Monkeysloth wrote: I just got a shipping notification for a small amount of Metal's I've been waiting on. Is the metal casting in house yet or is that still a bit off?
According to Rob, they've had to apply with the city council to get clearance to cast metals. He says it could take up to 8 weeks for approval. But until then, they're still working with the other caster to get things done.
Monkeysloth wrote: I just got a shipping notification for a small amount of Metal's I've been waiting on. Is the metal casting in house yet or is that still a bit off?
According to Rob, they've had to apply with the city council to get clearance to cast metals. He says it could take up to 8 weeks for approval. But until then, they're still working with the other caster to get things done.
That's actually good to know, I was figuring they were holding off on new metals till they got their own set up running as several that I'm waiting on have been released to general in resin and the metals got pushed back from June release to October not too long ago.
I have...things...in PACKING!
OMG Encrusted Thuulac, My custom Branbeca..
Ooh, I better confirm with them that this IS my custom one, and not an off the shelf version.
Otherwise do you have some News about the big turtle
At this moment turtles are too hyype! :p
From the same update as the Mega Scorp.
Next for Bob is the awesome giant tortoise turtle thing, Schyrós, for the Khthones... rumours of Sávrar riding on its back on a giant howdah complete with some kind of greek fire lobbing heath robinson type machine are completely true.
Also, the new Cerol Freemen were shown (WIP), and some of the Human warlords were being adapted to fit more into the 'Far Thule' Fomoraic Sub-realm (They're basically the more caveman/barbarian like group where all the prehistoric mammals and Mammoth men and whatnot come from).
I Really like the changes, the lady has been done for months and it's one of the reasons I bought those two warbands and also one of the reasons I'm annoyed they got delayed as I could really use them for a game I'm running.
skullking wrote: Anyone here looking to carry some troops on their mammox?
Spoiler:
Howdah ya like this?
Oh man, I love this! Is that a 2D sketch or do you have a 3D model/render made up? Would be an awesome thing for them to 3D print and cast as an add-on...
Woot, I have my first delivery from Mierce in a long time.
Branbeca arrived missing his hands, but I don't blame them as my Branbeca was a Frankenstein of Tower and Capture versions.
(I wanted Capture Branbeca, but with Tower's awesome Lantern o'skulls and 1-handed axe)
Thuulac is awesome, and i have my inspiration to pint him based on a particular crab species.
I sold 2 of my Nuncranca to a gent here on Dakka, and kept Uulo for myself.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Note to anyone viewing the images of Branbeca above, the three different version have three different arrangements of boots.
Only Capture has no boots, which is the arrangement shown above, and is NOT what you would received if you ordered the normal or Tower versions .
Tower has one boot
And the normal version has two boots.
I don't like the boots at all, as they destroy the sense of scale, I mean, who cobbles 8 foot boots?
YMMV
Not sure where to put this, and really don't wanna come off as pushy
But how long is an order typically held on 'packing' before it's shipped out? Just my order has said 'packing' for a couple of weeks now, and I just was curious if I should expect it soon (since I'm currently moving around a fair bit for work)
yxalitis wrote: Woot, I have my first delivery from Mierce in a long time.
Branbeca arrived missing his hands, but I don't blame them as my Branbeca was a Frankenstein of Tower and Capture versions.
(I wanted Capture Branbeca, but with Tower's awesome Lantern o'skulls and 1-handed axe)
Thuulac is awesome, and i have my inspiration to pint him based on a particular crab species.
I sold 2 of my Nuncranca to a gent here on Dakka, and kept Uulo for myself.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Note to anyone viewing the images of Branbeca above, the three different version have three different arrangements of boots.
Only Capture has no boots, which is the arrangement shown above, and is NOT what you would received if you ordered the normal or Tower versions .
I don't like the boots at all, as they destroy the sense of scale, I mean, who cobbles 8 foot boots?
YMMV
But the axe, cloak, lantern, etc... Don't bother you? Lol
Murdock129 wrote: Not sure where to put this, and really don't wanna come off as pushy
But how long is an order typically held on 'packing' before it's shipped out? Just my order has said 'packing' for a couple of weeks now, and I just was curious if I should expect it soon (since I'm currently moving around a fair bit for work)
There's no real hard and fast rule in terms of how long it takes to go from 'packing' to 'shipped', but it seems to usualyl be right around two weeks, plus or minus some also random amount of time.
I don't like the boots at all, as they destroy the sense of scale, I mean, who cobbles 8 foot boots?
YMMV
But the axe, cloak, lantern, etc... Don't bother you? Lol
To me, the boot looks a little weird because pretty much everyone else is running around in sandals or He-Man furry strap booties. For an ancient dead, the boot looks more "high tech", at least in as far as a leather boot can look. I get why it was done... as it stands I'm worried about that figure snapping and the feet providing little point of contact.
Bossk_Hogg wrote: Those look SOOO much better than the original physical sculpt!
These do look pretty nice, but the originals weren't bad- just different.
That said, I'm eagerly looking forward to getting mine along with the Savrar and being able to field a host that consists of more than 4 figures at one time!
yxalitis wrote: Woot, I have my first delivery from Mierce in a long time.
Branbeca arrived missing his hands, but I don't blame them as my Branbeca was a Frankenstein of Tower and Capture versions.
(I wanted Capture Branbeca, but with Tower's awesome Lantern o'skulls and 1-handed axe)
Thuulac is awesome, and i have my inspiration to pint him based on a particular crab species.
I sold 2 of my Nuncranca to a gent here on Dakka, and kept Uulo for myself.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Note to anyone viewing the images of Branbeca above, the three different version have three different arrangements of boots.
Only Capture has no boots, which is the arrangement shown above, and is NOT what you would received if you ordered the normal or Tower versions .
I don't like the boots at all, as they destroy the sense of scale, I mean, who cobbles 8 foot boots?
YMMV
But the axe, cloak, lantern, etc... Don't bother you? Lol
Ahhh (and I have thought about this)
You see, he needs a weapon, and I can imagine the axe being hammered into shape by a team of workers, you can even see the marks from their tools, and the design is rough, imperfect.
The Lantern is an instrument of their magic, so of course that too gets made, and it's full of skulls, so you can sense the size of it, it doesn't breah the sense of scale.
The cloak is just stitched together bits of heavy cloth, and whilst technically an undead giant doesn't need a cloak, molding only bones is technically more challenging,and so from a production point of view I accept that.
But the boots, why does he need boots?
Why would anyone go to the trouble of making enormous boots?
Are they afraid he'll get dirty feet?
Would the rocks hurt his feet?
So, yeah, Lantern, and axe are fine, cloak is acceptable, but boots...nah
Anyway, just my opinion.
I assume he was buried in the boots. It isn't like skeletons need pants either. As to who made them... well, when a 40 foot tall giant rolls up to your dirt farmer village and demands boots.. you make some big ass boots!
Murdock129 wrote:Not sure where to put this, and really don't wanna come off as pushy
But how long is an order typically held on 'packing' before it's shipped out? Just my order has said 'packing' for a couple of weeks now, and I just was curious if I should expect it soon (since I'm currently moving around a fair bit for work)
I've seen it take days, and I've seen it take months for stuff in packing to ship. Once something is ready to be produced, they mark it as 'in packing' IIRC. Some times you get lucky though.
You can also email Rob and ask for KSer access. He's not one to turn down a buyer and will generally let you get it if it hasn't been removed from the KSer purchase list and if it has it generally means you'll see it on the site in a month or two.
This, Miercenaries, is the last (new stuff) update for Darklands: Savage Hordes, for which we must rejoice! That's because the awesome Stéphane Camosseto has finished the Ceorl Freemen!
This week we have:
sculpt work in progress updates from Stéphane Camosseto;
a link to the forums where you can see this project's fulfilment;
a reminder that if you play Darklands, head to our forums to find more players!
...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Here we go...
There's seven miniatures to show off here, and all for the Anglecynn - and all bloody brilliant, even if we do say so ourselves.
The Ceorl Freemen have been converted from the Ceorl Bowmen by their original sculptor, Stéphane Camosseto, and they come with axe, sword or spear, plus a shield of course. Remember, Scīrbrōc is pronounced "Shire-brook".
Above is the sword-armed unit in all its glory!
The champion of the unit is Ceolric (CHOL-rich).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The unit's banner bearer is Ardith (AR-dith).
Just the sword version to show of her; see Ildith's axe and spear arms to see how she'd look with those. She will get a shield, too, on her back hopefully.
The Freeman Hornblower is Sweyn (SWAYN).
Again, just the sword version to show - see Winsweyn's axe and spear variants to see how he'd look - and he'll get a shield on his back.
The first warrior is Mutch (MUCH, the ch as in church).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The second warrior is Erwig (ER-wig).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The third warrior, converted from the banner bearer, is Ildith (IL-dith).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The fourth warrior, converted from the herald, is Winsweyn (WIN-swayn).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
Now these guys should be an October shipment, in resin at least - so that's Wave 25.
You can track the progress of this Kickstarter project - in terms of sculpts outstanding and fulfilment of orders - on our forums, in the Kickstarter subforum:
Darklands: Savage Hordes - fulfilment
Calling all Darklands Players!
We'd like to remind you all that if you're struggling for opponents, please check out our forums, specifically the Darklands Players and Community subforum - that's where you can realise your dream of playing Darklands with someone near you!
Note: you must get your account activated!
If you've registered on the forums but can't post, please note we have to activate your account manually thanks to the menace of spam. Just send a mail to contact@mierce-miniatures.com and we'll sort it for you!
We have a lovely update for Darklands: Mighty Monsters Part Deux, thanks to Our Bob!
This week we have:
sculpt work in progress updates from Bob Płociennik;
a link to the forums where you can see this project's fulfilment;
a reminder that if you play Darklands, head to our forums to find more players!
...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's crack on...
Just the one miniature to show this week, for the Khthones, but it's a bloody massive and amazing one all the same...
Schyrós (pronounced ski-ROHS, making sure you pronounce the s as in salad, not z as in zebra) is the first miniature from the Khelona realm, the realm of the turtles and tortoises and all things chelonian, for the Khthones. Cold-blooded, the Khelona are closely associated with the Sávrar and are often found in their hosts.
Personally we think this is one of Bob's best yet!
That's a 120mm base... so he is utterly enormous!
Schyrós, we hope, will be an October shipment... but we'll see. There's lots to print before then...
You can track the progress of this Kickstarter project - in terms of sculpts outstanding and fulfilment of orders - on our forums, in the Kickstarter subforum:
Darklands: Mighty Monsters Part Deux - fulfilment
Calling all Darklands Players!
We'd like to remind you all that if you're struggling for opponents, please check out our forums, specifically the Darklands Players and Community subforum - that's where you can realise your dream of playing Darklands with someone near you!
Note: you must get your account activated!
If you've registered on the forums but can't post, please note we have to activate your account manually thanks to the menace of spam. Just send a mail to contact@mierce-miniatures.com and we'll sort it for you!
But how can you pose him and not hide that awesome belly?
Simialr issue I have with Thuulac, he is an incredible, awesome, highly detailed mini, and he's propped forward on his base to not hide his underbelly details.
Maybe My Schyrós will end up standing on 4 pillars, proudly proclaiming: "BEHOLD! My Belly Of Awesomeness!
yxalitis wrote: Snapped this literally on my way out to work, early WIP of Thuulac, apologies for crap photo.
Inspiration is the coconut crab, the world's largest.
Looks good!
Always nice to see painted Mierce stuff out in the wild.
I do wish minis manufacturers would just send us sections of brass rod with gluable-on spearheads and detailing, like the sculptors use when making the master. Neither resin nor white metal are really satisfactory for anything other than display purposes.
Ian Sturrock wrote: I do wish minis manufacturers would just send us sections of brass rod with gluable-on spearheads and detailing, like the sculptors use when making the master. Neither resin nor white metal are really satisfactory for anything other than display purposes.
they could but you'd have to drill both the hand and probably the spearhead yourself - those holes don't cast up well. I'd imagine that's a turnoff to a lot of potential customers.
Ian Sturrock wrote: I do wish minis manufacturers would just send us sections of brass rod with gluable-on spearheads and detailing, like the sculptors use when making the master. Neither resin nor white metal are really satisfactory for anything other than display purposes.
they could but you'd have to drill both the hand and probably the spearhead yourself - those holes don't cast up well. I'd imagine that's a turnoff to a lot of potential customers.
You almost inevitably have to do that anyway after a couple of games when one or more of the weapon hafts goes permanently squinty or snaps altogether. While casting all-through holes is a pain, they would certainly come out well enough that a couple of quick passes with a pin vice drill would clear out the hole, and that's much easier than having to faff with doing it yourself from scratch.
Ian Sturrock wrote: I do wish minis manufacturers would just send us sections of brass rod with gluable-on spearheads and detailing, like the sculptors use when making the master. Neither resin nor white metal are really satisfactory for anything other than display purposes.
I remember a bunch of the old Ral Partha figures I used to get had something like this (I don't think the rods were brass, but I don't recall), If you were lucky you'd get all the tiny spear head in the box, and with a lot of patience and care you could attach them, but they come off REALLY easily. I totally agree about the white metal and resin though. I still think the best way to do stuff like this is cast the weapon and hand/arm in metal, and attach it to a resin body.
I know I have a few mierce models where's they've actually cast a piece of wire into weapon, so that it doesn't bend or break as easily. That would be pretty hard to do with a spear though.
Anyone try assembling your Nuncranca yet?
the spear shaft is way too large to fit into the opening in the claws.
Also, is it just me, or do those claws that are inverted look weird to you guys? One claw is the right way up, the other upside down, but it just looks...wrong to me.
i'll take a look when they get here (Might be an order of assembly issue?)
The claws look different, but since these are fantastical creatures rather than real world crabs it doesn't bug me (looks like both sides of the pincers move, rather than having one fixed as in real crabs, allowing for more dexterity at the expense of strength)
i'll take a look when they get here (Might be an order of assembly issue?)
The claws look different, but since these are fantastical creatures rather than real world crabs it doesn't bug me (looks like both sides of the pincers move, rather than having one fixed as in real crabs, allowing for more dexterity at the expense of strength)
Except it doesn't LOOK like they can turn upside down, when you open yours up and start assembling them , I'd be interested if you agree.
The way the joints are connected, means that it simply looks like one is formed the wrong way up, there is no sense of a joint that would allow for the claw to rotate 180 degrees, they are attached not at the end, but on the side,imagine rotating one...it doesn't work.
These are a rare miss for me, not sure what it is about the pig - maybe just that it seems like only a bigger version of their prior piggies, but at 100mm base size I was thinking something more.
The worm creature also seems like it needs a bit more detail...
Just my $0.02, generally adore Bob's renders but I'd love to see another pass on these.
Oh well shoot, didn't see it marked as that but it makes sense now
And I figure the pig probably matches concept art perfectly, I just want something... more, somehow. The 100mm based turtle totally blew away my expectations, though
It is drifting into vapor-ware territory, if it isn't there already.
Is there still a possibility of a revised rulebook? I'm trying to build up a gaming group and games like Z:BP, KoW and LotR SBG have gone over well and the Darklands minis are great but that ruleset is very dense and crunchy.
It would probably be a good idea to do one but, no, I don't think that's going to happen, at least, not anytime soon.
It could use with some editing, trimming and professional rule book layout help, as well as getting a LOT more fluff and artwork in it.
But...Rob's is, to say the least, VERY protective of "Darklands", so everything in terms of fluff and (I think) rules will be done by him, so here we are!
It is drifting into vapor-ware territory, if it isn't there already.
Is there still a possibility of a revised rulebook? I'm trying to build up a gaming group and games like Z:BP, KoW and LotR SBG have gone over well and the Darklands minis are great but that ruleset is very dense and crunchy.
