A card game, roleplaying game, dice, miniatures, maps, adventures, and more... from the creators of The Gamers & JourneyQuest!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This update is a tad late in the sending. If you aren't on our newsletter mailing list, on our Discord, and not part of our JourneyQuest Kickstarter, you may not know that the month of May took a lot of my attention because WE WERE SHOOTING JOURNEYQUEST SEASON 4!!!! Why scream about it? Because it's been more than half a decade for me. Also, because this UDS campaign was originally called the "Save ZOE" campaign. The Save ZOE campaign was the result of the COVID Shutdowns, which put a serious wrench in our production efforts. Specifically, we took a big hit financially when everything shut down because we were just about to shoot JQ when the plug was pulled, resulting in us having to pay our crew and production team for their labors, and losing most of that work and funds. Then Ben (with the approval of the management team), launched the Save ZOE campaign, which morphed into a Card Game Kickstarter.
Wrapping up principle photography for JQ is a major milestone and a big reason for us, and we were able continue because of this UDS campaign. Thank you!
As of the first week of May, I can firmly say that our first wave of UDS should be complete. It took 4 weeks (at least) for everything to trickle through the package delivery system. I was told by Gamerati that it took them just a couple of days to get everything shipped, but I was hearing about the receipt of packages a few weeks later, even after I sent out the update mid-April. That's a big surprise to me, but I also had a package shipped to me, and it took 2 weeks (And I live about 25 minutes from the warehouse). Another local friend of mine received their package at the beginning of May. Strange!
Wave 2 is now beginning. That includes the 50 additional people who completed their Backerkit surveys after our initial deadline. It also includes people who purchased the wooden GM screens and Dice Boxes, and it includes the patches. You will be receiving your patches via the postal service and I really hope it doesn't take 4 weeks to arrive. These are being hand sorted and mailed (by my mother, BTW), so that we make sure these are correct. Why doesn't Gamerati do it? Because the patches didn't arrive in time and I made the decision to kick off the shipping because Gamerati had a very small window to take care of it before they were going to take on another project. I will also be making sure the shirts get printed and shipped off as well!
During this time, we have received reports of broken items, missing items and duplicate receipt of items. The Duplicates are unfortunate, but I can't do much about that, unless you want to bring them to our Tacoma warehouse, or drop them off at our Gen Con booth this August. If you DID receive duplicates, we need to make a claim to our shipper, so please file a claim and upload a photo. And, of course, consider it a pleasant surprise. As for the broken and missing items... you paid for the items, you should receive them.
If you have a claim for your missing or broken items, OR you were mistakenly shipped duplicates, please submit your claim here: Link to UDS Claim Form. I'm still working with Gamerati to sort out how they will be taking care of ZOE for their mistakes. Photos will help!
What about digital goods? I need to work with Ben Dobyns on the right way to get digital goods into your hands. We have some completed items, and the RPG is in layout. I am crossing my fingers that we get a completed version of the RPG by middle of June. Once we send out the Digital version, we will be getting some copies printed for Gen Con, as well as making them available on our website.
I probably have said it before, but right now it's just me, Rennie, doing all the corporate work and sorting out the Kickstarters. UDS, JQ, ElfQuest, and Demon Hunters. Strowlers is still being handled by Ben, so that's one off my plate. In addition, I'm juggling producing JQ, getting more shows in the hopper, planning merch and trying to get bills paid. I'm very, VERY sorry that it's slow going, but I do appreciate the pings and reminders.
Rennie Araucto, CEO
It's true. UDS was shipped out to -pretty much- everyone who fulled out their surveys and paid for their addons and shipping. Even as of yesterday, I'm getting reports of people just now receiving their goods, which is more than 2 weeks after the initial wave. Thank you for your patience.
If you have not yet filled out the survey, or had a problem making payment, you still have time to submit things. If you are having issues getting into Backerkit, please send an email to [email protected]
If you purchased a wooden GM screen, or dice box, don't fret. They are sitting in my dining room and I will be shipping those out once I return from my trip. If you purchased patches, they are being manufactured now and I should see them in the next couple of weeks. I mispoke about them being manufactured previously. They were in the 'design for manufacturing' phase, meaning our patch manufacturer was creating the physical version for my review. I've approved them and we've paid the invoice, and they are now in manufacturing! When they are done and sent to me, I'll let you all know. I'm not sure how long it takes for 1500 patches to be manufactured, but I suspect 2-4 weeks may be reasonable.
