Lost Adventures Project Status Update (Feedback/Test Printers/ Playtest)
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jul 04, 2020 at 01:34:37 AM

Hi Lost Adventurers!

We have a lot to share with you today, so let’s get right to it:

Help Us With Your Feedback

We’ve delivered a lot of minis, scatter, and props so far - 115 minis, 12 huge bosses, over 70 pieces of scatter - and more!

But we still have more to make for you awesome backers - that IS what this whole update is about after all. We are committed to improving even in this final closing stretch of the campaign.

If you could take a few minutes to answer this survey, we’d greatly appreciate your feedback:

FEEDBACK SURVEY LINK: https://forms.gle/XL1h9popR5voqeTH9

Your voice counts, so please don’t be shy - we’re listening.

P.S. By answering, you can help us determine the kind of models and focus of our next Kickstarter!

July Files Delayed

I know this isn't good news, but it's still important to deliver and be open about it: We missed June’s file delivery date, and unfortunately it will still be a few weeks before backers receive July’s files. July will have a bigger-than-normal drop that will include June’s models and July’s models. I know this isn’t the best news, but I did not want to rush file delivery. I hope that seeing the exact files and what will be delivered below will shed some light on to what is happening and why this is the best option for now.

So, what happened? In addition to the Corona craziness that has affected most everyone (our team included), last month our focus was on two things: 1) finalizing the Lost Dragons Lore Primer so we could then 2) finalize the Core 10 encounters. The final edits and layout took much longer than anticipated, this was 3 weeks of back and forth within our editing team because our proofs/read-throughs of the final edit had a lot more work than we anticipated. We’d been working on this for too long to rush it and decided that we’d rather have a delayed great product, than a rushed one both for Lost Dragons and Lost Adventures. 

This unexpected delay in working on the Lore Primer also set us back from having the 10 Core Encounters finalized by end of this month as well. It was a lesson learned for the 30 encounters we’re preparing for The Lost Adventures for sure in terms of final editing time post layout - but still affected this month’s production for Lost Adventures.

This isn’t necessarily all bad news however: We’re now free to focus on Lost Adventures completely! Which means the next two months are basically going to be light speed compared to the past few months.

The Remaining Project Timeline

We definitely are in the endgame :)

Right now we are on track to have all of Lost Adventures completed by the end of September (within the next 3 months). This might seem like a long time, but when you see the amount of files that are in-progress and almost done, you will see why it is 3 instead of 1-2 months. 

For those of you who absolutely need dates, it is hard to give dates for exact deliverables because sometimes even a simple fix can take longer than anticipated, etc. That being said, instead of sharing exact dates when I want to have each deliverable ready by, I’m going to be sharing exactly what we’ve made, what is in progress/testing, and what is still pending for every part of the project. Please consider this an effort on my part to be as transparent as possible about where we are at and keep reading to see what we're doing to get better results:

Below is the overall project status so far (this combines core and stretch goal together):

I know...tables definitely aren’t the clearest way to illustrate this point, but as you will see in the data here and below: our biggest choke points right now are definitely testing models and encounter formatting. The encounter formatting is understandable because we’re waiting on playtesting feedback to improve the encounters in their current form.

Testing models more quickly is something we CAN fix though, so I’d like to bring on additional test printers to help us test the remaining props and scatter & terrain more efficiently. If you are interested in becoming a test printer for this last stretch of the Lost Adventures Kickstarter (and potentially future Kickstarters as well), please submit the following form: https://forms.gle/fq7tMjvztWy5XwPD7

Props Status

Below is the props status (for reference, 20 additional prop stretch goal pieces):

Scatter & Scenery Status

Below is the scatter & scenery status (for reference, 20 additional terrain stretch goal pieces):

Encounter Status

The lifecycle of a written encounter is different than for a model, so the above tables don’t work quite the same - but here is where we’re at:

Encounters Written: 30/30 - 100%

Encounters Status:

• Layout/Finalizing: 10/30 - 33%
   
• In Playtesting: 10/30 - 33%
   
• Maps Complete: 26/30 - 87%
   

The reason writing these encounters have taken so long is because these encounters have been made to go hand-in-hand with the minis we’ve made, the terrain we’ve made/are making, the props we’ve made/are making, which are also meant to match the maps for these encounters. It is a LOT of moving parts, and things have really come together very nicely now that we’re nearing the end of it all.

