Dying Hard on Hardlight Station: Anthology Edition

Hardlight Anthology Week 3 Update: Unlocking, and Never Stopping
3 months ago – Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 03:02:16 PM

With week 3 nearly dusted, we are approaching the final leg of the campaign, and man oh man we've come a long way. Let's dive in to see where we've been and where we are heading in the home stretch. 

200K GOAL REACHED!

Unbelievably, we've surpassed the 200k mark, not only making Dying Hard on Hardlight Station: Anthology Edition Magnum Galaxy's biggest project ever but also the Mothership 3rd party scene's second most funded project behind the excellent Hull Breach. That is amazing and I couldn't have done it without you all so thanks for making history with me. And! WE ARE STILL GOING! 

So what do we get for hitting that big 200K milestone? 

The Record Keeper: Ribbon Book Mark Unlocked! 

Produced by Panda from high quality materials and modern methods, every copy of the Hardlight Anthology will now include both durable, functional and aesthetically awesome smyth-sewn bindings, as well as a built in cloth ribbon book mark to keep your exact page at the table or between reading sessions at home.

Now I just need to decide what colour to make the ribbon and cloth binding. What are your thoughts? Since people loved engaging with last week's poll so much, I'll suggest a few colours and you can vote for your favourite. 

Speaking of Polls... 

Nightmare on Somerset is the winner of the "most excited for" adventure poll from last week. 

I'm not at all biased I swear, but I am stoked so many of you are excited for my daylight-horror depth crawl: Nightmare on Somerset. I really enjoyed writing and playtesting this one, and love that I got to bring in some of my major inspirations, including big doses of Alex Garland's Annihilation, and Emmy Allen's seminal Gardens of Ynn. There's also a little DNA from the horrific film Midsommar as well as the Lovecraftian classic At the Mountains of Madness. Plus, Nightmare on Somerset is one of the handful of anthology adventures featuring otherworldly alien intelligences and creatures. 

So, this is where we've been. Now you may be asking: "What's Next?"

New Stretch Goal: Expanding the Fleet Pt. 2

Keen eyed observers may have already noticed, but I'm adding on one more Fleet Guide PDF with two additional ships. And, since people have been asking, I am planning to make physical copies of the pamphlets available as post campaign add-ons. I'm thinking $5 if you want the print version of each as I'd love to make it an easy add for those interested. 

Also, since we are late in the game here, I will admit to having one last big thing planned for the Fleet Guide should the campaign really knock it out of the park between now and our final hours. But! Let's make sure we crack that 2000 backer number first and see where we land shall we? 

Alright, that wraps this week's update. Thanks for following along thus far and here's to a strong finish. As always, questions, comments, pure expressions of excitement? Leave them in the comments and I'll get back to you asap. 

See you next week, 

Dave

Friday Update: 190k and Rising!
3 months ago – Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 06:57:13 AM

Yippee-ki-yay, Mothershippers,

We’re rolling into our second weekend and I couldn’t be happier with the amazing progress we’ve made. At $190k, this is Magnum Galaxy Games’ most funded project ever by a long shot, and we’re not even halfway through the campaign!

Thank You!

We’ve had a ton of great support along the way, and I’d like to take a moment to thank all of you who have joined the ride so far and shared this campaign with friends and in your communities to help spread it far and wide

I’d also like to thank Sean and Alan at Tuesday Knight Games for featuring us in their latest newsletter, and Egg Embry over at EN World for including the campaign in the latest EN World crowdfunding roundup. It’s awesome to see this project finding homes with stalwarts like EN World as well as newer communities.

Stretch Goals: Past, Present... and Future?!

With the wind at our backs, we are rapidly approaching the $200k mark where we unlock the ribbon bookmark, the third of our book upgrades, and boosting every copy of the Anthology from deluxe to premium.

And we aren’t done yet. Because out there, at the dark edge of the horizon, something looms. Something huge, grand, and terrifying. An old enemy, or ancient friend, ready to resurface, bigger, louder, more horrific, and more... immersive than ever before.

