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I think it's very clear now that Hawk are a company that puts cash before customers. No one can claim they are the nice little community orientated games company. They have known for a long time they where going to struggle despatching pledges. Rather than do the right thing and reach out to a specialised fulfilment company for advice they have decided to fit it in between packing and producing retail knowing full well it will make the situation worse just to take more cash in. They have known for a very long time they where going to screw people and they simply don't care.

Thebiggesthat wrote:
Just a reminder that Kickstarter isn't a pre order service. Please desist from using it in future if this is your expectation.

I presume that Hawk will desist from repeatedly making promises that they can't keep in future then? That is really the issue here, although the sheer length of time it is taking Hawk to deliver pledges is starting to take the piss at this stage.

Thebiggesthat wrote:
Just a reminder that Kickstarter isn't a pre order service. Please desist from using it in future if this is your expectation.

You paid to get a game made, and in return you have been given content at a reduced rate. Enjoy.

However adding a Starter Fleet to your KS Pledge was 4 cents MORE than what I paid at Spiel in Essen in OCTOBER. And my pledge hasn't arrived weeks later.

UNCLEBADTOUCH wrote:
I think it's very clear now that Hawk are a company that puts cash before customers. No one can claim they are the nice little community orientated games company. They have known for a long time they where going to struggle despatching pledges. Rather than do the right thing and reach out to a specialised fulfilment company for advice they have decided to fit it in between packing and producing retail knowing full well it will make the situation worse just to take more cash in. They have known for a very long time they where going to screw people and they simply don't care.

A few things here. And as a note, I don't have my 500$ commodore pledge yet myself.

If you want to get pissy about their company and say they only care about money, go play a Games workshop game. I am pissed its taken so long, but your quite wrong.

They do have retailer contracts they must keep. They can delay them a bit, but at the end of the day it has to happen. Why? Because if they don't fill the retail orders, retailers wont carry their product. No product is no sales, no sales is Hawk is a dead company and your DFC and DZC is a dead game.

Dave really does care. I've spoken to him at Gencon and there's nothing more he wants then happy players. Why do you think they fix and balance rules so much? He was on CAD for 16 hours a day during the creation of DFC, that's a good bit of dedication to the game.

Yea, they screwed up bad on this KS. I personally hope they never do a KS again, but they are not money grabbing thiefs (See reference games workshop).

Take your rage elsewhere please, or back it up with facts.

And for all that is good in this world, people need to stop saying "you get so much stuff for a reduced price". You can literally get all of DFC 25% off retail which is so close to what you get for the pledge amount its not funny.

@stroodles I have reported your personal attack

UNCLEBADTOUCH wrote:
@stroodles I have reported your personal attack

Him disagreeing with you is and your opinion is not a personal attack dude.

Let's take it down a notch in this thread - Rule #1 on Dakka is "Be Polite."

Please stick to discussing the topic, not the posters - people are entitled to different views as long as they are expressed politely.

Thanks all

---

On a personal note, I actually had the opposite experience with Hawk previously - Miniature Market cancelled and refunded a huge DzC order of mine because they couldn't get stock after a long delay. It could be that Hawk is trying to avoid another such outcome... but obviously no one's happy about the situation

Just hang in there a bit longer, and hopefully they will update thoroughly on their progress again this week (which was lacking before but they've finally realized they need to do).

Vejut wrote:
Warstore is shipping battleships. Mine should be to me the third, roommates is scheduled to arrive today.

I suspected that they would reach retail before I got my KS pledge. Still not even an email notification.

 RiTides wrote:
Let's take it down a notch in this thread - Rule #1 on Dakka is "Be Polite."

Please stick to discussing the topic, not the posters - people are entitled to different views as long as they are expressed politely.

Thanks all

---

On a personal note, I actually had the opposite experience with Hawk previously - Miniature Market cancelled and refunded a huge DzC order of mine because they couldn't get stock after a long delay. It could be that Hawk is trying to avoid another such outcome... but obviously no one's happy about the situation

Just hang in there a bit longer, and hopefully they will update thoroughly on their progress again this week (which was lacking before but they've finally realized they need to do).

To be fair, it's not like Hawk hasn't had stock issues in the past.

I have to say that it is getting a little annoying. I was a late backer and as such basicly paid retail but got the exclusives and told i would get it month or so before retail.
As such I was ok with delays and did not even complain when the inital KS stock was diverted to retail. I was less impressed.by the months of radio silence despite them having to have known they were going to break there promise.
Now they are talking but mostly providing bs excuses and half truths, the whole only 200 only left to pack ignoring that they still had not posted the previous 800 packages.
Now my lfg has battleships and launch assets and I have didley squat. The local scene is starting to cool due to Shiltari fatigue and I could be stuck with a dead game by the time Hawk decides to provide my paid for goods without diverting them to store for another pay day.