For me, Darklands as a game was a lost cause nearly from the beginning. The rulebook is over 350 pages of dense crunch.... the D&D Players Handbook is way less for comparison, and has way less crunch. IMO, it would need to be scrapped and re-written with an entirely different mindset to catch on outside of very niche gamers. It is, however, the game Rob wanted to make, so hats off for sticking with it. There are plenty of more universal systems to use the minis for.
I think it's time to give up on that lore book and replace it w something else. He'd basically be writing it for a handful of people... they really should have just canned it when they realized how small the audience was.
This, Miercenaries, is the last (new stuff) update for Darklands: Savage Hordes, for which we must rejoice! That's because the awesome Stéphane Camosseto has finished the Ceorl Freemen!
Here we go...
There's seven miniatures to show off here, and all for the Anglecynn - and all bloody brilliant, even if we do say so ourselves.
The Ceorl Freemen have been converted from the Ceorl Bowmen by their original sculptor, Stéphane Camosseto, and they come with axe, sword or spear, plus a shield of course. Remember, Scīrbrōc is pronounced "Shire-brook".
Above is the sword-armed unit in all its glory!
The champion of the unit is Ceolric (CHOL-rich).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The unit's banner bearer is Ardith (AR-dith).
Just the sword version to show of her; see Ildith's axe and spear arms to see how she'd look with those. She will get a shield, too, on her back hopefully.
The Freeman Hornblower is Sweyn (SWAYN).
Again, just the sword version to show - see Winsweyn's axe and spear variants to see how he'd look - and he'll get a shield on his back.
The first warrior is Mutch (MUCH, the ch as in church).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The second warrior is Erwig (ER-wig).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The third warrior, converted from the banner bearer, is Ildith (IL-dith).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
The fourth warrior, converted from the herald, is Winsweyn (WIN-swayn).
Sword version
Axe version
Spear version
Now these guys should be an October shipment, in resin at least - so that's Wave 25.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Dog-Aberrants
The heat has gone and we're into September, and it's time for another superb update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II thanks to Bob Płociennik!
Time to show you some...
There's one miniature to show today, for the Ysians, courtesy of Bob Płociennik - his first Ysians for us, we think... first of many!
...and his first Ysians are the Aberrants of Ys, foul mutated dog-like creatures, rather like the lasses you see down Mansfield of a Friday night. No, really.
Bob's first Aberrant is Akkaz, a resculpt of the original by Aragorn Marks, because it would be rude not to. No pose yet, and certainly not finished, but he's getting there...
Early days yet, of course, he needs to be larger, but we're hoping these guys will be a February shipment!
We've another update for Darklands: Mighty Monsters Part Deux, amazingly, because a certain Yannick has been working hard!
Let's crack on...
Two miniatures to show today... the completion of one and the start of another... all for the Fomoraic and the Reivers of the Eye realm (which has a lovely new icon, as you can see).
Yannick Fusier is still with us, thankfully, because we absolutely adore his work on the Konraad's Mob, Ograx Reiver Unit (as well as Aadolf the Ograx Reiver Tain, in the middle of the pic below) and we believe they are quite simply the best Ogre miniatures ever in the history of the world.
Ever.
The champion of the unit, Konraad, was shown half-done in his latest update...
...but now he's done and he looks utterly superb. He's got a massive chopper, as well!
The banner bearer, Maanfrad, is not done yet, but here's his concept so you know what he'll look like.
Don't forget his warrior alter-ego, either -
- Fraad! He'll be done once we've cast Maanfrad up.
Kaarl was done a while back and, to be honest, he's got the biggest horn we've ever seen.
Here's the concept of his warrior version:
He'll be called Aarlo! He'll be done once we've cast Kaarl up.
The newest member of the unit, Aalric, is taking shape...
...he's got a big belly for sure!
Again, Ottaa was done a while back and he's still awesome.
Yannick assures me he can get these done very soon and I very much hope so because I want to give you these awesome Ogre miniatures just as much as you want them!
I'm certainly hopeful of a February shipment.
As for their variants, we'll see what happens when we get them - again, hopeful Yannick can do those conversions very quickly.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Grīma and a Thirty-Legged Beastie
Another update on Darklands: Savage Hordes III steams into view and it's utterly brilliant. When are they not...?
Check out these
One miniature to show - technically two - for the Jutes, and it's probably Bob's best yet. We really think that. Even though Bob's work is all utterly brilliant... hmm. Didn't think that through, did I?
This here Grīma of Dwimorholt, Līcwāca on Manasceancan miniature is, quite simply, a masterpiece. It's amazing how Bob can turn what looks like a difficult ask and a busy sculpt into a fantastic looking miniature that is so easy on the eye! Testament to his skill, methinks!
We are very much hoping he'll be a Wave 25 shipment!
Automatically Appended Next Post: More updates...
Nihtglōm, Wold Manasceancan
Another update for Darklands: Savage Hordes III Part Deux, and what an update it is! Those of a nervous disposition that don't like creepy crawlies should look away now...
Let's have some
One miniature, for the Jutes, thirty legs. Which is nice.
Nihtglōm is utterly brilliant, and has been sculpted by Bob Płociennik from the artwork by Danny Cruz.
Last I heard the city council was holding up them brining it in house as they had to go get approval for it. Guess because you're dealing with molten metals it's there are different permits needed.
Yeah, I believe the city council was slowing things down, but the last I heard Rob said he'd let us know where it was at.
I agree, getting the metals in house should be a big priority, as it would 'hopefully' speed things up for them. Although Rob did say, they'd still be doing metals through the original provider until they were set up in house.
I wish we'd get more updates as to what's been printed (or is printing). Tim will sometimes post on the facebook group with photos, but I just think it's nice to hear what progress is being made, even without pics. I get that stuff like the 'secret Banbreca', couldn't be talked about, but I'd assume most of the other stuff is fine.
The Ysian Hound abberants certainly do look different than the original, though much more dog-like now, I like them. The Aragorn sculpted one should be relabeled as a Cougar Abberant, since it almost seems more cat-like.
Sadly the last time we got quick and dirty shots of a print from Rob to many people moaned about it being a terrible figure (before changing their tune once the decent professional photos were shown),
so I think we're stuck waiting for professional shots for everything from now on
other than that it mainly seems to be going in KS order (for the stuff Bob's doing anyway)
I wish those Khthon would hurry up and get shipped!
I'm happy with how Konrad has turned out. Most of my ogres met their doom via eBay buyers, but I'd like to start up another red skinned horde with Mierce Fomorians leading the way....
So hopefully Uuroch isn't too far odd now...
Funded around two years ago, and not a whiff of the scculpt since!
Nightglom is great, except for the vertebrate eye, with eyelids, to me that doesn't work on an invertebrate, which has no skin with which to form them.
No criticism of Bob's awesome sculpt,he was simply following the artwork
Also, I really hope the leg sprues will come numbered!.
Also, I really hope the leg sprues will come numbered!.
Or interchangeable. I mean, with digital sculpts it shouldn't be too hard to plop in some identical connectors on each set of ends, right? On that sort of many-segmented invertebrate most of those segments (and assorted appendages) are more or less identical anyway, aren't they? And by looking at the sculpt they sure seem to be more or less the same size.
Shark Jump Miniatures is one step closer to reality this week with the awesomeness of a goat riding a boar! Ahem.
Check out these
Just the one miniature to show this week, a conversion in fact, for the Fomoraic...
The lovely Aanchuth, a Gabrax Warlock of the Cursed Herd, gains mobility by riding a Toracx, courtesy of the lovely mitts of Tim Prow. He's looking excellent!
He pops off at the waist, the legs will be attached to the Toracx.
He should be an October shipment, if I can get the thumbscrews out!
It's bloody cold this September, but that might be because we've had such a hot summer. Maybe this is normal.
Enough weather-related chattery, here's an update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II thanks to Bob Płociennik...
Here's some...
Here's three miniatures this week, started last time but now finished, and bloody awesome they are too. All for the Ysians!
The lovely Bob Płociennik has sculpted three awesome Hound-Aberrants for the Ysians, all on 60mm bases, which means that - gulp! - they could be ridden by some enterprising warchiefs...! But you'll probably want those Goad-Drunes in on the action too...
Akkaz, a resculpt of the original, is the epitome of unbridled power and aggression, and he has two heads. Maybe that's got something to do with it!
I wouldn't stroke him, personally...
When Danny Cruz gave us the artwork for Oloz, we couldn't believe our eyes! He couldn't either, because he hasn't got any.
Q: How does he see?
A: Not very well!!
Ahahahah ahaha... aha... ahem.
What a cracking weird aberration of a hound, anyway! Perfect!
By contrast, frankly, the artwork for Gungoz was not... right. So we took the opportunity to let Bob have a free reign, with a bit of direction from Rob anyway... and here's the result. Much better!
These guys should be a Wave 25 (February) shipment!
Lots of great stuff discounted, both old and new. I'm tempted by so many things, but I guess I'm hoping the drastically low stock levels (we're talking like 1 of many big beasties) on this stuff saves me ... At the rate things are selling out it may just!
Combine this with the various 'buy one get one' sales and the recently ended '1/2 price metals' sale, and no real Kickstarters from them in a while...add in the huge backlog of miniatures that they owe many, many people and that still remain to be actually sculpted...
...it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the overall brand.
Yes, I know, but with all of these things in close proximity to one another...
And maybe it is just that they've finally got local approval to move metal casting in house?
That would be great.
Mierce is an odd one at the best of times, with their nearly inscrutable 'method' for determining what gets sculpted when, what gets shipped when and how long something stays in 'packing' before actually 'shipping'.
I've got stuff in my backlog that's been there WAY, WAY too long - it would be nice to see it actually...ship.
Yea, if you check the page they all say they're surplus stock. About 2/3 of the things I was interested in are gone (*whew*), but my boy Gahwn, that weird alt wyvern with the bonking flint, is still kicking, as is the Kadámastar, a 'mini' I've flirted with for years now ...
Unrelated, shout out to Mierce for the Jute faction, one of the neatest a) human and b) viking or viking-esque factions to me, with all those undead and insect friends. EDIT: Ah, because they're doing the whole barrow thing? Hence undead ancestors and creepy tomb critters. I dig it.
UPDATE: Kadámastar's unavailable ...
Speaking of KS stuff, I did the bundle of 3 scuttling nucránca back in June, and we've seen people get theirs in this thread (or maybe it was FB). I guess I have to assume mine are waiting for another round of casting? They're 'processing' and type 'kickstarter' in my orders.
Yeah I checked it out earlier today (didn’t buy anything) and the monsters went the fastest of course. The two huge demons (both based on that bloodthirster-looking guy), the giant beetle and the orc on wyvern are gone now. Still have some cool ones like the giant, the colossus, the lizards and the guy on top of the bull-demon thing. Oh and that super creepy greater demon-sized spider...
No self respecting beastman would bother going into battle with a shield.
Now that I think about it just about all my Fomorians are alreayd wielding great weapons anyway so maybe I'm biased.
I agree. And I think that's in large part to the pose being cooler, and the helmet also. Though, the 2W one also has the helmet. I Iike them all really, though I might wait for metal for the 'two item' ones.
All the musters got updated this week as well, including the muster rules themselves.
Fomoraic got their first 'split', in that, the different realms now have much more distinct and obvious armies. So basically it's -
Warriors of Baalor - (ie Chaos warriors + Ogres, fully armored with ice monsters)
Reivers of the Eye - (ie Chaos Marauders + ogres, less armor, lots of bows, horsemen, dragon ogres)
Cursed Herd (ie Beastmen + Minotaurs , bovine beasties, warthogs) They even have their own spells.
Far Thule (ie All the other Animal men monstrous infantry + Cave people/ Barbarians, all the big prehistoric beasts as well)
Conand (ie All the fish/crustacean/sea folk/creatures) They have their own spells as well(s..).
I'm sure (similarly to a Warhammer fantasy chaos army) all these pieces can work together somewhat, but you can kind of see where each individual one needs help. The Cursed Herd is the most complete in regards to models available now. Far Thule is meant to proxy reivers for their Cave person infantry, but rules wise, they seem pretty set (I'd imagine they'll get their own spells also (Primal wild magics!!??). Warriors of Baalor, and the Reivers are short on monsters, and the Warriors don't have cavalry either. Just lots of armor, and powerful heroes. Conand needs smaller infantry, or any at all! The closest thing they have are the scuttling Nucranc, and they're considered monstrous beasts, too big to be monstrous infantry!
We've got a lovely little update for Darklands: Savage Hordes III Part Deux today with the return of an old favourite of ours...
This week we have:
•sculpt work in progress updates from Allan Carrasco;
•a link to the forums where you can see this project's fulfilment;
•a reminder that if you play Darklands, head to our forums to find more players!
•...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's have some
Two big miniatures to show today, and both for the Anglecynn. How splendid!
Creoda is one of our oldest miniatures: certainly a lot older than what will be his packmates, and we'd never consider anyone other than Allan Carrasco to sculpt them. So here's his work on Creoda's Pack!
]Creoda is one of our oldest miniatures: certainly a lot older than what will be his packmates, and we'd never consider anyone other than Allan Carrasco to sculpt them. So here's his work on Creoda's Pack!
Here's a reprise of the still-amazing Creoda.
Still an utterly beautiful miniature!
The first new Guthwulf is Acha...
...he'll be holding some entrails or other grisly stuff in his left paw... hand? No, paw-hand!
The third Guthwulf is Pybba, a more conventional leaping style of wolf...
It's early days for these guys yet, and Allan is pretty busy; he reckons the end of November, which is great! They should be a February shipment in that case. Woot!
Speaking of crab people, picked up my scuttlers trio this morning, and have to say this is a nice cast, not seeing really any bubbles and very, very few mold lines. Loads of pieces per scuttler but everything is labeled and looks a treat to build - I'll admit I sort of was dreading how they'd go together, so happily looking forward to the experience now. So much that I might order one or two more trios
The following dates are the last posting dates before Christmas for Royal Mail's standard airmail and International Signed / Tracked / Tracked and Signed. If you order after the below dates, a UPS service can be provided upon request which should get there on time, but be warned - it's expensive, especially for the really fast services!
•4th of December - Rest of the World
•7th of December - Cyprus, Malta, Asia, Far East, Eastern Europe (except Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia)
•8th of December - The Caribbean, Central and South America
•10th of December - Greece, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand
•14th of December - Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and the United States of America
•15th of December - Finland and Sweden
•17th of December - Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland
•18th of December - Belgium, France, Ireland and Luxembourg
United Kingdom
The following dates are the last posting dates before Christmas.
•18th of December - Royal Mail Second Class
•20th of December - Royal Mail First Class / First Class Recorded
•22nd of December - Royal Mail Special Delivery
Order Before Those Dates
Remember that these are posting times, and you should make your order at least two days before the dates mentioned above. The above dates only apply to webstore orders - Kickstarter orders are an ongoing process and if you have any Kickstarter orders in production, they may well be shipped after the above dates.
selkilias, skorpion major
scethæn, crag beetle
schyrós, venerable khelon
are aiming for early 2019 timeframe.
(i asked about them and another model which was done so i could pay extra shipping to get the stuff done now, or wait for all of it to come next year -- really want something that is done now and waiting so may just pay that extra bit of shipping)
Yeah, well, I'm not backing any more Mierce kickstarters...no point really as they hold massive sales so often you can get anything at similar prices to KS prices, and shipped straight away.
They really are killing their own fanbase...
Well it's been a couple of months since the last update so here's another to keep you all up to speed on what's going on.
