Three Articles from Chris aka Board Game Nerd

October 29, 2021 he first provided an overview of ISS Vanguard:

=> ISS Vanguard – Should You Back It?

November 2, 2021 he provided a look at some details of the game:

=> ISS Vanguard – The Art and Components

November 14, 2021 he went over some questions still remaining:

=> ISS Vanguard: The Questions That Remain

Here is a summary and highlights from his articles (just like I give a summary of Marcin’s Monday Q&A and the official Awaken Realms Updates … however, you probably should read the three full articles first and use this for a quick reference :)

1. Chris is about 75% sure that he is going to back ISS Vanguard
2. Chris has played other Awaken Realms games such as Nemesis, Nemesis: Aftermath and Etherfields
3. What caught his attention is the stunning and detailed miniatures, however, standees for each miniature is included as well.
4. The logbook entries tell the story during mission advancement and discovery.
5. Also included will be the Companion App with professional voice-overs, special effects and music. This can be used in place of the logbook.
6. During explorations the players may split up or stick together during interesting decision points with their actions influencing the story that unfolds around them.
7. Crewmembers on a mission may die, but the mission does not restart as many other narrative games would. Instead, the mission goes on, with success or failure.
8. The latest iteration of the Ship Book provides a pool of Command Tokens that the players can spend aboard the ship. Available crewmembers also can be put to work to help achieve things aboard the ship.
9. Dice – yellow dice are used to resolve injuries during missions. Red, green and blue dice are used during missions as well as during the ship phase.
10. Crewmembers each have their own special skills and abilities and can go on missions as well as work aboard the ship
11. Why back ISS Vanguard now rather than later? The core box will give you almost twice as much now versus what will be available at retail, plus you can save $150 on the Commander’s Pledge. You also will get it faster than waiting for it to be in retail.
12. Why should YOU back ISS Vanguard?
    1. If you enjoy long cooperative campaigns with a deep narrative element where your decisions matter
    2. If you want more than just a dungeon crawler in space
    3. If you want to dive into the unique Ship Phase
    4. If you love chucking dice
    5. If you are intrigued by the open galaxy exploration of ISS Vanguard
    6. If you are a Sci-Fi junkie
    7. If you are a fan of premium components and top-notch minis
13. Why should you NOT back ISS Vanguard?
    1. The price. ISS Vanguard is by no means cheap. The value IS there, but consider if it makes sense for you.
    2. You don’t have the time or the playgroup to undertake a campaign of this depth and length.
    3. You don’t care for the theme or the mechanics.
14. THE ART AND COMPONENTS article:
15. The art is decidedly purple and full of other bright colors that draw your attention to it
16. The art is similar to what you’d see on current Military Sci-Fi and Space Opera book covers including epic scale spaceships and interstellar objects.
17. The art shows that we are getting into something bigger than us, bigger than humanity.
18. Chris likes the detail of the crewmember art. [however, note from Len … the crewmember art is drastically different than it was prior to the 2.5 prototype. Taste in art will vary from person to person, but I personally do not like the new crewmember art at all – it will be hard to play the game with it. The original art was more detailed and realistic and really drew me into the game.]
19.  The Personal Files add-on gives back stories to each member of the crew
20. The miniatures are a popular draw to any Awaken Realms game and ISS Vanguard seeks to be the best of them all
21. Rather than a gray miniatures, there is an option to get the miniatures the “sundrop” treatment [to bring out the details]. The specific color of the sundrop has not yet been decided.
22. There will four different size cards in the game
23. There will be various tokens, rings, stands and inserts
24. THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN article:
25. Backing it now will be cheaper even though you will get about twice as much content compared to what will be sold at retail at a later date. Plus, Awaken Realms games have been hard to find in retail after the crowdfunding was over, and the prices inflated even more via the secondary market.
26. Backing it now will get five free scenarios, and these are not MINOR freebies. Each includes Planetopedia pages, logs, new cards, standees, minis and even new crewmembers (and this is all from just one free scenario). These will be stand-alone adventures not part of a long campaign.
27. The Lander Pack provides trays, cards, standees and miniatures.
28. The Character expansion adds 30 new characters
29. The Lost Fleet Campaign also is included as ANOTHER full multi-session quest campaign.
30. There are so many added stretch goals that they will come in their own box.
31. The Ship Book was changed and refined and now operates more dynamically and plays in less time while keeping the parts that the players love.