We are on track to have all the maps completed before the end of the month though thanks to Nick and our Lez, our map masters - which is really wonderful.

So we are mostly waiting for playtesting now, and because it takes time, this isn’t a step we can do quickly. We just have to wait for that feedback.

Speaking of the playtest…

Playtest Update

The second wave of playtesting has officially begun as of today! Check your emails and spam filters - the emails should have come from Dan, our playtest coordinator, with the following email address: [email protected] 

Also: yes, I know - he really does have the greatest name in the world :)

He’s done an awesome job so far - and I really appreciate his help at standardizing and streamlining our feedback and delivery. If you backed at a level with early playtest access (including late pledges), and DID NOT already get an email, check your spam folders, or finally send an email to [email protected] and we can look into it for you!

Upcoming Updates: Renders, Test Prints, Encounter Info

I wanted to include more renders in this to help you all see some of the absolutely beautiful pieces we have coming - but it would honestly have delayed the update, and I wanted to get something out to you all before 4th of July weekend hit full force (I'm in Central Florida for reference for those of you Americans who are watching the news :X) 

Of course, future updates will focus on more renders of all of the models that are being finalized (you can see many of them in the above status lists), as well as test prints from the test printers which will be joining us soon. We’ll have a lot to show, but next time it shouldn’t be just me :)

We’ve also gotten a few requests for encounter info - and we’d be SUPER happy to share more info about the Verdant Queen and Pestilent Priest adventures and maybe even some of the side quests too!

Thank You

Thanks for your engagement and patience as we work to make the ending as strong as the beginning of our campaign. A big thank you from all of our team so far.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please email me here: [email protected]

Happy Printing everyone!

Danny & The Lost Adventures Team

May Files Delivered + Project Milestone!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 31, 2020 at 04:05:50 AM

Hi Lost Adventurers,

May Files have been added to the Dropbox! I'll share what we added first, and then I wanted to go in detail about the organization of these files since I think some folks missed earlier updates explaining how the Dropbox is organized to minimize duplicate downloads, etc. 

May Models Ready For Download

The following files have been added:

TERRAIN (all supportless)

• Storage Room Props (Set of 3) 

•  Standing Stones (Set of 8) 

• Expedition Tents (Set of 4) 

BOSSES

•  Khaldoth the Corpse Keeper, Graveyard Golem - Sculpted by James Dorrington 

For those wondering what he looks like in FDM - here he is at 0.2mm (apologies for some of the imperfections, testing bunch of profiles on this printer):

•  Cloud Giant Regent, Aiela Stormbringer - Sculpted by David Whitaker, Tytan Troll Miniatures 

Model Organization Information

I wanted to take a few moments to talk about how our Dropbox is organized since I've gotten a few messages about this, and I figure that some folks are popping in reading occasional updates and may have missed previous ones. 

1. The only place models are being added is in the Stretch Goals folder. The Encounter PDFs are the exception to this and once we begin sharing those we'll share more detailed instructions to help minimize confusion moving forward. 

2. There is a change log in the Stretch Goals folder which tells exactly which models we've added and when. If there are any hotfixes, they're also included here. 

3. Models are organized as follows: 

•  Props -  All Props 
•  Terrain - All Terrain and Scatter
•  Miniatures - All Bosses and miniatures

This might seem redudant, but some people have trouble finding where each new models can be found individually each month. We label the items in our monthly updates and in the change log as well for easier reference. 

If you don't like going through each folder individually and finding the added models, please see #4 below. 

4. You can find all of the models released by month in their respective sections - or just find them in the "Stretch Goal Releases By Month" folder. Some backers requested this, and we've since started doing this since the February releases.  

 NOTE: If you're downloading ALL of the folders every month, you're going to have duplicates. I suggest just going into the stretch goal releases by month and moving them into the folders however you choose to organize them afterwards. 

