Tang Garden: Seasons News - April 2024
12 days ago – Sat, Apr 13, 2024 at 03:04:12 AM

Dear Architects,

We hope everyone is well!
Here is the updated information on the project based on what we have received so far from both manufacturers.

• We have received photos of the final look of the BigBox, we are proud of Ninox (our manufacturer) as there is no shifting on the printing which took a good amount of time and was crucial because of the type of box we are using.
• We have also received a short video from Longpack about the production of the compendium.
• Noah from Game Trayz visited China and took a closer look at the modular insert. Everything was as good as he expected. Next week we will share a collage of photos of components inside the modular tray we recently received.
• We are always pushing for more information and we should receive more photos and videos next week, and you will hear from us shortly.
• We are in line with the timeframe of our last update.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will be in touch soon!

If you need to contact us, please write us here.

Wishing you all the best,
Everyone at Thundergryph Games

ETA and News - March 2024
about 2 months ago – Mon, Mar 04, 2024 at 09:24:31 AM

Dear Architects,

We hope everyone is well!
Recently our manufacturers resumed operations after Chinese New Year and we have met to discuss Tang Garden Seasons.

Delivering promptly is crucial for us and we appreciate your patience while waiting for this delay. This project is the only one we have to deliver in our current pipeline as Soda Pop is starting fulfillment very soon.

Each project we create has its complexity and timeframe and we apologize if this one was much more complex than we imagined. 

We will try to keep the update short so you all will be able to read it without taking too much of your time.

• Production for wooden components is starting along with the big box insert and compendium. Continue reading for a video of the Compendium!
• Since we are using two manufacturers, the completed items will go from Longpack to Ninox where they will be assembled inside the big box.
• We are working with Ninox to create a new cardboard insert for the Seasons base game which will be more organized and sturdy.
• This will require around 70 days to have the games ready for freight.

We are actively working on improving our process for production and communication and this is what we are focusing on while the manufacturers are making the games:

• We have hired a production manager. Katia Huachong is now part of the Thundergryph family. This has drastically improved the way we communicate with our manufacturers as we now have a direct line of communication in Chinese. We have been working with Katia for the past couple of months and we are already seeing a huge improvement in our pipeline.
• Katia Howatson, our community manager, will be taking over a few of our Kickstarter updates and will be available for you in the comment section. This will improve the way we hear you and the way we communicate in these updates.

Compendium

Here is the final look of the Tang Garden compendium, which you will receive in the language you selected in our pledge manager. This will be the ultimate source of information for everything regarding Tang Garden.

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While this project is getting more than expected, as a small publisher, we rely on crowdfunding to bring our releases to fruition. We are launching a new game on Kickstarter on March 5th, but we want to assure you that a dedicated segment of our team is committed to promptly addressing any inquiries from our manufacturers as we enter the final stages of production for Tang Garden: Seasons. Your understanding and support are valued.

We promise to deliver a great game experience that you will feel proud to have contributed to.

If you need to contact us, please write us here.

Wishing you all the best,
Gon from Thundergryph Games

News for Tang Seasons - Jan 2024
3 months ago – Wed, Jan 17, 2024 at 09:20:06 AM

Dear Architects,

We hope you are all well and that you have had great holidays with your loved ones.
We are back with more information on Seasons, and I’m sorry for all of you who were waiting for more about the project.

First of all, I would like to renew our gratitude for your trust in this game and the patience many of you have while waiting for the game.

We were hoping to have the game ready for the Chinese New Year, we understand that success is a gradual process, not an overnight destination, and with this, we want to apologize for not having achieved this. We had some complications in the process that will be mentioned in this update.

Even if the games were ready for freight, container prices have yet again skyrocketed to 4 or 5 times due to Chinese New Year. The saddening and very harsh situation that the conflict in the Red Sea is generating has also changed the route destined to Europe through South Africa, while the vessels destined to the USA had complications such as longer transit time due to continuous drought restrictions. These various reasons did not allow us to proceed.

Given the conditions, we will make sure that the game will be in its best shape and ready after the Chinese New Year. While this milestone was not successful, I would like to talk about what we have been doing in the past month.

Big Box Insert revision

Sometimes we think we are done with a part of this process to find that there are always ways of improving what we do. While undergoing tests we realized that the insert for seasons needed rework to make sure components would not move around. We understood that wooden components can be very exact, while cardboard thickness will vary depending on how air gets inside the layers in the middle of the piece.

We made a few changes to the other insert, but the one that got a rework was one of the inserts of Tang Garden Seasons.

Here you can see a photo of the previous version and the render of the new version that Noah from Game Trayz made for us. We are undergoing the sample phase with this again and we are positive that this will be the last change we will need to do to the insert.

Assembly and what you’ll be receiving

We also changed the Big Box depth slightly as we decided to change the assembly process by placing everything needed inside the Big Box itself instead of a different carton.

Here is a video that Ninox, our manufacturer did on how they will place a complete collection inside of the big box.

