Stretch Goal Unlocked: Color Containers Series 2 Add-on
about 3 years ago – Sat, Feb 06, 2021 at 03:09:26 AM

They say it's our differences that make us stronger. Uniformity can lead to stagnation and decline. A diversity of expression is necessary in order to create a stimulating, dynamic society.  Or battlefield.

Thanks to your ongoing support and encouragement of new backers, your battlefields can be a more visually-interesting landscape of destruction via this unlock of three new Cargo Container color schemes:

This add-on, featuring the three (3) Containers in the colors shown above, is now available for $15 through Kickstarter's interface. It will also be available through Backerkit after the conclusion of the campaign. 

Thank you for the ongoing support. Next stretch goal is at $160k, but we may have a surprise before then. 

-Onward!

Stretch Goal Unlocked: More Crates Added
about 3 years ago – Tue, Feb 02, 2021 at 10:00:21 PM

We've zoomed past $120k! Thanks to your ongoing efforts we have unlocked more crates. Behold! 

 
 Every Tanker & Crate Container pledge reward and add-on will now feature three additional crates featuring new and unique designs.

   THESE CRATES ARE NOT HAUNTED.

The small and medium crate are emblazoned with decorations identifying them as medical or humanitarian aid supplies, perfect for serving as a supply-drop protection or recovery objective.

   FORGOTTEN WARRIORS, ON AN INCONSEQUENTIAL WORLD, FOUGHT AND DIED OVER THESE CRATES FOR AN ULTIMATELY WORTHLESS AND PETTY PURPOSE.

The third crate, in the "large" form factor, bears utilitarian markings which one could imagine as suitable for any number of containerization purposes.

IT CONTAINS THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

With the addition of these three new crates and the earlier Crate-themed Stretch Goal reward, every Tanker & Crate reward will now include a total of nine (9) crates. Three large, three medium, three small.

Thank you so much for your continued enthusiasm and support for our campaign! We're blown away by the response, and have redoubled our efforts at not only finishing out this kick, but kicking into higher gear the development of the next two kicks. We love reading the suggestions and promotional ideas in the comments. Keep them coming! And again: thank you for the support!

Next stop: more diversity of decor for Containers. $140k, here we come!

-Onward!

For this next bit, you might want to first read Updates nine  and fourteen.

Fragment of journal recovered from MagLev Depot "Jericho 8":

My Dear Esmeralda,

Thank you kindly for your recent letter. It's good to know the rain on LV-426 is back up above a 3 ph. That's wonderful progress, and I look forward to one day returning to our newly improved world. Still, you make sure to keep the kids indoors, especially at night.

Things here are much the same as when last I wrote. We've erected a perimeter around the abandoned MagLev depot, and are hard at work getting the complex back into operation. It's been a long, long time since any living human has set eyes on this place. I wish I could tell you that the restoration work is exciting or interesting, but mostly it's scrubbing rust off corroded power junctions and spot-welding repairs to the catwalks and pillars. I may be rated to operate a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range, but my current everyday carry is a brass-bristle brush.

 To be honest, the only thing keeping this from being a horribly dull deployment is our Junior Assistant Logistics Officer, 1st Class. He's always got a smile on his face, even on this desolate rock, and his high spirits and positive attitude somehow make the gritty eyes and constant battery of tetanus shots tolerable.

All my best wishes,

Your Bill

---

Dearest Esmeralda,

 I write to you again not so soon after my last note. We've been informed that there will be a "momentary pause" in mail shipments. The officer who delivered the news says it's a routine bureaucratic hiccup, but some of the older guys are whispering about pirates hitting the space lanes, or worse. I don't pay them fools too much mind. For now, I'll just collect my letters in this here journal you gave me on my last shore leave.

 We've managed to restore power to the Depot's crane, and enough juice to the track itself to start using it for shipping. We can only maintain a float of about three cars at a time, but at least we're able to receive and unload inbound containers and send the empties back upline for resupply. I gotta say, it's good to see that antique MagLev rail switch back in operation again. It really feels like we're making a difference, you know?