Adventure Collection PDF Poll

I also want to remind everyone who has backed so far that when the Pledge Manager opens shortly after the campaign closes, all ten original adventures will be available to download.

Vil is currently wrapping art for Chris Airiau’s warzone extraction mission “Perihelion Crossfire” before moving on to the final adventure to be illustrated: Haig Morrison’s catch-’em-all interplanetary scavenger hunt “The Planets of Dr. Gennero.”

With the adventures arriving in just a few short weeks, tell me: Which one are you most excited about?Share your thoughts in the poll below!
 

That’s all for this week. If you have been following along but have not backed yet, now is a great time to jump and help us crack 200k before the weekend is out. For those of you already aboard, don’t forget to share the campaign on your favourite social media channels to spread the word and push us toward the next milestone.

Wishing you all a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend,

Dave Kenny
Magnum Galaxy Games

PS. If you want to check out a great Mothership podcast, with a little conversation about this very project from two of its writers, head over to the latest episode of Ansible Uplink, where Chris Airiau and Reece Carter review the Mothership adventures, On Axionic Wings, and fan favourite, There is a Goblin Loose on Icarus Station and chat a little Hardlight along the way.

Week One Update: unlocked goals and awesome momentum moving ahead!
3 months ago – Sun, Mar 08, 2026 at 03:32:06 PM

Hello Everyone! 

We've made amazing progress week one at over 170k and nearly 1400 new residents aboard the station. To celebrate an excellent first week I'm here to share some fun campaign news, let's dive in!

Project We Love!

Here’s a fun one: for the first time, a Magnum Galaxy Games project has been selected for “Project We Love” status by Kickstarter!

A fun step that acknowledges what all of you already knew, of course. I’m flattered, and glad we’ve got this accolade to help build momentum as we move into the middle part of the campaign. The more people hear about this project, the better we can keep the upgrades coming.

Stretch Goals Unlocked!

Speaking of which, we've unlocked two new goals just since Wednesday.

That means every Hardlight character sheet will feature a spot for The Operator. Built for life in Sector 1365 but flexible like the core Mothership classes, players can decide whether to craft them as an NCID spy, a back-alley fixer for the highest bidder, or something in between. With skills in combat, rimwise, and optional specializations, they're yours to tweak. I’m thinking the trauma response will be all about saving yourself from danger by endangering another. Should make for juicy results at the table…

We’ve also unlocked the first expansion to the Fleet Guide. And this one is special because, as I’m proud to announce, we’re doing it as a crossover with another cool project live right now.

Legitimate Salvage Collab!

I connected with the Legitimate Salvage gang over our shared love of Vil’s art. The timing is perfect because I’ve recently been getting back into tactical miniature wargaming, reviving my love of Games Workshops' Necromunda. I’ve been too busy working on Hardlight to get my own gang table ready, but I’m itching to dive back in so it is cool to be bringing the worlds of Hardlight Station and tactical wargames together.

With that in mind, WIRD, the creator of Legitimate Salvage, and I have collaborated to create a tactical incursion included in the new Legitmate Salvage scenario book. Your crew is tasked with breaking into Hardlight’s HealthTek facility to seize a sample of the Tau Sigma Substance. Set at the same time as Blackshield’s invasion, resitance is fierce and the action chaotic.

Meanwhile, we’ve also co-designed a new ship for the Fleet Guide: a mercenary cruiser, packed with desperate mercs the players can scrap with, sick on their enemies, or hire for a score.

If you’re a fan of small-group tactical miniature wargames, or just gritty, grotty sci-fi art, make sure to check out the cool stuff happening over at Legitimate Salvage. I’m planning to prep and paint up a squad as soon as I can.

What's Next?!

We are rapidy approaching the next big book upgrade: adding a cloth marker ribbon to every copy of the book. And after that, well, where we're going, let's just say, we don't need roads (wrong movie franchise but, hey, if its good, its good). 

