Exploration

First mass production copy arrived!
almost 6 years ago – Wed, May 27, 2020 at 06:47:03 PM

Hello all! It has been some time since last update but according to project timeline, today I received first mass production copy (copies).

#1 Mass production status

- Spaceship miniatures - Done

- Printed components will be done by end of June - currently printed components require a finishing and drying process

- Dice, Plastic Stands and Plastic Cubes - Done

- Originally Final assembly should be done by the middle of July, but now we are ahead of timeline

Last time I wrote that our production schedule is not fixed, but now it seems that it is a small surprise from Panda and we are a little ahead of schedule, but.... It sound too good to be true and problems alwyas happens...

#2 Final quality check

As the first copies from mass production came, I started the final quality check. I confirmed: the number of cards and components, quality of components (materials, finishes, colors etc.), no misprints, assembly and packing.

Everything seemed fine, but I received the massage from Panda that they have found the problem with CC Magellan (old conqueror) miniature. The hole for flight stand was made upside down. In the picture below you can see that the miniature looks different than image on card.

What we can do? There are three options:

A) Mold modification - Panda will do the mold modification, hole will be on the good side. The result will have no impact on the quality, but we will have a delay of 40-50 days. In addition, Panda will throw away all CC Magelan minitures.

B) Card modification - CC Magellan spaceship has a specific shape. In fact, at first glance it is not known where the ship has front and where back. Second option is the rotation of image on spaceship card. In this option Panda will prepare the new tool for printing the spaceship cards and will exchage the cardsduring assembly. It will cause a delay of 15 days.

C) Leave it like it is - it is noticeable problem with the impact on quality but it has no impact on the gameplay. In this option we will follow our current timeline, without any delay.

I would like to make this decision based on your feedback, so in this form I would like to know what do you think and which option do you prefer. Please answer ASAP to avoid additional delays.

#3 Spiel Essen'20 cancelled

It is another sad information for board game fans. This is also a problem for everyone who chooses local pickup as the shipping option. The simpliest will be to use "standard" delivery. If you are one of the person, who chooses local pick up, please write your address in private message and we will change it in pledge manager.

Kind Regards

Damian Korus

Start of Production
almost 6 years ago – Wed, Apr 01, 2020 at 01:44:38 AM

Hello all! Coronavirus situation is getting worse everyday all over the world, so its difficult to write that I have a good news. 

#1 Start of Production

Panda resume their production facilities on 2nd March but with 50% capacity. After Panda members went back to normal life (not only in work!), I had to confirm everything once again before start of production. I did it and from today Panda started production! Below I would like to share with you our current production schedule:

- Spaceship miniatures will be done by early June  

- Printed components will be done by end of June

- Dice, Plastic Stands and Plastic Cubes will be done by mid April

- Final assembly should be done by the middle of July

Unfortunately this is not fixed timeline. Panada has also many other projects which are delayed now, so the plan may change a little bit. I will receive more accurate data around 14 April and then I will post next update with more details about production and estimation of fulfilment plan.

#2 Pre Production Copy - All-in gameplay

In the meantime, I received a pre-production copy with digital printed components to check the print and material quality. To be honest I am surprised and shocked. The quality of the game is amazing. It will look great on everyone's shelf. We had to make some minor corrections to the components: lower the box height, adjust the carton insert for better fit of the components. I hope that it will greatly decrease (hopefully to "0") the number of damaged games. Below you can find components pictures and unboxing video. 

 Unboxing video. Please note that it wasn't the final assembly and some components are missing (dice).

It is not visible on the video but between plastic insert and game board we will put a blank sheet of paper to avoid scratching of the cardboard elements.

I have also a pleasure to play pre-production copy of Exploration (unfortunately Solo Mode due to social distancing) for the first time. It was great! (and I avoided the shame which happened to me many times during testing). I won against Martian AI with the result: 75 to 53.

I wish you and me to make progress faster in the coming weeks and to be able to publish the next update soon.

Kind Regards

Damian Korus

Panda Game Manufacturing official statement
about 6 years ago – Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 11:52:00 PM

Hello all!

At first I would like to apologise for long time without any update. I had a car accident caused by a drunk driver, but thankfully no one was hurt. This is an extremely difficult start of the year also beacause of other reason. Most probably all of you heard about Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. Until now the total number of confirmed cases exceeds 70.000 people living in the Mainland China. You can follow the current status here. Due to coronavirus outbreak, Chinese government decided to extend the Chinese New Years holiday up to February 10. Unfortunately, the situation in China has still not been resolved, which is why PGM decided to extend the holiday period. Now I would like to share with you two official statements from PGM. 

#1 Official statement from 10.02.2020

"Due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation in China, our factory  operations were suspended last week, and our workers remained on a  government-mandated Chinese New Years holiday extension.

 Today, we have made the difficult decision to postpone factory  operations for 1 additional week, with factory operations now scheduled  to resume on Monday February 17.

