Production and shipment
- Vincent Verhoeven
- Jul 24
- 4 min read
PRODUCTION
At the end of June, production miniatures were finalized and dispatched. The RPG Guild provided the following images prior to packaging and shipping.
During the first three weeks of July, I was on a round trip vacation with my family in Switzerland. The boxes had to wait to be opened and were first checked this week. Upon examining five samples of each miniature box type, they all appeared to be of high quality and fit perfectly in the box. For some boxes, you need to gently pull several miniatures with a little force when removing them for the first time, especially the penguin astronaut character with his jetpack. The Chinese Jianji instrument also requires gentle pulling by swinging it left to right several times when taking it out for the first time.
The pillars on the lid act as safety stops to prevent the individual pieces from scattering throughout the box. Once you decide to paint the miniatures, you might consider adding adhesive silicone or felt furniture pads to the tops of the pillars.
The handheld instruments are provided with the astronomer characters to prevent awkward poses if the instruments wouldn't have been included. This also allows for the instruments to be excluded in gameplay contexts or used as accessories by other characters during play. These included instruments differ from the instrument set because they are designed with pins to fit their specific original character.
I have successfully tested the box fit for the painted versions. However, I have determined that adding extra cushioning on the lid, alongside the existing silicone and felt on the pillars, is essential to keep the painted layers undamaged during transport. I also recommend applying a protective layer to the wells, either by filling or spraying them. There is plenty of additional space above, which is why cushioning on the lid is necessary.
A small problem could occur if you choose to glue the handheld instruments for painting. I recommend against this, as I have supplied pins for that purpose. Nonetheless, as illustrated in the image below, the three characters with these instruments still fit inside the box. The penguin Sphen Easydive must be turned to the right to allow the lid to close correctly. Interestingly, it worked when Sphen was positioned on his side.
The game's pre-production phase is now complete. Ann from Unicool in Shenzhen, China, sent me some pictures of the PPC. It's currently being shipped to Belgium as I write this blog. By the last week of July, I should receive it for a final review before adding the general box insert. This will include final text checks and updating the pictures on the back of the box in the rulebook. Additionally, I need to decide whether to include the specially designed token trays with transparent lids.
The token trays were an additional task I had to manage during my trip to Switzerland. They are essential for offering a player-friendly setup service. During playtests, many found it unpleasant to empty multiple zip lock bags and sort all the tokens by stage and continent type. Thus, I am very pleased to see these trays being developed just in time.
In addition to the numerous detailed upgrades on cards, punch board tokens, and playboards, I would like to highlight the additional effort put into adding background information to the Rulebook and various contextual references in the Reference Book. Moreover, I chose to increase the number of cheatsheets from 4 to 7, allowing for a personal overview for each continent, complete with character background details to enhance player immersion.
Here, you can access the new player sheets featuring continent references, with the first image showing the general overview on the back.
SHIPMENT
The shipment of miniatures and game boxes is scheduled for September. A large portion of the game boxes will be transported by cargo ship in a container, while a smaller portion will be shipped by air for pre-orders and sales at Spiel. An even smaller portion will remain in China for orders to Asia and the Oceanic regions.
The prices on this website's webshop will change next week from pre-order prices to retail prices, starting with the price of the miniatures.
Those who pre-ordered will receive their games first, followed by Spiel visitors, with regular online sales occurring after the Spiel event.
SPIEL 2026
We'll be at Spiel in the same location as last year, Booth 4A115. We'll be showcasing the published version of the game, selling the final limited miniatures from the first print, and offering the game for purchase at a convention for the first time!
FUTURE
In the future, I intend to create the essential planet expansion for AstroNavigators, called Philosopher's Orrery. This module was originally part of the game's initial concept, but based on new insights as a publisher, it was wiser to delay its release and first improve the quality of the base game.
To complete the initial project idea, I will be working with RPG Guild to add the rocket miniature box as mentioned in the previous blog. It will include the rockets and command-lander modules by McDowall Designs.
The Sol Ange playable character will appear at some point, along with another mini expansion.
In conclusion, I'd like to highlight my other project as a game designer. In earlier blogs, I've talked about developing a cyberpunk gunfu dungeon crawler and a deckbuilder co-op/manyVSall game. I'm working with Rixt Heershop to design AI characters (note: not AI art!) in human bodies, aiming to ensure their survival after being cut off from the global network system and facing the threat of EMP bombardment.
Martial arts in three distinct gravity environments—on Earth, in space, and on the moon—will enhance your experience as you learn to fight using human body mechanics to withstand human envy, fear, and hatred.
Here you can see some prototype work on Phoenix Fire while unveiling 3 characters. No names yet. We are developing a fourth character. A playable prototype version is planned for Spiel 2027.
As always, at astra!
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