UDS SHIPPING THIS WEEK!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 04:50:49 PM

WE'RE SO EXCITED!

Gamerati informed me late last week that they expected to start shipping some time this week. I've communicated with them since and they intend on starting the shipments Wednesday, the 29th of March. Some of you have already received notices from various  shipping companies Gamerati uses. EXCITING!

WHAT TO EXPECT

At a minimum, you will be receive a copy of Ultimate Dungeon Showdown along with a set of shiny, green dice. This set should be enough to get up and running with UDS quickly. As you are playing, please jump onto our ZOE Discord Server and share your thoughts, and suggestions. It can take a bit to really get the hang of UDS, but your thoughts and feedback matter. I suspect many of you will have suggestions about ways to improve playability, and I'd love to have a 'suggested cards' channel as well. 

CROSSING FINGERS

I'm hoping that this Kickstarter goes much more smoothly than the ElfQuest one did. As you are well aware, this particular campaign had several big issues which we needed to overcome, and there are a lot of lessons learned to inform how we run future campaigns. There's a smaller number of backers for this campaign. than EQ (just over 1000), and it's not nearly as complex, but sometimes the fates like to make jokes at my expense. 

MINIATURES - HANDLE WITH CARE

If you ordered the miniatures, please be VERY careful unwrapping them. We've endeavored to protect the miniatures, which have a higher-likelihood of fragility, from the hazards of shipping, but that doesn't mean they can't break in your hands, when unwrapping them. 

You will find that the miniatures are shipped in 2 ways: Bubble-wrapped or in a hard-shell. The miniatures which do not have fragile parts which could break if jostled around in a packaged, were bubble wrapped. The miniatures which had fragile parts were secured in a hard-shell to ensure jostling was minimized. Frankly, I'm pretty proud of the solution we came up with! 

Unfortunately, a miniature's fragility doesn't disappear when it's out of the package. Please be careful. I'm not exaggerating when I state that I lost 30% of the manufactured Nimbles and Daggies to broken torches, knives and blunderbusses. Some of that loss resulted before they were cured, but you should be careful.

MINIATURES - A REWARD

In case you didn't pickup what I've been laying down, miniatures have been a painful reward item for us this time around. Specifically, we've had some challenges with resin-based, 3D printed miniatures, which can be more fragile if not cured correctly, or are not protected correctly. Because this has been an issue with one other campaign, and because you've waited so long, and because the miniatures you may be receiving MIGHT end up breaking cause you drop them, your dog chews on them, or grand-dad sneezes too hard, knocking over a salt shaker onto your Daggie mini, I'm going to be sending you the .STL files so you can print another copy at your leisure. It's a small token of my affection for you, and it's in appreciation for your grace and support through this challenging time. I'll be organizing that effort once we successfully send out the miniatures.

WHAT IF THERE'S ISSUES?

Although we hope (and pray) for the best outcomes when fulfillment begins, there are often issues that can interrupt the happy-happy-joy-joy. Missing items, broken merchandise, etc. Depending on the scope of issues, I may end up setting up a form for you to fill out, but for now, if there are issues, please email [email protected] and we will address issues. 

All for now... 

Rennie Araucto, CEO

UDS: Fulfillment Update #2 (Week of 19 March 2023)
about 3 years ago – Sun, Mar 19, 2023 at 07:14:24 PM

Time for another update.

Summary: Gamerati has not yet started shipping. They have all the shipping data, and enough physical goods to begin shipping orders, but there is still someone ahead of us in the queue.

When will they start shipping? The best they can tell me is, "shortly",  But there is 1 order ahead of us and they told me it's going to take them a few days to knock it out before they switch to UDS. They did tell me that the nature of the UDS order should go quickly, so that's good. BUT we will see how that goes. It's out of my hands, but I was down at their warehouse twice last week, and I told them that the UDS backers are REALLY looking forward to getting their hands on it, and if there's anything they can do to expedite things, please do. The individual in charge of this process told me they understand and are driving forward hard.

Backer data hand-off and updating cards

Early last week I handed off the "final" backer data to Gamerati. Specifically, I handed off all the current backer fulfillment data I have. We had some last minute updates that came in and I have to manually update the counts. Some of you have not yet been able to complete your surveys, or needed extra time for your cards to clear. That's OK. Once your cards clear, I will be able to update the information in their system and they will ship your items!

Some items are coming separately

There are a couple of physical items which will come in a second wave, or which Gamerati will not be shipping. Patches will be send via mail, and the wood GM screens and the wood dice boxes will be coming in a second shipment. The manufacturer is in Portland and they reached out to me last week to arrange shipment of those items. 

