Folks,

Just a quick little update, but still chock-full of fun stuff. First, we completed another Stretch Goal today. Thanks, and welcome to all the new Backers who made it happen along with some of our current Backers! Our two recruiters (soon to be three) are continuing to scour the woods, looking for those elusive programmers to add to our team. The next Stretch Goal is a fun one: “Role-playing Pack #1 – Animations for Everyone!” The full text can be found here (http://camelotunchained.com/v3/stretch-goals/), and it is a Stretch Goal that allows us to outsource some animation work to an outsourcing house/individual to do some fun emotes for the game. This Stretch Goal is geared to be ready for launch, and since it is outsourced work, it will not hold up the game’s launch in any way. We’re excited about this Stretch Goal, and as you might deduce from the title, it won’t be the last one that is focused on fun role-playing additions to the game.

Secondly, our newsletter just went out (we were waiting for the Stretch Goal to complete), and it is another long edition, accessible here (http://eepurl.com/bSuNEb). Lots of good stuff in there, including the first chapter in a new story written by me and edited, of course, by Max. I’m returning to The Depths™ with this storyline, and I hope that you like it.

Third, I want to thank the folks at Merchline for helping us set up and operate our storefront for the last few months. Unfortunately, the current CSE Merch store will be closing at the end of March. So, if you are interested in getting your own limited edition Camelot Unchained gear (we won’t be reprinting the items that have been for sale at Merchline), you should do so before the end of the month. Also, last year there was, unfortunately, a problem with hoodies advertised at Merchline. Because of that, we worked with Merchline to come up with a solution that would please our Backers, and I think that has been accomplished. Here is what Merchline has to say about it:

“Greetings backers of Camelot Unchained! It has come to our collective attention that some of you have voiced some concerns about the weight and thickness of the men’s hoodie that was chosen for production and sale in the Camelot Unchained storefront. As you know – Mark, and the fine people at CSE appreciate quality. They sifted through several options of heavy weight hoodies until the clear choice was made based on two basic criteria; quality, and weight.

While each of you received a tremendous hoodie of the upmost quality, you did not receive the thickest option of that hoodie. More importantly, you didn’t receive the hoodie that was chosen for you by our friends at CSE. Their choice was clear, and this mistake was made by Merchline.

Mistakes such as this are a rare occurrence at Merchline, but we stand by our products and services. If you are unsatisfied with the weight of your hoodie, send it back to us. Our support team will be happy to give you a refund. You don’t even have to pay for return shipping! Contact support@merchline.com by March 15, 2016 and we will send you a shipping label regardless of where you live.

We appreciate your understanding.”

As you’ve heard me say countless times, nobody is perfect. Merchline stood up, admitted their mistake, and dealt with it. I’m glad that they stuck to their word about focusing on quality and customer support. I’m sad that we won’t be continuing the relationship, but we are in a very special niche, and our Backers and I are, well, rather demanding. Merchline’s silk screen printing was top-notch, and I can happily recommend them. So, if you’re interested in getting what remains of our inventory there before it is no longer available, I would urge you to do so before the CSE Merch store closes at the end of March.

Finally, our weekend testing went pretty well. The new item system ran great, as did the building and destruction testing. We are tracking down a memory leak in the latest build, and once that is done, we’ll open the build to all of our Alpha, Beta 1, and IT folks to play around in. I’ll keep you updated as the week and the bug-hunt progresses.

As usual, we have some art to show you. First, some medium armor for the always friendly, and ever-so-cuddly Vikings!

And then some heavy armor for them as well.

And here’s a C.U.B.E. shot, courtesy of our over-the-top, awesome builder Necromaniak.

That’s it for today’s short update. I hope you enjoy the newsletter! Another update (and more!) coming on Friday.

-Mark