Faction Highlight: Cin'darian Empire
about 2 years ago – Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 08:36:24 AM

Faction Highlight - Cin'darian Empire

Second faction highlight time! We will get all 6 in before the end of the Kickstarter! Expect #3 and #4 by mid next week!

Faction History

In the north of Bordair sits the Cin’darian Empire. Cin’dar uses its massive fleets, well trained navy, and abundance of natural resources to control the economic and political landscape of the continent. They are well known as the defacto super power of the continent and will often impose "protection" on neighbouring kingdoms and nations whether they ask for it or not. Their naval power is the envy of other nations in Sordane and the influence eminating from Cin'dar's seat of power - Ezdin - is ever growing and immovably strong.

Established as nothing more than a simple farming village nearly ten thousand years ago, Ezdin grew from its humble beginnings into the now undeniable seat of power in all of Bordair through shrewd rulership and perfect utilisation of the natural advantages granted by the resources of Bordair. Ezdin was able to make huge strides in their trading networks, engineering feats and military prowess at a rate incomparable to other cities on the continent. As such, Ezdin is the crowning achievement of the Cin’darian empire

Five thousand years after the founding of Ezdin, during a routine excavation, a sordalite crystal larger than any other found was discovered. It took the better part of a decade to safely claim, refine, and finally transport this gargantuan crystal that was named Liladan’s Heart. During the time of its discovery, many wars and skirmishes emerged due the importance and political implications of this magnificent treasure.

Haggler's Court - Within Ezdin is one of the largest sky ports in Sordane. Serving as the hub for all commerce in the north, Haggler's Court is the centre for merchants, trade, business, and all types of well disguised organized crime.

After many hard-fought wars with their neighbours and even kingdoms from afar, Cin’dar won out and claimed victory, in the end solidifying Cin’dar’s command of Bordair’s economy and political landscape for millenia. Named "Liladan’s Heart", once claimed, the mass wars and territorial disputes that plagued the continent ended all at once and a time of peace was quickly achieved. The Heart stabilized the entirety of Bordair... for a time.

Northern Bordair spans thousands of mile. Cin'dar encompasses nearly the entire upper coastline. Its dominant presence over the continent is most sharply felt by the handful of nations surrounding its boarders. Most of which are allies either through good relations, necessity, or strength of power.

Aesthetics of the Cin'darian Empire

The Cin'darian Empire's main fighting force is the navy, but they have multiple off shoots within their organized structure. The Cin'darian Navy is adorned with their signature emblem - the eagle. Their ships clean cut and efficient. Standardized vessels that every crewman, marine, officer and conscript of the Cin'darian Empire are familiar with.

The Cin'darian Navy has a very well organized military structure. The recruits on the left are known as Sparrows and the veterans on the right are known as Gold Shields. Both often serve time on the ships of the navy. Once enough time is served, they often will be inducted into the ranks of the Crystal Guard.

Purpose in Aldarra

Cin'darians believe themselves to be the custodians of the entire continent of Boardair. As such, when Aldarra was discovered to once again be attainable for reclaimation and conquest, the ruling powers of Cin'dar deemed it their duty to control its lost riches lest it fall into unworthy or destructive hands.

To fully understand how the mechanics work, we recommend you download the rules of Aldarra to have a point of reference for the game assets displayed below.

Game Mechanics

What do the Cin'darian Empire Excel at?

Within the game of Aldarra, the Cin'darian Empire excel at amassing fleets of ships and upgrading them to desired capacity with the discoveries found from their explorations. The power behind this faction lies in its ability to outnumber and out power the fleets of other opponents. Rolling tons of dice for your fleets to hammer your enemies out of strategic positions and gain victory points in the sweetest way possible - destruction of your foes!

Here's a glance at the Cin'darian Empire dashboard! Each dashboard in Aldarra will give you helpful tools to keep the game flowing! The turn / phase order list is particularly helpful for reminding beginner and veteran players alike where they are in the current round!

