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Author Topic: Shieldwolf Miniatures-Official News thread--Plastic Forest Goblins now available  (Read 45784 times)

Offline The Red Graf

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 374
  • Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #60 on: January 19, 2016, 06:13:39 PM »
Yes I would agree with that as well. Not sure what they expected, this has been in the works for some time and yet they have very little to show us. Where are the artist sketches at the very least so we can see what posses are intended.  Add to that the bodies are somewhat realistic while the hair is some some sort of cross between anime and a hair commercial. The weapons are a bit over the top for my taste.

I was in for $95 this time, not sure if I will take a second bite.
Semper in excretum sum sed alta variat

Offline Duncan McDane

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1191
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #61 on: January 19, 2016, 06:36:36 PM »
It's a small world, the world of miniatures. And they've gotten plenty of flak already in the past.
My advise to them would be to for once to listen to their fanbase and do exactly what they want, instead of knowing everything better themselves.. After all, the potential buyers are the ones who decide with their wallet, regardless how many times you call yourself great, the very best miniatures available, highly original etc. etc.
But it's up to them, really. I hope they will release their stuff one way or the other, since some of their resin women are pretty nice  :).
Leadhead

Offline beefcake

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 7413
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #62 on: January 19, 2016, 11:47:17 PM »
Well, better they cancel than take everyone's money, try to stretch it to meet the expectations and then fall short. Takes some guts to cancel an already funded project (if not actually fully funded in reality)


Offline The Red Graf

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 374
  • Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #63 on: January 20, 2016, 01:04:46 AM »
But that's not why they said they cancelled it. They cancelled it because it was not doing as well as they wanted it to. They specifically said they thought it would hit 60k, but they apparently were hoping for a much bigger return.

Offline FramFramson

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 10681
  • But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #64 on: January 20, 2016, 05:35:17 AM »
As Cubs said:

I'm not sure they're using the term 'Funding Goal' in the same way everyone else does.


I joined my gun with pirate swords, and sailed the seas of cyberspace.

Offline Maccwar

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 134
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #65 on: January 20, 2016, 09:55:35 AM »
I'm not sure they're using the term 'Funding Goal' in the same way everyone else does.

There are quite a lot of campaigns which set an initial goal which falls way short of what they will actually need to fund all their activities in the hope that they will raise a ton of extra cash and not have to dig in their own pockets to fulfil the campaign. Some people won't back campaigns until they are funded and think that the stretch goals mean that they are getting added value so setting a lower initial goal can mean you end on a higher total.

Gamers attitudes to Kickstarter have shifted over the years - had this campaign been run a while back they it might have been runaway success but in today's climate and in January when everyone is broke it is a tough sell.

Personally I was vaguely tempted by the shieldmaidens but the design choices on the weapons and hair were a bit off putting - enough for me to hesitate and remember that I have a huge pile of unpainted miniatures which I really don't need to add to at this time.

Offline Schrumpfkopf

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 802
    • Westfalia Miniatures
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #66 on: January 20, 2016, 11:58:19 AM »
Just 2 very general thoughts.

1. Kickstarter is what the project owners make of it. (I for example set low goals and mostly use the pledges to see how much I can develop a range beyond the initial offerings.)
2. Whatever SW did, planned and said. They made sure nobody is losing money. This is honourable behaviour in my book.

 :)
westfaliaminiatures.com - proper stuff in 28mm

Offline The Red Graf

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 374
  • Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #67 on: January 27, 2016, 11:01:32 AM »
From Shieldwolf's Facebook page-



SHIELDWOLF NEWSLETTER JANUARY 27ΤΗ, 2016


Hello everyone, and a happy 2016, with health and prosperity to you and your beloved ones!

This newsletter is being issued after long and hard discussion regarding our KS-2 "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" which unfortunately had to be cancelled. We will point out the mistakes we think we made and also try shedding some light to clear any false thoughts.

