When you don't give a damn anymore – KS burnout

[horati0nosebl0wer 19611xp 1]

I’ve got an axe to grind and I’d like to ask if anyone else has had the hype of a KS be worn down to nothing by the time things were fulfilled. Misery loves company. Is there anyone else out there willing to add their two cents? Am I an idiot for going out on a limb once more for the notion of a project?

When the hype train has crashed headlong into the ground, flinging those aboard into the void without a sense of support before the impact of the unyielding reality, to scream unheard anguish there’s a bit to be said regarding tragedy. In this case I gripe in a manner that is visceral and quite perturbed which is long in the coming. I finally got some damn confirmation on the second Kingdom Death KS that I backed. I just got my second update for BackerKit and I’ve finished my changes to my order. After so much with the company and project I can say I’m done with any KS associated with the material. The first one was a learning experience. This second was in good faith of lessons learned by the company. There won’t be a third with this track record.

[wesadie1969 2729xp 2]

Legends of the Fabled Realms from 4Ground has left me with a sour taste. Only upside is at least I got a weekend at the OTT  centre and some terrain out of it.

[sundancer 42903xp 1]

I can see how that can sour the experience. And I went through my KS list of backed things and the only ones that I feel bad about are those that haven’t delivered at all.

First and foremost: Star Citizen (yes there is an alpha yadda yadda but the promised end product is still waaaaaaaay in the distance)

Since I never back board games in big number (only did Fanticide, Judge Dredd BlockWars and Battletech Clan Wars and all were delivered in timely fashion.) I haven’t been exposed to such “died hype trains”.

Maybe it’s because I *know* that a KS is usually an investment (long term) and not a “pre order thing” I keep myself from buying stuff  that will make it’s way into retail anyway.

[tankkommanderParticipant 6411xp 0]

For me the shine went off KS when Scythe arrived.

I’m done with KS now after receiving the latest Vaesen book (Mythic Britain) which is sadly a very lazy and mediocre product.

[templar007 52366xp 2]

The Kickstarter hype train is now one of my reasons to limit my personal involvement in Kickstarters.  If the hype is the reason I’m jumping onboard then I need to whoa up.  I grill myself pretty hard before pulling the trigger anymore.

 

I look at the delivery time, add six months to a year and then ask myself how many others games will come and go before what I’m looking at gets delivered.

 

The other thing that stops me cold is I remind myself how people LOVE to tell me that I don’t have a right to my stuff being delivered to me before they start selling it to the general public!  **(that’s when I smile and tell myself to NOT back the Kickstarter and just let others back it and I’ll reap the rewards of others money backing the project)**

 

BUT……………….there are a very small handful of companies that I will probably still jump in on their projects.  Mainly because they have NEVER sold projects to the public before they have delivered to their backers.

 

YMMV

[ced1106Participant 6224xp 0]

Shipping prices are going up, and I’m in the middle of the Blacklist Games drama. ): Given that I’ve been backing miniature laden campaigns since Bones I (and even picked up Zombicide Season 1 promos through a flea market), I’m good with bulk generic fantasy miniatures, and zombies, not to mention games with long campaigns. I did pick up the CMON Undead or Alive, so have a good supply of Old West miniatures as well. I’ll still back bulk miniatures that are unusual (Eg. War of the Teddies, Tiny Furniture’s “Sitting People”) or anything to fill out the collection.

I’ll back the Gloomhaven miniatures KS, but think I’ll not buy Frostgrave because of the $250 retail cost and Update 80. Retail holiday sales are *still* good, and have free shipping to boot. I’ve spent $150 with Noble Knight (before the union issues) and maybe $100 at Miniature Market (Arkham Horror 3rd edition for $32). With the holiday sales, I think I still spend a fair amount of hobby money retail.

I’m okay with waiting, since it takes me five or so years to get around to playing a game I’ve bought. KDM *has* had a of hype before the second KS, but it was also known that it would take forever to ship out and the scope would go nuts. I actually haven’t opened the inner shrinkwrap of the core box yet. 😛

As for hype, for myself, the hype is usually followed by a high price tag (eg. Oathsworn) or disappointing selection (eg. Terrain Crate 3 — I don’t play unusual sf that could use the plants or mat) so I close the tab and wait for the next KS. I do like the BoW ads reminding me of mini’s I don’t have the budget or time to play with. (I keed — BoW is my favorite way I can find out what mini’s are out there!) 😀

[pagan8thParticipant 10745xp 1]

I backed a lot of stuff on ks initially… but often find by the time the game actually arrives my interests have drifted away the game… either because the hype train derailed when the ks ended, or the product is just so late being delivered.

