AvP product line will be discontinued after 30 April
Every story must come to an end and AvP The Hunt Begins is no different. This is last month of AvP product line. To make it a little bit less sour, we have released last two major add-ons and discounted almost every other AvP product.
AvP Clearance Sale
Save up to 40%
All add-ons are on sale 40% off. After 30th of April AvP Product line is discontinued and no further orders are available.
Elbows wrote: Prodos still owes hundreds if not thousands of people Kickstarter content from a number of projects...screw 'em.
Yup. They posted in early last year that only about 20% of backers had received their pledges in full after 5 years, four years of the products being on store shelves, and multiple shell companies formed since. That number was likely bolstered by people offering to pick up their stuff at conventions to save them on shipping as well as placing extra orders with extra shipping and having their pledges included with them. That number would likely be significantly lower still if backers didn't effectively pay them extra or save them money with those efforts and likely would have gotten nothing in many of them. I haven't followed to closely since so can't tell if they updated that number since Jan 2018 though.
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H.B.M.C. wrote: Never got my original Kickstarter stuff. *shrugs*
They said in the same announcement that kickstarter fulfillment will continue as usual so no worries there as you're not affected! They'll continue making the same progress toward fulfilling your pledge as they have been doing since 2013.
According to a post I saw on twitter they lost the license.
I’m hopeful that the IP will make it into the hands of an ethical games company following this and Prodos or whatever shell company they are operating under these days can get the feth away from one of my favorite IPs. I’d trust Wayland-Yutani over those lying witches.
As tempted as I am to get more of the, admittedly beautiful, minis at a reduced price, I’m not going to support that gak show of a company.
Elbows wrote: Prodos still owes hundreds if not thousands of people Kickstarter content from a number of projects...screw 'em.
This is something that I've been wondering about.
A long time ago, they told backers that they could get their KS pledges if they ordered something else from the Prodos webstore (I think they said this was to cover split shipping). I've talked to a lot of people who took them up on that deal and had most of their stuff. Recently, I talked to someone who got their whole pledge (it seems that people who took them up on the deal are WAY happier with Prodos than the people who passed on it).
I've also talked to people who spent years sending emails to their Customer Service complaining that they didn't get their stuff, and eventually these folks did get things shipped to them (only the parts of the Kickstarter that were done at the time).
I don't know that I've talked to anyone who actually got nothing.
If they're really finished with AvP, they SHOULD be sending out those final orders to anyone who didn't take them up on that deal. I wonder if that's the case, and I also wonder if they told people who got their pledges by complaining via email that they'd only get one package shipped that way.
I've found that Prodos' actual actions have been a lot less horrible than people portray them. And seeing how other Kickstarter creators dealt with failure makes me think that Prodos' probably didn't have any options that would have made those people happy.
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warboss wrote: [
Yup. They posted in early last year that only about 20% of backers had received their pledges in full after 5 years, four years of the products being on store shelves, and multiple shell companies formed since.
- 20% is bad. I've talked to some of the folks that thought the "buy an expac, we'll ship your order" was a good deal, and they reported getting most or all of their stuff. Do they represent one in five backers?
- How long has the full pledge been available? I got the impression that they didn't finish making all of the things they promised to their backers until fairly recently (since only the base game came out four years ago).
- Were there multiple shell companies? I thought it was just Archon.
It has been really hard to get the details of how the AvP trainwreck went down. That's why I pledged $1 for Confrontation. That way, I'll know how it fell apart.
Cant say I am surprised that they lost the license. Models were nice, but the Kickstarter was a fiasco, it took forever to get everything but they did in the end get me all of it a year or two ago. Sucks that people still havent gotten stuff. But hey, thats why I dont support Prodos in their other games and warn people away from them.
VictorVonTzeentch wrote: Cant say I am surprised that they lost the license. Models were nice, but the Kickstarter was a fiasco, it took forever to get everything but they did in the end get me all of it a year or two ago. Sucks that people still haven't gotten stuff. But hey, thats why I dont support Prodos in their other games and warn people away from them.
Do you mind if I ask you some questions about this?
- You confirmed that you got your whole pledge. How many shipments did you receive?
- Also, did you take them up on the "buy a something" offer, or did you get it some other way?
With Robotech RPG Tactics, I got the impression that Heart of Gold felt like Palladium wasn't doing anything with the license and refused to renew it.
With Prodos- they were doing new releases. I wonder if anyone at Fox noticed how horrible the reputation of AvP in gaming was, and refused to renew, or if Prodos decided that now was the time to distance themselves from the IP.
Seems kind of unlikely. Didn't happen with Star Wars. Generally they let these things transition out. Seems more likely it was just up for renewal and someone declined.