I've received some notices from people who either had missing or damaged items. YOU WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF! I'm sorry for any problems with the UDS fulfillment. In full transparency, we plan for a percentage of issues in fulfillment, whether it be damaged goods, incorrect/missing items in the shipment, or missing shipments. It's not unusual to have 2-4% of the shipments have something go wrong. That statistic would mean we should expect around 20-50 reports of issues. That's about right. So far its on the lower end.
In the next 7-14 days I'm going to be sending out a form for claims. Please take pictures of the damage so we can report it back to our shipper. We will have a time frame for claims to be made, and then we'll start addressing them. I will send out another email with the link to the claim form, and once I've gathered all the data, we'll make things right.
Again - so sorry for any disappointment you may be having with UDS! Let's fix that.
All digital goods (Except the RPG) will be delivered in the next couple of weeks. I need to get the codes together and work with Ben Dobyns on how to set it up. I've never done this part before.
The RPG is underway. Multiple hands are involved and it's much slower than I anticipated, but I expect to have a version to pre-prep for distribution within 4 weeks.
Thanks, again, for all your kind words and patience.
Rennie Araucto
As many of you noted, Gamerati started shipping UDS to backers on the 28th of March, 2023. It's been many, MANY months and I'm so happy that you are finally getting your hands on this great game! All backers who filled out their surveys and paid for shipping should now be receiving or have received a physical copy of Ultimate Dungeon Showdown, as well as a set of green dice. Many of you also purchased additional physical goods such as maps, miniatures, coloring books, dice, patches, wooden dice boxes and wooden DM screens. Most of the physical goods will have been part of this initial shipment.
Patches are being manufactured. This is another example of what happens when theres not a single product manager overseeing the manufacturing process. Ben and I resolved it a month ago, and our beloved (and amazing) patch designer has been working on the manufacturing of the 5 sets of patches since. I expect them soon! Once they arrive, we will be mailing them out via USPS. I made the decision to mail the patches out separately from the 1st wave in order to avoid holding up the shipping of UDS longer than necessary.
We received the wooden dice boxes and DM screens on Friday, and we decided we were going to ship those separately in order to ensure their mass doesn't harm the other products. I will be delivering the wooden DM screens and dice boxes to Gamerati on either Monday or Tuesday (April 3-4). Those items will be shipping out later this week.
These wooden dice boxes are beautiful. Check out this beautiful photos of the ZOE logo and what they look like with the dice in them.
The DM screen is equally impressive. Not shown are the plastic initiative tabs which are also included.
The T-Shirts will be fulfilled via our Print-on-Demand store. Those orders should be going out this week.
Digital rewards, such as the RPG, maps, templates and Crochet pattern PDF will be sent out separately, once we've prepped them for digital release. I need to work with Ben to walk through the process of releasing the digital goods to you. It's my understanding that the Crochet Patterns are ready to go. The RPG......
WHERE'S THE SHIRTS, RPG, CROCHET PATTERNS, ETC?orked to make it lean, nimble and quick. It's suppose to align with the UDS rules so the 2 experiences work in alignment. Nathan did a great job on the design and he delivered his draft of the game about 9 months ago. Ben and I have been working on editing it, in between all our other responsibilities, but the reality is, we haven't finished the editing portion. That's about to change. My goal is to have the final version of the RPG done by the beginning of the summer (hopefully, sooner). It's really important that I do because, 1) Backers shouldn't be waiting this long for the game, and 2) we want to get physical copies printed for Gen Con. I will keep you abreast of development.
Those of you who didn't fill out the survey, or had issues with your payment methods, you still have time. Once your surveys are complete, and you've paid for any add-ons or shipping, we'll be collecting them and delivering them to Gamerati on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. We understand that life happens, junk-mail happens, and we want to make sure you get your goods.
In case you're curious.... 1035 people backed our Ultimate Dungeon Showdown campaign to "Save ZOE". We've shipped UDS to 938 backers. 90% of backers were part of the first wave of shipments, and that's a GREAT precentage! 60 people have not yet completed their surveys. Since we delivered the first batch of orders to Gamerati, 19 more people have filled out their surveys. 18 people need to update their cards for payment.
If you're having issues, please contact [email protected]. I've verified that this email address DOES work. You can also reach out on our Discord server, if you have questions, comments, or want to talk about UDS with others!
Thank you for being part of this new phase for ZOE!