You will eventually need to do the pledge manager process as well, but this will help us start organizing the fulfillment process. Please fill out the survey as soon as possible :)
Retailers
Retailers who contacted us during the campaign or will do so until June 21 will be entitled to obtain the game with its Kickstarter exclusives (sleeve and community asteroid). This buffer compensates for the absence of a pledge tier specifically intended for retailers.
After this time, you will still be able to order the standard version of the game/expansions for your shop by messaging us via email.
Sponsored asteroids suggested by you and the community sponsor!
It was incredibly challenging to choose from all your creative and crazy suggestions posted on Update#3! We picked two for the additional asteroids unlocked as stretch goals and one for the community asteroid. Here are the selected ideas (as phrased by the backers) with a brief comment on why we picked them. Backers whose ideas were chosen will get their names in the rulebook and an additional copy of the base game :)
Name: AstroFuel Depot by Loghos
Tagline: "Unleash the celestial energy"
Power: AstroFuel Depot empowers your attacks with additional damage when you land a hit on a spaceship and an asteroid.
Our development direction: We loved the idea of an asteroid providing some gas! We'll develop it either in the direction of increased damage or additional points when this sponsored asteroid and at least another target get hit.
Name: The Ghost by Erik
Tagline: "Did you aim with a microscope?"
Power: it's a tiny asteroid in the middle of a regular-sized asteroid card. It delivers double points if you hit it but you're more likely to miss and hit ships across from it.
Our development direction: So consistent with the aiming theme in the game! We'll probably keep it the way Erik suggested it.
Name: The Backers by Alessandro Rossi and Poit (as Magnicorp)
Tagline: "We've got your back!"
Power: This asteroid can't be hit (you don't want to hurt your backers, uh?). Beams simply pass through it and their damage increases by 1 thanks to the support of the crowd. Cheers!
Our development direction: That's exactly the idea we needed for an asteroid with our lovely backers aboard!
Regarding the community asteroid, 8 of you will be portrayed on it! Initially, it was 10, but after discussing it with the artist, we realized that was too many. If you are a fan of Light Speed: Arena on BGG and want to participate in the draft, please SHARE YOUR BGG NICKNAME IN THE SURVEY YOU'LL SOON RECEIVE. You have until June 17th!
A shoutout to a friend's fantastic project
What I love about the board game industry is how people are willing to exchange ideas, successes, and failures. Over the last month, I have been in touch with Francesco almost every day as we supported each other and exchanged insights on how to best serve our Kickstarter community while our campaigns were live.
Please, check out his project as it is a true gem of modern abstract gaming, with a dash of bluff to make it appealing to everybody. The perfect game to alternate with a hectic Light Speed: Arena battle ;) The campaign is over but late pledges aren't!
That's all for now. Let us know if you have any questions about the survey or the upcoming pledge manager!
Thank you!
Yours,
Leonardo and Emanuele
PS As many of you asked: We know you are still playing a lot with the print&play! No worries, we won't take it down now that the campaign is over. We want you to be as ready as possible for when you receive the full game!
Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to the tip of our minds!
4 months ago
– Fri, Jun 07, 2024 at 09:11:19 PM
The simplest update: Thanks to all 1274 backers!
We were undecided on which picture to use, so we picked the one we shot for the Kickstarter page before Light Speed: Arena launched. It was only a few weeks ago, but at that time we had one more unknown in our lives than we do now. You’ve turned it into a story we’ll be telling forever.
We are now responsible for bringing new, exciting stories to your table :)
No worries—on Monday you'll get all the details about the next steps and find out which sponsored asteroid among those you suggested will be featured in Light Speed: Arena!
And it’s not because here in Graz it is 6 AM! In a world where even board games are not safe from tech ;) it is sometimes nice to simply celebrate. On the other hand, if you really can't help yourself and want to do something right now, you can start joining our mailing list...
Have a great weekend and well done! You made it real.
With love and gratitude,
Leonardo and Emanuele
It's the final countdown! UKGE, stretch goals, and fine-tuning of the expansion sponsors
5 months ago
– Tue, Jun 04, 2024 at 07:32:53 AM
We returned yesterday from the UKGE in Birmingham, and it took a while before we could update the page after piercing through the latest stretch goal at €37,500: Now, you just need to flip your base tile to the cooler side to activate its faction power!