Seasons will be assembled in a separate box, and the compendium will also be shipped outside its big box. That also limits the number of picks for a complete collection to 3: The big box with base, Golden Age, Ghost Stories, extras, the Season's box, and the compendium in your language of choice.

Preparing to avoid issues during fulfillment. Extra components added

The fulfillment of Darwin’s Journey was two months long, and we had to send more than 800 replacement parts to our backers.

We are trying to do our best to minimize the amount of work post fulfillment to the minimum by adding extra components to your box (as Lego does, by adding extra items of tiny parts that could be missed during assembly).

We decided to add a complete extra punchboard with the Pagoda Floors and their bases to make sure you won’t need more, even if you are not happy with how you assembled your first pagoda.

We understand if you feel frustrated about the delay on your game, but sending a game we will all be proud of has become our absolute priority and we hope you can understand.

We will post a new update as soon as our manufacturer resumes operations to let you know the estimated time when we’ll be able to get these games out of China.

Wishing you all the best,
Gon from Thundergryph Games

Season and Thundergryph Catch-up
5 months ago – Wed, Nov 15, 2023 at 07:29:00 AM

Dear Architects,

It was time for an update, thanks for your patience while waiting.

I decided to make a video as I do from time to time to update you on this project and a few other things. If you have the time to see it, I would really appreciate it. 

If you don’t have the time, here is the bullet version of it:

• A few updates about this year and the events we attended (like TGM and Spiel).
• Update on the assembly line of seasons (this week we should receive the quote for the assembly with the last changes we have done, you will find info about the creation process of the big box)
• The production of Seasons is still ongoing. We hope to finish before CNY (end of January 2024).
• Our delivery method was improved, you will find info on that. You will also find some words about stretch goals and how shaping games with you is so important and time-consuming on the delivery timelines.
• You will also find info about the future, the new website, and our foundry where we will post more updates of the behind-the-scenes.

Finally, here is a look at the insert with the components inside. Tang Garden Seasons is the culmination of a beautiful story. This game has created beautiful relationships and lessons learned. We are proud of having you in this part of our journey and we hope you will be proud of the work we have done together.

We will go live on Twitch today November 15th at 20:00 CET / 14:00 EST. If you have any questions you would like us to answer live, please write to us in the comments below.

Thanks for your time and until next time, be well!

Wishing you all the best,
Gon from Thundergryph Games

September Update - Information, foundry and Spiel
7 months ago – Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 08:47:17 AM

Dear Architects,

I hope this email finds you well.

Thank you so much for your patience while waiting for this update, I know it has been a while.
I can assure you the team is working on the game, as delivering Tang Garden Seasons it’s crucial for us, and while I understand that at this point we should have a date of end of production and delivery, is not unfortunately the case, but we do have news to share.

We had a few setbacks during the past couple of months with outsourcing the exact material used in past versions of the game and mainly on A/B testing our production and assembly of the more than 50 different unique items the Tang Garden franchise has.

We ended up deciding to split the manufacturing process as we did with the sleeves which are ready from several months ago. This will help us make sure we are pairing the right manufacturer for a selection of different components to keep consistency in terms of colors, material, and production speed.

Here is a video that showcases how the manufacturer will pack the different elements coming from different places to make sure we keep the issues to a maximum of 2%. From this take, we have already made a few changes like packing all the rules into a single reinforced bundle and by placing them at the top of the shipping carton.

This is the final stage of assembly, but if you are interested in how every floor of this tower is assembled, you can see them here.

The advantages of taking care of every small step will ensure that the process is as modular as possible depending on your language and the items you added afterward in the pledge manager. We are proud of what we are achieving with this as this process will have the least environmental impact and will keep things as easy as possible to have a smooth fulfillment process.

We really appreciate your patience and while we hear that some of you are tired of delays, we rather make this right than rush it to fix it later. We are doing our best to end the production before the end of the year (beginning of CNY) and will keep you informed on how it goes.

Thundergryph Foundry, what to expect

Communication needs to flow from several fronts to keep it organized.
After we come back from Spiel Essen, we will be launching our new website with the foundry: a collaborative space where we can share with you what we are working on that is managed by the different team members, our game designers, and manufacturers.
You will have constant insight about what the entire team is working on and a clear understanding of where the project is (including setbacks, and improvements to the timeline).

Finally, once the vessels depart, you will have a single place to track where the games are, with possible updated changes of vessels and other important information about fulfillment.

Once this takes off, we will use the Kickstarter updates as a TLTR post with all the bits we have shared during a certain month.

If there is anything you would like to see in the foundry, please share it with us.

Meet us at Spiel Essen 3T120

Part of our team will be at Spiel Essen (5th-8th October 2023) at the Hall 3 booth T120.
If you want to come by to say hi, ask any questions about Seasons, or just play a match together, please stop by! You are so welcome!

We will also be live streaming during the fair to answer any questions you may have, and spin a few real-life wheels of prizes to randomly selected viewers.

We are also expecting to have samples of the Trayz of the BigBox directly at Spiel.

We are very sorry about making you wait, but we are very excited to close down an important chapter for us while seeing you excited about the game you have received.

Wishing you all the best,
Gon from Thundergryph Games