September Update: Production and Packaging
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 06:59:13 AM

Hi everyone,

Hope you've had a good few weeks. The feeling of a new school year has definitely been in the air for the Roll & Play Press team this month, with fresh notebooks and stationery all around us! 

Here are some glimpses of what we've been up to since our last update:

Mass Production

With product samples signed off, many items are now in bulk production. Here's a really cool video of the mechanical pencils being laser engraved. 

In addition to pre-production samples, we're also receiving and checking products from the final stock, to make sure everything is looking good. We are expecting to see some more soon, and we'll definitely send around some photos when they arrive.

Packaging

We have also been finalising packaging for the different items in the Quest Journals range. We wanted something that reflects the cool, clean style of the products within – I think this design does exactly that! 

Here's the pencil again, now packaged up and about to embark on its own quest.

Fulfilment 

Physical Fulfilment

With some items (such as our friend, the pencil) already on their way to our UK warehouse, others will follow in the coming months. Once everything is in place, our fantastic distribution team will then start hand-picking and packing your orders. This process is on track to begin towards the end of November, but will be a staggered process as there are many different order combinations. We will share expected delivery time frames for backers around the world closer to the time.

Digital fulfilment

Once all physical products are officially signed off, we will work on finalising all our digital formats, including any reformatting work needed. Work is also in progress on a redesigned digital reward fulfilment process for our new website, to make this as seamless and user-friendly as possible. We are aiming to begin digital fulfilment in the week commencing 18th November, and will share detailed instructions nearer the time.

We'll be in touch again next month with another update. Until then, have a great week!

All the best,

Beth

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August Update: Manufacturing Begins
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 01, 2023 at 02:28:53 PM

Hi everyone,

I hope you're having a great week. It's Sam here with your monthly Quest Journals update!

Order Address Locking

Thanks for filling out your pledge managers so quickly. There are still around 100 people who haven't completed theirs yet, if you are having any issues or can't find your pledge manager link, please email us and we'll help you out.

For everyone else, a heads-up that we will be locking your addresses on the 14th September as we march towards November shipping. If you're moving house soon or uncertain about where you'll be towards the end of the year, I recommend switching the details in your pledge manager to a friend or family member's address to avoid any issues.

(The above is excluding retailers, who we are in the process of contacting separately to finalise their rewards.)

Manufacturing Updates

We have been working closely with our manufacturers to perfect all of your rewards, and they're looking incredible. We've been testing out more samples for durability and utility, and through this process we have made a couple of changes to make sure the products are the best they can be.

Quest Binder Magnetic Clasp

Our original side-clasp design looked really sleek, but our testing showed that it wasn't robust enough to withstand regular use without dislodging (or in some cases, detaching). So, we have swapped out the side clasp for a stronger strap-clasp with magnetic closure. It also features a detailed engraving on the inside of the metal, that looks great when you have the binder open.

Here are some photos of the updated design: 

Dry-Erase Pens

There has been a change to the shape of the Dry-Erase Pens, as our previous barrel-shaped design was too chunky for a fine nib attachment. The new pen design means that we could incorporate the manufacturer's fine nib, which is perfect for filling out small boxes on your dry-erase character sheet overlay.

Here's a photo of the new pen shape: 

What's Next?

Now that we have approved samples of all rewards, the manufacturer is moving ahead with the next stage of setting up for mass production.  It has been a lot of hard work getting here, with more than 15 separate products to create and packaging to design for each of them, too. But, seeing all the samples coming together, it has been totally worthwhile. You're going to love your rewards.

Which reward are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Until next time, have a great weekend.

All the best,

Sam.

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Pledge Managers Locked and Cards Charged
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jul 21, 2023 at 10:36:20 AM

Hi everyone,

Good news! The pledge manager for the Quest Journals campaign has been successfully locked, and we have charged backers' cards. Thank you all for your prompt responses.

Address Changes

All orders have been locked in, and changes to your pledge rewards are no longer possible. However, you still have plenty of time to update your shipping address, if you need to. We'll notify you with a warning before we lock addresses (around mid-September 2023) to give you a heads-up, in case there are any last-minute changes.

If you're moving house soon or uncertain about where you'll be in November, I recommend switching the details in your pledge manager to a friend or family member's address to avoid any issues.

Declined Payments

If your payment did not go through or failed, don't worry, BackerKit will email you and make another attempt in a couple of days. If you update the payment method in your pledge manager, you will be charged when you save your changes.

Stretch Goals

In the pledge manager, we included stretch goals for Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds, and Vampire the Masquerade physical Insert Packs. Unfortunately, none of these goals were met, so we won't be able to manufacture these products. Rest assured that the Digital Sheets for all these systems are proceeding as planned, and any backer who pledged for them will receive them in November when digital fulfilment begins.

All of these physical Insert Pack stretch goals were removed from backers' pledges before cards were charged.

Any backers who paid for these physical Insert Pack stretch goals via PayPal when they completed their pledge manager will receive a refund, which will be processed over the next few working days.

If you did pledge for a physical Insert Pack stretch goal, but would like to now replace the reward with the Digital Sheet equivalent, please send us a Kickstarter message. We can update your pledge manually and charge your card for the item.

Retailer Pledges

We are managing retailer orders through a separate process, and will be back in touch next week to confirm volumes, retailer terms, addresses and shipping preferences.

