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What are the benefits of these mats over my current Zuzzy mats (Don't say "rubbery smell" because mine are years old and have lost that long ago)

The question isn't meant to be confrontational, I'm just curious because my favorite part of the hobby is the look of the battlefields.

Wow. This looks really cool, but I don't know if I can swing it right now. Definitely in for a moral support pledge though.

I'm interested in the Urban one for sure. And the logo isn't a big deal for me, sheesh...

Nice, just noticed that there's a 4'x4' size listed if this gets big enough!

However, also noticed this on the main page:

We have already contracted the factory to enable the larger sized 4x6’ sized “jig” to cut the mats. We will continue to refine the current designs of the ‘Grassy Plains’ and the ‘Blast Zone’.

That certainly implies that the designs are still being finished / are not yet finalized, and so if you wanted to the logo could be removed.

There are lots of places you can place logos, heck, all over the tube it comes in, which most gamers will keep to transport it . Just a thought, from the feedback here it seems like it would be a very popular move!

I really don't see why the logo is such a big deal...

It might not be to a lot of people, but I just thought I'd mention it since it clearly bothered some. It only bothers me a little bit, but it'd certainly be nicer without it and it seems the option still exists to remove it!

It can be plastered over everything else, though, I'd gladly pimp a tube with Frontline / TableWar on it. I actually think an included sticker might make it's way onto gamer bags, etc. Just a thought, it's obviously your call to make! But for instance on a 4x4 starfield, if you got far enough to offer such a mat, I think it would probably stand out a bit to me.

I've been excited about this since I heard the rumor of it coming earlier this week!
I've signed up for the grassy plains.

Is there a way to guarantee which unlock we could get? I really like the idea of the getting the cityscape map - but I'm not so keen on the alpine map.

How dare a company put its logo on its product lol

Seriously people....have you seen how small that logo is?

How does this product do with curved edging typical in other gaming mats that roll up for storage? Or will I need to find a way to 'anchor' the edges...and if so...will the center buldge when I do so?

I haver to admit, it would have to be perfect to compete with other quick playing surfaces out there at that price point and with a logo in the corner.

Thanks for the help!

Super excited about these if they'll pan out! Probably more interested with stretch goals though.

Looks good, and my love of InControl nearly sold me on it alone, but having just spent a simply staggering amount on Kickstarter recently and with the holidays looming, I don't think I can justify another $120'ish on a mat, amazing as it appears to be.

 Kirasu wrote:
What are the benefits of these mats over my current Zuzzy mats (Don't say "rubbery smell" because mine are years old and have lost that long ago)

The question isn't meant to be confrontational, I'm just curious because my favorite part of the hobby is the look of the battlefields.

I am wondering the same thing here. Not to plug the competition but their mats are textured and cheaper without a logo. I am always looking for new gaming surfaces as well, add me into the group that is really against the logo!

This pretty sweet, I'm digging the grassland one. Perfect for Fantasy and 40k

The nerdrage over the tiny logo is hilarious.

Did you actually look st the scale shots or just jump straight into hate mode? Because that's what usually happens here.

Like many have already said, its tiny. And ive never played a game where the corñers /edges werent either flat out ignored, or covered by rulebooks. Hell, I'd just plop my Manticore over it. She never moves anyway.


The whole "suspension of disbelief" arguement is hogwash also. Tiny logo is going to break it for you? What about the 200lb nerd across the table from you? Or the dice?

Ive played games with coke bottles and magazines for terrain, yet you complain about a gorgeous printed mat over a teensy logo?

The gripe I have here is the price, the only valid complaint I see to make. Since its basically the same cost as G&G plastic board.

 HisDivineShadow wrote:
The nerdrage over the tiny logo is hilarious.

Good for you, for not being a raging nerd.

People like you are why Finecast and PVC miniatures exist. People who are satisfied with mediocrity.

Does the logo add to the gaming experience? No? Then get rid of it.

You don't care? Good for you. Others do. We've expressed our dismay while the product is still at the pre-production stage, while there's still a chance of altering it. If we can't change the creator's mind, at least we'll have tried; we then get the option of voting with our wallets. Comments like yours and the other guy somewhere above you don't add any value to the discussion, unless you happen to like having the logo on your game mat.