Lawsuites would be everywhere if Disney just canceled all fox licenses to try and get better deals and I have a feeling that would really piss off EU regulators too
I'm sure they can refuse to renew without any issue, it would just be cancelling ongoing contracts that would be a problem
so a give it a few years and most of the old fox contracts will be gone which given how poor Fox allegedly was to work with in terms of approvals may not be a bad thing,
as if there's one thing Disney is good at it's getting stuff to market so collaborators may have more chance of timely descisions
VictorVonTzeentch wrote: Cant say I am surprised that they lost the license. Models were nice, but the Kickstarter was a fiasco, it took forever to get everything but they did in the end get me all of it a year or two ago. Sucks that people still haven't gotten stuff. But hey, thats why I dont support Prodos in their other games and warn people away from them.
Do you mind if I ask you some questions about this?
- You confirmed that you got your whole pledge. How many shipments did you receive?
- Also, did you take them up on the "buy a something" offer, or did you get it some other way?
With Robotech RPG Tactics, I got the impression that Heart of Gold felt like Palladium wasn't doing anything with the license and refused to renew it.
With Prodos- they were doing new releases. I wonder if anyone at Fox noticed how horrible the reputation of AvP in gaming was, and refused to renew, or if Prodos decided that now was the time to distance themselves from the IP.
Not at all;
I got 3 shipments (of what I think was everything). The main game, the Weyland-Yutani Mercs and I believe I got all my KS bonus stuff in between those shipments and then some with the Wey-Yu Mercs.
I never even got an offer to order something else to get it. I sent I believe two emails at differing times, to different persons. One of which was completely ignored, the second of which (some months later) was responded to fairly quickly and the stuff was sent. Both cases the emails were polite, but strongly put across my agitation with their handling of the situation and displeasure with the company.
warboss wrote: [
Yup. They posted in early last year that only about 20% of backers had received their pledges in full after 5 years, four years of the products being on store shelves, and multiple shell companies formed since.
- 20% is bad. I've talked to some of the folks that thought the "buy an expac, we'll ship your order" was a good deal, and they reported getting most or all of their stuff. Do they represent one in five backers?
- How long has the full pledge been available? I got the impression that they didn't finish making all of the things they promised to their backers until fairly recently (since only the base game came out four years ago).
- Were there multiple shell companies? I thought it was just Archon.
IIRC it was in an update from their private don't complain or you'll be booted facebook group that was reposted on dakka. In the numbers they posted, they didn't specify how many pledge completions were because of backers paying extra or taking the initiative themselves. If you search my posts for "avp", you'll find the exact numbers 3/4 of the way down the first page of search results. There obviously were additional partial completions where one or two waves were sent out but close is only good enough in horseshoes and something else in that idiom that I can't remember.
As for the companies, they formed at least one more company under the name of some cab driver aspiring game maker from Chicago to get a project done. The sleuths over on BGG caught it and they didn't announce that the company "hired" to produce the game was the already created Archon until IIRC after it funded because they wanted to avoid the consequences of their own rep.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: My personal anecdotes are that everyone I know who pledged ended up getting stuff- usually with the adding stuff on via the shop.
I've backed all their "Archon" brand campaigns along with their resin line of Empire of Men, and they've sorted out every issue I've had as well.
With Robotech RPG Tactics, I got the impression that Heart of Gold felt like Palladium wasn't doing anything with the license and refused to renew it.
With Prodos- they were doing new releases. I wonder if anyone at Fox noticed how horrible the reputation of AvP in gaming was, and refused to renew, or if Prodos decided that now was the time to distance themselves from the IP.
With Palladium, the license wasn't pulled out of some sort of morale code but rather because Palladium stopped paying. HG, for all their MANY faults including not standing up for their customers to shady licensees like Palladium, did grant Palladium a free one year extension to the complete the kickstarter fulfillment. Palladium, of course, wasted that time similar to the previous years. All they did was have a bunch of fire sales and copy/paste the same 2017 is a "must" year for RRPGT repeatedly while accomplishing nothing to further that progress.
Overread wrote: Out of interest what is the quality of their sculpts actually like?
The minis are their one redeeming feature in all of this. They are excellent.
In my opinion at least.
For my own part, my KS experience with the AvP: I think it was three or even four years ago they made an offer to ship backers their KS rewards IF they bought someting else off their webshop. I took them up on this offer, because a reward in hand is much better than the promise of “some unspecified time in the future” and the future of Prodos looked a but shaky at the time.
My experience with this was good. the shipment went out in short order. They communicated well, I got (most of) my pledge rewards -everything that was available at the time -and the two other minis I ordered. There were a few small issues with some of the minis. I sent a complaint and it did not take many days before I received replacement bits in the post.
