Shipping Update, PoD Rulebook Update, and DoM's Last 48 Hours
over 6 years ago – Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 10:36:56 PM

Hi guys! I hope you've had a great week!

I have a couple of things to go over with you today. But, first, let's get into the shipping news!

North America

Canadian deliveries are underway, and actually may be drawing to a close! Whew! What a relief! (I'm sure even more for you guys than for us, but dang!) 

If there are any concerns or problems in North America (either US or Canada), feel free to send emails to [email protected] and [email protected]! Also, just as a note, some of you will receive your order in two packages, and sometimes they may not be delivered at the same time. So, if you only get part of your order, please try to be patient for a few more days and the rest should arrive. If you still have concerns, though, feel free to reach out to QML on that.

Europe and South America

Okay, the last pain point is also starting to come to a close. There are only approximately 100 orders left for Bigblue to send out, and they have promised us that all backers should receive their pledges before Christmas. Let's hope that they actually pull that off. There are also a couple dozen more orders we've learned about where the plastic token pack 2 will need to be shipped from China. The rest of your order will ship, though, and then you will receive the second plastic token pack a little bit later. 

If you're in Europe or South America and have a problem or question, send an email to [email protected].

Australia

Australia shipping is complete. If you have a question or problem, email us at [email protected].

Asia and the Rest of the World

Asia shipping is complete, though there still might be the occasional straggler that hasn't yet arrived. If you have a question, concern, or problem, email [email protected] and [email protected].

Replacements Plan

We are now beginning to process replacement orders for those who have reported problems with their pledges. Replacements will be sent directly from the factory in China. Having said that, the factory is extremely busy, and are not able to complete replacements on a case-by-case basis.

Because of this, what we will have to do (and have done thus far) is collect the needed information from backers first and then put these questions into a form for the factory, detailing the SKU, which component(s), even the names of cards in question, and then attach photos as well. After the fulfillment is basically completed (which we're getting very close on) and the complaints from backers have begun to gradually reduce in number, then we will give this form to the factory. They will then arrange several employees to process the requests on the form and get them produced and shipped within four weeks. Now that fulfillment is nearing its end, this four-week window is scheduled to begin next week.

Now that's all well and good, but what about backers who don't open the game box until sometime next year and miss the four-week window? No worries. We will always take care of our backers' needs: it just may take a bit longer. The factory may solve replacement issues every one-two months in the future. So, if you get a chance to go through your pledge, it will move quicker for you if you're able to get your request in during the upcoming timeframe, but even if you don't it's not the end of the world. You'll still get your replacement, it just may take a bit longer to get resolved.

So, the short and sweet version: replacement orders are going to start being produced and shipped out from China starting next week, and will continue (currently) for four weeks. After that, the factory will move to a monthly or bi-monthly schedule for replacements, as needed. To request a replacement, email us at [email protected].

PoD Rulebook Update

As promised, I have further adventures for you in the world of print-on-demand rulebooks. I just received my sample from a company the other day (they had some equipment malfunction that kept them from printing it quicker), and my feelings are mixed. The book printed absolutely perfectly, but the quality of the paper is not quite as nice as the original Deep Madness rulebook. I think the paper's weight might be slightly lower, but not deal-breakingly so. The colors in some places actually might be a bit better. The biggest problem for me personally is the feel. The original one had that silky, almost glossy quality (maybe satiny?), while this one is much more matte and doesn't have the same smooth texture. I've included some pictures below for you to take a look at:

So my question to you is, what do you think? I don't know that we'll get any better than this price-wise, as many other companies are twice the price of this place at the cheapest (if they can do this rulebook at all.) So do you think this is something that you would be interested in getting, or should I look for another solution with slightly nicer paper? (For reference, I would estimate that this would probably be around $10-15 plus shipping, though I don't have the final number quite yet. Other solutions may be significantly more than this.) They do have an 8pt gloss option for the cover which costs a tiny bit more, but there are no other upgrades available for the paper itself. Let me know in the comments.

Dawn of Madness has Less than 48 Hours Left

In other news, we are in the last two days of the Dawn of Madness campaign! We have thus far had 91 unlocks through both stretch goals and daily unlocks, adding a bunch of creepy new monsters, two major expansions offering 50% more gameplay than the base game alone, and awesome gameplay upgrades like organizational inserts and an immersive tutorial chapter for the game.

