Insert, Dividers & Pre-Packs
over 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 30, 2023 at 06:49:07 AM

Hello everyone,

The summer has just officially come to an end (in this part of the world, at least) but the atmosphere here has shown no sign of cooling down and with this update we are going to share some of the hot tasks that kept us busy and that will do so for the weeks ahead.

Making the Insert

The saying “the devil is in the details” is very true, especially when developing an insert that needs to fit 1.200+ cards and 13 big miniatures coming with edges, wings, and tails! One thing we had to learn the hard way is that once the insert design is completed, it is the beginning of an intense series of tests and adjustments that need to be done to make sure it carries out the functions it was conceived for: maximum protections of all components and excellent ergonomics.

Let’s start with protection. Guaranteeing the highest level of safety for delicate plastic miniatures is far from being an easy task when these are shipped in a big heavy box that is fully packed with a thousand cards sitting underneath them. To make this bullet proof, we have to imagine the box being handled by the least scrupulous of hands during shipment, this is why shaking, tilting and dropping are just a few of the tests to be performed before the green light is turned on.

Another fundamental aspect is ergonomics. Being gamers ourselves, we know the off-putting feeling of a messy game box when items don’t seem to fit into place. This is why we spent much time with the factory enhancing the plastic insert and adding tiny elements which allow all components to fit perfectly inside their own dedicated slots so that boxes are easily kept tidy, and each opening feels like the first unboxing.

It goes without saying that all the same specifications had to be integrated into all the other boxes coming with an insert (expansions and add-ons). 

Card Dividers 

If the insert design wasn’t challenging enough, we stepped up the difficulty of our quest by deciding to include a full set of card dividers in the Core Game (see Update #48 in case you missed it). 

Yes, card dividers have been added as a gift to all pledges! :)

The Core Game will come with a total of 34 card dividers in two different sizes: 29 standard card dividers (to organize monsters and hunters - expansions included) as well as 5 mini cards dividers (to separate equipment types and reward cards).

We are happy and proud of this addition, although it did come with obstacles. In fact, we had to completely review some details of the insert design… again! We could have walked an easier road by providing dividers inside the Card Sleeves Box only to those getting the Sleeves Bundle, but we definitely wanted to offer this additional content to all of you. 

Such a decision implied that we had to find a technical solution to guarantee that the dividers could fit inside the card slots, making the previous prototype obsolete. This made it necessary to further allocate some space by increasing the insert height of 11mm, without compromising the overall design of the insert (the top layer of the plastic insert extended quite close in depth, almost reaching the plastic trays of the cards on the bottom layer).

 With a good mix of patience (the manufacturer’s) and stubbornness (ours!) we finally have the best insert we could possibly develop. All the extra hours we spent working on a proper solution have been already repaid, and we are very proud to be able to deliver a solution which is both very functional and visually elegant.

Sometimes one has to think outside of the box to fit additional items inside of a box.

Bigger Pre-Packs

The finalization of the plastic insert allows us to determine the final dimension of all boxes, entering a crucial stage of the process: the pre-packing.

As already anticipated, we are working on a pre-packed system to ship the game and all its numerous expansions and add-ons. Pre-packing comes with multiple advantages: 

•  protection of the game during transport
•  custom made boxes for volume optimization 
•  facilitation of logistic operations for all parties involved in the shipment

While the insert is crucial to protect the content inside the box, pre-packs are meant to offer the same service both for the interior and the exterior of the product. For small boxes this can be achieved with thick carton board, but this would not suffice in our case, as we are dealing with huge and heavy boxes that need a proper armor and shield in order to make it through the journey unscarred. 

To determine the necessary protective material and its thickness, one needs to work with the real item, therefore we had to wait for the production to be up and running to be able to make all the required tests.

Notwithstanding our best efforts to get accurate assessment for the dimensions in advance, the pre-packs turned out to be significantly bigger than estimated (the Core Game resulted in an impressive 13 kg of volumetric weight). The reason is that we had to reinforce the package using large corner protectors; these are the best solution to keep everything safe, but unavoidably overextended the volume of the final package.

Unfortunately, the increase in volume is implying a necessary review of our fulfillment quotes (both freight and last-mile shipping). This kind of reassessment and definition of the final measures is all part of the process, which was partially affected by all the adjustments and enhancements that we included in the final product (i.e. the additional height for the dividers and the larger Card Sleeves Box), but it always represent a necessary step when moving from estimates to reality.

So, what about Shipping Tables and PM closure? 