The Cin'darian Empire get to by pass fleet building restriction limits and delve for the particular ship upgrades they want! They're a fleet building powerhouse. With these powers, the Cin'darian Empire can overpower other enemy fleets and leapfrog victory point deficits by making strong, surprising plays from the strength of their stronghold.

Faction Power - No Stronghold Stacking Limit

As the Cin'darian Empire, you can build ships every management phase without worry for the typical stacking limit of 5 for every player. This allows you to use your Order Tokens action economy to great effect by being able to move more ships than other players from your stronghold.

Stacking limit on your Stronghold is a thing only other factions have to worry about when you play as the Cin'darian Empire

Faction Power - Discovery Draft Ship Upgrades

The second faction power of the Cin'darian Empire is having the ability to forgo selecting a Discovery card from the draft cards and instead select a unit upgrade Dsicovery of your choice from the Discovery deck. This gives the Cin'darian Empire an effective way to play any ship focused strategy given situation of each game!

The Cin'darian Empire can upgrade their ships on a whim to service their desired strategy.

Starting Discovery - Targeting Focus

Targeting Focus is an awesome ability that gives the Cin'darian player the ability to reroll combat dice in the first round of every combat they engage in. This provides a great way to tilt the odds in your favour should your strategic plans not go exactly according to how you planned them!

Have you checked out our last Ask Me Anything?

You can view the last update here

Developer AMA (Ask Me Anything) - Participate!

Have questions about Aldarra and the development process? Why we made decisions we did? Or you're more curious about the world we have built around? If you ask a question in the comments with the following format, we will answer them all in the following AMA update! We will answer any and all questions as well as we can and within reason. We love this game and we want to share with you why!

Question Format (Start with AMA then a dash and then your question):

AMA - What inspired the design of X faction and their playstyle in the game.

That's all for this Faction Highlight! Look for the next one in a couple of days!

Benny and the AM team

Developer Ask Me Anything #1 Update!
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 04:02:44 PM

Hello backers!

Benny here!

Hope you all have been having a wonderful week! We are 2 weeks away from the finish of the kickstarter. We have a lot more stuff coming in the form of updates over the weekend and next week, but for now we have an update focused solely on the Ask Me Anything request we put out over the last couple of days. We got a lot of great questions. I will write out all of the questions below the video!

The video is a little long haha, but Matt and I go into detail on our thoughts about the development of Aldarra and the decisions we made! If there is anything in the video that is out of context that you don't understand from previous projects, please ask questions below and I will get to them!

Thanks everyone. Enjoy the AMA #1. We will do another one next week. Please ask any further questions here or in Discord (Link downbelow)

Questions That Were Asked:

These are the questions we got that you can read to follow along with the AMA! If you have suggestions on the AMA format as well, let us know if we can improve it next time! :)

Tristen Roccaforte

Q - "What is the primary design philosophy behind Aldarra? To be more specific, what inspired you to design it as a 4X game and what do you hope makes it stand out from its contemporaries?"

jarvey

Q - "When you decided that you wanted to make Aldarra game, what was the first thing you did? what was the process for creating the backbone on a game structure such as Aldarra"

brenpeter

Q - "What was you original inspiration for Aldarra and, by extension, Sordane as a whole?"

bushman554

Q - "What is the most similar two games to Aldarra? For example like blank game and blank game had a baby."

Goodmead/Zalcon

Q - "Sometime, in a long distant future, will we ever see the ship minis with alternate propulsion systems like the Skies of Sordane release? (eg. elemental rings)"

jjwpenguin

Q - "Will we ever see full sized ships for some of the different factions that do not already have full sized ships?"

Q - "What was your favorite faction to design? Also what is your go to faction to play as?"

Q - "If Aldarra is successful (which it already seems to be) do you plan to focus on expansions for the board game, more minis and ship projects, or something entirely different?"

Q - "Was there any concepts (for mechanics or factions or anything else) that was really wanted but just couldn’t fit in? Alternatively, what was your favorite feature that just didn’t make the cut into the full game."

