Is it a personal attack if someone points out that the project you collected "real money" for is "really late"?
Only if you feel guilty.
Onward to the updates!
Swords & Wizardry
Update #43 · Jan. 02, 2013 ·
We got the following email from the printers today: "looks like your title is finishing up in bindery and will ship by the end of the week." So we were hoping they were going out earlier this week based on the email we received in December but we wanted to keep you all posted. We have already received the Coloring Album and Bill's Module. The re-print on the few pages we had to correct on the rulebook did push us back a few weeks and we apologize. We are glad it was caught in time to fix though. Also the Monster Book, Monstrosities, is in the final stages of layout and will be going to the printer very soon. (In summary - I should not expect a shipment anytime soon, as I'm getting the Monster Book and have already had my pockets picked for $22 shipping)
Maelorum, an epic Gamebook
An important update.
It's one of those "Backers Only" updates. Here's the gist of it - he had 6 folks volunteer to playtest but only one bothered to actually give feedback. So, who fucked us over? Ourselves. Go figure. Release will be delayed and will not ship in January as planned. No, it will ship TWO WEEKS LATER. Holy shit, in the RPG Kickstarter Universe of Earth K, that is practically shipping early ;)
Numenera: A new roleplaying game from Monte Cook
I just realized - we haven't gotten an update from Monte since December 5th. I guess he is too busy working on that dungeon level for The Grande Temple of Jing ;)
Axes and Anvils
Hey! Look! Axes & Anvil hasn't been updated since December 7th. It was due in November. No worries though, because the nearly month old playtest doc is nearly playable. This has to get moved to the "overdue" list next round. Hey, at least Mike isn't building some random dungeon level for a trickster god.
Nystul's Infinite Dungeon
Wait, another Mike Project! Two in the hopper. This was due in September. Soon to be in layout. Laast update, December 13.
Cairn
No, I didn't back a THIRD project from Mike, but guess what? This one is late too:
Lateness
Update #12 · Dec. 22, 2012 · 13 comments
So everyone here at the Castle has been burning the midnight oil but it turns out there is only so hard you can push before you aren't going any faster. Everything is going well, just not quite as fast as we had hoped. Some stuff has shipped - some is shipping now and some will ship after the holiday. I know this is disappointing to those of you who intended gifts. I would like to make things right. The "extras" are going out. The mousies are going out - but slow. The storybooks are simply late. If you would like something else, let me know. I am also willing to do a non holiday story for ya, donate some books to a local charity in your name, send art, even offer refunds - just say the word. What I want most is happy backers! The Core Book is being finalized now and we are all pretty proud of it. As soon as Jeff can lay it all out it gets PDF delivered to you and we send it off to out fulfillment people who will get you your hard cover copies. Then the adventure begins!
In truth, the lateness isn't all that bad in the RPG Kickstarter Universe of Earth K, but the Kickstarter promised "MOUSE: Perfect bound print edition. We will have this done and to you before Christmas! You also get the PDF so you can read it while waiting for your book to ship! Instant gratification? You bet! Estimated delivery: Dec 2012"
Picturing Solo History
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There are many gamers who will tell you that it was *Vampire the Masquerade*
that got them into roleplaying. That was in the 1990s. There are many
gamers ...
1 hour ago
I'd say something snarky, but then I figure the Lords of Necessity would put me in a coma for six months just to screw with my release date for the Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little annoyed at Frog for NOT putting international postage on their projects, and then hitting me for $50 (Australia). The KSer was only $70 for froggods sake. Dont you americans have anything other than air priority post? Is surface mail something from my distant youth? I'd be happy to waive my rights for it being lost at this price.
ReplyDeleteThe box I got Rappan in was 50% air.
There is an opportunity here for an enterprising person, act as a delivery wharehouse for KSers in distant countries.
I get the impression a lot of these just didn't start work on their projects until the kickstarter ended. The one thing I've learned regarding kickstarter from your updates is that if I ever initiate a kickstarter to fund a self-published game, I better have all my shit ready before the kickstarter ends.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, Doc. I've done two successful Kickstarters, and each time I had the game book already written and playtested. The KS was just for editing and art.
DeleteSince I'm doing this on my own time, the design and writing work doesn't actually cost me any money, so I can't imagine why I'd need the money beforehand.
Here is another one for your list: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/machineage/machine-age-micro-games-mega-project.
ReplyDeleteDelivery on everything was October. As of today, only three PDFs have been released, and no word on when physical copies will be ready, let a lone shipped.
I've given up on it, and I am avoiding anything else they do from here on out.
i remember thinking "the only way he could get out 7+ games in print in less than 2 months is if he has already written them". Guess David didn't have them written.
DeleteBut no worries, he has a full plate of freelance work to keep him from spending much time on them anyhow ;)
I think with Kickstarter it is safe to assume, if it sounds too good to be true, it is a lie
DeleteLooking at the descriptions, it sounds like each could have been done on a single page. Hell, I probably could have belted all 7 of them out in a week, if I took time off from my job.
DeleteWould it be awful of me to try to finish 7 games with exactly the same premises before he does, just to prove a point? Hehehehehehe
Worse, they are putting the PDFs up for free on their blog. So I got to pay them and get nothing in return. People wonder why I am so down on my fellow "publishers."
ReplyDelete