A small scale, fast paced and light weight arena skirmish game that brings to life the childhood question, Who would win in a fight?
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Update #11 - Pledge Manager & More!
about 5 years ago
– Wed, Feb 17, 2021 at 01:59:12 PM
As always we want to start by saying a big thank you to all of the backers for this project as we could not have possibly done it without you. Your continued support and encouragement drives us to make this project the best possible game that it can be. We have spent this time since the close of the campaign refining the rules, tweaking the champions ever so slightly, testing, testing, testing. We have also been working to verify files, work with various partners on the finishing touches on the final designs and so much more. We have been busy, and I think that you will all be happy with the result.
Manufacturing Partner!
With the current state of the world, as many of you are already aware, manufacturing costs are not what they were anticipated to be. Shipping times are in turmoil, materials are less readily available etc. We have had the unexpected step of having to "re-verify" everything that we thought we knew, and we are very happy to say that... nothing has changed.
Earlier this month, after bouncing back and forth with the STL files for a spell, we have locked in and committed to Eastar Games as our manufacturing partner for Fray - Champions of the Every-Verse. We could not be more excited about this one. They have some great games on their credit roll, and we think that those of you who are familiar with some of their projects will be excited that the miniatures will be in their hands. With some gorgeous games like Nemesis and Tainted Grail under their belt, and a great reputation, we are beyond excited to be working with them.
The Pledge Manager
At long last, we are launching the pledge manager now! Keep an eye out for your invitation to the pledge manager from BackerKit. We spent some extra time in the smoke screen stage as there were a few glitches in the shipping charges that we wanted to get squared away. There should be no to very little issue now. If or any reason you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] We will be keeping it open into April, and are happy to say that we have not had to make any adjustments to any shipping estimates from the campaign!
Timetable
One of the things that we are most excited to talk about, is the fact that in regards to changes to the timetable, we have absolutely nothing to say. At all. So far everything is right on schedule as we expected, and manufacturing is anticipated to be done on time. There are certainly still obstacles to overcome. If our proof copy needs too much in the way of correction, that could complicate the timeline. We have a little bit of extra cushion left built in for that, and are obviously not anticipating a problem.
The other big question is the shipping itself once manufacturing is complete. We have already begun to line up shipping reservations for the late summer, so we are hoping that we can avoid any delays. As many of you know, shipping has been a bit tricky for a lot of campaigns lately and we are doing our best to avoid or minimize any potential delays there. Right now, we are looking good.
Fine Tuning
The team has been hard at work fine tuning the game. Cleaning up some of the language, laying out the rulebook to be even more intuitive and 'balancing' the champions as much as possible. The flavor of the champions has always been unbelievably important to us. We have gone back through with some minor adjustments to the champion abilities to do our best to make sure that not only do each of them have a great chance of winning, but that each of them just 'feel' right. I can say with confidence that the game is more refined, more challenging and more fun than it has ever been.
Most of the tweaking has been on solo mode. We are planning on releasing a lot more information on that in a future update - the rule preview, a playthrough etc. Solo mode has taken on a life all to itself. It is a contest of survival against all odds to be named the ultimate champion of the arena. We are excited to get it out to you, and even more excited that there is no need to PDF it, it will be right in the rulebook!
Thank you all again! We are really excited about the progress that we are making and are looking forward to upcoming updates as we start to see 'things' from our partners and can share them with you all.
The Brain Sandwich Games Team
Preparing for Printing, General Updates
about 5 years ago
– Sat, Jan 30, 2021 at 08:53:44 AM
Hello everyone!
We hoped everyone had a nice holiday season and a strong finish to the apocalyptic year that was 2020. The Brain Sandwich team started 2021 off on a good foot, finishing up all the important little details that are going into Fray and getting it ready to start the manufacturing process. Here's a run down of some of the stuff we've been up to.
Pledge Manager will be live this week
Many of you have asked about the Pledge Manager. We didn't want to open it too early since the manufacturing process takes a bit and we won't be shipping until the summer time. That said, we're going to be launching it within the week so all the surveys will be going out very soon. We just finished up on our side and in a few days something called the 'smoke screen' will start, where surveys are sent out to a handful of backers to make sure everything is working properly. From there everyone will get their survey. Expect to see your survey sometime between now and the end of next week.
Once you get the survey from Backerkit they'll explain how to go in and essentially "check-out", i.e. pay for shipping, upgrade your pledge, take a look at some of our other cool stuff, etc. Don't worry about timing, we promise to keep the pledge manager open a while and we'll be periodically checking back with everyone to remind them to complete everything before the game ships out.
