funded Reaper Bones 5: Enthusiasm and Commentary thread

[Lihmeth]

Ugh, I just don't know about the ship. I want it, but where do I store the thing?

I could also just print a ship if needed, but this one is cool...aaaah

[Reaper_Jon]

All the info has been in to KS updates to my knowledge. Reading them it was said multiple times through the updates about closing and needing to get numbers in. There will be a percentage of people that either don't read the updates, or just fund a KS and then forget about it. We still get emails and stuff from people about past kick starters, after talking for months and years about the pledge manager, the people who watch the updates and read the emails know what is going on, or at least email the Help email to get their questions answered. 

I did not go over to the KS comments and comment because i did not know that was a responsibility of mine, in hindsight I would have been over there answering questions ETC. I thought that was someone else's domain, not trying to shift blame at all, i just did not know that i needed to do that because all the info was in the KS updates.  

The TLDR is that we have to get numbers in because all the manufacturers also make stuff for other people we can't just have stuff sitting around forever, we have to move. And 6 months of saying the pledge manager is going to close and a large amount of people not closed out their orders yet was staggering, But once we turned in numbers its better for us to turn it off so we have a buffer for damaged/problem items for QC and SOD. That is much better than overselling and when it comes time for people to get their stuff and we have to say "Oh sorry we over sold you cant get that item now, here's some credit" is NOT an option that we want to take, so its better to turn it off now to ensure that we have numbers for everyone. 

[Ratmaster2000]

1 hour ago, SamuraiJack said:

 

I still see both

Wow, somehow I missed that whole row on my last runthrough:( Probably my internet. Sorry all.

[SamuraiJack]

Scrolling is weird in the PM.. I miss rows all the time

[Cyradis]

Yeah, I did check - the message is in the updates about turning items off, but it is subtle and not a headline. Probably should have been a headline on an update, that's all. But there has been a LOT of time in the PM, and December 5th was The Time for a while. So it is almost certainly a small but loud group with gripes. I think it is pretty wise to cut items off so that the production and fulfillment can be on a reasonable delivery timescale.

 

Does it seem to me like this one is going smoother than Bones IV? Bones IV was fine, but there were seemingly a few more hiccups we knew about. We're only 4 months out from estimated fulfillment beginning. If Reaper hits that without delay on a Kickstarter this large, it'll be an impressive feat.

[Reaper_Jon]

16 minutes ago, Cyradis said:

Does it seem to me like this one is going smoother than Bones IV?

I was on the production floor at the time for bones 1-4, and didn't really pay attention to the KS because most general factory employees don't really notice that there is a KS going on because it doesn't impact our day to day work flow. We only notice when the containers show up and we have to fulfill! :P :P 
But being in this new role i think it is going pretty well, minus some communication stuff that could and WILL be improved! 

[the_largest_rodent]

Just my lil ol’ opinion, but I feel like Reaper has been MORE than accommodating. We’ve had months and months to finalize things. If you can’t figure out your finances and make a decision after several months time that’s a personal problem, not Reaper’s! Their customer service has been impeccable.

[ksbsnowowl]

7 minutes ago, Cyradis said:

I think it is pretty wise to cut items off so that the production and fulfillment can be on a reasonable delivery timescale.

I agree. I think the way Reaper is progressing on this project is perfectly in line with logical expectations, and is perfectly fair. But the shut-off issue was not clearly communicated in the KS updates. 
 

I just looked back through every update since the start of August, and the first time a shut-off of item selection was even hinted at was the Nov 30th update. Yes, there were prior mentions of needing to get in their final numbers, and not waiting to Nov 30th to finalize your pledge, but none of that tells people their ability to select the items they want may be impacted. 
 

Nov 30th update:

“If you are a Bones 5 backer and have NOT finalized your existing pledge, then we ask that you please log into the Reaper Pledge Manager and close your initial pledge by December 5th. Failure to do so may affect your order selections and/or the Shipping Wave that you selected when you pledged in the Kickstarter.”

Emphasis as present in the update. 
 

This hints that selection may become limited, but does not clearly state it. “Failure to [close your existing pledge by December 5th] may affect your order selections...” A legitimate (though illogical, especially if you know anything about manufacturing) interpretation of that statement, at face value, is that so long as you spend your initial KS funds by Dec 5th, you are not in any danger of having your item selection restricted at all. Yes, that’s an illogical interpretation given the realities of manufacturing, but it is a legitimate interpretation of the statement.

 

The shut off concept was clearly stated in the Dec 4th update.  But it really should have been a headline item, and it was just the day before the Dec 5th soft close of the PM. That should have been a headline item a month before, not buried in a paragraph the day ahead of the soft closing. 
 

I don’t personally have an issue with Reaper regarding this; I was paying attention, and thus wasn’t surprised by any of this. But I can see how some do, because this shut-off issue should have been communicated much more clearly in the KS updates. 

[buglips*the*goblin]

As far as I can recall, this is the first time a Bones kickstarter has had a "soft close" after the initial PM close date.  So in that sense, there isn't really much to gripe about since it all should have been finalized by the original date.  However, I figure the takeaway from this is that if this is the way the PM closes out in the future (very likely) then we'll just have to make sure the information is up top, clear, and broadcast everywhere.  That's likely to annoy some people, but probably better to annoy a few with too much repetitive info than make somebody salty because they couldn't find where it was said.  