 That Junior Assistant Logistics Officer 1st Class I told you about is still at it with the cheery "chin up, chums" routine. It can be a little annoying, to tell you the truth. I think the officers tolerate the act because he keeps the shipments flowing smoothly. Sometimes with a little something extra. Just the other day he called some of the guys over to share that he somehow snuck a crate of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs into a container of SatComm parts. Good ol' JALO.

 Yours most truly,
 -Bill

---

Dear Esmerelda,

 Great news! After an Imperial tonne of labour we finally got that damn SatComm Tower up and running. The whole platoon let out a cheer once we saw it finally light up and start spinning. Of course it don't work right, but that's par for the course for this outfit.  One of the other guys said he overheard a tech say it's an "acquisition error", whatever that means. I'm sure those wireheads will figure it out. It's their problem now; our part's done.

 At least that JALO 1st Officer has continued to come through. He's been sneaking all kinds of stuff inbound in those big containers. Extra rations, sure--any decent supply officer can get that. But also sports gear. Candy. Vids. Crisps. Beer. Tiny little soldiers and dice, for some reason.

 And... other stuff, too, that we can't quite figure out the reason for. Like, my buddy Johnny cracked a crate looking for a fresh Brawndo, and he snatched his hand away real quick--like he'd touched a hot stove. Only it turns out, his fingertips weren't burned. They were frostbit! Stiff, and blue! We all crowded around and saw what was inside was a mess of thin, flat tablets. They were like ceramic, or maybe a kind of chalky metal, all with funny-looking swirls and indentations. They looked black to me, but some of the guys said they were a sorta dark red, and some swore later they were a greenish yellow. We all agreed they gave a mighty headache when gazed upon. When the JALO heard Johnny yelp he rushed in and snapped the lid shut right quick. Then he flashed a smile and said that Vasquez had a buttload of Brawndo, because she was sitting on the crate. We all laughed, and gave Johnny a hard time for the fingers, but... that JALO sure is weird.

Yours,

-Bill

---

Esmerelda,

 SatComm's still spinning. The techs worked on it for a good long while. Yesterday they went into the Command bunker for a meeting with the Captain. This morning every single tech put up their hoods, grabbed their stuff, packed onto a cargo car, and left upline without a word to anybody. The Captain watched them go. To me, the Captain seems a little out of sorts. He keeps looking up at the sky. Like he's looking for something. Or waiting for something.

 I got kind of a cold feeling, a sort of chill right down to my soul, and when I looked around I saw why: I'd been overtaken by a shadow. See, the JALO's taken to using the Depot's crane to stack cargo. That's normal duty for a procurement officer, only, he stacks them funny. Not regulation. When the sun's right--or wrong, I guess--them stacks of his cast queer shadows on the railyard grounds. Any shadow is cold, of course, when you're beyond the glimpse of the good warm sun. But somehow this feels different. Deeper. I don't know. All I know is, when a fella finds himself in one, he finds a new spot real quick. Plays hell with the perimeter patrol rotation, I tell you what.

 That's plenty strange on its own, and that's not all. I guess I never really thought about it before, but... why is it that we only ever send empty shipping containers and empty cargo cars back up the rail? I mean, it's so they can be reloaded with new SatComm parts and Wall panels and rations and such, sure. But what about all the things those parts, and food, and ammo, and all the stuff the JALO procures were packed inside of?

 Why do we never send any of these empty crates back upline?

-Bill

Stretch Goal Unlocked: Cargo Car
about 3 years ago – Tue, Feb 02, 2021 at 04:58:06 PM

We've zoomed across the threshold of another stretch goal! Jim, tell them what they've unlocked.

MagLev trains, being frictionless, have no theoretical limit to their lengths. With an infinite track powered by an infinite power source, you can have a train composed of an infinite number of cars.* By achieving this stretch goal, every pledge containing a MagLev Rail Starter will now be one (1) Cargo Car closer to infinity. 

Our data shows that we're on a thrilling bounce from both existing backers taking advantage of our shipping options to add more items, as well as a wave of new backers. This kind of momentum lets us continue to briskly zoom past stretch goals and enables even greater outreach. Keep up the great work driving this positive feedback loop! 

Our next destination is... oh no. Our Comms Officer tells me that communications with the next stop down the line have been lost. Wait. Our lead engineer says there's a repeating pattern being sent down the MagLev rails. He says the mechanism is manual; possibly something being physically struck against a support pillar. It's some kind of code...