The Miercendise is proving very frustrating to source I have to say. We only got a sample we ordered in June last week - a big mug - and whilst I can rage all I want at this I've got so far with the branding company it would be unwise to start looking around again. In case you didn't read the last update, whilst we are using one company for the branded stuff, they have to use several different companies themselves and so there's lots of different strands being pulled.
Again, we have excellent progress in many of the miercendise bits, some is even with us, but the main issue is that we want to send your rewards in the same package; which means there will be a delay for most of you. I did say we should see the first shipments in October but that's obviously not happened, for which I can only apologise. We are at the mercy of external production companies again!
With Christmas coming up soon it's very unlikely we'll have everything ready to ship before then: so what we have decided to do is (regardless of the cost to us) ship whatever we can before Chrimbo and the rest when we get it.
Miercendise Progress
Here's a brief run-down on where we are with everything. Bear in mind we've been dealing with the company for the Miercendise since mid May! If I'm honest I think I'm guilty of expecting other companies to be a little more professional than they actually are: I've dealt with three different people for the branding company over the last few months (two left the company) and it was only in October that they told me they didn't have the mug I wanted. They also got the pint pots wrong (they sent us half pints instead) and I still haven't had a reply about the pouches.
Anyway: enough moaning - I just want you to all to know the difficulties I am facing with these people.
Miercendise Reward
• T-Shirt - sample not received; still trying to get this
• Beanie Hat - sample not received; still trying to get this
• Pint Glass (568ml) - ordered, should be with us next week
• Pint Tankard Glass (568ml) -ordered, should be with us next week
• Jumbo Mug (570ml) - ordered, should be with us next week
It's a big 'un!
• Bottle Opener Keyring - ordered, should be with us next week
• Black Pen - ordered, should be with us next week
• Black Dry-Wipe Marker Pen - ordered, should be with us next week
• Dice Pouch - still trying to source something suitable
• Stuff Pouch - still trying to source something suitable
• Tokens Tin - still trying to source something suitable
• 5m Tape Measure - upgraded from the 3m (so it will cost more at retail); sample received and ordered, should be with us next week
• A0 size Darklands Poster - sample received, but rejected as too dark (my fault really). Awaiting further sample A0 size
• The Lands of Darkness Poster - sample not received (not too worried because these poster guys are very quick)
• A0 size Concept Art Poster - sample not received (not too worried because these guys are very quick)
• Dice Tray - with us now, it's great.
The dice tray!
Miniatures
• Morag of Mann - printed & moulded
• Sáthach - printed & moulded
Templates & Tokens
The templates and tokens have been sent off to the manufacturers; these won't take long as we've lots of experience doing these. I'm very hopeful we'll get everything we need to send before Christmas.
Mat Sets
Still haven't sorted these yet, but am working on it. As it's the same company for the dice trays, there shouldn't be any issues. Those guys were super quick.
We'll keep updating you on progress in this fashion over the next few weeks.
How long have I got to order stuff?
We'll start taking the bits off the webstore in September at some point, so if you haven't already ordered your stuff, do it now...
Black Friday is almost upon us so we thought we'd give you all a whopping 30% off UK RRP on purchases from our webstore, starting right now until midnight (GMT) on Friday, the 23rd of November 2018!
Twroch ap Roch
What's on Offer?
Pretty much anything is covered by the sale - so, Darklands miniatures, BaneLegions miniatures and Templar's Forge hobby products - with only limited editions, components and Kickstarter items not a part of it. With over five hundred miniatures to choose from, you're spoilt for choice!
Not only can you get your hands on some of our quite amazing back catalogue, such as Krull or The Terror of Fortriu or Angrislaug or tons of others, there's also our superb new releases, such as Carys, Goraakk (shown below) or the utterly stunning Twroch ap Roch (shown above) or the Firekin! Goraakk the Ripper
Goraakk the Ripper, Gabrax Gore-Horn on Hoof
Sale Voucher Details
Your 30% off UK RRP discount voucher ends on Friday the 23rd of November 2018 at midnight (GMT), and you really do have some superb miniatures to spend your hard-earned cash on!
The voucher will work on all the Darklands, BaneLegions and Templar's Forge items within our webstore, but:
not on the Darklands: First Edition Rule Book not on any limited edition miniatures not on any Components, Miscast Packs, Grab Bags or other offers not on any Kickstarter items
The voucher will work on pre-orders and, crucially, you'll still earn Moneyback - although tiered discounts are disabled when using a voucher. How do I use the voucher?
Your voucher code is: BLAEC-FRIDAY-2018
To use this voucher simply register on the webstore, mierce-miniatures.com (if you haven't already), copy and paste the voucher code into the Voucher field in your basket when you have selected the items you want, press 'REDEEM', and the webstore will do the rest. You are not limited to one purchase and, indeed, we would ask you to recommend us to your friends with this voucher!
Well, you're copy-pasting Pounds from IE, and Euros from FF. conversion rate looks about right too, so I'm fairly sure it's just the Mierce equivalent of some American inadvertently visiting GW's New Zealand site and just about having a heart attack
Bolognesus wrote: Well, you're copy-pasting Pounds from IE, and Euros from FF.
conversion rate looks about right too, so I'm fairly sure it's just the Mierce equivalent of some American inadvertently visiting GW's New Zealand site and just about having a heart attack
Ahh, thanks I missed the different symbol, no idea how that happened!
And sure, maybe it isn't only their fault, but it primarily is.
I know I'm not interested in sending them any more money until my ridiculously large backlog of minis I already purchased with them is at least...80% fulfilled.
I'd be close to that 80% if someone was doing their metal production but I just keep seeing my metal orders, which have been out in resin for quite some time, getting pushed back in the forum's release section.
And sure, maybe it isn't only their fault, but it primarily is.
I know I'm not interested in sending them any more money until my ridiculously large backlog of minis I already purchased with them is at least...80% fulfilled.
I suspect it will be a while still.
I was in on the first 5 or 6 projects. But the pattern was becoming very clear by the time I decided to drop out. I think I got my final stuff through when they were on kickstarter 15+. I'm sure there are valid reasons for this business model, but still, some sort of consistency might have kept me on the hook longer (eg we will have every KS completedwithin the space of the next 5 or so fresh KS projects or something).
Monkeysloth wrote:I'd be close to that 80% if someone was doing their metal production but I just keep seeing my metal orders, which have been out in resin for quite some time, getting pushed back in the forum's release section.
Same here!
I went 'metal' wherever and whenever possible as these would be gaming peices for me, so the added durability was a plus.
But as they keep getting delayed, and as their delays apparently hold up other things in my various orders...
And sure, maybe it isn't only their fault, but it primarily is.
I know I'm not interested in sending them any more money until my ridiculously large backlog of minis I already purchased with them is at least...80% fulfilled.
I suspect it will be a while still.
I was in on the first 5 or 6 projects. But the pattern was becoming very clear by the time I decided to drop out. I think I got my final stuff through when they were on kickstarter 15+. I'm sure there are valid reasons for this business model, but still, some sort of consistency might have kept me on the hook longer (eg we will have every KS completedwithin the space of the next 5 or so fresh KS projects or something).
I lasted a few more Kickstarters then you, but yes, the pattern they've established now is not good.
Yep, I only have few left now, but they keep getting pushed back (Resin, not metal) So October 2018 is now February 2019, for a KS that ended August 2016...
And then they drop a 30% off sale, so you wonder why you simply didn't wait and grab them for less than KS prices...ANYWAY...
I paid £70 for Encrusted Thuulac in 2016.
If I'd just waited for it to be released, then picked him up a couple of weeks ago, I'd have saved money!
Not only that, I'd have had that money all along...
So...what's the point in backing their KS'ers?
Yes, it helps put their stock into production...but I think they already have far too many items for sale as it is, it's simply too confusing...500+ minis!
I have back a lot of their kickstarters in the past, and used to but a big supporter, but little things like the update of some of the sculpts (I know what was being updated was a bit naff) have started to frustrate me, especially when there is so much waiting.
I must also say I have about 6 things of shopping purchased in my account on the site but still don’t get things sent out very often. Does anyone know if the crap people are actually being sent out to backers yet?
The_Minsk wrote: I have back a lot of their kickstarters in the past, and used to but a big supporter, but little things like the update of some of the sculpts (I know what was being updated was a bit naff) have started to frustrate me, especially when there is so much waiting.
I must also say I have about 6 things of shopping purchased in my account on the site but still don’t get things sent out very often. Does anyone know if the crap people are actually being sent out to backers yet?
Yes the Nuncranca are definitely finished, I have mine.
Do you have shipping items? If you don't have enough, your orders will sit there until everything is ready...then ship at once.
Unfortunately they won't TELL you this...you have to chase up to be told "Well, you don't have any shipping items in your cart..."
The_Minsk wrote: I have back a lot of their kickstarters in the past, and used to but a big supporter, but little things like the update of some of the sculpts (I know what was being updated was a bit naff) have started to frustrate me, especially when there is so much waiting.
I must also say I have about 6 things of shopping purchased in my account on the site but still don’t get things sent out very often. Does anyone know if the crap people are actually being sent out to backers yet?
Yes the Nuncranca are definitely finished, I have mine.
Do you have shipping items? If you don't have enough, your orders will sit there until everything is ready...then ship at once.
Unfortunately they won't TELL you this...you have to chase up to be told "Well, you don't have any shipping items in your cart..."
My KS'd Nucránca actually sat for weeks until I emailed Mierce and found out that I needed to purchase a shipping wave for KS items! At which point I was directed towards a shipping item in the store, paid for it and got my crab dudes in pretty short order. Maybe that's what's holding some of your stuff back?
I'm actually waiting on some BF stuff myself (mooooooore crab dudes ) but am not panicking yet.
I wasn't as happy with it as I thought I would be. It felt a bit.. weedy, for lack of a better term.
There's a bit more bulk to this new sculpt.
Again, it's not like it needed to be redone though. At all.
But I'll absolutely pick one up the next time one of those big sales rolls around.
Now if my metal Savrar would ever see the light of day...
Roberto's sculpt do tend to ahve lots of fiddly little sticky-out bits, but i can't see these sorts of things selling in the type of volume that would make a re sculpt logically and financially viable.
Rob has mentioned what an absolute pain it is to prepare the 3D files for printing, in fact that's why (he said to me) the bulk of my orders, all Bob's work from over 12 months ago, are not even ready to print,
SO when will this unnecessary tweaking of an existing model that's ready to mould right now...be available?
The recent Wokor is ready for shipping this year...WHAT?
Does his means Rob is pushing new sales in front of KS sales?
Because he did promise that this year would be the year they would clear the KS backlog...yet we see time and agian that new sales...err..sculpts, are prioritized over those that have already been paid for for over two years!
Still no sign of the Uuroch sculpt, the SCULPT from 2016!
My guess is that because the Savrar themselves were done by Bob the rider on Roberto's version of the big lizard didn't look right any more and Bob's rider wouldn't work on Roberto's lizard
so the easiest way to solve the problem is get Bob to redo the lizard too
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: My guess is that because the Savrar themselves were done by Bob the rider on Roberto's version of the big lizard didn't look right any more and Bob's rider wouldn't work on Roberto's lizard
so the easiest way to solve the problem is get Bob to redo the lizard too
And THIS wa an urgent priority?
Wouldn't it have been vastly easier for Bob to sculpt the same size minis????
We have another cracking update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II this week with some Auxilia and a snake-woman-wizard!
Let's have a look at some...
There's a few miniatures to show you today, all thanks to Bob of course, for the Byzantii and the Khthones...
We thought Gaius we done. We thought wrong.
He's got a new, spunky Legio II Var parma shield! So has his Sagittarius version...
They've been a while in coming, but the Auxiliarius are here! These guys are the non-citizen warriors of the Byzantii, drawn mostly from places conquered by the Legions, such as Var (the south of France) itself...
Janus is the Decanus of the Auxiliarius Contubernium, which is why it's named after him...
In his spare time he likes to press flowers and write poems about cats.
...and so we come to Madrona, a Girl. Not that girl. That's got DD in it.
When she's off work she has a bottle of wine to herself whilst watching the soaps, and bugger her bloke, who doesn't deserve her anyway.
The Auxilia Sagittarius are, again, drawn from the non-citizenry of the Byzantii and are well-trained archers...
The Decanus of the Auxilia Sagittarius Contubernium is Brictius...
There's four more warriors to go, of course, but we're still confident these guys will be an April shipment...
Here at Mierce Towers we use superlatives, in particular awesome, quite a lot. Some miniatures are more awesome than others: the simply AWESOME Klóstiss, basically a Gorgórar wizard (a Gorgórargos), is here and we all benefit from her inclusion on the Khthones team. Remember, there's no I in team, and no me in I. Er.
Look at that shimmery effect Bob has got on her clothing... wow. Simply AWESOME!
The effects on that snakegirl robe are pretty cool, no if only I could paint translucent cloth...
Three Wulfas
One final update on the Guthwulfas that are part of the awesome project that is Darklands: Savage Hordes III Part Deux !
This week we have: •sculpt work in progress updates from Allan Carrasco; •a link to the forums where you can see this project's fulfilment; •a reminder that if you play Darklands, head to our forums to find more players! •...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's have some
Two miniatures to show this week, both for the Anglecynn. You know the score.
Allan Carrasco needs no introduction to the Miercenaries, but for those who don't know him, all that needs to be said is that he's a Master Sculptor. Just have a look at these three Guthwulfas!
Let us take a moment to reflect upon the original Guthwulf, Creoda...
...an absolute masterpiece, and now the champion of a unit of Guthwulfas.
The next Guthwulf is Acha, holding some kind of fleshy bowel thing he's clearly ripped out of something or someone.
The big question is, why is he looking over there...? Maybe he's spotted more prey. Perhaps he can smell the local Gregg's and fancies a sausage roll. My money would be on that, you can smell them from a mile off even if you're a human.
Here's the last member of the unit, Pybba, and what a member he is...
These guys will be a Wave 26 shipment or we're all Dutchmen!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
That's yer lot for today in terms of miniatures: going to update this project shortly.
Some other things:
- Andrew May is working on the Armoured Dyndraig and Armoured Fiends
- Stéphane Camosseto is working on the Reivers and variants of Maari and Kaarstan
- Yannick Fusier is currently bogged down with nativity stuff but he assures me he'll start work on the Ograx again in early 2019
- I have some new digital sculptors in the pipeline as Bob has tons to do (although it won't be long before Savage Hordes II is complete methinks - end of January, tops)... Seza has been resculpted and will be a February release (images on twitter shortly). Cynemon also, but he's not ready yet.
We may act like a swan... all serene and saying not much... but underneath we're like loads of webbed feet frantically thrusting against the water. Or something.
In terms of printing and moulding, the Atalantes stuff is about done except for Athena, the Sávrar (bar Aggro) are moulded and ready to go in resin, as are the Fomoraic characters, new Haraald and Aastrid and Hippoxa (but don't expect much sent out before Chrimbo), and Tim's working on printing the Werwulfas next.
Regarding metals, that's being sorted and you should expect movement on that in early 2019... January, I hope. We've got the equipment, anyway. Just waiting on't council...
Has there been any movement on their Savage Hordes IV Kickstarter lately?
Been waiting patiently for my trio of half-demon ladies, but it feels like it's been forever since I last got an update on them.
aku-chan wrote: Has there been any movement on their Savage Hordes IV Kickstarter lately?
Been waiting patiently for my trio of half-demon ladies, but it feels like it's been forever since I last got an update on them.
A little, but not much. So far, these have been sculpted:
Steinn the Bold on Foot
Steinn the Bold on Grundtroll
Hrafnen Crew, Holumann Unit
Warrior Garric
Archer Garric
Talos
Yannick is booked to sculpt the female demilegionaires but he's always booked up to do nativity work around Christmas. After that, he'll probably be working through the earlier Kickstarters before he hits SH:IV. So, not for some time unless they re-assign them.
