Urban Battlefields Kickstarter closing with beautiful Unlocks!

Didn't you always wished for a Harbour in your City? We just unlocked them!

Only a few days are left before our Urban Tiles Kickstarter ends - so this is your last chance to join, and claim some of the most extraordinary urban terrain you will ever see!

The Kickstarter Urban Terrain Campaign has unlocked a series of new designs as Stretch Goals,all even more innovative and good-looking. We want to show you some prototype pictures of these new urban tiles, so you can judge for yourself.

City Harbour Tiles

I'll start with the most impressive unlock, the ability to recreate a city harbour. The Stretch Goal actually unlocked two (2) specific Harbour Tile designs. Both represent linear harbour pieces: the first is a regular Pier and the other a "Stepped" Pier. They are raised pieces, the "urban" side of the tile at a full height of 4cm. The dock side occupies half the tile, and midway (at 15cm) it drops to water level (1mm). Since our regular urban tile's height is at 1cm, there is a 3cm height difference meant to emphasise the vertical docks. You can "join" the harbour tiles with your regular tiles just by adding some of our resin stairs. However, more raised tiles and/or sloped roads (by making use of the Urban Elevation System) will produce more interesting layouts. Harbour tiles can be joined in a row to form a full harbour.

Pier harbour design, Medieval theme

Stepped Pier harbour design, Medieval theme

Going round-round-round...

The second Stretch Goal is a new Tile Design, and a beautiful one at that. You can now choose the Roundabout design for your extra tiles, instead of a more conventional "X"-intersection.

Roundabout junction, "Medieval" Theme

Explosion Damage & Craters

This unlock does not offer you a new tile design per se, but lets you alter the appearance of any (or all) of the tiles you have selected. After the campaign Backers will specify for each tile (or number of tiles in the reward set) whether they want them to "suffer" from battle damage and explosions! The tile will "acquire" 2 different sized artillery craters and debris.

Battle damaged look on a Straight road, "Modern" themed, 7cm street

And there are even more Stretch Goals unlocked, too many to detail here: parking lot tiles, open ground tiles, and -most complex of them all- a full City Canal system!

What are you waiting for? you have only hours left! Join us!

George

Making even better River and Swamp tiles!

It has been a long time between blog posts, but it is for a good cause: fulfilling orders! In this update I wanted to share our beautiful Swamp add-on, as well as our improved method on River tiles.

New 6'x4' Sets avaialble for preorder in the eshop

While you are visiting the eshop, check out the new, more affordable 6'x4' Sets we introduced!

The new, impressive 6'x4' River Crossing table! 

All you need in a 6'x4' table: 5 Hills, 2 forests, 2 crops, a long road -
and at what a price! The new Standard 6x4 set

Swamp Power!

Check a finished version Pedion's resin Swamp add-on for the Pond tile, although it can easily be used as stand alone! I'm really happy with the liquid mud result.

The resin prepainted Swamp add-on for the full pond tile

Changing the look of your Pond

Production Improvements

It took some time, and some delay on river tile sets, but I think we nailed it in greatly improving the production method of river tiles. We designed precision molds where we cast only the river side parts of the river in resin. Then the rest of the tile is composed by regular tile parts, ie polystyrene, and it is based on PVC bases. The challenge was on creating 0.5mm  precise resin parts and also deciding on a valid compound material to attach resin and polystyrene while preserving elasticity. After much trial and error, our first v2.0 river tiles are on their way :) The new method requires less resin, allowing for 3x faster casting time, and as a side effect it produces more lightweight and less fragile tiles. So, we will now be producing sets even faster!

the new, multi-part method for river tiles

It allows for a huge number of river tiles produces in 3 or 4 castings

The final product is identical to our resin tiles

This was not our only improvement; I was not 100% happy with the behavior of PVC glue and the grass mat covering of tiles in the face of extreme humidity. People were noticing a wrapping effect on tile edges (although it was easily mended by putting on some weight). After trying and rejecting a myriad of solutions, we finally nailed it by selecting a gluing agent devoid of water: low expansion polyurethane. This is a demanding procedure, which does not "forgive" misplacement like regular glues do, but now you will be getting even better Green Spring tiles.

E-shop open for business - take advantage of the low British Pound rates!

Although we are very close on creating a stock of basic 3x3 and 4x4 core sets to sell on retail, we will also take preorders as usual with a 2-month waiting time to deliver.

This is a great chance for everyone of you interested in expanding your collection in our regular prices. And, for non-UK residents, it is a great time to take advantage of the extremely low GBP conversion rates and save 20% or more.

It has been an ...interesting June.

Good gaming all!

George

Journal #11 - Last chance to pre-order Pedion!

Hello All!  I tried to take a couple of days off amidst the Greek summer heat. But now it's time for some Pedion Terrain news!