 This additional week is not government-mandated, but we made this  decision to protect our workers and reduce the chance of an outbreak.  Many of our workers are just recently returning to Shenzhen, and one of  the characteristics of the Coronavirus is that sometimes people are infected without immediately showing symptoms. We have a  social obligation to provide a safe and comfortable work environment for  our staff, which includes taking precautions to give each individual  the confidence that they are not being exposed to a health risk at work.

 During the week of Feb 9 to 16, our workers will undergo quarantine  procedures, and their health and temperature will be monitored.

 We have also established a task force to specifically tackle the  Coronavirus and ensure that government regulations and health guidelines  are strictly followed. Our workers will wear surgical masks, follow  best practices for personal hygiene, and our factory will be regularly disinfected.

 We realize that this additional week delay will have an impact on your  production schedules, and for this we sincerely apologize.

 We will continue to provide regular updates as the situation changes.

 Thank you for your patience and understanding.
 Panda Game Manufacturing"

#2 Official statement from 17.02.2020

"Due to the escalation of the Covid-19 Corona Virus situation, our  production facility in Shenzhen will remain closed for an additional 2-3  weeks, likely until early March.

 This precautionary measure is being taken to reduce the chance of an  infection happening to our team which could have much longer term  consequences.

 Stopping the spread of the virus is a global issue and the local  government has put in place a number of policies aimed at preventing the  further spread of the virus including halting public transportation  from affected areas and also asking companies for their cooperation in facilitating health checks for their staff.

 Thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.
 Panda Game Manufacturing"

#3 Charging cards for shipping

It is not the best situation to speak now about shipping but you must know the clear information. My proposal is following: we will fix the date of charging cards to April 2. If someone needs to do it faster, please send your requests via Kickstarter private message.

At the end, once again I would like to apologise you for this situation. Most probably it means the delay in delivery. We will now analyze the situation and the possibility of speed up mass production and shipping. I will inform you as soon as the situation is clear.

We'll use the factory shutdown time for double checking the Exploration components and rulebook polishing.

Kind Regards

Damian Korus

Spaceships have landed!
about 6 years ago – Wed, Dec 25, 2019 at 01:34:26 AM

Hello all! We received a great Christmas present from Panda Game Manufacturing. Let's start with the next update.

#1 Miniature prototypes

Sorry, for a low quality of the image but in reality the miniatures looks outstanding.  I'm proud of them.

#2 Rulebook and cosmetic changes

From the beginning of our campaign, I was receiving a feedback from you about "one point, one spaceship" restriction rule. Indeed, this principle suppresses immersion in the space theme of this board game. The new rule allow players to have more than one spaceship at the same point on board. This rule is called Formation and it is descibed in the latest version of rulebook.

#3 Kourou color change

Purple is best suited to the player's 5th spaceport. Please take a look at the updated Kourou design. I like it a lot. You also?

Finally, I wish you a merry Christmas and a lot of fun with board games (especially Exploration) in 2020!

Kind Regards

Damian Korus

The manufacturer is...
over 6 years ago – Sat, Nov 23, 2019 at 09:43:14 PM

Hello all! It's been some time since our last update. We were at Essen Spiel 19', but only as a visitors. In addition, we sent files to prepare a pre-production prototype, but let's go step by step.

#1 Manufacturer

Exploration will be prepared by Panda Game Manufacturing! I think that I don't have to intorduce them to you. Over the years they manufactured a lot of top games for example: Scythe, Root, Wingspan, Hell Boyt and much more. You can find more about their works here.

#2 First samples

I received first samples from PGM. It was only a plastic cubes and plates for color check.

 As you can see there is almost no difference in color between Xichang and Kourou when we will use translucent cubes. What do you think about using opaque cubes? 

#3 Miniatures adjustments

We had to make some changes in thickness and shape because of possible problems during injection molding, but I think these changes have no impact on the final appearance of the miniatures. 

#4 Language independency

Honestly speaking I'm a fan of language independent games. This kind of game has two advantages. At first it is easy to understand, according to the adage "A picture is worth a thousand words". Secondly you don't have to remember all things, becasue it is easier to add some guides on game components. Of course Exploration cannot be 100% language independent because we don't want to lose immersion in our space theme. Below you can see examples of changes made.

#5 Rulebook

Thank you for submitting your revisions and thoughts about rulebooks. We are still working on it. There is also a small delay in design preparation. I will share with you the latest version of the rules once we will have a design.

Within next two weeks I should receive first samples of miniatures, fly stands and dice, so this will be the content of the next update. In summary, the project is proceeding according to schedule, but there are some concerns about the rulebook preparation. 

At the end a small update about pre-orders. Our store on BackerKit is still active, so If someone was unable to support Exploration during the campaign, they can use the following link to order the game now. 

Kind Regards

Damian Korus