I still have a few items outstanding though. We will see if they appear or not.
Don't order anything from them. You'll never see it.
I was all in until they started jacking around. THEN, they didn't even finish the first game before they were at it again trying to do a 2d edition. Lets just hope someone can eventually get a good game out there that has the stones to think big and complete a project.
Prodos had talent to cast great minis, that's abort all they had. and that's not enough in the gaming company realm.
I eventually got my order, and I had to it cut loose last year. I sold it.
Quality was great, it was just that they let their mouth write a check that their capabilities couldn't cash. I bear them no malice, but honest disappointment that they let a gold bar slip through their fingers.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: My personal anecdotes are that everyone I know who pledged ended up getting stuff- usually with the adding stuff on via the shop.
I've backed all their "Archon" brand campaigns along with their resin line of Empire of Men, and they've sorted out every issue I've had as well.
I eventually got all my KS stuff and then some due to their "goodwill" (ineptitude).
Ive picked up stuff from their old Uk base, gone all the way to salute only to be told they had forgotten my order, had at least 9 parcels from them and then had £45 quids worth of credit for never to be finished products.
Never bought anything extra.
Ive got 3 copies of the boxed game because one wasnt KS exclusive, various extra marines and arms due to them not reading my emails clearly listing what was missing. One request took 4 shipments to be correct. You could argue great service, haha, but it wasnt.
My advice is just keep on at them. But if you feel as sour about it all as I do, it'll just sit in its boxes until my wife throws it out.
warboss wrote: [...but close is only good enough in horseshoes and something else in that idiom that I can't remember.
Hand grenades. Close definitely counts with hand grenades.
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Grot 6 wrote: ..
THEN, they didn't even finish the first game before they were at it again trying to do a 2d edition. Lets .
I'm not sure how to take the 2nd edition nonsense.
As I understand it, the rules set they shipped had some major problems, so they cleaned it up. Like what Sedition Wars did (and posted the new rulebook online).
But the components were still the same, right?
I think the problem might be that the title "2nd ed." That gives us expectations that are not ok before they finish delivery.
morganfreeman wrote: As a quick question, does anyone know of the size of the aliens?
Not the bigger dudes, but the smaller stalkers / warriors. Are they like, space marine sized / bigger, GEQ, ect?
I can do you a size comparison shot tomorrow when I get home. (There’s a pic of A drone v a true scaled chaplain at the top of my P&M blog linked below if you want an idea now)
Any particular type or marine or guard model your looking for them to be compared against?
And do you want the unicast, normal or both?
FYI Disney is not "canceling" licenses. I talked to Dark Horse Comics and they said that it's bunk; they have the Aliens, Predator, and AVP licenses for many more years. Draw your own conclusions as to how Prodos lost theirs. (and as far as I am aware, they had the license for the AVP computer game? no other films, books, characters, likenesses, etc)
The following is my honest take on the matter, all info is to be viewed as hearsay. I have no connection at all to Prodos nor Archon, other than as an infrequent customer and AvP KS backer. I also have backed Archons Chronicle X KS which is delayed and yet to be delivered. (They have communicated well on this however)
My reading of the situation is that the owners of Prodos is cutting their losses and letting go/getting rid of all external IPs, as most of their woes (accoring to Prodos themselves) are due to Fox's draconic IP management with protracted approval process which repeatedly effed up their timetables and plans, costing them greatly in both cash in hand and causing the entire KS debacle. That they could have managed the entire situation significantly better is an understatement, but anyway.
Such licenses are bought for large sums of money and last only a few years at a time. I think the timing here is consistent with the license not being renewed as opposed to being taken away from them as many have assumed.
AFAIK AvP is the last external IP they have, and I expect the Prodos brand name to disappear in short order, as the name is fatally tarnished by the AvP KS. They have stated in the past that they very much want to avoid external IPs in the future because of all the approval problems.
The owners of Prodos established the Archon company a few years ago to manage their own IPs (derivative as they may be) and the production of same, and have had considerable success with their own Kickstarted games, such as LOAD. They have also developed the Unicast method of producing single-piece plastic miniatures with undercuts and all (wonderfully detailed at that) under the Archon banner.
judgedoug wrote: FYI Disney is not "canceling" licenses. I talked to Dark Horse Comics and they said that it's bunk; they have the Aliens, Predator, and AVP licenses for many more years. Draw your own conclusions as to how Prodos lost theirs. (and as far as I am aware, they had the license for the AVP computer game? no other films, books, characters, likenesses, etc)
Mostly likely it was time to renew and Disney is more expensive then fox or Prodoss saw that sales were bad and wasn't worth continuing. The notion that Disney took the license away or refused Prodos is pretty absurd for a small market they probably don't even know exists unless someone pretty high up was a KSer backer.
