Would still like to get a coupon link to the DriveThruRPG copy we were supposed to get. I missed the link last time as it was sent over the Kickstarter updates and not email.
The project is long delayed, but many Kickstarters are at this point. What rubbed people the wrong way initially were the unresponsiveness and the evasiveness of the project manager's actions and posts. There's still a bit of that defensiveness, even something a bit snarky, in the tone of the project runner's post. Understandably he's under pressure to get these books out. Holding out on backers without reasonable updates would set them off, backers can be an aggressive lot, they have to be with the rate of Kickstarter problems accruing. Rightly so, people are literally owed money at the least, that's a motivator which in turn self-encourages them to motivate the tardy projects.
Now I wouldn't go after the guy's livelihood as that decreases the chance of ever getting these books. I would ease up on the threats. Patience pays off in the end. We still have to see if these books make their way to all the people due physical product, but if it does, I would still count this as a success.
Major lessons of Kickstarter are once again:
1. Don't over promise without running numbers and locking in prices. Not always possible and that's the danger of these things.
2. Shipping (and fulfillment) is scary. There is never an exception to this. Some projects disclosing their info (like Fate Core) showed shipping to eat up a third of the total funds. Forget scary, shipping is hell.
[Update begins here]
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to update on you on shipments. I wasn't able to ship out 10% during each of the last few weeks, but I have 98 shipments out. I put out 20 today but couldn't get any out last week. That being said, I've asked a few local gaming youngsters to help me package things up, and they're going to come by either this weekend or the weekend of the 21st. With help, my hope is to get ALL orders ready for shipment. That would mean that 100% of the orders would be ready for the mail as of Monday, Sept 23rd. This is a tedious process alone, with order tracking, packaging, weighing, printing, delivering, etc. I know you don't care. Just wanted you to know that I'm going to get this done. I actually CAN'T wait to be free to discuss things more positive.
Just so you know, I cannot get anything ready for shipping during the weekend of the 14th due to my daughter's 3rd birthday party on Saturday and an anniversary party on Sunday.
Also FYI, I need some more shipping supplies and I need another 100 or so Player's Journals, which I'll order today. I have also designed a softcover Player's Guide to ship to those folks who ordered softcover versions of the Starter Guides. I think they probably thought they were ordering softcover Player's Guides anyway. It shouldn't take long to get the shipping supplies and the Journals, so I should have everything ready soon. If there is a delay on the printing of the softcover Player's Guides, it shouldn't be long and it doesn't affect that many of you, but I still think I'll be good to get all of them ready on or before the 21st.
I'm attaching some pictures. I certainly contribute to the various posts calling me a scam artist, thief and worse. There are droves of backers that think the books do not exist. The pictures were taken today. They show the remaining boxes of PGs and Journals ready to be stuffed into some sort of shipping box and sent on their way.
Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4, Picture 5.
You certainly owe me nothing, but I'm asking anyway. There have been some very nasty, accusatory posts over the last few weeks, some calling for drastic actions that could potentially put everything on the line for me - not in terms of NHG but in terms of my career and home life. I really hope that will stop. I sincerely do apologize and have apologized for the delay and lack of updates, but campaigning to take everything I've worked for and have it destroyed is taking it to a very drastic level. I already know that collectively this Kickstarter has been an epic fail, but I hardly think the delays and lack of updates have ruined any of your lives. I really hope the few of you that have started a campaign to ruin mine will have second thoughts and rail it in. What keeps me even slightly positive is the fact that they're really more disappointed than angry, because they really love the rules set and they really think the books do not exist. I know that once they get their orders and start gaming, the nasty conversations will change and we'll all feel like gamers again.
I know that I need to update more, so please do not comment here about that. I'll update you after the weekend of the 21st.
On a different note, I wanted to talk about the expansion material. Jeff Scifert did a great job with the expansion races and classes. He is still working to tighten them up after reading your comments and suggestions (some of which are very spot on by the way). There are more updates to what you have and more expansion material in the works that really rock. Thank you to all the backers that have contributed to that discussion. He deserves the feedback and the game will be better for it.
Until the 23rd,
Tom
I just wanted to update on you on shipments. I wasn't able to ship out 10% during each of the last few weeks, but I have 98 shipments out. I put out 20 today but couldn't get any out last week. That being said, I've asked a few local gaming youngsters to help me package things up, and they're going to come by either this weekend or the weekend of the 21st. With help, my hope is to get ALL orders ready for shipment. That would mean that 100% of the orders would be ready for the mail as of Monday, Sept 23rd. This is a tedious process alone, with order tracking, packaging, weighing, printing, delivering, etc. I know you don't care. Just wanted you to know that I'm going to get this done. I actually CAN'T wait to be free to discuss things more positive.
Just so you know, I cannot get anything ready for shipping during the weekend of the 14th due to my daughter's 3rd birthday party on Saturday and an anniversary party on Sunday.
Also FYI, I need some more shipping supplies and I need another 100 or so Player's Journals, which I'll order today. I have also designed a softcover Player's Guide to ship to those folks who ordered softcover versions of the Starter Guides. I think they probably thought they were ordering softcover Player's Guides anyway. It shouldn't take long to get the shipping supplies and the Journals, so I should have everything ready soon. If there is a delay on the printing of the softcover Player's Guides, it shouldn't be long and it doesn't affect that many of you, but I still think I'll be good to get all of them ready on or before the 21st.
I'm attaching some pictures. I certainly contribute to the various posts calling me a scam artist, thief and worse. There are droves of backers that think the books do not exist. The pictures were taken today. They show the remaining boxes of PGs and Journals ready to be stuffed into some sort of shipping box and sent on their way.
Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4, Picture 5.
You certainly owe me nothing, but I'm asking anyway. There have been some very nasty, accusatory posts over the last few weeks, some calling for drastic actions that could potentially put everything on the line for me - not in terms of NHG but in terms of my career and home life. I really hope that will stop. I sincerely do apologize and have apologized for the delay and lack of updates, but campaigning to take everything I've worked for and have it destroyed is taking it to a very drastic level. I already know that collectively this Kickstarter has been an epic fail, but I hardly think the delays and lack of updates have ruined any of your lives. I really hope the few of you that have started a campaign to ruin mine will have second thoughts and rail it in. What keeps me even slightly positive is the fact that they're really more disappointed than angry, because they really love the rules set and they really think the books do not exist. I know that once they get their orders and start gaming, the nasty conversations will change and we'll all feel like gamers again.
I know that I need to update more, so please do not comment here about that. I'll update you after the weekend of the 21st.
On a different note, I wanted to talk about the expansion material. Jeff Scifert did a great job with the expansion races and classes. He is still working to tighten them up after reading your comments and suggestions (some of which are very spot on by the way). There are more updates to what you have and more expansion material in the works that really rock. Thank you to all the backers that have contributed to that discussion. He deserves the feedback and the game will be better for it.
Until the 23rd,
Tom
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