(Bonus Update!) Samples + Crossover
over 3 years ago – Thu, Jul 08, 2021 at 03:25:09 AM

Hey Hunters,

This is a quick extra update to share with you some exciting miniatures samples!

We are currently talking with different manufacturers in order to find the best production partner for the project and to be sure we will achieve the best quality for the models.

These days we are receiving some new samples to review and we couldn't wait to share them with you! :)

A few other sets of samples are coming from different factories in the next few weeks; we will be happy to show more pictures about them soon!

In the meantime, today we also have a little surprise to share with you :)

Wild Assent Crossover

Lazy Squire Games reached out to us and asked about the possibility to sculpt a monster inspired by Kharja. We thought it was great to see our fiery creature invading other universes! 

Moreover we value the possibility to support other great projects having the opportunity to create collaborations with great teams and creators.

So, here we are! The monster has just entered the Wild Assent world as an unlocked Stretch Goal for their current campaign :)

If you haven't heard about Wild Assent, we suggest to check it out: it's a beautiful 1-4 player RPG board game with solo/cooperative and PvP game modes, very interesting gameplay and awesome miniatures! 

The team at Lazy Squire Games is currently running a successful campaign on Gamefound for the Lavon Rising expansion (which we are personally backing!). The expansion adds more heroes and creatures to the game as well as a compelling story-based campaign with multiple endings that, as the creator says, "you won't need to rearrange your life to finish" :)

We think the game is very fascinating - yeah, we love fighting monsters ;) - and we are happy to see the addition of Kharja. Its miniature has been unlocked for all pledges of Wild Assent and it will be usable as an enemy creature in the Hunt mode or a valiant ally in the PvP Arena mode!

We hope you will find it exciting to see our monster crossing the frontiers of Thyrea and inspiring ideas and creations in other game universes! :)

If you are interested in Lazy Squire Games' project, check out their campaign at https://gamefound.com/projects/lazy-squire-games/wild-assent-lavon-rising#/. They just entered the final hours so you are still on time to back the game!

Among the Top of 2021

Last but not least, we are proud to highlight and share with you some videos that recently came out and really filled us with pleasure: 

With your amazing support we are doing something really special. Thanks once again for being part of this incredible journey.

We will be back later this month with the standard monthly update which will be focused on the Pledge Manager and the development progress.

Until next, stay safe everyone.

Reggie Games

Artwork Update (New Terrain!) + State of Freight Shipping
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jul 02, 2021 at 04:38:30 AM

Hey Hunters!

Summer has come to the lands of Thyrea :)

Today we want to show you more artwork as well as new 3d terrain models we are working on! Let's start from the plant sculpts!

Plants 3D Terrains 

Plants are an important part of the gameplay. Understanding how to take advantage of the environment is one of the great challenge of the game and terrains like plants offer interesting opportunities and benefits to the Hunters. 

From the artistic perspective, plants open the imagination over the world of Thyrea and its nature. With this in mind, we are sculpting them to bring out their brutal beauty on the table.

While working hard on the models detail, we know that dimensions and proportions are important as well in Primal in order to communicate the feeling of survival and wilderness. The 3D renders below offer a realistic view of how the final models will look on the table. 

And now... it's time for a little suprise ;)

New Terrain!

A new terrain has been added to the base game - yes, it will be included in all pledges :) 

The game development is proceeding well and while playtesting different monsters and environments we decided to test out the addition of a 4th plant!

Synaerea , a new plant species, has been discovered ;) now, botanists and alchemists in Alborea are studying it to understand its structure, properties and origin...

The new plant has been mainly added as a new ingredient to improve balance in the crafting experience. Potions can save your life, provide the extra stamina you need and much more during the fight! Choose wisely how to mix and manage your alchemical resources. 

Along with the gameplay addition, a new plant also means a new 3D Terrain miniature that is going to be included in the 3D Terrain box expansion. The sculpt is currently in progress, but here below is a sneak peek: 

Ancient Artifacts

While the research on the different plant species continues at our laboratories, explorers and archeologists in Alborea are studying the possible artifacts that could be found in the savage lands of Thyrea. Here are some cool new items to look for during your quests! Hope you'll like them ;)

It might look like a pair of bare goggles, but it is much more. The lenses are crafted to show the "grid of the gods" during night and to embody the celestial knowledge of our ancestors. As the prophecy recites, "when the lights will go out and the stars will be running wildly through the dark night, humans will have to remember and will finally see the truth".