After discussing it over many many hours, we arrived at the conclusion that the main error from our part was the over-evaluation of the need for an alternative army wargame currently in the market. After monitoring and/or interacting at various forums worldwide, we had come to believe that the timing for a new fantasy army wargame was at its best moment. Our game (even at a beta version) and the quality of the miniatures we have and aim for should have been a winning combination to fill a gap in the market. Apparently most of our supporters were simply looking for some new miniatures and many even missed the fact that they were receiving an enriched version of our rulebook, which is the ultimate purpose of the company (i.e. to create an army game and the miniatures to support it).
The issue with the mid-campaign slump which we said we had prepared for, is something that too must be cleared. In a 30-day campaign, we were expecting a slump between the 15th and 25th day. Unfortunately this happened just after the 7th  day (!), so just as we explained on our update #5 at that moment it became pointless thinking the aces we had up our sleeves would suffice to maintain the momentum.
Another issue that came up was the funding goal. We find it funny having to address that, but it is just we do so. People that were informed about us know that when we launched our first Kickstarter (KS-1), we stated “we want to fund five full armies” and we commenced with a 5,000$ goal. Not a single person complained about it, since it’s obvious that the goal was set in order to build upon and it naturally wasn’t enough even for a single (let alone five) full armies!
For our KS-2, we took it down to two armies (Orcs and Shieldmaidens) and asked for 30,000$ to co-fund the first plastic kit, everything else was already available and either co-funded in KS-1 or had been directly made available from Shieldwolf. People who hadn’t been following us implying that the goal was too “low” have simply misunderstood what the ultimate goal was about.
However, we would still like to make it as clear as humanly possible that we have assumed full responsibility for the miscommunication.

Having to press the “Cancel Funding” button was a very difficult thing for us, one we had thought we would never have to bother with. If people think that it was an easy choice, they couldn’t be more mistaken! We would kindly like to remind that a lot of time, effort and funds have already been invested by Shieldwolf and by cancelling the project it is us who risk losing all of it, while securing that our supporters don’t risk a single penny or waste of their time by needlessly allowing this to drag on. In our book, that is honorable behavior and it is a sign of who the people behind Shieldwolf are. We have made a name for ourselves in the past years regarding customer service, communication and high quality product; it means a lot to us, we are proud of it and we would never risk/gamble/jeopardize it for any reason!

This brings us to the next point: where do we take it from here?

After having cooled our heads a bit, we united in our HQ to discuss the options. For two consecutive nights we have been debating vigorously of what do to. The main perplexity is that if army wargaming is dead or dying, the number of people willing to start a completely new army such as the Shieldmaidens or the Orcs will not suffice to make back the investment made by Shieldwolf. This brings us to whether army wargaming is infact dying or not however.
We have decided to give it one more chance, this time with some variations however. In this new approach we will work with our supporters (there are still 312 tenacious backers who held on to their pledges even knowing the project was being cancelled), and show of drafts of how the new project is going to be like. We appreciate all feedback, comments, suggestions etc and are looking forward to interacting with you once again. Whatever happens when this launches, even if it funds for a tiny tiny bit, we will carry it on and deliver just like we have done in the past.

If army fantasy wargaming (meaning rank n’file mass army gaming) has a strong future ahead, then this plan with the new project should not have any issues. Fingers crossed it all works out and we are looking forward to your comments.

Thank you.

The Shieldwolf Team.

Offline pocoloco

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3848
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs" is LIVE AND FUNDED!!!
« Reply #68 on: January 27, 2016, 11:40:47 AM »
Just 2 very general thoughts.

2. Whatever SW did, planned and said. They made sure nobody is losing money. This is honourable behaviour in my book.

 :)

QFT.

I see no reasons to complain by any customer of theirs, past, present or future.

Offline Duncan McDane

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1191
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #69 on: January 27, 2016, 11:44:21 AM »
I think they want too much at the same time. Start small, maybe with 2 small warbands and some easypeasy skirmish rules, in order to get their name spread and establish a fanbase.
WFB, KoW and the like weren't established in a day, either...

Offline Cait Sidhe

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 388
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #70 on: January 27, 2016, 11:49:30 AM »
So they admit that they purposefully low balled the funding target but people were just "misunderstanding" what their goal was... got it. If I'm understanding properly are they saying they intended to fund the remaining cost themselves? Either way they hit their funding goal and had 23 days left but still reckoned they didn't get enough cash to cover the costs so that's clearly an issue.

I don't consider it at all honourable, as they and some people in this thread do, to set a funding goal which is clearly nowhere near enough to actually produce what they're offering just because they decided not to just take the cash and run.  :?

Offline jon_1066

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 909
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #71 on: January 27, 2016, 12:54:28 PM »
Has anyone actually looked at their rules?  If they want to produce a new mass battle game with figures to match they should really try and produce a new game not just re-hash Warhammer Fantasy Battle.  It's a total knock off.

Offline Shieldwolf Miniatures

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 398
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #72 on: January 27, 2016, 04:11:27 PM »
So they admit that they purposefully low balled the funding target but people were just "misunderstanding" what their goal was... got it. If I'm understanding properly are they saying they intended to fund the remaining cost themselves? Either way they hit their funding goal and had 23 days left but still reckoned they didn't get enough cash to cover the costs so that's clearly an issue.

That's a negative @Cait Sidhe, we never said that we low balled anything!, on the contrary we said that the funding was enough for the first plastic kit to get things rolling. That was a 30$K funding goal, I'm pretty sure you'll agree that doesn't sound like low balling.
Also, yes, we cofund this project just like we cofunded KS-1, we had 3$K SG to fund... a dragon! That's how much we had asked for and mind you we funded two of them in our KS-1...  ;)
I don't consider it at all honourable, as they and some people in this thread do, to set a funding goal which is clearly nowhere near enough to actually produce what they're offering just because they decided not to just take the cash and run.  :?

30$K was enough. To further prove this, rest assured that the same number is going to be set in KS-2.5 if we pitch again with the same plastic kit.
Also, we don't run. We have invested too much not to stick around  :)

Has anyone actually looked at their rules?  If they want to produce a new mass battle game with figures to match they should really try and produce a new game not just re-hash Warhammer Fantasy Battle.  It's a total knock off.

We had over 100 playtesters worldwide saying about the innovative things our game brings. There are obviously some similarities like all army games, some basic principles (troops, commander etc) are shared by many. The differences however in both game-play and strategy make the two games totally different, from the very start of the deployment phase till the target priorities that drive the gaming experience. (and we're not even referring to the hardcore version where diplomacy and dominion get introduced, along with cards and the campaign map, concepts completely alien to the game you mentioned.)
A final note, the law firm ruling over us confirmed that there are definitely no issues as these have sound basic differences that should allow us IP protection once published. That should say something by itself ;-)

We try to monitor as many forums as possible, we have nothing to hide and if we haven't answered to someone it's because (only human after all) must' ve missed it! If something isn't clear, please point it out, we will be happy to address it once brought to our attention.
We on the contrary would like with the occasion to note that we appreciate the existence of all forums that allow us to interact with the community!  :)

We are actively in open dialogue with our KS-2 backers and trying to be as transparent as possible, being behind computer screens doesn't always help...  8)

I think they want too much at the same time. Start small, maybe with 2 small warbands and some easypeasy skirmish rules, in order to get their name spread and establish a fanbase.
Maybe no skirmish rules made by us at least (we could always use unoficial fan based ones if any of our supporters wants to go into the trouble), but we will aim smaller before spreading. As we said, we overestimated the market's wants, maybe we can revisit that in a few years from now and in the meanwhile keep on building our range as you suggest. Today this sounds more reasonable :)
« Last Edit: January 27, 2016, 04:15:52 PM by Shieldwolf Miniatures »

Offline Cubs

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4914
  • "I simply cannot survive without beauty ..."
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #73 on: January 27, 2016, 04:36:22 PM »
Wait, so are you saying that you got enough funding or you didn't get enough funding?

If you got enough funding, why has it been cancelled?

If you didn't get enough funding, why was this set as your goal?

Forgive me if you've answered this clearly and I've just missed it, because I honestly can't see the answer to either of these questions.
'Sir John ejaculated explosively, sitting up in his chair.' ... 'The Black Gang'.

Paul Cubbin Miniature Painter

Offline FionaWhite

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 590
  • The Fox Fantastic
Re: [KICKSTARTER] "Shieldmaidens vs Orcs"
« Reply #74 on: January 27, 2016, 04:41:51 PM »
Wait, so are you saying that you got enough funding or you didn't get enough funding?

If you got enough funding, why has it been cancelled?

If you didn't get enough funding, why was this set as your goal?

Forgive me if you've answered this clearly and I've just missed it, because I honestly can't see the answer to either of these questions.

You know I was about to ask the same thing.
If 30'000 was enough to create what you and the backers both wanted... why wasn't it enough?
Obviously the backers would've been happy with what they were getting already, otherwise why would've they backed at all?

I really have no idea what I'm doing.

 

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