Update on the Titles' System: Concept and current Design
about 5 years ago – Mon, May 13, 2019 at 09:07:52 AM

Noble Backers,

we've once more worked well and almost approached 50K€, so we are about to unlock the Cardinals' Birettas. Your troops are bringing glory to their Lords!

We would like to take advantage of this update to tell you a bit about the design ideas and issues that we've faced during the conception of the Titles' System.

From the Under Bases to the Titles' System

Ever since this project's conception, we were in love with the idea of giving each Lord the proper recognition on the Battlefield. We wanted this KS to bring you a way to improve your game experience and be able to tell who your Lords are (from there The Family Bases), and also who the Titled Lords are.

Providing The Family Bases as a way to recognize a Lord's Family was somewhat easier than giving each Lord the proper recognition on the Battlefield. At first we though to do something similar with the Titles, by giving each Lord other "bases" to stack under the Family Base, one base for each Title The Lord/Lady has. 

From there we developed the idea of the under-bases. This design had some issues: each time a Lord gained or lost a title, you'd have to take the miniature off the board and stick or unstick each base from the other. Unsticking a base from the other could become difficult (think about what happens when two LEGO bricks of same shape stick together). Other than that the solution wasn't visually satisfying.

For these and other reasons we moved to the idea of having Crowns/Birettas that you could stack from the top. Since each Lord's head is different from the other we had to find a way to make the system uniform for all the Miniatures, so we decided to try and find a way to stack the Titles using a plastic stick inserted on the Lord's head. There are some benefits to this approach: removing and adding "hats" from the top is easier and quicker than sticking bases under the Miniature. The result is more thematic cause you have Crowns and Birettas to represent the Title the Lord has, so we decided to switch from the under-bases to the Titles' System.

Even so, we weren't fully satisfied with the design: a Lord/Lady may have a few "hats" on his/her head, thus giving a forced, unnatural sense to the miniature as a whole. Furthermore, as many of you noted, when a Lord/Lady has no Titles, you'd see a hole on his/her head. Also we don't want to ruin those beautiful miniatures in any way. We've taken into consideration many solutions to these issues but none of them were viable.

That's why, in the end, we've embraced a new concept. Remember our aim is to improve Your experience with Fief and we want to have the most functional and beautiful system we can. We've so decided to keep the Crowns and Birettas, but a Lord won't have those anymore on his head, rather they'll be stacked on his side:

The bases of the miniatures will be slightly extended (as shown on the top right of the picture) to provide some space for a small plastic stick and for the Titles to be stacked.

This way we keep the same functionality advantages that stacking something from the top provides (rather than sticking bases) and the overall appearance of the miniature remains elegant. Alas, we'll not compromise the miniature's integrity in any way.

Noble Backers, we are confident you appreciate our efforts in making the system the best we can. Please let us know your opinions in the comment's section.

The Birettas are just a few steps away from becoming a reality.

Signed, the Fief Lords.

_______________________________

Oyez ! Oyez ! Oyez !

Nous approchons à grands pas du prochain palier et nous nous préparons à annoncer le suivant. Mais avant cela, il convient de procéder à une mise à jour et de vous racontez son histoire. 

Nous avions initialement pensé que chacun d'entre nous reposerait sur un socle familial et que, sous ce socle, en viendraient d'autres qui  indiqueraient nos titres. C'était un début de solution malheureusement peu commode à l'usage, même en ajoutant des encoches de part et d'autre : avez-vous déjà eu l'occasion de devoir séparer des petites briques en plastique ?

Cela impliquait, de plus, une manipulation fastidieuse lorsqu'il fallait, par exemple, retirer un sous socle intercalé.

Bref, l'idée que nous puissions disposer de nos titres sur nos têtes semblait plus pertinente sur le plan visuel et fonctionnel. C'est ce que nous vous avons proposé. C'était bien mieux, même si, certains d'entre nous avions émis une réserve : ce n'était pas complètement satisfaisant car cela touchait à notre intégrité.

Un certain nombre, parmi vous, à également émis cette réserve et cela nous a conforté et nous a motivé à reconsidérer les choses. Nous pensons, cette fois, que nous avons trouvé le bon compromis. Nous conservons le système figuratif mais nous l'adaptons en modifiant le dessin du socle familial.