Well, we just need a little extra time for those. We have dozens of different pre-pack types (each one associated with a different combination of items) for which the final dimensions will only be obtained when physical volumes and weights are empirically assessed. Now we have a higher level of accuracy regarding the final package, but 100% definition of dimensions and weight will be available only at a slightly later stage, as suggested by the manufacturer.

We hoped to have everything set up and ready for this update, but as you can understand now, given the latest development, we will have to wait for the actual measures to be clearly defined before asking for the final quotation to the logistic companies andthis is going to take a few weeks at least.

The fact that we are postponing the Pledge Manager closure and the shipping tables is in no way a reason for concern as it doesn’t affect production or any other process whatsoever. Moreover, we want to reassure that we are going to guarantee sufficient time between the communication of the shipping costs and the closure of the Pledge Manager, giving everyone the chance to get organized before charging cards. 

Our intention is to make sure to get the most accurate and reasonable shipping costs and there is no way to do this if we rush it at this stage (and it really would make no sense after so much time of planning). Consequently, we guarantee to keep the same approach when it comes to the closure of the PM, as it is your turn to take the time you need to go through the final steps of the process with no haste.

You can expect we will constantly keep you updated about the PM closure and all the related matters in the next updates.

Meanwhile at the factory…

…everything is proceeding smoothly and nicely as you can see from the crates being filled up with miniatures day after day. It is always a good feeling to receive updates and pictures from the factory and we wanted to share some with you :)

That's all for this update but our minds and hands are already concentrated on the content to be released in the next few months which will include some of the most anticipated topics such as the PDF Rulebook preview and the new TTS demo.

Until next,

Reggie Games

Summer Update: Production + Card Sleeves Box + Timeline
over 1 year ago – Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 06:01:03 AM

Hello everyone,

We are finally here with this summer update that you’ve all been waiting for!

We thank you for your patience during the past weeks, the extra time allowed us to fully concentrate on all the steps we wanted to complete before the release of this update, and we made it. We are so excited about the amount of work and progress we managed to pull since last month and we are thrilled to share it with you now.

Here are some of the tasks that have kept us busy until late in the evenings and some of the achievements that have made us cheer.

Mass Production up and running

As anticipated in the previous Update #47, we were aiming at finalizing all the details by the end of June and start mass production by the first half of July. This turned out to be an even more overwhelming task than we had imagined, but our indefatigable team managed to get through it notwithstanding the scorching summer heat (well yes, we have AC, but still). By the time we released the previous update we had already finalized the great majority of components so that launch of production looked just around the corner, however some minor details on a few components that needed some double checking and polishing were holding us up. This is when we decided to take a different approach and split the whole production in different batches so that we could proceed full speed with the components that were ready and take more time to concentrate only on the few items that needed extra attention.

Here is a recap of the staggering amount of work that kept us occupied in the past month:

✅ 100% of plastic miniatures mass production launched 🚀. This was one of the most intense and meticulous tasks we have undertaken last month, with numerous hours spent on double checking every single detail of the last samples we received from the manufacturer before final approval. After over one year of work on these models we just could not rush this process. Holding Jekoros, Kharja and all the creatures of the last batch in our hands, while staring at them as if about to unleash their powers was an incredible feeling, one we cannot wait for you to experience as well ;)

✅ 90% of paper component mass production launched 🚀. Proofreading. Proofreading. More Proofreading. It's been a never ending and tiresome work but a necessary step before gathering full confidence to get every component to the production stage. As we speak, ink and colors are working their magic to transform into physical form all the years of game designing, art creation and story crafting. And while the factory is handling the majority of paper components, we are focusing on the last boss-fight of our adventure: finalizing rulebooks and campaign books. We are excited to say that all the texts and narrative for the core game and expansions are finally complete. However, the finalization of the manuals still needs a tiny extra proofreading and final touches (on layout, images and captions) before being handed to the manufacturer. We’ll get there by the end of this month!

✅ Plastic insert design completed. Finding the best design to fit all the components inside such a huge box has demanded a lot of time and concentration. On top of that, we evaluated and compared different options due to a particular matter that you will read about in the next section (no spoilers here!).

✅ Selection of paper finishing done. This was surely an enjoyable task, choosing among different finishes for the paper boxes and cards, yet we couldn’t take it lightly and went back and forth communicating with the manufacturer and reviewing different samples as we didn’t think that cutting short on the looks was fair to the substance of the game. We want Primal to shine inside and out!

Something up our sleeves!

This is probably one of the most anticipated news many of you are waiting for, and one that we are most excited to share! After seeing many requests regarding the possibility to store the sleeved cards in the core box we decided that we had to come up with a solution even though it meant adding workload to our already busy and tight schedule.

