JOHIRA wrote:
So at this point is there anyone left whose hasn't been shipped out?

"Update #59 For backers only.

Dear Backers

I am writing to you on behalf of the whole team at Hawk Wargames, who have been working incredibly hard to get the pledges out.

Firstly, we realise we have let people down: the delay in the delivery, the release of the first wave of Dropfleet Commander into retail before dispatching all pledges, and the poor communication.

We want to address a few questions that people have had, or issues that have been raised. Some of these should have been communicated before, and others are only able to be seen on reflection:

1. Real numbers: we have around 550 pledges left to pack, and another 180 (on top of this that are already packed) left to process for shipping. We expect, based on our rate of between 110-250 packed pledges per day, that we should be able to finalise all packing this coming week. We will put out another update with the revised numbers that need packing and shipping at the end of this week.

2. The process of shipping is not as simple as we had previously intended. This is the first time we have ever managed a dispatch process of this scale, and a number of things have not gone to plan during this process, including:

The system we used for processing addresses and pledges was not suitable for the scale of this Kickstarter. This has led to us having to process every pledge manually, therefore adding considerable time to the shipping process.
The process for entering addresses into our courier system did not work effectively, and all our information is being added manually to create labels and shipping forms suitable for every shipment, again which has added to the delays.
There are a number of shipping and address queries that have not been resolved which are delaying a few pledges being sent out. We will be contacting some backers regarding these in the coming week.
3. We will be doing a full review of this Kickstarter once we have dispatched every pledge.

4. Our Team: We have 6 members of our own team who have been regularly packing and shipping pledges since we have started this process, along with another 4 members of staff who were doing regular pre-packing of sets and rewards. This left the Hawk Wargames team with only one member of staff to manage all communication to backers, along with all normal customer service communication. When we began the packing process, there was such a large amount of pre-packed product that we only had space to create two packing stations in our warehouse for boxing the pledges. This is why the progress was slower early on, but as we processed more and more of the pledges, we were able to create more packing stations, and therefore pack pledges at a higher rate.

5. Why weren’t we at Warfare 2016 in Reading? We decided, very late on and with very little notice, that we were not going to attend this event to ensure that as many of the team as possible could keep packing and dispatching pledges. This was a difficult decision to make, especially as we had a Dropzone Commander tournament at the event, and it was deeply regrettable that we have put ourselves in this situation, however we are committed to doing everything we can to get all the pledges out as quickly as possible.

6. The lack of communication is the most significant part of this Kickstarter process that we are aware of our mistakes and have learnt a lot from. Going forward we are aware that we need to commit to this more, and will be making every effort to give more time to communication to you all, (so long as it does not significantly negatively impact on the packing and shipping of pledges).

The final thing is to apologise once more for the delays in backers’ pledges, for the lack of more regular and transparent communication, and for the retail release of wave 1 before all pledges were sent out to backers. We are confident in the quality of the game and in what we have produced, and this has always been the priority for everyone at Hawk Wargames in the creation of Dropfleet Commander.

You shall hear from us again in an update at the end of this coming week.

Kind regards

Hawk Louis, on behalf of The Hawk Wargames Team"

 Mymearan wrote:
That's a good, honest update. Wish they'd said that stuff before!

 RiTides wrote:
I think they're doing awesome, but given the posts here I think it's much higher than 15% that don't yet have their items. My understanding from the update is that they're almost done packing... but I don't think that translates into being done shipping.

Most people I've spoken to haven't received their items yet... I'm glad I have, but it can't just be anecdotal - they've got a ways to go on shipping yet! However, the fact that this update was so open and they're making another at the end of the week is a fantastic sign. People just want communication, I think, and to know if they should be on the lookout / etc!

RoninXiC wrote:
I am also still waiting. Nothing so far. Man, I only wanted a basic two Player Set... This is so annoying.

nedTCM wrote:

 RiTides wrote:
I think they're doing awesome, but given the posts here I think it's much higher than 15% that don't yet have their items. My understanding from the update is that they're almost done packing... but I don't think that translates into being done shipping.

Most people I've spoken to haven't received their items yet... I'm glad I have, but it can't just be anecdotal - they've got a ways to go on shipping yet! However, the fact that this update was so open and they're making another at the end of the week is a fantastic sign. People just want communication, I think, and to know if they should be on the lookout / etc!

I am one of the ones still waiting.

One of the things I think a lot didn't understand is just how small Hawk really is. In the last post they finally show that when he mentioned there was essentially one dude in the office running the company which means answering a crap ton of emails, dealing with distributors and other companies, managing events, and keeping the ship moving forward.

The last email message we got would have been sent at 3 AM UK time. They have probably all been really busting their asses non stop to get orders shipped. Getting 4k boxes moved was always going to be a huge hurdle even without all the problems they have faced. Getting them all packed away though makes things significantly easier and stuff will ship much quicker now. I bet we will probably see all boxes hitting shipment right around friday or next week.

It has been and continues to be frustrating because it is one of those hey this isn't really one of my problems things. Their plan to get everyone's stuff to them was obviously a dud. However, I am still a big fan of Hawk and I will continue to be because of everything they have already done.

Once we get to next week it is likely we will see the website get changed and the game finally getting properly promoted. It is going to be exciting!

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I was planning to buy more once my KS rewards came in and I could get a feel for which sprues had the best kitbashing potential, but the project is so delayed that I'm now interested in GW products again, and will probably just kitbash some Nid and Eldar bits into spaceships to scratch that itch. Will. Ever buy the DFC station sprues? It depends on if my hobby ADD comes back to DFC before the BFG reboot comes out.