Backerkit coming along, updates, and Legendary Adventures!
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 03:05:14 AM
Hi all, just a heads up that I got a lot done on the Backerkit side getting things set up, so I'm hopeful I'll be able to get it sent out by the end of the week. For anyone who wanted to add additional items, you'll be able to do that in Backerkit (including ordering multiple copies of things).
Brick and Mortar Retailers: If you own a game store and would like to make a wholesale order of any of the books in this project, let me know via email in Kickstarter or [email protected]. If you have a favorite local game store and want to let them know about the great products we've got coming, by all means please do share the news and have them reach out to me.
Kickstarter Outage: Kickstarter is doing a maintenance thing tonight for several hours, so if you are still having a file issue and I haven't gotten back to you by now, I may not be able to tonight. I've gotten a number of stray files sent out this evening and will address the others in my queue tomorrow.
Legendary Adventures for Epic Level D&D 5E! You already know that we pushed back our Asian Monsters Quick-starter, and we have several options we're sifting through to see which one will be next to launch, but meanwhile one of our publishing partners, Mike Myler, has just launched a new 5E Kickstarter that you might want to check out if you like high-level play (or even just want it for the high-level monsters) with Legendary Adventures! Mike has run 10 Kickstarters of his own, several of them in partnership with Legendary Games and others in partnership with Russ Morrissey and the ENWorld team, like last year's very successful Mythological Figures and Malevolent Monsters. These epic rules have been thoroughly playtested and offer a wealth of options for high-level play. For more detailed info, check out the Kickstarter page at the link above or below, but here's a quick rundown of what you'll find inside.
As a side note, while he's running this as a full-length 30-day Kickstarter, Mike is also operating on the Quick-Starter philosophy, in that the PDF is done and ready for fulfillment when the project ends. He's also committed to using print-on-demand fulfillment for the physical book, with proofs already checked and approved, so he will start shipping those out once Kickstarter funds clear (usually about 2-3 weeks after the Kickstarter ends). This project is already double funded in the first few hours, so if high-level play is your bag, check it out and have a Legendary night!
Be a Pirate Lookout!
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 10:40:53 PM
Hi all,
It looks like the email attachments for Mythos Monsters and the VTT Pack and the Google Drive strategy for Sea Monsters and the Pirate Campaign Compendium have worked well for most people. If you are still missing anything by tomorrow morning, let me know! On to a quick hit list:
1. We are in the process of setting up Backerkit, a pledge manager and survey tool, which will allow you to input your address and shipping information, as well as allow you to access downloadable files, add extra items to your pledge if you are so motivated, and to re-download things in the event of any issues.
2. If you happen to spot any errors or typos in Sea Monsters, let us know ASAP. The book is in the printer queue but it hasn't been printed yet, so if we need to make any last-minute corrections we do still have a window. The Pirate Campaign Compendium has some typos and errors, which is one of the reasons we are creating the Revised Edition, so most likely any item you might point out in that book already has been flagged and fixed in layout.
3. Fantasy Grounds adventure keys should finish being generated and mailed out by the end of March. The Shard VTT Module and Token Pack is scheduled to be finished around late April/early May (it was logged as available in May in the Kickstarter order).
Thanks so much and enjoy your PDFs! The printing process will take some time but we have our spot in line and we'll be moving through the queue at the printer and sharing updates as things happen.
Third time's the charm?
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 07:09:59 PM
Hi all,
Wow, in 12 previous Kickstarters I have NEVER had these kinds of technical difficulties with simply getting files out. Since DrivethruRPG and Dropbox were both being disagreeable, we've gone over to Google land!
1. Mythos Monsters and the VTT Token Pack have been sent out from our [email protected] email account as simple email attachments.
2. Sea Monsters and the Pirate Campaign Compendium have been uploaded to Google Drive and access/download links have been sent out through Kickstarter's messaging system to all backers getting either or both of those two products. I sent those links via Kickstarter as hopefully that should bypass any spam-filter shenanigans that might apply to a normal email with attachments or links. I'm also hopeful that Google Drive will not have the secret bandwidth metering that Dropbox apparently has. Just in case they do, though, if you already have either file from one of our previous attempts to send out, please do not download that file again from Google Drive. Just download whichever file(s) you are missing.
I will not be able to respond individually to all 200-300 messages, comments, and emails, but let's hope this go-round gets everyone what they need. Give files a little time to percolate through the internet, but if you still don't have any of your files by tomorrow morning, let me know again and I'll look into breaking the fourth wall (or breaking something - I mean GEEZ LOUISE) to get you your stuff!
As noted before, I'll get cranking on Backerkit to get that system set up, where you'll be able to download again and to add any items you need or want onto your pledge. Thanks again keep your fingers crossed for TOTAL SUCCESS!!!
What New Devilry Is This?
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 07:09:58 PM
OK, so fun fact I apparently never knew about Dropbox in the 8 years I've been using it. Apparently a shared link can be "suspended" by Dropbox if it creates "too much traffic." The daily limit is only 20 GB, so given the size of the Pirate Campaign Compendium (being half a GB on its own), me uploading it plus 39 people downloading it appears to have put me the link into suspension mode (and apparently the other links too). Apparently after 24 hours I can reupload and rename the file and folder and make a new link.
Like with the Drivethru thing, it's bizarre and not anything I've ever experienced in 12 previous Kickstarters hosting downloads on Dropbox with all but one of them.
Given that size limitation, I think I'll just do the reupload/rename with Sea Monsters, Mythos Monsters, and the VTT pack and *not* with the Pirate PDF, because it is just too big and it will auto-trigger that limit if very many people download it. Looks like I'm hitting the gas pedal on getting Backerkit ready so it can get put up there (and hopefully we don't discover some strange new glitch there too).
If you are still missing the Pirate Campaign Compendium, I'll go through the emails and messages and sort those out and try sending those Drivethru links again individually, as hopefully that won't trip the alarms or whatever happened with the first go-round.
Thanks for your patience. I've got to head into some meetings and run errands but will revisit this issue probably tonight when I get back on.
Wow, that whole DrivethruRPG link send-out had some ISSUES
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 07:09:51 PM
That's the first time we've tried to use that as our primary distribution method at the end of a Kickstarter and so far I have to say I'm not impressed. Somewhere over 200 of you ended up missing one or more PDFs. I don't know if it's because spam folders and mail filters are much more vigilant these days (and these were sent out as mass emails with no-reply addresses to hundreds of addressees and containing links so... ok, in retrospect I can see how a spam-filter bot would think that's suspicious). Still, I was very surprised at how many issues there were.
We went back to our old method of me sending out Dropbox links to our private Dropbox. Since we can sort by pledge type, the links for Sea Monsters and the Pirate Campaign Compendium went out to each backer level through Kickstarter's internal messaging system, so that should bypass any potential spam issues. For add-ons (Mythos Monsters and the VTT Pack), we sent them from our company email at [email protected]. Hopefully those should arrive safely.
As an addendum, we'll also set up downloads in Backerkit as we continue setup there, so that will be one more place where you can get your files. Sorry for the inconvenience but onward and upward!
EDIT: It looks like my Dropbox folder wasn't syncing properly so I had to reupload the Pirate Campaign Compendium from my browser-side Dropbox. It's in the process of uploading now but it's a HUGE file (over 500 MB) so it'll probably be up in about 15 minutes or so.