The "Everfallen" is a legend coming from the eastern region of Niz-Maraja. Those lands were inhabited by an ancient human tribe, named Iksoria, for centuries. According to the stories that reached us, a man was born with the gift of immunity from any known poison. That man was worshipped like a demi-god. At the age of 17, after defeating dozens of monsters, he also prevented Reikal from devouring his village reaching a mysterious agreement with the monster. The beast left, but none knows what was the promise that was made. 

- Kildar, historian of the Eastern tribes

About the "Shipping Crisis"

The Current State of Freight Shipping

As you might have heard in the last few weeks, many publishers and content creators are talking about the insane increase of the freight shipping cost. A lot of discussions, social media posts and informative videos about this have recently come out in the internet.

We think it is appropriate to dedicate a part of this update to briefly explain to our community what's happening with the aim to help raising awareness about this global situation which is affecting our industry. 

Here is the facts: the cost of shipping containers from manufacturers to fulfillment centers around the world has become crazy high in the last months. Many reasons led to this scenario: temporary shutdowns at port, workers shortages, increased demand, increased fuel cost, and general congestion. The result is that prices have risen up to 5x the standard cost, which is a wild increment.

Also, many companies we are talking with, are experiencing a huge impact on shipping time as well, with severe shipment delays of 6-7 weeks (some people are worried that the situation could get even worse during the winter holidays).

Now, while the issue is complex for everyone in the industry now, speaking of Primal there are reasons to think the overall situation will improve by the time the game will be ready to be shipped next year. However, no one can exactly predict the situation now, so we are carefully monitoring and analyzing the issue with the help of our partners and contacts to define as well as possible how this could affect our planning.

Shipping Estimates and Pledge Manager

We confirm our intention to open the Pledge Manager this summer, hopefully within the next month. We know many of you are looking forward to it; it's definitely the same for us.

However, the crazy global scenario mentioned above forces us to be very careful with the finalization of the shipping tables for the project. Therefore, we are taking the time we need to be able to offer the best shipping cost for the game. 

As we already mentioned, as soon as we have everything set up, we will publish a dedicated update on the Pledge Manager in order to explain every step of the process - to help any first-time backer approaching the BackerKit platform.

That's all for today, July is going to be intense on the development front :) we will be back soon!

Until next, stay safe everyone!

Reggie Games

3D Terrains Design + German Rules!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 01, 2021 at 08:03:12 PM

Hey Hunters!

Since the last month our team has continued to make great progress in the development. While we will keep revealing details about monster design and gameplay in future posts, today it's time to take a look at some new 3D artwork! We are happy to reveal the first sculpts that will be included in the Terrain Box expansion :)

3D Terrains Design

Taking advantage of terrains is a key gameplay challenge in Primal and so the miniatures are a great opportunity for us to make the terrain elements emerge and to visually highlight the importance of the environment in the game.

While working on the concepts of terrains like Brush, Plateau and Rock, for example, we realized we wanted their miniatures to be more than just an aesthetical addition. We want them to enhance the experience thanks to their tridimensionality, to interact with the hunter minis and to emphasize their gameplay function.

The models are sculpted by Andrea Di Natale, who is doing a great job giving life to the concepts. While the work is still in progress, we are excited to show you the current state of the development. Here below are some 3D renders of the minis to give you a better idea of how the final component will look on the table.

Hide in the Brush!

The Brush represents a little glimpse of the lush nature of Thyrea and it has been sculpted to include a variety of leaves of different size and shape. Hunters can take advantage of this element during combat to get out of the monster's sight, so we want the players to feel like they are hiding behind giant leaves and sneaking around in the vegetation! To achieve this and to highlight its gameplay purpose we designed the Brush to have a crescent-shaped base which allows the hunter to hide behind it.

Take cover behind the Rocks!

A rock is solid enough to protect the hunter and at the same time it's fragile enough to be destroyed by a monster attack. Accordingly to its gameplay effect, a rock terrain is a defense resource you may use to avoid damage. For this reason, the shape of the 3D model has been designed to create a space for the hunter to take cover behind it, somewhat recalling the shape of a shield or something that is meant to grant protection. 

Jump from the Plateau!

The plateau is a unique element since it adds verticality to the map. Its purpose is to put you at the same height of the monster, from which you will be able to jump onto the creature's back! 

We designed the plateau to have a slot for the hunter miniature sculpted on the surface. This wants to emphasize the idea of expanding the combat board adding a unique zone to move on within the sector. 

A spectacular scene!

