|
Kevin Sembieda has a long and outstanding history of taking advantage of others and shuffling blame, whether it's bilking freelancers out of the pay he promised them with shuck-and-jives about how he has to re-edit work he originally told them was perfectly fine to the whole Crisis of Treachery business to his lovely treatment of employees as outlined by Bill Coffin to, well, pretty much everything to do with the Robotech Tactics Kickstarter. Up until now this was "excusable" in the sense that such behavior is considered acceptable by elfgame industry standards for better or worse...it's not that it's good, it's just that it's nothing wildly new and you just sort of accepted that this was the Kevin Sembieda Way. Deciding that the first thing he should do because one of his apparent friends decides to try and kill himself is sit down to write a thousand words blaming angry Kickstarter backers for it is absolutely the sort of thing I can imagine Sembieda deciding to do, but like I said it's still a new low in the history of someone whose poor behavior has previously been the sole province of ripping people off while acting the part of the poor, noble victim, not using a half-dead colleague as a cudgel. Kevin Sembieda doesn't have to be a supervillain to be a lovely excuse for a human being and I legitimately can't believe I'm having to explain why taking to Kickstarter to throw a man's suicide attempt in the faces of people unhappy about getting ripped off is a mind-bogglingly callous, conniving, and opportunistic thing to do. e; like I don't have any skin in this game either but holy poo poo, come on. Kai Tave fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Feb 20, 2017 |
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 01:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 03:08 |
|
|
Xelkelvos posted:A crowdfunding show on CNBC or Discovery or History seems super appropriate. Mix in some success stories with stories of failure or drama with either result and it'd be golden. Hell, I'm sure all of the tech and product Kickstarters would be enough to generate their own show as they're full of their own fresh hell. We have had motorcycle, car, fashion, cake, we almost deserve a nerd show full of melt downs and ruined friendships. Worst of all it wouldn't have to be scripted.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 01:55
|
|
|
So can somebody recap what's gone wrong with the Robotech KS? I know there was a second wave that appears to have become vaporware, but that's about all I know.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 03:46
|
|
|
EverettLO posted:So can somebody recap what's gone wrong with the Robotech KS? I know there was a second wave that appears to have become vaporware, but that's about all I know. · There were suggestions that Simbieda wouldn't be directly in charge, because by now everyone knows that's a red flag. This turned out to not be the case. · Well after funding, it turned out that the detail and complexity of the minis had to be scaled back. The detail and complexity that was part of what sold many people on the Kickstarter. · The whole thing has been the usual sort of Kickstarter clusterfuck, but worse because you get Simbieda's Essay Korner instead of normal human updates. Like… · A literal 10k word "update" that mostly talked up Palladium's past, including dwelling on licenses he no longer has. It had to be split into two update posts because it was, I cannot stress this enough, 10k word long. This is the one where he revealed that when the first set of minis were ready to start shipping from China, no one had actually set up fulfillment ahead of time. Also, everything was all the fault of mini-designing partner Ninja Division; poor little Kevin is just trying to manage their blunders. · The time he decided the scale for the game was wrong, after the first set was done. He put it to a "vote" where he would count Kickstarter comments, and anyone who didn't show up counted as "yes, please make this game incompatible with itself." I'm sure there's more, but I only look in on it when something egregious enough happens that it gets posted about on forums. That Old Tree fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Feb 20, 2017 |
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 04:51
|
|
|
I don't think the scale kerfuffle went down like that, actually. The vote you're thinking of was about whether or not Palladium would sell Robotech Tactics figures at GenCon, which was before they'd fulfilled wave one to backers, IIRC.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 05:20
|
|
|
Woops, that's correct. I don't remember what, if any, input he solicited for the scale thing.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 05:35
|
|
|
Falstaff posted:I don't think the scale kerfuffle went down like that, actually. The vote you're thinking of was about whether or not Palladium would sell Robotech Tactics figures at GenCon, which was before they'd fulfilled wave one to backers, IIRC. It happened for both; or rather was meant to happen for both, but after the first time, there was such a backlash when he tried it again for the scale that he had to back away slightly
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 05:39
|
|
|
I'm still so amazed that Savage Rifts appears at first glance to be a success. The history of Palladium products that are not Palladium books is just so fraught with insane failure. N-Gage games, five years of movie development hell apparently featuring Jerry Bruckheimer, this board game apparently, the Robotech thing, I just don't understand how Savage Rifts managed to get through the minefield.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 06:36
|
|
|
theironjef posted:I'm still so amazed that Savage Rifts appears at first glance to be a success. The history of Palladium products that are not Palladium books is just so fraught with insane failure. N-Gage games, five years of movie development hell apparently featuring Jerry Bruckheimer, this board game apparently, the Robotech thing, I just don't understand how Savage Rifts managed to get through the minefield.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 06:39
|
|
|