The game has furthermore improved in a multitude of ways during the Kickstarter campaign directly from our backer community's feedback! This has been a really exciting part of this campaign for us as our backers have helped us to make this great game even better - an interactive process that will continue throughout the game's development.

Additionally, we've realized that, like Deep Madness before it, retail is not currently a viable option for Dawn of Madness. As such, the only hope that this would ever go to retail rests on a possible (though far from guaranteed) reprint that would be many years away (should it happen at all), making the English version of Dawn of Madness Kickstarter-exclusive for the foreseeable future. This means that, if this game interests you at all, then you are going to want to get into the project now - even if only backing for $1 currently. (The pledge manager will be open for a long time next year.)

(Also, just in case you hadn't heard, we also are offering two Deep Madness Crossover packs! Pack 1 will be free at the Otherworld level, while both packs 1 and 2 will be free with the Gameplay All-In. You can also buy them at a different pledge level for $10 each.)

If you'd like to check out Dawn of Madness, you can do so right here.

I'm going to leave you with one final thing from Dawn of Madness: a couple renders of the Numina, which are some of my favorite minis ever. Enjoy!

Talk to you again soon! Have a great week!

Shipping Update!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Dec 05, 2019 at 01:46:57 AM

Hi guys!

Sorry I've been away. The Dawn of Madness campaign has been crazy thus far, and I've kind of been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. (Fun fact: did you know that, if you cut a chicken's head off high enough up the neck, the chicken can still live without its head? It's true. It happened to a chicken in the mid-US. His name was Mike. He lived for 18 months after being beheaded until a piece of corn got caught in his throat and he choked to death.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken ) On top of that, I was waiting for concrete information to be able to send to you, as much of what I had was conjecture and rumor, which doesn't do anything for anyone but make people angry when it proves to be just that. But at last I have some info that seems to be pretty solid.

North America and Canada

All of the packages for the US have been sent. If you haven't received yours or if something is broken, please contact QML's customer service via [email protected]. (You can also reach out to us at [email protected] if you need to.)

But now, the elephant in the room. The Canadian orders haven't progressed anywhere nearly as quickly as we had hoped. This is extremely frustrating for us, but we know it is far more frustrating for our Canadian friends. Please accept our deepest apologies that you guys don't have your stuff yet. It is extremely aggravating that these haven't gotten moving yet, because we have been trying whatever we could to get the process rolling. QML told us there was a delay because of their own queue and the Thanksgiving holiday, as well as making the arrangements to send them all North in one caravan. All of the packages have been packed, however, and they have promised us that they will ship them this week - and, if all goes according to plan, they should arrive in Ontario late this week or early next week as well. Once they arrive in Canada, the process should go much quicker as all that will need to be done is for them to be shipped to your house. 

Once again, we are so sorry for the delay in getting you your pledge. We thought we had it all worked out this time, but the change from Snakes and Lattes threw a pretty big monkey wrench into what we thought was a well-ordered machine - much bigger than we thought it was at the time. Please accept our sincerest apologies.

Europe and South America

We're pretty patient people, and we like to give folks the benefit of the doubt. But, having said that, Bigblue has moved waaaaaaay slower than we thought they would. While about 3,000 orders have shipped, there are still several hundred left to go. We are continuing to push and prod them, and hopefully this will get finished up right away. (In their defense, they do have a lot of logistics work involved in shipping to so many different countries with a multitude of carriers. But that's about as much benefit of the doubt as I'm going to give them right now.) There were also 20-30 orders that were delayed because of a shortage of items - namely, Lucas Kane and the Plastic Token Pack 2. Having said that, we worked out partial shipments with backers for many of the affected orders, and, in any case, the replacement items arrived last week, so this is now a moot point. Having said all of that, if you have any problem with your order when it arrives, please contact [email protected] and we'll help you get it squared away.

Australia and Oceania

By this time all Australian backers should have received their packages. If you have any problem with your order, please contact [email protected].