Only TWO DAYS LEFT to Pre-Order!

Get your terrain at http://pedion.ecwid.com/

I have to start with the more urgent business: in case you are already a backer and wanted to add some more things on your pledge right now, or you like Pedion Battlefields and missed the Kickstarter, there are only two days left on the pre-order extension through the eshop.

After the 21st of August 2015, I'll bring the pre-orders down and focus on producing the orders I have gathered so far (lots of backers have send their spreadsheets). Also, I have to prepare the final Pledge Management, which will probably go live on mid-September, and for which I was thinking of using the eshop interface instead of solution like Backerkit.

...and the Production is On!

Most materials are already in house and we have started preparing, gluing and painting the tile bases in mass quantities.

Lots of people asked about the narrow seam showing between the tiles, which is mostly created from the protruding 1mm magnets. So I improved the base tile design by creating depression into the tile sides to socket the magnets.

The small alcoves are created en mass and then the whole column of 200 tiles is spray painted with the base side tile colour depending on the theme: deep green for Spring grass, sand yellow for desert, light grey for snow etc.

About a hundred Spring Green tiles mass painted on the sides; notice the small alcoves for inserting the magnets

The only hiccup so far is a small delay on magnet delivery. Magnets are the only part that we import, from the UK; but the latest batch was designated as unfit for air mail by the UK customs (?!) and is transferred by ground mail, so I expect them to arrive during this week.

Check the impressive SciFi Modular Pedion PrintTiles

Though it does not regard the Modular Battlefields per se, this is Pedion related and we are very proud of it!

Pedion PrintTiles, our innovative modular gaming mat system, was used to form 4'x4' tables to exhibit the new HALO Fleet Battles game at Claymore 2015. The base 3x3 board was expanded with extra planet- and nebula-themed tiles (something you could not have done with traditional mats).
On top you will see the beautiful 3D terrain pieces like Asteroids and Gas Clouds from Dave and Anne Yeomans, and of course the new Halo miniatures!

Also, for the RPG buffs among you, check our modular Stone Floor 1" square grid PrintTiles in 4x4 layout:

Don't forget that you can already order the PrintTiles from our eshop!

So, enjoy the rest of your summer, tell your friends to pre-order, and -of course- good gaming!
George

Journal #10 - the post-Kickstarter Effect, and how you can still pre-order!

Wow. What An Adventure!
It took me some time to return to this blog - and this was due to the many things to be done after the end of Kickstarter . Also, I guess that you may have already seen that the Kickstarter Campaign was a huge success: 267% Funded, 185 Backers, all Stretch Goals unlocked! However, I would like to express some of the things I felt, and give you a glimpse in what is happening in Pedion-verse.

A dream come true

Pedion was never an "arts and crafts" project; from the first moment I dared to hope that lots of people may be interested in trying my idea for a battlefield terrain system. I commenced the Kickstarter campaign with a relatively modest goal, representing a production level of multiple terrain boards. The original goal would allow me to be sure that there was something worth going after. But the final sum, over 35K British pounds, is a different level all-together. It represents a dream I did not dare speak aloud: that Pedion can actually enter the market and stay for a long while. And I cannot express my gratitude and joy that people are giving me this chance.
My wonderful backers helped make true a dream, and I feel humbled from their trust and support, as well as from the responsibility this entails.

Also, people may have notices that I was (and am) a very active Kickstarter backer. But the thrill and the community feeling when you are the creator has stunned me; I feel I have made friendships that will last the rest of my natural life, and all because of this...

Missed the Kickstarter? You can still pre-order through PayPal till the 21st of August

Lots of people got to our campaign late, or not in time at all, and have asked for a chance to pre-order a Pedion set. Though the ability to add things will be available on the final Pledge Management system, I took the time and installed a full pre-order service running on our e-shop. Not every option you have had during Kickstarter is there yet, but I'll try and include as many as possible.

You can still be a Kickstarter backer, through PayPal or Wire Transfer, at http://pedion.ecwid.com

There you can choose rewards, add-ons and upgrades in the same prices and spirit as if the Kickstarter campaign was still on, and you just add them to your order, paying by PayPal. This will be available only for a limited time, only until the 21st of August 2015, since we must close all orders and start final production. Therefore, in case you want to add something or upgrade your rewards, try http://pedion.ecwid.com/

The pre-order system is not meant to substitute the Kickstarter; its purpose is for any last minute add-ons, or for people who missed the Kickstarter for a few days. There is also another purpose for it: the recent troubles of capital controls in Greece did not allow any of our Greek backers to pay (their credit cards were locked for buying abroad). But things are looking good now, and I wanted to give  people in Greece the chance to finally pledge by wire tranfer. However, I have to be fair to the original backers, so it is less than a month left for pre-orders to stop.

