KICKSTARTER: LOKA UPDATE 10 TO 19 (76,220$)

Con ya 624 backers y una recaudación de 80,000$ para el siguiente strechgoal, Loka esta teniendo mucho exito. Le quedan menos de 56 horas para terminar, asi que date prisa si estas interesado y si aun no te has decidido sigue leyendo.

En estas actualizaciones ya estan reflejadas muchas de las cosas que se le comentaron a Alessio en Directo. Empezando por los las relgas opcionales para poderes elementales, el sistema de campaña y los terrenos. Ademas tenemos unas palabras de Ronnie Renton de Mantic Games sobre Loka y dec omo va el Kickstarter.

Ya se desbloqueo además el cuarto ejerctio, asi que ya están disponibles las cuatro facciones, y además enseñan imágenes del tablero para cuatro jugadores que personalmente me encanta. También se esta votando el tablero que sera elegido para la modalidad de dos jugadores, y ya esta bastante claro cual va a tener todas las papeletas para ser elegido.

Si os perdisteis la charla en video con Alessio Cavatore aqui teneis el video.

UPDATE 10

We are sooo close to the Air Chess Set that we couldn’t resist telling you all about our next stretch goal before we head to bed…

We know there’s been some speculation about what it could be, so let’s find our more!

$65,000 – Dice and Faction Powers!

First up, those of you who have watched our gameplay video will know that Alessio favours an elemental dice combat system which makes use of a series of polyhedral dice – a system that starts with a four-sided die and moves its way up to 6-sides, 8-sides, 12-sides and even a 20-sided die the more support the model has.

If we hit $65,000, we can upgrade the rulebook to this shiny new system from the D8s we started with, and upgrade all pledges of Bishop ($50) with a set of 5 Polyhedral Dice.

Of course, we think some Faction-specific dice would be pretty sexy, so we’ll be adding these as extras that you can add-on to your pledge .

BUT! That’s not all…

Lots of you have been asking for faction powers – a way to differentiate between the elements rather than purely through army selection and aesthetics. Well, Alessio will add an optional Bolt-On to the rules that details how you can add faction powers to your games!

You'll be able to bring the power of the elements to the tabletop in new and exciting ways.

This will use a Card Deck system that, if we hit this goal, Alessio will start writing – and we’ll include a free 54 card deck to any pledge of Bishop ($50) and up to say thank you!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on what elemental powers we could have so please leave us your ideas in the comments!

To recap, that's polyhedral dice and faction power cards, plus 2 rulebook upgrades as well, all added to Bishop ($50) and up! We're really excited to be this close to being able to tool all four sets, thank you so much for supporting Alessio and LOKA!

And don't you go anywhere, this journey isn't over yet and we've still got plenty of things to show you!

UPDATE 11

Hey guys! First up, great news! We’re Number 5 on the BGG Hotness List – our contesthas certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons!

Next up, we’ve been talking to Romeo and Battle Foam about how best we can make it easier to transport your models around safely, and we’ve got two new add-ons today to help you do so!

First up is the Battle Foam LOKA Box Foam Kit – 2 custom cut trays of foam designed to fit the LOKA Game Box. If you’re at Bishop and want to store all your models, this is the kit for you.

NOTE: The images is of a sample tray. The exact cut-outs are still being designed but will hold models, dice, cards and scenery tiles.

Knight on the other hand includes too many models for you to fit all of them in the box, so we’ve got a number of specially cut LOKA Foam Trays in our sexy Battle Foam Bagavailable too. Whether you're at Rook or End Game, this bag will hold all of you models.

This will hold a lot of miniatures - we're not sure exactly how many just yet as it's still being design but you'll have space for any additional upgrade sets you might want!

Note that both of these items are pretty large and will ship in a separate package from your main pledge, though we’ve rolled the shipping cost into the total!

FAQ
We’ve been asked a couple of questions regarding our add-ons, so we’ve put together this handy little FAQ to explain more:

I want it! How do I add an extra to my pledge?
To add an extra to your pledge, click the “Manage my pledge” button under the main total at the top of the page. Add the value of the add-ons you want to the value of your pledge level and simply enter this total amount as your pledge. Remember you are not charged until after the Kickstarter campaign has finished!

For example, if you’re at Knight ($100) and want the new Battle Foam Bag LOKA Load-out ($80) you would enter $180 as your pledge amount.

What about if I want multiple add-ons? Can I only have one?

You can buy multiples of all add-ons, including the Kickstarter River Horse Exclusive Knight model (which will come with a head with the Visor down!)

Drop us your comments below if you have any questions or queries on add-ons!

Thanks for supporting us guys, we really do appreciate it! Please keep telling your friends and spreading the word.

