Since the very first mention of Roll Saga Baseball, we've had many requests by people interested in becoming an active and important part of the development process of the game. So, on October 1, 2016, we'll be officially launching the Roll Saga Baseball Developer Program, which has been designed to allow people the chance to be an important part of the creation process of new expansions and to get full credit and revenue as well.
Some of the opportunities that the program includes are:
Full Credit
As a developer, you'll receive full credit on all projects that you develop or collaborate on. This credit will extend throughout every medium in which the project is marketed.
Revenue Sharing
Once your project is ready, whether it's a player season, umpire season, or stadium expansion, you'll get paid every time it sells -- either individually or as part of a package.
Developer's Boxes
Being on the team also means that you get a special edition Developer's Box that not only has every component inside for developer-use, but is also packed with other tools and guides to assist you in your creations.
Communications & Collaborations
You'll be able to collaborate in real-time with other developers in the cloud or work solo at your own pace. We'll give you a professional email (yourname@rollsaga.com) and a dedicated phone number via our toll-free business service.
Alpha through Beta
As a team member, you'll also have exclusive access to other projects in development by other developers and creators. This exclusive access will extend to both Alpha and Beta projects.
Flexibility
Being a remote developer and collaborator puts you in charge of your own project and you'll set the hours consistent with any deadlines from your own location.
An Important Part
You'll not only be a part of the newest and most in-depth tabletop baseball game simulator, but you'll also be an integral part of its growth and success in the future.
How to Get Started
If you're ready learn more about how to get started being a developer, we're ready to give you the opportunity to develop new seasons, ballparks (modern or historical) and other expansions -- and get paid in the process.
Giving people an epic tabletop baseball game with no charts and a lot of visual.
On May 23, 2016 we officially started shipping Roll Saga Baseball following our successful 2015 Kickstarter campaign. With our game, tabletop baseball players not only get to manage their teams using a hybrid statistical and visual approach, but they get to do it in any ballpark of their choice.
We believe that a large part of our success so far comes from our design: we feel that a baseball game played non-digitally should not suffer from a lack of visual beauty, just because it deals in statistics. That’s why we've invested a lot of time, and as much money as a small Miami startup can muster, creating a premium tabletop baseball experience.
A tabletop baseball game should be more than just tables and charts |
We tried many different designs, materials, and concepts for play; but every time we ended up with something far more generic than we wanted. A tabletop baseball game should look like, well, baseball. And baseball is all about green grass, brown dirt, and the crack of the bat on long summer days. It’s most certainly not about black and white paper strips and cardboard cutouts.
The game mat - shown here without an overlay - is 27 by 27 inches |
When selecting the material for the game mats, a durable and flexible materials was used |
An animated GIF showing how the different Stadium Expansion overlays look when laid atop the game mat - transforming its appearance to that of another ballpark instantly |
Stadium Expansions
From that moment on, we decided to create a new overlay for every major league baseball stadium out there, and to have it easy to place on top of the game mat to convert it to that field. We designed each overlay to be an actual template that when laid atop the game mat in the outfield area, it would not only alter the appearance, but also provide accurate wall distances and heights; not to mention ballpark factors.An early prototype of a Stadium Expansion being tested |
The players
We used the same cutting-edge strategy with our player standees. We made the bold decision to try and fit every single detail needed for that player to function in the game on the standee itself. We did that to create an experience that frees the players from chart flipping. Although we had quite a challenge in getting everything to fit on each separate standee, we were successful. And people love it.At just 1.75 x .75 inches in size, each standee is packed with a lot of data in a small space to eliminate the need for charts |
These abilities, which are calculated from over forty columns of statistical data per player, accurately reflect the prowess and capabilities of that player when attempting an action: these abilities are the raw talent of the athlete and can dictate his success or failure for that action. Not only that, we also included simulation-based data for the players who wanted more of a replay-type experience: a game where the results are hyper-dependent on how the player actually performed during the season as opposed to how he could have performed.
Pitching mechanics
We also knew that for a game to really and accurately reflect baseball, the timeless duel between the pitcher and batter had to be authentically replicated without the use of motherboards and plasma screens. So we concentrated on the major types of pitches that are thrown in the game: from the slick and wily cutter to the profound and jaw-dropping Japanese shuuto. And we found that by incorporating cards to represent each pitch, along with the placement of a ball token on a pitching pad representing a strike zone, we achieved a result that truly mimics the action of the pitcher-batter matchup.Showing a player holding the pitching cards corresponding to his pitcher on the mound's repertoire, Roll Saga Baseball uses a very unique pitching mechanism to replicate a pitcher's specific arsenal and skill-set |
Playing levels and rule flexibility
One of the downsides of our overzealous desire to include every single type of play and strategy, was that we ended up with our games lasting as long as baseball games in real life do – and sometimes even longer. But they didn’t have to be. Reaching out to our community, we discovered that while some players truly wanted the intense game of pitch by pitch, others did not - only wanting games that were fast and focused on results; while still others wanted a combination of the two, as well as the choice to go either way.So we went back to the drawing board and came up with a system of play where the players themselves choose the amount of depth and strategy that they want to use in-game, thereby setting their own time constraints. How did we do it? By letting the players decide what rules to include and what game speed and depth to play. Only have 20 minutes for a game? We got this. Want to play out a full 9-inning game with all the bells and whistles? You’re covered. Want to mix it all together and play light for 6 innings and heavy for three? No problem.
