No Love for Southern Cross?

[Podtastic]

The Homefront Kickstarter has made nearly 4x the initial goal in only a few hours.

Looks like the To the Stars (Sentinels and Shadow Chronicles) module is very likely to follow as a result.

Edited October 20, 2021 by Podtastic

[Seto Kaiba]

2 hours ago, Podtastic said:

The Homefront Kickstarter has made nearly 4x the initial goal in only a few hours.

Not exactly an impressive feat, given how low the bar was set. 

The funding goal was just $5,400... equivalent to just 90 backers willing to pay $60 for a physical copy of the book.

As with the Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter, the sum collected is misleading.  They might be more than 4x the pledge goal ($23,520), but that's because the paltry number of backers (just 156, 70% more than the absolute minimum) are disproportionately pledging for the most expensive tiers.

 

[CoryHolmes]

16 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

As with the Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter, the sum collected is misleading.  They might be more than 4x the pledge goal ($23,520), but that's because the paltry number of backers (just 156, 70% more than the absolute minimum) are disproportionately pledging for the most expensive tiers.

 

 

I'm still incredibly salty over that.  I would've bought every single mini they produced, but PB just had to frakk it all up.  I've refused to buy any other PB product since.  Scummy douchbags, the lot of them!

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Not exactly an impressive feat, given how low the bar was set. 

The funding goal was just $5,400... equivalent to just 90 backers willing to pay $60 for a physical copy of the book.

As with the Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter, the sum collected is misleading.  They might be more than 4x the pledge goal ($23,520), but that's because the paltry number of backers (just 156, 70% more than the absolute minimum) are disproportionately pledging for the most expensive tiers.

 

There goes their Starbucks money for the month...

[Podtastic]

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Not exactly an impressive feat, given how low the bar was set. 

The funding goal was just $5,400... equivalent to just 90 backers willing to pay $60 for a physical copy of the book.

 

Doesnt matter as long as the book is produced and has the art I want.

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

As with the Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter, the sum collected is misleading.  They might be more than 4x the pledge goal ($23,520), but that's because the paltry number of backers (just 156, 70% more than the absolute minimum) are disproportionately pledging for the most expensive tiers.

 

In the first day. It doesnt matter if there are no more backers, its funded.

Money talks not snouts.

And I WILL be commissioning some art.😄

[Seto Kaiba]

1 hour ago, CoryHolmes said:

 

I'm still incredibly salty over that.  I would've bought every single mini they produced, but PB just had to frakk it all up.  I've refused to buy any other PB product since.  Scummy douchbags, the lot of them!

Eh... in all fairness, the Robotech RPG Tactics game was always going to fail.  Palladium's inept handling of the Kickstater only slightly accelerated the inevitable.

The Robotech fanbase was never large enough to sustain a high cost-of-entry tabletop game like RPG Tactics, even before Robotech: the Shadow Chronicles ended up undoing what little gains Harmony Gold had made in brand awareness after relaunching the franchise in 2001.  The game was ill-conceived, with a shortsighted choice of scale for its miniatures that all but guaranteed the game would never move past the Macross IP, and dogged by quality issues due to poor design and manufacturing.  What ended up accelerating its swift demise was that Palladium's owner Kevin Siembieda judged the Kickstarter's success the same way @Podtastic did, by the raw pledge total.  He was so blown away by the much greater than expected pledge total that it never really dawned on him that the pledge total was as high as it was because the high cost of entry inflated the average pledge size, not because there were a substantial number of backers.

The belief that he was going to make megabucks on the game motivated many of the short-sighted, ill-considered decisions that marched the game the rest of the way into its early, and shallow, grave.  

He didn't set out to rip people off... he just didn't have a realistic view of the game's prospects.  So he over-promised even more than usual regarding the game's readiness, overspent on development of the miniatures, rushed into production without adequate planning, failed to account for logistical costs like international shipping, and then when he realized that hed made a mess of its finances he tried to undo the damage by tapping into what he'd let the pledge total convince him was a massive untapped revenue stream in retail sales.  By letting the raw pledge total bias his view of the game's retail prospects, he ended up betting it all on a nonexistent audience's interest in the game and losing everything.

That's a good example of why, if your Kickstarter is developing a product for retail, it's so important to base your decisions on the total number of pledges and the size of the average pledge after normalization to remove significant outliers rather than the raw total pledged.

Otherwise, you can end up making bad decisions based on metrics that are less meaningful than they appear.  Getting over 4x your pledge target sounds impressive on its own, but if that goal is tiny ($5,400, equivalent to just 90 average-tier pledges) and the number of pledges needed to reach it is small, it doesn't mean much.  