Loktdown

Q - "How do you ensure that all 6 factions are balanced? In a game that focuses on combat, how do you ensure that the more tech-centered factions remain relevant?"

kakarotstj

Q - "What was the thought process in making Aldarra a board game rather than something like a DND adventure?"

Waterdavian

Q - "Do you anticipate much loss in detail between the resin printed pre-production models and the final PVC models (I think I read somewhere that's what you were using)?"

AndrewJohnAndOn

Q - "what’s the story behind the game; what inspired you to make it?"

Opt1mus Cr1me

Q - "How do you get from concept all the way to retail and what does the process look like? Did you have the game completely finished and balanced before the production process began?"

Λvalon

Q - "Is the current version (that would be sent out after Kickstarter) of Aldarra your final vision of the game? Were there any things (like mechanics, events, units or even terrain types) that you wanted to have, couldn't, but would like to release in the future as an expansion?"

Developer AMA (Ask Me Anything) - Participate!

Question Format (Start with AMA then a dash and then your question):

AMA - What inspired the design of X faction and their playstyle in the game.

Updated Kickstarter Graphics

Additionally (and finally for this update), we have some new graphics for the Kickstarter that you can check out. We got a request from some backers and we finished some graphics to help people get a flash of what's involved in the game!

That's all for now, everyone! Thanks again so much for the continued support!

Benny and the AM team

Funded & Moving Forward! Thank you!
about 2 years ago – Mon, Apr 11, 2022 at 05:52:53 PM

Happy Weekend everyone!

Thanks to all 1400+ of you who have backed so far and funded this project! It means the world to us to have your support and as we move into the middle part of the campaign. We hope you all have a great weekend planned (we will be taking a tiny bit of time to recharge) and rest up!

As we go along through the campaign, we will be having more of these updates to give you a peak behind the curtain on the thoughts of the team, stuff coming up, options, and just overall more insight into the massive amount of work we have put into Aldarra. We plan on sharing a couple more small surprises along the way as well!

As you all know, we have no stretch goals planned, but "no stretch goals" doesn't necessarily mean we can't add anything as a surprise! =)

Metal Coin Bag Colors Choices

Whether you added the metal coins on as an added or got them as an Early Bird bonus, in addition to getting the 68 metal coins, we are going to be offering you 3 colors to get your bags in (2 Kickstarter limited - black and blue).

The regular retail color for the coins will be purple with limited quantities of the other colors shown below. In the pledge manager, for every set of coins you have, you can choose how many of each color bag you want!

Color will be selected in the pledge manager. Purple is the retail color, but you can get blue or black as a Kickstarter Exclusive color!

Developer AMA (Ask Me Anything) - Participate!

Have questions about Aldarra and the development process? Why we made decisions we did? Or you're more curious about the world we have built around? If you ask a question in the comments with the following format, we will answer them all in the following update! We will answer any and all questions as well as we can and within reason. We love this game and we want to share with you why!

Question Format (Start with AMA then a dash and then your question):

AMA - What inspired the design of X faction and their playstyle in the game.

We will plan to do an AMA like this every Friday and answer the questions on the following Monday or Tuesday (whenever the following update comes out!).

What's to come next?

Over the next 3 weeks we plan on providing you with not only more information about the game, but about us as a development team and the vision we have for Aldarra.

DEVELOPER VIDEOS - We will have a sit down with our team across the globe to go more into depth about how we thought up, planned and created Aldarra. Expect to see

FACTION HIGHLIGHTS - In addition to the AMA, we will be doing faction highlights throughout the campaign going into the game mechanics of each one, why they operate that way based on the lore of Sordane and how they strategically function within the sphere of play when measured up to the other factions.

COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS - Expect to see more art and card mechanics from the game. We will share multiple cards from the game, their art and function and how they operate within the meta of Aldarra. Our awesome card artwork by Wallok will be on full display and you can get a better sense of how the Explore mechanics in the game will work

3D PRINTING + ADDONS INFORMATION - We will also be sharing more information soon about Arcanite Resin and the Premium Elixir Dice (which are currently being sample manufactured by our partners at MDG!). The goal of Arcanite Resin is not only to make a premium resin in awesome colors, but also to allow people with 3D printers to print their own miniatures for the game or even replace missing ones!

Curious about the dice and can't wait? Check out this link to see the technology used!

Arrodan Red resin being used to print a Geshtar Dreadnought. This is high-quality ABS type resin that will print great and give you a perfect game matching color for each faction

That's all for this update everyone! Once again, thank you so much for your support. We will be looking to put out an update once every 2 or 3 days with additional information as outlined above. The next one will include the AMA so get your questions in!

Benny and the AM team

Faction Highlight: Odarian Empire | AMA
about 2 years ago – Mon, Apr 11, 2022 at 04:32:32 PM

Happy Monday!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Today we have a faction highlight for you - the Odarian Empire. We are also requesting more Developer AMAs for the next update! (Wednesday or Thursday)

Faction Highlight - Odarian Empire

We are getting started on our faction highlights starting with the Odarian Empire! A race of sentient robotic humanoids once enslaved by the other races and nations of Sordane but not free of their bonds to do as they please.

Faction History

The Odarian Empire have been around for 1,000 years, since their fight for freedom in the Construct War. The Odari, or more commonly known as shardforged prior to their awakening, were at one time the same as any other non-sentient shard constructs in Sordane. For centuries they toiled as mindless machines doing the whims and biddings of their masters and creators. However, in the year 2894, everything changed.

The Construct War began with a particularly powerful convergence event wracked the world. From the core of the planet through the very crust and into the atmosphere. In unison the shard cores of every Odari (at the time, known as shardforged) on the planet rang out in anguish as they all fell silent, their lights extinguished. Minutes passed with the essence of every shardforged snuffed out with no explanation. When suddenly a second convergence pulse emanated from the core of the planet sparking every shardforged back to life … real life. They had become sentient beings. An entire race of hundreds of thousands of shardforged had immediately awoken … and remembered.

Named after their savior, Odari Gold, the Odarian Empire makes its home permanently in the sky in the most massive flying structure of Sordane - Odaria. A massive, sprawling city held up by massive soralite platforms. 1,000 years later, Odari Gold still remains their king. Their hero who saved them from slavery

The flying city nation of Odaria where the majority of the Odarians call home.

Aesthetics of the Odarians

The Odarian Empire are a very technologically advance race and faction. Their ships reflect their own racial aesthetics of clean cut lines and sleek aerodynamic designs. The Odarians themselves attune to different tasks and trades in the world of Sordane or are built and constructed for specific tasks in mind at "birth". With the ability to be built for any role to perfection, the Odarians come in all shapes and sizes. Perfectly balanced for the tasks they are required for.

From massive barbarian-like bruisers to nimble assassins and hardy swashbucklers, Odarians exist in many different shapes and sizes.

Purpose in Aldarra

The Odarians find purpose in the sordalite crystals of Sordane. Without this valuable resource, the Odari cannot hope to procreate. It is their one and only source of sentience and life and they will do anything to attain this most valuable resource. With the ability to sense sources of sordalite from great distances, claiming the rich land of Aldarra's lost ancient sordalite technology will be but a small task for the powerful nation of Odaria..

An Odari Spelldriver. The backbone of every ship that takes flight in Sordane. Without a skilled spelldriver, a ship will perform much less efficiently.

Game Mechanics

What do the Odarian Empire Excel at?

Within the game of Aldarra and the world of Sordane at large, the Odari are adept at searching for Sordalite sources to reproduce and replenish their population. As such, within the game of Aldarra their massive buildings are adept at repositioning in the search for sordalite crystals. Their technological enhancements are second to none. Able to detect magical sordalite sources from miles away, their ability to capture hidden and lost technology with in the realm of Aldarra is unparralled.