Asia and the Rest of the World

So, VFI shipped all of the orders several weeks ago. However, since then we have received messages from a number of backers that they haven't gotten them yet. In this case, we don't think that it's necessarily a problem with your order being lost, but more that International Express shipping can take a long time to arrive. If you haven't received your order yet, please be patient just a little while longer. We strongly suspect your package is still in the mail, and is still making its way to you as we speak. Having said that, if you have any questions or problems with your order then please contact [email protected] and [email protected].

Okay, that's it for this update! I'll be back as soon as I have more info to share - and hopefully it'll be to say that all orders have officially shipped. Talk to you again soon!

Dawn of Madness is Live!
over 6 years ago – Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 01:41:13 AM

Hey friends!

Well, it's been kind of a whirlwind day, but I'm finally able to get over here to tell you the news: Dawn of Madness is officially live on Kickstarter! And not only is it live, but it is currently at over $470,000 only a few hours after launching! I know a bunch of you are over there already (and thank you for joining us once again!), but for those who hadn't heard and are interested, you can find the campaign right here. (And for those who aren't interested, there isn't any DM-specific stuff in this update, so you can stop reading now. =) 

Wondering what's in the campaign so far? Here's a look:

And last of all, we have an awesome 24-hour Early Bird reward: The Watchers!

We don't have an early bird pledge level this time, either, guys, so even if you pledge $1 now and upgrade in the PM later, you'll still be eligible to get the Watchers. 

Okay, well I just wanted to make sure everyone knew it was out if they wanted to take a look! We'll be back with more Deep Madness-specific stuff soon!

Shipping is On-Going! Some Important Info!
over 6 years ago – Tue, Nov 19, 2019 at 01:46:52 AM

Hey friends! It's another week of exciting shipping times, and I just wanted to send you a quick update. 

First, too, I wanted to apologize that we've been kind of quiet the last few days. I know I haven't been as active in the comments as I want to be, and I fully intended to get this update out to you last week. We just have a ton going on right now, so please accept my apologies for all of the questions that have been asked over the last week. 

North America

The US orders are nearing completion. In fact, it is entirely possible that they all have shipped at this point. If you haven't received yours yet, though, don't panic - there are likely still a few that haven't gone out yet, and there are certainly still plenty in-transit. (I got my reprint stuff just the other day. Which did make me squeal joyously.)

As for our Canadian friends, there was a slight hiccup. Basically, we were under the impression that everything was set in place and that we were good to go on the Canadian shipping, and Quartermaster thought that they were still waiting on some sort of approval from us. (Ugh.) We're honestly not positive how this happened, as we've been pestering them every few days to get this going. But somehow it did. We think everything has been worked out now, though, and it is even possible (though it hasn't yet been confirmed) that the packages are on the truck on their way up North right now. Please accept our sincere apologies that you are once again receiving your orders later. The changeover from Snakes and Lattes threw in a number of unforeseen complications that we had hoped to avoid this time.  However, because your orders are being packed at QML, there should be no further complications once they're on the truck. (Which, as mentioned above, they very well may be as we speak.)

Europe and South America

European orders have taken quite a bit longer to ship out than we were anticipating as well. There are a few factors for this. First of all, a couple of updates ago we said we had tried to prioritize the UK orders due to Brexit. Well, after that update went out, Bigblue came back and said they could, if we were willing to pay an extra chunk of money - though it would also slow down certain elements of the shipping process as we went along. Well, we went ahead and did that - and then Brexit was delayed again. LOL. 

Anyway, that is why it is taking a bit longer for people in some countries to get their copies. We're terribly sorry for this delay. But please know that you will receive your package, and it shouldn't be too much longer. The same goes for South American orders, which should all be airmailed to you shortly. 

We also heard about some problems with tracking numbers, but I believe that most of these problems have worked themselves out by now. (Like I said, I planned to post this update last week when it was probably more relevant. As I'm pretty sure it isn't any more, I've deleted all the rest of the info about this.)  

Australia and Oceania

The Australian orders should have all shipped by this point. If you haven't received yours yet, then you should very soon. We were made aware of a rather strange error in some of the orders where the shipping labels were addressed to backers' Kickstarter names rather than their actual names. Once again, I don't think this is still a problem (and I don't believe we heard of it actually posing a problem for anyone), but Aetherworks did assure us that any packages which had difficulty delivering due to this problem would be immediately sent back out with the correct name. So, if you were affected by this strange error, then rest assured you will get your game. (As I've said before, I intended to send this out last week, so none of this may be relevant any more.)