 

24 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

There goes their Starbucks money for the month... 

Really, I'd consider it more of an indictment of their taste if they drink that charred-black mud masquerading as coffee than backing an indie RPG for Robotech's least-loved sagas.

 

20 minutes ago, Podtastic said:

Doesnt matter as long as the book is produced and has the art I want.

That... is a helpful attitude given the circumstances.

When it comes to Robotech, keep your expectations as low as possible and you siginficantly decrease your chances of being disappointed.

[Podtastic]

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

When it comes to Robotech, keep your expectations as low as possible and you siginficantly decrease your chances of being disappointed.

They have already exceeded my expectations by confirming to me that all the art assets I wanted in the book will be. I only expected Bioroids.

They have thus far further exceeded my expectations with the rewards by providing me the opportunity:

• To obtain a pdf as well as a hardcopy with the Dana cover
• To obtain a Macross PDF with the Myria cover
• To commission the artist for an art piece of my choice to be included in the tome. Commissioning this artist has been something on my to do list for some time and they have provided me with the opportunity.

They can only fail me by not delivering on the above.

[pengbuzz]

6 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Really, I'd consider it more of an indictment of their taste if they drink that charred-black mud masquerading as coffee than backing an indie RPG for Robotech's least-loved sagas.

So then, maybe we should start calling it Tarbrush Coffee instead of Starbucks?

Either way, only 1/3 of Robotech is any good (the first 3rd ); they can throw the rest in with the charred mud for all I care.

[Podtastic]

Hmm over 5x the goal and rising.

That goal really was easy peasy lemon squeezy.

[Seto Kaiba]

5 hours ago, Podtastic said:

Hmm over 5x the goal and rising.

That goal really was easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Yeah, if anything that Kickstarter's funding goal was shockingly low... so much so that it would've easily been possible for one person to fund the entire thing themselves.

The funding trajectory strongly resembles that of RPG Tactics too.  Extremely low backer numbers, but a disproportionately high average pledge.  The entry pricepoint is effectively $60 (the tiers that get you a print copy), but the average pledge is more than twice that at $148+/-$2.

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Yeah, if anything that Kickstarter's funding goal was shockingly low... so much so that it would've easily been possible for one person to fund the entire thing themselves.

The funding trajectory strongly resembles that of RPG Tactics too.  Extremely low backer numbers, but a disproportionately high average pledge.  The entry pricepoint is effectively $60 (the tiers that get you a print copy), but the average pledge is more than twice that at $148+/-$2.

I have a gut feeling that this was in some way "put on", so that their Kickstarter would look like a "success." Low backer numbers but a high pledge price? That comes across to me as their possibly having friends of theirs "shill" this as to accomplish the stated goal.

Anyways... probably wrong about this, but it looks fishy.

Edited October 20, 2021 by pengbuzz

[Seto Kaiba]

9 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I have a gut feeling that this was in some way "put on", so that their Kickstarter would look like a "success." Low backer numbers but a high pledge price? That comes across to me as their possibly having friends of theirs "shill" this as to accomplish the stated goal.

Anyways... probably wrong about this, but it looks fishy.

Nah, Strange Machine Games is just a teeny-tiny "indie" game publisher that does small batch print-on-demand printing for its products.

Look at the actual pledge tiers, and the reason the normalized average pledge is disproportionately high relative to the cost-of-entry is obvious.  The book they're Kickstarting has only the remains of the die-hard Robotech fandom as a target audience, many of whom are buying the game as a collectible rather than a game, so they're using the same tactic that comic book publishers use to inflate sales: limited editions and cover variants.  Of the 230 pledges so far, more than 10% of backers (26) pledged for the more expensive limited edition cover and 31% (72) pledged at tiers that offer two or all three cover variants.  If you wanna make money on a small fanbase, that's one way to go about it that doesn't require a lot of work.

(It's also worth noting that Strange Machine Games isn't really using Kickstarter for its intended purpose of funding development of a product... they're using it basically as a preorder vendor for an already-finished product that just hasn't been printed yet.)

[JB0]

20 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

(It's also worth noting that Strange Machine Games isn't really using Kickstarter for its intended purpose of funding development of a product... they're using it basically as a preorder vendor for an already-finished product that just hasn't been printed yet.)

In fairness, Kickstarter's been used that way a lot, and by some fairly respectable outfits.  It is better than using it as a money-laundering machine or a pipe to siphon dollars out of the pockets of people who will never receive anything.