UPDATE 12

Excited by locking in the Air Set and thinking about Faction Powers and Polyhedral dice, Alessio takes to the camera to tell you all about the inspiration behind the elements:

As you can see from the video, the shape of the Polyhedral Dice relates to each of the elements, which leads us on nicely to…

Faction Dice!

Earlier in the week we talked about Polyhedral Dice and we have five different sets of special Gem Faction Dice – Fire, Earth, Air and Ice as well as a black LOKA set - available for you to add-on to your pledge.

Of course these aren’t the only way you can upgrade your pledge – check out our Add-ons Guide to see all the great value extras you can get!

The Battle Foam Bag and Foam Trays Kit (which can store all of the models at Knight plus more!) has been added to the Add-ons Menu.

Ice, Ice Baby!

Golem Painting Studio are chunking through painting the Ice Chess Set and we think the work they're doing is amazing - just check it out!

Ice King

Ice Pawn

And Finally:

Please keep your comments coming - What are your ideas for Faction Powers? Do you think the River Horse Knight could use some friends? Let us know what you think!

UPDATE 13

Hi, Ronnie here from Mantic.

So far this kickstarter has been a fascinating (and at times surprising) journey. We have been working behind the scenes as Alessio has set about the huge task of getting his vision delivered. Now we are looking at how we can finish this kickstarter on a massive high - after such a great run, to fall short at this stage would be madness.

I think the first surprise was the time it took to reach our funding goal. Because it was not a traditional wargame we had no idea if our regular fans would be behind it – but boy were we wrong!

At the start we had estimated the tooling costs based of the first tool set, and rolled this forward for the next 3 – so we initially expected the funding of the 4 factions to be at $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 and $100,000. Once we got through the first goal we moved on, and started properly costing the next 3 sets. We found we get some benefits of scale, and realised the $75,000 would cover us for all 4 sets. The lower stretch goals for factions 3 and 4 reflected that.

Yesterday I spent some time reading all the comments from Loka fans, and talking with both the Mantic team and Alessio. We can all see that this will be a brilliant product. I think that after such a fantastic run the only disappointment would be for us to fall just short of tooling for the fourth faction. I think this is unlikely – but it would be a shame, and while upgrading the dice from D8’s is fun – I just don’t think it is a powerful as having all 4 factions made.

My first priority is giving the best possible product for the backers we have, and removing any doubt about tooling all 4 factions seems the best course of action. If that means Mantic has to dip into its pocket to fund the shortfall we will do it, to support such a fantastic project.

So, after talking with backers through the comments, we are going to do the following:

Our goal for $65,000 becomes tooling the Ice faction - and each ice Faction will get an additional Ice King.

At $70,000 we upgrade all the dice from D8 to polyhedral ones and Alessio adds faction powers to each of the 4 races – used with a card deck – which we will include for KS backers at Bishop and above.

Work In Progress Rook - from Golem Painting Studio

At $75,000 we will upgrade the pitch. In fact we will actually give you two pitches. On one side you will get a normal chess board (well, relatively normal!!), and on the other side we will put the full four-player Loka game board – and again the double sided pitch will be included for all Kickstarter backers.

Work In Progress Knight - from Golem Painting Studio

After that, well who knows! I have heard Alessio talking about campaign rules, using the spare kings on a map, and powerful hippo-mounted models capable of rampaging attacks…and with so much time left who knows where it will go!

Finally thank you for your generous support. You are truly helping Alessio bring an innovative and creative spin to a classic game. This simply would not happen without your backing. Now, let’s spend the next 10 days spreading the love, and seeing just how far this crazy ride will take us…

Best wishes, thanks for pledging,

Ronnie

UPDATE 14

WOW!

In the early hours of this morning we smashed through the $65,000 goal in what has been the second best day of this Kickstarter Campaign since it began. Incredible!

The Ice Faction has now been unlocked meaning we’ve got all four elemental chess sets! 

Of course, the dream is to have your own painted army roam around the tabletop and, unless you’re going to pledge up at the Queen level, you’re going to have to do it yourself. As a bridge between the two levels, we’re introducing the Mantic 3-Colour Finish (TM) to get you one step closer.

Adding a Mantic 3-Colour Finish to your LOKA Chess gets you a basic finish that really bring out the details of the models and creates a striking look for your army.

These models are battle-ready straight out of the box – there’s no need to paint them yourself (though the scheme acts as perfect base for you to add additional layers of paint if you want!)

The Mantic 3-Colour Finish is a simple add-on to your pledge - For example, to get all four sets at Knight done, all you have to do is raise your pledge to the total amount (Knight + 4 Set 3-Colours Finish + Shipping) – nice and easy! 

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get a battle-ready army!

