Fulfilling Reaper Bones 3: Post-Kickstarter Discussion

[ladystorm]

As a paid Reaper employee, there is a non disclosure agreement I am bound to.  There are many things that I would like to tell yall to help calm things down.  I am not authorized to do so.  I have expressed my concerns to the powers that be that communication at this juncture is just as important as every other stage of the process.

 

I would like to be able to share where we are in the process of fulfillment, but it isn't something I'm willing to become unemployed over.  I would like to be able to share that there were a few changes we didn't expect, like Canada because shipping notices have it public anyway. I would like to share that when we spend our entire work day getting orders pulled we are not on the Internet monitoring comments.  I'm on my time right now, I don't have to be here now, but I am, after my 60 hours work week, I'd like to just be a person and enjoy my life.

I am aware yall thought you'd get an update by now. I am aware yall are wondering what is going on.  I'd like to share but I'm not authorized. I know no one who has authority to share will do so on a weekend.  This is not a promise for them to do so on Monday, I can't promise any action by anyone, but myself.

 

We are ALL frustrated with this project. Tempers are escalating on all fronts. 

Please respect our forum rules and keep your posts here appropriate. 

 

I am unlocking this thread after removing the worst of the post flare up. This is the one and only reminder to follow our rules or this thread will be locked down again indefinitely. 

 

I would really like to enjoy my family this weekend, please play nice here.

 

Edit: it was pointed out that some of that made things sound like dire things happened. There was no dire this week, no bad things happened*, changes were made and everything is rolling.  Updates would be nice, it makes my life easier, but again, I'm not authorized to do that. This was the best I can give yall. 

 

*except I did accidentally cut myself with the box knife enough times to have it removed and I have fun bandages with super heroes and dragons.

Edited May 20, 2017 by ladystorm

[Knight of the Dinner Table]

Thank you ladystorm, have a nice weekend (as somebody who takes most of his work home over the weekends - and not by choice - , I fully understand when people do not and will not work on the weekends).

 

I guess everyone would have liked an update ... there is none, so we don't know anything (which makes some of us jump to conclusions).

 

What I know and what conclusions I'm jumping to ...

 

- Reaper has never disappointed me as a company. I might not have liked one thing or the other, but I could see the reasons for certain decisions and I could understand.

- I'm pretty sure that again I will be able to see the reasons and understand as soon as there is an update because I'm also pretty sure Reaper will explain what happened.

- And this I definitely know: They are not staying silent out of spite ... there are reasons.

[Disciple of Sakura]

16 hours ago, NecroMancer said:

Not trying to get anyone mad or anything especially since I am not invested in this KS but it seems like everyone is worked up to just open their box of minis and stick it on the shelf.

 

Is anyone truly waiting for their new Bones to start painting?

 

I, in point of fact, am. I am completely done with the minis I got for Bones II, I have all of 2 pewter minis that were gifted to me by someone (and that I actually didn't want) left to paint, and little impetus to do them beyond "what else am I going to paint?" and one of the items is a gift 5 months late at this point. I am chomping at the bit to get these things on my painting desk, and get them into a campaign.

 

That's part of my frustration with the lack of communication. I was almost in need of them when the delay was first announced, and I've bought more minis just to tide me over. Based on Update 101, I was expecting that shipping to the US would begin in earnest by Wednesday, maybe Thursday, and the box might even be on my doorstep in time for me to knock out the gift before I next see the recipient. Instead, we got a "we'll update later, when we have more information" comment and no further information from Reaper for two days. We're in the weekend now, where we won't have any updates, and no promise of one on Monday.

 

I get that things change, but I can't help but feel like my efforts to get into Wave 1 were an entirely wasted enterprise. I got up early that day (my one day off that week), set myself an alarm. Refreshed my browser constantly. My computer started acting up, so I had to fight KS on my mobile device to back instead. It was all very exciting. But, now, I'm feeling a lot like there's a traffic accident causing everyone to get into a single lane, and I did what I was supposed to do nice and early, but people keep cutting in front of me and then just stopping instead of letting us keep moving. I was a little disappointed but understanding when Zones 1 & 2 got their stuff moved to the front, but now it looks like Canada does, too. So why bother trying for Wave 1? I might as well be Wave 20 for all the good it's done me.

