The Narrative Tracker and Origins Update
12 months ago – Fri, May 12, 2023 at 01:30:47 PM

Greetings Pilots,

Today’s update contains specific information about a major component found within SALVAGE: Deep Space as well as further details surrounding our involvement with Origins Game Fair & GDEX.

The Narrative Tracker

In SALVAGE: Deep Space, the Narrative Tracker is a device found on the opposite side of the Speed Tracker. SALVAGE is more than a tactical skirmish game, with this tracker being one mechanic that emphasizes the narrative and roleplay elements of the play-through experience. Its function is to assist the players in non-Mission, story moments (like Events). Whenever the players are not on an active Mission, they will be encouraged to have the Narrative Tracker face-up in the play space.

As the players navigate narratives throughout the campaign they will notice intentional ‘blanks’ in the details where a specific Pilot is taking center stage in the story. The intent is for the players to weave their crafted pilots into the story-moment as it develops in front of them. The Narrative Tracker is the component that bridges that intent with function.

So how does it work?

Baked into these narrative moments will be a small chart at the beginning of the writing sample - the Results Qualification Profile. This profile serves as a visual guide that uses the Qualification symbols to show which Pilots are eligible for taking point in this specific narrative.

Using the Results Qualification Profile, the player who is acting as the Narrator for this particular event will populate the Narrative Tracker with the relevant Pilot(s), using the Pilot Portraits that reside on the Ship section of the gameboard. Any Pilot with the appropriate Qualification is eligible for placement. As the Narrator reads through the Result/Narration, they will be able to seamlessly fill the (blank) space that calls for a Pilots name, with the name of the Pilot that has been sequenced on the Narrative Tracker. Yes, like a fill-in-the-blank madlib!

However, the Narrative Tracker is far from just a narration tool as the choices you make around it can have a significant impact on your crew. The narrative moments of SALVAGE: Deep Space are rife with both exciting rewards as well as dangerous interactions. The Pilots that the players choose to take point will be the most susceptible to these outcomes - both positive and negative.

Origins Game Fair

As previously announced, 3301 will be exhibiting at Origins Game Fair & GDEX, June 21-25 in Columbus Ohio. Over the next few weeks, our updates will include a few interesting wrinkles on the multiple ways you will be able to engage with SALVAGE: Deep Space while at the Game Fair. Think you’ll be stopping by the booth? In addition to a con-exclusive mini, pilot pins, and 70mms for sale, we’ll also have some painted statuettes you might just be able to bring home…

To stay the most up-to-date with our progress, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. We frequently share visual assets on these platforms to give you a sneak peek into our game development process. @3301Games on most platforms (3301Cap on TikTok)!

At 3301 Games, we love sharing our passion, and we are always available to answer any questions or address any concerns. Feel free to reach out to us at any time via email at

Have a great weekend,

Ben, Matt, and Sean at 3301 Games

A new hub for SALVAGE: Deep Space!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 02:00:46 PM

Hello Pilots!

It’s update time from us here at 3301 Games, with some info on SALVAGE: Deep Space, our newly redesigned game page, and what we’ve got coming up!

Before jumping into the good stuff, we wanted to take a moment to issue a warm thanks to everyone reading this. So many of our fondest memories took place around a tabletop, with friends or family engaged in the act of gaming. Whether it’s the stories that unfold within the game, or the tales of how they were played, those moments bring joy! Because of you, we’re able to create a game that we hope passes that on to other players like us. We’ve said it before, and we’ll definitely say it again: thank you!

We’ve been cooking up some beautiful art, advanced adversaries, and the very spiciest story details over here as we continue to refine SALVAGE, pushing our game to the very limits of our ability. As more and more details get the point of being public-facing, we felt the time had come to give our page a facelift–more accurately reflecting the game’s status and giving our fans a better look inside the (Post-Event) Solar System! This new page focuses on what you do, who your Pilots could be, the Salvage Suits you’ll start with, and the possibilities available to players of SALVAGE: Deep Space. Take a look at www.SalvageDeepSpace.com

View Video

Something else we’re excited about is a new webstore for fans who weren’t able to get a set of enamel pins at PAX East. If you want to support development and show your Salvage Pilot pride, grab a pin in magenta, green, or gold! 70mm Exomech Statuettes of the starting suits are also available, in case you didn’t get a chance to pledge for one. Check it out: https://www.3301.games/store

Although it may seem a distance away, our team is already prepping for our next appearance at Origins Game Fair & GDEX, June 21-25 in Columbus Ohio! Although smaller than Gen Con or PAX East, Origins holds a special place in our hearts for its high quality content and approachability. Get your badges if you haven’t already, since we’ll be releasing another convention exclusive miniature! And due to its popularity at PAXE, we’ll also have some painted 70mm statuettes which you might just be able to bring home…

At 3301 Games, we love sharing our passion, and we are always available to answer any questions or address any concerns. Feel free to reach out to us at any time via email at:

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you soon. “Drive alert, arrive alive.”