A screenshot of the actual Core Rulebook, which is included with all Core Boxes as well as posted online, showing the intense amount of detail and explicatory passages and figures |
The results
The results have been fantastic. And so far we have managed, with the great support of many Kickstarter backers and customers, to keep moving onward in design and development. We haven’t had a loss yet – only a few occasions where we learned a lesson or two.But these wins did not come without a lot of cost and heartaches. So many times we had to stop and reboot just to make sure we get it right. One area that was very much a challenge was the material choice and production for the stadium overlays. Time and time again we had to revisit the design and choice of materials to ensure that they would, as a final product, be worthy of the game itself.
The next steps
Launching Roll Saga Baseball was one big adventure, but this is only the start. Since we've launched, not only have we done well in our Kickstarter and post-Kickstarter orders, but our email fan base has continued to grow by so much that sometimes our inboxes are quite literally overflowing with questions and comments. Over the last few months, since the end of our Kickstarter in August of last year and the start of our shipping in May, we’ve continued to add on more and more features to the game, a lot of them based on assumptions. Sometimes our assumptions were right and sometimes they were wrong. Now it’s time to keep analyzing the data that we’ve garnered, heed the feedback that we've been given, and continue optimizing for the future. Bigger. Better. Faster. Smarter.Of course Roll Saga Baseball isn’t perfect yet and we’re working very hard to improve it, step by step. We’ve had our share of delays after getting started, but each time we overcame the challenges and never gave up the fight. And you know, for a small startup with big dreams in a very niche market, we’ve come a very long way. Feel free to send me any suggestions or thoughts to jody@rollsaga.com or at Twitter: @RollSaga.
Jody Pike
Lead designer of Roll Saga Baseball
Roll Saga Baseball Core Rulebook, 1st Ed. (150 pp) |
Core Rulebook in PDF
Many of you have been asking when we would post the online version of the Roll Saga Baseball Core Rulebook, 1st Edition (150 pages).
That time has come! Not only will this facilitate game play for those of you that have your own Roll Saga Baseball game, but it will also help those that seek to better understand the depth and flexibility of Roll Saga Baseball as a whole.
Questions
Remember that if you have any questions, we are available by chat, email, or telephone during regular business hours. No question is too small or trivial.
Cheers!
The Roll Saga Team
Website: https://www.rollsaga.com
Email: hello@rollsaga.com
Telephone Toll Free: 1-888-850-2025
Big congratulations to the three winners of our recently sponsored contest in which entrants could win either 5, 10, or even 15 free stadium expansions to go along with their preexisting order.
We're super excited to be able to add these extra goodies in the box for these lucky gentlemen!
We're super excited to be able to add these extra goodies in the box for these lucky gentlemen!
At long last we are excited and honored to announce that Roll Saga Baseball will officially begin shipping on April 25, 2016.
It's been a laborious journey these last seven months as we've strove to have everything just perfect for the official shipping launch.
Packing Up and Shipping Out
Now that we've honed every edge, tucked every corner, and smoothed-out every wrinkle to make sure that Roll Saga is the best that it can be, we're working hard to get all of the boxes packaged and out into the shipping matrices.
Marketing
In the next few weeks, you'll start to see us actively marketing the game as we start shipping, so don't be surprised if we pop up unannounced (but not uninvited) on your favorite social media or forum.
Live Chat
We've implemented a live chat feature on the website that allows all visitors to chat with us live instantaneously.
We keep the chat line live and open during our normal business hours of 9AM - 5PM, but you'll often see it after those hours when we're burning the midnight oil (which we do quite often).
It's a very quick way to get an instant answer from us or initiate a conversation without writing an email or calling us on the phone.
So, stop in anytime, if just to say hello.
Pricing
Now that we can see the whole picture and can properly evaluate all costs, we've set our prices to what they need to be in order for us to sustain an adequate margin and be able to keep producing Roll Saga for many, many years to come.
We're also working on a shipping structure for international buyers.
Appreciation
We never get tired of saying how thankful we are to all of you who supported us on the Kickstarter and all of you who pre-ordered afterwards on the website.
And we are doubly thankful that all of you have been so very patient with us as we've hustled to make everything the very best that it can be for you.
Thank you so much, everyone. We could not have done it without you - nor would we have ever wanted to.
NOTE:
This was a Roll Saga Baseball Newsletter reprint from March 11, 2016.
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This is truly a very exciting time for the Fish (and for fans like us) as the Marlins have undergone a long awaited and much anticipated change for the better.
We're loving Donnie Baseball here in the 305 and we're overwhelmingly ecstatic about Bonds.
But as we focus our gaze on reattaining the magic and glory of '97 and '03, we realize that for it to happen, we really need to be a lot stronger in four areas.