Good day! I want to start by saying that your comments are being read, even if we don't respond to them right away. Some issues are better addressed globally through these updates, and other issues are better addressed through support.

For instance, if you are having trouble with your order - whether you are still waiting on a wave 1/2 product in a region that should be fully delivered, or you need to change your address, or you'd like a refund - you are, of course, more than welcome to post about it in the comments, but you should also contact [email protected] for resolution.

As we reach the end of fulfillment and mark regions as complete, we do see an increased volume in support tickets and our response time does go down, but our support staff has been working extra hours to get caught back up, so we ask for your patience as we get everything resolved.

As stated last time, US, CA, AU, NZ, and UK have all completed wave 1/2 fulfillment, so I don't need to continue updating you there.

EU: The container of envelope X arrived last Thursday and orders were then able to get shipped out. This process is still ongoing, but should be concluded by the end of this week at the latest. I will update this space when we have word from the fulfillment center when they are finished. Everything else has been completed here, so if you are still waiting on an order that does not include envelope X, then something has gone wrong and you should reach out to [email protected].

Brazil: All backers that responded to us with their CPF info have had their items shipped out, but a handful still have not gotten back to us, and we can't ship without it. So if you haven't responded with your CPF number, please do so immediately. We will also be sending out another reminder email soon.

Asia: Fulfillment continues here with no changes from last time. You can track the progress of your region here: https://vfi.asia/hubs/ (The project is listed under Frosthaven.)

Work is going well on finishing up art and graphic design at this point. We're still on track to have all art in by the end of the month and graphic design done by the end of next month.

What we thought we'd do in the meantime is spotlight one of the artists working on the project (and he was also the principal artist on Buttons & Bugs). So here is...

The development of Buttons & Bugs challenged the art and graphic design team to introduce a sense of whimsy to the World of Gloomhaven – A place traditionally expressed with a visual language influenced by high fantasy and grounded in a very real-world color palette. It became clear that this game would benefit from a distinct treatment by way of brighter colors and simplified character design for easier viewing at this unprecedented (for us!) small scale. 

It just so happens that Mofei Wang is an expert at this! 

A: My name is Mofei Wang, an illustrator and concept artist based in Australia. I've been working in the game industry for several years. I studied the arts from a very young age. After I went to university, I started to learn artistic design and landscape architecture. After graduation, I worked as a landscape architect for a while but still found myself more interested in illustration and art. So, that is how it began.

A: Back in 2019, at the beginning of my illustrator career, I received a commission to create several landscape and cityscape illustrations for a custom D&D campaign. That was not an industry-level job, but it was my first paid illustration project as an illustrator. My first board game project was creating card illustrations for the game called Viking Raiders, which Neowulf Games published.

A: My favorite class by far is the Tinkerer. I've always love to play support roles—keeping my team in top shape with buffs, gadgets, and potions. What more could I ask for? It's like being the mastermind behind a perfect symphony of victory!

A: Well, besides doing art, I guess gaming is another big hobby for me. I love games not just for the gameplay itself, but for the unique opportunities they provide to experience different worlds, roles, and experiences that may be impossible in reality. Games are not only the reason for me to decide to develop a career in arts but also continually inspire and fuel my artistic creativity.

A: Once inspiration strikes, I write down a few keywords related to my idea. From there, I search for many references or just inspired images based on these keywords. This phase is crucial for expanding and refining the initial concept. Once I created a mood board, I began with loose sketches without restricting myself to any particular direction. These sketches could be characters, landscapes, or objects, allowing my imagination to roam freely. This routine consistently expands my mind and fuels the generation of the idea of what I wish to create.

A: I have a deep passion for the fantasy world and history, as well as a profound appreciation for the beauty of nature. These elements consistently inspire me, and I aspire to create based on them.

A: I don't have a particular subject to draw, I love and try to draw everything. But if I had to say, I think I really love to draw animals or humanoids. That's because I love animals, of course, but I also think different animals possess unique beauty and easily exhibit distinct personality traits. As parts of our world, humans and animals offer countless combinations to express beauty and unique perspectives, always providing intriguing ideas.

A: Based on my previous experiences as an artist, I would suggest stepping out of your comfort zone and trying to draw new things. You never know what projects are waiting for you! Keep curious, flow your mind, and don’t forget to always try some new games! 

Working with Mofei has been a pleasure. We hope you’ve enjoyed his vibrant artwork on Buttons & Bugs just as much as we have.  Visit his portfolio at https://www.artstation.com/mofeiw to see more!

The team is still working hard here to get the final chapters done and sent to editing, which will be happening this week. Once that is done we'll be in a much better position to provide an official timeline update. For now, I have last month's designer diary from Danielle to give you more insight into the process:

First, some UKGE news! I spent my time in the vendor hall at our booth running short demo games for folks all weekend. We ran a tiny scenario as a first look at the new rules and how everything works together. I’m pleased to report it was a smashing success. I was able to teach people how to play the game within 15-20 minutes, then we jumped right into the scenario. Some of the players I met were old-hat at Gloomhaven and only needed to hear the differences from the board game, and some people were totally new to Gloomhaven, having never played the board game before. Both groups of people were able to easily pick up the flow of the game and play through the scenario with only a small amount of time taken to remember some smaller “this is a way you can use your abilities.” All in all, I was able to teach the game, introduce a small mission objective, watch as the mercenaries finessed their way into a location, and ran a combat all within an hour and a half.

Some major takeaways from the experience:

These are all very good signs that the game is as good as it can be, and doing everything we wanted it to do. All the playtesting we do in the upcoming weeks will be to identify individual balance or mechanical issues that need tweaking. Which is all extremely normal and on track for where I thought we would be after our changes at Gloomcabin.

Some other highlights from UKGE were meeting so many fans who had backed our campaign and had nothing but glowing things to say about their experiences with the board game. So many people were thrilled to tell me how they couldn’t wait for the RPG to come out so they could get their hands on it. Several people told me that they were looking forward to a quality project, and were unbothered to wait a little longer to ensure it was the best it could possibly be. This is always heartening to hear, because I feel the same way, and I’m dedicated to making the Gloomhaven RPG the best product it can be, and as enjoyable an experience as playing Gloomhaven when it first arrived way back in 2017. I really think we’re making something so good and special, and that kind of product takes time to get true quality. We’re smashing it out of the park right now, and I can’t wait for you all to see it.

Speaking of which, I’ll be attending a lot of conventions this year as we gear up for the RPG’s release. I’ll be at Origins Game Fair in Columbus in the middle of June and at Gencon in Indianapolis at the start of August. I’ll be running games there, and hanging out at the booth, so if you get a chance to stop by and say hello, I’d love to meet you!

That’s it for now. Next month I’ll have another preview to show you.

Just a quick note that some of the team will be out at Origins this weekend. If you are attending, we'd love for you to stop by to check out Buttons & Bugs, the new edition of Gloomhaven, and the RPG. We might even have a little Buttons & Bugs related surprise for you... 

                                                         

So that's all there is for this week. We will be back of course in two weeks to give you more progress updates as we work as hard as we can to get these projects across the finish line. I know it has been a long wait, but we will get there. Until next time!