We started imagining multiple possibilities to find a solution and a suitable space to accommodate all the 2.200+ cards… as you can imagine, not an easy task!

Originally, we tried to squeeze extra space inside the Core Game box, however this would have implied that the backers that didn’t order sleeves would end up with a larger box with unused space, not to mention the increase of volume of what already is a very large game box. A further increase in dimensions would have caused an inevitable shipping (as well as production) cost increase, which would feel like an unfair imposition to the non-sleevers.

The second option looked immediately more like a perfect match to all our requirements. By redesigning the original sleeves boxes and making them larger, we decided to provide sleevers with a dedicated box to store their sleeved card while not affecting those that didn’t get such an add-on. Unlike it might seem, it was all but a simple solution to conceive and execute. We had to reconsider part of our box design, tackle all the issues that are involved (box insert, production adjustments, logistic arrangements) and absorb the additional production cost for the larger box and filling material. We are however happy to do that as we know this addresses an important need for the community and we are glad to go the extra mile as a token of appreciation for your continuous support.

So, long story short: all of you that ordered the Sleeves Bundle (Core or All-In) will receive “the box that fits them all” ;)

And which character could be a better fit than "The Keeper" to introduce the box that protects and encloses all the cards? 

Fulfillment and Pledge Manager Update

Last but not least, during the past weeks we have been working hard to finalize all the shipment fees quoted by freight forwarders and fulfillment hubs around the globe. We spent lots of energy and time by comparing price quotations and level of service of different companies in order to make sure we can offer you the most reliable delivery and a contained cost. Among the good news, we can confirm that the outrageous prices we saw right after the pandemic are behind our backs and although they are not yet at the levels of pre-2020, we are striving to obtain and offer shipment prices that are very close to pre-crisis years. Nonetheless prices are still highly variable and fluctuate monthly, this is why we are waiting until the very last moment to set shipping fees and collect them as close as possible to shipment date.

At the same time, we understand you need to get prepared and be informed in advance about the shipping fees involved, this is why we aim at releasing details with the update of September, giving everyone an advance notice about the shipment costs before the definitive closure of the Pledge Manager.

Speaking of that, here is a brief heads up on steps that you should expect next:

SEPTEMBER: We will create the final shipping tables and apply shipping fees to each pledge so that they will automatically show up on BackerKit.
In the next KS update, we will inform everyone of this step so that each backer can check their accounts and have the chance to do last minute adjustments to their orders, as promised, and update their address and shipping information.

OCTOBER: We will collect the shipping fees along with any outstanding payment for the add-ons added to your orders through the pledge manager.

NOVEMBER: We will load the containers in China that will ship out to take the games all over the globe!

Updated Timeline

While looking at the next steps ahead, and with the production running, we believe it's important to provide an overview of the general timeline we are working with and to update the estimates for the final deliveries.

Considering the extra weeks that have added up recently and slightly nudged our schedule, and factoring in the holiday season (which always brings its share of shipping and logistics challenges), we expect the game making its way to our global hubs in the second half of December. After that, the fulfillment process will kick off shortly (about 3-4 weeks), in January.

We know this means extending an already long journey a bit further, but on the other end we know every extra effort we have put in these final steps was necessary to get the game we all dream of. And delivering that incredible game is the best way to express our gratitude for your patience and for your great support.

With the achievements we recently accomplished and the everyday progress we make, our excitement constantly increases. With this same spirit we are going to tackle the staggering amount of work awaiting us, starting right now.

We understand it is not easy to completely comprehend the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes, but we hope to have shed some light on the reasons why we had to postpone the release of this post and the correlated slight delay accumulated in our timetable.

Looking ahead at the next month, the cooler breeze that comes with the end of the summer will be a boost to take us towards the final steps that are leading to the moment we are all waiting for: getting Primal to your doorstep.

Until next,

Reggie Games

Mass Production is coming + SG Expansion Overview
over 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 22, 2023 at 08:20:30 AM

Hey everyone,

Here we are with our monthly update from Thyrea! 

These past few weeks have been incredibly busy. The finalization work is progressing well and at a good pace, and in the next few weeks, we will be finalizing every layout, double-checking and triple-checking every component and every written text. Some tasks have been completed ahead of schedule, while others are requiring more attention. Given that it's a very critical phase, these final weeks will be decisive to wrapping up the work.

We expect to finalize the majority of the files by the end of the month, as per the current timeline, with the aim to start production of print components in the first half of July. 

