A cooperative game of sci-fi survival horror for 1-6 players, inspired by Lovecraft’s work and featuring amazingly detailed miniatures.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Pledge Manager, Pics of Minis, and a Contest!
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Jan 30, 2019 at 11:21:47 PM
Hey everyone! We've got some fun stuff (as promised) and an important reminder in this update, so let's get to it!
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PLEDGE MANAGER CLOSING SOON
First of all, the pledge manager will be closing soon! Currently 73% of you have completed your surveys, which we very much appreciate. If you haven't yet, though, we will be locking down orders on February 11th, so there's no time like the present!
There has been some question about how long we would be leaving the pledge manager open, and as of right now we are still planning to close it on February 11th. In a previous update we ran a poll asking if people would want us to leave it open for longer and risk delays to the campaign, and approximately 100 people said they would like us to keep it open. Judging by the fact that there are over 7,700 backers in this campaign, that's just not enough interest at this point to warrant the possibility of problems down the line, so as of now we're going to stay firm to our February 11th date. We're sorry if this negatively affects you. If it does, feel free to let us know and we'll see what we can do to help you. (You can always reach out to us at [email protected].)
Just as a reminder, too, if you use PayPal as your payment method for the pledge manager then your payment will be taken out instantly. If you use Backerkit's payment method, though, then you won't be charged for anything until the 11th. (So if you would like to spread your payment out over a couple of payments, add a little bit to your pledge, pay for that with PayPal, and then add the rest that you want and pay for that with Backerkit. I've done this many times myself with various projects, and it works great.) As a final note, should your payment not go through due to a payment issue on the 11th, no worries. Backerkit will just send you a gentle reminder to get it fixed as soon as possible.
Let us know if you're having any problems with the pledge manager, and we'll remind you again before it officially closes.
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VISAGES HAVE BEEN REVEALED
You all have been very patient in waiting to see these. But finally they're here, they're ready, and we can reveal them! Below you will find the 3D renders for Hannah's Visage, Ward's Visage, and Jacob's Visage! Enjoy!
Hannah's Visage. Sculpted by Big Child Creatives.
Jacob Clarke's Visage. Sculpted by Big Child Creatives.
Ward Phillips's Visage. Sculpted by Big Child Creatives.
Now, I know some of you have been hoping to see pictures of the Monstrum inserts before the pledge manager closed. I brought this up with the team and, unfortunately, it's not in the cards. The reason is, the factories we use have actually been closed for a couple of weeks already in preparation for Chinese New Year, so we won't be able to get the samples until after it's over. Which is after the PM ends. Sorry about that, guys.
Having said that, we do still have pictures of the Drifter King to show. We could have thrown it in this update but… Why not spread stuff out? =D Stay tuned for those!
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A LITTLE PAINTING CONTEST!
We're wanting to close out our late pledge preorder store with a bang, so we thought we'd run a little painting contest to help us do that! This is going to be a pretty informal contest, but basically for those who already have the game we want to see your painted Deep Madness minis! Here's how it's going to work:
Post your favorite pictures of your painted minis online on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Include the hashtag #deepmadness and the link to our preorder store at http://bit.ly/PreorderDM in the description. (It can also help to tag us - @deepmadnessgame on Facebook, @diemensiongames on Instagram and Twitter - so that we're sure to see them.)
Try to get as many likes, reactions, shares, etc. for your posts as you can. In other words, feel free to post them all over the place. Hit the DM FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DeepMadnessFans, any board gaming groups of your choice, your profile, the DM page, etc. And feel free to use multiple platforms if you'd like.
We will then choose the top five that we like, and those winners will appear in a future Deep Madness update as well as get a $20 credit in the pledge manager (or future KS campaigns). We will also have a sixth winner who will win the "popularity contest." This person (who got the most likes, reactions, shares, etc. on his/her posts) will also appear in the update, as well as receive a $40 credit in the pledge manager (or future KS campaigns).
