Physical Fulfillment has Begun!
6 months ago – Wed, Nov 08, 2023 at 05:58:54 PM

Hey all, physical game books fulfillment is underway! 

US

I am assembling games and sending them out 100 at a time through USPS. US backers should receive a shipping notification from PirateShip with tracking information. With my current speed, I should have US orders all shipped in November (some folks might receive their games in early December, but I'm hoping everyone gets their game in November if I can pack fast enough!). 

Canada

All Canadian orders have been shipped to ratti incantati who should have received the games today. Fulfillment will begin for all Canadian backers shortly.

EU & UK

All EU & UK orders have been shipped to Iglootree who received the games earlier this week. Fulfillment will begin for all EU & UK backers shortly. EU backers, remember that customs are not prepaid and additional charges may be required for your game to clear customs or upon delivery depending on your country's customs rules. 

Rest of World

I have shipped the worldwide orders (not in one of the categories above) this week. Pirateship worldwide shipping estimates 1-3+ weeks delivery. Remember that customs are not prepaid and additional charges may be required for your game to clear customs or upon delivery depending on your country's customs rules. 

That's it for now, I'll be back in a few weeks with a fulfillment update and the opening of the Cloud Empress Creator's Fund stretch goal! 

Shipping addresses lock in 24 hours, printing complete, and update declined cards
7 months ago – Mon, Oct 16, 2023 at 07:20:07 AM

Addresses lock in 24 hours 

I will be locking all shipping addresses in 24 hours. If you have moved in the last three months (or since you completed the Cloud Empress backer survey), make sure that your new address is entered by logging into Backerkit.com, if you have any questions or concerns, email me at worldsbywatt [at] gmail.com. After tomorrow, changing addresses will be more challenging and could result in shipping delays or increased shipping charges. 

Printing complete

All of the Kickstarter materials have been printed and will be shipped freight to my fulfillment location by the end of the day. This mean that backer fulfillment should start, at the latest, early next week. Hooray! This keeps us on track for our November fulfillment completion. 

Declined Cards & Uncompleted surveys

About 39 cards were declined and have still not been updated. If you have any issues with your bank flagging the charge, charges will be made from "w design, LLC" on your statements/activity. We also have quite a few uncompleted surveys still. Please update correct credit card information as failure to complete payment will make your fulfillment more challenging and could result in shipping delays or increased shipping charges. 

Questions, put them in the comments or email me at worldsbywatt [at] gmail.com.

Cards Charged Tomorrow, Addresses Lock 10/17, Last Voyage of the Bean Barge Released
7 months ago – Mon, Oct 09, 2023 at 07:21:08 AM

Cards Charged Tomorrow

This is your reminder that all credit cards will be charged tomorrow, 10/10 for shipping and any add-ons you've selected. If you've changed your credit card information since June, please ensure the correct card is on file by logging into www.backerkit.com. Failure to do so may result in delays in your order's fulfillment. If you have any questions, email [email protected]. 

Shipping Addresses Lock 10/17

You have about 7 days to update your shipping information with the correct address for where your pledge should be shipped. If your address has changed since June, please ensure the correct address is on file by logging into www.backerkit.com. If you have any questions, email [email protected]. 

Last Voyage of the Bean Barge PDF Release

I just distributed your digital copies of the Cloud Empress introductory adventure Last Voyage of the Bean Barge. After feedback on the Rulebook files, I've distributed a two-page "spreads version," I plan on also releasing a single-page version and a spreads version of all the files now. I aim to release Last Voyage of the Bean Barge on DriveThruRPG tomorrow. 

Cloud Empress: Rulebook Released on DriveThruRpg

In addition to Backerkit downloads, all your digital rewards will eventually be available through DriveThruRpg. Last week I released the Cloud Empress: Rulebook on DriveThruRpg. So far the reception has been fantastic. It's thrilling to see our hard work start to come to fruition and bring joy and excitement into readers'/gamers' lives!

I received the print proofs for the Cloud Empress: Rulebook and Cloud Empress: Land of Cicadas. Both look great! I'm especially thrilled with how vibrant and readable the 'Cloud Empress orange' looks. I've made a few changes to enhance some of the artwork and correct some minor readability issues, but printing has commenced on all of the Cloud Empress books and will continue for the next week or two!

Finally, if you have two minutes, please give the Cloud Empress: Rulebook an honest review, a quick 1-5 star review, or comment on the Cloud Empress DriveThruRPG page. Cloud Empress is a very small fish in a big (and dense) pond, and every review helps get the word out.

That's my update for today! If you have questions, please throw them in the comments below!

Shipping Rates, Charging Cards Oct. 10, Address locked Oct. 17, and more!
7 months ago – Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 03:28:03 PM

Hey all, a bunch of important updates below, please read carefully and take appropriate Backerkit actions by the necessary deadline to ensure you get your games.

First Print Proofs

I'm excited to share the first images of the print proofs sent to me by our printer, PrintPapa. They look gorgeous, I am very happy with the quality of the paper stock, customer service from PrintPapa, and overall designs. I have some minor corrections to make (primarily increasing the opacity of the background paper texture), but these should not slow down fulfillment. Things are looking good! Above are images of the 5 adventure mini-zines with stunning artwork from pbbeta and Garin + the retro hex map by Daniel Hallinan. We are still looking at a mid-October delivery of the final zines to my US fulfillment location putting us on track for November 2023 fulfillment completion.

