BackerKits are on their way!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Dec 02, 2022 at 12:00:02 AM

BackerKits are on their way!

Thank you again for your patience! 

The initial "smoke tests" have been completed successfully, so rest of the backers should be receiving your BackerKit survey emails soon. This will allow you to update your address and complete your order details, as well as to pick up any add-ons you've had your eye on, including any Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader expansions, and other DVG titles.

Please note that it can take up to 48 hours for BackerKit to finish sending out all its emails. After that point, if you did not receive your survey email, please verify that the email account you're checking is the same email which you used to pledge for Kickstarter, as well as checking in your email account's Spam folder. 

We'd like to encourage you to complete the survey as soon as possible. DVG usually closes the BackerKit to process shipping and add-on payments a few weeks before the completed products ship from the factory. This is up to the factory's production schedule, so we can't give a definite date - but the pledge manager should be open until at least early 2023. You will be advised at least a week before BackerKit closes.

If you have friends who missed the KS, they’ll be able to pre-order Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader when the BackerKit is launched, along with other DVG titles. BackerKit pre-orders will be fulfilled together with the Kickstarter pledges. 

Please let us know if you have any questions or run into any issues with BackerKit by reaching out at [email protected]. (But don't leave support questions in the Comments or on social media, as DVG cannot open and check your pledge details from there.)

In the spirit of the season, we'll leave you here with a familiar yet rotund character from the Experimental Aircraft expansion, the ASF-14 Super Turkey... um, Tomcat. 

More to follow. We can't wait to get these games into your hands. 

Phil, Doug and Ben, Co-Designers

BackerKit update and a touch of gratitude
over 1 year ago – Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 08:14:07 PM

BackerKit update and a touch of gratitude

Thank you for your patience.

We were hoping to have some good news this week on the BackerKit pledge manager and getting the surveys ready to be sent out. Unfortunately our project is still under review by BackerKit, hence the delay - but we expect this to be complete any day now.

Once BackerKit have completed their review, we will start sending out the surveys. The pledge manager begins by sending surveys to a small, random number of backers (5%) to "smoke test" that everything is working fine, and if all is well, the rest of the surveys will be sent to everyone else. 

We will send out another update when this happens, with more details on how to use BackerKit.

At this time of year, we are grateful for the players and backers who have supported our game thus far. Thank you for your generosity, your patience, your curiosity and your faith, and for sharing this journey of game creation with us.

Not forgetting, our heartfelt gratitude to everyone on the Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader design teams - the artists, the expansion designers, the technical and historical consultants - for their peerless efforts in helping to bring this game to life.

And of course, at DVG HQ, our appreciation to Dan and Kevin for taking a chance on Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader, and to Dennis for his amazing support thus far.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Ben, Phil and Doug, Co-Designers

Things are starting to take off!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 01:13:11 AM

Just a quick update on several things. 

First, the BackerKit pledge manager.  It is almost ready, and we are planning to launch it next week. When that happens, the BackerKit survey emails will start going out to our Kickstarter backers - a small initial batch to "smoke test" that it has been set up correctly, then the remaining emails out to everyone else. 

Once BackerKit is up, backers can upgrade their pledge levels or add other items to their pledges. Anyone who missed the Kickstarter campaign will also be able to pre-order the games and expansions.

Game-wise, development work continues unabated. We are writing out the rulebooks, fine-tuning and testing ordnance and aircraft "builds" for the expansions, and getting the rest of the aircraft artwork completed. There are also a number of rules clarifications which we are working through.

Until then, here's a glimpse at what the covers of Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader might have looked like, if they had been created at the time. The 80s was after all a decade of chrome, neon and mirrorshades. Yeah. 

Thank you again for your support!

Doug, Phil and Ben, Co-Designers

Thank you for your incredible support!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2022 at 06:26:24 PM

What an awesome conclusion to this campaign! 

First, we are deeply grateful to everyone who backed Eagle Leader, Fulcrum Leader, or both, at any level. Thank you so much for your confidence and faith in this project. We know that you will enjoy the games.

Like you, the distinctive aesthetic and vibe of the 80s still resonates greatly for us. On both sides of the Berlin Wall, each coalition saw the other as an ideological menace and a threat to their way of life, and their armed forces were poised to step up when the call of duty beckoned. These games are the story of "what if" indeed things had turned out differently.

For the last 16 months, it has been a great pleasure to research and develop these games, together with our amazing team of artists, researchers, consultants and co-designers whose contributions have been integral and exceptional. This has been a truly collaborative effort in every sense of the word.

There are probably some questions that many of you may have, now that the Kickstarter is over. We have a short FAQ below which explains a few things.

In the meantime, we will leave you with this synthwave music video with scenes from the anime Future War 198X and music track Bolt by Carbon Killer. The original anime is virtually impossible to find (and only received a release in the English-speaking world in Australia), but it was a Tom Clancy-esque technothriller concept with a JGSDF retired flag officer as a consulting writer.

Thank you again for supporting Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader! See you soon in the unfriendly skies!

Phil, Ben and Doug, Co-Designers

Post-Kickstarter FAQs

Q: What is the BackerKit survey?

A: This is a post-Kickstarter pledge management system, like an online shopping cart, which does two things:

• To collect shipping payments and addresses for all our backers, in order to send their reward items.
• To provide backers with the ability to select the add-on items they've pledged up front, as well as to add other items to their order.

Q: What can I add or update to my pledge in the BackerKit?

A: You can add extra copies of Eagle Leader and Fulcrum Leader and their expansions (including the Far East Expansion), as well as other DVG game titles which are currently in stock. ALL-IN Backers, of course, will be receiving the Far East expansions for free - this will be automatically added to your pledges.

Q: When will the BackerKit surveys be going out?

A: The survey emails will go out in a few weeks once DVG gets it set up. They will go to the email address you have registered with your Kickstarter account. We'll send you another update informing you just before they are sent out, but be aware that BackerKit can take up to 48 hours to process all the outgoing emails. After that point, if you still have not received something, please check your spam folder, and check that the email you registered on Kickstarter is the email account you're using.

Q: How long will I have to complete my survey?

A: Our goal is to get as many surveys completed as possible, and we usually close the BackerKit to process any shipping and add-on payments a few weeks before the completed product ships from the factory. You will be advised of this at least a week before BackerKit closes.

Q: Whom can I contact if I have questions, requests, or issues with my order?

A: If you have questions about your order please go to the main page of our Kickstarter, click on Dan Verssen Games in the Created By section at the top right of the main image, and then click the blue Contact Me button to send us a direct message via Kickstarter. Please don't leave your questions in the Comments section or on social media, as DVG cannot open your order or check your details from there. Please ensure that you have entered the current, correct address - that is your responsibility, especially if you are going to move or set up mail forwarding. 

Final Stretch Goal: TWO Far East Expansions!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2022 at 01:58:35 AM

Final Stretch Goal: $105,000 for Far East Expansions!

Backers of the ALL-IN Pledges will freely get two Far East Expansions: a Japan expansion for Eagle Leader, and a Chinese expansion for Fulcrum Leader, if we break the $105,000 mark!

This means that ALL-IN Backers will score nearly 50% savings (MSRP $830 for $425).

Let's smash this goal and get the Far East into the Leader games! May you live in interesting times!