It's difficult to express the anticipation and excitement here as we approach the final stretch of such a long road to mass production. At the moment, the main issues we are tirelessly working on are related to the proofreading and the double (triple!) checking of the manuals and all thousands of cards. With such a significant amount of text, the translation and language checks have been truly massive. It is our team's responsibility to oversee the completion of this task and ensure everything is perfect.

Undoubtedly, our decision to develop all the expansions and unlocked extra content - a total of 5 expansion boxes! - alongside the base game has resulted in an enormous amount of work. On one side, if we had divided the project into multiple shipping waves, separating the core game from the expansions, we might have shortened the development and the delivery time for the base game (probably at the expense of the various expansions' timelines). On the other hand, we are so happy with the choice we made; by developing the game as a whole creation we had the opportunity to optimally balance the gameplay (there are countless interactions between core and expansion cards) and better integrate all the content of the expansions into the base game through a cohesive story and lore.

Speaking of expansions, today we want to show you an overview of the final version of the Stretch Goal box, which is coming for free alongside all pledges. 

Stretch Goal Expansion - Overview

The Stretch Goal expansion adds three new monsters to the base game roster and introduces the Nightmare mode for those seeking the ultimate test of skill and perseverance.

Each of the monster we unlocked during the KS has unique mechanics and it's been integrated into the campaign with unique quests that unveil new information while intertwining with the main story.

For those interested in the Expedition mode, the three monsters are all available for one-shot games at all difficulty levels (with two different ready-to-play setups for each monster). 

Taraska combines the Shield ability, which is a damage reduction typical of the metal monsters, with the burning mechanic, which is a characteristic of the fire monsters inflicting damage to the player every cycle of their deck.

 However, what makes Taraska truly unique and intriguing is the Lava Geyser. While the environment plays a significant role in every scenario in the game, Taraska's scenarios are special because fire terrains suddenly appear on the board, following the Lava Geyser placement system.

The Lava Geyser is triggered by Taraska's special attrition cards. When that happens, players must reveal the top card of the behavior deck and place a fire terrain token in the sector of the board indicated by that card's diagram. As players learn to read the monster's behavior cards, they can anticipate the placement of fire on the board, avoiding falling victim to the volcanic environment, which responds to the monster's fury.

Zekath is a very special monster that we developed in two different variants, blue and violet, each featuring a completely different behavior and peril deck!

The unique feature of this monster is that its peril cards are not associated with any of the monster stances. Zekath has a special track on its monster board, the Vibration track, which advances when specific behavior cards are triggered.

When Zekath’s Vibration track reaches 3, a new peril card enters play to replace the current one. This mechanism adds a layer of unpredictability to the game and makes Zekath a very dynamic and exciting monster to fight.

Finally, here is the big baddy of the expansion! ;)

Xitheros has been designed to be one of the most challenging monsters in the game. Its hunt is a unique "hidden" quest that you will have to unlock through the campaign.

This monster possesses the ability to sniff out its prey, being attracted by the scent of blood. From a gameplay perspective, the Aggro mechanic changes completely while fighting Xitheros (thanks to the Scent of Blood card ability). The monster always turns to the most injured player, who is also exposed to a higher risk of suffering attrition damage!

This mechanic has a significant impact on the combat tactics as well as on the crafting and deckbuilding strategy. Players will need to do everything possible to avoid bleeding and triggering Xitheros' Blood Frenzy!

This mechanic forces players to strive to defeat Xitheros in Stance II. If the monster manages to enter Stance III, the battle will become truly intense!

And if that's not enough to make you wary...

Nightmare Mode

The Nightmare mode is for those who aren't afraid of defeat, who thrive on learning from their mistakes and pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

The Stretch Goal Expansion includes the Nightmare version for the following monsters:

 For each of these monsters, there is a set of 9 Nightmare behavior cards, with 3 cards for each level, to be added to the monster's regular behavior deck (these cards do not replace the base cards but are added to provide an incredibly challenging experience).

The "!" reaction is the most aggressive in the game: the card is triggered as soon as it comes into play. This way, Nightmare monsters retain their signature mechanics but receive a boost in terms of effects, dynamics, and danger.

In addition, each Nightmare version of the monsters also comes with a dedicated set of stance cards. These stances determine the monster's health and damage values which are significantly enhanced in the Nightmare version.

Note: For balancing and design purposes, the peril cards, which form the backbone of a monster's gameplay, have not been altered in the Nightmare versions. Despite this, considering the various modifications made, the total card count of the game has remained largely unchanged.