When we started designing the game we were immediately charmed by the feeling we got from the combat board and by the overall atmosphere the game offers, representing a tense and spectuacular fight at the table.

Now, with the terrain miniatures addition, the level of immersion is going even beyond and the combat scene looks like a rich, dense and living environment as never before.

More to come...

More terrains are currently being designed and 3D giant plant models are coming! We really look forward to showing the progress on those sculpts as well.

In the meantime, our artists are also working on all the illustrations for the unlocked items and the legendary weapons. In the next update we will share new pieces of artwork, although some special concepts will be kept secret to be discovered during play ;) 

Rules Translation Update

A quick yet important update on the rules translations! Thanks to our collaborators, today we are glad to publish the German version of both the Learn to Play and the Campaign Rules! :) Click the image here below to get to the download page.

Pledge Manager Update

We are collecting quotations from some of the best fulfillment centres for each shipping region and we are discussing every detail about the logistics to be able to define the actual shipping cost for each destination. 

Given the large size of the project, we are putting extreme attention on these aspects. Once all the costs are accurately defined, we will send you the invitation to the Pledge Manager that will be opened on BackerKit.  We currently expect it within July, but we will keep you posted if anything changes. We will also publish a dedicated update to explain everything related to the Pledge Manager once we have the exact opening date for it. 

That's all for today! New art, 3d sculpts and more gameplay insights are coming in the next months. We will have an exciting summer!

Until next time,

Stay safe everyone.

Reggie Games

Hydar Gameplay details + ES/PL Rules (PDF)
over 3 years ago – Sat, May 01, 2021 at 12:57:56 AM

Hey Hunters,

it's time for another update from the world of Thyrea!

Today we want to share more details with you about another monster featuring a very interesting playstyle. We're going to discuss Hydar, from the Venom Expansion, whose scenarios are currently being designed and playtested. But before entering into gameplay and strategy... why would you willingly enter the jungle of Niz-Maraja?

The vegetation in the far region of Niz-Maraja, a wild eastern land at the doorstep of the Marshy Expanse, is dense, deep and full of lethal traps. There you find carnivorous plants, weird flowers and malicious creatures. But nothing would scare you more than the giant poisonous salamanders that dominate the region: the Hydars.
From what we know, those monsters evolve in symbiosis with the jungle of Niz-Maraja to the point that plants grows on their own bodies being in some way related to the vegetation and the surrounding environment. The monsters are the sons of Niz-Maraja itself and some hunters even argue that the jungle protects the Hydars and the plants assault the strangers at the monsters' will... Believe that or not, that jungle is creepy and it's one of the most dangerous places in the East of Thyrea. 

Nevertheless... it is so fascinating.

"I know, many alchemists would do anything to have a Maraja's plant or fruit in their hand. Most of them would use the extracts to create lethal poisons for terrible purposes. That's the curse of those regions still perpetrating in our world. But there is always an exception. I don't trust the Wanderer, but I trust his skills. 

He says he can save her life. This is worth a try."

- Kildar, historian of the Eastern tribes

Hydar Gameplay

Hydar is a monster designed to kill you slowly. Differently from other monsters, Hydar doesn't have a key behaviour card in its deck: its actions are all small pieces of a bigger puzzle, focused on pursuing its win condition in the late game. At the same time, while its strategy looks like an inevitable long term plan, the monster's tactics is made of quick reactions and rapid attacks, to reflect the swiftness and the speed of the creature. 

In Primal, monster's speed is handled through behaviour cards and appropriate reaction icons. Gameplay-wise, a rapid monster like Hydar is a monster that reacts quickly to the player's sequence being designed to answer every Attack, Manoeuvre or Defense card. A slow monster such as Mamuraak or Tarragua, on the other hand, is a monster that mostly acts at the end of the round and does not immediately answer the player's actions. 

That's the treacherous plan: Hydar repeatedly discards your cards from the top of your deck. The point of this strategy is not only to remove or limit the options from your Action deck, but also to accelerate the count-down on your health points (keep in mind that, according to the rules, you suffer damage every time you run through your entire deck!).
 

 However, Hydar not only shortens your deck, but it also paralyze players and get Armor tokens! As Enlarging Scales shows, when the players are on the defensive, Hydar becomes tougher by gaining Armor, which is important for the monster strategy in order to extend the game length! The paralyzed effect instead forces the player to discard their entire sequence of cards and exposes them to the Attrition damage - note that Hydar can boost it adding bonus damage!