Nous espérons que cette évolution trouvera un écho favorable auprès de vous tous.

Merci pour votre soutien !

Les seigneurs de FIEF.

Bishops' Staffs unlocked and 5th Stretch Goal - The Cardinals` Birettas
about 5 years ago – Mon, May 13, 2019 at 12:07:06 AM

Noble Backers,

We've worked well and have just unlocked the Bishops' Staffs. Now our Bishops will be easily identified on the map thanks to their Staffs. You'll know for sure when they are available to suppress a revolt!!

Now we are looking forward for the next step in their ecclesiastical path to becoming Pope. Only some of those Bishops will be able to become Cardinals, and they need the proper recognition. In fact at 50.000€ we will unlock x4 Cardinals' Birettas.

You'll be able to place the Birettas right on the Lord's head thanks to a plastic stick to be inserted from the top of the miniature. Please note that the design is at a prototype stage, thus still work in progress.

Onward we go towards unlocking the Cardinals' Birettas!! Let us know what you think of what we've unlocked so far in the comments section!!

Signed, The Fief Lord's.

Announcing the 4th Stretch Goal - The Titles System: The Bishops' Staffs
about 5 years ago – Sun, May 12, 2019 at 07:43:55 AM

Noble Backers,

as promised, we are writing You to show our first step into the Titles System: we now present you the x5 Bishops' Staffs as Stretch Goal to be unlocked at 48.000€

We've decided to start with the x5 Bishops' Staffs as next Stretch Goal, since that's the first step a Lord is going to take in its ecclesiastical path. We are thus going to unlock them at 48K€!

About the Titles System

As previously discussed the Titles System allows you to assign nice and functional items to Your Titled Lords. As a reminder  The King, The Queen, The Prince, The Titled Baron/Count/Duke as well as The Pope will receive their corresponding Crown. Whereas the Bishops will receive Staffs and the Cardinals will receive their Birettas. 

The System will not only be an aesthetic addition to the Miniatures, but also a functional enhancement to Your games. You'll be able to count the VPs, the available Votes and the Ransom cost for each Lord at a glance! 

As soon as we get to 48.000€ we will work towards unlocking the next Step in the Titles System, that we will announce as soon as we unlock the Staffs!

Onward we go towards Victory!

Signed, The Fief Lords.

___________________________________________

Oyez ! Oyez ! Oyez !

Comme annoncé, nous vous présentons le premier palier de la série qui concerne nos titres. Ce premier palier s'adresse aux plus pieux des 12 d'entre nous. 5 crosses seront sculptées en 5 différentes couleurs lorsque le palier sera atteint.

Dès que ce palier sera atteint, nous annoncerons le suivant de la série.

Merci pour votre soutien !

Les seigneurs de FIEF.

Un système d'information des titres associé aux figurines !
about 5 years ago – Sat, May 11, 2019 at 05:34:30 AM

Oyez ! Oyez ! Oyez !

Tout d'abord, nous voulons vous remercier pour votre participation active : cela nous conforte et nous fait avancer.

Savoir que l'un d'entre nous règne, vous intéresse au plus haut point, et nous aimons cela. Nous souhaitons même aller plus loin : c'est pourquoi nous vous proposons un système complet.

4 paliers à atteindre pour compléter ce système

Nous vous proposons d'atteindre successivement 4 paliers afin de construire ensemble ce système d'information des titres, qui nous sera associé. Ce système vous permettra de savoir lequel d'entre nous règne (homme et femme), est prince, évêque, cardinal, pape ou possède un titre de FIEF.

• Des couronnes seront forgées pour nos titres de Roi, Reine, Prince, Baron, Comte, Duc et Pape.
• Des bâtons seront sculptés pour nos titres d'Évêque.
• Des chapeaux seront confectionnés pour nos titres de Cardinal.

Cela vous permettra rapidement d'accéder aux informations suivantes :

•  Points de Victoire : les 8 couronnes des titres de FIEF ainsi que celles du pape et du roi seront de la même couleur que l'icône fleur de lys  (⚜) jaune. Vous pourrez ainsi apprécier en quelques instants, sur la carte, où sont les risques et les menaces qui pèsent sur nous, où sont les enjeux pour la suprématie de la partie,
•  Élections : croisés avec nos supports colorés (le premier palier que vous avez atteint), il sera aisé de repérer les seigneurs titrés et leurs voix sur la carte,
•  Rançon : il sera enfin très facile d'évaluer la valeur marchande de chacun d'entre nous, sur la carte, si nous devions être fait prisonnier.