Have a great weekend,

Sean, Ben, and Matt at 3301 Games

Peeking Into Ship Upgrades
about 1 year ago – Sat, Apr 15, 2023 at 09:27:12 AM

Happy Weekend, Pilots.

This is the first update (at least in a long while) to fall on Saturday instead of its typical Friday. Rest assured, that it's due to our crew pushing our propulsion systems as much as we dare. Should something go wrong, Ben is almost certainly the only one with an Engineering Qualification and he works in another state.

In this update we want to touch on one of the most critical in-game considerations for you and your crew as you navigate through the story of SALVAGE: Deep Space - your ship!

But first - something else.

Draft Punks Podcast

We met an overwhelming number of interesting people while exhibiting at PAX East a few weeks ago. We’d like to take a moment to talk about a couple of them here - the Draft Punks.

As you can read in their bio - the Draft Punks are three friends who decided just ranking a list “wasn’t competitive enough.” Every episode, each host drafts a team based on a specific category and listeners weigh-in on who ‘wins.’ Categories change episode-to-episode and cover topics like Pixar Characters, items found in the Zelda franchise, and pizza toppings.

Leading up to the convention, we read their profile and were struck by how much we liked their format. They ended up stopping by our booth and shooting a slick video on what they find compelling about the game. You can watch that video here: Draft Punks - SALVAGE: Deep Space.

Ship Upgrades

One of the keys to a compelling Sci-fi narrative is something that transcends genre - in-depth character writing and exploration. One of the ways a Sci-fi narrative can be unique from other genres is that an interesting cast of characters can (and often does) include the ship itself. Whether it is the Serenity, the Rocinante, or even the Millenium Falcon, a lot of our team’s favorite sci-fi includes ships that have their own histories, quirks, and arguably - personalities.

It is important to us that some of that energy is captured in SALVAGE: Deep Space. Like many other aspects of the game, an effort has been made to make your ship feel ‘personal.’

Your starting crew and the subsequent Salvage Pilots they hire to join it will be spending a lot of time on your ship. It will serve as the closest thing to a home for your characters as you engage with the story and setting. In addition to naming your ship, you will earn it notoriety as a result of various player choices. With enough impactful choices under your belt, you will begin to see the environment adapt and react to the presence of your ship. After all - the various power structures that you encounter may not know the name of every Pilot in your crew, but they will eventually know your ship's history, what it's capable of, and extrapolate accordingly.

Your ship’s customization is not just narrative. Recovering various forms of salvage is a core part of the game. One of the crew’s decisions will be how to spend the wealth you collectively accrue along the way. Your ship comes with a handful of systems/features with a range of function and capabilities. Choosing to spend wealth to upgrade and enhance these systems will have mechanical benefits in addition to the narrative considerations that further define your crew’s home.

Do you want your ship to be known for its speed and motility? Consider upgrading its Propulsion. Perhaps you like the idea of it having a massive amount of storage for hauling long-distance freight. Look into upgrading the Cargo Bay. Maybe you want to emphasize your ship’s location and imaging attachments. The Sensor Array might be worth refurbishing.

In addition to the systems you see below, your ship has the potential to take on rare, more specialized, and even secret upgrades, the availability of which is most often gated behind specific plot points or character decisions.

Enjoy Your Weekend

We hope that this update was interesting, exciting, and found you in the midst of an enjoyable weekend.

We will continue with our bi-weekly updates. Updates will vary from mechanical reveals, to narrative teasers, to fulfillment status check-ins. Remember, if you were not able to pledge during the original Kickstarter you can always find all of our updates here.

Additionally, we typically preview and display our progress a couple times each week across our various social media platforms. If you are interested in digesting our new visual assets as soon as they roll out, please consider following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter - plus TikTok for any video content.

As most of you know we are very accessible and love engaging with individuals over all things SALVAGE: Deep Space. If you ever have ANY questions or thoughts about the game or company, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Be excellent to each other,

Matt, Ben, and Sean, 3301 Games

PAX East Recap and What’s Next
about 1 year ago – Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 03:35:38 PM

Happy Friday, Pilots.