 The monster's strategy culminates in the Jungle Rampage card effect during Stance III. If Hydar accumulates enough counters by emptying the players' deck multiple times, its Unleash ability triggers when it reaches 7 Struggle instead of 10! That's huge and it can mark the end of the game!
   Fortunately, you do have some ways to disrupt the monster's plan. The most direct way is to take advantage of the Objective card: from Stance II on, Tame the Wilderness! allows players to remove 2 counters from Hydar if they manage to bring the monster's Struggle to 0. Manoeuvre cards and control are always important ;)

Character Builds and Strategies

Hunting Hydar is a devious challenge! Instead of dealing big damage, the monster follows a subtle plan that aims to drag you down round after round. 

A well defined strategy is required to survive the jungle and players have access to a great variety of approaches and character builds. Let's see a few examples for Ljonar.

First of all, let's start from the Mastery card, which is an important part of your build. The Unbreakable is a great card, especially in this situation: it allows you to stretch your health points, which means you gain extra cycles of your deck before being KO'd. 

If you choose The Unbreakable, you can play aggressively because not only you can sustain more damage, but you also want to take full advantage of the bonus you get once the Mastery is Focused.
   An interesting concept for a damage-oriented build for Ljonar is given by the synergy between Thundercore and Thunder Helm. Not only the Retaliate ability allows you to deal damage in return to the monster every time it inflicts damage to you, but the Thundercore deck also includes 6 Attack cards - possibly even 7 thanks to Crystal Armor - , which is great if you want to play an aggressive game. 

Multiple Attacks, thanks to Thundercore ability, play an important role in your strategy also because of the possibility to Stun the monster, slowing its attack rate and disrupting its plan!
 

   A completely different approach is suggested by cards like Ironleaf Armor and Crystal Helm. Those cards act as a great defense against Hydar since they can retrieve Action cards back from your discard pile into your deck making it more resistent to the monster's discard effects.
   In the build you find below, you can see how Brasswall can synergize with the other pieces of equipment. Following this strategy, not only you can reinforce your deck, but you are also keeping your allies behind your protecting shield!

 Now, let's try something different instead: let's change the Mastery card and go for Lion Guard.

This card opens up the potential for a great support/control deck that can perform really well against a monster like Hydar. The idea is to discard Parry Assist cards to remove Struggle, thanks to the Mastery ability, and at the same time to be able to play Manoeuvres to further enhance the control.

 How can we build such a plan? Here below is an interesting option, where we would also take advantage of Volcano's Fire elemental damage which is super effective against Hydar (the monster is weak against Fire)!

Crystal Armor and Helm are a great defensive cards against Hydar and the armor in particular allows you to include an additional card to your deck, making it bigger and possibly even more consistent with our strategy. 

Speaking of cards we may want to include into our Volcano deck, Parry cards that potentially want to be discarded are all great choices... and Ljonar has some delicious options:
 

  These are cool ideas you can explore, but we are only scratching the surface. You will discover many other great combos as well as lots of card interactions between Potions, Items and available Action cards in your pool that may suggest different playstyles and alternative ways to solve the puzzle at Niz-Maraja!

Project development: Monster Files! 

The development of the game is proceeding smoothly in the last weeks and, along with the advancements in the design process, our team is also working on finalizing the STL files for all miniatures to be sent to the factory.

It's still early to share a precise manufacturing timeline, but we are working to be able to start the mold production process early this summer.

Pledge Manager Update

We would like to share a quick update on the PM with you: we plan to have all the necessary info ready for sending the survey via BackerKit in early summer.

Before opening the PM is important to have all shipping and fulfillment costs - for all regions and pledges - accurately calculated and defined. The shipping costs are strictly related to the estimates of the dimensions and the weight of the different boxes, which is what we are working on. For a product like Primal, with such big, heavy boxes and huge components, those calculations are tremendously important and the process takes its time. We will keep you informed as soon as we have a precise date. 

 
Rules Translation Update

Last but not least, thanks to the help of our collaborators, we are very happy to share with you the Spanish and Polish version of the current Learn To Play and Campaign Rules. German translation will come soon as well!

That's all for today, we will be back next month with info, news and more sneak peaks from behind the scenes of the project development!

Stay safe everyone, and thank you for being part of this great community.

Reggie Games

Designing Thyrea's Legends + Rules (PDF) Translation Update
almost 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 30, 2021 at 02:35:15 AM

"We collected many stories from our ancestors. Most of the time they appear to be confusing, hermetic or even totally absurd. But when we manage to decipher their meaning, sometimes we uncover an incredible knowledge about the world we live in. This is why I dedicated my entire life to the history of the mysterious "pearl of the abyss". It is the one that, more than any other, attracted my attention and my immagination. Maybe because I spent my childhood on the shores of the Jade Ocean; maybe because I always admired the stars in the sky. 