 

I work at a call center, get to paint while I'm at my desk. Painting helps me keep calm when I'm being yelled at by customers for issues that they themselves caused, or by issues that someone above me in the company have refused to address. I need the miniatures to keep calm during the day, and make it passable. It's practically therapy. I also get what it's like to have no real way to explain a situation to customers, but lack of communication is worse than limited information. They said the update was delayed because they didn't have some piece of information that they wanted. At this point, I can't imagine that one piece of data being missing to be more damaging to the customers' perception than a complete lack of information has been.

 

I'm forced to assume that nothing for USA has been done this week. That is against plan. Optimists will say it has been but there's just a delay in our notices, but if Canada's getting theirs, then obviously there should be notices for USA, too. There haven't been. Our stuff won't be getting shipped at all until Monday, and no communication has been made as to the method of delivery. I'll be on vacation for almost two weeks the week after this, so I have to hope that the package is safely delivered and not stolen while I'm away, or hope that Reaper at least makes it clear how it'll be delivered in such a way that I am able to make arrangements with the delivery company without paying an extra fee. Considering I don't even know where my local UPS or FedEx offices are to contact or pickup, I don't like that situation, either.

[Blackhawk]

I will say that I'm a little disappointed that every complaint was removed, whether there was any anger or hostility involved or not (and there was very, very little hostility in the discussion last night.) As a customer, I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea that one of the main avenues of communication and discussion with Reaper seems to forbid any criticism.

[Chaoswolf]

If I may, you're looking at it the wrong way.

 

No matter what Reaper does in this, someone is going to get bent out of shape. I don't have any beef with you or anyone else, but for the sake of discussion, let's say you and I were bickering. If Reaper removes my posts and those of others who agree with me, but leave all of yours, the perception is that Reaper is taking sides. The same holds true if they delete your posts and leave mine.

 

By just clearing the entire slate, they don't give the impression of taking sides, or implying that anyone is 'right' or 'wrong'. Yes, there might be a better way of handling it, but I'm not the correct person to make suggestions or voice opinions on what it might have been. If it was determined that some or all of the recent posts were inflammatory in some fashion and were therefore removed, that's good enough for me; especially considering that the removal was done by someone who isn't paid to do so (or at least isn't being paid to do so on a Saturday morning), but chose to do so anyway in an effort to give us somewhere to discuss something that we're obviously excited about. (And to be honest, I could see where lines were being drawn between folks who are upset, and folks who feel the need to 'defend' Reaper, so it was probably for the best to just scrub the whole lot.)

 

If we want this thread to stay open so that we can discuss Bones 3, everyone needs to be a lot more careful about keeping their emotions in check; I'm not saying that people can't be upset/discouraged/whatever, I'm just saying that perhaps thinking for a few minutes about the tone and phraseology of what you're about to post before you post it might be a good idea. Likewise, people need to think a bit before jumping to Reaper's defense; from most of what I read, nobody was accusing Reaper of being involved in some grand conspiracy or anything like that.

 

Basically, think before you 'speak'. If anything you're about to 'say' could be construed badly, try to rephrase it.

 

Thanks, and have a nice day.

 

 

[Gadgetman!]

60 hours work-week?

You, and probably everyone else at Reaper, have deserved to have nice, quiet weekend!

 

Would I like to start painting the Bones 3 minis?

Sure...

But I have 20 Bones minis from Reaper already, Kaladrax among them, waiting to be painted.

I have 20 Warlord minis, 20 specials, 20 Dark Heaven Legends. There's 20 from Dark Sword, 20 from Oathsworn, another 20 Bombshells, there another 20 from Hasslefree, 20 from Ganesha, and definitely 20 Dr. Who related minis, all waiting to be painted. 

 

I think I can wait a few days... or years... 

