Production Update Eleven-point-Five: More on prototypes!

This last weekend was incredibly busy for me. On Friday night, I attended DenHac's game night, and joined their membership. They're a great non-profit organization, and an even better group of people. Check them out! We created the very first attempt at a larger board. I was, admittedly, a wee bit inebriated, and failed to properly scale everything. The resultant board made the most unstable small ones feel totally solid. We also played a great game of Monopoly. After my Friday night fun (which ended early Saturday) I worked at MSU Denver's open house. It was totally unrelated to production, but I managed to show off the board to one of my professors. Then, I headed to Enchanted Grounds coffee shop and game store. They reserved a table just for me! I felt special. I got to teach a few people, and play through two games. I even received some invaluable feedback. Sunday was a quieter day for me, thankfully. I just took those pictures of marbles and worked on homework. Then, on Monday, after a morning in the school library researching Native American mathematics, I decided to visit the Club Workshop. I took their Epilog laser safety class, and got to work on prototypes for a few hours. Hence, yesterdays' exhausted post.

So, I'm sure with all this talk of prototyping and redesigning, people are starting to wonder exactly what they'll be getting. I still need to figure out more details, honestly, but I do have a really solid main design. For everyone who's pledged for a tier including a Delta V board, you'll be getting one with clear acrylic panels. I've budgeted these carefully, and plan to have them produced by a professional shop.

The design current backers will receive. 1/8" supports with 1/16" panels.

The 'smudginess' in the photo above is a flaw unique to that copy- you'll get something nice and clean. I've been assuming these acrylic boards would be the largest quantity selected, which guided many of my decisions. But, I've realized that many people like the all-wood design, too.

From left to right: 3/32" acrylic, 1/8" MDF, 1/4" acrylic, 1/8" acrylic

Clockwise from bottom right: The current design, in 1/16" acrylic, the current design in 3/32" acrylic, in 1/8" MDF, and in 1/8" fluorescent green acrylic.

I could make boards out of many different materials. But, more variety in material brings up the cost a lot. So, I'm compromising. I've modified "The Pragmatist" tier. Now, for $15, you get the wood board with two fleets, instead of the acrylic board and no fleets. I'm really excited about this change, because I've heard a lot of comments appreciating the wood design. And, you may substitute an acrylic board from a higher level tier for the wood board with two additional fleets! But that's not all...

 

This 1/4" acrylic takes three passes to cut. But damn! Just look at it!

For twenty people, I'm willing to spend the time cutting the 1/4" materials myself. It takes a long time, but the result is stellar- no pun! For a $100 pledge, you'll receive two boards- one heavyweight, one wood, and all the trappings of the Star Warrior. This tier is for those who really want to see Delta V take off, and maybe even pass their well-worn boards on to grandchildren.

Thanks again, to everyone making this possible.