Thunder Road: Vendetta

Surveys + BackerKit Closing Date + Shipping + More
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 08, 2022 at 01:35:05 AM

Apologies for the radio silence. We had a lot of little things we've been working on behind the scenes, and I wanted to get things squared away. That said, we have a lot to cover, so let's get to it.

Survey Status: We had a glitch that prevented a batch of surveys from going out (mostly to our retailer backers). That has now been fixed, and all surveys are officially out. At this point, if you did not receive a survey, please double-check your spam folder and, if you can't find the invite, message me here on Kickstarter. We encourage everyone to fill out their survey as soon as possible. If you need help filling out your survey, please review the instructions in our prior update. Keep in mind, we will not run cards and you can continue to make changes until we close the pledge manager. Which brings me to....

BackerKit Closing Date: We had previously targeted April 15 to close the pledge manager. However, we have decided to push that back. We will be closing BackerKit on April 22. Within 48 hours after that date, we will run the credit cards. (For our retailer backers, we will hold the pledge manager open a little while longer; we have not determined that date yet.)

Shipping Stuff: Two quick things about shipping. First, as requested, we have added an option in BackerKit to require a signature for delivery. Some folks have issues with deliveries. If a signature would help solve that problem, you can add it like a regular add-on in your survey in BackerKit. The charge represents the additional nominal cost from the courier that we are merely passing on to you. Second, some folks asked about charging reduced shipping if they wanted to get a second copy of the game. We took a lot of time to see if we could make that work, and we simply could not. For US continental, we were already subsidizing a small portion of the shipping, so the additional nominal shipping was still pretty significant. For other destinations, when you factor in VAT and freight, there was basically no difference at all. Factor in the potential logistical issues dealing with different skus for the same product, and we didn't feel comfortable giving it go. For those folks who were interested in this option, I'm sorry we couldn't make it work.

Extra Dice and Extra Vehicles: For those who haven't seen, we were able to make bonus sets of the FX dice and the vehicles available to add in your survey. The vehicles are unwashed so you can paint or mod them as you like. We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Art Update: While Jenn and I have been doing all the drudgery, the Picture People have continued working on the game's appearance. In addition to all of the great artwork from the illustrators, they also put a lot of time and attention toward the graphic design to make the game both look and play great. Here's a quick look at the final treatment they gave to the car dashboards.

When one of your cars gets eliminated, you'll flip the dashboard to its eliminated sign. Time to get that engine checked!

One Final Note: I'm heading out of the country for two weeks, leaving on Tuesday. I'll have limited internet access during that time, but I will do my best to stay on top of things until I get back. Jenn will also be around. Just bear in mind that we might be a little longer to reply than normal. And, perhaps most importantly of all, everything is proceeding apace, and we remain on target to commence fulfillment in November.

BackerKit Ready To Go! Full Details Here!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Mar 15, 2022 at 06:40:33 AM

Our smoke test went well, so we launched the remainder of the surveys to all backers. It can take a few days for all the emails to get out. So don't worry if you haven't received your email notification about your survey right away.

This update gives you all of the information you need to complete your survey. It's a lot of information, and it can be a bit complicated in places, so please read carefully. And refer back to this update (or send other folks here) if there are questions.

In short, your BackerKit experience has two parts. You'll complete a short survey. Then you'll finalize your order, enter your shipping address, and enter your payment information. This second half is just like shopping at a regular webstore like Amazon. Items included in your Kickstarter pledge level are already in your "cart", and the money you pledged in Kickstarter is already in your "account". You'll "shop" for additional items and "spend"  your money.

If you have any problems completing your survey in BackerKit, please contact their support staff. They have excellent support and should be able to answer all of your questions. Please do not contact us via email or Kickstarter message with problems in BackerKit. It's not that we want to ignore you. Rather, it's important that we have one channel for dealing with survey issues so we don't miss anything. Rest assured, if BackerKit can't handle whatever issue you're having, they will, in turn, contact us, and we'll step in at that point. Look for the "Need help?" link on your survey.