Here's a glance at the Odarian Empire dashboard! Each dashboard in Aldarra will give you helpful tools to keep the game flowing! The turn / phase order list is particularly helpful for reminding beginner and veteran players alike where they are in the current round!

The Odarian Empire get more Discovery cards than other players, but also their buildings get movement which can open a whole new world of strategical options. Effectively turning even your outposts into potential pieces on the board that your enemies need to worry about and consider when going on the offensive or preparing for defense.

Faction Power - Additional Discovery Cards

As the Odarian Empire, you get an additional Discovery card every round in the Discovery Draft. You will really jump ahead in faction wide abilities with this extra Discovery card allowing you to

You'll get 1 extra Discovery Card every round in the draft phase. It really gives the Odarian Empire an extra technological boost.

Faction Power - Buildings with Movement

Odari buildings have a movement of 1. Slower that airship units in the game, but no other faction's buildings can move! When used strategical either on their own, with Jetstream tiles or other Discovery cards or Explore cards, they can be a super powerful combination that surprises your opponents and catches them off guard grabbing you the upper hand!

Odarian Empire buildings are versatile, especially when combined with Discoveries or Explore cards that highlight their mobility.

Starting Discovery - Warping Station

Warping station is a fantastic ability that allows you to warp units from your Stronghold tile to any of your buildings anywhere on the map. Given that your buildings have movement, that means there are some possible big brain moves awaiting a skilled Odarian Empire general!

Use your buildings to hammer the point home that certain territory belongs to you, and only you. Here, an Odarian Empire Fortress joins the assault on the Arrodan Syndicate outpost.

Have you checked out how to play yet?

Just for reference, we plan on adding some "game highlight" graphics this week to the Kickstarter page. A few backers have brought up that we don't have a "quick flash" graphic that shows what the major points of the game are, but we are working on it and should have that up soon.

In the meantime, to take a more in-depth look at what is involved in the game, you can check out the video section in the Kickstarter page and definitely check out the amazing how to play video from Shea at RTFM!

Developer AMA (Ask Me Anything) - Participate!

Have questions about Aldarra and the development process? Why we made decisions we did? Or you're more curious about the world we have built around? If you ask a question in the comments with the following format, we will answer them all in the following update! We will answer any and all questions as well as we can and within reason. We love this game and we want to share with you why!

Question Format (Start with AMA then a dash and then your question):

AMA - What inspired the design of X faction and their playstyle in the game.

We have gotten a lot of question already and will answer them all in the next update!

That's all for this update everyone! Once again, although repetitive, we are SO thankful for all of your support and belief in Aldarra. We can't wait to get the game to you all!

Benny and the AM team

Aldarra Funded!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Apr 06, 2022 at 12:32:48 PM

Aaaand, Funded!

Hey everyone. Benny here! It has been a great 24 hours answering your questions and hearing your feedback in the comments. Thanks so much to all of you who backed Aldarra! Since we cancelled the first campaign and took in all your feedback (in some cases, very critical feedback haha), we have successfully relaunched and funded Aldarra in only about a day! It is a huge relief and a ton of good vibe feelings now that we have funded and the overall attitude towards Aldarra has been much more positively received this time! We are incredibly excited and thankful. Thank you all so, so much!

What's Next?

Since we have no stretch goals and everything is already unlocked in the Kickstarter Upgrades Box, we may not have the normal organic "Just this new thing out update", but we are going to provide you all with content to look at and spotlights on the addons or other related elements of the Kickstarter! So over the next 3 weeks expect updates that contain spotlights on game components, upgrades, addons and anything else related to the Kickstarter and Aldarra!

Other Languages

We really want to take Aldarra to the next level and that also means languages! We will be looking at localizing Aldarra to different languages like German and French. We will be trying to get as many as possible, but we will have to find the right partners to match with provide these new languages and use the backer numbers from different locations as a start! We will have more info on this in the future!

That's it for now everyone. We will be back with more updates as the Kickstarter progresses!

Benny and the AM team

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