 

May I suggest that anyone who has any 'issues' with reaper please be a bit more diplomatic about it?

And to learn how to be diplomatic...

 

[Blackhawk]

I honestly don't believe that anyone has been undiplomatic, save for perhaps one post (and that wasn't criticizing Reaper at all - it was attacking everyone who was.)  There are right and wrong ways to air grievances, and most have been polite, careful, and as you said, diplomatic.

[BLZeebub]

I consider the last update to be all I really need for at least another week, besides my daily "Is the update up yet!?" check.  That in itself tells me that Reaper is busy at doing the best they can to get things to us.  I'll throw in my experience with Reaper to state that I am 0% worried that anything is amiss or that we won't get our toys soon.  This is a normal delay for such a massive Kickstarter, even for a company who's run several before.

 

On the idea of diplomacy, or as we in the South call it, being neighborly, Reaper is composed at least 90% of people (approx. the same proportion of Soylent Green), who have homes and families and need of rest and peace of mind.  To the angry people:  Please remember to stay respectful, even when angry.  To Reaper:  Thanks for everything, and I'm silly stoked to get these when they get here!

 

Cheers!

[Blackhawk]

In case it wasn't clear, I'm also 100% confident we'll get our stuff, and 100% fine with the delay, and 100% fine with Reaper folks taking a rest.

 

The only thing I've criticized is that Reaper has failed to keep us informed as to what has changed (when it is obvious something has), and what that means.  It isn't unreasonable to expect given the amount of money (and, in some cases, reputation) people have invested in this.

[Thes Hunter]

@Blackhawk - They have actively culled this thread for a long time.  I have posts deleted from this thread all the time. It's an attempt to make posts like LadyStorm's post above easier to find, because as you say, people come here to find information. If you feel you want your voice heard, and do not want the comments to be removed, I would suggest posting them on Kickstarter.

 

I suspect this post will be deleted as well, because it makes it harder for people to find the official updates. 

 

However, I will also offer this:

Mayo - Are You Are Suffering From Burnout?

 

As someone who has had to deal with Burnout for the last 3 years, I get the impression that there may be more than a few people dealing with this other than me.

 

 

 

[Blackhawk]

There is no indication that they see anything posted to Kickstarter.  I've seen simple questions asked repeatedly there that have gone unanswered for *months.*

[Chaoswolf]

That is a perfect example of what I was referring to in my somewhat lengthy post a little further up the page. The nature and tone are argumentative. Sooner or later  (if the thread stays open) someone is going to come along and decide that they need to prove that you're wrong in order to defend Reaper.

 

Please stop.

 

And I'm not picking on you; I'd also ask the person that is going to see your comment and get bent out of shape to also just please stop.

 

Everybody just needs to chill out. There's more than enough stuff out there in the real world that we can all bicker about, can't we drop that when we come here for our hobby (relaxation) time?

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, I've already decided I'm out, as this is going nowhere.  

But I will leave this last thought:  

As a customer who feels he is being treated unfairly (I *still* can't find out what I am getting from Base Boss, months later,) what other recourse is there? 

[Beagle]

3 hours ago, ladystorm said:

 

We are ALL frustrated with this project. Tempers are escalating on all fronts. 

 

For the record I'd just like to point out that my temper remains firmly under control at all times, it's never acceptable to let one's stiff upper lip be compromised in the presence of colonial types. Tends to give them the impression that we're all on the same level.

Nice post from Ladystorm, I felt quite.. *redacted - see previous paragraph*

 

1 hour ago, Thes Hunter said:

 

I suspect this post will be deleted as well

Fingers crossed

 

 

[Chaoswolf]

25 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

Yeah, I've already decided I'm out, as this is going nowhere.  

But I will leave this last thought:  

As a customer who feels he is being treated unfairly (I *still* can't find out what I am getting from Base Boss, months later,) what other recourse is there? 

I wasn't trying to chase you or anyone else off.

 

To answer your question: skip the forums and/or KS. Have you tried directly contacting Reaper?  (Granted, right now might not be the best time, but I have always gotten a pretty decent response that way.)