Your items and funds from Kickstarter will already be in BackerKit. BackerKit imports all of the data from Kickstarter. So whatever items are included in the pledge level you backed on Kickstarter will already be in your cart in BackerKit. Likewise, the money you pledge in Kickstarter will already be in your account. If you are not adding anything beyond what's already included in your pledge level and you included all of the necessary funds in your Kickstarter pledge, you can just check out. You will see the shipping charges added at that time.

You can upgrade your pledge level. If you backed at the "Start Your Engine" level, you can upgrade your pledge to either "Hit the Gas" or to "Maximum Chrome". If you backed at the "Hit the Gas" level, you can upgrade to "Maximum Chrome". You can upgrade your pledge level in one of two ways. The easiest way is on the very first screen of your survey, where you'll see a small link to "switch your pledge level".

You can also do it from the add-ons screen by click on the link under your pledge level at the top of the screen. This takes you to a pop-up with your pledge information with another link to "switch pledge levels".

You can add items to your order if you want to. If you want to get add-ons, you need to add them in BackerKit in the Add-Ons page. This is where you can add the individual expansions, sleeves, art prints, extra vehicles, extra dice, etc. You can also use this screen to order multiple copies of the game, if you want to give an extra one as a gift. IMPORTANT: This page is for adding stuff to your order, not upgrading your pledge.

If you got the free coin, it will already be in your cart. You will see the "First Player Lucky Metal Coin" in the add-ons section of your cart. If you believe you were supposed to get the coin for free and it is not in your cart, please contact BackerKit customer service, and they will assist you. (Reminder: You are supposed to get the coin for free if you signed up for notification on the special sign-up page or by backing within the first 48 hours.)

We will lock down the surveys around April 15. You will get notification from BackerKit when the date approaches. Until we lock down the surveys, you can continue to go back in and make changes to your order, such as adding or removing items or changing your payment method.

We will run the credit cards after we lock down surveys. This will likely be within 48 hours after we lock down the surveys. These charges will only be for anything you added on and for the shipping charges. If you want us to run your credit card sooner for some reason, please contact BackerKit customer service, and they will be able to do that manually.

You can change your address up until we are ready to ship. Don't worry if you end up moving from your current shipping address. You can continue to go back into your survey and update your shipping address right up until the game is ready to ship.

Retailers have a few changes from these instructions. If you are a verified retailer under the "Friendly Local Grease Monkey" pledge level, per the retailer terms, we will hold the pledge manager open for you a little longer and will not run your credit cards until the games are ready to leave the factory. Please remember that you may not offer the game for sale for online customers until after the pledge manager is closed for backers. We will notify you of all these dates before they happen.

I know this can seem like a lot to take in, but don't worry. It's not as bad as it sounds when you're reading it. And, most importantly, like I said at the top: BackerKit has excellent customer service and will be able to help you if you have any problems. And if you can't get the help you need, you can always contact me directly.

On a final note, both Jenn (our customer service leader) and I will both be at the GAMA trade show this week. So, while we'll try to handle whatever issues might arise, please be patient if it takes a bit longer to respond.

BackerKit "Smoke Test" and Late Pledge Store and Updated Rulebook for Review
about 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 09, 2022 at 12:20:58 AM

We have finished setting up the pledge manager in BackerKit. As we've done with our prior campaigns, we will start with a "smoke test". Surveys are going out now to 5% of the backers across all pledge levels and countries.

If you get a survey as part of the smoke test, please complete it as soon as possible and preferably before Friday. This is your actual survey, so please completely it accurately. You'll be able to update or modify your survey until we lock it down (tentatively scheduled for April 15). But this lets us identify and fix any problems before we send the surveys out to the rest of the backers. If you get a survey and have any questions or problems, BackerKit has world-class customer service, so don't hesitate to contact them with any issue you might have.

If there are no major problems, we will start sending the remainder of the surveys out on Monday, and I will post a full update on how to use BackerKit at that time.

For folks who didn't back the Kickstarter, we've also opened the late pledge store on BackerKit. Whether you just missed the campaign or didn't want to use KS, you can now visit the store to order the game and any add-ons, including the exclusive Maximum Chrome edition.