Going Forwards

Now that the four sets are done we’re going to focus on improving the gameplay options…

$70,000 – Faction Powers and Dice

If we hit $70,000 we will upgrade the D8s in the core game to polyhedral dice, upgrading the rulebook to the Elemental Dice Combat System. Not only that but we’ll add Faction Powers into the rulebook as an optional Bolt-on and we’ll throw in a free deck of Faction Power Cards into pledges of Bishop ($50) and up!

$75,000 – LOKA Board Upgrade

We will upgrade the art on the two-player chess board and we will make it double sided with a LOKA multiplayer board on the reverse side. Alessio is currently developing the rules and is working on the art. He’ll post these up over the weekend on the LOKA Facebook page for you to vote on which you prefer so keep an eye out!

And finally...

Don't forget that this is the last weekend of the Board Game Geek contest. If you want to be in with a chance of winning a Knight Package head on over and participate.

Also, if you haven't already, check out our Extras Menu which contains all of the Add-ons from the campaign!

UPDATE 15

This game is just getting better and better!

Not only have you allowed us to tool all four factions, and expand the rulebook with scenery and a dice combat system, you've also allowed us to add in Faction Powers!

Not only this but we can upgrade the contents of Bishop ($50) and up with a set of white Polyhedral Dice and a Faction Power Card Deck – thank you so much!

We’ve come a long way since the start of this campaign, but we’ve no intention of stopping just yet. With 7 days to go, here’s what we’ve got coming up…

$75,000 – Board Upgrade

We will upgrade the art on the two-player chess board and we will make it double sided with a LOKA multiplayer board on the reverse side. Alessio posted the options up on theLOKA Facebook page this weekend, including an example of the 4 Player Board:

To check out the full range and vote for your favourite, click here.

Next up, LOKA is getting a campaign system!

$80,000 – LOKA Campaign

War has come to the world of LOKA – and you will be able to play through the battles with this new Downloadable Campaign.

At $80,000, Alessio will be able to create a campaign system for LOKA and a set of campaign markers.

We’ll include a digital download of the Campaign System, Map and Campaign Markers into every pledge of Bishop ($50) and up.

We’ll include a printed mini-campaign map in with all pledges of Knight ($100) and up too.

We’ll be throwing up a larger Map in the Add-on section as well as a set of faction-specific Acrylic Campaign Markers for you to upgrade your pledge with too!

Alessio is so super excited by the campaign system that he has already started his scribblings and making notes, and we’ll bring you more information as we work on it.

And finally!

The Mantic 3-Colour Finish™ upgrade is proving to be very popular – a very simple way of getting a striking looking force on the tabletop.

Some of you have asked to see a larger photo of the Mantic 3-Colour Finish Ice Set, which you can now see here.

To add a 3-Colour Finish, simply increase you pledge to the total value of everything you want (For example, Knight ($100) + 3-Colour Finish ($175) + Shipping ($15) = Total pledge: $290)

Also, don’t forget to check out the rest of the add-ons we have available, including:

We're designing the Battle Foam Bag to hold at least all of Knight and four upgrade packs.

Happy Hunting - and please help us spread the word!

PPS: Don't forget to take part in our Board Game Geek Contest before the day is out - this is your last chance!

UPDATE 16

We’re quickly approaching the LOKA Board upgrade and that means we’ll soon be looking at the LOKA Campaign. But what are Alessio’s thoughts on the rules for this feature?

Development Diary – LOKA Campaign Rules

I want the campaign to transform individual games of Loka into a series of battles that are fought as part of a military campaign of conquest – you see I love maps and seeing my flags slowly taking over the land (with the Game of Thrones soundtrack in the background…)!

The way I envisage a 2-players campaign to work, and keep in mind this is all subject to change once we start proper playtesting, is as follows.

Imagine the World of Loka map divided into a number of territories by a thin line. Each player starts with one territory and places one of their counters in that territory to show it’s under his control. A randomly determined player then takes the initiative in the war and places his spare King model into any territory (or within a certain range of one of his territories… tbd).

The two players then play a game of Loka and the winner takes control of the territory. The winner also seizes the initiative and chooses the next territory to be attacked, and so on and so forth. The winner is the player that can have a certain number (tbd) of adjacent territories under his control. Attacking a territory that is free is easier than attacking a territory controlled by an enemy… this could be reflected by the number of points available for the armies, or advantages linked with deployment and/or terrain, which will favour the defender.

In campaign with more than two players, I think it’s probably wise to retain the simplicity of the mechanic above and simply split the players into two factions of allied armies, so that there are always two sides fighting. And this will work great with an even number of players. With an odd number of players, this simple mechanic could break down, so I will have to either disallow odd-numbered campaigns or come up with slightly more complex free-for-all rules… much to ponder there is…

Stretch Goal Amendment

Speaking of the Campaign stretch goal, we need to correct a small typo. In the update we said that a larger map would be available as an add-on – this is incorrect. The Campaign Map included free in Knight ($100) pledge will be available for you to add-on if you’re at Bishop ($50) or below.