Project Milestone Reached: All Miniatures & Bosses Delivered!

I'm really happy to say that we've reached a major project milestone with this month: ALL miniatures & bosses have been delivered! 

So what's left? We're still working on finalizing the 10 core encounters, and are preparing the next wave of stretch goal encounters. You'll continue to receive scenery/scatter terrain and more props monthly as we finish and test them.We understand many of you backed for the models alone, so we want to make sure we get those to you while you wait patiently for the PDF encounters. 

For those who love to mark your calendars: June's scatter and props will drop on Friday, June 26th.

As was one of the main goals of the campaign, this scenery, scatter, and props will correspond with the encounters and maps - but like I said, we don't see any reason to make you wait for the encounters/maps to be completed before releasing the models to you all. For those of you running these encounters: I hope the extra time to print and paint them will come in handy! 

Something I'm creating is a Google Sheets spreadsheet listing out everything we've got left so you as backers are on the same page as our production team on where we are right now, and also to help from increase the communication and accountability throughout this project. 

Have a question I didn't answer? You can reach me here: [email protected]. 

Thanks again everyone! Happy printing,

Danny 

April Files Delivered + May Preview
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 10, 2020 at 01:38:59 AM

Hi Lost Adventurers! 

This is just a quick update to share some sneak peaks for what is coming in May, and inform you that the following files have been added to the Dropbox: 

April Files:

TERRAIN

• Scrying Pool Set (Set of 6)

PROPS

• Amulet of Ti'Coseth 

• Headdress of Ti'Coseth 

• Feather of Cyralx 

• Potion Set 2 (Set of 5) 

MINIATURES

• Aegar Skhald, Ice Giant Champion - Sculpted by James Dorrington 

• Ignus Ashborn, Fire Giant Conqueror (Sculpted by Daniel Kelly, Lion Tower Miniatures)

• Added Pre-Supported (for Resin) version of Ogi Skullcrusher, Hill Giant Tyrant 

       - A HUGE Thank You to Greg Kourakos for his help with this one! You can learn how to better create resin supports from him here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbv2mDrRqXovPdahRyoCFhA 

If you don't know where to find your files? You can find the files and instructions to access your files on BackerKit here: https://lostadventures.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

If you need additional instruction accessing BackerKit and Dropbox, see the following guide: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3dprintingdm/the-lost-adventures-all-in-one-3d-printable-adventures/posts/2712150

May Test Prints & Delivery Date

After May we will have delivered all of the bosses - which means we've only got scatter terrain and props left while we keep test printing the encounters! Very exciting. 

May models will be delivered on Friday, May, 29. The exact files being delivered will be announced in next week's update.  

We've been test printing some of the other sets that we've been working on as well, and wanted to share some of those with you. I'll share what encounter these belong to, but please pardon my printer quality: playing with different profiles and testing a printer here. Suffice to say: you should be able to see the level of detail and quality of these upcoming sculpts. 

Without further ado, the test prints: 

Next week we'll share a larger project update with you all with clearer project deadlines, goals, etc for what is remaining. The focus will be the written content.  

New Communication Stream: Live Q&A Live-Stream

In an effort to increase open communication between our team and you, the backers, we've got something to share...without further ado allow me to turn the "update" over to Nick and Dillon: 

Do you love the Lost Adventures? Do you wanna hear about whats going on with the project? Do you want to hear Dillon talk about how much he LOVES Ettercaps?! Or do you agree with me that you can NEVER have too many dwarves? Well boy do I have some exciting news for you!

The team has been kicking around the idea of holding a regular live-stream where backers (Or just fans of the project) can ask us questions and get a more in-depth update on where things are with the project, see some behind-the-scenes test prints and just ask us general questions. But we need to know if there is an interest!

When we ended the Lost Adventures with a live-stream, we were amazed at the response, so we figured, why not get the train rolling again. But we need help from everyone: Are you guys interested and if so, what sort of topics would like us to cover?

Please post a comment below for possible topics or just like this update if you would be interested.

Thanks everyone and hopefully we'll see you all online soon!