UKGE <3
Speaking of UKGE, what an extraordinary experience! This show was totally different from what we were used to. Playing together was at the center of the stage! Cheering families, solo visitors, unleashed kids, groups of friends, and couples stormed our stand, and we had the greatest time shooting laser beams together. Thank you so much!
I also found out that what I learned by playing Brass: Birmingham is accurate and that canals actually run along railways.
Stretch Goals
Before jumping into what we have achieved and what comes next, let me mention something about the playmat from the last update and the UV spotting stretch goal for the expansions.
Playmat - As first-time creators, we decided not to overload our fulfillment efforts: We won't be offering a playmat during this campaign but we might do that in the future :)
UV spotting - After much thought and exchanging messages with backers, we decided to stick to our original promise and have the UV spotting on the two expansions. Even if you intend to store all components with the base game, I am sure you'll find a use for these two adorable small boxes and you won't want to throw them away!
Alright, this is how far we got!
To make things more spicy during the final days. We are announcing not one, not two, but three new stretch goals at once today!
42 500€ - Interactive in-app tutorial to facilitate the onboarding of casual players and kids.
47 500€ - In place of the custom playmat, we thought of finding a solution to mark the boundary of the playing surface using some space we still had on the punchboards. If we reach this stretch goal, we'll reorganize our punchboards and design 4 corner tiles that you can use to clearly define your arena :) What you see in the image is just a preliminary draft.
52 500€ - The last stretch goal is ambitious in terms of objective and very exciting in terms of content. Introducing the team mode: simply place two base tiles side-by-side to bind the two factions to a common destiny! Many of you asked about this option, but the implementation of this mode is not trivial. Let's make it real together!
Playtesting the expansions
Yes, we even had time to make some progress on the playtesting side :) The 4 sponsored asteroids of the base game are already playable (and have, in fact, been played hundreds of times at Play and UKGE) and we are now focusing on the 4 from the expansion boxes. Here is an overview of the powers we are testing. We are delving both into deeper craziness and more refined strategy! What do you think about them?
Please, write in the comments any questions you might have!
Thank you so much for being with us.
Yours,
Leonardo and Emanuele
BGG rating, more goals unlocked, UKGE, and the playmat question
5 months ago
– Tue, May 28, 2024 at 04:39:10 AM
Dear commanders,
give your fleet a break and listen up ;)
8.8 on BGG!
Light Speed: Arena received more than 30 ratings on BGG and is now entitled to have the iconic hexagon displayed beside its name. It is a small milestone, but it feels good.
Thanks to all p&p players, players at conventions, testers, and reviewers who took the time to share their thoughts about the game!
More goals unlocked
At 32 500€, you unlocked the Achievements system in the app! We'll get creative with those ;)
The next stretch goal is quite exciting: We'll ask Marco Salogni to draw an 'activated' side for all base tiles. This way, to activate your faction power you will just need to flip the corresponding base tile: The software will understand from the picture that the power is now active without the need to change the settings in the app!
On the social goals side, we went +50 Insta followers: The app will have an increased soundtrack variety for a more nuanced experience! The upsides of being digital-hybrid, uh? ;)
We are also a few FB shares away from unlocking a more immersive timer with curated audio clips!
Play in Modena and UKGE in Birmingham
The experience at Play in Italy was fantastic. Light Speed: Arena received so much love. With three demo tables always busy, it was a warm cascade of people saying 'My friend told me I have to try this!'. Thanks for shooting laser beams and drinking shots with us!
And it's now time for the United Kingdom! We are so excited for this one. Between May 31 and June 2, you'll find us at Stand 2-797 of the UKGE. All backers will get a small gift <3
What about a Light Speed: Arena playmat?
We are going through all the suggestions we have received so far and one of the most common requests is a themed playmat in the correct playing size.
We worked hard to make Light Speed: Arena playable even on your granny's tablecloth and we still think that's the right way to go. On the other hand, we understand the joy of playing on a welcoming surface and use playmats ourselves when presenting Light Speed: Arena at conventions. We are working with our manufacturer to obtain some quotes. We aim to offer it for 30€ or less to our backers with a minor impact on shipping costs.
What we have in mind is a bit of a glamorous deep space, possibly with very light outlines for the base tiles. The renders below are just preliminary drafts for visualization.
Let us know in the comments if you like the idea. As a first-time publisher, we have to choose our battles carefully ;)
Have a good one and let's enjoy the final days of this flight together!
Pew, pew, pew,
Leonardo and Emanuele