In the meantime, we've been hard at work finishing up more art, tightening up the rules, finalizing sculpts, and so forth. We've also gone through an extensive editing pass on the rulebooks. One of the bigger tweaks you'll notice is that we refined the turn structure to make Command its own step. This cleans up a lot of timing issues. You'll notice a lot of other little changes as well. I thought you all would enjoy having a look at it.

You can download or view the full rulebook pdf using this link: Thunder Road: Vendetta Rulebook 

An added bonus to getting this out to you early is that we can "crowdsource" any additional typos, mistakes, or points of confusion. To that end, I've created a quick and dirty google form to capture anything you might find. If you happen to spot something, please enter it here: Thunder Road Rulebook Feedback Form 

I'll have more pretty stuff to show over the next few weeks as we get the final files ready for production.

The Road Ahead
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 02:47:05 AM

Just a very quick update today. Lots more to do to finish up the project and lots more ground to cover.

First and foremost, I want to thank all of our amazing backers, who made this possible. There were a lot of challenges in this campaign, but you pulled us through. You gave us energy to see it done.

I want to thank and congratulate the designers, Dave Chalker and Brett Myers, and of course, the OG, Jim Keifer, for giving us this amazing game to bring back. And our amazing artist Marie Bergeron.

I want to thank the rest of the RG team. I won't list everyone here. You can see their names on the contributor list. (Plus, I see them and thank them everyday for how amazing they are.) Special call out to our Chief of Station S, Brian Slattery, who kept things running smoothly during the overnight shift.

So, what's next?

Kickstarter will begin running your credit cards to collect the money for your pledge. Please keep an eye on your inbox (and spam folder as necessary). During this time, if there are any problems with your credit card, you need to contact Kickstarter directly. I cannot help with that part of the process.

Over the next week, we will be working to set up the pledge manager in BackerKit. I will notify you when that happens and provide all the instructions on how that works. Nothing to worry about now.

Meanwhile, we'll be working to finish up the production files for the game. I'll continue to update and continue to show off art as it comes in. This is the fun part, after the race, when we're sipping a cold beverage and a nice ride toward that beautiful sunset on the horizon. Enjoy the ride.

Spotlight on Maximum Chrome
about 2 years ago – Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 12:39:31 AM

As I write this,  there's about 9 hours left in the campaign. It's been quite a ride. With the finish line in sight, I wanted to take one last minute to talk about the Maximum Chrome pledge. You might have noticed that we updated the campaign page with this graphic, showing it in all its glory. (Worth mentioning that, since we posted it, we've also unlocked the Bounties mini-expansion, including the first 6 cards, soon to be all 8.) I wanted to highlight a few points about the pledge level so folks can make the right decision for themselves.

Maximum Chrome includes the base game and all three expansions: Big Rig & the Final Five, Carnage at Devil's Run, and Choppe Shoppe. It includes the Extra Ammo mini-expansion pack. It also includes three items only available in this edition. The German Engineering mini-expansion offers a new way to play, replacing the movement and shooting dice with a hand of cards. The Em Berco crew leader mixes features from Choppe Shoppe and Carnage for a blazing good time. And you also get a consolidated rulebook that incorporates the rules for all the game content in one place with appropriate cross-references for ease of use. And it all comes stored in a custom plastic insert to hold everything in place and a foil-stamped box that looks extra swanky.

Maximum Chrome will not be going into retail distribution. You can get it in this Kickstarter directly. You can back for $1 or the base game in Kickstarter and upgrade to Maximum Chrome in BackerKit (our pledge manager) when it opens after the campaign is over. Or you can even come in as a late pledge in BackerKit directly. We will have some extra copies that we will sell on our website and at conventions. I also want to make clear that there will be copies showing up in stores later, since there are retailers who are backing this campaign. But the fact remains, this is the best deal you can get on Thunder Road: Vendetta, and this is the best way to get it.

We hope you take a look at it when you finalize your pledge. Just a little farther to go. Keep the pedal to the metal!