Might as well post the ones from the previous Mierceday as well.
We have seven miniatures to show you today, for the Albainn, and they are another step along the way to getting this project sorted...
The Veteran Spears of Dun Durn are Gairlom with helmets and chainmail, in lore and in miniature form, and called Gairmorlom (effectively meaning Veteran Spear Blokes). It's that simple!
The awesome Malus of Antioch (not related to Malus of Darkblade) is complete and here he is in all his fiery glory...
Along with Malus himself, we also offered him in even fierier glory... so here's Fiery Malus on his fiery base!
Being an Auxiliary, Gaius could also be an archer - a Sagittarii - and so we thought, as Bob will be doing our Auxilia Sagittarii, Gaius could be their commander if he had a bow. So here's the bow-armed version of Gaius!
Why they don't get him to take over the Yannick Fussier stuff I don't know...It'll be 3 years by the time he gets around to it...
Sorry to harp on, but I keep seeing new stuff being produced.
KS backers are just expected to suck it up and wait...while minis we paid for are pushed off further and further into the future.
The Wokor gets sculpted, 3D printed, moulded, amd ready to go while Schyros, Scethan, and Selkilias are months away...still!
Sorry to harp on, but I keep seeing new stuff being produced.
KS backers are just expected to suck it up and wait...while minis we paid for are pushed off further and further into the future.
The Wokor gets sculpted, 3D printed, moulded, amd ready to go while Schyros, Scethan, and Selkilias are months away...still!
If you're unhappy with the progress, cancel your order. You can always revisit the models when they're sculpted.
Can't speak for anybody else, but I'm satisfied with progress. Savage Hordes I was completed a few months ago and Savage Hordes II is nearing completion as well as Mighty Monsters. Mierce have always been very prolific with pushing out new concepts and they've not done a proper Kickstater in some time to try to catch up. But they still need to make money in the meantime hence the new direct release miniatures. Especially after they've now bought in the metal casting equipment.
Sorry to harp on, but I keep seeing new stuff being produced.
KS backers are just expected to suck it up and wait...while minis we paid for are pushed off further and further into the future.
The Wokor gets sculpted, 3D printed, moulded, amd ready to go while Schyros, Scethan, and Selkilias are months away...still!
If you're unhappy with the progress, cancel your order. You can always revisit the models when they're sculpted.
Can't speak for anybody else, but I'm satisfied with progress. Savage Hordes I was completed a few months ago and Savage Hordes II is nearing completion as well as Mighty Monsters. Mierce have always been very prolific with pushing out new concepts and they've not done a proper Kickstater in some time to try to catch up. But they still need to make money in the meantime hence the new direct release miniatures. Especially after they've now bought in the metal casting equipment.
Oh really....Last year I sent many emails asking to cancel my order...guess what?
They were all ignored, utterly absolutely ignored.
I keep hearing this argument defending their business practices "oh, they need to make money in the meantime"
Mierce raked in nearly 800,000 pounds after KS costs, which was supposed to fund the development and release of the backer's purchases.
So if they need to sell a couple of dozen new Minis to "make money" where the feth did the rest go?
Sorry, I loved this company, I have more ot their minis than any other in my collection, but please stop making excuses for them....they have failed to make good on their projected timeframes agin and again, some of these were supposed to be June 2017 FFS!
I never realized cancelling the kickstarter order was an option, and doubt it is. I myself have 1000 pounds of stuff from kickstarters years ago I am waiting on that I would love to cancel my order on and get my money back. I would gladly buy them again at full price if/when they go to retail. I love this line too, but until I get majority of my order I am not pledging again as well and have not the last 4 kickstarters.
Cancelling for a cash refund isn't going to be an option,
but Rob is usually flexible about changing what you've ordered so if there's stuff already done you could use that should be possible (although if it's stuff not all KS backers have had yet I suspect you'd be behind them)
That has often been my preferred course of action when companies struggle to fulfill a Kickstarter I've been waiting on for a long time. Most of the time, the creators are solid people who just got in a bit over their heads, and would like to fulfill orders in a timely manner if only they could!
It's not the ideal solution, obviously - you pledge for what you want, usually! - but in the case of Mierce, I have done this several times, and been very pleased with what I've gotten as swaps / substitutions for things I'd been waiting on.
Anyway, not wanting to say anyone needs to do this, or shouldn't hold out for what they pledged for, etc - but for me, it has saved my bacon several times.
RiTides wrote: That has often been my preferred course of action when companies struggle to fulfill a Kickstarter I've been waiting on for a long time. Most of the time, the creators are solid people who just got in a bit over their heads, and would like to fulfill orders in a timely manner if only they could!
It's not the ideal solution, obviously - you pledge for what you want, usually! - but in the case of Mierce, I have done this several times, and been very pleased with what I've gotten as swaps / substitutions for things I'd been waiting on.
Anyway, not wanting to say anyone needs to do this, or shouldn't hold out for what they pledged for, etc - but for me, it has saved my bacon several times.
I chose particular models based on my personal and very particular taste.
I do not wish to trade these in for..whatever else that Mierce offer, when, if I had wanted another model, I'd have already it on order.
I have dozens and dozens of Mirece products...I ONLY want the ones I have been waiting for, and let's be clear here, years.
This reminded me to check the status of an order i placed a while ago, it turns out i placed the order nearly a year ago, the last i heard it was in a queue waiting for enough people to buy it before the molds would spin, its still outstanding but now says no longer available!
date: order: status: type: cost:
19·12·17 #11840241262 processing kickstarter £10.00
danilo cruz, beast-slayer of cantabria on beast skull [metal]
"metal availability: no longer available
This item is only shown for order history purposes."
I have just emailed Rob to find out whats going on
warboss wrote: Sounds like some maelstrom webstore style shennanigans.
I wouldn't go that far. Sounds like some over-reach to me. I'd hope they've learned some lessons about cashflow etc since Maelstrom, and if we assume that they have, that might even be something that's contributing to the production delays.
I've got a bunch of this message in my order history both complete and live items,
basically its shown on all stuff that is no longer being made either because it's been dropped, was limited and is sold out or is an original version of a resculpted model
If I remember correctly (and you'd need to do your own digging or ask Rob to be sure) than plan is that if you'll get the 'most recent' version of a mini you've ordered as part of a KS unless you object and want the older version where that will be provided if possible,
warboss wrote: Sounds like some maelstrom webstore style shennanigans.
I wouldn't go that far. Sounds like some over-reach to me. I'd hope they've learned some lessons about cashflow etc since Maelstrom, and if we assume that they have, that might even be something that's contributing to the production delays.
I'm guessing they have cash-flow issues, I know they are sculpting the works for James from both his Kickstarters:
And all of Slumbering Oblivion has been done...the lot, all shipped.
So Mierce set aside the time from moulding their own backlog to complete ALL of both of these other kickstarters.
That shows their cash-flow is minimial, and they need this work to survive, same with casting off new designs over the backlog...
warboss wrote: Sounds like some maelstrom webstore style shennanigans.
I wouldn't go that far. Sounds like some over-reach to me. I'd hope they've learned some lessons about cashflow etc since Maelstrom, and if we assume that they have, that might even be something that's contributing to the production delays.
I'm guessing they have cash-flow issues, I know they are sculpting the works for James from both his Kickstarters:
And all of Slumbering Oblivion has been done...the lot, all shipped.
So Mierce set aside the time from moulding their own backlog to complete ALL of both of these other kickstarters.
Well... one of those KS ended 3 days ago.. just sayin.
That shows their cash-flow is minimial, and they need this work to survive, same with casting off new designs over the backlog...
Grim...
I don’t really understand why (if it is true) you consider it such a bad thing that they are doing everything they can to keep their company afloat. Should they just give up and not try to produce all the miniatures they funded in their KS campaigns? Several small game/miniature companies have had to close this year, Andi think it’s been a real struggle for most others. In the last few years GW has stumbled (finecast), and fallen flat on their face (end times - horrendous launch of AoS), but they’ve done an insane job of coming back with a vengeance (40k 8th). In the wake of their downturn, a lot of midsize, and smaller companies got their boost. Mantic, PP, CMON all got big thanks to GW falling down. Now that they’re back & killing it, most are hurting. Mierce is definitly a small company, and they all seem to be doing everything they can to stay relevant in the new market.
Yeah they are late. Most KS are. I really don’t think most people care. Kingdom death took almost 6 years to get some people their stuff. Their next KS made 12 MILLION DOLLARS! I guess people didn’t care..
Mierce said they were going to focus on getting through their backlog this year, and they’ve come a long way in doing that. They’ve only run 2 KS this year, one of which had no unsculpted miniatures in it (that Templar’s forge swag one). Meanwhile, they’ve gotten over new (MostlyKS funded) figures into their web store to sell to folks who didn’t pledge for them. All that and these new sculpts they’ve been putting into the store are all bringing in money outside the kickstarters. Doing the slumbering oblivion stuff is certainly adding more time to completing their own KS stuff, but if they in fact, need that extra money to continue functioning, why do you hate them for it?
None of us know if Mierce are having issues or not, and most companies wouldn’t tell you if they are, but this year they’ve not only cut back on the KS they run, they have a full time artist (who’s amazing!) on the payroll. They said they’re working with other new digital artists as well (which there are far more of today, then traditional ‘green-stuff style artists). They’ve upped their store content. They’ve purchased their own 3D printer to print their stuff (and other companies stuff possibly) in house. They’ve bought all the equipment to do their own metal casting in house (just waiting on the city council still). They still have great customer service, and excellent casting. A lot has happened this year.
I don't "hate" them, that's a ridiculous suggestion.
I, like many, many people here, are waiting for minis that we paid for getting on to 3 years ago.
The money to make those minis was in Mierce's bank account for that purpose, and that purpose alone.
If indeed they have run out of that money (highly likely) than that speaks to financial mismanagement.
Pointing out that Kingdom Death took 6 years is irrelevant, so we should only compare companies to the worst standards set?
Slumbering Oblivion was done and dusted in 6 months, I had mine completed in 3 months. This from a first time Kickstarter.
Mierce have run enough KS's that they should have learnt exactly how long to forecast out shipment time frames.
Instead they kept offering time frames that were stretching out and out, up to a year after the kick starter before the first shipment was to be delivered, and even so slipped on those times frames again and again.
They had the infrastructure to fulfill orders from day #1, they were Maelstrom Games before, and had therefore some experience in the whole artwork -to-finished product process.
So whilst Mierce apologists like you are content to sit back and wait, others, like the people you quoted, are fed up with Mierce's mismanagement of their obligations.
This effects their reputation in the industry, and their KS's have attracted fewer and fewer backers, and less pledges as this went on.
The reason why we are acting like this...because there is a risk that Mierce will fold and we will lose our money...so we want what we paid for before that happens.
So, yeah, you're happy to let Mierce act with little regard to their once passionate supporters, and delay again and again shipping times that they accepted money for many years ago.
But I'm afraid this is not helping Mierce win more friends, get more customers, and grow their business.
I'd just like to point out that this is standard for most Miniature kickstarters - the last 48 hours is when a huge chunk of pledges come in as well as the fact that people tend to increase their pledges to get unlocked goals.
Finally, as you are clearly unhappy, I'd recommend that you try again for a refund. As said, you can always re-visit when they produce the models.
basically its shown on all stuff that is no longer being made either because it's been dropped, was limited and is sold out or is an original version of a resculpted model
If I remember correctly (and you'd need to do your own digging or ask Rob to be sure) than plan is that if you'll get the 'most recent' version of a mini you've ordered as part of a KS unless you object and want the older version where that will be provided if possible,
I think you might be replying to me, Im sure he was in the surplus metal/ltd ed sale from this time last year and not a KS/PM purchase, i ordered him along with 4 other surplus/ltd ed minis(that got delivered in March along with another Mierce delivery :/ ) and he was split from that order and like i said last i heard they were waiting on enough orders of him.
However as usual Rob was pretty quick to reply to my message,
"I'm afraid Danilo has not yet been produced in metal, but he will be very shortly - we've just had the first samples back from the external casters and we'll be ordering the production versions shortly. I'm very hopeful they'll be shipped in January. I can turn him into resin for you though, if that helps?"
So ive asked for a resin version of him which in my opinion is a superior material
I'd just like to point out that this is standard for most Miniature kickstarters - the last 48 hours is when a huge chunk of pledges come in as well as the fact that people tend to increase their pledges to get unlocked goals.
Look again...look carefully at the number of backers on that day...now compare to other KS's.
See how when there is a large amount pledged, there are a lot of pledgers that day, makes sense, right?
So Day, 1, 2, and 3...average Pledge, £33, £56, £100. Last day, average pledge £58.
All this is perfectly normal.
However...2nd last day..average pledge...£335!
This amount was EXACTLY enough to JUST get the Kickstarter funded...amazing!
Compare to:
https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-a-world-of-war/#chart-daily Note the symmetry between backers per day, and pledges per day,
Finally, as you are clearly unhappy, I'd recommend that you try again for a refund. As said, you can always re-visit when they produce the models.
As I stated, Mierce IGNORED my request for refunds, on multiple occasions...
Besides, they still had my money for years...getting a refund at this late stage is not optimal.
Now at least the 3D sculpts are done, and they promise February delivery.
If they fail that one, I'll be demanding a refund again!
You're very percipiant in the post further up the thread where you talk about how their KS should be run, yet you somehow seem to be out of pocket on this whole thing
You're very percipiant in the post further up the thread where you talk about how their KS should be run, yet you somehow seem to be out of pocket on this whole thing
What?
I seriously have no idea what you're trying to say here...
I'm not "out of pocket", I'm waiting for orders to be completed.
I never told Mierce how to run Kickstarters, merely suggesting that they focus on clearing the backlog, as they promised to do THIS YEAR.
FOR EXAMPLE...Bob completed the 3D sculpts for many Kickstarters, we have seen these in Mierce Fridays for months now...bit most have not yet been printed, molded, cast, or shipped.
YET, the Wokor was only shown a couple of weeks back, and it is already being shipped....
SO instead of focusing on the backlog, Mierce prioritised a new sculpt...
This is NOT the first time this has happened.,...you understand now?
yxalitis wrote: Look again...look carefully at the number of backers on that day...now compare to other KS's. See how when there is a large amount pledged, there are a lot of pledgers that day, makes sense, right? So Day, 1, 2, and 3...average Pledge, £33, £56, £100. Last day, average pledge £58. All this is perfectly normal. However...2nd last day..average pledge...£335! This amount was EXACTLY enough to JUST get the Kickstarter funded...amazing! Compare to: https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-a-world-of-war/#chart-daily Note the symmetry between backers per day, and pledges per day,
I'm not stupid, nor should you be... As I stated, Mierce IGNORED my request for refunds, on multiple occasions...
Besides, they still had my money for years...getting a refund at this late stage is not optimal. Now at least the 3D sculpts are done, and they promise February delivery.
If they fail that one, I'll be demanding a refund again!
I still see nothing out of the ordinary. Also, you haven't factored in the 48 hour reminder e-mail. Any other kickstarter will have a similar look - high start, not much movement in the middle and then a bump on the last two days.
As for the backlog, Bob alone has sculpted this in 2018:
Which doesn't include all variants done. And that's just one sculptor who's churned all that out. And out of that lot, 3 have not been commissioned through a Kickstarter. You can wail and gnash your teeth all you like, but at the end of the day, movement is happening. Have Mierce commissioned too many models to work on? Possibly. Certainly, the backlog will take some time to clear. Should Mierce be focusing exclusively on the backlog? Absolutely not. With them cutting down on the reliance on Kickstarters, they need to put out releases through traditional channels. It's a pain that Uuroch and others are taking so long, but it is much further on to where they are working on. They're now done with sculpting for Savage Hordes and not much left to sculpt with Savage Hordes II. After that, it'll be the two Mighty Monster Kickstarters. Luckily they're not that large and a lot is already done. Personally, I think we'll see Savage Hordes III worked on in 2019 though I doubt you'll get them in hand before 2020 myself. A lot has happened this last year - they've assigned a lot of work to Bob, they've got their own 3D printer and now they're in-housing metal casting (though they're waiting on the local council for that) not to mention they've been inundated with Black Friday orders.