And a lot of games are either crap when they arrive (Zombicide Black Plague)…

Or poorly tested and later released as a 1.5 version (Endure the Stars, Mythic Battles Pantheon) which cost a lot to update and fix (because they use backers as beta testers).

Now I tend to only back UK based ks and ones that have a short delivery span… like Crooked Dice ks which are often only a few months away…

[soulman 2945xp 1]

Last night – 26th, there was a KDM update…things moving forward etc… I`m not a backer, just let you know if you have not checked in on them. Myself, Its Hel the last sage…just quickly went right now and checked on dates..! Went live on May 2020, and ETA of Jun 2021…woops…

[onlyonepinman 18060xp 2]

I wouldn’t say I’d had my hype whittled to nothing. I have definitely been frustrated about the delays and long fulfilment times and in some cases kind of stopped paying attention to progress on some projects. But when they turn up I’m still always excited to see what’s in the box. I think I have got to the stage where I expect a minimum 18month wait when I put my pledge in.

[osbad 4277xp 2]

I’ve not backed a KS for several years now.  I found that any initial buzz was always killed by the time of eventual delivery.  Add in any other dramas that occasionally plagued KS projects and I found on the whole I was mainly paying for the privilege of disappointment.
Also I really, really have enough stuff now.  I don’t need any more. My purchasing in general has slowed to a dribble.  Lockdown did wonders for my project painting, and so now I have completed, painted and based armies for very many games sitting waiting to be used.  Anything I buy now in terms of figures has to be available immediately as I am simply buying it for the fun of painting it up and maybe to add options to an existing army, so there’s no point in a) buying huge boxes, or b) buying stuff that won’t arrive for a long time.
I’m also done buying and learning new rulesets.  Sod that for a game of soldiers.  I hate the hassle of learning new rules, so I’ve decided to opt-out.

Of course, I’m still human (just!!) so I occasionally crack – I went big on Slaine this year – but in my defence, I did paint it all and I have played it quite a bit.  But on the whole, stuff has to be pretty special to rouse my desire, and KS with its inbuilt delays and issues is never going to get there any more!

[somegeezer 18431xp 3]

I recently binned Myth. The rules were pish, the minis were characterful but badly made. I decided I’ll never play it, never paint it, I could just cut my losses and get some space back. I need to do a few more like that.

[collins 16350xp 2]

Ive recently gone through some interesting experiences on KS. one project had a funny air about it and at the moment of backing I had a alarm going off saying ‘seems too good to be true, you realise this is probably a scam’ I elected to still go through with it. it collected and failed to deliver anything, I have chalked it up to experience, trust your gut instinct in future etc

others I got very excited for during the project and when they delivered I was less fussed by them. nothing wrong with that on either sides of the fence, just life.

recently however I had one project that has succeeded and some people have got their stuff, the majority have not however and im really saddened by it. I had a lot of excitement for the theme, timeline and ‘vision’. now effectively the creator has somewhat disappeared and I believe they wanted it to be a big success, they simply had a business relationship breakdown and caused issues with delivery. I do not believe I will receive what ive invested in and it’s sad.

now my life has moved on and circumstances have changed. I am not likely to back KS projects in the future, not because I don’t want the projects to succeed, purely because I don’t have the time anymore and still have a big pile of stuff to deal with. im ultimately reorganising my priorities and becoming much more disciplined with my time/money.

[guttedrunnerParticipant 196xp 0]

yup. Artworks were awesome though. Thats what caught me.

[phaidknott 7023xp 1]

I’ve stopped with the KS purchases with a simple question to myself “How likely am I going to be to paint these things in the next year or two?” (Hint answer is usually not). Sometimes a “smaller” KS might tempt me for things like a rulebook etc, but the days of “Board game with LOOK AT ALL THE MINIS YOU GET” sales pitch usually leaves me cold. I’ve got a rather large backlog thanks to Mantic (still not got all the Dreadball teams painted, as well as the Dungeon Saga), and the only other thing on my paint list to do is Core Space (and the later game addition), although thankfully with that one I don’t have to paint any terrain (just the minis).

[horati0nosebl0wer 19611xp 1]

Mini backlog is definitely an issue. You get through so much in the time that you wait for a KS to arrive that you set yourself back to the same point you were at if not worae than before.

I skipped the Reaper Bones KS before as there was just too much to paint and I had no use for them all. Time for painting is diminished by quantity. The quality of painting is also diminished by quantity. Slap cock shows what it means to lower the bar for expediency. I think planning out my projects without the KS FOMO and waiting for the release of product (even if the price is a little higher) will make my hobbying more pleasant. Anyone else considering how the waiting game has changed their projects?

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