Dice with every order!

Gamerati asked me to verify inventory and counts, so I was able to go to the warehouse and grab a picture of the dice which come with every set. They are a lovely iridescent green and I'm adding a picture of it here for your enjoyment! (In case you're wondering, the cool grey background is actually the top of a cart they use to move boxes around. Convenient and a nice looking background.)

Once shipments starts, I will send out a notice, but if they does not, I will be talking with Gamerati to get their updated schedule. Again - I am crossing my fingers it begins this week, but I am not sure how long this other customer will take them. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions, or email [email protected].

Rennie Araucto

CEO, Zombie Orpheus Entertainment

UDS: Fulfillment Update
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 09, 2023 at 09:53:13 PM

THERE'S STILL TIME TO FILL OUT YOUR SURVEY TO GET UDS!

I spoke with Ed from Gamerati on Tuesday and they told me there's a large order in front of ours, which they are handling this week (Mar 6-10). Large = 10-20K board games! The UDS order is on the 'smaller' side (there's approx. 1000 backers), so he said he thinks he can slip us in near the end of next week.

I had prepared a backerlist for him earlier this week, but since there's 70 people who have not responded to surveys yet, and 35 cards which are unable to be charged, I am going to have to provide them an updated version of the backerlist and fulfillment spreadsheet within the next week, before they begin fulfilling.

If you still need to fill out your survey, I'm giving you more time!

Rennie

UDS - Next Step: Fulfillment!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 06, 2023 at 09:30:17 AM

What's happing this week

This last week we locked orders, charged cards for any shipping and add-ons (and new orders), and then locked shipping addresses. Our next step is to provide our fulfillment team (Gamerati) with all the orders. They need the information sorted in specific ways, which requires Ben, Eric or I to hand-sort through the data and create files which make it easy for Gamerati to generate pick-lists. It takes time, but it's necessary to ensure the data is correct. 

Our intention is deliver that final data to Gamerati today. From there, they will take each item, weigh it, and then calculate the shipping costs. They will issue me an invoice, I will pay it, and they will start shipping.

I will also be talking with the team to get a clear start-date for shipping. Once I get something from them, I'll post it here.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY CARD WAS DECLINED?

Some peoples cards get declined during this process. Don't be embarrased. It happens for many reason. When it does happen, Backerkit will automatically retry after a set period of time. If you have an issue with your card, or need to change card information and are having issues, please send us email at [email protected].  I want to get your issues sorted out. Please do not panic. We want help you out, but it may take time. Our support team (me) is juggling many things and I may not be able to immediately get to your support request quickly. Gamerati also understands, and we all plan for some challenges through the fulfillment process. Just know that you are welcome to follow up if you send a support email but do not hear back after 48 hours.

Undoubtedly there will be many other questions. If I see a feedback trend on Backerkit, or via the Kickstarter, I will add it to the FAQ. In the meantime, I will send out another update once I more information from Gamerati.

It's been a very long road, but we are nearing the start-ship line. 

Thanks!

Backerkit updated schedule - PLEASE READ
about 3 years ago – Thu, Feb 23, 2023 at 12:19:25 PM

A Schedule Adjustment

There was some miscommunication on this end, friends. Ben has been working with me on how to execute this next phase of fulfillment, but I missed a step. Once I sent out the email notice, someone was supposed to lock orders, charge cards and lock shipping addresses. Historically, Ben has been the master of all things crowdfunding, and would be project managing this campaign, but Ben is no longer responsible for this campaign and as Ben's young Padawan learner, I don't know what I don't know. I missed this step in the process, and apparently thought some mystical energy field was going to make it happen, or something. Nope. I actually need to push the button.

The good news is that you still have time to update your shipping addresses (once you get the email from Backerkit). The bad news is that I need to start the countdown timer today instead of the 13th. Ben told me I should give 48 hours notice for each Backerkit stage. With that, here's the revised schedule:

• On Saturday, the 25th of February, we will be locking all orders in Backerkit
• On Monday, the 27th of February, we will be charging your credit cards
• On Wed, the 1st of March, we will be locking all shipping addresses

With that being said, you will be receiving emails from Backerkit shortly and should be able to update your addresses and payment information once you receive them.

I do appreciate all the grace you're showing me as I navigate this process. Ben has been fabulous at explaining what I should do, but the transition from one PM to another has not been without it's issues. 

Thanks and keep your eyes open for that email!

One more thing - Gamerati, our fulfillment house, will use the shipping addresses and order tables to give us a shipping quote and plan. once I get them the locked shipping information, and get our quote, I'll cut them a check and off we go!