Not a returning backer and/or don't have any minis to paint yet? No worries! Just share the Facebook post at https://www.facebook.com/deepmadnessgame/posts/768152056875534 and include the hashtag #deepmadness as well as the link to the preorder store (http://bit.ly/PreorderDM ) in your post. We'll choose two posts at random from these to receive a $20 credit in the pledge manager (or future KS campaigns).
So, obviously this will be a quick contest, because we have to choose the winners to get the credit before February 11th. Because of this, let's say all entries have to be posted by February 8th.
Now, is this buying views of our preorder store? You better believe it. But, hey, we'd be paying for marketing anyway. We could pay Facebook more, or we could give you guys a bonus. We'd prefer to give you guys a bonus.
Well, that's it for this week, guys! Let us know if you have any questions, hope you liked the Visages, and good luck in the contest!
A Couple Cool Projects to Check Out
over 5 years ago
– Thu, Jan 24, 2019 at 12:56:45 AM
Hi guys! This update isn't going to have a lot of info about this campaign (nor is it the one I promised last week - sorry that hasn't come out yet.) However, I just wanted to direct your attention to a couple of DM promos that just launched recently.
Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum
First of all, our little friend Hysteria is showing up in a new project that's making waves on Kickstarter called Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum! Here's a couple pictures of the new sculpt they did of Hysteria for this game:
Hysteria will be a stretch goal coming up for Dark Rituals, so everyone who backs the core game will get it once it's unlocked. It'll come with:
1 Miniature featuring Dark Gate Games' reimagining of Hysteria.
1 Creature ID Card with its stats and powers.
1 Witchcraft Card to summon it to the game.
In Dark Rituals, 1-4 Heroes battle the Witch Master in this miniatures-based board game set in a magic-infused Middle Ages realm. It's an asymmetric “One vs Many” game for 2 to 5 players, complete with a solo mode. A small band of Heroes defends villagers from a coven of Witches. One player, the Witch Master, controls the Legion of Darkness. With two players, the second player plays the Heroes in a strictly competitive game and up to three more players may join in, each taking a Hero to help battle the Witch Master. A solo mode is also available, where the Witch Master battles game-controlled Heroes.
They've unlocked 25+ stretch goals already, and are in the process of creating full printed versions of the game in German, French, and Spanish. It looks like an awesome game, and they have some very cool minis. (Not the least of which is our own little Hysteria, all grown up!)
We also have a promo search card that's coming out over at The Dice Tower in their promo pack C. There's no art for it yet because, well, we don't have art for it yet. But we should by the end of this week. It's $50 to get the promo pack, which honestly is hardly worth it if you're just diving in for the one promo card. But, as Tom Vasel has said, don't think of it as pledging for the rewards, but donating to The Dice Tower for more great gaming videos and then receiving a cool "thank you" gift from them. At this point I can't say one way or another if the promo will be available outside of this Kickstarter, which I know some people have wondered about. Having said that, if you enjoy The Dice Tower (I know I do), then go check out their Kickstarter and consider backing at Dice Tower - 2019!
Well that's it for this update, guys. More awesome stuff is coming very soon, though, (I promise) so we'll talk with you again very shortly. Have a great day!
Choose Your Own Terror 6
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Jan 15, 2019 at 02:02:26 AM
You all have waited very patiently for this for a very long time. (Much longer than I anticipated, for sure.) But, at long last, here we are back with part six of Choose Your Own Terror!
We'll be back with a full update in a couple of days (with some very cool stuff, I might add,) but, as is the case with most of these, we will not be doing any official campaign news in this one. So, if that's what you're here for, you can officially stop reading.
If you'd like to brush up on what's come before, you can find part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, and part five here. As for which path we chose in part five, my very unscientific counting found that there were approximately 120 votes for A. While that was a while ago (it took me a LONG time to write this one, with the holidays, editing, and other writing intervening) I can't imagine the number changed too drastically between now and then. So, without further ado, here's Part Six, Option A!