Asia and the Rest of the World

Your order should have arrived by now. If it hasn't drop us a line at [email protected].

Some More Info 

For those who missed the last update, it is normal for you not to have the novel Shattered Seas. That will ship some time next year. 

For those wondering about how to lay out your Monstrum, I will be posting pictures of how I lay mine out as soon as I get the chance to do it. That'll be coming in the next update or so.

For those who received a Drifter King with a detached scepter, we are terribly sorry about the problem. However, it is a very easy fix. It may sound strange to say, but I was actually extremely pleased that mine came broken, so that I could show you how to fix it. =D Here we go:

And that's all there is to it! Hope that helped... someone. =D Many other minis who came with a piece separated can be repaired in much the same way. 

For those with things that are missing, broken, etc., send an email to [email protected]. However, please be aware that we are a very small team, and that it is actually just one person (our production manager, Cherry) who is handling all of your emails. So, while I think that actually a majority of orders have gone very smoothly, she is nonetheless dealing with hundreds of emails and requests right now. As such, it may be a few days before she gets back to you. Don't worry or panic if this happens. You are not being ignored or avoided. She will get back to you - she just has a ton going on right now. (Furthermore, sending multiple emails only slows down the process for everyone, so please try and be patient as she works through everyone's issues. =) You can always email me as well if you're extra worried about something at [email protected] - though there is absolutely nothing I can do apart from make you feel better and ensure Cherry has indeed received your request. ;D 

As for when replacement parts will start shipping, we will put in the orders once fulfillment has completed. Hopefully that won't be too much longer now.

We will be back with more for you guys soon, so stay tuned! This campaign isn't over yet! 

Dawn of Madness

The main reason it was very important to me to get this email out to you is because Dawn of Madness launches tomorrow, and I didn't want you to think you had been sidelined for another project. You haven't been. You are insanely important to us, and I wanted you to know that we have not and will not drop off the face of the earth because of that new campaign. We still have the novel, the Choose Your Own Terror story, and shipping to finish, so this campaign still has plenty of life left in it. We will send out another update tomorrow to let you know that we've launched, but I wanted this one to be focused solely on this campaign apart from this brief mention. (We have done a massive update on the campaign page over there, though, and we will have an incredible 24-hour early bird, so if you're interested check out the new campaign page right here.)

Okay, that's it for this update! We will talk to you guys again very soon!

Happy Halloween, and More About Shipping
over 6 years ago – Fri, Nov 01, 2019 at 03:28:03 AM

Hey there! It may be a little late for most of the world, but where I am it's still Halloween. So, happy Halloween! I hope you had a fun day full of monsters and mayhem. And candy. Of course, candy.

I know there are a lot of questions, so let's get started. I'm going to begin with shipping info, and then we'll move into Q&A below that.

Shipping

Europe and South America

The European orders are just about halfway through shipping. The process has gone a bit slower than expected because of the Monstrum Boxes, which kind of threw a monkey wrench in things because they are just that massive. Thus far 664 orders have been delivered, 819 have shipped and are in transit, and 1,793 are scheduled for next week. These should hopefully all be finished and shipped by next Thursday. Backers will be sent emails when the order ships out with a tracking link. 

North America

Quartermaster Logistics will start the US shipping late next week. It certainly took longer than we were all thinking it would, but the complexity of the campaign's orders and the queue in their pipeline delayed the start of the shipping process. Having said that, once the process begins it should hopefully go quickly. The whole process will likely take about 2 weeks. 

As for the Canadian orders, they are being shipped from Quartermaster as well. The initial import process has currently begun. The packages will be delivered in bulk shipments to a Canadian FedEx hub, at which point FedEx will break them down into individual shipments and mail them to you. (This way there will not be any tariffs or VAT applied to your order.) Once FedEx receives the packages then tracking numbers should begin working. 

We're very sorry it's taken so long to get the North American orders rolling out to you all. We feel terribly that this hasn't made progress quicker than it has. But this should all get rolling by next week. We'll update you as soon as we know more.

