RPGNow

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Updated 11/4 - Here's The "Where The F' Are They?" List of Overdue RPG Kickstarters I've Supported


The below list is of RPG Related Kickstarters that were estimated to ship (I am using the ship date for the physical item, not the PDF if there is one) November 2012 or earlier.  I was going to add Indiegogo projects to the list, but they are so few (and this list got so long) I'll summarize as follows: LotFP stuff that I supported over the summer has not shipped, but Indiegogo doesn't force an estimated shipping date . Barrowmaze II shipped on time!


Colors for Actual Ship Date are as follows:

Red: Hasn't shipped and is (or will be based on new estimates) significantly overdue. This includes projects that have been shipping in dribs and drabs for months. If all backers dont have what they pledged for, it's in red.

Orange: Late but shipped, or recently missed a shipping date and hasn't shipped

Green: Shipped on time. Holy Shit!

DungeonMorph Dice
Goal: $5,000     Total: $20,620     Funded: May 22, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2011     Actual Ship Date: December, 2011

Adventurer Conqueror King System
Goal: $4,000     Total: $11,648     Funded: August 6, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: November, 2011     Actual Ship Date: April, 2012

Far West
Goal: $5,000     Total: $49,324     Funded: August 25, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: December, 2011     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped (and has missed interim ship dates)

Far West - last update 10/19 (over 2 weeks ago)- updates approximately monthly -  First the main / lead artist flaked out in the middle of the job (and claimed to have finished work he hadn't completed), then Gareth got sick, "Far West" as a title will now be cropping up in unrelated media, making marketing a pain I suspect - and no new ship date. If this hits ONLY the one year late mark, I'll be impressed.

C&C Classic Monsters
Goal: $4,000     Total: $9,108     Funded: December 2, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: January, 2012     Actual Ship Date: May, 2012

Quantum Roleplaying Game
Goal: $13,000     Total: $47,747     Funded: December 30, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

Quantum RPG - last update 10/30 - recent updates have been for the new setting book for the as yet unreleased RPG - I don't care how you spin it, but kicking off a new Kickstarter without releasing the final product of the first annoys me. Invest more into something I don't yet have? Boggles the mind. Even better, the second Kickstarter failed ($7,751 out of $30,000 raised - it failed on 10/18). Gee, think it failed because no one has the first Kickstarter in hand yet? To be honest, I'm no longer excited about this project. I suspect when it ships it's going straight to the bookshelf.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Goal: $6,000     Total: $13,216     Funded: January 15, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship date: July, 2012 and still ongoing completed I believe

Adventurer Conqueror King System Player's Companion
Goal:: $4,000     Total: $20,622     Funded: March 16, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped  

ACKS Player's Companion - last Update 10/9 - Updates approximately monthly. No ship date, but feedback from early release PDF has been applied and the contents revised - Updates average one per month at this stage. This one is getting long in the tooth.

Story Forge
Goal: $12,000    Total: $21,736     Funded: March 20, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: July, 2012

Dwimmermount
Goal: $10,000     Total: $48,756     Funded: April 14, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate Spring / Fall 2013)

Dwimmermount - Last Update 11/2 - Updates Weekly. Absolutely the best thing Travis (and James) have done is give weekly updates. In the Way Way Back, where updates were few and rumors were many, folks were getting might uppity, and with good reason. There was certainly a loss of some goodwill during the Way Way Back Times, and Travis is putting the effort in now, but things would have been so much simpler if updates had been weekly from the start, especially with the wide margin the ship date is being missed by.  BTW, the Progress Graph is annoying and tells me little except to remind me of how late this project already is.

King For a Day
Goal: $800     Total: $4,844     Funded: May 1, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (new estimate - December 2012) 

King For a Day - Last update 10/31 - Updates Approximately twice a month. I'm somewhat doubtful of the December 12 ship date, but I'm willing to be surprised 

Artisan Dice
Goal: $300     Total: $91,542     Funded: April 7, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship date: May, 2012 and still ongoing completed now I do believe - this suffered from overwhelming response. If you are going to be late, let it be because you have too many customers ;)

Adventures Dark & Deep
Goal: $2,500     Total: $7,459     Funded: April 15, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Shipped September, 2012 - I was only in at the PDF level, but congrats for hitting the ship date ;)

Myth & Magic Player's Guide
Goal: $5,000     Total: $24,076     Funded: May 7, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

Myth & Magic Player's Guide - Last update on 9/29 was in relation to it's sister project. PDF released to the wild, no hard copies yet. Last update related to this project was 9/21, about 6 weeks ago. Not the way to remain in contact with your customers


Appendix N
Goal: $1,000     Total: $18,893     Funded: July2, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate Late September  November 2012)

Appendix N - Last Update 10/22 - Updates more than once a week - Brave Halfling is like your cousin who is always late to appointments - whether it's a Kickstarter or a pre-order, the quality has so far been excellent, the timeliness has been poor. PDF versions of the releases look to be on time or close to it going forward - physical products is going to be a wait n see in my opinion.

Nystul's Infinite Dungeon
Goal: $2,000     Total: $16,017     Funded: June 3, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012 (New Estimate October November 2012 for PDF)
Nystul's Infinite Dungeon - Weekly updates - Last update 10/17 - Estimate for physical delivery is November 2012. greatly expanded offering from initial description.