My problem is that after being hyped from the end of the Kickstarter to the fulfilment date, that hype has been steadily dropping for several months... to the point where I've basically moved on to other stuff, started projects I wouldn't have started had I got my DFC stuff, put money into other things that are getting me hyped... there's not much excitement left in me for DFC.

Lets see if the 4 battleships I just ordered from the UK will arrive before my pledge shipping notice arrives

nekooni wrote:
Lets see if the 4 battleships I just ordered from the UK will arrive before my pledge shipping notice arrives

At this point I'm no longer wondering if I'm getting my pledge before Christmas (I'm betting after the New Year), so put me down for "battleships first"

nedTCM wrote:

 JOHIRA wrote:

Thebiggesthat wrote:
Just a reminder that Kickstarter isn't a pre order service. Please desist from using it in future if this is your expectation.

You paid to get a game made, and in return you have been given content at a reduced rate. Enjoy.

Can we please kill this meme? When the company promises you will get the product before launch if you support the Kickstarter, they are claiming to be a pre-order service. I realize in our nerd subcultures there's all kinds of tendency to blindly support the company that sells what we buy, but you are allowed to think Dropfleet is a good game without telling everyone who is unhappy with their service that it's somehow the customers' fault.

I think it is worth saying that there is a bit of leeway a KS deserves to accomplish these goals.

I've got no problem with anyone who wants to give them leeway. All businesses make promises sometimes, all businesses fail to deliver those promises sometimes, and customers all over the world choose to give businesses a little bit of leeway at their discretion because we're all human and we all understand that mistakes happen sometimes. But we all get to personally decide what the limits of our leeway are. If I go to a fancy restaurant, maybe I'm okay waiting 30 minutes for my meal to be delivered without the manager coming out, explaining the situation, apologizing, and giving me a voucher. But my being okay with it doesn't mean that you have to be. And if you're unhappy with your service and instead of mustering up some basic sympathy for you, I try to silence your complaints by saying you shouldn't have gone to a fancy restaurant if you wanted your food in a timely manner, that's pretty terrible of me.

No one should be blaming the customers for Hawk not fulfilling their promises.

 JOHIRA wrote:

I've got no problem with anyone who wants to give them leeway. All businesses make promises sometimes, all businesses fail to deliver those promises sometimes, and customers all over the world choose to give businesses a little bit of leeway at their discretion because we're all human and we all understand that mistakes happen sometimes. But we all get to personally decide what the limits of our leeway are. If I go to a fancy restaurant, maybe I'm okay waiting 30 minutes for my meal to be delivered without the manager coming out, explaining the situation, apologizing, and giving me a voucher. But my being okay with it doesn't mean that you have to be. And if you're unhappy with your service and instead of mustering up some basic sympathy for you, I try to silence your complaints by saying you shouldn't have gone to a fancy restaurant if you wanted your food in a timely manner, that's pretty terrible of me.

No one should be blaming the customers for Hawk not fulfilling their promises.

Yea I wasn't disagreeing with you.

I was pointing out it is cool to be upset and that some problems are understandable especially with kickstarter, but Hawk has been past that point for a while.

Backer 54, Commodore, still angrily awaiting my pledge.

Commodore pledge, no ship notification. Emailed Hawk, they said it is "processing". Sigh.

I got my Commodore stuff last week, but I really did not dig not into it deep because I am painting Burning of Prospero stuff right now. Perhaps I will take a closer look at everything at the weekend. Hopefully everybody gets their pledges soon!

 Mymearan wrote:
My problem is that after being hyped from the end of the Kickstarter to the fulfilment date, that hype has been steadily dropping for several months... to the point where I've basically moved on to other stuff, started projects I wouldn't have started had I got my DFC stuff, put money into other things that are getting me hyped... there's not much excitement left in me for DFC.

That's largely my problem, as well. I've backed a lot of KS projects, not all of them games, so I'm definitely used to late fulfillment (and, sadly, even no fulfillment). This one has slid from "I can't wait to get it" to "eh, it'll get here when it gets here".