Also remember Knight Models dropped Marvel once Disney bought them as it was too expensive to keep the licenses for what their sales where and actually got Harry Potter from WB cheaper.
Yes and yes. Most of it had sold by the end of the day, including the more expensive items (APC) and most of the 2nd edition core sets. About the only thing they still had a lot of were the Hot Landing Zone expansion pack.. probably half of those sold. They had Starcide and Empire of Men stuff on display, plus the terrain from the recent modular ruins KS on display and previews of the modular dungeon terrain they are working on. I was pretty impressed with what they had on display, but it will live or die based on the variation they are able to add (rounded corners, double wide door arches etc).
The terrain looked quite good indeed but not something I would go for. A shame AVP died, I expected so much from this license but never really did much.
morganfreeman wrote: As a quick question, does anyone know of the size of the aliens?
Not the bigger dudes, but the smaller stalkers / warriors. Are they like, space marine sized / bigger, GEQ, ect?
I can do you a size comparison shot tomorrow when I get home. (There’s a pic of A drone v a true scaled chaplain at the top of my P&M blog linked below if you want an idea now)
Any particular type or marine or guard model your looking for them to be compared against?
And do you want the unicast, normal or both?
Sorry, few days late here, but:
Just compared to a standard IG infantrymen would be fine. That pic you linked gives a decent amount of scale tbh, looks like they're about 'primaris' height on average. But you know, clarity always helps.
judgedoug wrote: FYI Disney is not "canceling" licenses. I talked to Dark Horse Comics and they said that it's bunk; they have the Aliens, Predator, and AVP licenses for many more years. Draw your own conclusions as to how Prodos lost theirs. (and as far as I am aware, they had the license for the AVP computer game? no other films, books, characters, likenesses, etc)
Also remember Knight Models dropped Marvel once Disney bought them as it was too expensive to keep the licenses for what their sales where and actually got Harry Potter from WB cheaper.
Lol no. Marvel dropped Knight models cos km are a screw up of a company who didn't do as they were asked
At the end of the day, Prodos wrote checks their butts couldn't cash.
They had an overextended plan, couldn't make it work, and are still paying the price for their shortsightedness.
The way they handled the situation did zero favors, as they reneged several times and outright lied about their holdings. On one hand, they cast some great figures, on the other, they should never be in business or touch another property again with a ten foot pole.
The excuses flow like honey from them, and even if they don't want to admit it, their lack of business experience, and serious production capabilities completely overwhelmed them.
The size of the Alien depends on the one you ask about. The smallest, the facehugger is about the size of a plastic, or resin cast 25mm base. The Warrior (Base Alien) is about the size of a Space Marine, but in the end, these figures were all around 32-35mm. (Larger then GW's idea of HEROIC size.)
The Predalien was about the size of a Terminator of the same time period, and the Alien Queen is about the size of a Terminator character, now. MAYBE a little larger.
If you got that first batch, of resin, or res-plastic that they used, you got hit or miss quality figures. As to the Second edition, you got colored molded plastic.
I waited a few years, and after it was all said and done, still didn't get everything I was supposed to and just threw my hands up and sold off the stuff I had received and wrote off the rest- And even then, I didn't received what I'd asked for in the first place.
Like I said, from the get go, this was an overreaching and ambitious project, and I think, by the end, we all knew it was going to kill the company, especially when they were - at the same time- to the death trying to argue that they were fine, and they could handle the 3 or 4 major projects, while they acquired Archaeon, and try to waste efforts on all of their woes.
The most crucial thing that killed it for them In MY Opinion, was the "Spokesman", Space Crusade, and the Half Stepping that comes with overconfidence and lack of business stratagem.
When it comes to license properties, the thing I've noticed seems to determine the difference between a success and failure is how the company producing the product responds to the license holder's demands.
The companies that succeed seem to understand the particularities of "spec art" and strive to make things just right. When the license holder comes back with a complaint they immediately adjust and respond with an incremental change to discover the next issue to be addressed. They build their timelines expecting constant minor revisions being needed to satisfy the client.
The failed licenses seem to act like once they buy the license, they have control of the IP. They set their timelines to their own schedule and when the holder demands revisions, view it as a delay put upon them by an outside source rather than part of the process of working with a product they don't own. They complain about the license holder dragging their feet and delaying the project, when, realistically it needs to be an expectation when making something that officially represents someone else's brand.