The goal is therefore:

At $80,000, Alessio will be able to create a campaign system for LOKA and a set of campaign markers.

We’ll include a digital download of the Campaign System, Map and Campaign Markers into every pledge of Bishop ($50) and up.

We’ll include a printed Campaign Map in with all pledges of Knight ($100) and up too.

And finally!

The results of our Board Game Geek contest are in!

Grand Prize

- Mike Rosado

First Prizes

- Ben Boersma

- Joseph Francis

- Rob F.

- Vasilis xiradakis

- Paul (Fitzyfitz)

Congratulations to the winners!

Let's chase that double-sided board down.

UPDATE 17

Huzzah!

$75,000 has been and gone – thank you all so so much for your continued support of LOKA!

We approaching the final stages of this campaign now and what you’ve allowed us to do has been simply incredible - with this latest goal hit we’re now been able to upgrade the LOKA art and add a multiplayer board on the reverse side!

Earth and Air prepare to do battle!

Not only that but we’re now heading towards the Campaign System and Markers – you can check out Alessio’s Development Diary for his thoughts on those.

But what’s after that? Let’s see…

$85,000 – LOKA Scenery Upgrade

If we hit $85,000, we’ll be able to upgrade the LOKA scenery. We’ll create shiny terrain tiles for eight additional types of Scenery including the Dragon’s Lair and the Temple of the Fifth Element.

These extra tiles will be thrown in free with a pledge of Bishop ($50) and up!

We’ll have some new sketches to show you and hopefully some coloured tiles as well very soon!

UPDATE 18

It seems we appear to be caught around the $75,000 – quite a yo-yo day!

Well, never fear – because we need to go past it again we’re introducing a new stretch goal full of sweet delicious freebies for you to sink your teeth into!

$77,500 – Pledge Level Upgrades!

You asked for it, you’ve got it – we’re going to be filling the Pledge Levels with more models!

If we hit $77,500 we’re going to be adding:

- All pledges of Rook ($25) and Bishop ($50): 4 Additional Pieces (Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight) to accompany the 4 Free Pawns already included as part of your pledge!

- All pledges of King ($100) and above: 8 Additional Pieces including Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight and 4 Pawns from the faction of your choice!

Calculator time – that makes Bishop ($50) 45 miniatures, and Knight ($100) worth over $220 with over 87 miniatures, dice, scenery and Power Cards!!

We think that’s a whole chunk of value - and even then we've got the campaign and new scenery coming as well!

Upgrades
If you’re one of the people who have added three additional upgrade packs on and are now thinking about dropping one of them, stop right there! Check out our add-on menuto see what you could pick up instead, including:

And finally
Heath Foley has been at it again for us drawing some samples of the brand new scenery tiles – I spy a Dragon’s Lair, Harbour and the Temple of the Fifth Element…

Preliminary Concept Art - Scenery Tiles 2 by Heath Foley

Fifth Element eh? Wonder what that could mean...

Let us know what you think in the comments - and please help us spread the word! The more people you tell who back, the more free stuff you get!

UPDATE 19

Since it first started, the LOKA campaign has taken a life of its own, moving through stretch goals and adding in all kind of freebies.

Following the introduction of the Pledge Level Guide and Add-on “menu”, today we’ve had a bit of a tidy up as we move into the last weekend, including the brand new “Guide to LOKA Kickstarter” – a handy new guide that helps you put your pledge together:

Not only that, but we’ve added some new add-ons, including:

Mini-Upgrade Pack

A Backer Request, the Mini-Upgrade Pack is a small bundle of Rooks, Knights and a Bishop that you can add on to a faction that has the maxed out number of Queens and Pawns. We know there are those completists amongst you that want to have the maximum number of each piece you can field, and the new Mini-Upgrade Pack allows you to do so!

Don’t forget that you can multiples of every add-on available – there is no limit!

LOKA Game Board

Another Backer Request, the double sided LOKA Game Board (two-player on one side, multiplayer on the other! Has now been added to the Extras as well!

For the full range of Add-ons click here.

Beasts of War Videos

A new Beasts of War interview with Alessio has been added to the front page taken from their Backstage feature.

Beasts of War Backstage is a great way of getting behind the scenes gossip from Games Designers and industry figures.

And finally - Army Painter!

Don’t forget that we have Paint Sets available in the add-on section. The paints included with the set were developed in partnership with The Army Painter, who are renowned for their quality modelling accessories and colour primers (as well as a whole host of cool and exciting hobby products!)

Developed for coverage and achieving simple but effective results, the LOKA Paint Set are ideal for painting up your Chess Sets.