Hello pilots! Faith here.

We at Sublight Games are so incredibly grateful for all the support you’ve shown us these past months. It was only through your Kickstarter contributions that we could keep Stardust alive for the long haul. Whether you pre-ordered through Kickstarter, shared our promotional materials around, or just got hype, our success is because of you. We won’t forget that. We’re honored that you’ve chosen to back this humble little production and see it to escape velocity.

Late pledges are still open. If you or your friends missed our Kickstarter campaign, you can still grab all the wares, from patches to figurines! Do act double-quick, though. All crowdfunding rewards are exclusive and limited-time offers that disappear forever after September 1st! You’ll never be able to grab a Windsong patch or get your name listed in a limited edition paperback ever again.

Now that things have settled down, I’d like to share with you some of our adjusted plans going forward. In the spirit of transparency that we promised, I’ll also be sharing some hard numbers.

From the campaign alone and as of Monday, August 12th 2024, the Stardust Kickstarter campaign brought in $9,679.83 in funds. This is the total disbursement from Kickstarter after credit card processing fees and their own 5% take. Gross pledges amount to $10,541.00, meaning total fees incurred were $861.17.

The most popular reward tier was the $20 Starlet pledge, with 29 of 92 backers choosing this tier. The next most popular tier was Voidfarer at $60. Only 6% of pledges were referred through Kickstarter’s discovery algorithm, putting a fine point on how important word of mouth and social media have been!

We’ve carved out $700.00 for further development of the game, such as graphic design and prepress we will need in the future. Another $2,000.00 was set aside for the creation of the rewards themselves. That means $7,000.00 is being put toward production as of writing.

That’s great! Now, where are your rewards?

The first Kickstarter rewards will start shipping this September. We will distribute Voidfarer codes to each crowdfunding patron who pledged at that level or higher through the email associated with their Kickstarter account. At roughly the same time, we’ll be sending out a survey asking for your delivery address. This is so that we can mail out Windsong patches at the end of that same month. Be sure to monitor your inbox.

There is some unfortunate news. Uptake on the hardcover edition and the lithograph was anemic. We won’t be able to produce either of those two add-on rewards. We appreciate those few who chose these add-ons, and we will be in contact in September offering either an upgrade to a higher reward tier, or a full refund of the add-on’s list price.

Delivery of the rest of your rewards, like the limited-edition paperback, is contingent on the pace of production. Your support through Kickstarter has been critical. But at the same time, Stardust was barely funded. We need to be careful with our expenditures going forward. There’s an aphorism that floats about creative production circles: “Good, Fast, Cheap; choose two.” As Narrative Producer, I desire an engrossing and meaningful transmedia experience for our Voidfarers. I want to ensure the contributions of our backers will go as far as they can. To that end, I will personally front approximately $5,000 over the next year in order to ensure our talent and crew are well taken care of. (And also because we have some surprises in store.)

As planned, each of the novel’s three Acts will be recorded and run through post-production separately so that we have time to make assessments and adjustments. We have vague release windows in mind for this, with Act 1 and its 8 Chapters almost certainly to be released by the end of this year. If you’re a Voidfarer, you’ll be able to listen to each chapter independently as they are finished and released. After each Act, we will take a few weeks’ grace to do assessments and pre-production on the following Act.

We will, of course, continue to release additional lore and side content as resources allow.

Speaking of content, Voidfarers will be the first to glimpse Windsong. And sooner than you might think. I’d like to welcome aboard Andres Bustamante, who will be responsible for much of her design. Windsong is an integral part of Stardust’s grander story. She is a hero ship in transition, as her crew configures, re-configures, and adapts her to the increasingly fraught and wondrous skies she finds herself in. Andres has a great mind for this forward-thinking storytelling through mechanical design, and I couldn’t be more grateful to him for sharing his vision.

Keep your eyes on our socials. Lots of exciting developments are afoot. Thank you for flying our wing.

Clear skies,

—Faith K. Falkner
Narrative Producer, Sublight Games