So what is it with the shiping costs and distribution.
Will there be a European distributor for kickstarter products?
Will it still be 15$ extra postage (per mat or per order)?

What the heck is up with the logo hate? Look at the image again.
Its looks to be 3 inches across and 1/8 inch tall. That's a total square area of 0.375 inches.
The entire mat is 60" by 48", or 2880" total.
That's 0.013% of the total area! That's like saying your car manufacture's logo on your automobile is a deal breaker.

Your not obliged to buy anything in a capitalistic society. That's one of the best things about living in one, we vote with our dollar.
However, if your using logo hate as your excuse, there is probably another reason.

At the time of this writing, me and 99 other people are very excited about this mat. The kickstarter has been active for less than two days and 1/4 of the February ones are gone. If your on the fence and want one early, I suggest getting one now before the February ones are gone.

These look really nice - I'm pledged in for one mat - but I'll say I'm really here for the Cityscape mat as that's the kind of detail I'm too lazy & unskilled to make & paint on a full board myself. So hoping that gets unlocked!

Guys, most people giving feedback about the logo have been very polite. If it doesn't bother you, that's fine, but it's totally valid for others to disagree with you.

I'm in the middle- I don't like the logo there, but it's not a huge deal. It is easy to fix, though- this isn't a preorder, it's a kickstarter and I pasted the text above where they said it is still being finalized.

The fact is, the long logo on the Sabol mat bothered people a LOT. If it didn't bother you, great, but it was an issue for many. Thus, it just makes sense that this logo will still bother some people. It's easy to change now, so it would make sense to do it, imo. If not, no worries, some folks will just go for alternatives without a logo if it's an issue to them.

But the only nerd rage I see is folks demanding that the logo bother no one

Any word if they'll do a 3'x3'? I skimmed the KS page but didn't see any mention of it.

Holy smokes, hahahaha, guys, the logo is TINY!

It is so small, no one playing on it has even noticed it. Not one, single person in the shop has noticed the logo unless we point it out to them. But different stroked for different folks, of course.

The designs are done, we are not removing the logo. Very sorry if that is a deal breaker for a few of you.

How does this compare to a Zuzzy?

A Zuzzy is latex rubber. It can tear quite easily and I frequently see that occur. Not putting it down, it is a nice product. You also have to paint it. Ours, you do not.

Ours is thicker and heavier which means you can lay it over a slightly uneven surface and you are less likely to see imperfections under the mat.

Ours also includes shipping! That is a decent chunk of the price.

You can buy a mat now to get in on the first shipment, and as designs get unlocked, you can switch to another style! So it is better to pledge early to ensure your spot in the first shipment!

Thanks for the support guys!

If no one noticed it, what's the point in having it there?

Dude, guys, hahaha, please don't get a flame war going on this thread. We really appreciate both sides of the argument but I think the points have been made and it distracts other readers that want to know about the mat.

Can't we all just get along!? =)

 Reecius wrote:
Dude, guys, hahaha, please don't get a flame war going on this thread.

This.

I've deleted some of the flamier posts so please consider that a public warning. It's okay to criticize a product but sniping back and forth and getting personal is not okay. Please remember, we're just here to have a merry old time talking about toy soldiers. Thanks!

I'm not in the market for a mat (so feel free to ignore this if you want)

but why not offer logo free versions for the KS ONLY,

this will make those who don't want one happy to buy your mat, and since you'll know exactly how many to make logo-free no real hassle for you

Then put the logo back for the retail version

 Reecius wrote:
The designs are done

Reecius, could you just clarify then- is the below info on the front page wrong, as it says the designs are still being refined?

We will continue to refine the current designs of the ‘Grassy Plains’ and the ‘Blast Zone’.

Or if they're done, maybe this was just old info, or is referring to something other than the print?

The logo is NOT a dealbreaker for me, I'm just asking . The only reason I haven't pledged yet is that, like I said, I just paid for the recent Warboard kickstarter with a similar grassy battlefield design, so I'm waiting on that. I'm sure this will do well though, already 2/3 of the way to funding!