Part Six: Option A
You don’t think; you just act. Whirling around, you raise the scalpel and dive for Persephone. You land on top of her, no doubt bruising her body but also slowing the tentacle’s retraction. Raising the scalpel, you engage its blade and swing it at the thick, ropy appendage.
A miasma of red, green and white fluids spurts from the tentacle’s stump as the scalpel cuts it cleanly in two.
Diane howls in her deep bass voice, her scream humming like insects. “You hurt me!” she cries. “Why would you do that? I thought you were my friend!”
Persephone kicks off the piece of tentacle as you try to roll off her and help her up at the same time. Somehow you both make it to your feet, but Diane also appears to have recovered from the shock of losing her appendage – and she is not happy. “Friends don’t cut pieces off of each other!” she yells. “How would you like it if I just ripped your arm off? Maybe plucked each finger from your hand one after another?”
You and Persephone share a panicked look, but there’s not enough time – or breath – to say anything. Diane seethes down the corridor after you, her flurry of limbs at one moment slithering on the ground, then scaling the wall, then hanging from the ceiling, her new beak clacking manically.
“The sphere contains multitudes and eons,” Diane says, her voice droning like a swarm. “Dr. West couldn’t understand why it didn’t just consume me, so he let me go to see what would happen. And now I know. Now I understand. It has made me an emissary of its glory and fury. The conscious sea churns, and it churns for you.”
What are you going to do? Where can you go? How will you escape the abomination behind you?
A hatch opens to your right and a man tentatively peers out into the corridor. “What is all that – AHH!” The man’s screams are cut short as Diane’s beak daintily snips his head off and swallows. Her tendrils and appendages pull his arms and legs and torso apart like a child systematically dismembering her toy to see how it worked.
“Mmm, a new convert,” Diane murmurs. “A fresh emissary for the sphere. He will trumpet praises at the feet of universes.”
At last Persephone collects herself enough to engage her node. “Security!” she manages between panting breaths. “We are being pursued… by an enormous apparition… outside of med lab! Please home in… on my signal. And come quickly! She’s almost on us!”
You skid around a corner, your feet almost coming out from underneath you. Persephone tries to steady you, barely keeping you upright. And then –
The security team storms into the corridor in front of you, weapons drawn. Whether they were on their way to the flooded security barracks, checking out the med bay, or just happened to be in a nearby area, you frankly don’t care. You’re just incredibly grateful to see them.
“Down!” the commander shouts. You and Persephone drop like bags of flour, sprawling flat on the ground as the guards open fire on Diane. Diane bellows as her body is riddled with projectiles.
“What the hell is that thing?” one of the guards yells.
Diane tries to escape back down the bend in the corridor, but her lower half won’t have it. It writhes and seethes toward the guards, Persephone, and yourself, dragging what remains of the bleeding woman’s upper body behind it. Its beak snaps and screeches, and now that you get a good look at it you see that its gullet is lined with row upon row of teeth like needles that flex and reach.
“Kill it! Kill it!” the commander exclaims.
You and Persephone start crawling as quickly as you can toward the security detail as the air directly above you is lit on fire by gun blasts. The longest of Diane’s tentacles are so close to your feet that you can almost feel them brushing against your soles. Your heart is hammering in your chest; your eyes are watering from the sizzling hell overhead. Is this what it feels like when you're about to die?
Diane and the beak both scream. It stumbles, collapses, and then slowly begins dragging itself down the corridor, using its tentacles and legs to wedge itself between the walls and manipulate its bulk forward.
You finally make it to the boots of the security guards and scramble around their legs. Diane is still close behind you, and as soon as you and Persephone are through the guards start falling back. Diane lurches forward one final time, her tendrils wrapping around two different guards and squeezing them until they break. Then she crumples to the floor with one last flop and lies still.
The guards pant and exhale in relief. You and Persephone stand up on legs like jelly.
“Are you okay?” you manage.
Persephone nods. “Thanks to you.”