"-.-. .-. .- - . ..."

-Onward?

* This claim has not been evaluated by Techpriests, and may be fallacious or heretical.

Stretch Goal Unlocked: Destroyed Wall
about 3 years ago – Mon, Feb 01, 2021 at 01:56:02 AM

The trouble with walls is, the very act of putting them up tells the whole wide world that there's something worth protecting on the other side. Thanks to your ongoing efforts, we've unlocked a stretch goal that honors the destructive curiosity of those who just had to find out what. Every Perimeter Bundle pledge (and Perimeter Wall add-on) will now include one (1) Destroyed Wall section.

The Destroyed Wall section is actually composed of two separate busted wall panels. By inserting each into a Wall Stanchion and facing them toward each other, you can make a breach of any size you desire. Or, because wall panels don't have to be glued to stanchions, you can start a battle with intact wall panels and dynamically swap in a Destroyed Wall mid-game in response to heroic effort (RIP Sgt. Roy).

We could not be happier to know that so many of you will be building futuristic forts and firebases, and protecting strategic assets with TinkerTurf walls. Let's pay respect to these mighty barriers with the song made to honor them that is taught to all fresh recruits:

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩

What guards our space

Stretching from this to that place

And keeps out the enemy's thralls?

What prevents attack,

and feels good at your back?

It's wall, Wall, WALL

It's waaaaall, it's Waaaaall

It's big. It's heavy. It's ceramste'l

It's waaaaall, it's Waaaaall

It's better than bad; it's SWELL!

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩

-Onward

Progress Update: $100k!
about 3 years ago – Sun, Jan 31, 2021 at 07:45:08 PM

This is a big milestone so it merits its own update. One HUNDRED thousand dollars is an important number, of course. Let's look at some more. As of this writing: 

• 555 backers
• 33 backers for whom this is their first-ever Kick (welcome aboard!)
• 485 SatComm towers
• 2,958 crates 
• 32,327 inches of Perimeter Wall and Gates (long enough to form complete perimeters around two NFL football fields, plus two NBA basketball courts)
• 37,590 inches of MagLev rail track (long enough to run the length of three Nimitz-class aircraft carriers)
• $183 average order size

That last number is super important. It means that for every new person who sees and backs this kick, we progress Y% toward the next stretch goal. It really showcases the importance of continuing to spread the word on social and talking about the kick on forums, AND of considering increasing your pledge with add-ons (and/or bumping to a higher pledge). The math is simple: more pledges means more efficient / lower cost of manufacturing, which allows us to include more items as stretch goals, which benefits every backer. And the more successful this Kick is, the more resources we'll have available for development of the next release, and even exciting new projects and partnerships that we're absolutely certain you'll love.

We're at about mid-point of this Kick's window. 12 days and change to go. We're pulling all our levers to get the Kick in front of folks who'd likely be interested in it. We've got some new ads rolling out soon, too. But to really make this Kick a huge success we need your help. So please do continue to share with your friends, clubs, leagues, stores, and forums. And if you have any notions of people or outfits you think we should contact, by all means: please let us know in the Comments.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support. We're honored and joyous to hit this milestone with you. Together, we're making good-looking, inexpensive, sturdy terrain within reach of wargamers worldwide. 

-Lane

Did someone say "Sturdy"?

Writing  the last update, with the anecdote about tossing Containers to convention attendees, reminded us 1) how much we miss going to cons, and 2) how important it is to talk about TinkerTurf's build quality. We can't do anything about the first, but to address the second we've added a "Product Quality" section to the Campaign page.

Folks who pick up and handle TinkerTurf tend to remark that it's got more heft and strength than they expect. Especially if their only previous experience with full-color preprinted terrain is papercraft stuff. The new Product Quality section goes a bit into what makes TinkerTurf superior tabletop terrain. Engineering for strength is a big part of it, but so is careful selection of premium materials.  Check out the text and images to the Campaign to see that strength in action, with a standard TinkerTurf section of platform on tall legs supporting a truly daunting stack of gaming handbooks and manuals.

Again: thank you for your support. 

Let's keep this MagLev a hoverin' toward the next stretch goal reward: a NEW (cargo) CAR!