I am a backer of the Kickstarter for this game. I backed it when I first discovered it being promoted at the end of 2015.
It is basically a cooperative multiplayer game with similar play style to the classic GW game, Space Hulk. That's really what attracted me to it. And it is what made me go all in for all of it's bonus items.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grimlordgames/endure-the-stars?ref=user_menu
It is actually near time for delivery of this game. Grimlord Games said that it should be delivering to backers sometime late January/early February.
I'm excited to get it. I know it is going to be really fun to play.
They have already announced that in the future: They will be doing another Kickstarter for more expansions to the game. Which I am really excited to see.
Communication has been great from Grimlord Games. So I definitely won't hesitate to recommend people find a copy when it hits stores. I think it's something special.
Please post a review when you get the game. And pics.
We've got several Space Hulk fans on the board so it will be interesting to hear about Endure.
Do you have SH? If so, I'd be very interested in your comparison between Endure and SH.
Kickstarter page contains a downloadable version of the rulebook. Which should give everybody a good look at how the game plays.
I had Space Hulk in its first edition form. Back when it was pretty simple. But it was a strictly two player game. One marine player and one genestealer player.
Endure The Stars in its basic form is up to 6 players. With the option of solitaire play. The badguys being controlled by a deck of cards and discrete rules for movement and attack.
The monsters on the board appear as blips before they enter the line of sight of the characters. With them being revealed when they do get seen. So nobody knows what is coming until it is on top of them.
Endure The Stars takes the basic concepts introduced in Space Hulk and makes the leap to multi-character, cooperative experience.
If someone liked Space Hulk, they should love Endure The Stars. It delivers everything Space Hulk was and more.
Yesterday I got the latest Kickstarter update on Endure The Stars.
They announced that the games and extra goodies have all been packaged. And their next step will be addressing Kickstarter backer's packages. And finally shipping them.
I should have my package in my hands sometime within the next month.
After that: I will go through the game and its expansions. Play a few test games. And then post a review of my experiences in this very thread.
I'm looking very much forward to it. Should be a blast.
As for pics. Should be easy enough. My new smartphone should cover those.
The first few people to get their copies of the game have posted on the Kickstarter site. They are all in Germany. Close to the main distribution center
So the arrival has begun. People elsewhere should be getting their packages soon.
No word from US customers yet. But this is the beginning. So we should see what happens soon.
Today an update was sent in this Kickstarter. It and the comments and the ensuing troubles that have cropped up with the initial deliveries have changed my happy anticipation to ambivalence.
They are already issuing significant errata on the game. Which was a factor they had claimed during the Kickstarter would be unnecessary. As they stated that they would be correcting any flaws in the game before it went to production.
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There are also instances of mis-printed tiles and board pieces. Along with damaged miniatures that the few who have received their stuff have reported. Definitely not happy news.
Even after receiving the game, there is a likelihood of having to wait for replacement parts. Beyond the over a year wait for this game in the first place. I'm not happy.
The company has claimed that the US customers. Like me. Will start getting their packages shipped to them starting March 16th. They were originally supposed to deliver in November.
I'm likely not to back any other Kickstarters in the future because of this.
The problem with breakage seems to come from the careless packaging of the company who printed and assembled the games.
The main box for the game is said to be about 1/3rd too small to contain the contents. So instead of manufacturing new boxes, they just carelessly mashed the figures into the boxes that were too small. Which has resulted in bending and breaking of some of the figures in transit.
There has also been found mis-assembled figures. One's that won't stand right because of their arms being longer than and obstructing the figure's bases.
I'm not amused. Not one little bit.
Still. I'm not blaming Grimlord Games for this.
It is the company they got to do the printing and assembly of the boxes, rulebooks, cards, and other printed matter for the game who are at fault. They were absolutely beyond careless in putting together the product. They didn't even do basic quality control inspections.
After plopping about $260 US or so on this Kickstarter. I am a bit red hot.
And I still haven't even gotten the package yet!
Shouldn't the publisher be doing QA on a prototype before launching full scale manufacturing? That goes for the complete package, not just the individual items in isolation.
When I backed a card game a while ago, the trickiest part of the actual production seemed to be getting a box and insert that they were happy with.
Quote from: Sable Wyvern;948577Shouldn't the publisher be doing QA on a prototype before launching full scale manufacturing? That goes for the complete package, not just the individual items in isolation.
When I backed a card game a while ago, the trickiest part of the actual production seemed to be getting a box and insert that they were happy with.
As far as I know. That step in the process didn't happen at all.
More bad news keeps surfacing.
One backer got an invalid tracking number. And so far the company hasn't done anything to correct that situation.
They also launched a Kickstarter for another game before the first was even delivered. One which they heavily advertised through updates of this Kickstarter to the backers.
It's not looking good to me at all.
The absence of quality control at the factory. And now this?
Sorry to hear about these issues. I am still hoping the final product is notable.
The box nonsense is utterly unacceptable.
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;947381I'm likely not to back any other Kickstarters in the future because of this.
We have many KS backers on the forum - several superbackers I've noticed too - so this is a good resource about KS companies with a good track record vs. those who have a mixed or poor record. Also, when brand new companies launch a KS, we've have posts by people discussing the facts about the KS team.
I've been doing KS for years and I've backed almost 2 dozen projects. There's been one mess, a couple of meh, but lots of great stuff.
Well because of this experience. I have decided that I will only back the Kickstarters of people I know and trust personally.
One of my friends from various forums and chatrooms will be launching one soon for the 2nd Edition of one of his moderately successful RPGs. And I plan to back it. Because I won't get any nonsense from that experience.
Well it is March 16th. The day that this game is supposed to arrive at the US distribution point. To get this side of the world's backers their copies of the game.
It means I could have it in hand sometime in the next two weeks.