[Podtastic]

12 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Yeah, if anything that Kickstarter's funding goal was shockingly low... so much so that it would've easily been possible for one person to fund the entire thing themselves.

The funding trajectory strongly resembles that of RPG Tactics too.  Extremely low backer numbers, but a disproportionately high average pledge.  The entry pricepoint is effectively $60 (the tiers that get you a print copy), but the average pledge is more than twice that at $148+/-$2.

The art commission is the big ticket item for me. I'm willing to pay more to bring something I want into existence.

I have to wonder how many of the other backers are also doing this. 

11 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I have a gut feeling that this was in some way "put on", so that their Kickstarter would look like a "success."

That's fine. Because it means that the next book will probably happen. Which inevitably translates into this artist doing, inter alia, art of the beloved Hellcats.

Which is a win.🥳

 

 

[pengbuzz]

7 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Nah, Strange Machine Games is just a teeny-tiny "indie" game publisher that does small batch print-on-demand printing for its products.

Look at the actual pledge tiers, and the reason the normalized average pledge is disproportionately high relative to the cost-of-entry is obvious.  The book they're Kickstarting has only the remains of the die-hard Robotech fandom as a target audience, many of whom are buying the game as a collectible rather than a game, so they're using the same tactic that comic book publishers use to inflate sales: limited editions and cover variants.  Of the 230 pledges so far, more than 10% of backers (26) pledged for the more expensive limited edition cover and 31% (72) pledged at tiers that offer two or all three cover variants.  If you wanna make money on a small fanbase, that's one way to go about it that doesn't require a lot of work.

(It's also worth noting that Strange Machine Games isn't really using Kickstarter for its intended purpose of funding development of a product... they're using it basically as a preorder vendor for an already-finished product that just hasn't been printed yet.)

Thanks for unpacking that for me; sometimes I can end up seeing malice where there isn't any.

[CoryHolmes]

19 hours ago, Podtastic said:

The art commission is the big ticket item for me. I'm willing to pay more to bring something I want into existence.

 

 

I've decided what I artwork I want in the book.  What's your choice?

[Podtastic]

2 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

I've decided what I artwork I want in the book.  What's your choice?

i'm going with a double page spread. I have a single page fall back in mind if its not approved by the IP.

AYKB the Tirolian forces did not all just disappear when the Invid arrived, so I'm going for an Invid-Tirolian combat scene.

I hope they give us this opportunity in the To the Stars tome as well. Reason being I obviously can't ask for any of the Regent's forces to be included in any Homefront art.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Podtastic

[CoryHolmes]

23 hours ago, Podtastic said:

i'm going with a double page spread. I have a single page fall back in mind if its not approved by the IP.

AYKB the Tirolian forces did not all just disappear when the Invid arrived, so I'm going for an Invid-Tirolian combat scene.

I hope they give us this opportunity in the To the Stars tome as well. Reason being I obviously can't ask for any of the Regent's forces to be included in any Homefront art.

Ah, a solid choice!  Mine would be a depiction of mecha from all 3 eras fighting together.  A beaten-up VF-1 patched together, a Hovertank missing bits from an arm guard, and a Cyclone zipping around between them.

[Podtastic]

6 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

Ah, a solid choice!  Mine would be a depiction of mecha from all 3 eras fighting together.  A beaten-up VF-1 patched together, a Hovertank missing bits from an arm guard, and a Cyclone zipping around between them.

So I take it that's a center piece then, you don't see what they're firing at?

Well the guys confirmed that my idea would not out of place in the book. Just for the IP to approve.

My fall back idea is three Bioroid Invid Fighters, on a desolate landscape sprouting Hive structures, surrounded by Invid Shocktroopers. 

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Podtastic

[CoryHolmes]

17 hours ago, Podtastic said:

So I take it that's a center piece then, you don't see what they're firing at?

Well the guys confirmed that my idea would not out of place in the book. Just for the IP to approve.

My fall back idea is three Bioroid Invid Fighters, on a desolate landscape sprouting Hive structures, surrounded by Invid Shocktroopers. 

 

Yeah, the idea is to see all these generations of fighters working together.  Showing enemies would be a bit excessive, I think.

 

And your second idea is fabulous as well!  NGL, one of my favourite PB scenario books was Return of the Masters.  It just made so much sense and it was a fun thought to examine just what the Masters could do if power supply wasn't a concern.

[Podtastic]

On 10/24/2021 at 7:32 AM, CoryHolmes said:

Yeah, the idea is to see all these generations of fighters working together.  Showing enemies would be a bit excessive, I think.

