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I dont back much kickstarter stuff. Only thing I regret not backing is the zombicide stuff as I really like that game.

All together I have backed the following.

Wasteland 2: Got it was happy with it

Deadzone: Got it was dissapointed with it. Very unlikley to back a mantic kickstarter again.

Warmachine Tactics: Got it dissapointed with what I have played so far

Tangiers stealth game: About a year late so far that said I like the idea of a very different steath game and even if it doesn't succeed they seem to be working on it as best they can and I am happy to lose a bit of cash in an attempt to help a unique looking stealth game to be released.

O-umajirushi: 17th Century Samurai Heraldry book. Very nice PDF received.

Steel Fist Samurai lords: Should be delivered in the next few months. Happy to support the company even if it ends up delayed. Smaller companies using it to make stuff they couldn't afford to otherwise is why I like kickstarter and I think this s

So only two board/war gaming kickstarters so far.

I've not backed many Kickstarters, mostly sticking with Tre Manor's Red Box Games ones.

I was lucky in his first one as I went for models which worked well in the Trollforged material so I got my pledge on time. I know others waited a very long time for theirs, but AFAIK Tre made good on all the pledges despite losing a fair bit of money on that first KS.

I backed his Goblin/Dwarf/Orc KS and am delighted with the end result, and I backed his Norse Warriors and Aenglish/Brigands KS due to that and am equally pleased with them. I figure I'll be happy with what I get from his current one too.

Apart from my RBG fanboyism, I've only backed Realm Works, which I found a bit disappointing actually, and Dungeon Saga. Dungeon Saga is my first Mantic KS, and I hope it doesn't disappoint!

I think I've been pretty lucky so far not to hit any major snags in my KSing. I'm planning a pledge for Maelstrom's Edge too, just a bit worried that it seems quite pricey at present for what you get.

From a business POV, I agree with KS as ideal for the minis games niche. As a game manufacturer, it's really hard to estimate demand, whether you'll get $250k or $1.2M. If you plan on $250k sales, you leave a ton of money on the table by not having the product to full the extra $1M while the game is hot. If you plan on $1.2M, but the market isn't there, you're bankrupt. As a VC, you'd never invest in such a risky proposition. Matching demand with funding, on what amounts to produce-on-demand is a genius fit for minis games.

I have stopped backing Kickstarter projects, initially I backed the a couple via from Mantic namely Kings of War 1 and Deadzone.

Both were delivered in a timely manner, especially in the world of kickstarter. However the majority of the quality from the fantasy KS was terrible in terms of sculpts and materials. Resin plastic is a big no-no for me, yes it is cheap but the mould lines just kill it for me.I was actually far more pleased with Deadzone in terms of miniatures and the game.

I think what has turned me off them is you pay $XXX up front and wait anywhere from 6 months to 2/3+ years for a product of unknown quality to turn up. I just prefer to spend my hobby dollar on a product I can buy direct in my FLGS or order online and have within a week, and I am far more certain of what I am getting.

Obviously this means that some new games and ideas may not get funded but then again there is no certainty that any game will have a community to play it in. Take Sedition Wars as an example, I assume the player base for that is miniscule? Ultimately backers of Sedition Wars are left with a product that most people were unhappy with and with no-one to play against.

That said if a truly ground breaking game or deal comes along...I may just have to back it.

 carlos13th wrote:
O-umajirushi: 17th Century Samurai Heraldry book. Very nice PDF received.

Thanks for mentioning this, I've not heard about it before. Will make a good addition to my Samurai reference material.

 durecellrabbit wrote:

 carlos13th wrote:
O-umajirushi: 17th Century Samurai Heraldry book. Very nice PDF received.

Thanks for mentioning this, I've not heard about it before. Will make a good addition to my Samurai reference material.

Very welcome. Yeah with that book and the steel fist kickstarter its clear I like Samurai.

Do you have a thread with your samurai stuff in it? Love to see other samurai.

 carlos13th wrote:
Very welcome. Yeah with that book and the steel fist kickstarter its clear I like Samurai.

Do you have a thread with your samurai stuff in it? Love to see other samurai.

I've not started painting mine yet , hope to start this month.

Please share when you do. I really need to crack on with mine. Been collecting them for years but hardly done any painting. That said ive nearly finished a ronin buntai which will end up in my hobby blog soon

For the past 3 years I've I backed 3-5 projects a year, most averaging around $50 or less.