Wow. Just wow.

We try to keep these larger email blasts to a minimum, balancing the desire to keep your inboxes ‘spam’ free while providing meaningful updates. In the wake of PAX East, the team is feeling so incredibly humbled that we want to take this opportunity to reach out and high-five each and every one of you.

This letter will touch on a few areas, notably a recap of PAX East and what you can expect from us as we pivot back towards fulfillment.

PAX East Game Convention

First and foremost we’d like to thank everyone who stopped by our Exhibitor booth at Pax East this past weekend. It was a thrill to connect with so many of you and introduce (most) of you to SALVAGE: Deep Space. We mean it sincerely when we say that the best part of this project has been meeting passionate gamers who ‘get’ 3301. We are just three guys in a garage, so your engagement and subsequent enthusiasm is what made the event a huge success for us. We look forward to seeing you again at future conventions!

In addition to unveiling our 70mm Statuettes, Pilot Pins, and PAX East exclusive Xenomartians miniatures, we were excited to giveaway 4 of our painted Exo-mechs, one for each day of the convention. Congratulations to:

Ella B., winner of the UH-16 Pegasus
Lyndsay G., winner of the A-3 Perseus
Danni F., winner of the F-3 Chameleon
Will M., winner of the UC-43 Draco

This promotion is something we plan on doing at every event this year, so please look out for us at Origins 6/22-6/25, GenCon 8/3-8/6, and PAX Unplugged TBD. In addition to the giveaway, there will be a unique convention exclusive miniature for each event - something you can pick up for FREE if you are already a backer. We will have more details as we get closer to each date.

On to Fulfillment

Now that the dust has settled and we are back at HQ, its full steam ahead! The three of us are working tirelessly to ensure that SALVAGE is everything we want it to be. We will continue with our bi-weekly updates. Updates will vary from mechanical reveals, to narrative teasers, to fulfillment status check-ins. Remember, if you were not able to pledge during the original Kickstarter you can always find all of our updates here.

View Video

And finally - thank you. We mean it. All of you are legitimately contributing to bringing something new into the tabletop space. Whether it is contributing directly through your backing, or indirectly through engagement, we are humbled by your belief in us and excitement towards the project.

Have an excellent weekend.

Matt, Ben, and Sean, 3301 Games

Qualifications and Specialties
about 1 year ago – Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 02:21:47 PM

Happy Friday, Pilots. Hopefully, most of you are looking at the end of the workweek and will soon be able to unwind. As the team at 3301 readies to leave for PAX East and hit the road, we want to build off of the last Update and continue to talk about some of the fun mechanics for SALVAGE: Deep Space.

Qualifications and Specialties

A few weeks ago we previewed Event Decks - one of the major mechanics for involving your crew of Exo-mech pilots in the evolving environment. As a part of that breakdown we teased Qualifications and how these pilot-specific attributes will be used in narrative moments to determine situational outcomes.

Qualifications

In SALVAGE: Deep Space Qualifications are one of the most defining customization decisions you make when crafting your crew of Mech Pilots and are meant to highlight a particular individual’s skill-set as part of your larger crew. Throughout the campaign you will be faced with impactful narrative moments that test the breadth and depth of your crew’s competencies. Successfully navigating these moments will lead to favorable results including forgotten technology, exotic cybernetics, hidden storylines and more. Failure may result in lost resources, missed opportunities, pilot injury… or worse.

Whenever your player group creates a Pilot (including the 6 at the start of the campaign), you will assign one Qualification to each character. These are not literal, in-fiction qualifications, but a term used to identify what skills this particular pilot brings to the table. When you open the box there are 12 unique qualifications:

Piloting - Competencies in helming a ship.
Navigation - Competencies in aircraft positioning and charting flight paths.
Engineering - Competencies in ship design and maintenance.
Communications - Competencies in the operation and maintenance of telecommunication
Presence - Competencies in leadership, persuasion, and manipulation.
Enforcer - Competencies surrounding martial prowess, survival, and protection.
Underground - Competencies in underground knowledge, resourcefulness and skullduggery.
Acquisitions - Competencies in procurement, trade, and collection.
Medical - Competencies in providing medical treatment in support of deployment operations.
Knowledge - Competencies in a wide array of specific academic scholarships including history, politics, and language.
Science - Competencies in a wide range of scientific foci including Astro Physics, Xeno Biology, and Geology.
Computer Science - Competencies in the operation of computer equipment including threat identification, decision-making algorithms, and systems programming.