C'est donc bien un système complet d'information des titres que nous vous proposons afin de renforcer l'ergonomie et d'améliorer l'expérience de jeu. Vous n'entendrez plus jamais cette fameuse phrase : "Mais où est le roi ???".

---

Nous avions initialement prévu une autre manière de nous titrer mais vous nous avez convaincu de reconsidérer notre approche. C'est ce que nous sommes en train de faire et c'est pourquoi il nous faut un peu de temps...

Nous dévoilerons le premier palier de la série dès que possible dans la journée de samedi.

Merci pour votre soutien !

Les seigneurs de FIEF.

Announcing the "Titles System Series"
about 5 years ago – Fri, May 10, 2019 at 07:30:54 PM

Une version française sera envoyée demain. 

Noble Backers,

we would like to thank you once more for your support and continued participation in the comments section: this has proven unvaluable to our campaign. 

Once more we've taken time to listen to our backers and then work hard to improve our, and Your, Campaign. That's why the Fief Lords have once more answered to Your Battle Call.

Announcing the "Titles System Series" 

In this update we reveal the "Titles System Series". This series of 4 Stretch Goals, that we will unlock one after the other, will allow you to get a set of custom components to use with the Titled Lords' Miniatures in Fief.

The Titles System allows to recognize the most important Titled Lords on the Battlefield: from the King, the Queen, The Prince and the Titled Baron/Count/Duke; to the religious Titles of The Pope, The Cardinals and The Bishops. 

•  The King, The Queen, The Prince, The Titled Baron/Count/Duke as well as The Pope will receive their corresponding Crowns to be put on their head,
•  The Cardinals will receive Cardinal Hats,
•  The Bishops will receive Staffs to attach right onto their bases.

These new components will ease the following steps of your games:

•  VP count: The King's, The Pope's as well as The Baron/Count/Duke's Crowns will be yellow, so You'll see how many VPs are on the board at a glance,
•  Vote count: it'll be easy to see which Lords may or may not vote (by matching their Crown with the Family Bases you'll know which player has those votes),
•  Ransom count: it'll be easier to evaluate the ransom for a captive Lord.

It'll be a full and functional system to optimize the game ergonomics and Your game experience. You won't find yourself anymore asking "Oh! But WHERE is the King???".

We plan to unveil the design of the first Stretch Goal of the Series (The x4 Cardinal Hats) and the corrisponding SG target, on Saturday (CET).

Why is it taking so much time to reveal the SG target and design? Had you not planned for this SG in advance?

We had already planned for the next SG to add something to distinguish the Titled Lords from the other Lords. Those were "bases" that you had to put under the Family Bases, called "under bases". We had those ready to show you time ago.

But some time after the campaign started we got a few comments from backers here and on other social media suggesting something to put on top of the Miniatures, just like Crowns, or the such.

We took time to consider and develop the suggestion and, in all honesty, we thought that having Crowns, Hats and Staffs would have been way cooler than having other bases to put under the miniatures. 

We also knew that producing cool Crowns, Hats and Staffs would have been more expensive, so we needed to get in touch with our partner MIMIKIDZ to evaluate the thing. In the end we had to decide if we were to release the next SG as we planned and in time, or to make the SG way better and release it a bit later. 

We went with the latter option, and we hope You all understand why we decided to do so, even if this is taking some time to prepare. In the end we preferred to be late with the good idea instead to be on time with the wrong one.

OK: so when will you unveil the pictures and the target for the next Stretch Goal?

We will show you the first pictures and announce the official target of our next SG  Saturday, as soon as we are ready with all the needed info.

By now, for sure we know that these cool elements await our Titled Lords Miniatures - and are to be unlocked as SGs sequentially - as  follows:

• Cardinal Hats (x4),
• Bishop Staffs (x5),
• FIEF Titles Crowns (x8),
• King, Pope, Queen, Prince Crowns (x4).

We are confident you will love the addition of these elements to our campaign and Your Miniatures' Set.

Onward we go towards Victory.

Signed, The Fief Lords.