- Nick & Dillon 

________________

We're looking forward to hearing from you all! Let us know what you think below, in the Facebook group, or really however you'd like. 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me here: [email protected]

Thank you everyone, stay safe, and Happy Printing!

Danny & The Team

April / May Files Update
almost 4 years ago – Fri, May 01, 2020 at 10:39:26 PM

Hi Lost Adventurers,

I hope you all have been well! Just wanted to drop a quick update on April and May model drops. 

April Models 

Unfortunately, the April model drop that was supposed to happen yesterday didn't happen because we had some file fixes we caught after testing. They've been fixed, and are in testing now, which pushed back the release date a bit. 

The City Walls Set has also been pushed back to May. In it's place, backers will receive the scrying pool set. 

Backers will receive April models next Friday, 5/8 (will be there by midnight EST). Here's what you'll be getting: 

•  Ignus Ashborn, Fire Giant Conqueror 
•  Aegar Skhald, Ice Giant Champion 
•  Scrying Pool Set (for Encounter 10) 
•  Potion Set 2 (5 Potions)
•  Feather Pen Prop 
• Headdress Prop
• Ancient Pendant Prop

Test Prints

Here are some test prints so you can see what our test prints (some of these do include minor failures, but you can see quality, etc.) 

https://imgur.com/a/DlWsCJm - Apologies for linking these prints in an imgur album, it's just that Kickstarter wasn't allowing us to attach anything besides the two photos below. Anything else was stuck on processsing...sorry about that! 

 May Models

Here is some of what is coming in May: 

Aiela Stormbringer, Cloud Giant Regent - Sculpted by David Whitaker, of Tytan Troll Miniatures

Khaldoth the Corpse Keeper, Graveyard Golem (Backer Voted Boss) - Sculpted by James Dorrington

Storage Room Set (Set of 3) - For Encounter 6, Ettins and Arguments 

https://imgur.com/a/qj9uvpT (Sorry about the imgur link - again, no matter we tried we couldn't get this image to upload here in the update itself). 

After the files drop next week, we'll have more test prints to share with you all so you can see the quality of our prints in both FDM and resin. We'll also have a specific model drop date for May for you, as well as an overall project update. 

See you all next week!

Danny 

COVID-19 / March + April Update
about 4 years ago – Tue, Apr 07, 2020 at 07:58:57 PM

Hi Lost Adventurers!

First of all: I hope everyone is safe and sound, and enduring the many quarantine/stay-at-home orders that are occurring around the world in as healthy a way as possible.

COVID-19

A quick personal update from our team in this regard: We're all safe (fortunately), and we're all staying in. In my case (Danny writing), having my two kids, one 6 and one 3, at home all the time and having to help with virtual learning at the same time has been a lot (as I'm sure those of you in the same situation can understand). I have much less time to focus on work, and my plans to ramp up video production have been put on hold again. Even with a dedicated partner (my wife), adjusting has taken time and energy (and is a constant process). I know many of us are going through this same kind of transition right now, and we're all in this together, so we're doing the best we can: taking it one day at a time.

In terms of the Lost Adventures: Work has continued on with minimal disruption. The biggest impact has come in the form of test printing slowing down (hence March being delayed once we received the final files at the end of March). Between testers losing income, switching to mask production for health workers, running out of filament, and/or just not having time because of added family responsibility - this month has been a bit harder than usual. This is what led to the delay in delivery for the March files.

Fortunately, digital work has still moved forward and we've got a lot of sculpts (and new concepts) to share with you all.

March/April Files Update

March files will be arriving this Friday, 4/10, alongside the Final Fantasy VII remake (couldn't help myself :D). It will include the following:

•  Malgathez The Devourer, Hydra Horror - with swappable heads - Sculpted by Deryck Pellegrini & Artem Bespalov

•  Ogi Skullcrusher, Hill Giant Tyrant - Sculpted by David Whitaker, Tytan Troll Miniatures 

•  Ruined Wall Set - Sculpted by Antoine Marchildon 

•  Potion Set 1 - 5 Potions - Sculpted by Kim Bourrie (Fate's End) 

•  Mask of Desecration - Sculpted by Kim Bourrie (Fate's End) 

April files will be delivered on Thursday, 4/30. It will include the following:

• Ignus Ashborn, Fire Giant Conqueror
• Aegar Skhald, Ice Giant Champion
• City Walls Set (Encounter 1)
• Potion Set 2 - 5 New Potions
•  3 New Props
   

OVERALL PROJECT STATUS: Where are we at now?