Digital Rulebook Released

You can claim your version of the Cloud Empress: Rulebook in your Backerkit digital rewards along with a color character sheet. To download the rulebook login into Backerkit with your Kickstarter email. I think the book came out terrific, and I'm eager to have you all take a look. I will be releasing the digital rulebook on DriveThruRPG this week too. The next digital downloads are ready and will be sent to you after credit cards are charged on October 10th. 

Shipping rates finalized

• US: $10 USD - Fulfilled by worlds by watt
• UK: $10 USD - Fulfilled by Iglootreee
• CANADA: $14 USD - Fulfilled by ratti incantati 
• EU: $17 USD (Customs not included) - Fulfilled by Iglootree
• Rest of World: $20 USD (Customs not included) - Fulfilled by worlds by watt

Above are the final shipping rates. As I mentioned in previous posts, they have increased from what was originally estimated in the Kickstarter. I anticipated this increase due to the additional weight of the pamphlets turning into zines, but unfortunately, the increases were more than anticipated due to a change in our UK, EU, and worldwide fulfillment partner. 

Originally, I had planned to work with Peregrine Coast Press to fulfill Cloud Empress pledges to UK, EU, and worldwide backers. From February to now, Peregrine has undergone significant changes to their fulfillment shipping model moving from a small shop to an outsourced warehouse model. These changes were made to make Peregrine more sustainable and support their staffs' health, but also resulted in increased shipping prices and created more restrictive requirements to receive crowdfunding books. We're in a position where Peregrine can/won't assemble the pledges, but also don't have a way to accept and ship preassembled pledges I'll already be putting together now. Furthermore, all items need to be barcoded with fairly high fees for this barcoding and the add-on items packed in pledges. Ultimately, to ship with Peregrine would have increased our rates by several dollars (from what you see above) and would have involved dozens of hours of work on my end to make the packing and spreadsheets compliant with their system. 

The biggest impact of switching from Peregrine though is I will no longer be able to offer DDP (delivered duties paid) shipping to select EU countries as discussed during the campaign launch. EU backers, I want to offer you the best, most streamlined delivery process, but this has not been possible on the Cloud Empress project. I was willing to continue fulfillment through Peregrine for EU backers but was told without UK shipments Peregrine could not handle our EU shipments either. Iglootree, who I successfully worked with on the Hot Stuff on Shore Leave campaign, is now handling both UK and EU fulfillment. I am handling worldwide shipments, but cannot charge or file customs paperwork.

 I apologize for this last-minute change and spent quite a lot of time (probably 4-6 hours in the last few weeks working with the helpful folks at Peregrine) trying to make our original fulfillment plan a reality. I'll be conducting an internal lessons learned on the project once fulfillment is complete, but I'm already working to reduce the project timeline of future Cloud Empress expansion crowdfunding campaigns to reduce unpreventable changes with vendors and partners. Finally, if the increased shipment rates are an economic hardship that would prevent you from affording your pledge, reach out to worldsbywatt [at] gmail.com and I can work something out with you. Refunds are also available to EU backers impacted by the change in delivery through customs who no longer want to proceed with fulfillment.  

Cards Charged Oct. 10 & Addresses Locked Oct. 17

Assuming I understand everything correctly, you will be charged for shipping and any add-ons selected on Tuesday, October 10th. Orders are currently locked, but if you have any last-minute changes email me ASAP at worldsbywatt [at] gmail.com I may be able to manually make them. 

You must have your shipping address finalized by Tuesday, October 17th. After 10/17,  it may be difficult to divert/change where your pledge is shipped to. 

You can confirm your credit card and shipping address by logging into https://www.backerkit.com/ you should also receive a few emails from Backerkit with prompts and reminders. 

As always, if you have any questions or comments please post them below or email worldsbywatt [at] gmail.com.

Cloud Empress is off to the printers!
8 months ago – Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 07:17:42 AM

Off to the printers

I could not be more pleased to tell you I've sent Cloud Empress to the printers. I've selected an extremely well-reviewed and reputable US  printer (PrintPapa) for the project. Over the next two weeks, I'll be reviewing, approving, and taking pictures of PDF and print proofs. PrintPapa is assessing freight shipping options, and we anticipate delivery in mid-October assuming the proofs look correct. This puts us on track for November fulfillment.

Here are a few pictures of the spreads:

More frequent updates in the next few weeks

After focusing on getting Cloud Empress files to the printer, I'm midway through finalizing shipping prices. Ideally, I'll be back in September with another update and final shipping prices. You'll receive a notice to lock your addresses soon and expect shipping to be charged in early October. I'll have all the initial digital files released next week. The final hyperlinked and bookmarked versions of the digital files will be released a few weeks later.

Bone-skin Giants Expansion

I'm really excited about the new direction of the Cloud Empress Newsletter. Each month I'm releasing mini expansions based on your votes. Last month I explored the Bone-Skin Giants. A haunted group of experiments lost to the horrors of time.  Subscribe here to get every expansion in your email. This month's release explores regenerative and destructive farming practices in the Lowland Wastes.

Project Summary

We've entered the last stretch of the Cloud Empress project, printing, and fulfillment. I'm thrilled by what we've created, and can't wait for you to get lost in the world of the Hereafter!

Questions? Let me know in the comments and I'll get them answered!