Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Late Kickstarter Update

I think it's about time for my quarterly Kickstarter Update.  I'm going to talk more about the later projects than about the ones that are only a little late or are on time.

Here's where I stand in terms of the gaming Kickstarters that I've backed that may or may not be late:

Unfulfilled and Late/Delayed
Powerchords - Still late. This is my longest outstanding project, having funded on October 1, 2010. We had three December updates after two November updates after ... a July update.  The author has been giving refunds to backers who asked for them, and he's been a generally pleasant person all around, so I'm willing to wait it out at this point.

Far West - Still late. For many Kickstarter-aware backers, this has become the poster child for late projects. I am the villain who went to his local Attorney General to get his refund. You may have read about me in an update or some comments. I received a partial refund (I'm now a digital-only backer, so I'll eventually get that PDF).  We were told to expect Chapter Nine "by Christmas," which hasn't happened. We were told to expect the finished product by the end of January.  I'm not holding my breath. The author has continued to be confrontational in tone when dealing with backers, and I don't think we'll ever see this.

The +5 Food of Eating Cookbook - I think I've mentioned this before. I've written it off, really. We have the PDF, but the print version is not coming. The author has dropped off the face of the earth. Which is always sad.

Synnibarr - Raven c.s. McCracken continues his show.  I have one PDF. Out of three coming. And three hardcover books which are due.  And he doesn't update on Kickstarter. He updates on Facebook. Sometimes in the Synnibarr community and sometimes in his personal FB page. Original due date: December 2013.  I think we probably have a longer wait coming for this.

Alas, Vegas - A number of people are angry or upset about this one and its delays.  I'm not one of them. James Wallis may release late, but his books are nearly always worth the wait.

Tales From the Floating Vagabond - This was an easy sell for me. TFFV was one of the best comedy games ever released. I'm starting to doubt I'll see a finished print copy, which is a shame. But - again - I'm not angry or upset about this one.  It'll arrive when it's done. Or not.  

Fae Nightmares - I've had the PDF since September of 2014, but the PDF is not currently available on DTRPG. It's still in my library, but I can't point it out to folks. I know that one of the project creators has had some health problems, and that's probably delaying the release of the print edition.

TimeWatch - Will be here when it gets here. It's a GUMSHOE game, and I do love the system (and I've enjoyed it when I've been able to play), it's not an easy sell for some groups for long-term play. I'll mostly be stealing ideas from it for other things. Because that is what I do with most games these days.

Mobile Frame Zero: Alpha Bandit - I received "final notice" to make sure my shipping address was up-to-date, so this will probably be in my hands soon.

13th Age in Glorantha - They keep giving us playtest PDFs that contain a class or a race or other bits and pieces. No idea when the final finished PDF (or print) will be out, though.

Demon Hunters - I've got my PDF. We had an update the other day. The POD version is going to be available to us soon. I may have my code before this post goes live. Original due date: July 2015.

Esteren - Occultism - They've had to find a new printer, which caused delays. But they're continuing to progress and fight through it.

Grimtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection - I got my PDF in June. We've seen images of the production edition as recently as two weeks ago.  I'd say this is on track to be less than a year later than its July 2015 estimated date.

Short Order Heroes: Theme Packs - I still think that Short Order Heroes was one of the best projects I have ever backed. I've gotten a ton of use out of it. This is ... well, it's a matter of waiting for the artist (who is working away). I have no fear that it'll get here, though. And it's only four months late at this point.

Mare Nostrum - Empires - Original estimated date: November 2015. Again: Not concerned. This grew in scope as the project ran, but I have no fear of this failing, either.

Interestingly, there are only three other gaming projects I've backed that aren't late, yet.

Blue Rose, which takes the old d20 setting/supplement and revises to to use Green Ronin's AGE system and which isn't late yet. Mana Surge, which is a game I saw when it was still a prototype and which I'm looking forward to. Shinobigami, which is being done by the same team who did Tenra Bansho Zero and Ryuutama, so I have no fear that it will be equally as amazing.

Received Since Last Update
I'm ... I'm not sure when I last did a Kickstarter update, so here's what I've received since August of last year:

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls - It was two years late, but it's here. And it's what I'd expected (and what I backed expecting), so I have no complaints on that front.

Two Rooms and a Boom - I don't play many party games, but I'm still glad I backed this one. It's not amazing. It's not groundbreaking or earthshattering or anything, but it's fun. And, with games, that's what matters.

Ryuutama - I haven't read this one thoroughly enough, yet. But I like what I've seen so far. More detail to eventually follow.

Fantaji - I haven't even looked at this, yet. It's ... it's on my "to be read" shelf, and a lot of what I see in it is right in that sweet spot for what I'm looking for in a system, but I'm focused on other things right now.

Feng Shui - This is a time-travel John Woo-style beat 'em up game. It was awesome in its earlier edition, and it's still awesome.\

Riders: A Game About Cheating Doomsday - I really like this one. A lot. It's phenomenal. It's like In Nomine with a ton more flavor.  I should spend a weekend and type up my thoughts on this one, because it's that good.

Epic - the latest card game from the Star Realms team. I haven't even looked at the rulebook, yet. Oops.

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