What's Next?

With reward volumes being finalised and payments processed, we are moving full steam ahead! The Quest Binders, Quest Notebooks and add-ons will soon enter the print production process. The manufacturers are already hard at work creating updated samples and dummies, and we are really happy with how things are progressing. 

Stay tuned for further updates on manufacturing and production!

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

Thank you all once again for your incredible support; we can't wait to see Quest Journals in your hands. We're putting everything into making these as useful, user-friendly and stylish as possible – you're going to absolutely love them. November can't come soon enough!

Until next time,

Sam

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Locking Orders and Charging Cards
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 18, 2023 at 02:47:41 AM

Hi everyone,

Thank you to everyone who has completed their pledge manager survey through BackerKit. So far, that's 85% of backers! I have some important fulfilment updates for you today, including information about charging cards.

Locking Orders

We will be locking orders for this project on Wednesday 19th July. After this point, you won't be able to make any changes to your pledge rewards. If you can’t access your survey, or have misplaced the original pledge management email, you can generate a new pledge manager here.

Backers who complete their pledge manager after this time are likely to have later shipping dates than November 2023.

Charging Cards

Cards will be charged on Friday 21st July. You will be charged for any items you added in the pledge manager, as well as the price of shipping your pledge.

Please make sure that the cards you have saved on your pledge manager have not expired and have the amounts needed on them before this date, so there aren't any issues. If there are problems with taking payment, you will be alerted by BackerKit, and they will try again a couple of days afterwards.

(NOTE: If you chose the PayPal payment method in your pledge manager, payment was taken immediately after you completed your survey, and you will not be charged again.)

Locking Addresses

You won't be able to change your pledge rewards after 19th July, but you will be able to change your address for a little while longer. So, if you're moving house soon, don't worry!

We'll post another update with a warning before we lock addresses (approx. mid-September 2023), so you can make sure your address is correct for shipping. Alternatively, if you aren't sure of your future address, we would recommend updating your pledge manager to a friend or family member's address so that your package isn't lost.

If you have any questions, email us using [email protected], and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Project Update

Finally, here are a few snippets of what we've been up to behind the scenes to get these products ready for production:

• Confirming specifications with our suppliers and checking samples to make sure everything is up to our high standards. There has been a lot of team chat about paper samples and pocket sizes recently!
• Refining the content of the Quest Notebooks and Quest Binder Insert Packs. We've added new pages to aid structure in our Game Master's products and are revising the layouts of all editions to make them as user-friendly as possible.
• Designing and commissioning the maps that will feature in the Maps Template Pack. 
• Developing packaging for all the rewards, so they are well protected in their journey to you.

That's all for this update, but we'll be in touch again soon with updates on the manufacturing and production process.

All the best,

Sam

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Pledge Managers Are LIVE
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 04:18:07 AM

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to report the pledge manager for Quest Journals is now LIVE!

Receiving the link

A link to the pledge manager is being sent to all backers in batches. This delivery process will continue to run automatically over the next couple of days, so everyone should receive their email by Friday 30th June evening (UK time). A company called BackerKit is distributing the pledge manager links, so keep your eyes peeled for their name in your Inbox (and Junk folders, just in case).

Filling in the pledge manager

When you open your pledge manager, please check that your name, location and pledge level are all correct. If everything looks good, go ahead and click the 'Get Started' button. If something doesn't look right, please click on the 'Need Help?' button to contact BackerKit support, and they will be able to advise you or resolve the issue.

In the pledge manager, you will be asked a few important questions about your pledge and gain access to the Add-On Store – it's here you can add extra notebooks, insert packs, digital sheets and more to your existing pledge rewards. At the end of the pledge manager, you will be asked to enter your shipping address (if receiving physical rewards) and payment information for any outstanding shipping/add-on costs. It's as simple as that, and should only take around 3-5 minutes to complete!

Upgrading your pledge

If you would like to upgrade your pledge to a higher level, click the 'Switch Your Pledge Level' button after opening your pledge manager (as shown below). This will take you to a page where you can change your pledge level and will make sure that your pledge manager is set up with the relevant questions for that level.

Making payments

If you choose to pay for outstanding balances, shipping costs or add-ons via debit/credit card, your card will be charged on July 21st. We will notify you again nearer the time.

If you choose to pay through PayPal, payment will be taken as soon as you complete your pledge manager. In the event that global shipping prices significantly change between the launch of the pledge manager and when cards are charged, backers who paid via PayPal will need to pay the outstanding difference before their rewards will be shipped.

Pledge manager deadline

Your pledge managers will be locked on July 19th. It is likely that backers who complete their pledge manager after this time will have later shipping dates than November 2023.

Moving house soon?

If you are planning on moving house soon, or aren't sure where you will be living during this project's physical reward fulfilment in November 2023, we would strongly recommend adding a friend or family member's address instead of your own when prompted to add your shipping address. It is possible to amend your address until the pledge managers are locked in mid-July; after this point, we will do our best to accommodate address changes, but cannot guarantee that this will be possible.

Missing pledge manager

If you do not receive a link to your pledge manager by Monday 3rd July, then please either click on this reset link, send us a Kickstarter message or drop us an email, and we will be able to send you a new one.

Feel free to post a comment on this update if you have any questions about this process, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

All the best,

Sam

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