DEEP ROCK GALACTIC - HIGH QUALITY MUGS 50CL

Hello miners! 

TL;DR – Weekly FAQ, as well as 

• Mugs complexity explained in detail: made of multiple parts which need to be assembled. 
• Pre-production is ongoing: exchange between designer and engineers as well as validating colors and surface finish. 
• A better look at the production timeline: From the pre-production to making the molds, testing everything and preparing the necessary logistics before starting the production of all the items. 
• Our work in the last 2 weeks: learning new organization tools, preparing communication with our backers, still looking for an office, finishing the final design of the coasters and ongoing design work on the bar mat, answering backers’ enquiries.  

Where are we in our schedule? 

Mugs:   
- Remodeling is still ongoing. 
- Still need to re-do the coloring to be more faithful to the in-game model (Specifically the Slayer Stout body).  
- Mold manufacturing studies has started. The model changes are happening in parallel. 

Bottle Opener:  
- Prototype is functional, quality testing is ongoing.

Coasters:  
- The final adjustments are waiting for validation. 

Bar mat:  
- Final color and model tweaking to prepare for prototyping. 

FAQ 

• Are the color palettes shown in Backerkit final?

No, the colors are not final, there are still some issues with the coloring we need to fix. But they are reasonably close to what you can expect the final product to look like (except the red/orange on Slayer Stout. This is getting a lot redder).  

• When will shipping start?  

Our first estimate, assuming everything goes without a hitch, is that we may be able to ship in eight months. This is just an estimate, however, and shipping may come at a later date. We will keep you informed on the matter, of course. We will not ship in December however, due to the added cost from Christmas shipping. It will happen before or after. 

• How will the shipping be affected by the recent economic situation due to the tariffs?  

It is impossible for us to predict in what state the international transit will be in eight months (the earliest we may be able to ship). We will communicate more on this when the production is underway and we have better timelines on the final shipping.  

• When are you sending the surveys?  

They have already been sent! You might want to go check that email address! 

If you haven’t received anything: Confirm that the email address you are searching matches the email address tied to your Kickstarter account. If that doesn’t work, then try checking your spam, junk or promotions folders. You can also search for "backerkit” in your inbox.  

To resend the survey to yourself, visit the project page and input the email address associated with your Kickstarter account.  
If nothing works, please contact us here: drgmugs at scorched-steel dot com  

• Can I change my pledge level?  

Yes, you can change your pledge level through the pledge manager. Just “Switch your pledge level” on the first page of the survey and select the new pledge level you want. 
NOTE: Selecting a lower pledge level does not constitute a refund. 

Instead, you’ll be awarded the difference as a credit you can spend on add-ons or the shipping fees.   

• I’m only interested in an add-on; how can I get one?  

You can simply visit our late pledge store and get any product that interests you.  

• I’ve moved/changed country. Can I somehow change my address? 

BackerKit allows you to update your shipping address until the shipping addresses are locked by the project creator. To update your address, go back to your BackerKit survey by inputting your email here. 

Why are our mugs complex? 

All along, we’ve been talking for a while about how complex these mugs are but you’ve probably all been wondering what we mean by “complex”, right? 
Well, it’s time we revealed a bit more about how they’re made exactly. 
 

When we first started the research to make this project a reality, we wanted to make the mugs as close to what is in the game. At the time, quite a few fans had already made these mugs, by 3d printing them, sculpting them or molding them, and Alexis himself has a couple of those under his belt.  
But we wanted to achieve the same sharp lines the mug in the game has, with colors as vibrant as possible and, more importantly, we wanted the mug to be usable by themselves, not as can holders. 

The only production method that would allow us to do all of this, while remaining in a reasonable price range, was plastic injection, but that left us with quite a few options to choose from on how to make the mug. 

We decided to go with a mug made of multiple parts so that each could be dyed in the mass, and having smaller parts to inject allows us better control on the final aspect. Those parts are then assembled and glued together. 

In total, the mug will be made of thirteen different parts, injected in a total of seven molds. 

We considered making the mug from a single massive part, but that would have added warping and mold filling troubles to the mix. 

It would also have necessitated painting it afterwards. This is possible and would lead to less molds, but it would have cost more to both produce and certify as food safe. The lack of paint also means that the mugs will keep their beautiful colors even through wear and tear (we know some of you will try to throw them, don’t deny it!). 

The material we chose also comes in handy for the quality of life it brings: It’s much lighter than both ceramic and metal, which is nothing to scoff at given the size of the mugs. It also helps ensure there will be minimal issues with shipping (dropping a box of plastic mugs won’t be nearly as devastating as dropping a box of ceramic mugs). 

What about this famous “Pre-production process”? 

 
Let’s begin with the very first question: what is the “pre-production process”, exactly? 
Simply put, it’s everything that takes place before the items get manufactured, packaged and shipped away.  
This includes many exchanges between our designer and the engineers to create a manufacturable product under the specific constraints relative to the material (such as thickness and shape) and the manufacturing processes used (which, in our case, is plastic injection through metal molds).  

We need to validate the colors, making sure they’re the ones we want by using the Pantone Matching System, a proprietary color order system used in a variety of industries. 

There’s also the choice of surface finish for each molded piece. This is all followed by validating the new prototypes and material samples. After that, the pre-production process is over and we can move on to the next step: designing and making the actual molds and tools necessary to manufacture the mugs. 

