The "Season 0" resolution...
over 6 years ago – Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 12:08:42 AM

Thanks to all 529 of you who voted in our poll to discuss whether Season 0 was a good-enough name for the opening draftable cards, or whether there was a better name out there!

The response was quite definitive.

Almost two-thirds of you preferred a different name! Well, that's pretty definitive. But what should we call it?

(Note: this screenshot was edited slightly for clarity.)

Here were the top 5 alternatives. As you can see, "Pilot Season" ran away with it, collecting over four times the number of votes of the second-place suggestion, "Public Access."

I mentioned before that this was a non-binding vote. But right now, I see no reason to not rename Season Zero to Pilot Season. The biggest argument against it is that it's a bit athematic, as shows have pilot seasons, and new networks kind of don't. But this margin of victory tells me that it's not an important distinction. "Pilot Season" feels right to a ton of people, so that's what I'm leaning towards.

I know some people feel very strongly about "Season 0," and I appreciate your enthusiasm about it! So let's move onto the next question...

Let's talk about a hypothetical aftermarket product...

You've probably noticed that there's a new cottage sub-industry of companies who make inserts and player aids that you can buy and stick in some of your games. Terraforming Mars in particular has a bunch of third-party solutions that solve the issue of your cubes getting bumped from the table.

@Lee brought something like this up on the comment thread, which is interesting, because I've been pursuing such a deal for a few months now!

The following here is HYPOTHETICAL. I've put that word in bold, caps, and italics to make sure you're paying attention. :) The below does not construe any sort of promise or guarantee. So while I'd like your input here, I CANNOT promise that anything that we will discuss will actually come to be.

Now that we've got that disclaimer out of the way...

Let's say a company was making an aftermarket kit for The Networks. What would you like to see in it? Frames for your Shows, with boxes to put the timing cubes so they won't get bumped? Frames to put around your player board, to clearly delineate where your shows, stars, and ads go? Anything else you'd like?

This won't be a formal poll like last time. It's just going to be an informal conversation. So comment below! 

Again, I can't make any guarantees, but I want to know what will best help you.

Thanks everyone! Onward to $90K!

$80K down!
over 6 years ago – Mon, Sep 11, 2017 at 10:53:39 PM

We're part of the way towards having even nicer bits! You folks have unlocked the TV scoring markers, which are going to look amazing. So now it's onto the $90K goal...

These are turn order markers that will look like little remote controls.  

The images above are just mockups; they will not necessarily look exactly like that, but it's the spirit of what we want!

And take a look at the campaign page at the newly-announced $100K stretch goal...

Still time to vote!

I'm going to close the poll for the "Season 0" question tomorrow. Details are in my update from September 7. Let me know what you think of the name "Season 0," and if you think it can be improved. And thank you to everyone who's already voted and commented!

$70K goal unlocked!
over 6 years ago – Sat, Sep 09, 2017 at 12:09:04 AM

We're at $70K! So we're going to get logos for each Executive that will look better than just a plain old signature. I'll show you examples as Heiko works through them.

I'm really excited about the $80K stretch goal...

At $80K, I'll provide replacement scoring markers in all colors that will replace the squares that came in the base game. These scoring markers will look like cute little TVs! And they'll still stack nicely like the original discs.

Note that the image above is just a mockup; they will not necessarily look exactly like that, but it's the spirit of what we want!

Plenty more to come!

I want to put stuff here, but everything I want to discuss is still in progress. So as a placeholder, please enjoy this photo of my ferret Trillian that my sitter took earlier this year...

 Next update when we hit $80K!

Both stretch goal Executives unlocked! And a question for you...
over 6 years ago – Thu, Sep 07, 2017 at 11:04:37 PM

Gorilla and Continuum are ours! We have officially unlocked the two stretch goal Executives. All backers will now receive 14 Executives, instead of the 12 that come in the base game. Thank you everyone!

What's the next stretch goal?

At $70,000, we will give each Network Executive its own logo! This will make them easier to distinguish from one another.

I have a signature up there, but they won't necessarily look like signatures. Rich may have their name written in diamonds, Butcher will be sharp and maybe drip something red, and so on. It's going to look cool!

A question for you all

So we have these "Season 0" cards. These are Shows you draft that will replace the starting shows in the base game. I like that name, because it clearly indicates that these are Shows that go before Season 1.

But I know a few people who aren't crazy about that name, so I'm curious to ask all of you. What do you think? Is "Season 0" a good name? Should it be "Season Zero?" "Pilot Season?" "Season Awful?" Something else?

I've set up a very tiny poll so I can get a good idea of what you all think. If you have an opinion either way, please let me know. It's got one mandatory question with one optional follow-up question depending on how you vote, so it shouldn't take you more than a few seconds to participate.

Note that this poll is non-binding, and I may not necessarily go with the most popular option, but the general consensus will inform my decision. Your voice will help me decide, so vote now, and please comment below if you have any other thoughts. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

I'll close the poll next Tuesday morning, my time. Thanks everyone!

$40K stretch goal clear... clear as plastic cubes!
over 6 years ago – Tue, Sep 05, 2017 at 10:24:42 PM

One quick programming note: this is the third update of the day. I normally don't post this many updates, so count on the number of updates to thin out over the next few days. I will usually post once every 2-3 days.

But I had to post something, because we just obliterated our first stretch goal. And it hasn't even been 12 hours!

At $40K, we unlocked clear plastic cubes. I've noticed players like to put their timing cubes directly over the number of viewers they're getting that season, in case they have a show on at the wrong time slot. Transparent cubes will make that a lot easier!

I hope to send out only one update tomorrow at most, so here are the next two stretch goals. They're both very cool.

Meet the Gorilla! At $50,000, all backers pledging $29 and up will receive a 13th Network Executive.

This character is the 800-pound gorilla. When playing, you will get extra money at the start of each Season ($2M per player in the game), and extra Viewers at the end of the game (1 Viewer per player in the game). The downside? You go last every Season, regardless of your score. Quite a challenge!

Meet Continuum! At $60,000, all backers pledging $29 and up will receive a 14th Network Executive.

This character is a time traveler! Once per Season, you may spend money to run your time machine to take two actions on your turn. If you don't do that during the Season, you may run it at the end of the Season to consider one of your Shows as being in its proper time slot.

When you run your time machine, you'll take an Anomaly card and put it on top of the Star Deck. Any player who gets that card, either through drawing from the top of the Star Deck, or in the following Season, when the card becomes one of the Stars available to Sign, puts it in their Green Room. You can spend an Anomaly to get two actions on your turn.

(I have to confess, Continuum is one of my favorite executives in the whole game.)

That's about it from here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Today was incredible, and I'm looking forward to seeing how far we go tomorrow. Join me in the main project comment thread as this campaign keeps growing!