OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: We just reached an epic $1,000,000 dollar milestone for our little team with a big dream! Thank you so much for the support to help us bring H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu to life in a whole new way! This means the world to us knowing that fans around the world will be able to own this fabulous game.
You have unlocked a FREE collector's figure of Shoggoth!!!
One MILLION dollars!
That's an interesting collection of tentacles... or something
I'm currently sitting on a $130 cultist EB, and wanna hit $200 to score the freebies. Budget being an issue, which would provide a more varied playing experience:
Two faction expansions, or
One faction, one map expansion
So basically, 6 factions on one map vs five factions on two maps. What do you guys think?
I'd be tempted to say 1 faction expansion from Yog Sothoth, Sleeper or Windwalker
(not Azathoth as that one does not let you play a 5 player game)
plus a map from Dreamlands (2 submaps and introduced a unique victory condition in addition to the normal ones) or Yuggoth (extra game play possibilities with brain cylinders, and an AI controlled hostile great old one)
(primeval earth is slightly cheaper and sounds to have a fun mechanic but only comes with 'glacier' minis so I'll discount that one)
I'll also speculate that the maps will be less popular and most likely to be tricky to get after the KS, so if you decide you want to buy more bits at retail you'll have one of the three of them already
Automatically Appended Next Post: Update
Here are concepts for the Sleeper Faction. Some Azathoth Faction spam coming later tonight.
rabidaskal wrote: I'm currently sitting on a $130 cultist EB, and wanna hit $200 to score the freebies. Budget being an issue, which would provide a more varied playing experience:
Two faction expansions, or
One faction, one map expansion
So basically, 6 factions on one map vs five factions on two maps. What do you guys think?
I'm in a similar boat and I settled on 2 factions because the maps, while cool sounding, weren't really impressing me as much as having an entirely different strategic way to approach the game. Also, more factions means more potential factions that I will love to play, thus making the game feel more enjoyable for me, but this is my personal approach.
I'm this close to abandoning my day-one FDS pledge and going all-in for a De Vermiis Mysteriis pledge. Every reveal of new art or sculpts makes me more and more excited for this game.
We are very exited to hit another Stretch Goal, and now have unlocked the FREE Spawn of Yog Sothoth collector's figure! This is one of the creatures from Opener of the Way Expansion! It's one of the most amazing figures in the game, and we are happy to have reach this goal.
Thank you Backers!
Fenris Games on facebook has commented that he's 54mm to the top of the hump
stretch passed
3850 backers achieved FREE Star Spawn collectors figure (Cultist pledge or over)
next
$1200K or 3900 backers FREE Gnoph Keh collectors figure (Windwalker expansion or expansion bundle)
Haven't read the entire thread, but, for those who are wish to buy these miniatures in resin after the KS, prepare for some sticker shock.
Fenris Games will be selling Father Dagon for L39 or about $60. Both Father Dagon and Mother Hydra are freebies (in Descent plastic) with the Cultist level (still $140 slots available).
"16-piece (8 resin, 8 white metal) kit building the biggest of our Lost Shores Deep Ones, the mighty Dagon. Supplied with 120mm Lost Shores recessed resin base."
It's the same as Sedition Wars where Studio McVeys boutique resins are £14 or about $20, metals are £7 or about $10 or the Restic/PVC in the game worked out at about £0.75 or $1 each
(although that is a Dagon Fenris made for themselves long before the KS, I belive the Dagon/Hydra for the KS will end up looking different as they will be working to Richards art direction but the size/price will end up being similar)
Technically the Star Spawn have already unlocked at this point.
Not a fan of Fenris' original Dagon. Their deep ones I like, but Dagon just looked a bit too normal to me.
Can't wait to see how the current sketch translates to a figure- it looks like a giant sea monster.
I'm still kind of irritated with the collector figures. I'm spending enough on this project as it is- why can't they throw everyone a bone with the bonus figures? I don't want to buy MORE expansions to get a few extra freebies.
I say they make them all available to everyone who's pledged cultist or higher, toss them in a plain cardboard box with the game logo on the front, slap a kickstarter exclusive stamp on it and call the whole affair a done deal. Let everyone share in the wealth, especially when you consider how many people are at the maxed out pledge as it is.
At least once we hit that final GOO everyone gets the freebies, regardless of whether they plan to purchase the expansion the figures come from or not. I can only hope we get to that Bhole...
I'm going to hold out for "resin sticker shock" rather than Descent plastic... but I can certainly see the appeal of this
My poor PC can barely open these kickstarter pages near the end of campaigns, though, once they're loaded down with videos / stretch goal pics / etc! Hopefully kickstarter will make a "stripped down" version at some point, perhaps for mobile use (similar to how Dakka has a mobile theme that omits some things).
Not a fan of Fenris' original Dagon. Their deep ones I like, but Dagon just looked a bit too normal to me.
Can't wait to see how the current sketch translates to a figure- it looks like a giant sea monster.
I'm still kind of irritated with the collector figures. I'm spending enough on this project as it is- why can't they throw everyone a bone with the bonus figures? I don't want to buy MORE expansions to get a few extra freebies.
I say they make them all available to everyone who's pledged cultist or higher, toss them in a plain cardboard box with the game logo on the front, slap a kickstarter exclusive stamp on it and call the whole affair a done deal. Let everyone share in the wealth, especially when you consider how many people are at the maxed out pledge as it is.
At least once we hit that final GOO everyone gets the freebies, regardless of whether they plan to purchase the expansion the figures come from or not. I can only hope we get to that Bhole...
Have you tried the actual Kickstarter Mobile Phone App?
I know there's a version for the iPhone, not sure about Android.
Hey all. I want to send my appreciation and thanks to all here on Dakkadakka for the fabulous support you have given my Kickstarter.
We have just one day left!
If you are a supporter, again, my heartfelt thanks.
If you are not a supporter well, then, you have one day to make up your mind.
And we have one day left to Like and Share the campaign with our friends (for example, the Cthulhu Wars facebook page). If you have time and inclination to do so, I am grateful.
It's a dream project, and the games you've made in the past (especially Call of Cthulhu) have probably occupied more of my time than it's wise to count
I can't wait till it's in my hands!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Upgraded doom track markers (Creator Sandy Petersen 6 minutes ago
The Doom markers are currently intended to be a permanent upgrade, not a kickstarter exclusive, which means the expansions will need them too.)
You'd get an extra 7 great old ones minis (these are big figures probably 10cm or so in size) along with rules to use them in the game
these great old ones can be summoned in game and can be used by the summoner until killed, then can be resummoned by anybody
(Sandy recommends, if you plan on including them, using 1 less than the number of players, so 2 in a 3 player game etc)
and a few of the collectors figures are awarded bases on you getting certain expansions (Opener, Sleeper, Windwalker) so if you pick one of those you'd get an extra mini or two
Any one of the three factions above will also turn it into a 5 player game (the base game is 2-4 player) so if your gaming group is that large it's well worth doing (the 4th extra faction, Azathoth does not do this, the creatures are acting as mercenaries only so don't pick this one if you're after a 5 player game)
Well that does sound rather tempting! Thanks for the summary, I always find it hard working out what you extras you get at various levels at this stage, the front page always becomes a challenge!
custom dice 12 or high priests 12 for the 'low cost' option
or
on of the Dreamlands Underword or Surface World Monsters for $20 each (Mercenary creatures who can only be summoned/controlled by the player who controls their home territory)
1250K or 4000 backers FREE Formless Spawn collectors figure (Sleeper expansion or expansion bundle)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Post from Sandy
Creator Sandy Petersen less than a minute ago
I see that we have kind of a weird muddle of which figures are available to which pledge.
So here is the intent, regardless of text:
1) every bid of cultist or higher gets all of the "collectible" miniatures. Rules do not come with these for use in the game. They are just for display, Christmas tree ornaments, or whatever.
2) every bid of Cultes des Goules or $200 gets the 9 add-on Great Old Ones. from Yig to Hydra. These come with complete rules for use.
3) every bid of Book of Eibon or De Vermiis Mysteriis gets the new mystery Great Old One. He comes with complete rules for use.
There is no plan at this time to add 5 free gray cultist figures. However, I personally promise that we WILL add the 5 extra gray cultists if and only if the Bhole gets unlocked, so it will have something to snack on. I have not checked this out with my partners, so they may balk. If they do, I'll pay for the extra gray cultists out of my own pocket.
Point one is the big change as it contradicts what is on the stretch goal map, but very cool, thanks Sandy!
The bummer here is that this is one of the first big board game kickstarters where I don't know anyone from my local group who is getting it... and thus, can't look forward to playing their copy without having to pony up for my own . Argh!
1) every bid of cultist or higher gets all of the "collectible" miniatures. Rules do not come with these for use in the game. They are just for display, Christmas tree ornaments, or whatever.
2) every bid of Cultes des Goules or $200 gets the 9 add-on Great Old Ones. from Yig to Hydra. These come with complete rules for use.
3) every bid of Book of Eibon or De Vermiis Mysteriis gets the new mystery Great Old One. He comes with complete rules for use.
There is no plan at this time to add 5 free gray cultist figures. However, I personally promise that we WILL add the 5 extra gray cultists if and only if the Bhole gets unlocked, so it will have something to snack on. I have not checked this out with my partners, so they may balk. If they do, I'll pay for the extra gray cultists out of my own pocket.
Now THAT is awesome to hear, and exactly what I was hoping we might see! Even better news about the extra cultists getting served as snacks to the Bhole!
Only sad thing is I'll be stuck on an airplane and won't get to see how this all ends until the campaign is over- hopefully we get up to all those high stretch goals!
There's going to be a PM for this one, right? I'm at my limit for the time being, but should be able to upgrade later on.
I notice that DVM doesn't appear to include all the GOOs in it. Does it work out in some way that you're getting most in the expansions and the rest via DVM, or does it require more +$addons?
I'm really not too sure.. I haven't been following this one all that closely, and with so many add-ons and expansions including further GOOs, it's bloody confusing at this point in time..
I really am pretty sure that DVM gets you literally everything, and any pledge of $200+ gets you, well, whatever you pledged for plus ALL of the GOOs except for the super secret Mysterious New One.
Unfortunately, no. If you want Lovecraft, you either have to move down to Cultist and build your own pledge up from there, or you have to get him in addition to Waite :(
OR move up to Book of Eibon at $325 which lets you make the choice between the two.
recruittons wrote: Unfortunately, no. If you want Lovecraft, you either have to move down to Cultist and build your own pledge up from there, or you have to get him in addition to Waite :(
OR move up to Book of Eibon at $325 which lets you make the choice between the two.
Seems odd they don't give a choice on it, and the wording makes it sound like you can choose either (as they are both Kickstarter exclusive).
Well, even if it is a Lovecraftian board game, I don't think I can go to $325 on a board game I have not played yet, and I can just try to sell "Waite"...
That's my feeling as well. I really want the Lovecraft player marker, though, so I think I might just pony up for him during the PM, but he isn't a huge priority for me compared to getting gameplay stuff
Azazelx wrote: I'm really not too sure.. I haven't been following this one all that closely, and with so many add-ons and expansions including further GOOs, it's bloody confusing at this point in time..
It's confusing. Best to post on BoardGameGeek what you specifically want from the KS so you can get an answer from the number-crunchers.
$140: At these Cultist "Early Bird" levels, you get the free GOOs, Mother Dagon and Father Hydra, which is $25 MSRP, plus some non-gaming miniatures (trade bait), with the $170 MSRP base game, which supports four players. That's about 28% off. Once you get to $200, they throw in seven more GOOs, or $325 MSRP, for free. The factions bundle is another good deal, $160 for $200 MSRP.
I think I'm going to stick to EB Cultist and add stuff on to it, it works out about 5 dollars more the CDG but I can choose the Lovecraft mini and the expansion I want.
$1.26M funded: FREE New Mystery Great Old One (for Book of Eibon or De Vermiss Mysteriis pledges)
We're getting so close to the end! Thanks again to our amazing backers. We've surpassed our $1,260,000 stretch goal and now a deeply mysterious creature has been unleashed!
...but, what will it be?
4050 backers achieved FREE Dark Young collectors figure (Cultist pledge or over)
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Dannicus wrote: Is there a paypal option for this kickstarter? I really love the look of the game.
There is going to be a post KS pledge manager where you can add cash (and move UP pledge levels)..
To get in on it you'll need to pledge at investigator ($10) or more (you need to pledge at a level for KS to pass your details to Sandy & Co)
The presumption is this will be via paypal as that's what almost every other KS uses but I've not seen it specifically mentioned
There is (as far as I know) no direct paypal buy in at the moment
Automatically Appended Next Post: strike!
4100 backers achieved FREE High Priest collectors figure (Cultist pledge or over)
next
1325K or 4150 backers FREE Zoog collectors figure (Cultist pledge or over)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Creator Sandy Petersen 2 minutes ago
Hapless minion is probably more accurate.
Info on the new Great Old One? Well, he is the Least Tested of all of the Great Old Ones, but at the moment, he has a combat of 0, a cost of 0 (but stiff awakening requirements), and when he appears you can place him anywhere on the map that you want.
It is a giant monster that comes with the dreamlands map expansion. It is also the highest backer goal CE figure, but it's not really likely to be achieved at this rate. It would require another 400 backers in an hour to get, but it would be free with cultist level and is actually a very large figure.
Thanks . How are you allocating your $200 pledge, recruittons? I believe you'd mentioned you were in at that level, it seems to be the sweet spot with the 9 free great old ones.
Tons of people seem to be at "Cultes des Goules" just above that, but I can't tell if it's really a better deal than doing that with add-ons from Cultist, or if it's just easier for people because it's bundled.
Edit: Or maybe it's because it will deliver a bit sooner than the other expansions, so actually still in December? So many options...
So far among my testers, Sleeper is the most popular faction to play. At this time it is actually probably underpowered, winning slightly less than its share (i.,e in a 4 -player game he probably only wins 22-23% of the time). But it is such a blast to play it doesn't matter. Win or lose you have a riot playing Sleeper.
Opener of the Way is fun all the time, because it messes with the enemies in such aggressive ways. It is really good for a meanie.
Windwalker takes some patience, because the build up is slow. But when you have your super-army of blizzard-augmented Gnoph-Kehs and Wendigos following Ithaqua around, you definitely rule the roost. So he is good for a Power Player.
Sandy
Automatically Appended Next Post: RiTides
CDG is better than cultist IF you want the opener expansion and the dice/Asentha Waite/plastic gates combo as it's slightly cheaper to pick this lot up that way
If you specifically don't want any of the above cultist + bits is better (most making this choice seem to be doing so to pick up the HPL 1st player marker instead of the nude woman with tentacles one)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hey guys and gals, it's time for the Shambler! Here I will indulge myself in a little reminiscing. Some of you may be aware that I was one of the folks who helped to bring out the game of Quake back in the day. Those who actually played Quake may recall that one of the monsters was the "Shambler". In fact, the Shambler of Quake was intended to be the same creature as the Dimensional Shambler from the Call of Cthulhu game (also authored by me) and the brilliant artist Adrian Carmack, who modeled the Quake Shambler used as part of his inspiration the artwork of Tom Sullivan in my (and Tom's) book Petersen's Field Guide to Monsters.
Now you know.
P. S. if some of you are wondering why the Shambler's left arm seems ... asymmetrical, it is because he exists in more than one dimension at a time, and is reaching through several of them to get you.
Automatically Appended Next Post: 4350 backers achieved FREE Leng Spider collectors figure (Cultist pledge or over)
RiTides wrote: Thanks . How are you allocating your $200 pledge, recruittons? I believe you'd mentioned you were in at that level, it seems to be the sweet spot with the 9 free great old ones.
Tons of people seem to be at "Cultes des Goules" just above that, but I can't tell if it's really a better deal than doing that with add-ons from Cultist, or if it's just easier for people because it's bundled.
Edit: Or maybe it's because it will deliver a bit sooner than the other expansions, so actually still in December? So many options...
Anyway, should be a fun last hour
Actually, I was one of the lucky ones who backed right when the EBs were posted, so I have a $110 eb cultist pledge with add-ons! I'm getting...
During the PM, I plan on adding gates and dice. Possibly a t-shirt, since it's actually really awesome. Although, the gates I'm a little unsure of because they are so massive that I doubt I'd enjoy using them in the game and would just want them for terrain and display purposes
I am especially happy about the Leng Spider. You see, when I was in college a long time ago (before the earth had cooled), I was a Zoology major, who specialized in arachnids. So spiders are a particular favorite of mine.
And in fact at my house, when we see a spider, we ignore it. I mean, my wife knocks down cobwebs that are intrusive. And if there is a particularly large spider that frightens a grandkid or something, I'll carry it outside. Or if I see an "outdoors" spider who will not be happy inside the house. But we don't kill them, except for dangerous spiders, like widows and of course the Leng variety.
I know it is easy for a model maker to mess up on a spider and make it NOT look good - the spiders in DESCENT, to me, are a case in point - the worst models in that game, IMO. But I will work with Richard to ensure that THESE spiders are all they can be.
Note to arachnologists - don't expect the Leng spiders to be anatomically correct, though. A spider the size of these suckers has to experience a number of major mutations and adjustments. As did Shelob, for instance.
Ia! Ia! Thanks SO much for all the wonderful support. You guys and gals are the best and I am honored to have been able to work together with you to create this game. Tears are literally filling my eyes at this moment when I think of what we've accomplished.
When I started this kickstarter, I intended it to be my last hurrah - my swan song - my final venture into Cthulhu and boardgames, after which I would support my family by taking an honorable job working for another firm, designing whatever games they sent my way. I had expected Cthulhu Wars to be no more than cash cow, a side income.
But you changed all that. You made this not only a victory, but one of the biggest successes Kickstarter has ever had. Instead of this game being my swan song, it has become my phoenix, rising from the ashes and igniting a new and fierce course for me - Now Cthulhu Wars, which is MY dream game, will be my life for the foreseeable future. It turns out that it was YOUR dream game, too. Thank you thank you thank you.
I view you all as my peers and fellows. If you see me at a convention or elsewhere, please stop by and wave a friendly tentacle!
Yeah. Although, Sandy has said that he wants to do 2 waves of shipping. December 2013 is just for the boxed game and the Opener of the Way expansions (and anything else that was listed in the KS when it launched) and everything else (the unlocked GOOs, the other expansions, etc) will ship some time in 2014. I believe Q2 or Q3 was mentioned, but I'm not sure.
Wave shipping seems to be all the rage with these hugely successful campaigns... I just hope that continues to be feasible, as shipping twice has to add to overhead quite a lot.
Yeah, I'm hoping it works out alright. Personally, if necessary, I'd add in a little more for shipping my second wave stuff separately so I can get the first wave stuff much earlier
RiTides wrote: Wave shipping seems to be all the rage with these hugely successful campaigns... I just hope that continues to be feasible, as shipping twice has to add to overhead quite a lot.
Wave shipping might be cheaper than acquiring sufficient warehouse space for a single wave
Does anyone know if they're allowing late entries via the Pledge Manager? I wanted to back this but I leave it until the last few hours these days due to how complicated they get, sadly it transpired I was watching a film with the wife
OK, just coughed up the balance to upgrade to DVM. Now, since my main gaming friends can't handle Cthulhu, when are some of you lot going to come over to play it with me?
Well, dang . Way to make me feel bad for sitting this one out! It is very likely that I will be picking up that model when it is released... looks much better than the Reaper one, imo. Counts-as winged hive tyrant, anyone?
Sandy has done an interview with Board Game Geek where he's basically said it looks unlikely they'll hit their December target (pushback from China on getting the figures done)
We just got back from GenCon and Necronomicon and were thrilled to meet many of our backers at both events. We showed the whole game, plus the Opener of the Way expansion. Lots of photos were taken by backers and we hope to see them spread all over the web.
In other news, we are drawing ever-closer to getting this game into a box and into your hands (or tentacles). At this time, we are trying to arrange matters to print the entire game plus all its expansions at one time, and ship it in one fell swoop to kickstarter backers and pre-orders. Note that this is Not For Sure, but that's what we are aiming at.
At about the same time we ship to the backers, we are planning to print extra copies of the core game to sell in stores across the world. We do not plan on printing extra copies of the expansions at this time, but will do so over the next few months (it might be a year or more after the initial printing before all the expansions are available commercially). However, we should be able to make some or all of the expansions available in limited numbers from the Green Eye Games website, at least until the product runs out - this is because we will be printing slightly more than the number needed to initially fulfill the kickstarter, to protect against wastage and damage.
So the good news is this - if our plan works, you the backers will be getting the whole kaboodle at once, months before any of the expansions are available commercially. This includes the extra Great Old Ones, the collector's figures, maps, factions, etc. Even if your friends rush out to the store to buy Cthulhu Wars the day it arrives (and your copy should still arrive before that anyway), you will also have the other stuff and they won't. You'll be the coolest kid in R'lyeh.
The bad news is that most of the expansions we ship you won't include the commercial packaging, though they will contain everything that will go into the commercial version. The Independent Great Old Ones (like Yig) won't be in blister-packs for instance, just in a brown cardboard box. We felt that backers would rather get the cool game stuff earlier than wait till some boxes (that you may throw away anyway, if you're like me) are finalized. Note that you WILL be getting the commercial version of the core game packaging.
Other bad news is it looks like we may not be able to hit the December deadline as we'd hoped. The manufacturers are meeping and glibbering about a February date and since we're at their mercy we are now aiming for then. If anything can be done to speed up production, rest assured we will take the necessary steps - we want the game published as much as y'all!
Sandy
Well official warning of potential lateness (no surprise, and I still doubt February as not all the expansion stuff is sculpted or playtested yet, let alone in China for casting),
and the sad news that it looks like the expansions will be unboxed (for KS backers)...
While I have not cared about packaging for any of my other KS projects (except KD which has the same issues) I hope they change their minds come up with something decent for this as loose map boards/cards etc at the very least will be a pain
and unavailable to retail for a fair while after the full box game
(which could translate to never for some of them if sales do not go as planned? If you're a 'pokemon' type who was planning to top up later at retail think about asking for a pledge unlock)
It really depends on what they mean by "retail box" and "blister pack" before I can decide if I'm unhappy with this or indifferent...
I was expecting the expansions to be in smaller "expansion pack" boxes, like the stuff for Talisman, or Descent, or that Spartacus game. Which doesn't really jibe with "blister packaging".
Hmmm, not really sure if I like this solution, I understand that it will free up funds to ship everything at once, but the idea of getting certain items in their non-intentioned boxes is a bit bothering.
While it might be ok for say a Miniatures Game, or even something like KD which is more RPG, the main difference is that Cthulhu Wars is very much still a board game, and thus unlike the others mentioned I feel needs to be more easily transported. Most Board game boxes will be made to do so in the most effective way possible. I really doubt the main Commercial box for the core Cthulhu Wars game will have space for even one extra expansion, let alone ALL of them; which really handicaps its transportability, as the other expansions will be coming in just packaging and not a easily transportable box.
I know its not the HUGEST issue but eh, I would prefer to get what's done now (The Core game plus Opener of the Way) on time (As those are done and seem on point for a December Shipping) and wait longer for the other expansions, even if it takes far longer.
Though it may not be economically feasible for them.
from the main box
Great Cthulhu
Crawling Chaos (Nyarlathotep)
Black Goat (Shub Nigurath)
Yellow Sign (Hastur)
and the expansion
Windwalker (Ithaqua)
Opener of the Way (Yog Sothoth)
Sleeper (Tsathuoga)
The only one that isn't playable in the traditional sense is Azathoth where the great old one and all the associated creatures are neutral and can be summoned and controlled by any player
(the free Great Old Ones are handled in a similar way, but Sandy does not recommend having them all in the same game, pick one or two to use each game otherwise it will just get silly)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Creepy Crawly Ahoy!
Constipated and starving all at once, no wonder he's a vicious monster
an updated picture from facebook
Monday morning, and more Cthulhu Wars WIP sculpting. This time, everyone's favourite elephant-headed, flab-encrusted yoga teacher....Chaugnar Faugn. (changed from the earlier pic I just posted by mistake !)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Slime Mould (or Mold ) by Tim Prow
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Wizard (Yog Sothoth expansion) by Tim Prow
Another difficult concept..."Cthuga is made of ash and fire....lava rock and ash texture with stylised flames..."
Yann's done a great job on this suitably elemental GOO. Can't wait to see what some of the fab OSL painters can do with this piece...
(I'll agree this is a great interpretation of the lore and a neat mini, but sadly Cthuga just not a Great Old One that i'm terribly interested in.... but maybe it's just me!)
So Sandy posted update #107 without consulting the rest of GEG and everyone can relax as you will be getting AT LEAST retail packaging. Link
We don't know exactly what the retail boxes and such will be like and what size and all that. What we do know almost for sure is that the extra GOOs will be in blister packs. Link
Blistering the GOOs was always the intent I think. Making boxes for those would surely have bankrupted us. Also all the extra KS goodies will not have any retail anything. Mainly because they aren't retail! Link
Everyone is getting a retail box for the core game. It is only the expansions that would be in generic boxes. Since we do need boxes to fit them into for shipping, we are looking into making some kind of special kickstarter-only box for the expansions. As always this is NOT FOR SURE. We are deep in the path of trying to find out exactly what the manufacturers can offer. The single most important thing is that the game components are solid and first-rate. The box is secondary to me. I thought MSRP was a price, only. We are looking into kickstarter-exclusive boxes. We would have 1-2 varieties of these (probably a colossal DVM box, then a smaller Expansion Pack box), and everyone would get their stuff inside these, plus of course a core-game commercial-quality box. Even if we can pull this off, it still won't be the final commercial package, but at least it will have art and be unique. I am feeling very appreciative of Scott Huber's comment that there has been "too much information from GEG and Sandy". I always have a tendency to want to communicate and make our ideas and plans known. It was pointed out on BGG that more information about this unreleased game has been made available earlier than any other game ever. Playtest videos, final artwork, etc. This may indeed be a business flaw on my part, but it is what it is. Sandy
And that's all the information we have.
I understand the boxes for the expansion, you do not just print 2k boxes its too expensive and printing a huge run of them to be viable and then storing them for a few years up to the point they get released is even more expensive.
An update and more pictures, I've dropped in some titles/comments and left off pictures posted earlier in the thread
this has a link to the (really nice) artbook pdf, so backers need to go to update 109 for that
I am beginning to work on the Printed art book now, and am gathering costs from printers. It will be around 150 pages with new art too. My goal is to have a softcover for around $25 and a hardcover for $50. Also a version that comes with something "special". I'm still working on the prices, because I have to factor in shipping and the quality of the book. What do you guys think of this price point? I need your feedback, because you are the ones buying it, and I want to make sure that I can put it at a price that you guys want to pay, yet I can still afford to print. Hopefully I can find some cheaper printers and can lower the prices. You feedback would be super helpful, thanks!
Richard
HPL 1st player marker (more images on KS page)... not to keen on the face as it doesn't look too much like HPL, but it is a WIP and the issues with it have been brought up
Azathoth
Migo
Formless Spawn
This looks like Gobogeg but is tagged as the Watcher
Green Eye Games is currently planning to end the pledge manager on October 5th. While anything is possible, it is unlikely that we will keep it open past that date, so if you are one of the tiny few who have not yet worked out your pledge, you have “only” about two weeks to do so.
In other news, Greeneyegames.com website is up, active, and running, and all the posts from the kickstarter have been copioed there, though, alas, not the comments. Future updates will reliably be on that website. For the time being we will also post updates here on kickstarter, though some day that will end. Most of my responses to comments will be on Greeneyegames.com though.
Cool. I see they're selling both of the "Kickstarter exclusive" figures on their website. While I don't overly care, but it's still a bit of poor form in many people's eyes. On the other hand, moving all updates to their own site "sooner or later" rather than using the KS update mechanism is pretty piss-poor of them. I don't mind them using their website for replies and questions, but with the number of people with multiple backed projects these days, it's just not cricket to expect us to all go to this website or that to chase down updates.. hmm.. kinda reminds me of Reaper's "no news" policy during shipping...
if it happens since I've not seen any new stuff surface there yet so I hope it's just pointing people to the GEG website for future developments after the KS stuff ships.
(I'm posting a bunch from Fenris Games facebook page, but that's just part of his normal activity)
I was a bit surprised to see the exclusive stuff pop up there, but it's (apparently) over run from the minimum orders they needed to make for the items
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: It's not ideal
if it happens since I've not seen any new stuff surface there yet so I hope it's just pointing people to the GEG website for future developments after the KS stuff ships.
(I'm posting a bunch from Fenris Games facebook page, but that's just part of his normal activity)
I was a bit surprised to see the exclusive stuff pop up there, but it's (apparently) over run from the minimum orders they needed to make for the items
shrug
Sure, once the KS has fully shipped, then GEG can go for it, but that's not what they're saying about the future of updates.
I hate to ask a question that is probably answered..somewhere..in this very thread, but....
Who is selling the miniatures in resin if you aren't interested in the game, but just want that cool Cthulhu?
Have there been any actual content updates? They went real quiet right after the "sorry, we're missing Christmas" and "brown cardboard boxes" updates. Though that might be part of the "we're not going to use Kickstarter's reasonably efficient update system anymore - look for actual updates on our gakky webpage" update...
although there is apparently some back and forth on BGG mainly relating to rules fine tuning? (but I tend to avoid that so I'm not too sure what's going on)
Just had a look at the KS page, while doing the rounds of my horribly delayed projects to help me decide to not back anything new. Seems to now be more than 6 weeks since we've had any actual updates with content (not counting "we're going to Essen" and "updates' pimping other gak.) Not even anything on the GEG blog except for the same nothing-fluff.
The comments in the KS seem to indicate that we're now probably looking at the middle of next year, though. Which is both unsurprising and disappointing.
Hello fellow cultists! We just filmed the Opener of the Way Strategy videos and a playtest session. The playtest video has been uploaded. The strategies video still needs editing but will be up shortly!
Also forums will be going up very very soon as we really only need to make them live on the site!
Also enjoy hearing Naomi bark and David mispronounce Nyarlathotep.
Just got this image from Ian Brumby from Fenris Games. Looks like he's got the rest of the figures sculpted and cast. I'm excited. Have fun picking out which is which.
A few of the figures are updates to things we already have. For instance, we added Gate imagery to Yog-Sothoth's base, and made the Nightgaunts sturdier.
Not strictly part of the KS but this is bound to be of interest to backers and those interested in the mythos
The Cthulhu Wars artist has some mythos T-shirts up for order (or rather pre-order as he needs to know how many to order initially so don't expect immediate delivery)
" a great greyish-white slippery thing...a sort of toad...vibrating mass of pink tentacles on the end of its snout.." (moonbeast)
Automatically Appended Next Post: oh and Richard Luong posted this yesterday about the t-shirts
Hope that everyone had a great holiday and or weekend! Mine was a blast!
So a couple pieces of news for you all:
This is the last day of preorders before I place the orders for the shirts on Monday. This is also the last day to get the extra $5 off your shirt orders. Shirts should be shipping out on Thursday or Friday.
So while it's great that figures are being sculpted, is there any actual information on production timelines? It's kind of gone from "December 2013" to "Early 2014" to "sometime at some indeterminate point in the future, and by the way, buy some t-shirts and art books".
Backers have already been given a link to download the digital art book in update 109
(102 pages, and very nice it is too)
As quite a few backers want a hard copy the artist Richard Luong is planning to run a separate KS to produce one at some point (not sure if it will be a direct copy of the pdf or different)
As to timelines the latest I've heard (via playtesters/
convention goers reporting personal conversations with Sandy) is that the factory is saying March 2014,
but personally I'd doubt that (and even if it's true that probably means April on a boat from china and shipping beginning in May at the earliest)
Sandy has posted some mini shots of new stuff that's arrived with him (dakka doesn't seem to like showing the imgur pics so I'll jus have to go with the link
I don't think you can say anything about the detail as it's a white semi-translucent plastic which will not photograph well
I agree it looks thinner than the art, but will reserve judgement until I have it in hand
Automatically Appended Next Post: Here's a painted version of the Gnoph Keh from Fenris Games, Sculptor Stephen May, Painter Paul (Sanderson?).
55mm tall so it is pretty imposing, (it's a resin prototype, but at least it shows the detail was there to start with, we'll wait and see if the plastic actually has them too)
Looks pretty nice painted up. Wish his horns were a little more pronounced off of his body, but that's not a huge deal.
Was hoping to set him up in my grandparents' little Christmas village, lurking behind some snow covered trees on the edge of town. My grandmother probably would want to keep it though if she found it!
Hello & Merry Christmas to all of our wonderful backers!
We wanted to find some way to show our appreciation and love for all of you and thank you for your amazing support of our project. So, we put Sandy to work on designing a fun little Print & Play game for you to download... just in time for the Holidays!
(Then, click on the orange "Download" button in the upper-left.)
The game is designed to be printed with just about any printer (black & white -or- color) on just about any paper, and just requires 2 standard decks of playing cards (including 2 Jokers), to go with the print-outs. Of course, once you get your Cthulhu Wars miniatures, you can also use those in this game, too!
We hope you enjoy it (let us know what you think in the comments), and we wish for all of you the Happiest of Holidays!
Ok, so I just got off the phone with Cody, the GEG superdude that handles all the biz stuff. He is also the number one fan of the film "The Room."
here's what he told me:
A) The prototypes from Panda (in China) have been approved by GEG
B) Panda says the figures were more complex to do the tooling than originally anticipated. This means that they say they will be done with the base game and it will be shipped out of China around April cry [it was later clarified this is ALL the expansions as well as the base game]
C)As Link said, the printing is really fast and playtests can continue until a few weeks before shipping
D) Here's how distribution works:
everything goes from the factories in China to a central distributor in China, individual orders are then packed and loaded together on pallets and containers by region. These are then shipped to regional distribution centers (Germany/rest of Europe/US, etc.)and are then disseminated to local carriers for final delivery.
It's a big KS. It's complicated.
Hope this update finds you well! I talked to Cody during my normal planning period when I don't have students (I'm a HS teacher) to get this info.
which sounds promising for delivery to us late May or June (still plenty of chances for delays, but progress is being made). This is of course still all very tentative, one reason why it's not been posted as a KS update
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also
all the minis (except the 12 glaciers from the Primeval Map and the 'collectors edition' bits for DMV backers in a single image)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and a promo video that Robert Dobbs made during the KS
I wish I'd seen it then, but better late than never
I like the use of the Cthulhu Wars art and the dialogue is great
On the Green Eye Games website store we have added an option that lets a person buy ALL of the game and expansions at a significant discount. It does not include the kickstarter exclusives (first-player models, plastic gates, or custom dice), but has everything else.
So the negative is there is a delay (now expected Sept)
but the positive they're unlocking all the collector's edition stretch goals that weren't reached for cultists and above pledges! Nine more miniatures and an additional special surprise to come.
I'm hoping the special surprise is another Great Old One... I think thats a good way to handle the situation, wish more KS projects would operate on that principal
yeaaaaa..
I'm a little perturbed by this, and maybe I have a bit more bitter taste in my mouth because I'm already getting all those Great Old Ones. So really their "I'm sorry" is sorta null and void.... also a skip from April to Sept...? That's a pretty large jump
Yeah, but isn't that just about par the course for campaigns that grossly surpassed their expected pledge levels, and/ or added in a ridiculous amount of stretches?
At least we seem to be seeing a new trend on KS where game designers are trying to keep expectations in check and not go hog wild on stretches and empty shipping promises.
I have to say a full year is about what I expected when I pledged, and not because of some general "all kickstarters are delayed."
The fact is by the end of the campaign they didn't even have all of the concept art drawn, much less have sculpts ready to go. I just think that when people start a campaign they underestimate the number of steps involved and the time necessary for each step.
Think about it, at the end of the campaign they still needed to:
1: Finalize concept art
2: Sculpt the figures
3: Finish developing the rules
4: Find companies to: make the figures, produce the boards, print the rules, make the boxes, box everything
5: Get everything imported
6: Package and ship everything
It seems that step 4 is where a lot of companies get caught up, which is why companies that have produced figures before, think Mantic and Reaper, are able to deliver relatively on time, whereas kickstarters like this one and Robotech (which finished about a month earlier) have been stalled at the production phase for months. Also, importing everything can take a couple of months itself, so until the "we're waiting for boats from China" announcement happens, delivery is at least two months away.
Overall, I've been happy with the look of the figures, the game seems to have solid rules from every review I've seen, and they're throwing in a few consolation bonuses, so I'm willing to look past delays that I expected anyway.
par for the course, isn't really an excuse when that whole "par for the course" is generally bad.
I honestly used to think the same way, that no matter the wait it'd be ok. However shouldn't companies be more prepared? How is it the customers fault that the date is shifted from one day to 3 months down the line so I think it should be an expected complaint and not be shoved to the side.
I guess it'd be a little helpful if I knew EXACTLY what manufacturing problems they ran into because simply saying "oh we had some problems it'll be another 3 months" seems a bit disingenuous.
It ('par for the course') seems to be an issue fairly unique to the miniatures gaming industry, as I have pledged a LOT of non miniatures related kickstarters, and thus far most (if not all) have delivered on time or ahead of schedule.
The actual sculpts were all done by the date Fenris had been asked for (from what I saw anyway)
so it looks very much like the roadblock is at the steel mould tooling/plastics production stage and seems to be a fairly late stage thing as up until recently as there was no real hint of problems
I'm sad to say that it's probably just that a KS production run (no matter how big the ks was) is never going to trump the regular business of whatever toy/games etc the factories in China normally do
if the KS run slips even slightly, if their regular customer needs something done sooner rather than later, or an extra 100,000 units of something for a bubble-gum machine then it's the KS production that will be bumped
and it will stay bumped until there is an empty slot, rsther than just slipping to next on the production list
if the KS run slips even slightly, if their regular customer needs something done sooner rather than later, or an extra 100,000 units of something for a bubble-gum machine then it's the KS production that will be bumped
and it will stay bumped until there is an empty slot, rsther than just slipping to next on the production list
Great point, and one I should have made considering my wife's an editor and she runs into similar timing issues with the printers. Ultimately I think large scale production winds up being the largest hurdle and one that companies without experience don't properly consider. I agree that it would probably build good faith to provide some details regarding the delays, but I think most companies avoid doing this since that leads to people questioning their planning.
Out of curiosity, if the expected delivery date was a year, meaning that this would be on time, would it have impacted anyone's decision to pledge? I expected a year so it obviously wouldn't effect me, but I'm wondering if people dislike the actual timeframe, or just the lateness.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: The actual sculpts were all done by the date Fenris had been asked for (from what I saw anyway)
so it looks very much like the roadblock is at the steel mould tooling/plastics production stage and seems to be a fairly late stage thing as up until recently as there was no real hint of problems
I'm sad to say that it's probably just that a KS production run (no matter how big the ks was) is never going to trump the regular business of whatever toy/games etc the factories in China normally do
if the KS run slips even slightly, if their regular customer needs something done sooner rather than later, or an extra 100,000 units of something for a bubble-gum machine then it's the KS production that will be bumped
and it will stay bumped until there is an empty slot, rsther than just slipping to next on the production list
Its one of the advantages to doing business in the US, you might pay more, but your manufacturers are contractually obligated to produce the goods when they say they are going to (unless thats not a provision of your contract), if a big fish shows up and they want to bump you in the production queue as a result, they have to compensate you or face damages.
Out of curiosity, if the expected delivery date was a year, meaning that this would be on time, would it have impacted anyone's decision to pledge? I expected a year so it obviously wouldn't effect me, but I'm wondering if people dislike the actual timeframe, or just the lateness.
Thats definitely a good question, and I think the answer is quite possibly 'yes'. I've certainly backed out of Kickstarters over delivery dates before, granted they were for much smaller less invovled projects that I didn't want... On the flip side, had Palladium or whoever been upfront with the Robotech kickstarter and told us where they were in development and that delivery wouldn't be until this summer, I would have still backed.
Shame to hear that this project is getting held up (a friend backed at a fairly high level, I believe), but the extra figures are a nice show of appreciation to the backers, along with hints of a surprise yet to come.
As a vocal critic of a few projects seeing massive delays, it would certainly be nice for more creators to err on the side of caution. There's at least one project that I probably wouldn't have backed to quite the same degree if they'd given a 1 year (or more) target instead of an 8 month one, but that reduced backing would've in turn made me less frustrated when they blew past that date (would happen in a month).
I've had very late projects that I only tossed $50 at, so it wasn't really anything of an issue. When I get talked into supporting for $300 or $700 or whatever, in no small part based on a slick campaign lauding at length how far along the project is and how confident everyone is, etc, etc, it's not quite as easy to eat a 6 or 8 or 12 month delay and just say "oh well".
I'm sure it's something a lot of people are running numbers on already; the effective costs of over-promising and delaying versus being realistic and thus drawing in lower funds, but in turn possibly raising the likelihood of delivering on time.
I'm sure it's something a lot of people are running numbers on already; the effective costs of over-promising and delaying versus being realistic and thus drawing in lower funds, but in turn possibly raising the likelihood of delivering on time.
That's a consideration that's actually been on my mind. I might be wrong in this observation, since I haven't taken a formal poll, but it seems to me that people consider the delivery date when deciding whether to back so there's a pressure to underestimate the estimated delivery, and while egregious delays might annoy people, in the end, it's the quality of the product that matters. If the product is good, people ultimately look past the lateness, if its garbage being prompt doesn't matter.
This is really apparent in the different paths Robotech and Cthulhu Wars have taken. They raised a similar amount of money, ended within a month of each other, both were at a similar starting point of concepts, both promised to deliver Dec. 2013, and both are at similar stages of production. While there's been some annoyance at the delays here, the Robotech thread is full of people threatening to try and get a refund and I think the root of this has been displeasure in a number of the prototypes, questions regarding the rules, and frustration with the level of communication. This contrasts with Cthulhu Wars whose initial models have been excellent and the gameplay has gotten nothing but positive reviews.
Forar wrote: I've had very late projects that I only tossed $50 at, so it wasn't really anything of an issue. When I get talked into supporting for $300 or $700 or whatever, in no small part based on a slick campaign lauding at length how far along the project is and how confident everyone is, etc, etc, it's not quite as easy to eat a 6 or 8 or 12 month delay and just say "oh well".
Being an RPG min/max'er (: I usually look at the lowest "sweet spot" in a KS campaign, evaluate it, and, if I think it's worth what I will get, pledge only at that level. Alien Assimilation Host ($10) is over a year (?) behind, Itar's Workshop ($60) has been a long wait, but I wouldn't pledge as much money as companies who had more industry experience (eg. Dwarven Forge at $120), so don't mind the delays. GEG is a new company, so I set it at the "one year" mark, even though its lowest "sweet spot" was $200 (love them man-dollies!). While I'm certainly not getting as much "stuff" at a "once in a lifetime" discount as the $500+ backers, I also have a hypothetical $300 I can spend on other KS "sweet spots", such as Reaper's KS ($200+) and RAFM's Cthulhu miniatures ($100+). Delays happen all the time even at retail, and it would be a surprise if a first-time KS company didn't have them (no surprises yet, I should say!).
After some bad experiences with Japanime Games (and reading of the reputation of CMON and Queens Games), I'm inured to the slick campaign, as it is no indicator of post-funding support. Indeed, a competent but not outstanding campaign can deliver in good time. So with KS nowadays, show me what I get for my money, let me evaluate your company, and I'll go from there.
Also doesn't help that I haven't started painting my Zombicide or Myth miniatures yet.
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Out of curiosity, if the expected delivery date was a year, meaning that this would be on time, would it have impacted anyone's decision to pledge? I expected a year so it obviously wouldn't effect me, but I'm wondering if people dislike the actual timeframe, or just the lateness.
It wouldn't have made any difference to me in terms of pledging as I really wanted this,
but that said I'm very careful not to blow all my fun money on KS projects, because if I had and they got hit by delays leaving me with no toys for a year or so I'd end up very sad
ced1106 wrote: Delays happen all the time even at retail, and it would be a surprise if a first-time KS company didn't have them (no surprises yet, I should say!).
Just to be absolutely clear, while a friend is a CW backer, I am not. I was more obliquely referencing some other campaigns, and trends we're seeing with miniatures Kickstarters as a whole.
I haven't been watching CW particularly closely, but from the glances I have taken, their communication seems reasonable, and sugar coating another half year of delays with 9 bonus models for most of the more heavily invested backers (along with another unknown surprise) seems like awfully good customer service.
Contrasted against Wyrd or Palladium, this project seems to be doing pretty well.
Wyrd: 7 months late, terrible communications, literally no end in sight.
Palladium: 4 months late, terrible communications, 8 month projected timeline is now 15 months for half delivery, 20+ for full delivery.
Neither has shown remotely any interest in 'sweetening the deal' for the backers in this regard, and even getting information can be like pulling teeth.
Hey all, we have not been posting regularly for a few months. This is not because we’ve lost interest, but because of late, the project has been mostly out of our control, and in the hands of the manufacturing plant. However, now we are back in the saddle, with lots of stuff to talk about, and we plan to have an update every single week from now till Cthulhu Wars ships.
You have no doubt seen update 126 announcing the game will be available in September. Here is the backstory. Not long ago, we were told by the factory that they couldn’t ship the game until October. Up to that moment, we had been told it would be significantly earlier. So this was a pretty big shock. We did not take it sitting down. First, we offered more money to get it out sooner (from our pocket – not the Kickstarter). But the delays were real, and couldn’t be fixed, at least not by that means. I then flew my business manager out to China, and we began shopping around the game to other manufacturers, trying to find someone who could bring it out earlier, with comparable quality. What I am trying to say is that the delay frustrated and embarrassed us, and we fought like fiends to improve the situation. While we aspire to be as transparent as possible to our backers, we wanted to know exactly where we stood before posting another update.
Let me make this clear – I was (and am) willing to mortgage my house to get this game out as early as possible. You guys and gals deserve it.
We did manage to make some improvement. We are now told it is shipping in early August, and should be arriving four-to-six weeks later, assuming Cthulhu doesn’t swallow down the container ship. And, as we announced in the last update , I decided to unlock ALL the collectibles for all backers at Cultist level and beyond. It turns out we are a pack of completists when it comes to Cthulhu, so I suspect this is good news. Incidentally, originally we had been planning to produce the collectibles in their own unique color, but now they will be in their faction color. They will still be easy to distinguish, though, because they will have special collectible bases.
We will have a tracking number for every backer a few days before shipping (early August).
GenCon News
We will be at GenCon this August and are currently planning to airlift some copies of the core game for the show. In our last update, we posted that we have a surprise in store. Here it is – in case we are able to get more than just a couple demo copies, we are working on a plan by which backers who attend GenCon would be able to pick up their core games there. The details of this plan are still dependent on how many copies we can get, how much air freight costs, etc.
If we can pull this off, we will have some kind of registration process whereby we know who plans to pick up their game at GenCon. In any case, the rest of us should see the game at our homes a week or two post-GenCon. More on this as we get more information.
Fenris Games have just released the first 12 Cthulhu Wars sculpts in metal/resin
with thanks to Sandy for allowing their sale despite the KS being delayed (I guess otherwise Fenris could have been badly impacted depending on when they were told of the KS delay)
the plan is to carry on releasing slowly them to build interest in the game release (so a win-win for both sides)
Did they ever decide on what they'll do with the game boxes? I remember a whole lot of grief about them promising retail packaging and then changing their minds to brown cardboard, and some talk about a "kickstarter box" as a compromise between the two.
Yeah, I'm curious abut the boxes as well, it seems the boxgate controversy died down pretty quick... Personally, I want retail packaging (if not retail, then at least 'glossy') I didnt shell out nearly $600 for brown cardboard boxes.
Was it the main game box that was the issue, or the expansions, or the GOO bonuses, or everything?
I want at leas the main box looking nice and snazzy. If Sandy wants to do like CMON and Soda Pop are doing by including special boxes for all the extra goodies, I think that would be a nice idea...
From what I recall, the 101 different expansion boxes were promised to come in retail packaging sometime during the KS. Not sure if it was in the updates or comments or main page, but it was a real thing that happened.
Flash forward several months, to, I think, the end of last year. Fulfilment date is now a thing of the past, or at least an unfunny joke, and it comes out that the expansions are going to be shipped to us in plain cardboard boxes. Predictably enough, a shitstorm ensues.
Backers are predictably upset, while the white knights and (possibly) GEG talk about how the expansions may never make it to retail, depending on how the base game sales go, and they may be a year later, and the box art has to be developed, and so forth - basically a pile of gakky excuses now that reality has hit, while they were happy to promise the Earth during the campaign to keep the cash rolling in. You know, standard Kickstarter stuff.
Some backers in an attempt to suggest a compromise, suggested something like a nicely-made glossy black box with the KS logo on, as an "exclusive kickstarter backer box" where GEG could put all of the expansion stuff that people paid for - that way, we'd have somewhere to store out stuff that looked halfway nice on the shelf instead of in cheap shipping packaging/nothing, and GEG wouldn't have to make 47 different boxes. While I'd prefer retail packaging for the boxed expansions/etc (not worried about retail packs for the models myself as long as they're sent safely) a single nice box would suffice. Certainly over brown cardboard.
"Most everything will be in a box identical to the retail box. Probable exceptions: the Indie GOOs, Dreamlands monsters, and high priest. (They will still be in a nice game-quality box - it just won't be identical to the retail ones, which will probably have plastic windows to let people see the figures before buying.
Also, some items don't have a retail box, so they will be shipped in stand-in boxes. This includes the collectibles, asenath and HPL figures, dice, and plastic gates. And the 6-8 player map."
"Our current plan is to sell the 6-8 player map (which also comes with two new ritual tracks and more die-cut gates) only through our website. Our belief is that it would not be a big seller in the stores. If we are wrong, and the distributors start begging for it, we will put together a box and make it more widely available."
fwiw, One day ago in the comments: "The boxes are going to be gamestore quality boxes. All expansions will come in appropriate packaging and boxes. Since the expansions are mostly going to be re-printed after the kickstarter shipment, in effect this means the store shelve version (some months down the line) will be a reprint, and obviously we may decide to change packaging or artwork on any reprinted item.
In a few cases, notably the figure expansions, this is pretty likely, because we may decide to put them in stores with cellophane windows in the boxes, so buyers can see the figs, but it is unlikely we will have the cellophane-window boxes in time for kickstarter backers. Also if we decide to group expansions together in a different fashion than it is being offered to kickstarter backers, the box will need to change (for instance, if we decide to group Indie Great Old Ones together). Finally, some of the kickstarter rewards are never going to be available in stores and so won't have a "store shelf" box version."
EDIT: Looks like this was a direct reply to A in the CW comments. Where's the balete button?
Azazelx wrote: Holy gak. Not only did I not expect an actual answer, the answer seems all kinds of reasonable and even positive.
I feel like Sandy and crew have been very forthcoming with info and updates on this Kickstarter- moreso than most of the board game Kickstarters I've dealt with. Sure, the delays have been frustrating, but also understandable considering the size of the project.
I think there's been a general pushback against Kickstarters lately...because so many companies are treating it as a preorder system rather than what it was originally intended for(a way for individuals to fund projects they otherwise wouldn't have been able to fund), there's a lot of general frustration when delays or changes happen in the Kickstarter.
For anyone that's had frustrations with how Cthulhu Wars has been run...just be thankful you didn't get suckered into backing Guardian Chronicles, like I did. It's turning into an expensive life lesson on why I won't be backing many more original games.
Joyboozer wrote: Why is Sandys "last hurrah" now being followed with a new game? I thought this was originally described as being his last project before retiring?
Perhaps this project has rekindled the romance so to speak.
Azazelx wrote: Holy gak. Not only did I not expect an actual answer, the answer seems all kinds of reasonable and even positive.
I feel like Sandy and crew have been very forthcoming with info and updates on this Kickstarter- moreso than most of the board game Kickstarters I've dealt with. Sure, the delays have been frustrating, but also understandable considering the size of the project.
I think there's been a general pushback against Kickstarters lately...because so many companies are treating it as a preorder system rather than what it was originally intended for(a way for individuals to fund projects they otherwise wouldn't have been able to fund), there's a lot of general frustration when delays or changes happen in the Kickstarter.
For anyone that's had frustrations with how Cthulhu Wars has been run...just be thankful you didn't get suckered into backing Guardian Chronicles, like I did. It's turning into an expensive life lesson on why I won't be backing many more original games.
No need. I backed both Robotech Tactics and Raging Heroes. Not to mention Sedition Wars and Myth. And incursion for that matter.
I don't think the CW communication has been very good though. Wanting to shift comms to their own webpage, needing to chase up info such as the packaging stuff, half of their updates seeming like they're pimping other KS or products, etc.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Joyboozer wrote: Why is Sandys "last hurrah" now being followed with a new game? I thought this was originally described as being his last project before retiring?
Doesn't worry me in the slightest, as long as CW ships before he starts asking for money again.
Joyboozer wrote: Why is Sandys "last hurrah" now being followed with a new game? I thought this was originally described as being his last project before retiring?
It was his 'last hurrah' in that if Cthulhu Wars failed to fund he'd have given up on physical games for good and accepted the job offer to go and write backgrounds iPhone apps (or something similar), rather than retire
As most of you are aware, our plan for several months has been to ship ALL the stuff at the same time to our backers. We have now learned that if we ship the core game first, as soon as it is ready, you folks can get it as soon as it is finished. This is significantly earlier than if we wait and ship everything together in one giant package. (In retrospect, this should have been obvious, but we beg your indulgence for our inexperience.)
Of course, it would be cool to get everything together at the exact same moment, but it is also cool to get your copy of the core game, and begin playing it, several weeks earlier.
We will still do the expansions as quickly as we can – but remember we are committed to producing numerous expansions, plus the collectibles. We still plan to ship all the expansions and stretch goals together in one single giant package.
Some important points:
1) Shipping the core game separately does not delay the manufacture or shipping of the expansions.
2) Shipping the core game separately is not being done to save money. In fact, it doesn’t. But after all, the money is really yours, and it gets the game into your hands and tendrils earlier.
3) Shipping the core game separately does allow us to place copies in stores sooner, but I hope we are not begrudged this. You still get your games before any store! And shall own Cthullhu Wars way before all the cultists grab them up for their altars.
4) the expansions are still being shipped all at once to backers as soon as we complete them.
Also, here is an image of one of the Independent Great Old One loyalty cards. The odd slot at the foot of the card is his spellbook requirement – when you accomplish this task, place his unique spellbook there.
Hey, it's Father Dagon!
Incidentally, Dagon’s unique spellbook (not pictured) reads: “The Innsmouth Look (ongoing) during the Doom phase, remove one of your Acolyte Cultists from the map and out of the game permanently. Gain 6 Power. This is not optional. If you have no Acolyte Cultists, skip this step."
so it sounds like we're online for getting the base game sooner rather than later
(although hopefully it does not mean that the factory is having reservations about getting all the expansions done in time for the new 'delayed' date)
No mention of international customers not getting anything shipped, which is a good thing - particularly after Myth. Seems a pretty upfront attempt for them to be able to sell things at Gencon and into the shops. I just wonder when the newly-christened Wave 2 will actually come now that we're seeing a split....
Molds! Molds! Molds! Plus mailing address and fun stuff.
Many backers ask us how to change their mailing address. It’s easy to do. Just log into the pledge manager – you’ll see a blue button on the right-hand side that says “change mailing address”. Click it – you may then update your mailing address. But what if you want to change your e-mail address? It’s nearly as simple. When in the pledge manager look at the tabs at the top of the screen. On the right-hand end is a name. (On mine, it says “Sandy Petersen”.) Click it, and the dropdown tab says “Settings” and “Logout”. Select “Settings” and you’ll be able to change your e-mail.
Check out the Legends of Cthulhu action figure set kickstarted by Warpo. They’re repulsively adorable. I’m not sure why they gave the Deep One a Neolithic spear though – after all, they are doubtless more technologically advanced than humans. I mean, I can see using a spear instead of a gun (firearms are nigh-worthless underwater), but stone-tipped? With a wooden haft? Well if that’s all I can nit-pick they have nothing to fear.
Last, and most important, I have high-rez pictures of (some of) the molds made by the manufacturer – these are the injection-plastic molds from which our actual figures are made! Check these babies out!
Yknow, I'm actually kinda not liking the minis for this. I had envisioned smaller minis ala Chaos in the Old World (or Risk). These things are just honking huge, which isn't a bad thing, except that it looks comical and... ungainly (for want of a better term) on the boards.
They'll probably work great as miniatures for stuff like Call of Cthulhu or 40k/miniatures games, etc - but I agree - not quite as good for actual board gaming...
At this time, the factory is already moving on from the core game figure molds to the expansion figure molds. The custom dice are finished, and we’ve gotten a sample. I hope 16mm black with red trim works for y’all. The actual game dice (i.e., normal 6-siders) are 12mm black with white pips. If you are getting the 16mm custom dice, I strongly recommend rolling them inside a box top or other enclosed area, because they are large and heavy enough to send figures toppling. The 12mm can be tossed on the map surface without such issues, though if you are one of those pernicious people who always knocks one of their dice off the tabletop, you may want to use a box, too. (We have one tester who as far as I can tell has never yet rolled any battle dice in Cthulhu Wars without dropping one or more on the floor. He’s a plague.)
Two custom dice on my home game table
The factory promises they will have sample copies of Cthulhu Wars for us to show at GenCon, this August. We won’t have enough to sell but at least anyone who drops by can see a complete set. And maybe play a game! We are attending under the name of Petersen Entertainment, at booth 501. This is also Chaosium’s booth – they bought 3 booths this year, and are letting us have one. Thanks, guys!
We are digging for a firm shipping date from the manufacturer, but still don’t have a completely solid one. The company we are using has a reputation of solid workmanship and high quality, so we have gone with excellence over haste for better or worse. I realize the process has already taken a long time, and trust us, we feel it as keenly as you. It is in everyone’s interest to get this game out to you as soon as possible, without sacrificing value.
We are going to announce an upcoming project at GenCon. If you attend GenCon, drop by and take a look! Work on this new game has not affected the production of Cthulhu Wars in any way, and we won’t launch it until after Cthulhu Wars has shipped.
To rehash, we are shipping ALL the expansions, add-ons, and rewards at the same time, after the core game ships, but of course as soon as possible. We are not printing extra copies of the expansions and add-ons beyond those needed to fulfill backer rewards and pre-orders. Of course, we plan to reprint the expansions as soon as sales of the core game justify them.
In what order do we plan to release our expansions and add-ons to retail? You can help us decide. We have put together a real simple survey so we can find out which expansions are the most exciting for y’all. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GGXPD5F
We have also done a video for the Independent Great Old Ones, showcasing each one. In checking it out after I made it, I notice I made some errors. I sometimes refer to Abhoth as Atlach-Nacha, and persistently mix up Yig and Bokrug. Dang it. Well, I wanted to get this up anyway so take it warts and all. See it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJmYS30Xp1s&feature=youtu.be
Final news – I, Sandy Petersen, am attending a family reunion until July 11th or so (where I am “weird Uncle Sandy”). I may not be able to post updates while I am gone. If not, I will make up for it with a vengeance when I return.
Project Update #139: Date and Delivery Updates
Posted by Sandy Petersen ♥ Like
Greetings Kickstarters and Kickstartees.
This weeks update is a guest post from beyond the nether realms of the interwebs, so please forgive us for being late in the delivery of the latest news. We hope this update tides over your insatiable hunger for Cthulhu Wars news until Sandy returns to craft his usual updates with his normal flare. Until then you will have to enjoy my schlocky writing style. So please feel free to read this update is your best Vincent Price or Bella Lugosi voice.
Sandy is currently roaming The Nameless City in searching through the artifacts from ancients civilizations lost to time and the sands. Before he grabbed the scroll that sent him hurtling through time and space, he told us “Make sure you keep the Kickstarter updates going and stay on topic”. We will do our best to keep our word to him, and he will be back to us shortly, we promise. Well just as soon as we piece together the fragments from the scroll he used to teleport there...
Date and Delivery Updates
To use an overused term, we are committed to providing as much “transparency” as possible. Just like the dripping slime and saliva from the inside of a giant a Dhole, as it swallows you and everything else on your street. We want to be that transparent.
In the spirit of that transparency we have had some good news from the manufactures regarding the dates we can expect the game to start landing into your hands.
As we get closer to the inevitable we are going to keep everyone update with this nice visual graphic to let you know exactly how close we all are to the return of the great old ones. These are estimates and winds of fate could change these, but we are committed to working our hardest to make these dates a reality, and if there are changes, you will be the first to know.
Finally, thank you everyone for your kindness and patience as we move closer to getting the game in your hands.
Before we go, really quick we wanted to mention the HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe Bronze Bust Projects. Both have already ended, and both where successfully funded. We want to point out that this is a great way to get kids to read, by giving them the gift of terrifying literature that will keep them from leaving their houses, giving them no choice but to read more.
Keep your eyes on future Kickstater projects from Bryan Moore.
Sandy should be back soon, no doubt invigorated from his travels and with great news for everyone.
Until next time, “When the stars are right”
Hm.. no dates given yet for the expansions, and it's mid-July now. This means it won't be in 2014, and given how popular CNY is an excuse for everything, I'd expect them in May-June 2015 at the earliest.
I also love all the talk about the spirit of transparency followed by "While we have good information from the manufacture, and we could probably give you a date, at this time it would be irresponsible until we are very certain about the dates." (in the comments).
I think it's pretty sensible, give the dates the manufacturer has supplied for the first wave and wait to see if they hit them (remember they've supplied duff info before),
if they do hit wave 1 production dates they can give the 2nd wave dates with some confidence, if they miss wave 1 the wave 2 will automatically be wrong
You did notice that this was GEG's first game -- and that none of the creators listed experience with plastics manufacturing? For myself, this project was something of a "leap of faith" and hope that Sandy Petersen (and Robert Atkins, whose background looks to be video games, not manufacturing) had enough business connections to find a competent plastics manufacturer (and Panda Games is about as good as it gets).
The Arkham Horror / Eldritch Horror KS was delayed a *month* because the manufacturer made a QC error of printing a die face wrong. Cthulhu lies waiting and so do us backers.
IMPORTANT – our fulfillment house needs final addresses for shipping the core game. Please ensure that your address is correct on the pledge manager. Here is a link – https://www.fundafull.com/
Next Friday we shall lock down the addresses, and then they cannot be changed. If you need to change your address after next Friday, please contact your local postal service to get your mail forwarded. At a later date, we will re-open the pledge manager for further address changes before we ship the expansions.
The game is STILL in full production. Plastic is squirting into molds, die-cut markers are getting punched into cardboard, and maps are being glued together. In fact the process is so advanced that our manufacturer has at long last given us a hard date for when the core game will ship.
They plan to complete production for backers (and pre-orders) at the end of October, after which the core game heads out. We asked what they meant by “end of October” and their reply was "the last week of October". Shipping time varies – several factors are involved: how long it takes for the containers to reach your country (it’s 12 days to the USA’s west coast, for instance), plus how long customs keeps the games for inspection. After the games are released, one is mailed from the port directly to your house. Your game will probably arrive 4-7 weeks after October's end, depending on where you live and how diligent your customs agents are. Since many may arrive in December, when mail is generally slowed, this may also delay matters. The bottom line is that the time-frame varies with the ultimate destination. It is possible that Australians may be playing Cthullhu Wars a couple weeks before the French, or vice versa, despite the fact that all games leave China at the same time.
This little guy has 7 pieces which must be glued together before he can be shipped to you.
We are not thrilled about the “end of October” date for shipping but, frankly, we have no way to affect this. One reason for our constantly-changing schedules was because when we asked for early estimates from the Chinese, they calculated the time they needed by the number of figures we needed – 320,000 figures in 18 different molds for the core game. Panda Games (our manufacturer) has years of experience in plastic figures. They gave us a rational response, based on how many figures they can assemble per day. Unfortunately, they did not realize just HOW large and complex our figures would be to put together –Cthulhu Wars is groundbreaking in this regard. The bottom line is that they assemble fewer Cthulhu Wars figures per day. One of the most important reasons you wanted our game in the first place – the terrific figures – became, in the end, a major reason for the game’s delays.
Formless spawn proof, from China
Portrait of Bokrug. Note that there is a tiny flaw in the jaw, and his tongue is not attached. This is an example of the kind of flaws we caught that will be fixed. He still looks pretty impressive.
Leng Spider proof, from China
Closeup of Rhan-Tegoth. Another example of a minor flaw (we adjusted his head tilt).
We are working hard to ensure that the expansions are on their way as quickly as possible. This is now the major focus of our tasks as we can no longer affect the core game’s timing. At this time we have seen proofs for the expansion figures, and requested repairs in all flaws. We now await the needed fixes, after which full-scale tooling begins.
Customer Support
For customer support, please e-mail us at support@petersengames.com. We also have a new support page at http://petersengames.com/support/. We'd like to keep Kickstarter messaging reserved for folks who need to personally contact Sandy Petersen. If you have an issue with your pledge, a pre-order, or shipping, you’ll get much faster responses with one of the other options (since Sandy will just have to pass it on to our support cultist anyway). Businesses please also use support@petersengames.com to get in touch.
Petersen Games Convention Schedule
We will be at the following upcoming conventions, with the game. As always, backers get first dibs for seats at demo games.
September 26-28 – FenCon, Dallas Texas www.fencon.org
Finally, we are toying with the idea of a Petersen Games newsletter. If you have an opinion on the matter, check into our survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PE_newsletter
Maybe they're over estimating the ship date a little so they can then say "SURPRISE, ITS HERE EARLY!" and everyone will go "OMG GREEN EYE GAMES, YOU GUYS ARE THE BESTEST!!!"?
Yikes. Whelp, a one year delay, while unfortunate, is now someone common in successful gaming KS's.
At least this one is all in one wave, right?
Incorrect; they are shipping the base game first; whether they include plastic gates and what not is unclear yet, no map expansions or faction expansions will be on the first shipping (End of October)
At least from the latest of news.
I mean I'm not surprised, and I think I just really dislike waiting so much but being a KD:M backer has taught me patience.
I still however place value in timeliness and as such it does hurt (for me personally) how I view the company. I'm glad they seem to have a constant stream of Updates lately however as the communication has been helpful.
It is also somewhat annoying when looking at their timeline they posted as it looked as if they purposely left open time in case something like this would happen, and yet we are now going to be even later then the "set" deadline.
I wish they would stop giving so many updates that are JUST linking to other peoples KS. Dear god, stop spamming your backers with other KS links when your own KS is so horribly late
We have images of the game actually being printed at Panda (our factory). Check them out.
more die-cut counter sheets before the glue. You can see these contain the Yellow Sign spellbooks
This are for the map! It shows the 3-player side of the western hemisphere
The rulebook getting printed and assembled
We now have a video about the expansion monsters and the high priests. See it below.
A new game up on Kickstarter is named Slaughterball. Why do we mention this? Because if they get 200 Twitter followers they will add a Sandy Petersen figure to the game. Petersen Entertainment gets no money from this connection – we just think it would be cool! Anyway, you can check it out here.
In the last update we said that the games travel from the port to your homes. To clarify – the shipments from China do first go to regional distribution centers (one of which is inside the EU), and thence to individual backer homes. So if you are in the EU, it will ship from within the EU.
Here is the timeline for publication. We are committed to the end-of-October shipping date.
Welcome to the 150th Kickstarter update for Cthulhu Wars! This is a guest post update, while Sandy recuperates from being under the weather all last week and continues his design work from his bedroom (we are not allowed to go in there, but he yells at us through the locked door).
Fulfillment News
If you have a negative balance, then you need to pay right away. There are a small number of our loyal cultists that have negative balances on our pledge manager. Please go fix that so we can send you a copy of the game. If it is still negative by the time the games reach the states, we can't send you a copy.
Also we are stopping refunds on the Kickstarter on October the 3rd (this Friday). Not many people have asked for refunds, however with everything locked down so everyone gets their copies, we cannot change the fulfillment list any more and have the core game get to everyone at the same time.
Newsletter News
Newsletter sign up page is live. We encourage you to sign up and we promise not to spam you and take you off anytime you wish. You can find the signup page here.
Fencon
We spent the last weekend at Fencon. It is a smaller convention focused mainly on Sci-Fi and fantasy writing, however their gaming section is growing as well. Steve Jackson was the special gaming guest this year and the game rooms usually had a few games going on all the time. Thanks to everyone that stopped by and said hello.
Contest are coming
We are eagerly waiting the games landing on our shores here in the USA, and seeing everything is full steam a head on production, that leaves everyone playing the waiting game until the core game is here in our hands.
To break up the time, we will have some contests and games with possible prizes over the next few updates. If there is a particular contest you would like to see (art, writing, baking, pumpkin carving, etc) then let us know in the comments and we will do that...and give you some prizes!
Until next time “when the stars are right”
and one on an upcoming KS with crossover appeal
Backers who haven't been keeping an eye on Richard Luong's (the Cthulhu Wars artist) prospective KS should have a look at this
from facebook
I got some Work in progress pics of the Hounds of Tindalos miniature! This will be an expansion for Cthulhu Wars. Sandy has already written up the rules. It will be an exclusive through my upcoming Kickstarter.
This was sculpted from the amazingly talented Jo Brumby of Fenris Games. I should hopefully have the final soon
We are sending a small expedition team to visit Panda's manufacturing locations in China to oversee the final weeks of production of the core game. Our crack team will be making sure this final push of game production goes smoothly and that you will get the games as quickly as possible, at a high quality level.
SPIEL 2014 Update
For all of our Euro friends, we will be at SPIEL 2014 in Essen, Germany from October 16th to the 19th and we hope to see you there.
Come see us at our booth location Hall 2 D165 and sign our Book of Doom. Feel free to stop by and chat with us and ask us questions about the game or play a demo.
While we will be mainly focusing on Cthulhu Wars, Sandy will also be doing demos of one of our next titles at Hall 2 F133, so if you would like to stop by and see the prototype, let us know.
For more information visit the show's website.
Cthulhu Wars Halloween Contest!
We want to reward you guys for sticking with us and for being creative individuals. So instead of pegging the contest into one thing, we are asking for your best Halloween inspired Cthulhu Wars creation. It can be a pumpkin carving, a costume, a drawing, a sculpture, or a scary short story. We will put the winner up in an update as well as send them something nice as a reward and a thank you.
Send your contest entrees to Contests@Petersengames.com
Until next time, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"
Cthulhu Wars "Cthulhuween" Edition Update
Hello Cthulhu Wars Fans and Happy Cthulhuween. We hope that you all have a great holiday that drives you and those around you completely mad.
Arthur is back from China after completing the final QC check on the process that goes into making Cthulhu Wars. We wanted to make sure that these final produced games had no issues and were of the highest quality. He did the final walk-through of the factories and spent time with everyone making the game and assembling the pieces.
All the pictures in todays update are from Oct 23rd and Oct. 24th, last week.
Every single box you see in the background has CW minis in them
From Arthur - “I saw an enormous array of boxes with plastics. Not taking them at their word, I asked to see specific figures, and they always knew exactly which box had which figure, and showed me. I did this for ten figures, and given the number of boxes, I think that's all of them!”
"It's full of Stars" - these are just minis
As of Oct 23rd the print factory was finished with nearly everything except for the boxes which they had started to put together. In the plastics factory, every figure was manufactured, and assembled, with the exception of Cthulhu, The Black Goat and the Dark Young which they were assembling at that time. That was last week.
Maps map maps maps maps maps maps...
The ETA on all of those figures and printed materials to be finished is TODAY! Halloween!
So, what is happening right this minute is box collation. The factory is placing the figures and dice underneath and in the plastic tray, then placing the printed components on top and closing the box. These will then be put on pallets and shipped out.
Faction cards, ritual and doom tracks
The owner of Panda himself has flown to China (he lives in Canada) and is personally helping with the box collation (I'm not kidding), as well as his office staff. We are doing everything we can to get this out the door ASAP and into your tentacles
Its not candy
That is all well and good, but when can you expect to have Cthulhu Wars in your hands?
The first container of 2100 will be completed sometime next week for and be ready for shipping. It will then be loaded onto a truck to go to the port. We are booking an exceptionally fast vessel which is supposed to cross the Pacific about two weeks faster than usual. (No star spawn or flying polyps were available to carry them at this time but we got the next best thing) This first container will be bound for the US. The second container should ship out a few days after the first, depending on the speed of individual box collation.
While one is being shipped, the other will be put into boxes and sent to the port, to be sent out from there. The large shipments from the factory will piggy back on each other until all of them are shipped.
Once the first container lands at port here, it will go to our distributor who will immediately send it to you! Because some of you are in the US and some of you are outside the US, you will be getting your shipments at different times.
The first 2100 should get their copies by mid December, with the following 2100 getting it shortly after that. Hopefully in time for Cthulhumas.
So many Cultist
What could go wrong?
There is really only three things that could go wrong at this point to cause any more delays. Customs could hold the game because of some dark magic that only customs possess, and that they wish to steal Cthulhu wars to add to their dark magical pool. Cthulhu could appear and devour the entire container ship. Logistics around Christmas time here in US also have special concerns which may delay Cthulhu Wars getting to you, because your local carrier is swamped sending out lesser items.
Dont tell Cthulhu about these tiny severed Cthulhu heads...he might get angry
Halloween Contest
Sunday November 2nd is the last day you can send in your Halloween contest entries. We have some really great ones, but we want to see more! Send your creations in to contests@petersengames.com
SPIEL Giveaway Contest
We have not forgotten about those of you that went to SPIEL. Here is Sandy picking the winner. Be sure to subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more videos.
We recieved confirmation that the first ship has cleared Chinese Customs and departed the Chinese coast, and is well under way to bring the Great Old Ones to the USA! The rest of the ships should be leaving soon.
Our understanding is that the ship looks just like this.
Only half the crew is expected to make the destination...
The Halloween Contest
We decided that everyone is a winner! All who participated are going to get a Cthulhu Wars t-shirt. You will be contacted soon by e-mail to see what size you prefer!
In addition, some of you did such a great job that they are getting an extra prize! A Cthulhu Wars figure, personally signed (on the underside of the base) by Sandy Petersen! We will be getting in touch with you soon.
Lastly we did not publish the short stories or the videos we recieved because we wanted to make sure we had the permissions of the creators. Here are those short stories and videos now.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Cthulhuween contest!
Joseph Plattner - 2 Ctan - If you like this short story you can contact Joseph via his email. roufus@ymail.com
Glaucio Santos dos Reis - Beneath a Stormy Sky
Chris Foster - Valley in the North
Joe Jones made an entire video game! - Check out the video here
Also check out this awesome animation from Stephen Stauffer
Cthulhu Wars becomes (more) universal!
We are on the verge of launching new crowdfunding initiatives for Cthulhu Wars in other languages than English (sorry, Carcosan is not yet supported). French will be the first campaign, with German following soon after. Backers will be able to buy inexpensive language upgrade packs, consisting of hint cards, faction cards, the rulebook, and die-cut spellbooks in their language – everything you need to upgrade an English Cthulhu Wars to your native tongue.
In addition, we are going to include the core Cthulhu Wars in the target languages, for those who couldn’t or didn’t originally pledge. If you have a cultist friend whose preferred tongue is not English, let him know!
These are not the only Kickstarters we will be launching. We have more coming soon! Let us know what you think so we can make the best kickstarter for you!
I hope the rule book doesn't follow the format of their updates, small bit of important information at the start, a bunch of unrelated garbage, and then another important bit at the end.
Looks like they're hoping to pull a Mantic/CMoN and start launching more Kickstarters before delivering on this one with this:
"These are not the only Kickstarters we will be launching. We have more coming soon! Let us know what you think so we can make the best kickstarter for you!"
I think they should less time piss farting about, I don't care what convention Sandy is at, I don't care what they're doing next, just be bloody honest and say ROW shipping next year and put us out of our misery!
Strange, doesn't seem to be an option.
Authur commented about ROW's in the latest update a few days ago.
"@everyone waiting for ROW (especially AU/NZ)
sorry for the lack of response! It is due to me trying to get a good answer before responding.
The individual ROW packages have been collated, but not necessarily sent out yet from China. Even so, the ROW backers should still get their games before most others, because they are having it sent directly, rather than through a distribution center.
Let me repeat: ROW backers will likely get their games first ---- even though they represent a tiny minority of all backers. "
Arthur 3 days ago
Also, got word from Cody, the ROW will be leaving China very soon, which means it will still be able to arrive before anyone else. I think they were waiting so that it wouldn't arrive too much before the US and EU or something. I don't know. Blame Cody
feth you Cody, you spiteful little gak. Is it just me or does it sound like these guys are just fething about with no real idea of what they are doing?
My only real issue is that they're really shifting the blame here onto "Customs" and I get it but they sure are making it sound like EVERYTHING will be coming when the release it from customs.
The fact remains that only the base game is coming in this wave, and lord knows how long expansions will be in the wait.
Meanwhile it seems pretty clear that Arthur and co. have shifted their attention elsewhere.
I'll second the post that was saying I don't need all these random updates on things that don't deal with the shipping of my package as well, even if I'm sure their excited for their next game.
Arthur 3 days ago
Also, got word from Cody, the ROW will be leaving China very soon, which means it will still be able to arrive before anyone else. I think they were waiting so that it wouldn't arrive too much before the US and EU or something. I don't know. Blame Cody
feth you Cody, you spiteful little gak. Is it just me or does it sound like these guys are just fething about with no real idea of what they are doing?
So even when we lowly ROW peons get to have our goods shipped directly from China, we still get screwed over so US and EU don't feel too bad? Nicely played -_-
What is going to be really interesting is how many shipments will be sent to wrong addresses. They locked down addresses 3 1/2 months ago and it sounds like EU could be another couple months.
The first US container is just out of customs (quick post from Sandy on BGG)
So now it just has to get to GEG for packaging and sending (transport is still messed up from the strike/Xmas so no timeline on this yet, I imagine an Official KS update won't happen till the boxes are in the warehouse)
Joyboozer wrote: feth you Cody, you spiteful little gak. Is it just me or does it sound like these guys are just fething about with no real idea of what they are doing?
Welcome to KS!
You should pass on a creator's first project, especially if they don't have any prior retail experience. CW was one of my chancier pledges and was a huge miniatures project, so I didn't expect timely delivery.
I'm just glad that Paramount doesn't own the Cthulhu license.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sining wrote: So even when we lowly ROW peons get to have our goods shipped directly from China, we still get screwed over so US and EU don't feel too bad? Nicely played -_-
And a big welcome to you from KS!
I've yet to see an overseas backer pay less money than a domestic one and receive their shipments (at least initial) before domestic. "Ship simplest first" means that domestic orders and orders with the fewest add-ons are at the head of the queue. If the creator has any problems in the packing and shipping process, it's easier to resolve them for simple shipments than complex ones.
If you're in the UK or US, you have the luxury of finding domestic projects. Outside... is KS still a better alternative than retail? Ugh.
Consider the stupidity of what they've done though, tell backers ROW will receive theirs first because of the shipping method, deliberately hold on to ROW orders until US cleared customs, what happens now when ROW orders don't arrive until well after US?
I find it unlikely that they've deliberately held off on posting ROW stuff until the US container in in/shipping,
based on what all the Chinese factories (that offer to direct ship) seem to do (eg CMONs, WGF)
they're just not going to do it until somebody from GEG flies out and pokes them hard to actually start doing it
and GEG will keep on being put off until they've got the rest of this shipping off their plate (though a combination of still believing what they're told despite all the nonsense date's they've been given previously, and partly through only being a tiny number of employees)
First shipload mailed today (North America), second will be around the 17th (rest of North/South America), Europe late January, rest of world uncertain (being sent from the factory).
#162
It's like this!
Posted by Sandy Petersen
The first shipload of Cthulhu Wars left the warehouse for the USPS on Thursday, January 8th. If they were mailed before 8 am this morning, and your copy is in the first shipload, you should have already gotten your tracking number. If they weren’t mailed till later today, you should get your tracking number tomorrow.
We expect the second shipload of Cthulhu Wars to leave the warehouse on Thursday, January 15th. Those in the second shipload (North & South America) should be getting their tracking numbers in the following two days after that. If you are part of the European shipment, the vessel should arrive in Germany in late January. From there, it enters customs, the fulfillment warehouse, and then, finally, will be mailed to your home. If you are in Australia, a shipment will be on its way shortly. If you are in the rest of the world (outside the Americas, Europe, or Australia) packages are being sent directly to you from the factory itself. We don't know when the tracking numbers will hit.
We apologize for the delays ere now. Our shipments were sent from China significantly later than we were told – in some cases as much as a month later. We got hit hard by the Teamsters’ strike in southern California, and then, once we got past that hurdle, the US Customs office saw fit to hold it for another three weeks. I guess that’s their job. The earlier delays pushed the shipment into the holidays, which we are sure also had an effect.
BUT the delay is almost over! The game is practically here!
And Theomachy, too!
Our next title, in conjunction with Historical Games Factory Our next title, in conjunction with Historical Games Factory
We are also almost ready to launch a new Kickstarter campaign for the game Theomachy. It’s a joint project between us and a small Polish company named Historical Games Factory. We are publishing their game in English, with a huge amount of additional material. Theomachy is a card game which is sort of a blend between Texas Hold ‘em Poker, and a deck-building game such as Dominion or Thunderstone. In it, you take the role of a god, and stake the souls of your followers against the deluded congregations of other gods, using psychology, skill, and bluff to power yourself to victory, invoking miracles, casting spells, and using your own mythology's heroes and artifacts.
You can face off Odin vs. Athena, Poseidon vs. Cthulhu, or Morrigan vs. Nyarlathotep!
We are more than doubling the size of the original game, and breaking it into two separate, but compatible, projects – Theomachy: The Warrior Gods, and Theomachy: The Ancients. These games have different gods, heroes, and artifacts, and different card mixes, but if you own both you can mix and match them freely. Theomachy: The Warrior Gods includes the Norse, Celtic, and Slavonic pantheons, plus the Great Old Ones (Cthulhu, for one!). Theomachy: The Ancients includes the Greek, Egyptian, and Babylonian pantheons, plus the Outer Gods (such as Yog-Sothoth!) We hope you watch for Theomachy here on Kickstarter, and give it your consideration.
Mythic Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep Mythic Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep
Anyone receive said tracking number?
I live in Cal so would think I would get one but haven't so hoping that the whole "it might be tomorrow" is happening.
They really need to stop plugging other KS when they're so late with this one. Also, I have no idea which factory they're working with but I saw the son, Andrew claim that the chinese don't send him photographs of the production as a general rule of thumb. Which is strange to me because the chinese factories I've worked with, have NO issues sending me photographs of my production.
Can't tell if I should blame Panda more or blame GEG
Yeaaa
These guys really love pimping their new kickstarter.
I think the part that gets me is them claiming that this one was so late due to their inexperience as producers.
And yet despite this they still feel its ok to go ahead and make a Dual part (So dumb) new board game while still trying to fulfill their first kickstarter.
At the very least don't include it in updates for Cthulhu Wars; I didn't kickstart Cthulhu Wars to subscribe to a newsletter for a different game.
Just got my tracking; hopefully means a day or two of wait as its literally coming from one or two cities away.
To bad the factions I most want to play won't be tell the expansion.
Also regretting not getting the extended map for more players.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: Not to poor salt or anything, but I guess I was one of the initial batch of pledges, as I've got the shipping notice.
I don't think that being an initial pledge necessarily had anything to do with it. I'm #237 out of 4389, but I'm stuck in the second shipment. Especially frustrating as I'm not far from where the games are being mailed out...which means I could have had it in my hand potentially by Monday if I was in the first batch.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: Not to poor salt or anything, but I guess I was one of the initial batch of pledges, as I've got the shipping notice.
It should probably arrive by Monday or Tuesday is my guess.
I'll put pictures up if anyone's interested.
Not a problem, it's to be expected since you're in the US. When any KS creator says anything like "ROW might get theirs first" I tend to laugh with disbelief, anyway. Because it always turns out to be bs.
So my copy came!
Overall pretty good; just one tentacle off Hastar wasn't glued properly
Just fyi for you guys who are really into quality; the models look good but they most certainly are "Board Game" pieces.
The box is also pretty massive gonna be hard to transport for game nights.
Got my tracking #. Out of curiosity, this is just wave 1 right? What does that consist of? I backed at the $500+ DVM level for the whole shebang including all expansions.
Victorraven wrote: So my copy came!
Overall pretty good; just one tentacle off Hastar wasn't glued properly
Just fyi for you guys who are really into quality; the models look good but they most certainly are "Board Game" pieces.
The box is also pretty massive gonna be hard to transport for game nights.
I think the minis look pretty darn good. Some mold line cleanup, maybe some gap touchup in the few places needed, and I bet they'd look great painted up.
Yeah, I read that Sandy was going for "Descent plastic". It's definitely paintable, but if you're going for display-level, that's what Fenris Games is for. I'm fine with painting to tabletop, and will post some tutorials on BGG a few weeks from now. Currently distracted by higher quality plastic on the Conan KS...!
Was surprised the various tracks were all on (what I felt was thin) cardstock. Expected the boards for each faction to be just that- boards. Also on cardstock.
The pieces really are massive. Hastur is huge. My favorite I think. At least until we get all those bonus GOOs.
The big heavy plastic tray for the Elder Gods is a first for me in a board game.
But yeah, be warned- they are definitely board game pieces.
Not sure what power Cthulhu and his ilk have over children, but my kids pulled out all the Skaven I was working on and sacrificed them all to the Black Goat of the Woods and her spawn.
I know my family will really enjoy those 3d gates when they arrive.
Yea I was a bit disappointed by the just paper trackers as well; for someone who's really into board games you start getting used to that high quality layout.
It does sorta feel like they had to sacrifice that for the space of the box, I don't have any board game this huge and haven't even gotten the expansions.
Got my copy today. Haven't had a chance to look it over in detail and make sure everything's there, but some quick notes:
1.The box has a big crack/rip on the lid(which didn't surprise me, as there was a bunch of dents/punctures on the shipping box). Doesn't make it unusable, but for those of us that wanted to display the game on our shelves, it's a real bummer.
2. A bit of confusion: The Kickstarter says the game ships with two ritual track/doom tracks. I received 3 ritual tracks, and 1 separate doom track. Is that right?
3. Regarding the doom tracks/ritual tracks/spell cards- these shipped loose in the box, and the doom track got rather bent up at the ends as a result, as well as the fact that all the ink is already wearing off the ends of the cards just from shipping.
4. Much like others have mentioned, I was REALLY let down by the fact that the ritual tracks, doom tracks and player cards were all printed on flimsy card stock. Why couldn't they have been made on the same cardboard as the maps and counters? That seems like a HUGE oversight. As I stated above, this has already caused issues with damaging the cards before I've even gotten a single playthrough in! I'm very concerned about the longterm survivability of these pieces in the game. It's a real shame because this game was billed as having premium components, and these really mar an otherwise fantastic product.
I'm hoping that these are just placeholders, and actual BOARDS will be sent in wave two with the expansions and add-ons. And if that isn't the case, then I hope Sandy and company will consider printing some up. I'm hesitant to spend even more money after plunking down over $500 on a boardgame, but I might be willing to toss in a few extra dollars if that's the only way to make that happen.
I'm otherwise really excited that the game is here...can't wait to try it out.
we got an extra power/doom track from the 60K stretch so since the rules changed a bit during post/KS having 3 power & 1 doom might be right?
the faction cards were certainly upgraded to cardstock (800K stretch) ,
but since nothing was mentioned about the tracks I guess we may have had unrealistic expectations
My faction cards that came in the box were cardstock, but according to the stretch goal they're supposed to be thick cardboard.
Also, this wasn't just supposed to be for the Kickstarter, but for all of the game boxes, so it seems unlikely that they will be shipping the upgraded ones at a later date...
How long did it take everyone else to get there stuff in? I'm still waiting for mine... tracking number hasn't been updated since the 13th, no idea whether my shipment was held up by bandits out west or burned in an unfortunate truck fire or what.
Regarding the ritual and doom tracks and faction card material -
There was a KS exclusive stretch goal to have faction cards made of the die cut material (i.e., just like the punch outs). That is for backers only, and will be sent with the 2nd wave - also, just to be clear, ALL 7 faction cards will be sent to EVERY backer even if you don't own the other faction expansions (it's just easier for us, call it a bonus).
There is not a goal about the ritual and doom tracks being die cut, and no plans to do so.
However, the cardstock material is 400gsm - that is pretty heavy weight material for game components like this. I think that because the die cut material is so massive compared to other games (it is 3mm, while most games have 2mm or less) the cardstock components don't feel so comparatively heavier to other games' components as the die cuts do. And then, there's the comparison between the die cuts and cardstock itself in this game - of course punchboard is a LOT thicker, but 3mm is thicker by a greater margin, even though the 400gsm is pretty heavy. So, I think it is a comparison issue.
What we actually did before the KS - before I was even a part of GEG - was go through Sandy's vast library of games and just look at components to see what we wanted. Our cardstock is actually pretty beefy. Do this experiment on your own - take the cardstock material away from the CW die cut counters and compare its cardstock (in another room so CW doesn't see you doing it) with other games you own. I think that, in general, the comparison will either be favorable to CW, or at least equal. At least I hope so! modest Sandy has thousands of games, plus we consulted Panda on what was really good, thick cardstock material, so I am thinking if you do compare your experience will be similar to ours as newbie game publishers.
hope that responds to your concerns - let me know otherwise.
I'm not so sure, if somebody complains about something (especially where there is a clear difference between the very thick map board and the thinner doom/ritual tracks) you might well get people thinking it's thinner than it actually is
It should be fairly simple for those with the game to actually check both compared to the punched tokens and to actual paper/card from elsewhere
(I really hope it is misinterpretation rather than Panda having cut corners)
Because paper is measured by weight not thickness you can get thick and thin weights. Most board game boards would seem to be equivalent to 300 gsm (1800uhm). For 400 to be compressed to the point where it seemed thinner than 300 it would be extremely solid. I've seen some pretty nasty wounds from idiots swinging around compressed 300/350 gsm.
The most likely explanation is the wrong stock was ordered or it would have been picked up by Peterson games in proofing. If that wasn't what they wanted it would have been rejected.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: I'm not so sure, if somebody complains about something (especially where there is a clear difference between the very thick map board and the thinner doom/ritual tracks) you might well get people thinking it's thinner than it actually is
It should be fairly simple for those with the game to actually check both compared to the punched tokens and to actual paper/card from elsewhere
(I really hope it is misinterpretation rather than Panda having cut corners)
For the cardstock, it is slightly thinner (by a barely noticeable amount) than the cardstock in Zombicide, but thicker than the cardstock used for the mission cards in the Firefly boardgame.
For the card, it is probably the thickest I have seen in a game, being thicker than the card of any component in Mage Knight, the Firefly boardgame, and Zombicide, being thicker than even the Zombicide boards.
As to the miniatures, they are more bendy and of slightly lower detail than Zombicide's miniatures, but the bendiness is minimized in the majority of the figures because of their larger size.
Mine should be out for delivery today! Fingers (tentacles?) crossed for no damage. Looking at the KS comments it seems the odds are about 50/50.... (Not a scientific survey, obviously)
Because of storage errors (our manufacturer placed no padding inside the shipping boxes), we have found that there is more damage to the shipped product than expected. We actually produced three times as many replacements as the industry standard, but even this might not be sufficient. We are concerned, and in fact are going to ship all replacement parts personally, from Sandy’s house – if we run out, we are going to cannibalize our own retail copies of the game (originally intended for us to sell). As a tiny company, we obviously would prefer not to bankrupt ourselves due to an error not of our making, but we also want to help everyone, and that is our top priority.
Let me hasten to add that the vast majority of people have not had problems with their copies. It's just that the "tiny minority" is not as tiny as we'd expected!
News for the EU
I realize you are all champing at the bit to get your games, BUT we have taken a step that may delay your game a little longer. Before you summon up a Byakhee to carry us off, let me explain.
We are taking quotes from our EU logistics team on how to pack the EU games so they will be better-cushioned than the American shipment. The team tells us that most of the damage in the North American copies probably happened in the last leg of delivery – when the USPS or Fedex guys basically threw boxes around the back of the truck. SO, we are trying to see if our logistics team can pack the boxes better!
We hope for your patience on this – it will add only a little more time, but should greatly reduce the chances of damaged figures! We are trying to learn from mistakes!
Replacement Policy
Because replacement takes time, and we want to you to be able to play your game as soon as possible, we hope your first resort is to try to repair the damaged items on your own. In most cases, this is a simple process, and almost all problems fall into one of two categories.
My Figure is Warped!
Many people have reported that some of their figures (most often nightgaunts) are twisted so they lean in a non-Euclidean direction. If this bothers you, it is stunningly easy to fix – simply immerse the bent part of the figure in hot water (not boiling, but too hot to comfortably hold your finger in) until it heats through, and then bend it back into shape.
Occasionally (not often) this loosens the glue on the figure, and a piece may come off. Not to worry. This is easy to fix, too! Read on.
My Figure is in Two or More Pieces!
Some figures have popped out of their base, or have had an arm, wing, or tentacle come loose. In most cases, the break happens along a glue line, and you’ll see a peg-and-socket joint you can fit the missing limb into. To repair such a broken figure:
1) check to see that it fits back into the joint smoothly. (If not, you may want to use the hot-water treatment described above to squeeze the figure back into the correct configuration.)
2) If old glue is left in the joint, you may want to clean it off first (scraping with a fingernail often works).
3) get hold of some glue! We recommend airplane glue or plastic cement – this seems to work better than superglue. Zap-a-Gap works like a charm. Many backers say Gorilla Glue is great for this purpose too.
4) Place a tiny drop of the glue into the socket, or on the pin (but not both). Fit the piece together, and wait for the glue to set.
5) Presto! It’s fixed.
In some cases, these fixes won’t work, perhaps because the plastic is actually cracked (though even those can sometimes be glued together seamlessly), or because the damage is not glue-able (like a torn faction card). In this case, we are happy to help. Please follow these steps:
1) Take a clear photo of each damaged component.
2) Send the photograph to us at support@petersengames.com. It is helpful to also include an itemized list of the damaged components. For example, “the Black Goat faction card is torn, and one Byakhee is missing a wing”.
3) Include your order ID from the tracking e-mail. It’ll look something like “7717690-MCP”.
When we get your e-mail, we will store it (sadly, that's all we can do for now). When we get our copies of the game from the shipper (no, we don’t have them yet), we will retrieve your mailing, assemble the missing pieces, and ship them to you at no cost (to you, that is.)
Sandy Petersen
P. S. for those in North America still awaiting your shipments, I feel your pain. I just got my OWN tracking number today, so I am apparently in the last group shipped! *sigh*
Automatically Appended Next Post: "We forgot to put in padding!"
"Three times the number of replacements!"
"Still might not be enough replacements!"
"Its ok guys I'm in the same boat because I'm also waiting for mine! (even though I made the game)!"
whoever they shipped the game with is, imo inept. I received my tracking number over a week ago, and its been scanned infermittently at best, evidently departing from facilities it never arrived at, and arriving at facilities even though it never separted from a prior facility. Beyond that, it supposedly departed a local "newgistics" facility some 20 miles away from my house yesterday at like 3am, evidently to be handed off for delivery by usps, but the trail goes cold there, as ive received no updates since. for all intents and purposes it should have been delivered today, assuming usps received it yesterday afternoon.
Yep. I saw the gwailo guy keep asking for information only to be ignored. Arthur even answers other posts
Automatically Appended Next Post: Sandy said the next update will talk about row. I'm guessing this is what it will say " dear row due to cny, your packages will only ship out in march "
Just got my package, came intact. The box is gorgeous and very very deep. I didn't quite understand why until I saw the minis, holy crap they are huge (and IMO very nice). Likewise the game board is very nice, and the punch out tokens are exceptional, I think they are seriously twice the thickness of most other games punchouts. But on the downside of that, as others have stated, the doom/ritual tracks and the faction cards are really really flimsy cardstock. My faction cards seem to be in good condition, but my ritual and doom tracks are already showing signs of wear and tear (primarily fraying along the edges), and I only just now opened the damned box. I think these are really components that should have been printed on a rigid heavy cardboard like material. I dont expect something as thick as the punchouts/board itself, but I'd expect something with a 1mm thickness at least. Basically my rule of thumb is, if its an essential component of gameplay, and it ISNT a game card meant to be shuffled in a deck/held in your hand, then I shouldn't be able to easily bend it.
Belt yourselves in, fellow cultists! We have a long tome for update 165!
Where Is My Bonus Stuff?
Do not fear! ALL of the expansions, collectibles, add-ons, etc. are coming. This first shipment is just the core game. The rest are being produced right now (see photographic proof). We are upset enough about the delays that we have switched manufacturers for the expansions. Our new Chinese factory says they are actually ahead of schedule on production, but we are traveling to check on them (after Chinese New Year). Trust, but verify.
We expect all production to finish this summer. We are keeping a close eye on both quality & speed of production (in that order). Here are some great pictures showing where things stand at this time. We actually have images of all of the sculpts, but are showing you two for now.
Tsathoggua pre-production model
Tsathoggua pre-production model
Tsathoggua disassembled. He comes assembled - this is just to let you see part of the production process.
Tsathoggua disassembled. He comes assembled - this is just to let you see part of the production process.
Address Changes
If you have gotten a tracking number, it is too late to get your address changed. Contact your post office or someone at your previous residence and have them forward it.
Replacement Policy
If you got your box, and any parts were damaged in shipping, please read update 164 for step by step details on how to do your own repairs or, as necessary, to get replacements. We ship all replacement parts personally, from Sandy’s house – if we run out, we shall cannibalize our own retail copies. For these and other issues PLEASE mail our helpful cultist at support@petersengames.com. Sending a personal message to Sandy on kickstarter about replacements actually delays the speed of your response, because all he can do is forward it or ask you to contact support@petersengames.com anyway.
Sandy does read and answer the messages – it’s just that if it’s a customer service issue, there is a faster, far more efficient way. To summarize – the fastest way to get your game up and running, if you are one of the unfortunate minority who got an impaired version of Cthulhu Wars, is to read update 164 first, and follow the steps therein. If your problem is not addressed in update 164, contact support@petersengames.com. Note that we do not yet have our set of replacement parts from the factory, so we cannot send anything out to y’all until it arrives (and it won’t arrive till after all backers have their copies). We ask for patience.
European Shipping
We are told that the ship is landing in the EU on Monday, January 26th. Then they have to be vetted by customs. The fulfillment house says they can get everything out the door in 48 hours, but we are examining the feasibility of opening all the boxes and cushioning them, which would cause more delay. This is your absolutely last chance to get any EU address changes in before shipment. To get an EU address change accomplished, e-mail Arthur@petersengames.com. I reiterate – for a last-minute EU address change, e-mail arthur@petersengames.com. For other customer service issues, mail support@petersengames.com.
Australian Shipping
The shipload to Australia won’t leave till Thursday, January 29th. We are told there was a “technical issue”, and it had to be “rebooked” on a different vessel. We will know the estimated arrival date next week (and will post it here), but we assume it takes a week or two to travel across the sea.
Rest of World Shipping (Eastern Hemisphere outside of Europe and Australia)
To my frustration and chagrin, it has STILL not left China. (This is one of the reasons that we switched manufacturers for the expansions.) They will be sent directly from the factory to your home, via a commercial postal service. The factory says they start shipping on Monday, January 26th. They estimate 3-5 days before all are mailed, and then 3-5 days of transit time per package. This means they should all be mailed off by next Friday, and then they should reach your shores in about another week. We are told that with individual packages like this, there are usually no customs concerns.
not sure what to think on this one,
they've decided their factory (Panda I presume) has messed them around enough to dump them
On one hand they've clearly been spouting lots of nonsense about how fast they can get things done and their packaging leaves a lot to be desired.... but what they did produce seems to be good quality (with the possible excpetion of the tracks.... are they really on 400g cardstock?)
A new factory could be better,
but I am worried that whoever they are will do the same timeline song and dance (of course we will be faster..), might not be as experienced in mould tooling/plastic casting and might not be able to produce exact matches for the components between expansion and main box
but we will, as they say, see when wave 2 materialises
chaos0xomega wrote: But on the downside of that, as others have stated, the doom/ritual tracks and the faction cards are really really flimsy cardstock. My faction cards seem to be in good condition, but my ritual and doom tracks are already showing signs of wear and tear (primarily fraying along the edges), and I only just now opened the damned box. I think these are really components that should have been printed on a rigid heavy cardboard like material. I dont expect something as thick as the punchouts/board itself, but I'd expect something with a 1mm thickness at least. Basically my rule of thumb is, if its an essential component of gameplay, and it ISNT a game card meant to be shuffled in a deck/held in your hand, then I shouldn't be able to easily bend it.
Sandy has said that when Wave 2 ships, we'll receive our cardboard faction cards(which were a stretch goal). Unfortunately, the Doom/Ritual tracks will remain as shipped...but then again, those won't be handled that much, they'll just sit on the table and have tokens moved along them.
My tracks are already fraying on the edges juat from the process of shipping... the wear and tear resulting from actual use means that theyre gonna get wrecked unless hey grt upgraded to a heavier material.
For a while, we were worried about how many replacement parts we’d need to supply, but it turns out it was not nearly as serious as we’d feared. Most damage is minor or can be easily repaired, and it seems we’ll have plenty of parts to replace the bits that can’t be fixed. So no worries. Remember – if you have damaged bits, check update 164 for how to fix them or to get replacements as needed.
Australia’s ship is estimated to arrive February 15th.
The European ship landed yesterday (January 26th), so is going through customs at this time. It is headed to the warehouse, then on to you. Our shipping & logistics partner for the EU has decided not to repackage all the boxes, in order to get them to you ASAP. This means you will get your games at least two weeks sooner.
The ROW (Rest Of World) is shipping from China this week and should all have been shipped by Friday, after which it will make its way to you.
In the Americas, most of you should have gotten your games. I, Sandy Petersen, still haven’t gotten mine, so if you haven’t gotten yours yet, I feel your pain.
Here’s another shot or two from our prototype process. Some people seemed concerned that Asenath Waite seemed “slick” in the last shot – that’s just how she’s designed. Her enfolding tentacles are smooth and shiny – that’s the intent of the sculpt for better or worse.
Theomancy looks sooooo badddd.
I'm sorry it really does. There are so many better bidding/deck building games. And splitting the game into two different things just really seems like a bit of a money grab.
Theomancy looks sooooo badddd.
I'm sorry it really does. There are so many better bidding/deck building games. And splitting the game into two different things just really seems like a bit of a money grab.
Agreed, but Im picking it up because Ive been working on a similar game concept ("theme" wise moreso than mechanics) for a few years now and have little expectation of it ever becoming a real thing, so this is he next best thing.
Well they HAVE switched to a completely different factory/packaging solutions for the expansions because of the slowness/unreliability of what they've been told by Panda,
so that clearly shows they are trying to do the best they can
but for the stuff that's already been produced they are stuck with them
I was very impressed with this when seeing a copy in-person two weeks ago. The organic sculpts lend themselves well to the material, and the box is massive! Not sure how it plays, but components wise it seemed like a pretty darn good deal.
I have two gaming groups among me, both of completely different backgrounds and experiences. Among them, we have so far played 9 games in two weeks and each is quite eager to play again.
It plays well. Very well. You will not be disappointed.
Joyboozer wrote: I was already disappointed. Sandy is a spammer, Arthur spins in a chair all day telling people he runs a biznez!
From what I can tell, the majority of people that are unhappy with the game are those that haven't received it yet. I've got my copy of the game, and while there were a couple of minor damage issues due to shipment from China, replacement pieces will be winging their way out to me.
I haven't had a chance to play the game a bunch of times yet, but so far everyone that's played it has really enjoyed it. Beautiful big components, gameplay that's easy to learn and difficult to master, and assymetrical factions that truly play differently but feel well-balanced against each other.
For those of you waiting for their copies to arrive, it will be worth the wait.
Two of my friends that backed have received their boxes in the last couple of weeks.
Haven't seen them myself and I have no idea when we'll actually get them on the table (maybe sometime in April at this rate), but wave one is apparently in for my crew.
The good news I received the base box a couple weeks ago. The bad news is I backed the KS as a present for a friend of mine up north - looks like he'll have to wait a few months till he comes home for a visit.
From what I can tell, the majority of people that are unhappy with the game are those that haven't received it yet.
I'm not unhappy with the game. I'm just unhappy with their combination of being not-so-great at shipping or communication, while conversely being excellent at communicating as to where Sandy will be in his jet-setting travels every month, or who he's spending holidays with and so forth - while pimping a dozen or so other campaigns.
Hopefully the models are nice when I get them in-hand. I have little desire to play the game at present.
One backer in Germany reported getting their copy yesterday. My copy was lost by the USPS when it was out for delivery from the local Post Office back on January 17th as part of the first wave of shipping. They have no idea what happened to it. Greeneye Games offered to send a second copy, and it appears to be lost too... I got a tracking number for it 11 days ago saying shipped from client, and no tracking updates at all since then. It's clearly the shippers fault in both cases, but it still sucks.
Guys, I know it sucks when you're the one waiting on a Kickstarter to ship, and you're reading online that other people are enjoying theirs. Hell, I'm one of those STILL waiting for Wave 2 of All Quiet On The Martian Front and really regretting backing that KIckstarter now because of that and the fact that Alien Dungeon is selling stuff from the Kickstarter retail before I've gotten my KS fulfillment.
But all I can say as someone who backed Cthulhu Wars and has received his copy and played the game...try to be patient. It's a really fun game and I think you'll be happy once you have it in hand.
Apparently EU and ROW are shipped separately. So people receiving stuff in Germany doesn't mean they actually shipped stuff to row yet. And none of the creators seem inclined to comment if it's actually left the factory
It would be easier to be patient if we didn't have to pay for shipping, get told we'd probably get ours first and then nothing.
I'm not angry, just of the opinion that the cultists working to summon the Great Old One Sandy created will be easily identifiable by their fists of ham and scapegoat sacrifices.
It'd be easier if Sandy and Arthur would stop giving us BS dates. Seriously, if you told us ours would ship before CNY and just left it at that, it would be ok. Otoh, when you keep saying next Friday it'll ship, miss the Friday shipping date and then on the next Thurs/Wed say "Oh, it'll ship out this Friday" and then keep rinse/repeating this, people get annoyed.
At least CMON just goes 'hey, we're shipping your stuff. Sometime in the non-definite specified future' and just leaves you guessing. GEG just keeps telling you it'll be this day and it's not
I don't think they know anything more than what they are told by their shipping partner and pass that on with good intentions. They aren't on location at these international shipping locations, so all they can do is go by what their shipping partners tell them.
I can't even get confirmation on what happened to my shipment that is in the US because it is shipping from California and they are in Texas, so all they can do is call the shipper and hope to get an answer. My package was shipped on January 9th and it's February 10th and I still have no estimate on when I might actually receive it.
Got my copy today, no flaws, minis look very nice and I am very surprised at the hard plastic container for the big minis and the thickness of the counters/chits cardboard!
The cards are rather flimsy, however, as has been noted before.
But just to check with you guys - I am really lousy at following updates: the stretch goals will ship separately later this year, correct?
Sining wrote: At least CMON just goes 'hey, we're shipping your stuff. Sometime in the non-definite specified future' and just leaves you guessing. GEG just keeps telling you it'll be this day and it's not
"Least" is right. Two months after they said they'd ship base game to the US, I sent them an email. One acknowledgement response then NOTHING. I've even sent them follow-up emails each week, and sent them a copy of my invoice. I'd at least like to know that my package hasn't been lost.
No regrets not backing Rum and Bones or their plastic bases. Plenty of miniatures to paint from other companies.
boardgamegeek.com shows a bunch of international shipments getting delivered. Looking forward to getting my copy and seeing some good paint jobs on these figures.
so I usually just assume apps don't apply here 
This little guy has 7 pieces which must be glued together before he can be shipped to you.
Formless spawn proof, from China
more die-cut counter sheets before the glue. You can see these contain the Yellow Sign spellbooks
The rulebook getting printed and assembled
Only half the crew is expected to make the destination...