Where are the other Stretch Goals? All other unlocked contents, such as 

•  Extended Lore texts
• Additional Mastery and Action cards for the hunters
• Additional Campaign Scenarios
• Legendary Quests
• New Equipments and Legendary rewards

have been added and integrated directly into the core game. During the development, we realized that the unlocked elements presented an ideal opportunity to expand and enrich both the gameplay and the campaign experience in the core game. We are confident that this approach ensures the most cohesive gameplay and narrative structure throughout the game content.

Overall, looking at the whole amount of content, the SGs have been a huge addition to the game. We are so proud of it and that was possible only thanks to the great support from all of you. We cannot wait for you to see what an amazing game we have built.

That's all for today! The upcoming month will be crazy intense (yet super exciting) for us as we will set everything up with the factory for the production. For this reason, it is possible we will slightly postpone the next update (probably towards the end of next month - we will keep you posted about this in the comment section). By that time we also plan to have more information about the pledge manager closure and probably the shipping costs as well. 

We hope you enjoyed the SG Expansion preview for now, and we will be back soon with a hot summer update from Thyrea.

Until next,

Reggie Games

Progress Update + Ozew Preview
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 15, 2023 at 09:54:07 AM

Hey Hunters,

It's time for our monthly update from Thyrea! Today we want to address some frequently asked questions about the pledge manager, our shipping charge schedule and the TTS release. Then we also want to go back to the gameplay talk with a quick but in depth preview!

But before anything else, let's review the progress we've made in the last few weeks.

The rulebook has been refined, proofreaded, and will receive an ultimate update on all graphics and art to get to the final print version. Meanwhile, we have finalized Frost, Venom and Feather Expansion Books which are going under the proofreading process within this week. Stretch goals and 5th player Expansion are almost complete as well. The work on the expansion rules turned out to be shorter than what we estimated, and our proofreading partner is doing a great job to help us catching up.

Writing and narrative translation are progressing at full steam as well with only the last batch of texts to be finalized, translated and double checked by our team. Finally, all the Campaign books for the base game and all expansions will undergo an ultimate graphic update.

While some tasks can take a little longer, others are turning out to be shorter, saving us precious time. The preparation of files is already begun, and with the main issues behind, we are on track with the current timeline; the next month and a half will be crucial for finalizing everything and ensuring it's ready for printing by the end of June.

Pledge Manager Update

Many of you are asking about the Pledge Manager closure and the shipping charge date. Consistently with the approach we adopted with respect to the shipping costs, our position stays the same: we will calculate the shipping costs as close as possible to the freight shipment so that we will be able to provide the actual (and, hopefully, the cheapest) costs. 

With that said, accordingly with the recent updated timeline, we want to confirm and remind you of the steps we need to take in the next months with the regards of the Pledge Manager:

August: We will insert the final shipping costs into the BackerKit system and we will notify you about the possibility to make any eventual last minute changes before orders are permanently locked.

September: Around the end of summer, we plan to charge for shipping and add-ons. Please, keep in mind that this may still slightly change; however, as we get there and calculate the final shipping costs, we will publish a dedicated update with any instructions and information you need in view of the Pledge Manager closure.

TTS Demo Update

As we previously announced in Update#42, we are going to release a new TTS demo with an additional monster (chosen by you!) to be tested out while waiting for the physical game to arrive at your table. As you might have guessed, due the recent timeline update we had to postpone the TTS release accordingly. 

The setup of the demo requires most of the files to be finalized (rulebook, cards and any other component that show up in the TTS); since we don't want to publish a version which does not correspond to the final quality, we have to wait until we have everything ready. Also - and this is no less important - preparing the TTS takes time and we want to put every resource we have to focus on the finalization of the game itself. 

Long story short, the TTS demo will be released as soon as possible, with the current schedule being around the end of June/first half of July.

In the meantime, today we want to give you a little taste of the monster you voted, which is the one that will be added to the digital demo. 

Gameplay Preview: Ozew

Ozew belongs to the thunder monster category and it focuses on throwing lightning and controlling the players' hand through discard and forced recycle effects. While the gameplay of its scenarios feature some random elements, Ozew's mechanics are designed to give players enough agency to plan strategies and have control over what's coming.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read this section if you don't want any spoilers about the monster behavior! 

WHAT'S UNIQUE?

Ozew features two main gameplay mechanics that make it unique: Swarm cards and Rumble cards. 

Rumble cards are special cards that mark, in yellow, specific sectors of the board (the diagram in a Rumble card is oriented so that the front side is the bottom one). These are the sectors where Ozew's lightnings are going to strike! At the end of each round, players that are in a marked sector will be the target of Thunderstorm (the keyword "Ongoing" means that the card remains in play for the entire scenario).