According to a widespread belief in the old tribes, the night sky in Thyrea is an inaccessible shrine full of bright jewels belonging to the gods. The old stories tell of deities that used to wear different collections of ornaments for different seasons and times. 

But now comes the heart of my research. All the manuscripts I have looked into, describe a weird event occurred three hundreds of years ago, according to our chronological reconstruction. They all give a different description of the event. Some mention a bright jewel that escaped from the shrine and brought the longest night we remember, the night of the divine heist. Others tell of an iridescent pearl that was donated by the gods themselves to our ocean.

None of us ever understood what the pearl refers to in the real world. But finally I have a theory, which is connected with the discovery that no Korowon has ever been mentioned in any tome of beasts before that event. I think the origin of those monsters has something to do with the night of the divine heist... and there is much more that I will be able to confirm once I will be there to see with my own eyes if the depth of the abyss can be as dark as the night sky."

- Your K.

Today we want to share with you some insights on the design of a Legendary quest, which is included in the Stretch Goals unlocked during the campaign. 

What to expect from a Legendary quest?

The world of Thyrea is filled with legends and myths chronicled by sages and elder hunters right from the dim glow of a shrouded campfire during night misssions in the wildlands. These stories tell about lost artifacts, ancient tribes and creatures. They are deeply connected with the history of Thyrea as well as with the origins of the races that inhabited it.

Completing Legendary quests and uncovering the mysteries within, is not necessary to complete the final act of the campaign. However, these quests not only offer deep insights about the lore of Thyrea, but they also grant you access to a variety of unique and epic weapons, artifacts, NPCs (that can help during the campaign) and... mystical resources!

A Legendary quest is designed with a special location in mind, or maybe directly comes from a prophecy or from the consequences of a mythical event. Of course, stories are centered around a fearsome creature on which the legend is focused.

Korowon - Gameplay and Strategy

Speaking of fearsome creatures, let's have a look at The Pearl of the Abyss scenario, which involves a fight with a very interesting "control" type of monster: the Korowon (a weird hybrid between a giant crab and an ancient ammonite). Control effects can be of many different kinds in the game, from discarding cards to manipulating the players' sequence, canceling cards abilities and much more. Korowon excels at both self-healing and controlling player's movement on the board. 

While it repeatedly recovers health thanks to its regenerating carapace, it is also able to immobilize the players and make it difficult for them to find the optimal positioning on the board. Be ready to sacrifice resources and adapt your tactics in order to evade the monster's pincer and to reach its vulnerable spots.

Korowon can capture a player (taking its miniature hostage on the monster board!) thanks to its giant crab claws. This is a special mechanics that forces a player to spend their turn using resources in order to get rid of the captured condition (with the help of the allies!) and coming back to the fight. 

If you want to stop the monster from regenerating health points, you must crush its big shell from the Rear sector! Until the objective is completed, players cannot advance to the final Stance. This helps understanding the true nature of Korowon's control strategy: getting to the end of the 10th round, when the high tides will force the hunter to drown or flee.

Legendary deck

The design of a Legendary encounter has the goal to create not only a difficult scenario to beat, but also a memorable one. The monster always maintains its characteristic playstyle, while some specific Behaviour cards are enhanced and special game effects are added to connect the scenario with the legendary story behind the fight.  

In the Pearl of the Abyss scenario, you fight an elder Korowon which is able to align its rage with the ocean tides (we cannot spoil any other detail!). The monster causes the environment to change through the addition of Water terrains on the board and it also sets a challenging race against time. 

How the monster is able to affect the tides? What kind of secret will you discover during the expedition?

Rules (PDF) Translation Update 

Thanks to the help of our collaborators, we are happy to share the translations of the rules document in Italian and French.  Spanish, German and Polish translations are planned as well and they will be available soon. You can find the downloadable files by clicking the image below:

Art Development

Today we also want to show you some new pieces of art you haven't seen yet. They are all unique rewards you will get during the progress of the campaign. These items are often related to specific monsters, can you guess which? ;)

That's all for today! The upcoming month will be dedicated to more legendary quests design and art development as well as to production and shipping calculations in view of the Pledge Manager setup! We look forward to sharing more news with you soon in the next update.

Stay safe,

Reggie Games