“Dr. West,” the commander says, tapping his node. “The test subject has been neutralized. We will hold our position until you arrive to collect it.” He turns to his subordinates. “Make sure it's dead. But don’t harm the brain. Dr. West needs it.” Then he turns to you. “Do you two have any wounds?”
“We're a little banged up, but we’ll survive,” you reply.
“Did either of you have direct contact with the apparition?” the commander says.
“It grabbed my leg,” Persephone says.
The commander nods. “Commander Wade and Dr. West wish to debrief you. Remain here.”
“I can’t,” you say. “I have to get to my wife.”
“That wasn’t a request,” the commander says, turning away.
“You’ve done a lot for me,” Persephone murmurs. “Let me do something for you. I’ll distract them. You get to Cynthia.”
“No!” you exclaim. “What about you?”
“Shh!” she says. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Just get to your wife.”
Before you can say anything else, Persephone moves toward Diane’s body and gasps. “It moved! I think it's still alive!”
The guards swarm toward her, their weapons raised. She looks back at you and inclines her head for you to go. One of them follows her look, however, and sees you moving off down the corridor.
“Hey!” he yells. “That one’s trying to escape!”
Persephone trips him as he moves toward you. “Go!” she says.
The guards are on her in an instant, knocking her down and restraining her. Once again you're torn. You know you need to get to Cynthia. But those guards are pummeling Persephone. Should you stay and help her, come what may? Or should you leave her here and finally get to your wife?
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
A. Stay and defend Persephone, then face Station Commander Terrence Ward and Dr. William West
B. Leave Persephone and try to get to Cynthia
Well what say you, Deep Madness friends and co-storytellers? Shall we stay and fight Persephone, then meet William and Commander Ward, or should we go finally connect with our wife and try to escape this place? Let me know in the comments!
Pledge Manager Questions Answered
over 5 years ago
– Sun, Dec 30, 2018 at 10:40:44 PM
Since launching the pledge manager we have had a number of questions, comments and concerns from backers, so we thought we'd take a moment to try to alleviate some of the biggest concerns and answer some of the most common questions. Here we go.
1. Why are shipping costs so high/why are they higher than was shown on the campaign page?
I'm sorry some of you have been disappointed with the shipping costs for this campaign. However, just to put things in perspective, we lost approximately $50,000 on shipping in the first campaign. (And that figure might be low.) We almost ran out of money because of shipping. We simply couldn't do that again. (Plus, costs have not gone down in the last couple of years. They have risen. Significantly.)
The honest truth is, international shipping is outlandishly expensive. (Heck, I've sent packages myself about the size of a Deep Madness all-in pledge that cost $100s of dollars - and that was in my own country.) Your prices are still subsidized by us, but we could not leave prices the same as they were for the first campaign and risk not being able to deliver.
The prices you are seeing in the cart should be identical to the prices we showed before the campaign even launched on the campaign page, with the only difference being the cost to ship Profundum. (You can test this by removing the Profundum box from your order - you can always put it back if you still want it.) I'm sorry some of you are disappointed that shipping costs rose because of Profundum, and I understand that some feel we should just eat that cost. We thought we had made it clear during the campaign that Profundum would have an additional shipping cost, but if we didn't then we are truly sorry about that.
Having said that, I sincerely doubt Profundum only costs approximately $10 to ship to most countries. But even if it did, that's conservatively an additional $57,960 in costs which, on a project with already low profit margins (and on an extremely expensive stretch goal to produce in the first place), would mean we shouldn't have offered it as a stretch goal to begin with. (Even at $29 plus shipping, it honestly would have been a bargain compared to many alternative solutions.)
Now, I realize that in some countries the costs for Profundum are significantly higher. We're extremely sorry about that, but there is nothing we can do about this. These are usually cases where the cost is based not just on weight, but on volume weight, which is significantly higher and much more expensive. But that's why we also added the option to remove Profundum so you won't have to pay those shipping costs. Which brings us to question number two:
2. Why will I lose some stretch goals if I remove Profundum? What stretch goals will I lose?
If you choose not to take Profundum, you will lose the printed versions of the two PDF scenarios. You WILL still receive these scenarios as PDFs. The printed scenarios were made as a stretch goal for Profundum during the campaign (as you can see from the graphic on the campaign page, as well as from update #29: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diemensiongames/deep-madness-second-printing/posts/2348792), just like Hannah, Jacob, and Ward were included with The Faces of the Sphere, and Lucas Kane and the third scenario were included with Shattered Seas.