Dwarven Adventurers Boxed Set
Goal: $1,250     Total: $136,487     Funded: July 25, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012 (New Estimate November 2012)

Dwarven Adventurers - last update 10/31 - blew away it's goal and added so many miniatures to the set that missing the estimated ship goal was a given before the funding even completed. If you are going to ship late, this is the reason. Weekly Updates


CHAMPIONS OF ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering

Goal: $4,600     Total: $8,077     Funded: June 16, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped

Champions of Zed - last update 9/10 - once this project started running late, the updates stopped. Maybe there is info at the forums, but is it too much to ask for an update via Kickstarter every two weeks? Last update nearly 2 months ago. Someone remind me why I backed this project...

Tabletop Forge
Goal: $5,000     Total: $44,413     Funded: July 9, 2012
Estimated Release Date: August, 2012      Actual Release Date: Not Yet Released

Tabletop Forge - Updates approximately every 2 weeks - last update 10/29. Its software. Software doesn't play nice. Updated software looks to be a huge improvement. Hopefully I'll have a chance to use it next Saturday

Race To Adventure
Goal: $40,000     Total: $52,117     Funded: July 24, 2012
Estimated Release Date: Dec, 2012     Actual Release Date: Early 2013 (New Estimate)

Race To Adventure - Updates about once a month - Board Game - Blame the delays on European vacations. No, really -"wouldn't you know it, August turns out to be a time when a lot of folks in our field are off on a vacation. But we're not talking about GenCon here -- we're talking about Europe, where we're going to be having the game manufactured. This sort of nations-wide month long vacation is super, uh, foreign to USA-based folks like us, so we simply had no idea it was coming."

Fantastiqa
Goal: $10,000     Total: $23,580     Funded: August 9, 2012
Estimated Release Date: Oct, 2012     Actual Release Date: Not Yet Released (New Estimate - Nov, 2012)

Fantastiqa - Updates monthly - Last Update 9/29. guess they got hit by the same European Vacation ;)

Not yet overdue:

Axes and Anvils (Due this month)

Swords & Wizardry: The Actual 1st Edition Roleplaying Rules (Due this month)


10 comments:

  1. Champions of Zed forum no longer exists, and Tom from New Haven Games (Myth and Magic) hasn't been seen or heard from since before the GMG Kickstarter finished.

    Ill tidings...

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is why the only Kickstarter I ever really considered was the Reaper one. As an established company they have the capability to fulfill the KS. Moreover, failing to do so isn't something they could afford. I do think they were so successful, Reaper will have trouble fulfilling in a timely manner due to the shear quantity of product they have to produce and ship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm also a Reaper backer, and it remains the sole Kickstarter I have ever backed.
      I'm actually counting on them to be late, if only because they ended up with thousands of backers and millions of dollars. They've been timely in their communication and I trust that I'll have my giant case of minis. With some of these other projects, I won't contribute because I have little reassurance that it isn't going to be vaporware.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There's a lot of red and yellow in your list...
    Projects I've backed are batting about 50% right now. When you're taking $50,000 money in backers I think it should go without saying that you give at least one update a week to assure that you're working on your project and are doing everything in your power to meet deadlines. Hell, if I was attempting a kickstarter I would never throw down a deadline unless I was 99% sure that I could meet it. I'm sure there are a lot of unknowns and issues that come but factor that in. Its all about managing expectations.

    I agree the Storyforge guy did a great job with his project. He had some hiccups but always was extremely clear in his communication and was able to meet his deadline.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I saw on Enworld that Autarch is already starting to pimp another Kickstarter project (not yet started, but planned), this time for a ACK wargame. Even though they haven't finished the player's companion yet.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Jeremy, we have a couple of projects ready to go that are waiting on completion of the Player's Companion. We're not pimping them outside our own forums yet, but Domains of War is getting talked about (in the EN World case by an independent writer) because it *is* 99% done; it's out there, people are playing with it, and once it's Kickstarted the only substantial things to add will be backer-directed things like choosing the subjects for illustrations.

    @Erik, it's good to know that the progress charts for Dwimmermout aren't useful, making those takes me some time I'd be glad to spend on the ACKS conversion instead. The delay on the Player's Companion is frustrating because I don't know what to say about it; the content is there, we're just hung up on the final step of PDF creation. I can certainly say once a week that we're trying to resolve that logjam if that'd help!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It sounds like folks are using Kickstarter as a great scam tool. Send some money, maybe you'll get some product never..., wow.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Jeremy - Domains of War was being talked about when I got the early backer's version of ACKS in the summer of 2011. I know it's not vaporware.

    @Tavis - the charts remind me too much of charts they do at my job - too confusing and say less than the pure numbers actually would. I know the frustration you are having with the Companion PDF - we discussed it last week. I'd threaten the PDF at gunpoint if I thought it would help, but I doubt it.

    @Jay - not scamming, or at least not intentionally, but there is a large segment in our corner of the hobby that fail to realize that when you take money for a project before it's completed, you are taking upon yourself a professional obligation. If you aren't ready for that sort of responsibility, don't do a Kickstarter. Your failure to produce in a remotely timely fashion will be an albatross around your neck for as long as you attempt to be published in our hobby.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. I am a small time general contractor, and not having a carpenter show up on the day I said he would is grounds for a lawsuit. Welcome to the real world. You get one chance at a first impression, then it is over.

      Delete

Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition