Laser Cut Dungeons

[Doomsdave]

I don't think anyone has posted this Kickstarter here, but it looks very promising:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/736875383/infinite-crypt-modular-terrain-for-underworld-arch?ref=search

[DoctorPete]

Thanks for the link!  I had not noticed this one. 

[Spooktalker]

Yeah, thanks for the link, haven't seen this one.

Thoughts on this. The video is well done and makes a convincing case. The creator comes across as competent and committed. The terrain itself looks very useful. The straight lines of laser-cut stuff have an appeal all their own and his focus on modeling real architectural environments is also commendable. It's also great that he shows the final product painted. I refuse to put money on anything laser cut until I see some painted examples.

Some won't like the plain surfaces or the exposed rectangles where the tabs fit in the slots. Also, I don't believe for an instant these are quick and easy to assemble. This is part of the state of the hobby as a whole that manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce the end price to consumers (good!) at the expense of moving the labor over to the consumer (bad!) essentially turning them into factory workers. At the stated 4-5 minutes per piece, the time it would take to assemble a huge set of these is enormous and my free time is precious. The price I paid to have Chinese craftspeople paint my dwarven forge is minute in comparison to the cost I would essentially have to eat to do it myself.

Also, the kickstarter doesn't seem ready. It doesn't have diagrams showing visually what you get for each pledge level. I'm guessing the number of backers that will pass right on because of that is going to be huge. A month might seem like a long time to get your marketing pics together but it's not. It flies by. You need to show what people are going to get from day one. I'm really sad to say the backing levels seem set up all wrong.

Anyway, that came off more critical than intended but really I mean what I said up front. The product seems like a good idea that will work for many people. I wish him luck and hope he can fix up the kickstarter and mainly I hope he adds some visuals for the backing levels ASAP.


Oh, and you have to go to the facebook page to actually get a good look at the stuff:
https://www.facebook.com/infinitecrypt

[Elbows]

I'm a huge laser-cut-MDF-whore....I should probably own stock in 4Ground for as much of their kit as I build.

I love the idea of this (even as someone who owns enough dwarven forge stuff to make my car drop on its springs...).  However, I do think the kickstarter page is not well designed.  The video is great, but I fully agree I can't visualize at all what I'd be getting.  Also, as someone who gets a lot of laser MDF stuff (Sarissa, 4Ground, Tri-City Laser, Flying Tricycle etc.) the cost is very very high for what you're getting here.  It doesn't match up at all with what you get from competing companies.

From the sounds of it, over 100 pounds will get me enough to make one large room...?  From a laser-cut perspective the pieces here look simple, and I adore the idea and product, but this should be "heaps" of stuff for cheap.  For 100 pounds I should be able to cover a 2'x2' table or so, not just build one big room.  They're using basic MDF with minimal cutting, and no texture work etc.  I'll be keeping an eye on this as I am sold on the idea, but the value is not there right now.

For the same cost I could go to 4Ground (who are releasing a more classical MDF style dungeon system in the future too...) and pick up no less than five of their buildings from DMH (single story).  The pre-painted buildings with removable roofs, interior walls, swinging doors, porches, platforms, windows, beautiful detail cut into almost every piece, amazingly well designed etc.  It's a pretty tough sell. 

[Lawful Evil]

I like the clean cut look of this terrain, it's more like a catacomb or lost dwarves hall than your typical rough stone dungeon, but those prices! £52 for enough elements to make 'a large room'? For that price I'd expect half a dungeon. Maybe this stuff isn't designed for dungeon crawling?