 Now let's turn to the other key feature of Ozew: the swarm cards.

In the fiction, the monster is part of a huge swarm that includes monstrous insects of any size. The swarm cards represent those creatures taking part of the fight to protect the monster.

The swarm cards prevent players from dealing damage to Ozew: when a player would deal damage to Ozew, they must choose a swarm card to be the target of that damage instead.

In addition, each of these cards features an ability text that is active as long as they are in play.
As it reads in the cards, to defeat a Swarm card and be able to remove it from the game, players have to deal an amount of damage equal to Ozew’s toughness value.

WHICH STRATEGY WORKS BEST?

Hold the Dodge! Choose a weapon that allows for a solid number of dodge cards in your deck. The monster will pose some insidious threats that will require you to answer with a dodge. 

Lightning is one of the monster's signature attacks. The reaction icon "!" means that the behavior triggers immediately as the card is placed on the monster board. You will see it coming most of the time (while it's on top of the behavior deck), but it's likely to have it jumping into play when multiple behavior cards trigger and get replaced within the same turn. 

With the aim of including at least 5 dodges in your deck, above are shown some good options for Dareon. However, since Ozew is weak against Crystal and Horn, by equipping cards of those elements (weapon, armor, helm or item), you can further modify your deck composition. Following the elemental weakness rule: for each two equip you have of those elements, you can add 1 action card of a color of your choice to your deck. This way you could end up adding up to two dodges to your deck and maybe using your preferred weapon with a dodge addition!

Make a discard-proof plan. Do not base your game plan on a single card combo: that's what Ozew is waiting for. Chances are that card will get discarded (probably recycled), and your strategy will be completely disrupted. 

Keep an eye on Surge and Overcharge. If not addressed properly, Surge and Overcharge behavior cards can really checkmate the player providing a deadly bonus damage to the monster's attacks.  

 Ozew features low damage values through all its stances, because of its impactful attack rate. Its damage value must stay that low! Players have to be careful while playing aggro cards and must keep moving on the board (to avoid becoming threatened), not to trigger Surge and Overcharge. Otherwise they must have some tactical countermeasure to avoid the attrition damage and any other source of damage based on the state of the game. 

Avoid Thunderstorm. This is definitely the main threat of the scenario making the fight challenging and dynamic every round. Players have to coordinate their movement and strategize on who should take the aggro in order to avoid ending up in the targeted sectors at the end of the round. Each round, the goal is to designate a player who has the best chance to have dodges in hand, maintaining the control over the monster.  

Use the Objective card. Yes, you really want to avoid thunderstorm, no ifs or buts. That's why Hit the Horn! objective card is so precious for the players. As the card ability reads, hitting the monster's horn will prevent it from attacking through Thuderstorm. If you are out of dodges, cannot coordinate the moves or the aggro with your allies or don't like challenging your fate too much, have a player dropping that blue-red-red sequence and blank the monster ability! 

Slay the Swarm wisely. Once the Swarm cards are revealed, depending on the abilities they bring into play, it becomes crucial for players to decide the order in which to remove them. This tactical detail may be overshadowed by strategic choices on how to approach the scenario, but it can make a difference during the final rush to conclude the encounter.

We hope you liked Ozew's preview and we cannot wait to have you putting your skill to the test against this monster! 

Let us know in the comments if you'd like to read more gameplay previews like this. Which monster would you like to have a showcase of? ;)

That's all for today, we will be back around mid June for another update from Thyrea!

Until next,

Reggie Games

BIG Update: Progress & Timeline
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 10:39:05 AM

Hey everyone,

Finally, it’s time for a new update from Thyrea! March has been very busy and we have been forced to slightly postpone the release of this update. But here we are!

Another month brought us closer to the finalization of all the game components. Today we want to share with you the behind the scenes of the recent progress including significant steps but also challenges related to this delicate phase of the project. 

After talking to the factory in the last week, we also defined the new timeline from the mass production to the final delivery, which is presented in detail at the end of this update.

So, speaking of progress, let's start from one of the main tasks of the last two months: the rulebook.

Rulebook Finalization

The rules have been refined and finalized after over a year of extensive playtesting (at multiple levels and different player counts). Such testing allowed to highlight all those hidden and technical aspects of the game that require analysis and in-depth investigation to offer clear and rigorous rules (i.e. resolution of specific triggers, timing of multiple activations with certain combinations of monsters and equipment, and specific cases of interaction of card abilities).