Australia and Oceania

The boat has arrived and the games are at the port. The packages are currently going through customs. Once that's done, they will be transferred to the warehouse and should be sent out quickly. (Keep in mind that in the EU and US hubs the packages are being assembled at the hub, whereas your orders are already assembled. So once they're at the warehouse it should hopefully be a very short process to get them out to you.) As with the North American orders, we are extremely sorry that your orders haven't started shipping yet. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel up ahead.

Asia and the Rest of the World

All of these packages were shipped a while ago according to our communications with VFI, and should either have been delivered or should arrive very, very shortly. If you haven't received your pledge within the next few days, contact us by sending an email to [email protected]. We'll help you track it down.

Questions and Answers

I'm missing something or something was damaged in-transit. What should I do?

If you find that you're missing something or that something was damaged in-transit, then please contact us via email at [email protected]. Please be aware, though, that it may be a couple of weeks before we can send it out to you. The reason for this is because the hubs are completely focused on the deliveries right now, which pretty much makes customer service an impossibility until they are finished. Once they're finished, though, we will send out all replacements as soon as possible. It also may take a few days before we can get back to you. This is because we are a very small team, and most of these emails are handled by our production manager, Cherry, who is also overseeing shipping and a variety of other things. She will get back to you, though. Promise.

I'm missing some of the biggest parts of my pledge, such as Monstrum or expansions. Should I send an email?

Most large orders have been shipped in two boxes. It is entirely possible (and is, in fact, likely) that yours was one of them, and in some cases we've heard that the boxes have been arriving on different days. Please give a few days to see if it arrives, but if it still hasn't showed up then by all means contact us.

I'm missing Jon the Cat. Should I send an email?

Before you send an email, please check your Uncounted Horrors box. Jon is not in a separate package: he is in the bag of loose miniatures in that box (along with the spawn markers and other things.) Of course, if you can't find him in there, then feel free to contact us.

I'm missing the novel. Should I send an email?

No. The novel was always intended to be a second wave shipment. It will ship out to you some time next year. If you do happen to receive a copy of Shattered Seas, then a time vortex has opened and the fabric of our dimension is unravelling, and you should leave your house immediately.

I'm missing the stretch goal box. Should I send an email?

There isn't a stretch goal box per se, unless you count Profundum. The stretch goals are broken up between a variety of boxes, with some in Profundum, some in Faces of the Sphere, and then Lucas Kane all by his lonesome. So, no. 

What else should I know?

Shipping sucks. I was pretty sure it was the case from all of the Kickstarters I've backed in the past, but if there was any doubt then it was completely driven from my mind by the first Deep Madness campaign. Furthermore, this campaign has done little to change my opinion on the matter. 

No doubt you have been impacted by some part of the shipping in this campaign. Whether it's a delay, a damaged package, or a missing product, we want you to know how sorry we are and to let you know how much you mean to us and how much we appreciate you. Whatever your problem, it will get solved. We promise. And, in the end, we'll all have awesome games and gooey (not literally) monsters to play with.

Dawn of Madness

Some of you who have been following Dawn of Madness may have noticed we've been really quiet about it in these past few updates. You also may have noticed that October has now completely passed and you haven't noticed any big launches taking place. Well, basically, we realized that, no matter how much we wanted to launch it in October, we couldn't for two reasons. The first was that there was quite simply a few more things that we needed/wanted to finish before officially launching the campaign. And the second (which is honestly a way bigger deal at this point) is that Deep Madness still hasn't delivered and we didn't want you to feel like you had been forgotten for some new shiny thing. So, we've delayed Dawn of Madness to November 19th. Hopefully by then everyone should have received their copy of Deep Madness (or at least most should have), and we will be able to shift gears with a clear conscience on the matter. Having said that, even when Dawn does launch it won't mean our passion for Deep will wane in the slightest. We'll still be here for whatever you need. =) Because, like I said before, you guys are important to us. We wouldn't exist without you. And we are extremely grateful for the support you have given us. (Plus, we still love this game, and plan to continue doing so for many years to come.)

Oh, which reminds me: for those wondering about the final part of the Choose Your Own Terror story, it's still coming. I haven't forgotten. =)

Okay, that's it for this update. If you have any problems with your order, please reach out to [email protected]. And thank you for continuing to stand by us through the horrific, maddening warzone that is shipping.