Retailer Verification
When the surveys all go out, we will begin reaching out to those who pledged at the retailer level with more information as well.
Manufacturing process to begin in February
We are finishing off the final files now, which includes an entirely revamped rulebook (some small rule changes but mainly a total reformatting for clarify and simplicity). We are working towards an early February hand-off of the files. Chinese New Year will mean that some of the verification work will get pushed to later in the month but by the end of February the printing process should be in full swing!! Before our printing partner starts mass production we'll be getting our hands on a pre-production prototype to sign off on. We'll be sure to send out an update with pictures so everyone can see whats in store.
Tabletop Simulator
With the COVID pandemic still alive and well, coupled with the fact that our team members and playtesters live all over the place, we've been using Tabletop Simulator on Steam to finish playtesting both the core and solo modes included in the final rulebook. Eventually, we plan to release the final version of Fray on TTS for everyone to access. We expect this to happen closer to fulfillment but when the time comes we'll make sure its available for every backer if they want to try it.
Here's a screen shot we took during one of our play sessions
Tabletop Simulator
You'll hear from us soon
Our plan going forward will be to do updates once a month. The next update will probably be when mass production begins. In the meantime, we constantly monitor both the kickstarter page and all of our social media accounts so if you have any questions just drop us a line, we love hearing from all of you!
- The Brain Sandwich Team
End of the year progress update!
over 5 years ago
– Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 02:56:40 AM
Hi Everyone,
There's a few updates we wanted to share before we close out the year (bye bye 2020). Let's dive right in!
Pledge Manager
We've had a lot of questions come in about the status of the pledge manager. For the record the pledge manager has not gone live as yet. We are planning to launch after the holidays, so early/mid January. Don't worry about any additional time being added to the project, we are moving along right on schedule. Which brings us to...
Final Design has Concluded
We've been working hard putting the final touches on design and layout and taking into consideration all of the valuable feedback we received before, during and after the campaign. The main game design work is complete and we have finished design on solo mode and variant rules for play, as promised. The variant rules are pretty fun, they allow for an alternate way to resolve round initiative that makes the game even more cutthroat and ratchets up the strategy and decision making. We also included a way to play the game with your own scenery, tabletop/battlemats. We thought it would be cool to bring your home-brewed visions to life so now you can use whatever you have in your collection from other hobbies and wargames and place it right in the Every-verse. Of course the biggest rule addition is...
Solo Mode - AKA Survival Mode
We worked hard on getting this right and we think that our fellow solo gamers are going to love it. Solo Mode in Fray takes the form of survival, where a single player is pitted against multiple automated enemies (AE) whose only goal is to relentlessly seek and destroy you. Victory conditions include turning the tables on your foes and defeating them before they defeat you or sometimes just simply surviving before the bell rings. There are 3 different difficulty levels and a Tournament of the Watchers where the player's champion can ascend to Godhood and take their place at the Watcher's side to hold tournaments for all eternity. It's all very punishing and not for the faint of heart. We'll be making the rulebook with all the updates available online in the near future and we can't wait for everyone to check it all out. And finally...
Meet the Necromancer
We wanted to show off the sculpt for the necromancer. Please meet Eldric, Lord of the Fallen.
He's sporting some fun abilities, including raising his zombie to use as a meat shield, taking damage from the strain of tapping into his dark powers but potentially healing from that damage by siphoning the souls of his opponents, all while his zombie is shambling around the battlefield looking for...you guessed it...brains.
Well that's it for now. We hope that everyone has a happy, healthy and safe holiday season. See you all next year!
- The Brain Sandwich Team
First Post Campaign Update!
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 11:41:34 PM
Hi everyone, we just wanted to drop a quick update on where things are at and a few bits of information on what to expect!
Thank You, Seriously, Thank You!
We funded! and the level of engagement on social media, discord, campaign comments, etc was just exceptional. We were really surprised by the support we got from many of you throughout the campaign. Everyone who backed, clicked a link for us, reposted, retweeted, commented and shared....you did your job. Now it's time to do ours. Thank You, Thank You, Thank you, a million times THANK YOU!
Ok, so what next?
Many of you are probably familiar with the Kickstarter process and those of you new to the club, you will be soon :) All of the pledges have been collected by Kickstarter and we are waiting on the dispersement of funds. We expect to recieve the funds from Kickstarter this upcoming week.