Writing a rulebook that counts over 90 pages requires attention towards the reader, who not only needs to learn how to play correctly, but also needs to do so quickly and gradually. To optimize the accessibility of such a huge rulebook, we decided to divide it into three main and well-defined sections:

•  The Prologue, where, in a few pages, you learn how to play your first scenario that serves as an introduction to the campaign.
•  Campaign Rules, where crafting, character progression, and general rules for playing the campaign mode are explained.
•  Expedition Rules, where the expedition mode is explained, and all the setup rules for the available scenarios in this mode are presented.

In addition, we created a section dedicated to the special rules of the monsters and a glossary that delves into all the important terms and concepts of the game.

To ensure that the rules are clear and error-free, we conducted more tests than we had initially planned, and that was the right choice. Primal has an elegant and relatively simple structure, but there is a deep complexity that emerges from card interactions and special monsters rules that require the maximum accuracy to make everything crystal clear. We received a lot of valuable feedback that helped clarify and improve the presentation of certain details. Some parts were rewritten almost entirely after the first draft in order to better organize the content, highlight key concepts, and add numerous gameplay examples to facilitate reading and understanding.

Fo instance, we have added several examples regarding the resolution of behavior cards, showing special cases that could have caused doubts for novice players.  

Also, we have greatly expanded the glossary from the first draft and added a section dedicated to the timing and all triggering keywords and icons.

To date, the design and improvement work on the Core Rulebook is complete and the file is now undergoing the final proofreading check. Meanwhile, the other files related to the expansions are almost finalized and will enter the final check within this month. In summary, here is the current state of the process.

Despite the challenges that came with finalizing the files, we are very satisfied with the result so far and we cannot wait to share with you the PDF version of the rules. 

Once all rulebooks have been finalized and proofread, we will move on to a final review of all card texts to ensure that the wording is consistent with the changes made during the finalization of the rules. 

Speaking of cards, we have completed about 90% of the proofreading work on the 2000+ card texts in the game. Currently, the process is on hold, waiting for the completion of the rules check, which may lead to some final refinements in the choice of some game terms and keywords.

 Campaign Scenarios (Writing and ENG Translation) 

As you already know, the writing and especially the English translation process took much more time than what we originally estimated. Our writers are polishing the remaining texts, which mainly come from the expansions' scenarios and the Tome of Creatures, and the English translation of the narrative is still progressing in parallel. It's been far more intense than expected due to the many back and forth exchanges with translators, writers and proofreaders. Unfortunately we are behind our estimated schedules, but we've overcome the initial obstacles and now proceed at stable pace.

On one hand, the work on the rulebook involves technical and formal rigor, while on the narrative front, the challenge is of a completely different nature.

We are working with a team that includes both native English and Italian speakers. This is because the narrative content is created in Italian, translated into English, and then goes through multiple proofreading checks by different professionals to ensure that any nuances of meaning (such as figures of speech, personifications, and choices of polyvalent terms in Italian) are understood and accurately conveyed in English.

Our team of writers who worked on the screenplay and plot development review each translated text together with the proofreader, providing eventual details and explanations regarding the original text in terms of both content and style.

Since several scenarios contain key terms and references to gameplay aspects, the game designer's input is always involved as well to ensure that every aspect is consistent with the choices made during the finalization of the game.

Graphic Design & Artwork

In previous updates we already told you about the creative effort put in the development of the story and the game setting. To enhance the storytelling experience, we asked our artists to create new artworks that showcase some of the hunters' most significant discoveries. 

With the final illustrations being realized last month, all the graphics and artworks for the game is now complete. Throughout the entire journey, from the very first sketches, our artists did a great job creating inspiring works that really set the stage for an immersive experience.

For those of you that are interested in the lore and the art of the game, today we want to share a little preview of three characters (NPCs) that will have prominent roles in the story: 

Welcome to Reja, Noatar, and Nael.

Reja is the Prime Commander of the Alborean Council. She is the leader of the hunting forces and her determination inspires courage and empowers strength in all people. 

Years ago, Noatar survived an event that changed him forever. Today, the Keeper is a spiritual guide who senses the marks of forgotten lives and times coming from the unknown past of Thyrea.

Nael is the most talented seeker of Alborea who owns the deepest knowledge of nature and beasts. The more he understands of this savage world, the more he feels he is missing something crucial to grasp the truth behind the brutal nature of Thyrea.

With the completion of the graphic material, the work on the layout and setting up of the print files has already begun, in order to expedite the closure of the files once all the components are finalized and ready for printing.

 Manufacturing - Plastic Samples

Speaking of the manufacturing process, the tooling production has been completed and the molds for all miniatures have been refined and finalized by the factory.