 

And your second idea is fabulous as well!  NGL, one of my favourite PB scenario books was Return of the Masters.  It just made so much sense and it was a fun thought to examine just what the Masters could do if power supply wasn't a concern.

Well if you like that you will enjoy the Brian McAfee Robotech novella The Lesser of Two Evils.

 

 BTW: its seems that we will have the opportunity for art commissions in the Among the Stars RPG as well. I already made a suggestion for a piece, which thus far wasn't rejected.🙂

Edited October 26, 2021 by Podtastic

[Podtastic]

This KS has now reached over 10X the set goal.

Decided to chose a single page for art commission as well.🙂

And in other news, all Bioroids coloured by Steve Lyons: https://m.facebook.com/steven.lyons.735?groupid=1456468031274584&ref=m_notif&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic

Edited October 29, 2021 by Podtastic

[tekering]

On 10/27/2021 at 5:10 PM, Podtastic said:

That yellow is striking, but completely inconsistent with the color schemes Tatsunoko employed with the Zor... or even what Sunrise had done with Mobile Suit Gundam (its most obvious progenitor).

[pengbuzz]

8 hours ago, tekering said:

That yellow is striking, but completely inconsistent with the color schemes Tatsunoko employed with the Zor... or even what Sunrise had done with Mobile Suit Gundam (its most obvious progenitor).

Lemonade bioroid?

[Big s]

zssa

[Podtastic]

On 10/30/2021 at 1:18 AM, tekering said:

That yellow is striking, but completely inconsistent with the color schemes Tatsunoko employed with the Zor... or even what Sunrise had done with Mobile Suit Gundam (its most obvious progenitor).

Apparently this mecha is glimpsed in either the opening or the credits. 

did try messing around with other colour schemes when I was going to colour this myself. But white and black makes it look like an Imperial Scout Trooper, black and white makes it look like it belongs in the GMP, and purple and green makes it look Skrullian.

At least the yellow has not been used before.

What colour scheme would you use for this?

Edited October 31, 2021 by Podtastic

[Seto Kaiba]

10 minutes ago, Podtastic said:

Apparently this mecha is glimpsed in either the opening or the credits. 

There is a yellow Bioroid glimpsed in the opening... but good luck identifying the model.  It only appears in a few frames, since it is obscured by the right leg of the Spartas and then an explosion.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Seto Kaiba

[Podtastic]

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

t is obscured by the right leg of the Spartas and then an explosion

Humans, always getting in the way!😆

I wonder if this will appear in the Homefront RPG as it never appeared in the RT comics and novels AFAIK.

The only other place I saw it was in Solar Flair's game.

 

[Einherjar]

It's the Jack Archer of Southern Cross.

[Seto Kaiba]

9 hours ago, Podtastic said:

Humans, always getting in the way!😆

I wonder if this will appear in the Homefront RPG as it never appeared in the RT comics and novels AFAIK.

The only other place I saw it was in Solar Flair's game.

IIRC, Robotech usually only uses the Early Bioroid Type I and II and the Middle Bioroid Type I and II because those are the ones that actually appear in the series proper.

Since Robotech fans are slavishly devoted to the "original 85", they tend not to deviate from it.

 

7 hours ago, Einherjar said:

It's the Jack Archer of Southern Cross.

It took a few minutes to remember who that even was...

[Podtastic]

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

IIRC, Robotech usually only uses the Early Bioroid Type I and II and the Middle Bioroid Type I and II because those are the ones that actually appear in the series proper.

The best way to find out is to ask, so I did. They're there but sans art assets due to the understandable art prioritisation process they had to follow ( budget+space).

I might shoehorn one or both into my larger piece but that's a battlescene not a portrait of individual mecha.

Be nice to have at least some visual representation of all Bioroid types though.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Podtastic

[Podtastic]

The kickstater has concluded with 546 backers and over 70k in pledges. Excitipated about how this tome is ultimately going to look.

[Podtastic]

@CoryHolmes did you get your Homefront art commission instructions in on the custom art tier?

 

[CoryHolmes]

9 hours ago, Podtastic said:

@CoryHolmes did you get your Homefront art commission instructions in on the custom art tier?

 

No, I ran into money troubles 🥺  Between the banks dicking me around and the timing, I just couldn't get anything from the Kickstarter campaign.

[Podtastic]

8 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

No, I ran into money troubles 🥺  Between the banks dicking me around and the timing, I just couldn't get anything from the Kickstarter campaign.

That's acid. Are you still going to buy a copy of the RPG?

It's going to have at least a little Bioroid vs Invid art in it.😉