In the meantime we are working with our pledge manager partner Backerkit. Late Pledges are already available (if anyone you know missed the campaign and still wants to get in, send them to the campaign page and click the new late pledge link). The pledge manager, where you will be checking out and confirming your shipping address, will be live soon. It's going to take a little time to get it running but when it's ready we will be sending out an update letting everyone know how to access their survey and pay for shipping.
Right now we are working on incorporating feedback from the campaign into the final game and refining everything we can. Soon you'll have a chance to try the game out yourself via Tabletop Simulator while you wait for the physical game to arrive at your door. When we are ready to release Fray on TTS there will be an update with instructions on how to get it running.
After we add our layer of polish we'll move to getting all the assets ready for production. Then off to the printer and into your hands!
Keep in Touch
We loved talking to everyone over the course of the campaign. It got us really excited for the future of Fray! Please, keep talking to us. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Discord, and right here on the campaign page. We'll be showing off some more Fray stuff soon, including the sculpt for the Necromancer that we know everyone is dying to see. We are also working on a new game and we'll be teasing that a bit as we move along.
Update #7 - Fray - Champions of the Every-Verse
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Oct 28, 2020 at 07:42:38 PM
Warning: This will not be a graphic update, and it is a bit wordy, but it is worth the read.
Thank you, 100x thank you
As always I want to start by saying thank you to our backers and community. This campaign has been absolutely amazing and we owe it all to you. Kickstarter has long been a great way for small independent creators to bring projects to life. What we have discovered, however, is just how much the community can help to build a game into an even better version of itself. We have had countless discussions in the comments, in messages, on social media etc that have helped to form the game into something even better than it was. New characters, rules tweaks, campaign edits and more have all been powered by all of you, and Fray - Champions of the Every-Verse is better for it. We have fallen in love with the Kickstarter process because of the amazing ideas, support and encouragement that we get. It is a platform that is so much more than raising the money to make the game, it develops the game with hundreds of voices. Thank you.
Solo Mode
This has been discussed quite a bit throughout the campaign. As you all know, we have said that we have been working on a solo mode variant for some time, but that we weren't going to really commit to adding it until we felt comfortable that we could get the AI right. I am so happy to say, solo mode is coming. While we still have quite a bit of work to do on balancing and the details, we have found an action sequence structure that makes sense, in a format that makes sense. We are using some outside help and will be working on this pretty hard leading up to production so that it can be in the game itself and not a PDF supplement. Each of the characters will have their action sequences developed and printed on the back of the champion cards so that you can play player champion vs AI champion, as rounds in a tournament, and become the victor of the arena. We look forward to continuing to work with the community on enhancing this experience in the coming months.
Optional Rules
We have also, through discussion, decided to add some optional rules. These are rules that have played really well over the years, but add layers of complexity. The game was always meant to be a quick, fast paced alternative to tabletop gaming, and it is. Certain small tweaks, such as alternating the champion activation can add layers of complexity and strategy which while they play really well, can also slow down the game a little bit at times. Ultimately, we have decided that you all deserve to make that choice yourselves if you decide you are looking for an even deeper competitive experience.
55,000k Stretch Goal - Skill Rings
Mark and I have discussed this, and we are so happy to announce that the $55k stretch goal is now.. unlocked. As those of you who have been with us know, we added some smaller stretch goals in about halfway through the campaign. In doing so, the skill rings (which were a community suggestion) became a personal favorite of ours. They may not be necessary, but they will make an amazing play experience addition that we just feel need to be a part of the game. So now they will be! Unfortunately it doesn't look like we are going to get the mock ups in time to really display them on the campaign page, but they are coming. We will just have to show them off in an update. So, no matter where we may or may not get on the stretch goals, these are being added in, forget the funding amount, this is to make the game better and the cost is easily justified as a way to say thank you to all of our supporters thus far.
Stay in touch
We really want to be able to stay in touch. While we will be doing periodic updates throughout the process of getting the game to fulfillment, that isn't the ideal way to communicate new ideas that you all have, such as new champions etc. We look forward to hearing from you all for some time to come on new champions, new rules, what you would like to see, playtesting some of the new solo elements and the like. We have a Facebook Group for the game and a Discord Server for Brain Sandwich Games... we hope to see you there.
You guys have already done so much, but going into the end of the campaign we could really use your help. We have a lot of things that we are doing to bring attention to the campaign still, but any shares, likes, comments or anything that you would be willing to help us with would be greatly appreciated. We have a real shot at another stretch goal or two and we would love to see them hit!
One last time - Thank you. We still have some time left to make this campaign even stronger, but absolutely none of the opportunities that we have could have happened without each and every one of you. Thank you for helping us to bring this game to life and soon.. to the table.
