So, we are 30% into funding our campaign (wohooo!) and some people have mentioned they would like more mercs to pick from (as these were a mainstay of the video game). We had intended to put them into stretch goals, due to the high price of production per merc mini (drawing, sculpting, tooling etc.) and then something magical happened: We talked to a company who is doing sculpts and they offered us a HUGE discount on those because the head of the company is an old Jagged Alliance fan. Now ain't that something? That's the power of love for the game!
The great news is, that this will allow us to now put 6 mercs into the base game!!! The below pic shows two of our other merc concepts Steroid and Meltdown, but the actual mercs will be defined by backer vote.
This may still not be enough to make the full AIM roster, but every merc can hire or find merc or NPC allies to accompany him. Iggy Palkov may join Ivan to help him deal more damage, Len may take Miguel with him to improve his command skills. Or maybe you take Fidel to help you deal more damage with grenades? So you will see more mercs in the game and every merc will build out his own team as the game progresses.
Adding new mercs to the core game will also allow us to modify the current version of the death rule, so you do not respawn after death with a bit of wounds and base equipment, but actually may have to pick another merc. We will see how that works out as we playtest.
All in all, a great first day, great feedback from our backers (and non-backers!) and of course we hope you will continue to support the kickstarter and spread the word!