[Tordelback]

If there's one thing I've learnt about Kickstarter over the years, it's that there is NO channel, style or frequency of communication, or wording of same, that will get through to everyone. With over 18K backers and 13 months since the campaign closed,  it's just a numbers game: some folk are going to get lost and confused, and blame the creator.

 

Ultimately, if we *really* wanted that dwarf crypt, we've had well over a year to find $16 and pull the pin. 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Tordelback

[Guyra]

12 hours ago, ksbsnowowl said:

The shut off concept was clearly stated in the Dec 4th update.  But it really should have been a headline item, and it was just the day before the Dec 5th soft close of the PM. That should have been a headline item a month before, not buried in a paragraph the day ahead of the soft closing. 
 

I don’t personally have an issue with Reaper regarding this; I was paying attention, and thus wasn’t surprised by any of this. But I can see how some do, because this shut-off issue should have been communicated much more clearly in the KS updates. 

 

I agree that it should've been a headline item in an update, and not just a sidenote in an update showing off the ship. However, people were supposed to have been done before December 1st. Reaper was nice and let people get some extra time to add some stuff, and now some are angry because not every single option is available at a point where none should've been available anymore at that time ... 

  

16 minutes ago, Tordelback said:

If there's one thing I've learnt about Kickstarter over the years, it's that there is NO channel, style or frequency of communication, or wording of same, that will get through to everyone. With over 18K backers and 13 months since the campaign closed,  it's just a numbers game: some folk are going to get lost and confused, and blame the creator.

 

Ultimately, if we *really* wanted that dwarf crypt, we've had well over a year to find $16 and pull the pin. 

 

Very much this. I think most of the angry people have just prioritized actually paying for stuff in the KS lower than paying for more instant gratification in their lives, in addition to not having paid attention well enough to updates.

 

---------------------------------------------------------

 

So yeah, I agree that the items shut off part could've been communicated better, but people could also have paid better attention, used their heads a bit more, and prioritized better if they really wanted the stuff. People are feeling really entitled to stuff they haven't even paid for, have had ample time to secure for themselves, and were given extra chances to get.

 

In the end, this is on themselves. They weren't paying attention, and they were waiting past the original deadline, and then past the extended deadline. And honestly, I think even if there had been an update with the entire headline being "ITEMS IN THE PLEDGE MANAGER TO BECOME UNAVAILABLE", I don't think it would've helped that much. Because even at this point there are a bunch of people whom haven't even locked in their initial pledge, despite that being mentioned in practically every update.

 

Sure, maybe a few more would've gotten the message, and picked out the items they wanted earlier, but I firmly believe most of these people getting angry didn't even read any updates until after they saw items missing from the KS. Because it's very clearly stated in update #111, and Reaper's also been begging people to close off their pledges as early as possible the entire time.

 

You really can't get angry about this stuff on overtime, man.

[ksbsnowowl]

42 minutes ago, Guyra said:

You really can't get angry about this stuff on overtime, man.

Indeed. 
 

I was flabbergasted that as of last night’s Reaper Live episode, there are still ~2,000 backers that haven’t spent their KS pledge. 
(For reference, Ed said that at this point of past Bones Kickstarters, they would have ~50-100 backers that hadn’t chosen their items and spent their pledged funds.)

I wonder how many of those 2,000 backers were only $1 backers, or if there was a large portion of them that pledged significantly more. 

PS - In some KS comments Jon mentioned that both pirate ships are likely to be turned off on Monday. If you want either version, get it now. 

[PhantomAsh]

7 hours ago, ksbsnowowl said:

I was flabbergasted that as of last night’s Reaper Live episode, there are still ~2,000 backers that haven’t spent their KS pledge. 

 

Whoa, that does seem like a large amount. Maybe it's due to the overall... 2020-ness of the year? A lot of people probably just forgot or couldn't afford to pledge in the end. Makes sense that they're extending the deadline in that case.

[haldir]

1 minute ago, PhantomAsh said:

 

Whoa, that does seem like a large amount. Maybe it's due to the overall... 2020-ness of the year? A lot of people probably just forgot or couldn't afford to pledge in the end. Makes sense that they're extending the deadline in that case.

 

Problem is, the KS finished in 2019!!! 

 

I think Bones 3 (maybe it was 2, hell I can't remember) was the longest I took to use my initial pledge amount. I recall it was the final year at the old Best Buy building for ReaperCon. I did it after I got home from that.

[PhantomAsh]

11 minutes ago, haldir said:

Problem is, the KS finished in 2019!!! 

 

I think Bones 3 (maybe it was 2, hell I can't remember) was the longest I took to use my initial pledge amount. I recall it was the final year at the old Best Buy building for ReaperCon. I did it after I got home from that.

 

True enough! Though I was definitely one of the ones that took ages to confirm my pledge...  Maybe it's because its my first Kickstarter but it does not feel like it's been a year since it ran! I still feel like it was a couple of months ago.