The models are 1/48 scale I believe, and I'd much rather have correctly proportioned figures when it's based off of a property. I don't want melonhead hamfist colonial marines just as much as I don't want melonhead hamfist Galadhrim or red eye orcs.
One thing Prodos did right is absolutely beautiful sculpts and figures.
Much of what you posted Grot 6 is incorrect. The only plastic figures they released were the clear Predators a month ago.
judgedoug wrote: FYI Disney is not "canceling" licenses. I talked to Dark Horse Comics and they said that it's bunk; they have the Aliens, Predator, and AVP licenses for many more years. Draw your own conclusions as to how Prodos lost theirs. (and as far as I am aware, they had the license for the AVP computer game? no other films, books, characters, likenesses, etc)
Also remember Knight Models dropped Marvel once Disney bought them as it was too expensive to keep the licenses for what their sales where and actually got Harry Potter from WB cheaper.
Lol no. Marvel dropped Knight models cos km are a screw up of a company who didn't do as they were asked
judgedoug wrote: FYI Disney is not "canceling" licenses. I talked to Dark Horse Comics and they said that it's bunk; they have the Aliens, Predator, and AVP licenses for many more years. Draw your own conclusions as to how Prodos lost theirs. (and as far as I am aware, they had the license for the AVP computer game? no other films, books, characters, likenesses, etc)
Also remember Knight Models dropped Marvel once Disney bought them as it was too expensive to keep the licenses for what their sales where and actually got Harry Potter from WB cheaper.
Lol no. Marvel dropped Knight models cos km are a screw up of a company who didn't do as they were asked
Lol no. Think again.
I just know I haven’t given KM a dime since they dropped the Marvel line, and they won’t see any more cash from me. I’m still bitter.
I feel bad for everyone still fighting with prodos. Sculpts looked awesome. In the meantime, is Mantic one of the only big companies who have a successful (rather two!) IPs going? Walking Dead and Hellboy?
I feel bad for everyone still fighting with prodos. Sculpts looked awesome. In the meantime, is Mantic one of the only big companies who have a successful (rather two!) IPs going? Walking Dead and Hellboy?
I assume we're talking about only miniatures lines and not counting FFG (Star Wars) and WizKids (Star Trek, though their sustained success is far more arguable)? Technically GW counts as well especially since they've somewhat re-launched LotR which would be a licensed IP. The trend there though is that these are massive mainstream IPs and while Aliens is certainly popular enough to sustain a franchise, I think the rabidity of some fanbases cause companies to overvalue/overpay for the licenses which then leads to it not being worth it.
In this specific case I would say it was more the company making continual missteps and lacking basic honesty with backers about how badly they were underestimating things until they were forced to admit things. The bizarre behavior of the principals seems more to blame than a lack of strength in the IP, but a lot of other licenses have seemed to have been poorly timed (Terminator) or a odd fit for the genre (Doctor Who).
> In the meantime, is Mantic one of the only big companies who have a successful (rather two!) IPs going? Walking Dead and Hellboy?
I guess so! (: As I understand it, these IPs are for the comics, not the television or movie series, so I would guess that this means less corporate suits to deal with. Both comic book creators own their comic book IP's, I think. (Compare this with Marvel and DC.)
Speaking of DC, Monolith seems to have their IPs under control, with their Conan and Batman KS games. Both, however, are expensive to produce, with Conan discontinuing retail distribution (although you can find base games on clearance) and Batman KS exclusive. (Expensive games may be a Monolith trait, not an IP one, since they also made Claustrophobia KS only, iirc?)
Depends on where you draw the line for big and successful. Knight has the IP for Batman and Harry Potter. Steamforged has Dark Souls, Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn, and I heard the posted another new Kickstarter this week but I don’t recall what it was.
AduroT wrote: Depends on where you draw the line for big and successful. Knight has the IP for Batman and Harry Potter. Steamforged has Dark Souls, Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn, and I heard the posted another new Kickstarter this week but I don’t recall what it was.
Planet of the Apes? (both the recent movie series and the original film)
AduroT wrote: Depends on where you draw the line for big and successful. Knight has the IP for Batman and Harry Potter. Steamforged has Dark Souls, Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn, and I heard the posted another new Kickstarter this week but I don’t recall what it was.
judgedoug wrote: The models are 1/48 scale I believe, and I'd much rather have correctly proportioned figures when it's based off of a property. I don't want melonhead hamfist colonial marines just as much as I don't want melonhead hamfist Galadhrim or red eye orcs.
One thing Prodos did right is absolutely beautiful sculpts and figures.
Much of what you posted Grot 6 is incorrect. The only plastic figures they released were the clear Predators a month ago.
I stand by everything I said. I was there from day one, and I know what I received (And didn't receive) and what they came out with in 2d edition. Plastic/ res-tic, or whatever that stuff was- It was hit or miss on my end of what I received.
The excuses- would fit a encyclopedia. from My dog ate the homework, to It was someone else's fault, the end of the day, Prodos could not handle the project.
BTW- did anyone ever get those cast sector system/ hive 3d tiles? What ever happened with that?
judgedoug wrote: The models are 1/48 scale I believe, and I'd much rather have correctly proportioned figures when it's based off of a property. I don't want melonhead hamfist colonial marines just as much as I don't want melonhead hamfist Galadhrim or red eye orcs.
One thing Prodos did right is absolutely beautiful sculpts and figures.
Much of what you posted Grot 6 is incorrect. The only plastic figures they released were the clear Predators a month ago.
I stand by everything I said. I was there from day one, and I know what I received (And didn't receive) and what they came out with in 2d edition. Plastic/ res-tic, or whatever that stuff was- It was hit or miss on my end of what I received.
The excuses- would fit a encyclopedia. from My dog ate the homework, to It was someone else's fault, the end of the day, Prodos could not handle the project.
BTW- did anyone ever get those cast sector system/ hive 3d tiles? What ever happened with that?
No, the 3d hive terrain was never produced, and I suspect that something went wrong with the arcade characters because I'm only aware of a few people ever having received them. The only other thing that didn't happen, as I recall, was the synthetic but I suspect since it was a last minute thing it never got approval from Fox.
The unicast models have all been excellent, both in the 2nd edition core box and the new releases / old release updates. My only gripe is the scale change, although it's only noticable with the marines.
I've always felt bad for the original KS backers. As someone who got burned by the later Space Goat Evil Dead 2/Terminator board game campaigns, I can relate to the frustration people felt.
Especially after Prodos started responding to backers in a sarcastic tone, plus produced that "Rob Yourstand" limited edition miniature as a parody of the disgruntled backer who enacted revenge on them by attending a convention they were at and stealing a lot of their stored cash.
However, I would like to offer a different perspective here. As someone who knew nothing about the KS campaign, I simply purchased the original game from a local store. I then went back and picked up lots of the additional figure packs, plus ordered some of the more rare stuff online. I bought Unleashed and the second edition later, and more recently the new Hot Landing Zone expansion. When I checked back at their site a couple of days ago to see if the new set had any separate extras to buy (I was looking specifically for a female prisoner to represent Alien 3 Ripley) I saw that the line was coming to an end with an online sale, so picked up some more extras. This included the set of five limited edition miniatures, because it's extremely unlikely I'll ever get another chance to buy a mini of Jones the cat
Overall, I haven't had any bad experiences with Prodos. A couple of the miniatures I ordered had minor damage that was easily repaired, I think there was one order I placed that seemed to take forever to arrive (it eventually did) but everything else was fine.
As an Aliens fan, I've never been fussed by the Predator figures but very much enjoyed the various marine and xeno models they've produced. Prodos created the Dropship, APC, Sentry Guns, facehuggers, eggs (as of this month!), warriors, queen, marines that clearly represent Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, Drake, Apone, and (now with the Hot Landing Zone android) Bishop, plus the Powerloader.
I think the licence has now passed from Prodos to Gale Force 9, and I now hope the miniature scales are going to match so that I can finish off the cast with an official Ripley, Newt, Gorman and Burke; since GF9 seem to be holding back several key characters for later expansions. Of course, I converted my own Ripley, Newt, Gorman, Burke and Ripley+Powerloader model long ago, but it will still be great to hav the option of retiing them for GF9's own versions if they're the right size and look alright.
I'm actually sad that AVP is ending now, because I think if the licence had continued we might have seen something linked to Alien Resurrection and/or Alien.
morganfreeman wrote: As a quick question, does anyone know of the size of the aliens?
Not the bigger dudes, but the smaller stalkers / warriors. Are they like, space marine sized / bigger, GEQ, ect?
I can do you a size comparison shot tomorrow when I get home. (There’s a pic of A drone v a true scaled chaplain at the top of my P&M blog linked below if you want an idea now)
Any particular type or marine or guard model your looking for them to be compared against?
And do you want the unicast, normal or both?
Sorry, few days late here, but:
Just compared to a standard IG infantrymen would be fine. That pic you linked gives a decent amount of scale tbh, looks like they're about 'primaris' height on average. But you know, clarity always helps.
Cheers either way.
Here you go, last week has been crazy busy sorry
unicast drone, guardsman, 1st ed drone, Primaries marine, stalker Alien
The unicast alien looks a lot smaller but that's mostly the pose the head, arms and legs are about the same size.
The sale makes it tempting to purchase a few sets for a side project I had going, but the question is "Will any of it ever actually arrive?"
It's really too bad they screwed the pooch so hard on this game. Aside from the weird running Marine, the sculpts from the first edition were mostly fantastic. So much potential with the license to do something great. Instead, they overpromised and underdelivered. And the Unicast 2nd Edition stuff was significantly less impressive.
I ordered a ton of stuff a few weeks ago and it arrived last week ish. Figured with the pitiful exchange rate and the mega discount, it was the cheapest it was gonna get.
Veteran Sergeant wrote: The sale makes it tempting to purchase a few sets for a side project I had going, but the question is "Will any of it ever actually arrive?"
My Warzone finale purchase came in about two months after close, though it was complete.
Ive never had Prodos not deliver, though some items took 3 shipments to get right
Then again i never backed AvP which has a history of not delivering already...
I ordered a couple of weeks ago and they tried to deliver on Tuesday so I have rearranged for Saturday. I have placed around 10 orders in the past via their website and always got my stuff pretty quickly. I have never had any missing or broken items either. So my experience at least has always been positive.
I really don't know what else I can do with Prodos.
I've contacted them multiple times this month trying to resolve the missing Kickstarter stuff I've never, ever received... and nothing. No reply. No nothing.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I really don't know what else I can do with Prodos.
I've contacted them multiple times this month trying to resolve the missing Kickstarter stuff I've never, ever received... and nothing. No reply. No nothing.
If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you missing? PM me if you like, maybe I can have a word with J.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I really don't know what else I can do with Prodos.
I've contacted them multiple times this month trying to resolve the missing Kickstarter stuff I've never, ever received... and nothing. No reply. No nothing.
Same here. Guess the email they sent out claiming they would send out the KS stuff as part of tis final month if we contacted them were another less than true promise.
Kickstarter fulfilment will work as usual, and shipments will be commenced until all backers receive their packages.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: There's always a chance they're waiting until they've sold all they can before doing anything for backers (who aren't buying extra stuff)
you might get lucky after the sale closes and they have to start clearing out the stock
Maybe. Maybe answering one of the 4 ways I tried contact them (to include the 'contact us' link in the email, and the 'contact us' form on their website) to acknowledge would lend some weight to that guess.
I am one of the AvP KS-backers and after years of communications I have recieved most of my stuff.
Even though the AvP-matter has been handled badly I have no hard feelings towards Prodos. They screwed up big time but tried to make it right despite having massive financial and workload problems.
Not a company I would trust in another KS - but I bought a lot of additional Predators at this sale...
Sad to see these excellent sculpts disappear :(
When this originally came out I kept kicking the can down the road, but I finally put in my order 2 weeks ago. I got mine in its entirety this last Monday.
I'm hoping the GaleForce9 Aliens game is at least similar in scale.
aka_mythos wrote: When this originally came out I kept kicking the can down the road, but I finally put in my order 2 weeks ago. I got mine in its entirety this last Monday.
I'm hoping the GaleForce9 Aliens game is at least similar in scale.
I ended up putting in a £150 order last night to go with the few items i got at Salute, also had an email today from Prodos saying deliveries are going to take up an extra 3-4 weeks for AvP items, Its a shame these minis will no longer be sold as they are great sculpts etc, i just hope whoever next gets the AvP licence sculpts the minis just as great.
I hope those still waiting on their KS finally get things sorted, i know its not a nice feeling "losing" money to KS'ers(looking at you ED2!!!)
Yeah 4 years of trying to get them to reply to contacts and still haven't received my pledge .£150 down the drain .even if I got it now with the amount they have discounted it would be like £50 to buy .
Im a huge Xenomorph fan and these sculpts are awesome… yet I never really feel like buying from them, not only for the above reasons but is one of those gut feelings. I stay away even if the minis rock.
aka_mythos wrote: When this originally came out I kept kicking the can down the road, but I finally put in my order 2 weeks ago. I got mine in its entirety this last Monday.
I'm hoping the GaleForce9 Aliens game is at least similar in scale.
It's at least based on the film license instead of the AVP video game or whatever - and the rules will probably actually be fun!
aka_mythos wrote: When this originally came out I kept kicking the can down the road, but I finally put in my order 2 weeks ago. I got mine in its entirety this last Monday.
I'm hoping the GaleForce9 Aliens game is at least similar in scale.
It's at least based on the film license instead of the AVP video game or whatever - and the rules will probably actually be fun!