In the last few weeks we received the first batches of plastic samples for review and approval before mass production starts. These samples are crafted from the molds with the purpose of showing the final quality of the printed models. 

As you know, it took us over a year of tests, modifications and refinements to achieve the highest quality for the models. We were incredibly excited and anxious at the same time while unboxing these final minis. The outcome is gorgeous and we couldn't be more proud of the level of detail achieved on both large and small models (with the little % loss during the casting having no significant impact).

See for yourself what is coming ;)   

A great recognition goes to King of Average for his consulting work and great support on these minis, and to the factory of course, which has been very receptive and helpful through the various modification steps, providing a great quality and an excellent work so far.

However, celebration and joy aside, we are not done yet.

We are currently waiting for the final batch of models: this is the final call for catching any eventual defects or potential issues before jumping into mass production. The remaining samples we receive will undergo a detailed review process to check that everything is faithful to the resins we approved. 

This step requires all our attention: learning from the experience so far, we are taking into account a little extra time for any eventual exchange with the factory to ensure everything is ready to go.

 Pre-Packed Shipping and Fulfillment

Over the past two months, we have been working at full steam on the fulfillment plan for the project. We are currently talking to the main actors in the industry in order to plan every stage of the process, from the container loading in China up to the final delivery on your doorstep.

As we have already mentioned, we are working towards the implementation of a pre-packed shipping strategy for the delivery of the game, by creating customized boxes for different types of orders. This kind of solution guarantees a better quality control on the packaging and assures a more streamlined process, simplifying and speeding up the work of fulfillment hubs.

Creating a custom box for each specific combination of pledge and add-on items is not easy: each backer can add a different number of add-ons of their choice in the pledge manager, resulting in more than 200 unique item combinations.

To determine how many types of custom boxes we need to produce, together with our partners we are studying the orders, with the aim of optimizing the number of boxes produced while guaranteeing a robust package for any item combinations.

Here's a 3D simulation image to give you an idea of the work that happens behind the scenes to get the game shipped!

While planning the pre-packed strategy, we are also evaluating the updated quotes from the fulfillment hubs to define the final shipping costs. Speaking of that, we are relieved that the worldwide shipping crisis seems to be behind us; although the situation is unlikely to return to pre-crisis prices, we are confident that the costs will be fair and reasonable with respect to what we have seen during these crazy times.

We will be glad to provide you with a detailed and comprehensive update on this matter once we have more accurate details.

Timeline Update

In the last few weeks, we had extensive discussions within our team and with our partners regarding the deadlines for each task involved in the finalization process. While we are satisfied with the results achieved, based on the progress status of the different fronts, we had to accept that we are further from completion than what we had expected. As shown in the progress overview, the rulebooks files are still undergoing the proofreading process, the translation of the narrative has been stretched with respect to the estimates, and after all components are finalized we will need to allocate a couple of weeks to thoroughly review each file.

Long story short, we need two extra months from now to finalize everything for the printing mass production, and therefore we are forced to extend the timeline compared to what was previously estimated. 

We waited the last few weeks until receiving the approval of the new schedule from our factory as well as their precise estimate for the pre-packaging process that will occur once production is ready. Here below is a table that shows all details about the new updated timeline.

According to the new timeline, the game is expected to arrive at your doorstep by the end of the year. We had hoped that this final phase would have been completed in less time and with fewer unexpected issues so that we could start delivering by summer, Q3, but unfortunately the recent slowdowns force us to extend the timeline. 

The technical time for finalization has proved to be more intense due to the complexity we accumulated throughout the development process. This was the first time we tackled such a huge and delicate process in which the result of years of work converges. Although we were aware of the challenges, we didn't manage to predict exactly how intense each step would have been. 

However, with any unforeseen difficulties being solved, everything is well underway and if we look back at all the progress done and the tremendous amount of work being put on the development, the finalization is now just a few steps away.

We, who are living and breathing the day-by-day progress, can see the finish line approaching and we see evidence of how the extra time we've invested in the project has been essential to take care of every detail and being able to create something unique. On the other hand, we feel the frustration for the wait and we sincerely apologize for not being able to shorten these last steps of the process. 

Please know that all of our efforts and resources are entirely dedicated to this epic project, postponing any other projects and developments to focus on Primal which is and will be our leading project for a long time. 

We want to express our gratitude for your patience and for the amazing support you consistently provided us all along this journey. We cannot wait to show how incredible is the result we achieved together, and we have no doubts it will be worth the wait.

Once again, thank you for being here, and stay tuned as we will be back soon for the next monthly update.

Reggie Games