Darklands/Mierce's biggest problem in my opinion is a completely lack of a decent game system to use all the great looking models in.
At this point I would only buy what is in stock and only as proxies for other systems.
I backed a couple kickstarters many years ago...they did deliver but it took years for them to finally deliver everything I purchased. Then when the rules came out they were IMO not very good so most of the miniatures have sat unassembled since.
I have built a chunk and they are very nice models but of little use aside from Roleplaying games or taking up shelf space...or as proxies in other systems....that's my 2 cents.
You're very percipiant in the post further up the thread where you talk about how their KS should be run, yet you somehow seem to be out of pocket on this whole thing
What?
I seriously have no idea what you're trying to say here...
NO idea what you're on about man...
I'm just saying, you're capitalising every other word, calling people stupid, telling us how it should be instead of how it is, chiding and berating people that have no connection or fault in this whole thing. t's starting to look a bit like screeching.
This is NOT the first time this has happened.,...you understand now?
Yes, yes I do. I saw the very obvious pattern of unsculpted, unreleased, backsliding completion dates after a few kickstarters and so I dropped out.
We're all passionate about miniatures here, and Mierce have some really good ones, as well as a large number in progress, as we all know. Different views on them as a company and their KS fulfillment practices are fine and encouraged.
What is NOT fine is things like using "autistic" as an insult. We only have one main rule on Dakka - "Be polite". Please, let's remember that and keep things civil, even if you strongly disagree with someone, and maybe take a break from the thread if needed/helpful towards that end.
Any questions, just PM me or any other moderator. Thanks all!
As for the backlog, Bob alone has sculpted this in 2018:
Which doesn't include all variants done. And that's just one sculptor who's churned all that out. And out of that lot, 3 have not been commissioned through a Kickstarter. You can wail and gnash your teeth all you like, but at the end of the day, movement is happening.
While it is nice that Bob has sculpted all of those in 2018, I have many of them in my backlog, no lack of shipping items, and still haven't received a package from Mierce in getting close to a year now.
So, while there is certainly movement at Mierce, it would appear that there are also a certain amount of problems there as well.
Even if it is 'only' one of logistics, poor planning, not enough workers for all the work, etc.
And Rob has been uncharacteristically quiet on this front.
As well as the failure of 2018 in terms of being the year that the backlog was going to be significantly reduced.
Just doesn't seem to have happened in reality, outside of some nifty 3D sculpting, of course.
Well Rob has said he will send out a resin replacement tomorrow for me, so that was a bit of a win-win situation i got him cheap in a sale and his material has been upgraded from metal to resin
chaos45 wrote: Darklands/Mierce's biggest problem in my opinion is a completely lack of a decent game system to use all the great looking models in.
At this point I would only buy what is in stock and only as proxies for other systems.
I backed a couple kickstarters many years ago...they did deliver but it took years for them to finally deliver everything I purchased. Then when the rules came out they were IMO not very good so most of the miniatures have sat unassembled since.
I have built a chunk and they are very nice models but of little use aside from Roleplaying games or taking up shelf space...or as proxies in other systems....that's my 2 cents.
I have to wonder how much of their resources they poured into the game system. It did seem like a bit of a failure to me, despite not being a gamer I was looking forward to getting the book (I think it was included basically free in on of the early Kickstarters), it was touted as a big colourful hardback full of art and fluff, and rules obviously. In the end they "rushed" it (it was super late anyway), and had approximately zero art or fluff, and by approximately, I mean literally. Even for gamers though, even a decent non-GW system seems to have a hard time gaining traction in this hobby, and from what I hear the Darklands system is a bit of a slog. Maybe they should have just stuck to cranking out high quality boutique / proxy / hobbyist miniatures.
I still see nothing out of the ordinary. Also, you haven't factored in the 48 hour reminder e-mail. Any other kickstarter will have a similar look - high start, not much movement in the middle and then a bump on the last two days.
If you can't see that this was a deliberate and suspicious surge unlike any other KS I have seen, than i can't say anymore.
As for the backlog, Bob alone has sculpted this in 2018:
Oh my, you haven't really...yes, you did
This is a COMPUTER RENDER of Bob's work!
A good portion of the works in that photo have not even been printed yet, let alone,cast, and shipping...Next February, at the earliest.
I'm just saying, you're capitalising every other word, calling people stupid, telling us how it should be instead of how it is, chiding and berating people that have no connection or fault in this whole thing. t's starting to look a bit like screeching.
I didn't call anyone stupid, I suggested that someone should NOT BE stupid, that's not the same thing.
I haven't chided or berated anyone...show me where I have done that\?
I still see nothing out of the ordinary. Also, you haven't factored in the 48 hour reminder e-mail. Any other kickstarter will have a similar look - high start, not much movement in the middle and then a bump on the last two days.
If you can't see that this was a deliberate and suspicious surge unlike any other KS I have seen, than i can't say anymore.
As for the backlog, Bob alone has sculpted this in 2018:
Oh my, you haven't really...yes, you did
This is a COMPUTER RENDER of Bob's work!
A good portion of the works in that photo have not even been printed yet, let alone,cast, and shipping...Next February, at the earliest.
I'm just saying, you're capitalising every other word, calling people stupid, telling us how it should be instead of how it is, chiding and berating people that have no connection or fault in this whole thing. t's starting to look a bit like screeching.
I didn't call anyone stupid, I suggested that someone should NOT BE stupid, that's not the same thing.
I haven't chided or berated anyone...show me where I have done that\?
This is NOT the first time this has happened.,...you understand now?
Yes, yes I do. I saw the very obvious pattern of unsculpted, unreleased, backsliding completion dates after a few kickstarters and so I dropped out.
Edited by RiTides
Umm, so, in fact, you agree with me...
*sigh
Mate, you "Strongly implied" that he was stupid, if that's really the way you want to put it (IDK why, it's really very obvious to anyone what you were saying. No one's looking any better if you want to say that you technically didn't use the direct accusation). I was kind of on board with what you were saying until you started suggesting that so and so is a dumdum and you aren't, despite you being a bit out of pocket and clearly quite irritated about the fact. So yes, I agree with you. In saying that though, anyone complaining about Mierce KS lead times at this point (if they have any experience of the long and storied history of Mierce and its predecessor companies) should also be looking to themselves as well as Mierce, even if they only know of Mierce as a KS entity. And I'd also like to say I'm not accusing Mierce of doing anything underhanded. AFAIK, at this point nobody has been gimped by them on any of their kickstarters. They're just really slow due to being overworked. Maybe they shouldn't be operating like this. I don't like it, so I voted with my wallet.
I hope they continue producing some new one- offs every few months if it helps keep funds coming in while they try to clear out the backlog.
Despite Rob's reluctance to make one, I still want some Fomorian shark men. I keep looking at all my other various deep sea themed guys, and none of the shark folk really are anywhere near as impressive as the figures Mierce has produced.
Even better would be having one hopefully hanging out with my someday released Octopus prince.
Out of curiousity since I haven't been in the last few kickstarters, has there been any word on the fluff book that we paid for years ago being produced. Rob used to say it was being delayed so he could add more to it, but that has been a very long time now. Any news on it or is it even being talked about anymore?
It's not something I've seen brought up for quite some time but I really haven't followed the KSer comments much since the spring so I could have missed it.
madzerker wrote: Out of curiousity since I haven't been in the last few kickstarters, has there been any word on the fluff book that we paid for years ago being produced. Rob used to say it was being delayed so he could add more to it, but that has been a very long time now. Any news on it or is it even being talked about anymore?
From what I've read over the years, it's pretty much never going to happen.
Only for metal mins...this doens't explain any the delayed resin minis...in fact with metal casting in house, and no new staff, they extra effort to produce the metal mins will reduce the time available to cast resin minis...
Despite Rob's reluctance to make one, I still want some Fomorian shark men. I keep looking at all my other various deep sea themed guys, and none of the shark folk really are anywhere near as impressive as the figures Mierce has produced.
Even better would be having one hopefully hanging out with my someday released Octopus prince.
There are other shark-men minis out there...just saying...
So let's talk about other news and what's to look forward to in 2019.
We are, steadily, working through the backlog of printing; Ákontar Eikovra and the Sávrakontar are being cast as we speak, as are the new Hippoxa, Fomoraic characters (although we do have an issue with Ice Staff Maagaan) and Daghda Lúg. The Sávrar are almost moulded, the Atalantes Toxotes/Iliotoxotes/Meso guys have been printed with just one Pyro to go and Tim's prepping the Werwulfas for the new year. We are behind with printing, but we are getting there. The machine has paid for itself twice over already, if not thrice over, so it has definitely been worth it cost wise. The downside is time. As always, thank you for all your patience and understanding.
In the new year we should begin metal casting in house (the machine has landed) but we still have a couple more hoops to jump through with the local council so it won't happen immediately in 2019. However, it won't be long now and I'm hoping that in February we can start. It will start necessarily small while we get to grips with things; bear with us on this please - I know you have already, we're just trying to ensure all the i's and t's are crossed and dotted and the p's and q's minded.
In terms of sculpting, Bob is cracking through Darklands: Savage Hordes II and I very much hope that will be completed by the end of February 2019, as Stéphane Camosseto will be converting the Reiver units too. Then Bob will be sculpting the Leiptrolls, Hydrar and Sentinels from Darklands: Mighty Monsters; Andrew May has begun the armoured Dyndraig and will be doing the Armoured Fiends after those guys. Yannick Fusier should be finishing the Ograx in early 2019. So by the end of March I would hope that Savage Hordes II and Mighty Monsters will be complete in terms of sculpting. Then it's on to Darklands: Savage Hordes III, for which Bob will be doing plenty, starting with the Duguth - which, you may be happy to know, he'll be resculpting on foot at the same time. Valentin Zak will be starting Sreng from SH III and the Fir Bholg from SH IV in early 2019 also.
We are, as always, getting there...
The Miercendise is coming together, finally, and I am very hopeful that in January I'll be able to order everything branded and get the templates / tokens sorted too. I'm very much hoping for a February release for everything, but we shall see.
So what will 2019 bring?
The first releases of 2019, slated for February but available shortly, will be a resculpted Seza by a newcomer to our range, Jamie Phipps. That was Jamie's test piece, and his next work will be the resculpted Leofwen for Darklands: Savage Hordes IV.
Darklands: Second Edition, that's what... funnily enough, that will coincide with Savage Hordes (it has to!), which is one of the reasons why it's taken so long for that book. However, my playtesters and I are hammering things out and getting things organised. The game will be faster, certainly less reliant on mathematics and it will have a much smaller rulebook. As for when it will be ready, I am hopeful for Salute, but I'll be honest - it's doubtful as there are still a number of things to do. Either way, I am working on it, and I may well give more away regarding rules changes and whatnot in the new year, perhaps a 1.5 upgrade pack so you can play the new game for yourself before it's released.
Speaking of Salute 2019, there will be a VERY limited edition miniature available there, free if you purchase a certain amount or purchasable both there and online - Explorer Onumo, for Allan has happily agreed to convert him for us!
Whatever happens, all here at Mierce Miniatures wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Hark! The herald good wife sings, "Glory to the wolfborn king; Peace on earth and mercy mild, Woden's sceptics reconciled!" Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of Miercendise With the wulf's hunt proclaim "Santa Claws is king of the Tame"!
It's Ḡeoltide (Yuletide), everybody, and where would we be without Santa Claws?
So Merry Christmas to all our Miercenaries out there in Xmasland, and a Happy New Year too - because 2019 is going to be even more fantastic for you!
What's going on here then...
We have more movement on the branded Miercendise, so hurrah to all and sundry and no bah humbugs here. Our contact at the branding company has swapped heads and this new head is competent! Not only have samples been received copiously and either rejected or accepted, we actually have some miercendise in our grubby mitts!
Regarding shipments, it's unlikely we'll get much more before Christmas than the indicated below, so what we'll do is take stock in early January and send what we can at that point rather than now. Again, I can only apologise for this and beg for forgiveness!
We do always get there in the end...
Miercendise Progress
Here's a brief run-down on where we are with everything.
Miercendise
• T-Shirt - sample not received; still trying to get this
• Beanie Hat - sample received and rejected; it's not good enough, too flimsy and wouldn't keep your head warm. Ordered three different samples more, should get those in January.
• Pint Glass (568ml) - ordered, the company say they'll deliver in January, we've got a sample! Image below.
• Pint Tankard Glass (568ml) - ordered, the company say they'll deliver in January, we've got a sample! We really, really, really like these - they're going to be awesome...
The three pints! Even Twroch fancies one!
• Jumbo Mug (570ml) - ordered, still not with us... you can see the size of it above.
• Bottle Opener Keyring - order received!
The keyrings look spiffing!
• Black Pen - order received
The Mierce Miniatures black pen!
• Black Dry-Wipe Marker Pen - order received
• Dice Pouch / Stuff Pouch - samples received and rejected. I've had another sample which has also been rejected; two more expected.
• Tokens Tin - another sample received and rejected; it's big enough, but it's got a handle, which is a bit weird for a tin. 2 more samples coming...
• 5m Tape Measure - order received!
The Tape Measure looks great, even with my photography!
• A0 size Darklands Poster - sample received, but rejected as too dark (my fault really). Awaiting further sample A0 size
• The Lands of Darkness Poster - sample not received (not too worried because these poster guys are very quick)
• A0 size Concept Art Poster - sample not received (not too worried because these guys are very quick)
• Dice Tray - with us now, it's great.
The Mierce Miniatures Dice Tray!
Miniatures
Both have been sent to the photographer so expect some photos in early January.
• Morag of Mann - printed & moulded
• Sáthach - printed & moulded
Templates & Tokens
The templates and tokens have been sent off to the manufacturers; these won't take long as we've lots of experience doing these. Even so, there's no chance we'll get everything before Christmas. We should be getting the first samples before then, however...
• Command Tokens Set - order received
The Darklands Command Tokens Set - 9x Wary Tokens, 5x Retain Tokens and 1x Force Token
The rest of the templates and tokens will follow...
Mat Sets
Still haven't sorted these yet, but am working on it. As it's the same company for the dice trays, there shouldn't be any issues. Those guys were super quick.
We'll keep updating you on progress in this fashion over the next few weeks.
How long have I got to order stuff?
We'll start taking the bits off the webstore in January at some point, so if you haven't already ordered your stuff, do it now...
More Goodness! I'm loving Stephane's artistic license he's taking with the Reiver variants.
AUX III JANUS, AUXILIARIUS CONTUBERNIUM
One more miniature for the Auxiliarius, a woman in fact! Three more to go and the unit's done!
Madrona, Auxiliarius
Here's the lovely Madrona for the Auxiliarius.
These guys and girls should be done early in the new year!
AUX SAG V BRICTIUS, AUXILIA SAGITTARIUS CONTUBERNIUM
From one comes two: the other Auxilia are the Sagittarii... archers!
Magdala, Auxilia Sagittarius
The archer version of Madrona is in fact Magdala, a happy girlie if ever there was one!
We are hoping these guys will be a Wave 26 shipment, but we shall see...
