Robotech RPG Tactics #4

You know at some point, I'd like to stop writing about this KS and just get my models already. Otoh, this probably requires Palladium to stop fucking up somehow so that's unlikely. Hopefully, this will be my LAST update on the subject before I get my stuff. 

So a lot of shit went down over the weekend, what with Palladium releasing three updates for the Kickstarter. Which is surprising because I didn't know they could type that fast. They've almost never been inclined to despite the negative reactions thrown at them. The first update (here) was the one that set off the whole shitstorm though. 

The tl;dr of the update is that the Chinese factory is sending them the goods. They expect to get it by August 8 in their warehouse and then they will be bringing them to sell at Gencon. Also, unlike many other KS that have done so, backers who go to Gencon will not be able to pick up their pledges because they have no space to pack your order but then again they also mentioned they will be bringing enough product to sell to a few hundred people. So yes, they can't bring your stuff but they will bring enough to sell to a few hundred other people who didn't pay a year in advance. 

 If you are a backer and attending Gen Con Indy, please visit Palladium Books at Booth #1223 to see what will be coming to you in a few weeks (in some cases, possibly even days after you get home), and so that we can shake your hand and thank you personally for making this outstanding product possible.

Oh and if you drop by their booth, you get to shake their hand while getting nothing of what you paid for in advance either. Sounds good right? Needless to say, this got people's ire as Kevin (the owner of Palladium) had promised backers they would be the first to get their product (here)

In the end, you, our Kickstarter supporters, will be the first to receive a wonderful product that we hope will make you grin and provide endless hours of enjoyment. Thank you for sharing our dream. You, your pledges of support and unbridled enthusiasm are very much appreciated.

All this sounds familiar doesn't it? It's simply another Kevin-ism, from the master of Kevin-ism. Needless to say, backers weren't too happy about this new update. In fact they were unhappy enough that two days after that update, Kevin posted another update. Which is super rare. I think I might actually have a higher chance of striking lottery than that happening usually. Mostly because it means Kevin actually took note of the negativity surrounding the project. 

In the new update (here); after you skip the bullshit first few paragraphs in which Palladium denies all blame for the delays, Kevin goes on to explain why they need to sell at Gencon and then asks for people to vote in the comments with a simple Yes or No to decide whether they will sell or not. Which seems like a magnanimous gesture until he says this...

Anyone who does NOT respond by July 21st, we will consider to be a “yes.”

Um...Silence is consent now? I mean, if you look at the history of the updates in the Robotech KS, not EVERYONE goes and looks at updates. And that's not just for Robotech, it's for every single KS. There's also the fact that you can turn updates OFF for projects, which means even if you decide to check your KS account once every month to see what you missed, you may end up on missing this update as well. So unless maybe all 5000+ backers chime up, there's almost no way the NOs will win. 

Although they seriously should have started off with this update first instead of just saying "No, we will sell. Come have a handshake with us". Also, a lot of people have mentioned that they could go to Gencon and take preorders without having to sell to people as that is what Game and Gears are going to do with their battleboards. Or they could allow backers to collect their pledges, which would alleviate a lot of the negativity as you are shipping at the same time and allowing backers to collect what's rightfully theirs. I mean, I will be at Gencon myself and wouldn't have minded collecting my pledge instead of waiting for shipping. But instead, nope, backers ain't getting nothing.

As it is, the comments for that update are pretty messed up. As of this writing, it's at 1539 comments and going up fast. Mostly because people are bickering back and forth in the comments. I have no idea how they're even going to count the votes because seriously, that whole comment section is a mess. 

I do NOT want our Kickstarter backers to remain silent on this matter. If you truly do not want us to bring product to Gen Con I sincerely NEED and want to know that. YOU need to make your voices heard so silence is not counted as a yes if that is not how you feel. And if that isn’t tremendous motivation to respond, I don’t know what is. That’s why I did that.

Likewise, if your answer is yes, it is vital that you post your yes vote so others can see it.

In another amazing turn of events, Kevin churns out yet another post about why he takes silence to be yes. So if you don't want them to bring it, it's important to pressure you to tell them now. Same for the people who are saying yes. But again, just in case, all non-votes are yes. Imagine what that would do for any political election. All the abstained votes will automatically be counted for the ruling party. I hear Egypt and Malaysia want to adopt this new amazing system Kevin's thought up. 

But in all seriousness, Palladium may not even be able to BRING the merchandise to Gencon anyway even if majority of people vote Yes. Simply because they're apparently being shipped like this from China.

Yes...they're being packed/dumped into a carton box and being shipped off like that without packaging. Ignoring the fact that the carton boxes don't seem very stury and probably aren't; judging by my own manufacturing experiences in China, you'd have to wonder about any damages they would incur during the shipment. As a general rule, most logistic workers aren't very careful with your goods hence why packaging is fairly important. 

Then there's the fact that there's no packaging, ie. retail boxes. This will arrive in their warehouse on August 8; estimated, and then they will have 5 days till Gencon (Aug 13) where they have to transfer everything over to Gencon before it starts on August 14. Which means they will have to box and pack everything themselves. Based on Palladiums previous working speed, I'm just not sure they can do this. Seriously. 

But it's okay. IF they don't bring it to Gencon, they'll be able to tell everyone that they listened to the voices of the backers and decided not to bring it for the sake of their backers.