That's all for this one, here's to an exciting week ahead!

- Dave

PS. I have to point out my favourite Bluesky from launch week. Yes, this needs to be an appendix entry. And yes, I’ve already been brainstorming cozy downtime activities to fill a D10 table.

Day Two: A Whole New World of Stretch Goals!
3 months ago – Wed, Mar 04, 2026 at 04:31:31 PM

Hello everybody!

As promised I'm back to announce the next round of stretch goals. As I mentioned yesterday, each is a carefully selected upgrade that is also calibrated to keep scope creep in check and the delivery timeline protected. There are some big targets on these latest goals but I know we can do it!

But first, let's talk about we've already unlocked. 

So far we're adding: 

• A digital warden's kit filled with all kinds of resources to run your games online as well as print out for the table. If you've played MGG games before you know they always come with a healthy pack of play aids and this book will likely be the grandest so far. But don't worry, I promise to put them in a nice zipped file so you don't need to click download 14 times to get every single item ;-)
• Upgraded Endpapers to give the book a little extra luxury AND utility. Think Mork Borg, Mothership, and Hull Breach - all the tools you need for at-table improv right at your fingertips. 
• Lastly, the Smyth Sewn Binding... I've always wanted to add this to a release and now it is happening. If you don't know what it is Smyth-sewn binding is a book binding where pages are sewn together with multiple stitches to create the complete book. Smyth-sewn books can stand up to years of wear and tear and lay flat on the table which is  ideal for TTRPG manuals like this.

Ok, but what's next?

Well I'm glad you asked. Here's where we are going next!

As you can see we are already steaming toward adding the Operative class at 150k to our custom Hardlight Character sheets. A scoundrel fit for life and death on the station, live your best worst life by choosing the operative to navigate the shady alleys and shadier deals that abound in Sector 1365. 

At that magic number 1365 backers, we will expand the fleet of ships sailing the perilous sector skies with two new entries. Unlike the first 48 hours bonus though, this one goes out to everyone. I've got some special plans for these two ships as well that I'm excited to announce at a later date. 

And lastly, if things really get cooking, at 200k I'm adding a tasteful and handy ribbon book mark to every hardback. Ready at hand to mark your page when its time to roll the dice or grab another delicious slice of game-night pizza.

Alright, that's it for this one. Thanks all for another great day. Please spread the word about the Anthology to any friends you think might be interested and lets keep this good momentum going. 

Also, keep the questions and comments coming. I'm happy to answer any you might have - this book has been in the works a long time so if you're curious about any of the finer details drop a note below and I'll be happy to expand! 

All the best until next time,

Dave

Day One: The hardlight Anthology is Fully Funded, and Plenty More to Come!
3 months ago – Tue, Mar 03, 2026 at 10:36:25 PM

Hi Everyone, 

Just wanted to drop in to say THANK YOU for an amazing first day. This project has been a lot of fun and a lot of work over the last few years and I'm glad you are all here to celebrate everything myself and the team of artists, writers, designers, and other creative people have worked so hard to bring to life. 

Dying Hard on Hardlight Station: Anthology Edition is officially now Magnum Galaxy Games' most funded project ever and you all made that happen on day one of the campaign. Amazing! I am truly overwhelmed by the response. I've also been having a blast today chatting with so many of you in the comments. It's been a day of celebration and you all have brought that energy here too. I love it!

More to Come

Yes, it may have been a big day but we're not done yet! With every stretch goal smashed in less than 24 hours I don't know what to do... or do I?! Well actually I do! I've got another round of carefully considered goals to share and I will do so... soon. Keep an eye out for those going up in the next 24 hours. For now I will just say, watch out for the number 1365, and prepare  for the return of at an old favourite and something else, brand new. 

Have a wonderful night (or morning) and talk to you all again soon!

Thanks a bunch,

Dave