SHIELDWALL KAARSTAN, REIVER TAIN ON FOOT
Right! Somehow I'd forgotten these, but here they are... the Fomoraic Reiver characters, originally sculpted by Valentin Zak but converted by Stéphane Camosseto! Let's start with the Shieldwall version of Kaarstan... erm, Shieldwall Kaarstan!
He should be a Wave 25 (February) shipment...
GREAT AXE KAARSTAN, REIVER TAIN ON FOOT
The great axe version of Kaarstan, named Great Axe Kaarstan, funnily enough, has a helmet.
The horns are too small and will have to be changed, and perhaps the axe needs a bit more work, but he's almost there...
TWO AXE KAARSTAN, REIVER TAIN ON FOOT
Weirdly, Stéphane has given Two Axe Kaarstan elf ears - perhaps rather appropriately for the time of year, but not for a bad-ass Reiver chief. Needless to say, they'll be changed!
These guys should be Wave 25 (February) shipments, but we do have an enormous amount of miniatures to get ready so don't be surprised if all of these nobles get pushed back to April...
ARCHER MAARI, REIVER TAIN ON FOOT
The rather scary Maari is now available with a bow, and she's called Archer Maari, which makes her less scary but more so in some weird strange way.
Yes, we know he's done the arrow on the wrong side, he'll correct that before we get her...
She should be a Wave 25/26 shipment!
spoilered, as NSFW! (ish)
Spoiler:
SAARIN MAARI, REIVER WITCH ON FOOT
.
Tim's head has been used, as always, to protect the innocent.
Tough to decide which version of Kaarstan I like the most.
Leaning towards great axe. That's a pretty fabulous helmet he's got.
They all look pretty distinct to the point that a little difference in paint you could probably get away with running multiples of him as different people.
How big is he though?
I'm personally waiting for the warriors more than the reivers. I wonder if he'd fit in with Bloodreaver models?
I have to wonder how much of their resources they poured into the game system. It did seem like a bit of a failure to me, despite not being a gamer I was looking forward to getting the book (I think it was included basically free in on of the early Kickstarters), it was touted as a big colourful hardback full of art and fluff, and rules obviously. In the end they "rushed" it (it was super late anyway), and had approximately zero art or fluff, and by approximately, I mean literally. Even for gamers though, even a decent non-GW system seems to have a hard time gaining traction in this hobby, and from what I hear the Darklands system is a bit of a slog. Maybe they should have just stuck to cranking out high quality boutique / proxy / hobbyist miniatures.
I don't think my interest in a game system has ever crashed as hard as it did when I read the Darklands rulebook. Desert-dry computer language to determine everything from "hitting" to "is it raining?" to "did your general get spooked by a black cat crossing his path?" with an incredible number of steps, and almost zero fluff.
I don't think my interest in a game system has ever crashed as hard as it did when I read the Darklands rulebook. Desert-dry computer language to determine everything from "hitting" to "is it raining?" to "did your general get spooked by a black cat crossing his path?" with an incredible number of steps, and almost zero fluff.
Isn't that exactly what people are always saying that GW should do?
The Darklands rules aren't precise, though - just needlessly complex without adding much to the gameplay (from what I've read and spoken to others about, at least).
Sometimes GW writes wacky, fun rules, but these aren't that either, unfortunately... and as mentioned there's usually a fluff reason (like skaven blowing themselves up or random goblin/troll actions, etc).
It looks like they realized this somewhat and are streamlining the next edition, so that's good! But I do think their major market has been collectors and counts-as, not so much for actual Darklands play. But obviously, people are more likely to collect for a system if the rules work well, so hopefully this next edition fixes many things that weren't optimal the first time.
I'd be willing to give the rules another shot. While quite technical I liked some of the core mechanic ideas. I didn't see anything wrong with all the optional rules you could include in your games. I think it was overwhelming in a presentation sense for sure though.
But I also really, REALLY want to see the fluff. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the blurbs that were on the web page and the early releases.
People always say GW should write their rules in ultra precise manner and stop interjecting fluff in the rules.
Rules should be clear, but there's such a thing as too dry and technical. If you read the rules for, say, Infinity, Warmachine or Malifaux, they manage to be both clear and readable. Being able to convey complex concepts with no ambiguity is important, but conveying them concisely is a different art entirely.
For example, in the Warmachine Mk3 rulebook, if I want to check the rules for "I charge my guy at this other guy to attack him", the rules for charging take up 3/4 of a page in the movement section, plus an illustrative diagram. If I need a definition of "melee range" or "engaging", then that's half a page in the combat section. Most of the text is dedicated to covering edge cases and being unambiguous about questions like "can I move through other models?" or "if I charge someone and have two attacks, can I use my second attack against a different target?" It's written like this.
Advancing:
Advancing refers to movement a model intentionally makes, not to involuntary movement caused by other effects, such as being pushed or slammed. A model can change its facing at any time durings its advance, but when it advances, it must always move in the direction it is facing. Make all measurements from the front of an advancing model's base.Determine the distance a model advances by measuring how far the leading edge of its base travels. The distance moved is absolute. Changing facing by rotating in place is still advancing even though the model's position on the table does not change. A model's base cannot pass over another model's base while advancing. This means that if a gap between the bases of two models is too small for another model's base to fit between them, the third model cannot move through that space.
So it's precise, but still easy to follow. After a few games, you don't need to check the rules at all except to check some edge case ("I take damage if I advance in the area of this effect, does that apply if I just turn on the spot?").
In Darklands, the rules just for "engagement actions" take up FOURTEEN PAGES. Even the bare-bones summary of this section goes on for almost half a page! And that's just engaging, moving has a page each dedicated to Walk, Run, March, Fly, Soar, Land, Burrow and Reform. And it's written in this sort of language:
6.11.3.2
Embedded Actions
Once the Engaging unit has performed its Engage and.....Move action, the Engaging unit immediately performs their chosen Engagement Embedded Action. The objects of this embedded action must be either the Engaging unit (in the case of an Inspire action, or an Invoke action upon the Engaging unit), the Engaged unit (shoot, spray, throw, gaze, drop, invoke, daunt, shriek) or both the Engaging and Engaged units (Roar actions) or, more indiscriminately, the Engaged unit and any nearby units (Shriek actions)
And if you're wondering, every one of those italicised actions needs a flip to a different bit of the 300+ page rulebook, and almost all of the book is made up of this dense, un-intuitive rules text. It's just such a slog to get through--only first-edition Spartan rulebooks compare, and they're at least shorter.
I suppose I am in the minority on the game issue...I quite like the depth and recordkeeping aspect. Of course, I am a Star Fleet Battles player since the 1980s so I really like technical and grindy rules. But I am more of a fan of seeing Darklands expand and improve, and in that respect I do agree that the rules need to be more streamlined for the casual player.
Sacredroach wrote: I suppose I am in the minority on the game issue...I quite like the depth and recordkeeping aspect. Of course, I am a Star Fleet Battles player since the 1980s so I really like technical and grindy rules. But I am more of a fan of seeing Darklands expand and improve, and in that respect I do agree that the rules need to be more streamlined for the casual player.
It's not so much that they're technical and grindy, it's that they're poorly explained--complexity can be good or bad, needless complexity is never good.
One of the problems about the Darklands rules is that they stuff too much text in the rulebook that could very easily be farmed out to model profiles. The Roar and Daunt actions are a separate thing from the morale rules when they basically do the same "scare the enemy" thing and could very easily be folded in there. Drop and Throw actions have three pages each when there's no reason they can't just be represented as regular ranged attacks. Just so much needless complexity....
What's odd is that the rules were available as a free PDF download whilst in development.
Many people offered suggestions along the lines of what's been mentioned here.
As soon as the book was published however, the free rules disappeared, and the only way to get them, was to cough up the money.
Now I feel if you want to proliferate a new miniatures board game in a very crowded market, you'd want those rules out there for as many people to see and play around with...
yxalitis wrote: What's odd is that the rules were available as a free PDF download whilst in development. Many people offered suggestions along the lines of what's been mentioned here. As soon as the book was published however, the free rules disappeared, and the only way to get them, was to cough up the money. Now I feel if you want to proliferate a new miniatures board game in a very crowded market, you'd want those rules out there for as many people to see and play around with...
Speaking of which, I just got my Black Friday stuff from Mierce and they included a nice Darklands Quick Play Guide It's still pretty dense for quick start rules, but is a far sight better than the beta rules I tried to read through but gave up on
But as I was cleaning it up, and pre-assmebling it, I kept having this nagging thought in my head...
Is this...not...a good miniature?
The first time I thought that was when I looked at the big resin block that serves as the base.
It is devoid of detail, just a huge slab of featureless resin with a slightly "rocky" texture.
There is even an obvious line where it looks like two pieces where joined together before moulding.
I'm sorry, buy why was zero effort made to add any interest points, at all anywhere on this HUGE block-o-rein?
Some skulls in an enclosure, some plants growing up in a crevace, a withered old tree clinging to the edge, some engravings chipped out of the surface?
I can't stress enough how massive this piece is, yet it has nothing of interest sculpted on it;
Secondly., the feathers...ooh boy...
I have another Mierce large feathered miniature:
Look at the feathers, each one is carefully detailed with veins running across each feather.
The feathers on the Wokor are very plain, and VERY thick, around 2mm at the tip.
Again, why was no effort spent adding in the delicate lines across the feather that makes SUCH a visual impact?
No discredit to Bob, the mini is great, well designed and sculpted, I just get the feeling he was told to finish it quickly without spending the time to add in features and details that I know he is perfect capable of!
I have his Encrusted Thuulac and Banbreca, both of whcih demonstrate Bob's skill and attention to detail.
The Wokor, however, looks plain in comparison, more like a Warhammer plastic model then a typical Mierce and Bob production.
Come on Mierce, this is NOT the standard I am used to nor expect from you guys.
Automatically Appended Next Post: the feathers that is (but I agree I prefer the former, have we seen Bob tackle feathers before?)
No, sorry, Bob's other work has demonstrated vastly higher levels of detail already, all his stuff is 3D designed
As for his feathers, here are some other examples:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WodGX Again, quite thick, and no veins across the feathers...however, these guys are smaller?
Not sure, but in any case, I think they need to have the veins included in the sculpt...
And nothing can forgive the base stone thing...
In all seriousness I could have sculpted something better with clay and a toothbrush...I get the feeling Bob was pushed to get this out super quick.
I would have preferred raven like feathers that he can clearly do but a plain rock doesn't bother me
You really need to hold it your hands first...I'm not that worried by a plain rock base, but this is just awful.
This is the best I can get online so far, this lump of resin is about half a kilo, 18cm high, 8cm in diameter!
When it's that big, the lack of any details is far, far more obvious!
Regarding the rock, I'm not quite sure what the issue is. From the picture above I can see that it has some texture, I'm not sure how it could be made to look more realistic? The line where the two halves of the rock meet can be easily dealt with using putty, that kind of join is pretty common on large resin models.
Additional features such as skulls/bushes/creeping vines would be very easy to add, personally I think that it is fine.
I agree with you 100% on the feathers however, they are too thick and lack detail. You can clearly tell that the model has been designed using software and not by the traditional sculpting method by hand. For an organic model that is not a good look.
OK, so here are the images
1st is the base next to a mini, so it's sheer size is apparent
2nd, Just the block, notice the join line (It came like that)
3rd, thickness of feathers
4th compared to another Mierce wing
5th now look at details compared between the two.
Wow, the feathers look like they're from a toy, not a miniature... actually thought it was supposed to represent like a thick, metal, mechanical wing for a second.
On the rock, looks like you've putty'ed and textured over the join line on your built model, but I imagine without that it'd look like the render (i.e. much more noticeable).
Overall, I can't believe that mini was printed, mastered and cast as it is...
Agreeing with the others. The rock isn't much of an issue and it's really simple to add some flock or other basing material to it so it doesn't just look like a big rock.
The feathers are silly. Kind of dumbfounded they got approved.
RiTides wrote: Wow, the feathers look like they're from a toy, not a miniature... actually thought it was supposed to represent like a thick, metal, mechanical wing for a second.
On the rock, looks like you've putty'ed and textured over the join line on your built model, but I imagine without that it'd look like the render (i.e. much more noticeable).
Overall, I can't believe that mini was printed, mastered and cast as it is...
Just to clarify, I haven't done anything to that rock, that's how it came!
And of COURSE i can add details, textures, features, etc to the rock.
Let's put it this way, it costs Mierce exactly the same to print, cast, and mold a rock lie this, as it is to mold a rock with lovely little details like the bases shown here.
zero extra cost...except the once-off cost of Bob spending more time on the design.
So, yes, of course i can modify the base...but surely with such a large and prominent feature of that mini...it should ahve come with more than a very, very basic "rocky" texture covering 100% of the surface.
Ah - if you haven't done anything, it looks then like they printed the rock in two halves, then manually putty'ed over the join line before casting it as a single piece.
The feathers, are, of course, a lot bigger issue since there's absolutely nothing you can do about them...
Yep, I figure i'd have to hack all the feathers off, and get some of the wings as separate purchases from Mierce and glue them on instead.
And then get out the Dremel and make some features on the rock, a little cavity filled with skulls, add some hanging chains, etc etc
All up, this is a basic toy-like mini that needs a load of work to bring it up to speed, yet it has the Mierce price point.
I've felt for a while that the Mierce business plan is an unhealthy mix of boutique high-end stuff mixed with a discount heavy, high-volume sales mentality.
I don't think that they ever fully moved on from the Maelstrom business plan in that regard.
A lot of business decisions that they have made make me think that there have been cash flow problems for a while.
Undead_Love-Machine wrote: I've felt for a while that the Mierce business plan is an unhealthy mix of boutique high-end stuff mixed with a discount heavy, high-volume sales mentality.
I don't think that they ever fully moved on from the Maelstrom business plan in that regard.
A lot of business decisions that they have made make me think that there have been cash flow problems for a while.
We join kickstarters to help fund a production run, and in return we get the minis at a discouted cost...
The price we pay is having to wait for that production...at this stage I'm nearly 3 years out for some of mine.
But with the frequency that Mierce does BOGOF and 30% off sales, I'd have been much MUCH better off simply waiting for the mini to finally be available at "full cost" then grabbing during a sale event.
And, yes, I believe thy are struggling with maintaining the sales volume they would need to be a profitable business...Darkland products aren't exactly flying off the shelves.
It's a pity, but I think they need to redo the rules to something that flows and reads better, and release as a free PDF...but I SERIOUSLY doubt that will happen.
We've decided to extend our awesome buy one, get one free monster madness by another week due to popular demand - so now you've a little more time to take part!
we're now giving a monster away for FREE if you purchase any monster from our webstore until midnight (GMT) on Monday the 14th of January 2019!
Now, while I understand (and appreciate!) that Mierce is doing fewer Kickstarters in order to catch up on their rather large backlog...these frequent sales (with frequent extensions) feel very Kickstarter-like.
And feel like they probably distract from reducing that significant queue of minis, waiting to be sculpted, cast and shipped.
I feel like I have a lot of items that have been waiting a long time.
Still, Catch-22 and all that.
Mierce needs sales to survive, and Sales help generate sales, so survive they will!
Hopefully that inhouse metal casting gets up and running soon...
IMO there is only so much demand for miniatures that have no game system to back them.
Is a lot of fantasy miniatures on the market and most brands that survive are either cheap like reaper or tied to a game system people actually play.
So again IMO Mierce is killing their sales and in general their ability to survive long term by not making the game available and playable to the majority of players. Many commented about the issues with the game system they wrote and were ignored....since then I have only bought a couple minis and only as poxies for other popular game systems.
People vote with their wallets...and the triple extended sale says a lot to me......
It shouldn't, Mierce not extending their sale would be like DFS not having their sofas on sale.
I think there's plenty of room for a boutique company that does what Mierce does, trouble is you'd need to make in roads into the painting community then, and I'm not sure that's happened sufficiently either.
Alpharius wrote: Now, while I understand (and appreciate!) that Mierce is doing fewer Kickstarters in order to catch up on their rather large backlog...these frequent sales (with frequent extensions) feel very Kickstarter-like.
And feel like they probably distract from reducing that significant queue of minis, waiting to be sculpted, cast and shipped.
Unlike constant Kickstarters, however, I the consumer waiting for stuff (Crushers please!) don't get the feeling that fresh models are being shoved into the sculpting queue as a result of these sales. As opposed to KS, which digs the backlog hole deeper. I mean, from a sculpting standpoint - I can see how taking a whole lot of new orders for old stock means they've got to be cast up, as opposed to putting new sculpts into production.
The frequent sales, tho, are the reason I don't really KS Mierce. I've late pledged a couple things, but it became clear that I should just keep my pants on and get the monsters when they release, maybe even for cheaper.
chaos45 wrote: IMO there is only so much demand for miniatures that have no game system to back them.
Is a lot of fantasy miniatures on the market and most brands that survive are either cheap like reaper or tied to a game system people actually play.
So again IMO Mierce is killing their sales and in general their ability to survive long term by not making the game available and playable to the majority of players. Many commented about the issues with the game system they wrote and were ignored....since then I have only bought a couple minis and only as poxies for other popular game systems.
People vote with their wallets...and the triple extended sale says a lot to me......
Not sure how many of you are in the mierce sections of facebook, but people go crazy for these sales, and (though I'm sure you'll choose to disbelieve it), it looks like Mierce has extended due to people asking them to. Not sure why extending sales instantly leads to a company going under? I suppose it's only a few people asking for an extension on the deal, but instead of ending the sale, and others who might be on the fence missing out, they just publicly extend it, so everyone knows. Seems more fair than Shady to me (but of course, the disbelief is STRONG with some). Warlord is in a constant sales mode, and I feel like a get an email from Mantic every few weeks with a sale. GW is the only one who doesn't run them.
Also, they did a more condensed version of the rules 'awhile' ago (ie over a year) based on people saying that they were too complex. And they announced last year that they were testing a V2 of the rules, which are much simpler, which will launch this year. So we'll see, but saying they were ignored is a lie.
There's a lot of things Mierce needs to do better, and they are well aware that they are behind in the sculpting log, and most everything else. But they are making forward progress, and trying to get things running more smoothly. It's understandable that some are angry at them for the delays, but I don't see constantly yelling and nit picking everything they do as a way of making that happen faster.
But then again, what do I know, I'm just a 'Mierce-apologist', and asking the internet to calm down (especially on Dakka) isn't ever going to work.
skullking wrote: It's understandable that some are angry at them for the delays, but I don't see constantly yelling and nit picking everything they do as a way of making that happen faster.
But then again, what do I know, I'm just a 'Mierce-apologist', and asking the internet to calm down (especially on Dakka) isn't ever going to work.
Who's "constantly yelling and nit-picking"? Are you of the view that any criticism is bad criticism / an attack?
(admittedly outstanding for a while but it does show deliveries are ongoing so these sales do contribute to helping them deliver)
so I can recommend the brute corruptors (NSFW)
Spoiler:
all of five the Peat Beast warriors like Gainn here on 50mm bases if the previous 80mm based Bog Beasts were too large
and my first hollow cast Mierce mini Crémharunc, Beast of Geanainn Earth is going to be fantastic (and huge) on a 120mm base assuming it goes together well
I also got my Scuttling Nucranc
and my giant crab or cráncull
and if they can get the final council ok for the spin casting hopefully that will let them get a whole bunch of other fulfilment done as they clearly put the brakes of sending any of the more recently finished stuff out for metal casting (although they may find the raw material cost of Bobs larger humans more expensive than they expect compared to the smaller hand sculpted earlier stuff as a small change in height means a larger change in volume)
skullking wrote: It's understandable that some are angry at them for the delays, but I don't see constantly yelling and nit picking everything they do as a way of making that happen faster.
But then again, what do I know, I'm just a 'Mierce-apologist', and asking the internet to calm down (especially on Dakka) isn't ever going to work.
Who's "constantly yelling and nit-picking"? Are you of the view that any criticism is bad criticism / an attack?
Not 'any', just 'some', as stated. You can give good feedback without tossing accusations and convey your point more clearly with a good tone.
I'm as guilty as anyone of some irrational overzealous posting.
skullking wrote: It's understandable that some are angry at them for the delays, but I don't see constantly yelling and nit picking everything they do as a way of making that happen faster.
But then again, what do I know, I'm just a 'Mierce-apologist', and asking the internet to calm down (especially on Dakka) isn't ever going to work.
Who's "constantly yelling and nit-picking"? Are you of the view that any criticism is bad criticism / an attack?
Not 'any', just 'some', as stated. You can give good feedback without tossing accusations and convey your point more clearly with a good tone.
I'm as guilty as anyone of some irrational overzealous posting.
Indeed.
If you go from KS to KS and the lure there is getting more minis at better prices what does it say to you as a customer that the same company runs 2 for the price of one sales frequently? Not that its going under but rather that its strategy is a bit off to say the least. No yelling or hate ( I don't do KS's) just does not inspire me much trust.
Like if all of a sudden 100% off the workload you have in front of you for today becomes Urgent then at the same time Urgent becomes redundant because all jobs are the same. The same principle applies to constant discounts… the full retail price becomes redundant… as does KS'rs.
skullking wrote: [...] Not sure why extending sales instantly leads to a company going under?
Worth knowing that Mierce was founded from the ashes of Maelstrom Games, which had a prolonged period of heavily discounted sales (including 50% off the miniatures that became the base of Mierce) getting extended instantly back in 2012, many of which simply failed to deliver (though I believe Maelstrom delivered on all their in-house models - I received all of mine).
I don't worry about it too much (backlog models tend to get shipped very quickly), but there's definitely a context for being concerned with the game.
The other issue with Mierce inflating their MSRP and heavily discounting it is that it removes any potential for the minis to be picked up locally.
Just to follow up on Mr. Skullking's post...
Yes, absolutely we are fed up with the delays, but to simply sit back quietly while new sculpts like the Wokor are given priority, and to sit back quietly while items we paid for years ago are sold off at a LOWER price than what we paid for all that time ago...doesn't "help" Mierce either.
They need to know this sort of thing IS noticed, and that long term fans are not happy.
So I get your point, but Mierce should not just get off Scott free...and if a verbal bollocking is appropriate, than that's what they should get.
OK, tin-foil hat time...
Look at the Wokor, for example, I think I figured out what happened...(Just my guesswork here...)
It was sculpted by Bob with a particular scale in mind, and was supposed to be much smaller, maybe half...but Rob wanted a bigger mini, so it was upscaled.
Now I have NO WAY to know that, but it makes sense when you see Bob's previous work, and the fact that no details on the Wokor couldn't easily be shrunk down 50%
In fact at half the size, (As in dimensions, not weight), it would have been a PERFECT mini...IMHO
The issue with the pricing makes a lot more sense to me now. I appreciate everyone explaining it. I'm glad that they still give priority to KS backers when something is finished, but to all your points, if you could have paid 'less' and gotten it sent out right away, that would be better of course.
I think their issues started with the 'First ed. 2' KS, which was pretty big. They hadn't finished sculpting and fulfilling it by the time they ran the 'New Kindreds' KS, which was HUGELY overpacked with stretch goals and deals. I think they've been trying to play catch up to a degree since then. As that was a monumental KS to fulfill, (though they eventually did), it required much longer (and I'd guess more money) than anticipated. In that time a lot of things changed. GW got themselves back on track with fantasy & 40k. Sculptors were getting loads of work from other KS and companies, so I'm sure it was harder to lock them down (I have no idea if you can 'lock in' most of these sculptors for extended periods of time or a large group of projects? I'd imagine if they're anything like the artists I deal with, they're in high demand, and take the best paying jobs as they come in. Many don't like to be held to one project for too long. But I'm sure they're all different).
In any case, it's been a slow accent of the pile of work they need to finish. Thank goodness for Bob, and the 3D printer and (hopefully) the metal casting. Though I feel a few more casters would help a lot too.
The newer figures don't bother me as much as the resculpts of stuff we already have just because they don't like an older rendition. I get with certain things, they had planned to do conversions of existing figures, like the Waelwulfs (who originally were pretty bad). So doing the melee ones right when they had done the missile troops sort of made sense. But, on the other hand, though it's a fairly quick change for Bob to do, I'd rather he just kept moving forward with the unsculpted stuff, or a new figure for the store. They can always go back and do those alts when they've got everything else done. Though some surely need to be redone. Redoing the Duguth on foot, after you do their mounted versions, seems a bit much. The current Duguth are fine, great really, and we're just using more of Bob's precious sculpt time, and clogging up Tim's Print and casting list.
I think Mierce is well aware they're behind, and doing things like cutting back on KS, and moving more business through the store, buying the 3D printer, Casting metal in house, redoing the Darklands rules to be much easier to understand, are all signs that they're working towards this end. If they can crawl out of the hole that they've created, I think they'll have a better idea of how to run they company in the future.
skullking wrote: The issue with the pricing makes a lot more sense to me now. I appreciate everyone explaining it. I'm glad that they still give priority to KS backers when something is finished, but to all your points, if you could have paid 'less' and gotten it sent out right away, that would be better of course.
I think their issues started with the 'First ed. 2' KS, which was pretty big. They hadn't finished sculpting and fulfilling it by the time they ran the 'New Kindreds' KS, which was HUGELY overpacked with stretch goals and deals. I think they've been trying to play catch up to a degree since then. As that was a monumental KS to fulfill, (though they eventually did), it required much longer (and I'd guess more money) than anticipated. In that time a lot of things changed. GW got themselves back on track with fantasy & 40k. Sculptors were getting loads of work from other KS and companies, so I'm sure it was harder to lock them down (I have no idea if you can 'lock in' most of these sculptors for extended periods of time or a large group of projects? I'd imagine if they're anything like the artists I deal with, they're in high demand, and take the best paying jobs as they come in. Many don't like to be held to one project for too long. But I'm sure they're all different).
In any case, it's been a slow accent of the pile of work they need to finish. Thank goodness for Bob, and the 3D printer and (hopefully) the metal casting. Though I feel a few more casters would help a lot too.
The newer figures don't bother me as much as the resculpts of stuff we already have just because they don't like an older rendition. I get with certain things, they had planned to do conversions of existing figures, like the Waelwulfs (who originally were pretty bad). So doing the melee ones right when they had done the missile troops sort of made sense. But, on the other hand, though it's a fairly quick change for Bob to do, I'd rather he just kept moving forward with the unsculpted stuff, or a new figure for the store. They can always go back and do those alts when they've got everything else done. Though some surely need to be redone. Redoing the Duguth on foot, after you do their mounted versions, seems a bit much. The current Duguth are fine, great really, and we're just using more of Bob's precious sculpt time, and clogging up Tim's Print and casting list.
I think Mierce is well aware they're behind, and doing things like cutting back on KS, and moving more business through the store, buying the 3D printer, Casting metal in house, redoing the Darklands rules to be much easier to understand, are all signs that they're working towards this end. If they can crawl out of the hole that they've created, I think they'll have a better idea of how to run they company in the future.
All good points, but remember that even after the time frames for sculpts started to slip,and they increased the ETA for newer KS'es each time, they still kept failing to meet them.
This was WELL after the ones you mentioned.
I'm waiting for stuff from Might Monsters; their 6th and 7th kickstarters, funded June 2016.
At that stage.fulfilment was forecast out at June 2017, a full year after.
It was then pushed out further and further...
It is now expected to be shipped March next year....God I hope so!
So, yes, they did dig themselves into a hole early on, but they just kept digging and digging...!
Things seem to be heading back to some sort of order now though, and whilst they promised that 2018 would be the year they finally cleared the backlog, it looks like 2019 might be more accurate.
I think one of the problems *might* be that, at least on the surface, clearing up the backlog might not generate funds quick enough/as quick as another flash sale?
Of course, clearing up the backlog does mean a lot of new things for people to buy and more sales, but it also means a lot of work and materials to send out stuff that was already paid for - and money that is, more likely than not, already long since spent?
At this point, I'm not sure why things are taking significantly longer than they 'should' take.
But my spending with Mierce is probably going to be as close to zero as possible until the backlog of miniatures owed me is greatly reduced.
The problem with the rules isn't even that it's a bad ruleset. Look at their batreps and intros etc. It looks interesting, fun, and pretty quick(ish, for a skirmish game) to play to boot.
And once you manage to bite through the extraordinarily dense writing, it does start to make sense.
...But it's sort of like the 231 page rules document for MtG. No beginner would possibly manage to suffer through that (and in fact, they explicitly state, on the download page and again on the front page of the doc itself, that you really, really shouldn't even try). They'd be turned away from the game in an instant. At the same time it's a pretty fun and accessible CCG, on a beginner level just as much as on tournament levels.
Darklands really needs that 'beginner rules' two page deck insert. I mean, you might need to clarify the concept of the stack, and effect activation order etc., a bit further but generally you can play with just that.
I'm not saying Darklands is *that* simple - it's not. Not even close. It's closer to Infinity level complexity than to KoW - if you'll pardon a reference frame that at least makes sense to me . And if you just leave out hackers infinity is actually quite straightforward to explain to a beginner, too (just whatever you do, get someone to demo it to you, don't start by reading the rulebook! )
Unlike GW systems the complexity is really all up front, in the ruleset itself, not so much in incessant unique snowflake rules for every. frakking. last. model, but generally if you can pick up a GW system picking up darklands shouldn't be too hard.
I think Mierce is in cash flow trouble. Catching up on their backlog generates next to zero new cash flow, it only costs them time and labor. From the looks of it they keep trying to sell their existing inventory at a sufficient rate to keep the business afloat on a month to month basis having long ago burned through the money from backers.
They still have sculpts/ ks rewards outstanding from two years ago? Then they have been borrowing from future demand to keep the current business running for a couple of years now from the sound of it.
I am pretty confident the majority of sales happens at initial release(KS), and they aren't selling enough of their current catalog regularly to give them breathing room to spend time and money on things promised to backers years ago.
Gallahad wrote: I think Mierce is in cash flow trouble. Catching up on their backlog generates next to zero new cash flow, it only costs them time and labor. From the looks of it they keep trying to sell their existing inventory at a sufficient rate to keep the business afloat on a month to month basis having long ago burned through the money from backers.
They still have sculpts/ ks rewards outstanding from two years ago? Then they have been borrowing from future demand to keep the current business running for a couple of years now from the sound of it.
I am pretty confident the majority of sales happens at initial release(KS), and they aren't selling enough of their current catalogue regularly to give them breathing room to spend time and money on things promised to backers years ago.
Yep, that's pretty much my feeling as well.
The money raised in the kickstarters was apparently not set aside solely to fund the production of those models, but use to expand the business for a perceived future growth in sales that never eventuated.
I dare say Rob was optimistic of gaining traction with Darklands, but hasn't managed to attract the volume of sales he hoped for.
So now, yes they are holding sale after sale to keep the money flowing in from a small but earnest group of fans, whilst they plug away at that still massive backlog.
Once they do eventually fulfill the kickstarters...what then?
They use to be available at several places in the US but I don't think anyone's carried them in a few years. I know at the time Rob stated that sales that weren't direct were like 5% of their overall.
I'm not really sure why things didn't sell as there's lots of other games to use the lower priced Meirce stuff in and once you add the normal 10-15% web discount their metals are pretty reasonably priced. Maybe they just left the distribution market right before Frostgrave took off--not sure when that happened--but a lot of their stuff is ideal for that game.