Haven't been burned and have always been pleased with the results. I'll probably continue to participate athe same as long as projects by reputable entities arise that present the kind of great bargains.

Are there any decent looking action RPG video games going right now? Something like Diablo or Champions of Norrath style? I could kill for something like that. Bonus points if it's on iOS.

Wow, Zombicide 4 looks really nice, better, in fact, than the modern stuff. The heroes are far more characterful than what I had expected, and the monsters are amazing.

But then, I already have 2 sets of Zombicide that I hardly play. Probably best not to drop another $100+ on this.

https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1400234689

Too lazy to list them all, and plum on a mobile right now, so there's just a link to my profile.

I've(and my wife) have been satisfied with the kickstarters we've backed for the most part, with the exception of I Fight Dragons(late, band almost broke up, meh rewards), Felic knights which was delayed and the PVC didn't take well to the faction I selected(plus a few other hangups with the delivery of my pledge), and Fubar(mostly just me, I was dissatisfied with what I received in terms of quality.

The biggest change I've done is I've been waiting until the 48 hour notice before I back. A year ago I would hop right in at the beginning(although that may have a lot to do with early birds). My spending has stayed about the same.

Wife? So the panties aren't for you?

Was Tanto Cuore for you, or for here? pervert.

How's Mecha Front, rules-wise?
____

I'm just ribbing you - I know KS does things besides miniatures boardgames.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
Wife? So the panties aren't for you?

Was Tanto Cuore for you, or for here? pervert.

How's Mecha Front, rules-wise?
____

I'm just ribbing you - I know KS does things besides miniatures boardgames.

TBH I'm waiting on the rules to be finalized before I bother looking too deeply at them. I hear good things though when I bother to browse the forums. The Mecha are awesome.

As for what belongs to who regarding Tanto Cuore and the panties, I'll never tell.

Given Zombicide's success, I think a lot of people are fibbing with the poll results in this thread (I voted holding steady, for the record, although the dollar amount I've been able to put towards campaigns has gone down a bit even if I'm not backing less of them total).

I dunno. I think it's entirely possible that CMoN is getting more money out of a shrinking pie.

Zombicide 4: Black Plague will get a lot of money, because CMoN has a solid track record delivering Zombicide, and the base buy-in is only $100. But that's just one thing.

If you go back to 2013/2014, a lot of less solid KS were launched to big dollars and shaky delivery. In 2015, I think backers are somewhat more reluctant to "gamble", Conan excepted. Look at MEdge - if that had launched back in 2013, I think it would have pulled a *lot* more funding.

IMO, that's a healthy thing that backers are looking at KS with a little more skepticism, and funneling more dollars toward companies with a track record vs random stuff.

I can't remember what I voted now but I appear to be holding steady for projects backed halfway through the year. I backed 10 projects last year and 5 to date this year. But my average spend has increased this year. DZ:I, Myth and Zc:BP have(or will be) larger than average pledges I had some small ones last year to bring the average down.

My only other planned ones this year are The Others and Warpath if it happens in 2015. I'm sure I'll find 3 more to match last year

I've only backed one thing on Kickstarter (not wargames related, it was the Goat Mug). I don't mind Kickstarter in general but I do feel there's a bit of an over saturation of tabletop gaming stuff on there. There are a couple I wish I'd backed though (Kingdom Death off the top of my head).

My KS spend is definitely down for this year to date.

I'm still interested in the Others, and I've got a reminder set for Black Plague. I'll probably assess at that point.

Definitely slowing down, most of the kickstarters (Gaming and otherwise) I've backed have been a disappointment:

Trollforged Assimilation Alien Host - my first big KS, backed at Queen l;evel when I just started my new job and met a cute girl there. I'm now one of the veterans of my department and Ive moved in with her. Don't at all care about this one

Dreamforge Games - Backed small, delivered ridiculously late. By the time my 15mm Mortis and claw were delivered I'd managed to get the 28mm one cheaper in a sale.

Heresy Miniatures - I have every confidence this will deliver, it's just taking a while. I can redeem my pledge almost any time I want

Things I decided not to back:

Maelstrom's Edge: Not inspired by the setting or the models, and the intrusive Dakka ads were the final nail

Infernal: Recommended to me by an old friend at Salute, but he's also involved in MEdge. Kinda doubt his judgement now

I don't back kickstarters. Being Australian, the exchange rates and postage on most the things I'd like to buy would ruin me.
If some of the things I want ever make it to stores, which I highly doubt, I'll get them. Alot tho, seem to want to cut out the retail middlemen and sell via kickstarter only which disappoints me as flgs are where people who dont frequent kickstarter or forums like Dakka might actually find them.

Kickstarter exclusives also annoy the hell out of me. I view them as worst than day one DLC. For example, characters that are discontinued before the retail release of a game drives me mad. Its literally Day Zero OOP DLC.

Kickstarter has been pretty much overrun at this point.

It's honestly not exactly what it started out as, and is progressively getting to the point where I expect the IRS to get involved in the future.

Backed... a lot.


Biggest beef I've had with KS is their ZERO accountability to the projects, or the creators.

I could tell you all I'm going to do a live action pin up game, and you can buy a live model for 1 million dollars, and she will come over to your house, and you pay me, and no one shows, and nothing happens. I walk away with 100 million and you just walk away butt hurt.


My second beef is at how everyone, creator and funders, get caught up in their own BS and the project morphs into a BS sandwich.

I understand the need to add on, stretch goals, and the general " Send me munnies!!!, but to outright lie, give false goals, and then later to eventually ignore the project and hope people go away, You have to throw the BS flag on the play at one point.

Easiest way to avoid delays, and BS? Stop overselling and promising more then you can deliver. State a project, have 2 or three good solidly planned goals, and call it a day.

Get the project out and done. 3 years to wait for a couple of figures is BS.


I have stopped backing KS projects at this point. My last couple of experiences pushed me away.

I want to fund, but they do not want to finish projects. Giving money away at this point for failure is not in the discussion.

 Grot 6 wrote:
I could tell you all I'm going to do a live action pin up game, and you can buy a live model for 1 million dollars, and she will come over to your house, and you pay me, and no one shows, and nothing happens. I walk away with 100 million and you just walk away butt hurt..

Until someone goes the legal route to recover their money, as ripped-off investors have been doing since long before Kickstarter was a thing. Your legal beef is with the fraudster, not the building that they were standing in when they sold you their scheme.

 Trondheim wrote:
Why anyone is willing to just throw money at these tings is beyound me.

Because money!

As a bucket-o-mini's backer, KS is one of the best ways to get a huge number of mini's for armies, collecting, painting, etc. For non-boardgame miniatures, the alternative is either to pay full MSRP plus shipping from the manufacturer's website, or hunt and search for miniatures from various OLGS's and still pay shipping. With package deals like Reaper or even miniatures boardgames like Zombicide, you can get a bucketload of good mini's for a good value. Furthermore, as the KS market matures, you can find companies that won't delay your order by several months.

I don't back boardgames, video games, product design, etc. because I can get them retail at a good discount, or don't play or need them. I expect to do a fair amount of research into companies whose products I'm interested in, so if I'm lukewarm about a product or if it's not a good value, I'm not motivated to do the research I believe I need, so don't go through with the pledge. If a company is risky (eg. a first project by a new creator), I risk much less money than on a company with a track record, and assume the product will be delivered a year or so late. I also look for the pledge sweet spot, usually pledging less than the backer average (few add-ons).

I see waiting and delays as an irritation rather than a deal-breaker, so I'm very satisfied with the KS I've selected to back. Only one project may not deliver, I knew it was risky, so I only put $25 into it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Grot 6 wrote:
Biggest beef I've had with KS is their ZERO accountability to the projects, or the creators.

That's why you do your research. It's still riskier than retail, but if it's a creator's first project, and you can't find a history of them delivering product at a retail level, either don't back them, or don't risk much money.

If it's too good to be true, and you don't think a creator can fulfill the project, skip it. It's tempting, but you'll find another project to spend your money on.

I got carried away at the beginning, and since then, nothing's tempted me enough.

I can see how the progress of the JDMG Kickstarter could annoy some backers. Personally, while I'm still waiting for a couple of things (Pat Wagon, ABC Warriors, biker gang), I'm already ahead of the game; I've got more than my money's worth, including a few items that weren't originally part of the pledge.

I knew I'd never get to play Ogre; I just wanted a big shiny thing.