We were not clear enough in our last PM update that this would be the only stretch goal you would not receive by declining Profundum, which we apologize for. But it is the only one you will miss out on should you not want the storage box.
3. Why is the pledge manager closing earlier than originally stated?
In talking with our manufacturer after the campaign, they made it crystal clear to us that, if we wanted to make our August shipping deadline, we would need to have the order totals from the pledge manager to them by February 11th. Like, literally, that exact day. It's unfortunate that this information was not relayed to us before the campaign ended, but it wasn't.
Some of you probably know that Deep Madness was late. Some of you might even know that many could consider Deep Madness very late. And it is extremely important to us that this campaign be as close to the target delivery date as we can possibly make it. Can we absolutely promise August? Of course not. But we CAN do everything in our power to remove as many potential problems and pitfalls before they come up as we can. And this was a potential problem/pitfall. (In fact, it was almost a guaranteed problem/pitfall.) Another thing to consider is that our factory is busy. They have a lot of projects coming down the pipeline, and they are only growing in popularity. As such, they could very well be telling us this because they know a two-week delay in the pledge manager's end date could lead to a significantly bigger delay on their end.
Having said that, if it's a big problem for enough of you, then we could extend the pledge manager's end date to the end of February and just send in rough estimates to the manufacturer. This would only work if a majority of orders were already placed by that date (currently about 53% are ready to be locked down), and it would require a bit of luck and some guesstimation on our part. As such, we are personally not huge fans of this option (guessing and luck are fun in games, but significantly less so in manufacturing.) But you guys are important to us, and we want to make sure we do what's right by you. So, vote at this link to let us know what you think: https://goo.gl/forms/ikY6Jnzoq8vioXUi1 (Please only vote once so that we can keep this as accurate as possible. Also please include your Kickstarter email so that we can validate you as a backer.)
4. I'm a returning Canadian backer, and I was promised a free Epic Ravenous in the first campaign. How should I go about getting that?
We tried to cover everything in our last update, but this completely slipped our minds. Sorry, guys. The answer is, you don't need to do anything. We will add the Epic Ravenous to your pledge when we close the pledge manager. If you've added Epic Ravenous to your pledge, remove it unless you want to get a second one.
Furthermore, just to clarify this, too, when we originally made the offer on the original campaign Epic Ravenous was going to be just a reworked resin Ravenous. However, hours before we announced it on the second campaign the decision was made that we would make it a playable plastic Epic rather than just a resin collector's figure. So you will be receiving the new plastic Epic Ravenous with the game content instead of the resin Collector's Series Ravenous that was cancelled.
Regardless, hopefully this update has made sense and has proven that we are absolutely NOT trying to rob you, nor are we skimming ANY off the top of the shipping costs. (I assure you, we will still lose money on shipping. Probably a lot.) I also hope it's shown that we are definitively NOT trying to pull a fast one on you or anyone else. We strive to always do the best we can for our backers, and we also try to be as transparent as possible at all times. I hope that is very evident as well.
Have a great day and a Happy New Year, friends, and thanks again for being with us on Deep Madness! We'll be back to talk with you again soon!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Dec 25, 2018 at 01:51:13 AM
Hey everyone! We'll be back later in the week with another update going over some questions and concerns with the pledge manager and shipping, but for today we just wanted to take a minute to say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays from all of us at Diemension Games! We hope you have a great Christmas and holiday season, and we can't wait for the year ahead!
Now you better watch out...
It's okay to cry...
Because Batha Claus is coming to town!
And people think Krampus is bad...
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the entire Diemension Games team!
