Day 19: Alt Command Deck unlocked + Final Stretch Goal revealed
over 2 years ago – Sat, Jul 01, 2023 at 06:42:52 AM

As we head into the weekend and get close to the last week of Solar Titans, we hope you have enjoyed being part of this campaign. Your support means a lot to us, and we've appreciated your input and comments along the way. We have many updates to share today, so let's dive in:

AI Ship Layouts

We have been busy with designing the new AI Ship Layout cards! It's been exciting to playtest and see how its expanded the solo and co-op experience further. It's a careful process as we need to balance the difficulty level and scoring system to ensure a cohesive experience, including rule book updates - but it's coming along really well, and we think you'll find it a rewarding experience too! In fact, we loved it so much, we adapted the original hard mode layout and turned it into a bonus AI Ship Layout card with its own unique bonus, so you will have 3 AI Ship Layout cards in your copy of Solar Titans!

Stretch Goal 6: Alt Command Deck unlocked!

Our artist is now commissioned to create an alternate Command Deck art style to add to Solar Titans - thank you for your votes! The game has 4 Command Decks, so we will have 2 in the current style and 2 in the alternate style. We're looking forward to seeing this and already imagine it looking particularly cool during 2v2 or 1v2 games!

Stretch Goal 7: Give back to the board game community!

We're doing something different with our final stretch goal, and we'd love your input. We truly appreciate the board game community for making our dream of launching Solar Titans possible. Playtesters, fellow designers, and publishers shared their time and feedback to improve the core game. Content creators put together quality video previews and playthroughs that built awareness and understanding of the gameplay. FLGS like Geeky Teas, and communities like First Play LA, Board Game Revolution, Board Game Reviewers & Media, and Board Game Design Lab provided valuable advice and discussion. We want to give back to the board game community with our final "stretch goal":

For every 100 copies pledged, including existing pledges to date, we will donate 1 copy of Solar Titans to a public library or FLGS (friendly local gaming store). Do you know of a public library or FLGS that takes donations and would benefit from having more board games? Nominate them in the comments section of this Update, including the following information:

• Name of public library / FLGS
• Website (if applicable)
• Physical address
• Contact person & contact details (if applicable)

At the end of our campaign, we will shortlist and verify from the nominated libraries/FLGS to donate a copy of Solar Titans to them!

Thank you so much,

SunnySideUp Games

Day 14: AI Ships Sneak Peek + Vote on Stretch Goal 6
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 07:04:51 PM

We're officially halfway through our campaign - only 14 days to go! Thank you for staying with us until now. We hear your clear preference for new AI Ship Layouts, and we're excited to share a sneak peek. We'd also love your input on Stretch Goal 6!

AI Ships Sneak Peek

We are so excited to share our thoughts on how to make the new AI Ship Layouts a rich and engaging experience for both solo and co-op mode. Please let us know what you think in the comments:

• Each AI ship has a unique layout that will result in a different experience for players, and will require different tactics and weaponry to engage the AI ship effectively.
• Each AI ship also has a unique power, which gives the ship a distinct flavor and challenge. On top of the Automata cards, it will actually multiply the possible combinations of AI behaviors by a lot!
• For example, the "Centurion" AI ship has a relatively exposed Command Deck, but it has the ability to strengthen its defense with the other core ship modules, unless you disable them first. Or can you burst through with very heavy weaponry...?
• Each unique AI ship layout is printed on its own standalone double-sided page. The page will show the AI ship layout setup, upgrade priority, and player aid on resolving automata actions, so players can get immersed in the game and minimize referring back to the rule book. Players will also be able to randomize their session by drawing the AI ship layouts face-down (especially if we end up with more). 

Note that all content in the sneak peek is work in progress 

Stretch Goal 6: Vote now in this update!

We are ready to introduce our next stretch goal ideas, and once again you get to decide by voting in the comments in this update:

• Option 1: Box Spot UV - Adds a special finishing touch to your Solar Titans game box
• Option 2: Alt Command Deck - Our artist creates a modified design of the Command Deck to add visual variety (there will be 2 of each type)

The most popular option will be picked when we reach the target for Stretch Goal #6!

Day 12: More AI cards unlocked
over 2 years ago – Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 08:52:34 AM

Hooray!! Together we have unlocked Stretch Goal #5, so we are working towards adding 2 new AI Ship Layouts to expand the solo / co-op mode for Solar Titans.

We have some exciting ideas to make this stretch goal a compelling experience for players, adding more replayability and variety by ensuring each AI ship is distinct in more ways than one... We'll be sharing some sneak peeks in the coming days! Our next stretch goal announcement will follow directly after that, so bear with us.

Lastly, please continue to help us spread the word for friends and communities that will be interested in sci-fi games like Solar Titans:

•  Mention us on Facebook or follow us 
•  Like and mention us on BGG 
•  Share our Instagram posts 
• Share the Youtube preview videos you like with friends

Thank you!

SunnySideUp Games

Day 9: You decide the AI cards
over 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 21, 2023 at 07:10:49 PM

Hi again, I hope the week is going well for you! We've started to explore some ideas to add more AI cards to the game, and we have two promising directions for adding more replayability and variability for solo / co-op mode. As always, we'd love your input to shape which direction we take:

Option 1: Add more AI Automata cards (go from 6 > 8 unique AI bonuses/special effects)

Option 2: Add new AI Ship Layouts (go from 1 > 3 different AI ship layout strengths/vulnerabilities)

Please vote in the comments section below and tell us which option sounds more fun to you! We will focus our efforts on the most popular option for the upcoming stretch goal.

Day 8: UV Coating unlocked
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jun 20, 2023 at 07:37:40 PM

Hi folks, this is me again! We are just over one week into our campaign, and we are encouraged by folks joining our project and sharing your input each day. This has shaped the direction of our stretch goals and helped us hit them at a fast pace.

Stretch Goal 4: UV Coating unlocked!

UV Coating will be applied to all cards in Solar Titans! This will add a layer of protection to the cards to protect from dirt, scratches, and moisture so the cards can take a lot of handling. The combination of these recently unlocked stretch goals means you are backing a game with high quality card components!

Stretch Goal 5: More AI cards wins

We hear you loud and clear from the last update - you'd love to see more AI cards in the game - so that's what we're committing to for our next stretch goal! We already have a couple ideas cooking. We will reveal more in the coming updates where you'll have a chance to share input.

Our mission is clear: let's add replayability and variety so that you will have a great solo experience. And it's not just solo: Our 2-player co-op mode against the AI also benefits from these updates (and yes, you can 2-hand the co-op mode for another distinct, challenging experience).

So while I am working hard on new AI content, we're counting on you to make my effort worthwhile! :)