Sedition Wars, Relic Knights and Arena Rex simply took too long; by the time they arrived, no-one was interested in playing, and the actual quality of a lot of the miniatures in the first two were short of what was expected. At least Studio McVey still sells the resin models that inspired the game; last I checked, all the metal and resin Relic Knights models from Soda Pop have been replaced by the plastics.

I was most pleased with the Indiegogo campaigns from Freebooter MIniatures and Zenit MIniatures; I think that's because they weren't so ambitious, so they didn't spiral out of control.

I'm still waiting for the Wargods of Olympus minis; I chose one of the factions that would be produced later, unfortunately; if I'd chosen a different faction I might have my stuff by now.

Ultimately, I got tired of the massive lead times. Now, I'll just wait until the products are properly for sale and buy 'em then.

KD - nothing yet
CMON rum and bones - refunded due to the poor quality of sculpting

RH 1 - nothing
RH2 - nothing yet

I have some RPG stuff that was sent but it's basically been late

Indiegogo

willy miniatures - Amazon, - sent within 2 weeks of providing details

Willy minis - goblin - sent within a week of the campaign ending

Willy minis - vampire - sent during the campaign.

In the next few months, it looks like I'll receive:
- Super Dungeon Explore : Forgotten King wave 2/2 (Jul)
- Journey : Wrath of Demons wave 1/2 (Sep?)
- Kingdom Death : Monster wave 1/2 (Sep?)
- Blood Rage wave 1/2 (Sep)

If all goes well, KD:M and BR waves 2/2 could ship this year, closing out both projects.

While there are still interesting projects out there, with all of the stuff coming, on top of the stuff I have, I'm leaning even more toward not adding to the pile.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

BeAfraid wrote:
For what it is worth, Entreprenuerial and Venture Capitalist professional Journals rate Kickstarter, overall, as being overrated.

They say that for known companies funding vanity or boutique projects, it can hardly be beat (which is what Game Companies are).

But for unknown ventures, less than 18% of all Campaigns get funding, and a HUGE proportions of those never deceiver (over 80%) on their claimed investments.

So... Gaming is well ahead of the curve, and Kickstarter seems tailor made for this sort of venture (what Enterprise and Ventue Capitalists term "Boutique" industries, catering to hobbyists and collectors).

For the gaming industry, though... It is likely that KS is all most will ever need.

MB

For those who haven't seen the article, this is a good read. In particular, I liked the take from the Warton prof:

"Mollick takes the opposite stance. "I'm impressed so many things get delivered at all," he told Ars.

While Kickstarter projects' delivery rate seems unreliable, it's significantly better than businesses that operate from venture funding. When investors take on new products or businesses, they are operating on the idea that maybe one in ten will be a big hit, a couple will be modest successes, and the rest will fail, Mollick tells Ars. In that light, the delivery rate of Kickstarter projects is significantly higher if any portion of the delayed projects end up delivering."

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/06/worth-the-wait-inside-kickstarters-world-of-delays/


I'm of largely similar mind. I am always delighted when things start to deliver, because it means my money wasn't stolen or wasted. By the end of this year, I could potentially realize 90+% of my dollar spend delivered, 90+% of it meeting (or exceeding) original expectations. If that happens, it will have completely validated Kickstarter for me.

A few weeks passed and things are arriving:
- SDE:FK wave 2 arrived on July 15,
- J:WoD wave 1 arrived on Aug 9

A couple other KS are prepping for initial delivery:
- KD:M wave 1 is on the water for potential Sep/Oct shipment, with wave 2 looking late Q4;
- Blood Rage is kitting prior to putting things on boats next month, so Oct delivery is likely.

Assuming KD:M 1 & BR deliver, my situation will be like this:
- Ogre DE stretch goals,
- Robotech wave 2,
- Journey wave 2,
- Kingdom Death wave 2
- Conan

With all of the stuff arriving ad inbound, I passed on Ninja All Stars and Zombicide BP, ignoring Bones 3 entirely. With KD:M finally delivering and giant Monsters queued up, I'm even cooling on the Others.

The steel fist kickstarter just arrived for me which is nice.

Still waiting on Kingdom Death myself, plus I caved in and pledged $112 for the Reaper Bones 3 KS.

I think the second Bombshell kickstarter is happening later this year as well, so if the sculpts aren't as mediocre as some of the more recent releases, I will most certainly pledge.