That's kind of been the tragedy of many KS projects I think. By the time the product arrives there have usually been a half-dozen missteps and enthusiasm has cratered. That there are delays is to be expected even from a normal business; I usually mention that FFG's announcements are usually about a quarter off from when the product is actually delivered. I do believe there's something of a disconnect between backers and creators on what should happen when things go wrong. Most creators treat it like run-of-the-mill and don't say anything, because these things happen. It would appear in their mind these people are consumers just like any other, and sausage-making is not discussed with consumers.

I personally don't think that's a great model for a KS, though there's obviously a balance between that and full daily disclosure to maintain interest. Being treated as just another wallet is probably a dumb way to approach people who are willing to extend faith to a company. Between the communications failures and the obvious logistical issues that have plagued them, let's hope Hawk is at least smart and can learn from their mistakes since they opted not to be wise and learn them from someone else.

Sorry to hear that some of you guys are still waiting. It seems I was lucky to have received my shipment when I did, although I only pledged for the 2 Player Starter Set.

As a side note, in 2014 I pre-ordered a resistance army from Hawk directly. By early October I hadn't received any notification of its whereabouts. I decided to shoot them an email, and did so again ten days later after having read a forum post requesting the same to be done - I received a reply to both of those messages.

A month then passed, still without any news. It seemed that many people had received their sets already, so I tried again. Almost immediately I received a very apologetic email, and then my parcel was delivered very quickly thereafter. They also included a free Fire Wagons blister and a note, which was nice.

Not that this relates to this Kickstarter, but I suppose it shows that they do care. They're really nice models by the way... awaiting a coat of paint, some day

Edit: grammar.

Another week, still no shipment or even email notice.

I was actually one of the very first backers to this kickstarter. Still have not received anything, including a shipping email. I ordered a 2-up, battleship, and even other things. I am somewhat disappointed that I will not receive it before Christmas.

What email address are you all using? I tried contacting them through the Kickstarter and never received a reply.

At this point, I just want to know if they have even sent it yet. Packages are being stolen locally, and it would help to know whether mine has already gone missing or when I should keep an eye out.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
What email address are you all using? I tried contacting them through the Kickstarter and never received a reply.

At this point, I just want to know if they have even sent it yet. Packages are being stolen locally, and it would help to know whether mine has already gone missing or when I should keep an eye out.

They are shipped with a signature requirement that cannot be waived. So the only way it could be 'stolen' is if the delivery person delivered it to the wrong address and someone there signed for it. In the US at least they are shipped via UPS so you can set up a UPS 'My Choice' account and you will get a notification from UPS when something is headed to your address whether the shipper gives you one or not.

I can confirm that mine (UPS Worldwide Expedited, delivery to Richmond, VA) required a signature before it could be released.

That puts my mind at ease considerably. Thanks, guys!

I wouldn't even mind if they moved my shipment to the end of the queue to get everyone else theirs that much sooner, just so long as I know for sure it will arrive at all.

Also got mine via UPS that needed a sig, even though I said on my account to skip the sig.

You can also pay 8$ to have it arrive in a window when you think youll be home. So instead of 9 to 1 PM, I paid 8 bucks to get it from 9-11, which it came shortly after 9

str00dles1 wrote:
You can also pay 8$ to have it arrive in a window when you think youll be home. So instead of 9 to 1 PM, I paid 8 bucks to get it from 9-11, which it came shortly after 9

You have to pay extra for that? Here in Japan all the delivery companies just do it for free.

More on topic, I've finally found the time to crack open a couple sprues, and while the designs are good, the gates seem unusually thick to me. So much so that on smaller parts like UCM gun turrets I struggle to cut them without bending the piece. Also I have the habit of trimming off unused parts of sprue as I go to keep my bits box as small as possible, but for the first time I've ever seen the frame parts of the sprue are so thick that my cutters can't open wide enough to get around them.

 JOHIRA wrote:

str00dles1 wrote:
You can also pay 8$ to have it arrive in a window when you think youll be home. So instead of 9 to 1 PM, I paid 8 bucks to get it from 9-11, which it came shortly after 9

You have to pay extra for that? Here in Japan all the delivery companies just do it for free.

More on topic, I've finally found the time to crack open a couple sprues, and while the designs are good, the gates seem unusually thick to me. So much so that on smaller parts like UCM gun turrets I struggle to cut them without bending the piece. Also I have the habit of trimming off unused parts of sprue as I go to keep my bits box as small as possible, but for the first time I've ever seen the frame parts of the sprue are so thick that my cutters can't open wide enough to get around them.

I clipped off all extra bits with the P3 clippers. It does almost look like it wont fit but for those it cuts it well