As your crew works through the campaign, there will be opportunities for current Pilots to add additional Qualifications or strengthen existing ones. As you add new pilots, how you choose to build out your collective Qualifications pool can be a strategic decision. Will you seek pilots with skills that are not yet accounted for amongst existing crew members or will you double down on your strengths? Which skills will you value most as you navigate Sol System?

But wait… there's more.

Specialties

Specialties are a subset of Qualifications and further define who a particular Pilot is and can often be used to bolster Qualification scores in narrative moments - like Events. During Pilot Creation when a Qualification is selected, one of the three Specialties associated with that Qualification is also selected and added to the Pilot Card. If at any point during the campaign, a Pilot accrues a third ‘rank’ of a Qualification, they may select a second Specialty.

Piloting
Combat - the ability to pilot during an action between military forces.
Evasion - the ability to perform fast and effective maneuvering to avoid a threat.
Environment - the ability to master environmental considerations.
Navigation
Course Charting - the study of navigation mapping and maneuvering boards.
Hazard Detection - the study of safety systems for hazard detection and avoidance.
Surveillance - the study of integrated sensor solutions for target detection and tracking.
Engineering
Power and Energy- the study of electrical and fusion systems.
Mechanical - the study of aerospace, ship architecture, and control systems.
Biomedical - the study of kinetics, biomechanics, and cybernetics.
Communications
Transmission - the study of radio transmitters and receivers.
Encryption - the study of encrypting and decrypting secret message traffic.
Tactical - the study of effective, operational communications amongst crew units.
Presence
Leadership - the ability to direct the actions of others in a manner of loyal cooperation.
Persuasion - the ability through charisma to convince others to do or believe something.
Manipulation - the ability to exercise harmful influence over others.
Enforcer
Close Combat - the ability to excel in short-range and melee combat situations.
Ranged Combat - the ability to engage targets in distances greater than physical reach.
Intimidation - the ability to cause fear or compel others through the threat of force.
Underground
Skullduggery - the ability to perform underhanded or unscrupulous behavior.
Fence - the ability to effectively purchase and resell stolen property.
Hacking - the ability to perform non-permissioned computer research.
Acquisitions
Logistics - the ability to manage the procurement of materials and maintain inventory.
Trade - the ability to analyze the system’s economy.
Exotics - the ability to identify rare or unusual items and their potential purposes.
Medical
Nutrition - the study of crew readiness including fatigue exposure and general health.
Surgery - the study of the evaluation and treatment of conditions that require surgery.
Pathology - the study of the causes and effects of disease.
Knowledge
History - the study of collecting and evaluating information concerning historical events.
Language - the study and knowledge of several human languages.
Politics - the study and knowledge of contemporary governance.
Science
Astrophysics - the study of the physics and properties of celestial objects.
Xenobiology - the study of strange or alien forms of life.
Astrogeology - the study of geology of the solid bodies in the system.
Computer Science
Systems Programming - The study of construction of systems, chips, and components.
Security - The study of threat detection, virus engineering, pentesting.
Artificial Intelligence - The study of intelligent agents and decision-making algorithms.

During an Event, at the Qualification Check step, the presence of a relevant Speciality will automatically improve the Result, leading to more favorable outcomes.

For example: Your crew has some type of unexpected viral outbreak that is seriously impacting the ship’s performance. Not only do you have a Pilot with a Medical Qualification, but as it turns out, they specialize in Pathology. The Qualification Check will have made it clear that ‘Pathology’ applies in this specific circumstance and the subsequent result will be one that reflects a crew that had someone fully capable to deal with the outbreak.

Have questions about how Qualifications and Specialties work? Feel free to reach out - we love talking about it!

PAX East Game Convention

PAX East - just one week away! As a reminder, the event runs from March 23rd to March 26th. We will be showcasing Salvage and all its newest components at Booth 12098 in the Main Expo Hall.

In addition to showcasing SALVAGE: Deep Space, we will have some goodies on-hand including 70mm statuettes, Pilot Pins, and PAX East exclusive 28mm Xenomartians. If your pledge or add-on included the selection of one or more of these and you are going to be at the convention, feel free to swing by and pick them up! If you are interested in a Statuette but have yet to pull the trigger, please visit the pre-order store in Backerkit or stop by the booth to take a look.

In addition to these Backer Updates, we typically preview and display our progress a couple times each week across our various social media platforms. If you are interested in digesting our new visual assets as soon as they roll out, please consider following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter - plus TikTok for any video content.

We hope to see some of you next week!

Matt, Ben, and Sean, 3301 Games

SALVAGE: Deep Space

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