theironjef posted:I'm still so amazed that Savage Rifts appears at first glance to be a success. The history of Palladium products that are not Palladium books is just so fraught with insane failure. N-Gage games, five years of movie development hell apparently featuring Jerry Bruckheimer, this board game apparently, the Robotech thing, I just don't understand how Savage Rifts managed to get through the minefield. Yeah, I think they managed a real coup with the licensing to avoid heavy KS meddling in the project.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 06:52
|
|
|
Yeah, I was truly shocked to hear about it. I imagined that Rifts would simply never expand outside of it's weird little hole, given how its almost 30 years in with barely any improvement to a system that is almost universally derided. So the idea of having Rifts for a fairly functional system and one that is toned down (marginally) more sane levels of power, is quite weird. Savage Worlds was the right choice for it too, forcing some toning down on the ridiculousness while still being crunchy enough for a bit of gear/power porn.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 07:31
|
|
|
theironjef posted:I'm still so amazed that Savage Rifts appears at first glance to be a success. The history of Palladium products that are not Palladium books is just so fraught with insane failure. N-Gage games, five years of movie development hell apparently featuring Jerry Bruckheimer, this board game apparently, the Robotech thing, I just don't understand how Savage Rifts managed to get through the minefield. The difference is that Shane Hensley is a good businessman who knows what he's doing. He made two very good decisions: First, as in all of his Kickstarters, he made sure the book was written beforehand. Second, Kevin did not have any veto power over the final product.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 07:37
|
|
|
Desiden posted:Wasn't there someone talking about essentially writing their own "not-Far West" just for the amusement of having it come out before FW did? That was me. I've actually done a fair amount of work on it before life intervened (switched jobs twice, moved cross oceans twice, started gender transition) and TBH what I have right now is the sketches of a setting and I have to figure out what sort of gameplay would be fun in that setting. The elevator pitch, though: Zheng He's final treasure fleet went east instead of west and discovered what our timeline calls Vancouver Island. A few decades later, the emperor sends a younger son off to oversee Chinese activity in the region. Fast forward four hundred years and a Chinese nation whose emperor split from the late Ming dynasty rules the Pacific Northwest, in a not-untroubled coexistence with the native peoples. Noteworthy foreign powers include Mexico, Texas, Deseret Utah, and the distant United States (whose influence is felt mainly through people who leave it for whatever reason and settle in Chinese-controlled territory. There's racial turmoil (China has race prejudice that doesn't line up with American/Texan race prejudice), religious turmoil (native beliefs, Confucianism, Buddhism, Chinese Islam, Mormonism), and just to spice things up a little more, massive deposits of silver have been discovered in areas of Northern California claimed but only loosely controlled by the Chinese. Now that I'm living in the Pacific Northwest, I'm going to try to find time to resume work on it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 09:45
|
|
|
My copy of Gloomhaven just arrived and man, that thing is enormous. Can't wait to paint the first minis and start playing!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 10:40
|
|
|
Lord Hypnostache posted:My copy of Gloomhaven just arrived and man, that thing is enormous. Can't wait to paint the first minis and start playing! It's so freaking cool.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 16:02
|
|
|
inklesspen posted:That was me. I've actually done a fair amount of work on it before life intervened (switched jobs twice, moved cross oceans twice, started gender transition) and TBH what I have right now is the sketches of a setting and I have to figure out what sort of gameplay would be fun in that setting. I look forward to the Kickstarter.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 16:06
|
|
|
Not sure if this was posted before or not, but the Kickstarter for Judgement had 3 days to go and is nearly funded. The idea is to recreate MOBAs like DotA or LoL on the tabletop. The rules are free, including all heroes monsters and items. I played a test game of it over the weekend, and it was pretty fun although not without problems. Some heroes and abilities are clearly Pros: 3v3 or 5v5 battles with very varied heroes, leading to some fun skirmishes Every hero feels very different Captures the basics of a MOBA pretty well Pick/Ban system is actually fun Simple mechanics are easy to learn Cons: 54mm miniatures means there's not much room for third party alternatives (although they provide free paperdoll printouts) No minions or lanes, and usually no towers, so the MOBA experience is very simplified Certain maps are in danger of just being a big melee in the middle until one side suddenly wins Requires custom dice (technically you can remap a d6) In the end, I think it's a fun game and would like to see it succeed, even if I won't have many opportunities to play it in person.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 17:31
|
|
|
Kaza42 posted:Not sure if this was posted before or not, but the Kickstarter for Judgement had 3 days to go and is nearly funded. I think the biggest con is that the game requires bunch of custom poo poo to play it and the lowest buy in is going to run somewhere north of ~40USD after shipping for a single miniature with none of the special cards or dice. Also the minimum amount of money you can spend to actually have a playable game out of the box is $300USD.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2017 22:05
|
|
|
JazzFlight posted:This might be my favorite Kickstarter project. It was less than $100, delivered in a little over a year, no crazy amount of add-ons needed, yet it has soooo drat much included. I'm obsessed with starting it soon. I don't even mind some of the legacy elements (where I normally might be averse to permanently marking something so pretty) because adding stickers to the map actually makes it look better and you can always roll a new party to play old scenarios anyhow. Out of curiosity, is Gloomhaven one of the 'get it in kickstarter or never get the full experience' or will/is the retail version complete?