 Reecius wrote:
Holy smokes, hahahaha, guys, the logo is TINY!

How does this compare to a Zuzzy?

A Zuzzy is latex rubber. It can tear quite easily and I frequently see that occur. Not putting it down, it is a nice product. You also have to paint it. Ours, you do not.

Ours is thicker and heavier which means you can lay it over a slightly uneven surface and you are less likely to see imperfections under the mat.

Ours also includes shipping! That is a decent chunk of the price.

You can buy a mat now to get in on the first shipment, and as designs get unlocked, you can switch to another style! So it is better to pledge early to ensure your spot in the first shipment!

Thanks for the support guys!

All fair points in comparison to Zuzzy. I don't understand the logo rage, but whatever people usually get pissed off at the tiniest things to justify NOT buying something that they probably weren't going to buy anyway. I wish I could get a lot of things without logos but I try to live in the real world, thus logos are here to stay.

I do like the grasslands and the later designs so I'll most likely pledge to this. Games and Gears stuff is cool and all, but I have plenty of flat tables and terrain so roll out boards are very useful.

@RiTides

The designs are done but the artists, being artists, keep tweaking them. The detail on the files are crazy. Could we take the logo off? Yes, but we're not =) What I mean is that the designs we want to start are done. The logo let's people know who made them, etc. And I swear, it is TINY. Most folks don't even notice it.

@Orlando

The first two designs that we have now, already are ready to print. and we don't want conflicting images and products. It will get confusing, we have to order different runs and prints at the manufacturer. We want them all to have a uniform element.

@Kirasu

Yeah, the Zuzzy is cool, I like it, ours is just significantly different in a number of ways.

And yeah, that is my sentiment, too in terms of people getting mad. Some people are reasonable about their beef which I am all ears too, some are just being negative which I largely ignore as like you said, they weren't going to buy anyway.

Glad you like it! This is going to be a nice and easy, portable product that will be easy get around and is different enough to serve a different need!

How about these questions:

 Kroothawk wrote:
So what is it with the shiping costs and distribution.
Will there be a European distributor for kickstarter products?
Will it still be 15$ extra postage (per mat or per order)?

 pretre wrote:
I really don't see why the logo is such a big deal...

For some people it isn't. For others it's a big deal or a dealbreaker.

I'll extrapolate that the people who don't mind the logo being there would also be perfectly fine if it were not there...

The tradeoff that they are taking is advertising/potential future sales versus people who would buy it but now won't. Also, as others have said, the logo could just as easily be on the packaging (a roll?) and people who own them are often capable of anwsering the question "hey, where did you get that?"

So they're choosing to lose confirmed customers now and in the future (note the retailer's experience in this thread) because of potential theoretical future sales and because Branding - despite the fact that there is nothing else exactly like this out there at the moment.



FWIW, I personally don't mind a small unobtrusive logo like theirs, but I can absolutely see where others might. I also like the look of the product - but I'm out of this anyway due to the shipping costs to AU and the timing (enough with the fething Kickstarters ending on Christmas, guys!)


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Reecius wrote:

Ours also includes shipping! That is a decent chunk of the price.

Out of interest, is that decent chunk of the price which is built into the mats to ship to US backers also being put towards shipping to AU/NZ/etc? Because often in KS and even retail, that subsidised or "free" shipping gets ignored for overseas customers and instead we end up paying full shipping costs without even getting the few bucks off shipping that would be spent on locals. It's good to see the AU shipping price dropped from $60 to $40, and I suspect that you've done some of that there - though it's sadly still too much to get on board with.

You might want to get in contact with these guys. http://www.thecombatcompany.com/
I know they're doing distribution for Secret Weapon Tablescapes (getting Aussies free shipping) and possibly the Games & Gears guys as well (not 100% on that one).
Tell 'em I sent you.

Also, please put a link to your KS in your sig!

On your podcast, you mentioned that some of the mats will have lines that line up with certain deployment types. I assume this means Dawn of War and Hammer & Anvil, but is there any way that you'll be able to include, if nothing else, some hash marks for where Vanguard Strike deployment zones belong? That would be a much bigger utility, for 40K players that is, than the other (easier to measure) deployments.