Prodos’ license was a broader license on using the IP of the franchise as a whole. With licenses like this you have to present and get approval from the company you got license from. Prodos had a lot of problems getting approval for product they designed because Fox had made separate licenses for the use of the movie IP, pointing to the video games and comics was just a cheaper way of portraying the variety aliens, predators, and colonial marines in immediately recognizable ways and getting that approval. The big thing they couldn’t do was represent the movie characters.
CptJake wrote: I would say the big thing they couldn't do was be honest with customers.
Exactly! For me that makes all the difference, no matter how good the product is. I remember when AVP first appeared at Salute and was really exited about it but it was downhill from there.
This year they were dumping AVP at a big discount and was sad to see actually. They tried to grab my attention for their upcoming modular terrain KS… no chance in hell.
I ordered a bunch of miniatures during this clearance sale. Really nice models. The product Prodos made was great, their business practices terrible. I don't think the game ever got over the kickstarter debacle.
Huh, there's a nice diorama you get for free if you order enough? I put in an order on the last sale, shame they weren't offering it back then. I'm... slightly annoyed. Oh well.
Sometimes license contracts for licensed products will have some stipulation about product liquidation. Obviously these things vary contract to contract but there could easily be a window where they can pay to extend the license for a brief amount for the purposes of liquidating stock. Although the way they've phrased things it seems a lot more open ended since its clear this isn't all old stock.
Sometimes license contracts for licensed products will have some stipulation about product liquidation. Obviously these things vary contract to contract but there could easily be a window where they can pay to extend the license for a brief amount for the purposes of liquidating stock. Although the way they've phrased things it seems a lot more open ended since its clear this isn't all old stock.
That's more or less what I was thinking. Usually there's a deadline for producing new stuff and another for stopping sales. But companies caught with unsold stock can usually negociate some sort of temporary reprieve to eliminate the old stock.
I have to give credit when due. Every time Prodos has had one of these sales I've contacted them at the email they say to use and asked "Can you please send me what you owe me from the KS?"
Last time around they replied and verified what they owed me, asked what I wanted in place of what they never produced. I replied and they then said they would send it out. Of course they never did (which is what I expected).
Well, this time I asked the same thing. Got a reply saying they would send what they owed me (at least what had been produced). A couple of days later I actually got a tracking number in the email, and a couple of days ago I got a box from them. I finally got my alternate/multi-part marines! They also sent a frame of cloaked predators and a female predator (I had ordered these but had gotten them previously, so was not expecting them). They still owe me some of the things they never got around to producing, but at least several years after the KS I actually have everything I ordered which they did produce. And I never broke down and bought anything else from them.
In the past I've been pretty vocal about what a liar and thief I think Jared and his cohorts are, so I figured I would also say "Hey, they finally sent me my stuff".
1) Are you personally owed anything from that kickstarter? (If so PM me directly and I will try to help in every way I can, just like we have with others over the last few years)
2) Do you know anyone personally who’s owed anything? (Because over the last 12 months or so I keep hearing about ‘people owed items’ but not a single person has taken up my offers of help or reached out to me, all I seem to get is it’s a ‘friend of a friend’
3) AVP and Prodos was a complex series of events compounded by further mistakes by the company. (It was a shame, but as you know I looked into it in detail a couple of times and can understand how it unravelled) Archon established itself to create its own intellectual property, and has run a number of successfully delivered projects since then.
How many projects do they need to run before you consider it an amber risk (the default for any KS) rather than a red risk?
Yeah, why would anyone trust a shill to fix their problem with Prodos/AVP?
Prodos had more issues than AVP.....Warzone Resurrection, anyone? Backers as well as stores had a bunch of issues with Prodos on that product line, too. And it only takes a short time to read some concerns in the comments on the Archon/LOAD KS pages....so, no, they are not past the point of red flags to many. And let's not forget one of their projects initially tried to use plagiarized rules from Rum & Bones.
(OTOH, their new plastic dungeon tile KS looks soooooooo tempting!!!!! grrrrrrr.....damn shiny syndrome.....) lol
I actually got one of their preview sprues in the mail the other day. Quite nice. Sharper than their first test run necromancer plastic kit.
I was going to try and do a video of it last night but made the mistake of trying to clean my daughter's closet with her... did not expect that to take as long as it did!
Prodos has definitely made bungles in the past. They've goofed on some of my orders but they got everything resolved for me.
I thought the bigger issue with Warzone was how they went back and updated or completely resculpted models after they'd sent them all out to backers. QC wasn't all that great at the beginning.
The fact that they redid a lot of the sculpts was.. well, it was what it was. I guess it made for a better retail product although the scale differences between the older and newer stuff were a bit annoying. The lack of releases was ultimately what did it in; if your game makes less and less money and you respond by making fewer and fewer products, then it's dead, jim.