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 19:11
|
|
|
PST posted:Out of curiosity, is Gloomhaven one of the 'get it in kickstarter or never get the full experience' or will/is the retail version complete? Retail and Kickstarter are the exact same save for a glossy print thank you note.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 19:31
|
|
|
PST posted:Out of curiosity, is Gloomhaven one of the 'get it in kickstarter or never get the full experience' or will/is the retail version complete? Kickstarter had the option to downgrade to standees in lieu of minis, but that's it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 19:40
|
|
|
It's <video game> but in board game format! Has that ever resulted in a good game?
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 19:59
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:It's <video game> but in board game format! Has that ever resulted in a good game? Depends on if you like anything by Level 99 or the Yomi guy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:00
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:It's <video game> but in board game format! Has that ever resulted in a good game?
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:02
|
|
|
inklesspen posted:That was me. I've actually done a fair amount of work on it before life intervened (switched jobs twice, moved cross oceans twice, started gender transition) and TBH what I have right now is the sketches of a setting and I have to figure out what sort of gameplay would be fun in that setting.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:04
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:It's <video game> but in board game format! Has that ever resulted in a good game? Starcraft was praised pretty well.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:06
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:It's <video game> but in board game format! Has that ever resulted in a good game? About 20 hours to go on that KS and you apparently get a Steam key for the PC game included at the $15 and up levels.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:10
|
|
|
I've heard the Doom boardgame is actually good fun, c/d?
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:43
|
|
|
I had a Pac Man board game when I was a kid. Not even young me liked it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:48
|
|
|
Siivola posted:I've heard the Doom boardgame is actually good fun, c/d? This is what people in the boardgame thread have said, with someone saying he liked it better than Czech Games' Adrenaline which is a similar "FPS in boardgame format" game and Adrenaline itself looks pretty good from the reviews I've seen.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:49
|
|
|
Doom is basically just a different flavor of Descent, from what I've heard. It doesn't really try to do the FPS thing like Adrenaline. Good if you like that kind of game though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:50
|
|
|
Siivola posted:I've heard the Doom boardgame is actually good fun, c/d? It's the best iteration of Decent they've released so far. My friends and I enjoy it and it does a fair job of presenting the feel of the current DOOM game.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:50
|
|
|
dwarf74 posted:I had a Pac Man board game when I was a kid. Not even young me liked it. That game was like Hungry Hungry Hippos for people who think games need dice.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:52
|
|
|
90s Cringe Rock posted:Gears of War. GrandpaPants posted:Starcraft was praised pretty well. Siivola posted:I've heard the Doom boardgame is actually good fun, c/d? Do any of these games attempt to replicate the gameplay of the computer game, or are they just board games with themes/a license from a video game? Not to move the goalposts, mind you, but that's what's being attempted with the MOBA board game.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 20:54
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:Depends on if you like anything by Level 99 or the Yomi guy. Yomi was an exact duplicate of its online version, though- it was always designed as a card game. Mega Man Pixel Tactics should be pretty fun. Doom and Gears of War were alright games? I'm not as enthused by "against the RNG" games but non-me people seemed to enjoy them a lot.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 21:00
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:Yomi was an exact duplicate of its online version, though- it was always designed as a card game. Mega Man Pixel Tactics should be pretty fun. I didn't mean just Yomi. Puzzle Strike (I forgot the name, looked it up) seems to be well-regarded as a table-top version of those Puzzle Fighter games.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 21:05
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:Do any of these games attempt to replicate the gameplay of the computer game, or are they just board games with themes/a license from a video game? Not to move the goalposts, mind you, but that's what's being attempted with the MOBA board game.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 21:05
|
|
|
Mutant: Mechatron is the latest in the Mutant: Year Zero line. Is Mutant: Year Zero any good? I know I've asked this before but nobody ever seems to know anything about it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 21:12
|
|
|
Bieeardo posted:That game was like Hungry Hungry Hippos for people who think games need dice. Kind of like Mouse Trap. I don't think I've ever actually played Mouse Trap, just set up the machine.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 21:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 03:08 |
|
|
I always wanted to play Ms Pac Man. It looked like it had some kind of disc scoping mechanism. Q*Bert's gameplay was spot on, at least for the first few boards. Never actally played Mousetrap, but I still built the contraption and gave it a run.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2017 21:38
|
|