And the real work starts

We did not take any days off after the Kickstarter ended, so the project is already underway. Right now we are transferring materials and equipment to the production site. New equipment is being ordered and employees' selection is finalized. The last two weeks we are conducting a full renovation on the 75 sq.m. (750 sq.ft.) space that will act as our main production workshop - flooring, wall selves, work benches, tools, appliances are now in place. On the same time, the first materials are pouring in, like polystyrene, magnets and model trees. Though not very complimenting, here are two snapshots of two of the rooms with workbenches:

Can you see those bags of model trees on the high self?

We also installed a professional air-pump for two-person simultaneous spray painting. For the modelers among you, think "airbrush" but for mass production. So I had to carry the monster below for two floors to faster and better basecoat the tiles :)

Wouldn't you love such an airbrush?

On the same time, I am setting-up the production procedures. In reference to the preliminary order spreadsheets I am getting from the backers, I'll check the feasibility of mold methods again, and start designing them.

Pedion at Claymore 2015

For those of you planning to visit Scotland's premier wargaming event in Edinburgh next weekend, there will be some Pedion presence! There will not be an actual booth; I am too busy setting up things here. However, we have the pleasure of providing a huge (12'x4') Space Gaming Mat (modular of course!) to no other space fleet battle than the one demonstrating the latest SciFi Wargame, HALO! Yes, the new, exciting game from Spartan in the Halo Universe, called HALO Fleet Battles, will be exhibited in Claymore, and we will be providing the scifi PrintTiles for the epic board.

Check it out, and have a chat with +David Yeomans, who will be providing the excellent terrain like asteroids and Gas clouds. In case you have not seen out PrintTiles, you can check them out here: https://pedion.ecwid.com/#!/Pedion-PrintTiles/c/13054089/offset=0&sort=normal

As you can see, everything is moving along! So have a great summer, and a wonderful GenCon (for those attending it!). Good gaming all!

George

Journal #9 - or, Announcing the Kickstarter; Pedion is spreading its wings

This will be a short post, written to mark the end of a phase; and to introduce a tentative start into Pedion's full potential. All the previous blog posts were about the design of a modular terrain, how I would like it to work, and on the prototypes to test my principles. Now, it is time for the next step, as many among you reading these pages have wondered "They are nice - is there any way to get my own?".

So, without further ado, I am proud to announce that I will attempt to crowdfund Pedion with a KickStarter Campaign. The Campaign will start on Wednesday, 27th of May 2015, if everything goes according to schedule. Yes, that's next week, only a few days away. So mark your calendars, as this is a chance to pre-order complete Pedion Battlefield Set at a reduced price.
Do you want to learn about the campaign launch the moment it happens? You can go to thie Prefundia page and enter your email to the field box at the top - you will get an email when we launch, and you will have the chance to get some of those limited Early Bird packages available!
Also, the Prefundia page gives a summary of the Campaign and its Rewards, in case you want to freshen up your Pedion info, or you want to share the project with your gamer buddies who may be interested.

Why the Kickstarter?

Pedion started as a homemade project, but I believe it has the potential to reach gamers worldwide – and that’s what the Kickstarter is for. This campaign is for mass producing and making Pedion Battlefield Sets commercially available.

The modular system has already undergone extensive design and prototyping. However, the tiles are still mostly handmade, although much of the development process is standardized and the bases are machine-cut. By this Kickstarter campaign, I aim to:
a) determine if there is actually a "market" for pre-painted modular, expandable terrain,
b)  to expand Pedion by designing more prototypes, ground covers and magnetic features, and
c) -main reason- acquire an initial sum in order to invest into mass-production solutions, namely molds, resin and matrices.

But crowdfunding is not the only adventure that Pedion will partake in...

Going to UK GAMES EXPO 2015!

This is another big step - we are leaving the comfort zone of Greece to bring Pedion straight to the gamers! This years' UK Games Expo will be held in Birmingham, UK, from the 29th to the 31st of May. And Pedion will have a small stand in Library Suite, number L17, with many prototypes for all of you to see. Check more about the Exhibition and the Trade Hall plans here.

The Exhibition will take place the same period with the Kickstarter. So if you are wondering whether Pedion is really as good as it looks, come by - and perhaps you will even get a small gift as a thank you! However, if you wait until the EXPO to make up your mind, those Early Birds may fly away...

And the Pedion Webstore is Live!

Last but not least, for those of you not interested in 3D terrain but would be fine with game mats, you will be happy to know that our webstore is live. Only a few products are available right away, but they all implement the Pedion principle of modular battlefields.
So if you want to know more about our PrintTiles, the awesome (and affordable) Gaming Mats for Space Battles and RPGs, or the economy and realistic FoamGrass tiles, check the webstore through Facebook or straight at http://pedion.ecwid.com/

As you can see this is a busy time for Pedion - all we ask is that you help us spread those wings.

Good Gaming,
George