I've boughten a few this from this via sales this year but the smaller metal units and I probably still would if something I really want appears. I don't have much left in the backlog -- just some Mallox and Reavers (which are being sculpted).
I'm still thinking they grew their line too fast but at the same time I can't think of what negative that really would have (outside of running so many KSers back to back) as they only have like 3-4 employees and tend to cast to order so they don't keep a large warehouse.
Gallahad wrote: I think Mierce is in cash flow trouble. Catching up on their backlog generates next to zero new cash flow, it only costs them time and labor. From the looks of it they keep trying to sell their existing inventory at a sufficient rate to keep the business afloat on a month to month basis having long ago burned through the money from backers.
They still have sculpts/ ks rewards outstanding from two years ago? Then they have been borrowing from future demand to keep the current business running for a couple of years now from the sound of it.
I am pretty confident the majority of sales happens at initial release(KS), and they aren't selling enough of their current catalogue regularly to give them breathing room to spend time and money on things promised to backers years ago.
Yep, that's pretty much my feeling as well.
The money raised in the kickstarters was apparently not set aside solely to fund the production of those models, but use to expand the business for a perceived future growth in sales that never eventuated.
I dare say Rob was optimistic of gaining traction with Darklands, but hasn't managed to attract the volume of sales he hoped for.
So now, yes they are holding sale after sale to keep the money flowing in from a small but earnest group of fans, whilst they plug away at that still massive backlog.
Once they do eventually fulfill the kickstarters...what then?
Another big Kickstarter?
Even if Mierce did put the KS money in escrow for producing the models from the KS, they'd be producing models in 2018 with 2016 dollars which is a losing proposition. All of the early KS stuff was hand sculpted on commission, right? That alone is going to create a backlog because I doubt sculptors are going to work exclusively for Mierce, they'd take other commissions as well so there'd be chunks of time when they wouldn't be working on Mierce stuff. They can shift work around to other sculptors like Bob but that has an impact on cost as well. In any industry any company that picks up more work than they can easily handily is going to struggle with deadlines and cost overruns. Being able to use KS to fund a whole bunch of stuff for a passion project like Darklands must be very appealing for Rob and Mierce has an impressive catalog for a small company; there's what a dozen factions all with multiple units with unique sculpts and multiple large monsters as well. I don't think it was ever realistic to get all that done in the timeframe they quoted even without the occasional mess up along the way (looking at you tiny metal Norse Holumann doomed to never leave my closet of shame).
The money raised in the kickstarters was apparently not set aside solely to fund the production of those models, but use to expand the business for a perceived future growth in sales that never eventuated.
I dare say Rob was optimistic of gaining traction with Darklands, but hasn't managed to attract the volume of sales he hoped for.
So now, yes they are holding sale after sale to keep the money flowing in from a small but earnest group of fans, whilst they plug away at that still massive backlog.
Once they do eventually fulfill the kickstarters...what then?
Another big Kickstarter?
Yes, definitely!
And when/if the backlog is cleared up?
I'll have no issues whatsoever with Mierce running Kickstarters - go for it!
Gallahad wrote: I think Mierce is in cash flow trouble. Catching up on their backlog generates next to zero new cash flow, it only costs them time and labor. From the looks of it they keep trying to sell their existing inventory at a sufficient rate to keep the business afloat on a month to month basis having long ago burned through the money from backers.
They still have sculpts/ ks rewards outstanding from two years ago? Then they have been borrowing from future demand to keep the current business running for a couple of years now from the sound of it.
I am pretty confident the majority of sales happens at initial release(KS), and they aren't selling enough of their current catalogue regularly to give them breathing room to spend time and money on things promised to backers years ago.
Yep, that's pretty much my feeling as well.
The money raised in the kickstarters was apparently not set aside solely to fund the production of those models, but use to expand the business for a perceived future growth in sales that never eventuated.
I dare say Rob was optimistic of gaining traction with Darklands, but hasn't managed to attract the volume of sales he hoped for.
So now, yes they are holding sale after sale to keep the money flowing in from a small but earnest group of fans, whilst they plug away at that still massive backlog.
Once they do eventually fulfill the kickstarters...what then?
Another big Kickstarter?
Even if Mierce did put the KS money in escrow for producing the models from the KS, they'd be producing models in 2018 with 2016 dollars which is a losing proposition. All of the early KS stuff was hand sculpted on commission, right? That alone is going to create a backlog because I doubt sculptors are going to work exclusively for Mierce, they'd take other commissions as well so there'd be chunks of time when they wouldn't be working on Mierce stuff. They can shift work around to other sculptors like Bob but that has an impact on cost as well. In any industry any company that picks up more work than they can easily handily is going to struggle with deadlines and cost overruns. Being able to use KS to fund a whole bunch of stuff for a passion project like Darklands must be very appealing for Rob and Mierce has an impressive catalog for a small company; there's what a dozen factions all with multiple units with unique sculpts and multiple large monsters as well. I don't think it was ever realistic to get all that done in the timeframe they quoted even without the occasional mess up along the way (looking at you tiny metal Norse Holumann doomed to never leave my closet of shame).
There are two aspects of production for a new range, pre-production, like the artists and the sculptor's fees, and the post-production cost, i;e; the casting and molding.
A successful Kickstarters serves to use the initial funding to pay for pre-production costs, and post-production of the pledged orders.
Pre-production costs are sunk costs, i;e; they are already spent at the beginning, and amount to the greatest percentage of cost.
Well, assuming all the original KS money is spent, and they aren't going to run any more, or hold too many sales, what are some ideas of how the could get more money in while finishing that huge backlog of stuff?
I think slipping in a new figure into the design cue, and selling it through the store is a good start.
I think if they can really get the game up and going, and make it more accessible, and easier to play would help also. As it would get people playing and talking about the game itself more. And then hopefully new people would come in and buy all the currently sculpted stuff from the store.
I also really think they need to up their social media profile. They've done more, as of late, which is good, but they really need to extend their reach a bit more. Bringing more people to the store is going to sell more figures, so I hope they can continue to do this. I always see their figures pop up in warhammer facebook groups, and everyone Oohs and Ahhhs over how cool they are, and they always get pointed to the store, which is great. But I think they need to get out and really show their stuff off, and hopefully it will catch on. I think the whole maelstorm stigma still hangs over their heads, and makes them hesitant to get out there. But if companies like CMON can really come out and work against their terrible former company reputations, and even GW has gone from being genuinely hated, to being loved by more and more people. It's a tough road, but I think it's worth the effort.
I think there's plenty of things they've done wrong, but if there are ideas people have as to how they can improve, I think that would be interesting.
That's a very, very good idea there - Rob needs to get Mierce "out there more" - Social Media, Forums, etc.
But Rob is very, very reluctant to loosen the reigns at Mierce, and takes a hand's on approach to the extreme - as in, all other hands are off.
He should farm out the game design to whatever extent is possible for him to allow, and also figure out a way to get help for all the squishy online presence stuff.
And yeah, get that in-house metal casting up and running ASAP!
I've seen their figures on some painting streams/videos/blogs recently so I wonder if Rob's wife, whos running the social media stuff, has been doing some outreach.
Wapple has had a lot of their stuff lately, but he's always liked their figures and Greenstuff World has been using Mierce stuff for some painting videos with their new lines of paint.
The big downside of bringing in somebody else to re-write the game is it would be another salary to pay, up front for a considerable amount of time even before a finished product could be sold
so not really an option if they are living 'hand to mouth' while trying to finish of the KS fulfilment even if Rob wanted to (and he probably doesn't want to)
Alpharius wrote: That's a very, very good idea there - Rob needs to get Mierce "out there more" - Social Media, Forums, etc.
They were being more proactive and ran that painting contest. That then ended and it went back to radio silence plus the withdraw of engagement by Rob from here as well. Wonder if the pay back on that wasnt what they hoped it would be.
I think that most companies are probably in for a hard time since, lets face it, GW got their A game on. So even for a company that does everything right it's going to be hard.
Online needs to be more aggressive and their catalogue grows substantially each KS, I mean they generate so many new minis in such short time frame that its probably a nightmare to handle them when your team is too small and freelance.
Many things can make it hard for a company to thrive but I think that Mierce committed themselves to more than they can chew. So I would say probably planning for a steady but realistic release schedule would probably work better for them.
Simplify things like creature names no one can or will remember, create fun rulesets will for sure help to build a good fan base… as it stands people in general are confused where this is going.
I think Rob's silence is more he's just really busy and probably in some stressful times working overtime and such. He's not even as active on Kickstarter chats as he use to be.
We're also forgetting about the failure of the boardgame about a year ago. Rob really didn't research what boardgamers want (tons of cheap figures) and his campaign was a bust. don't also help that he's generally more realistic on the funding amount then a lot of other companies. And that laft of funding hurt them too.
If a bunch of teams the size of Mierce can raise 1-2 million for their PVC minis game Rob could but I think that would require him to do out of his comfort zone and get the game designer, get the communications person (so rob doesn't have to do it) and so on.
They need a new webstore with convenient filters focusing on non-gibberish names. I've stopped two orders now just because of that website. I often wonder if Mierce has good "counts-as" minis for unrelated games but can't bring myself to wade through the nonsense names to check. Tags, Mierce, use tags!
Yeah, their website is awful. It has definitely contributed to me starting to look through their sales and then abandoning it after trying to deal with the website.
There are a lot of valid criticisms of Mierce, but really the website? It's a website. It loads fine, it displays things clearly, everything is in categories and most stuff has thumbnails. Navigating it is no harder than navigating Windows or any other website not purposefully broken for the sake of tablet/mobile users.
Yodhrin wrote: There are a lot of valid criticisms of Mierce, but really the website? It's a website. It loads fine, it displays things clearly, everything is in categories and most stuff has thumbnails. Navigating it is no harder than navigating Windows or any other website not purposefully broken for the sake of tablet/mobile users.
Its valid, I mean I speak for myself here but I'm usually lost there in therms of finding a specific miniature because:
a) I don't remember the silly name they baptised the miniature I'm looking for.
b) Not familiar with factions, sub factions names.
c) I gave up many times after going through the site looking for a mini and was not able to find it.
Its valid, I mean I speak for myself here but I'm usually lost there in therms of finding a specific miniature because:
a) I don't remember the silly name they baptised the miniature I'm looking for.
b) Not familiar with factions, sub factions names.
c) I gave up many times after going through the site looking for a mini and was not able to find it.
Not a big thing but adds up.
Same thing can be said for any unfamiliar system. I even find it hard to find items on the GW website, I type in the old warhammer name and it's changed, then I have a job hunting it down under the new naming system.
If you think Mierce is hard to navigate, you should try the historical sites, most of them are archaic and some of them don't even bother with pictures.
For a small company with a very large inventory, Mierce website works well.
Im from the time internet was not a thing and you had to go through a catalogue with just names and then fill the form, send it in and hope to receive something back… Some sites are still like that! Yes, Mierce is a million times better than those thank god for that.
I think the idea of tags for the site is good. If you could show up and see tags like ‘dragons’, ‘trolls’, ‘wolves’, and such, that would be a start. The difficult names of the units have always been an issue with the game/website for people. I love that mierce actually tries to incorporate names using old language, but I feel the ‘main title’ of each item should be something simpler for people to more easily follow.
Having gairlom just called ‘Albainn spearmen’, and Gairmorlom as ‘Albainn veteran spearmen’, is a little bit easier for everyone (especially translation programs) to grasp.
Having ‘Chysperis, Fidron of Khthon’ listed as just ‘ Great Khthon sea serpent’, could mean the difference between sale and not sale?
I most definitely think these true names need to be part of the description of these figures, but perhaps not their forward facing name. Something like:
Great Khthon Sea Serpent -
A Fidron or (add descriptive breakdown of the word Fidron) , Chysperis is a titanic serpentine beast. Feared by sailors, and villagers alike, this massive beast is rallied by the Gorgons to wage war on the battlefields of the Darklands for the Khthones.
I’m sure better flavor text could be made, but, I think that coveys ‘what It is’ simply, while still paying homage to the mythology/history of it as well.
As many have said also, Rob likes to do as much as he can himself, which ends up meaning he has more on his plate then a normal business owner. Obviously he should delegate things out, but I think Darklands is truly his passion, and he wants to maintain as much control as possible. Whereas with some small companies, I think this is possible, Mierce not only needs to get out from under the backlog, but needs to become more assessable to people, seeing as they already have such an impressive catalog of stuff. Rob’s got to loosen the reins a bit, and let others help with certain things.
The name thing is a non-issue. Infinity does the same thing as mierce, and it can be frustrating for people to find what they want in that game, but it hasn't hurt its Popularity. GW's website isn't any better if you're not familiar with their dumb names. I've searched for 10+ min for a figure on their site before because I'm not that familiar with GW's stuff. Sounds like people are just upset that Mierce organizes things for their game and for people looking for GW replacements. The audacity.
but putting tags like troll, wolfman, ogre etc on them so people can search the store for 'counts as' stuff would be useful for people who just want to grab something for a different game
(not sure how simple it would be to do with how the stores set up, but if it wasn't too much of a nightmare it would probably help sales)
Assuming it's a SQL style of database it's pretty simple add tags/filters. That's not to say it would be quick to do as there's a decent amount of work there to add the data and change the website, but Its not complex.
I should add I don't think they use a 3rd party cart system where it would be much easier. I seam remember Rob talking about making everything himself.
The only problem with the website is the names of the individual minis, 3 times ive given up looking for the Walrus dudes as i can never remember the faction or their names!
I will say once you learn whats in the factions ie what races etc. it isnt a bad site to use.
I've personally halted orders on their site because I couldn't find the mini *I knew* they sold. If we're chatting about ways to increase sales, I wouldn't label that a non-issue. I'm assuming the majority of Mierce sales are for other game systems. If so, they should reduce shopping/purchasing friction as much as possible. Skullking's suggestions are ace.
The other issue that might've been mentioned is frequency of sales. If I know they'll do 2-for-1 sales regularly, I'm far less likely to purchase in non-sales periods. Have to be careful with handling the frequency and types of sales.
It's disingenuous to simply state "it's not a problem for me"
The issue isn't whether some people can nut it out, the issue is that some CAN'T, and give up in frustration.
That's a sales loss for Mierce.
There is no reason Mierce can't use a friendly name along with the ridiculously convoluted naming conventions they ahve stuck with stubbornly since the inception of Darklands.
They also use utterly STUPID names for some banebeatss...
s'hcrhro'tum-b'hoss,
s'hcrhro'tum-b'hoss,
n'nhohbr'hurt'hs
But these all have a "normal" description as well
But, hey, whatever, keep the stupid names, just add a description underneath that people can actually, you know, remember?
I'd have trouble distinguishing those names from toddler playing with a keyboard text. On a lighter note, trying to quick glance and pronounce them comes up with scrotum boss and no butt hurts, lol. (Assuming those are legit names and you didn't make them up...)
yxalitis wrote: It's disingenuous to simply state "it's not a problem for me"
The issue isn't whether some people can nut it out, the issue is that some CAN'T, and give up in frustration.
That's a sales loss for Mierce.
There is no reason Mierce can't use a friendly name along with the ridiculously convoluted naming conventions they ahve stuck with stubbornly since the inception of Darklands.
They also use utterly STUPID names for some banebeatss...
s'hcrhro'tum-b'hoss,
s'hcrhro'tum-b'hoss,
n'nhohbr'hurt'hs
But these all have a "normal" description as well
But, hey, whatever, keep the stupid names, just add a description underneath that people can actually, you know, remember?
This has been a hurdle I haven't crossed on several occasions. Their website is so hard to navigate and find models I've not bought stuff at least three times. I love a lot of their stuff but never bought anything.
The dice tray!
) but am not panicking yet.