There are a lot of moving parts happening, so let’s talk about the status of each part:

1. Core 10 Encounters: The Playtest for the core 10 encounters ended in February. Feedback has been implemented and changes have been made to the encounters based on the feedback we received.

Our graphic designer & layout wizard, Chris, is wrapping up the Lost Dragons Lore Primer and then his priority will be on final layout for the Core 10 encounters for delivery.

2. Stretch Goal Encounters: Out of the 20 additional stretch goal encounters, 19 have been written, 7 are in editing, and 12 are ready for formatting. While we wait for Chris to wrap up the Lore Primer, we are beginning formatting for the next wave of playtesting this week. More details on the next wave of playtests to come later.

3. Minis: After April’s models, the only miniatures left are Aiela, the Cloud Giant Regent and our backer-suggested, and backer-voted boss...

Khaldoth the Corpse Keeper, Graveyard Golem

We hope you love it as much we do :) Both of these bosses will be ready for delivery by May.

4.Terrain: Now that almost all of the encounters have been written, and many of the maps made, we’ve started to focus on the terrain and scatter sets that will go with the core + stretch goal encounters. We’re starting with clear concept art for each of these pieces both to share with you all as we go along, but also to make sure we can communicate a consistent vision to the sculptors for this project.
 

Our focus has been unique pieces that fit our encounters, and are also relatively reusable. In some cases, we’ve upgraded the terrain pieces verses what is in the actual map because we settled on more interesting sculpts that still fit the encounter.

5. Props: Once again, now that the encounters have been (almost) entirely written, we have a much better idea of which props we wanted to make to match them. We’ve had concepts finished since February and have been pushing forward with sculpting and testing much faster than before.

Our props for this Kickstarter are being made by Kim Bourrie. You may recognize her as the creator of the recent Dice Tower Kickstarter that is all over Facebook recently. Her work is phenomenal, and our test prints have gone very well so far (as can be seen in previous updates). 

See below: a (pretty fun) functional test of our supportless Bell of Troll Tongues...

6. Overall Timeline Targets: For those who like our specific targets/timeframes, here is where they are at now based on current production cycles: 

- Core 10 Encounters PDFs/Maps/Props Completed & Delivered: End of April/Early May

- Wave 2 of Stretch Goal Encounter Playtesting: End of April - End of May

- All Stretch Goal Miniatures + Bosses Completed & Delivered: End of May

- All Stretch Goal Props Completed & Delivered: End of May 

- All Stretch Goal Scatter Sets Completed & Delivered: Delivered monthly as completed/tested, completed by end of July/early August 

Additional Concepts

I wanted to share a few more scatter concepts along with their corresponding maps so you can visualize the kind of scatter sets that will be coming and where they belong in the encounter, as well as examples of the visual differences between the two.

•  Goblin Huts (from Encounter #8 - Trapped Like A Rat)

•  Ettin’s Storage Room (Encounter #6 - Ettins and Arguments) 

 
  Thank You & Closing

One thing you might have noticed: Yes, 3D Printed Tabletop the YouTube channel is going to be it's own channel, and our mini-company will have a new name: The Lost Adventures Company. The relationship will still be the same, of course. We're also working on updating our website (and uploading more of these individual Lost Adventures models and sets) - but thought we'd share the logo with you all a bit ahead of time. Hope you like it! 

Before closing, I'd like to thank everyone who's participated in the Facebook group and here - answering others questions, sharing your prints, settings, paint jobs, and experiences running these encounters so far. You're amazing - and I'm grateful for sharing and inspiring others. 

If you have any questions, please email me here: [email protected]. 

Until Friday - Stay safe everyone, and happy printing!