That’s roughly where we currently are! And it will take a few weeks before we see the end of it. We did give you a very rough estimate back then, but it was high time we gave you some details about it. 

What comes after that? 

After that, the molds need to be made, which takes the biggest part of the time left. The items coming out of those molds must be tested, which might (or might not, if we’re lucky) result in further mold modifications and more testing.  

This is followed with the laboratory tests, to ensure the whole process was done correctly and everything is food-safe – this step requires us to provide production pieces, so we must fully complete the molds before testing. And then the full production can start! 

This part is specifically about the mugs but the pre-production process is similar for all other items, although less complex and lengthy (because those items are by themselves a lot easier to manufacture and don’t require the food-safe label). As such, their pre-production will start much later: we cannot start making them and storing them in advance, because storing is extremely expensive, so we need to prepare the necessary logistics. Everything needs to be produced and moved all at once. 

What has been done in the last two weeks? 

Julien has been learning some new tools to better organize the workflow of the company while cooking up the newsletters and info to share on social media. 

Alexis has made the final adjustment to the coasters’ design and has started working on the bar mat’s design again. He’s also waiting on the Pantone Color Chart, which will help us communicate with companies on the exact colors we need. 

Matthieu’s work is, for the most part, things we can’t really talk about in great detail, because there’s just a lot being done on paperwork. Of the things we can talk about though: he’s still looking for an office and handling most discussions with the companies we work with (or that we will be working with). 

Eliott is still doing his utmost to answer your most burning day-to-day questions – which we compile and put in the newsletter whenever we find them relevant. It’s also a lot of “invisible” but necessary work being done here. He’s the main point of contact between Scorched Steel Industry and all of you! 

Well, I think this pretty much covers it for now, miners. 

Rock and Stone!

Hello miners! 

TL;DR - Backerkit is ready! 
• Surveys will be sent soon to everyone but we’re doing a smoke test first to make sure everything is in working order. We have a FAQ covering your questions about Backerkit, the survey and the late pledges. Pre-production is on-track so far. 
• The late pledge store is now open too: Late pledges here 
• Much work was done in the past month: Setting up Backerkit, the late pledges and a slight remodel to make the mugs comfortable to drink from. We are also looking for an office since we’re all currently working from home. 

It’s been a month and a lot has happened! 

Let’s start with the most important part first: Backerkit and how does it work? 

If you’ve pledged during the campaign, you’ll soon receive a survey to fill. It will allow you to choose the color of your mugs, to input the shipping address of your choice and add any extra add-ons you might want to your existing pledge. 
You will also have the possibility to change your pledge level. 

You will have at least until the 30th of September 2025 to fill it out. We’re not going to lock the surveys until we’re ready to start production, so this is just a rough estimate. 

We will of course let you know when we have a setup lock date. 

With the Backerkit done, it also means we’re now opening our Late Pledges. If you’ve missed the campaign or backed down for whatever reason and want to participate now, you can do so through our late pledge following this link: https://deep-rock-galactic-mugs.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders 

You will have access to everything we’ve offered during the campaign for the same price. You can see it as an extension of the campaign itself.  

Well, a lot! 

Julien spent it setting up the Backerkit, the surveys and the late pledge store. All the packs and rewards had to be recreated for the Late Pledges to be a copy of what we were already offering during the campaign. 

Each item and its variants needed a corresponding SKU – an identifier that allows us to track how many of each item we’re going to need. Everything needed to be organized and made clear as much as possible.  

This is a pretty big piece and one month wasn’t too much for us to ensure every moving part of it would work accordingly. 

We’re currently in the last step of the whole process, which is doing a smoke test (sending surveys to 5% of the backers to see if everything is working as expected). Assuming no problem arises, we will send out surveys to everyone. 

We noted that some of you expressed concern regarding the design of the mugs and how they would handle. 
We always thought of the pictured mugs shown during the campaign as proof of concept and early prototypes to build upon. We already had a list of modifications to be done after testing these models and we're glad the community caught them too. 

Alexis has been remodeling the rim of the cup, to make it easier to drink from. The base model was... interesting to drink with. Let’s just say we know the secret behind the dwarves’ luscious beards: they nourish it with beer!  

The handle and interior of the mug have been slightly modified too, trying to make it easier for folks with big hands due to centuries of mining, but also fit more brew in the mug than previously claimed.  
A lot more work has been done, but they are mostly millimeters changes to prepare for the upcoming manufacturing, only the sharpest eyes of a true dwarf connoisseur will catch them.  

The next step will be even more prototyping until we reach the best models we can dream of. Also, yes, the slayer stout body is the wrong shade of orange, but that's what prototypes are made for!  

The bottom line is they won’t look any different and they will be much nicer to handle. 

Matthieu has been hard at work preparing all the accounting details for the reception of the funds and looking into finding an office for the company, since we’re all currently working from home. 
While we can’t give out many details on all the work he has done, since most of it is covered by various NDAs, we can still say he tackled an enormous amount of paperwork for the company. 
Matthieu also set up all the various meetings with our partners and manufacturers for the upcoming work. 

Eliott has been on top of things all month long, tirelessly responding to your questions and inquiries through mails, Kickstarter messages and comments, and he will keep doing so – along with all his precious help during the numerous meetings we have concerning the studies of our products and everything related to the production. 

Now that the Backerkit is ready to go and the Late Pledges are opened, we're looking forward to the future: More prototyping, more studies and a lot more paperwork! 
 

That’s all for now, miners.  
Rock and Stone!