But there was also another thing that came up. They had to re-write the rulebook. And will be posting it as a PDF on their site.
The problems never seem to end with this experience.
There is at least one of the item cards in the game that the company will not be printing a replacement of. This directly impacts the play experience.
The damaged miniatures they do seem to be offering replacements of. But it still sucks.
The rulebook being a mess should have been taken care of during the year and a half of its ramp up to production. And they aren't offering physical replacements. Only a PDF of an corrected rulebook.
Then there are the misprinted tokens and tiles. Which also impacts the game's actual playability.
This is an incomplete game. That never went through any quality control. Put through a high profile production company.
If you were thinking of buying this product. And were not a part of the Kickstarter leading up to its production. My advice is: Don't buy it.
Well one of the other backers managed to get some information out of Grimlord Games.
It seems like the product is stuck in customs. And hasn't made it to the US distribution center yet. But that it should clear customs sometime by the end of the week.
So it's likely that my package won't likely arrive until sometime in April.
After that. It means waiting for replacement parts. For any damaged miniatures. And any misprinted items.
I just checked in with Kickstarter comments. And the bad news seems to keep coming.
More people with packages sent to the wrong address. And some more just entirely missing in the first place.
They kickstarted another game before finishing the fulfillment on Endure The Stars. And they heavily advertised it to the Endure The Stars backers.
Well given all of the troubles and chaos. There has been statements by those who backed the new Kickstarter that: They will likely be canceling their backing of the new one. Because of lack of faith in the company. For the shoddy way they handled Endure The Stars..
New update dropped for US customers just a few minutes ago.
US Customs held the product for 6 days. And it is now being sent to the Chicago. Where the packages will be assembled for this side of the world.
Their projected time estimnate now is: Second week in April for packages in US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil to start arriving to the backers.
The last two days have been crazy for the Kickstarter. And I held off posting here until I had a definitive answer to the big question.
My package has been sent today. April 12th. It is scheduled for delivery on the 18th.
I found out this information by checking my UPS account for things coming in. It's finally in their hands. So not knowing is over.
However, that doesn't change the fact that the box for the main game is too small. Way too small for actual storage of the game. And that other backers have damaged figures to show for it.
Once I have the package in my hands. I will know what type of damage there is to the contents. So the waiting can start all over again for them to send whatever replacement parts I might need.
From the sound of it, I'm going to have to buy another bag from Battlefoam to store this game.
Oh? One more thing about the package? It is 19 pounds.
I got the package tonight. And it was every bit as heavy as I expected it to be.
I will spend much of tomorrow going through the individual boxes and looking for damage. Though externally, there doesn't seem any yet.
Yes. This Kickstarter delivered. It is here. Now the work begins.
I got my stuff. The packing of the box was terrible. No padding. The game boxes were loose in the box that contained them. And there was only this little strip of pillow padding put in with it. The potential for damage to the contents was huge. But fortunately none of the internal boxes were damaged.
But I can't stress how incompetently the shipper they chose for delivery to US backers did with packing of the package. Such abject carelessness is completely inexcuseable.
The shipping place they contracted with is called ShipBob. It operates out of Chicago.
Internal damage fortunately was light. But according to the Kickstarter comments section. I was one of the lucky ones.There were plenty of others whose boxes and contents were completely crushed to obliteration.
But now to my review of the game.
The rulebook, which they gave a PDF replacement of was incomplete. To the point it caused major confusion to the players.
One of the weapon cards I actually have to find a printer who does playing cards to print a corrected replacement. And all I was given in the meantime was a PDF version of said card. So I have to do the running myself to get the card printed. If I am to have the game completely playable at all.
The expansion sets were poorly packed. With no instructions included on how to use the units they contained.
For example. in the Cybernetic Onslaught set, The ability cards for the the different gender versions of the Technician are not marked as to which card goes to which version of the Technician. And they did not include a book of the extra game scenarios. As they had advertised on the Kickstarter.
The Gender Variant Crew Member set only has the Dashboards for the characters, the plastic miniatures, and the miniature bases. No rules, reference, or clear markings on the character ability cards as to which they actually belong to.
The Primus Boss pack only had the Primus itself, it's action card deck, its Dashboard, and a couple of extra tokens.
The final box? The Kickstarter Crew box? It contained all of the Kickstarter exclusive units. Which included a whole new exclusive enemy faction for Kickstarter members only. And a bunch of extra floating robots.
The main box was overstuffed. Just as other Kickstarter members had said theirs arrived being. And I did have some miniature damage. Plastic miniatures that were bent and deformed. Which I had to give a hot water bath get them to assume their proper shape.
I bet you are wondering how the game plays? Well so do I. It's going to be awhile before I can afford to have the new rulebook printed. And it will be longer until I can find a company that will be able to print the replacement weapon card. So no. The game isn't playable yet. And it won't be for quite some time.
But the good news? i don't have to send for replacement damaged parts. I, at least, missed that bullet.
Do they really expect to sell this game in the condition it is in? I don't picture any reputable game store carrying such a shoddily put together product.
So did you ever play this game?
Quote from: Dumarest;964185So did you ever play this game?
Not yet. I am still saving bit by bit to be able to afford printing the replacement rulebook and the mis-printed weapon card.
I'm still looking for a printer that prints playing cards. That will do that card for me.
It's looking like I may have to have a big batch of them done. To have them done at all. And if I do that, it means I'll likely sell the extras on Ebay.
I managed to locate a playing card printer willing to print the mis-printed weapon card. And I just sent them the files for the front and back today.
I have no idea what they will charge me. Or what they will quote me at this point. But I need two of those cards to make the game complete.
The replacement rulebook isn't going to be a problem. I will just have that printed off at the local FedEx Office.
Can't you just make some index cards at home?
Okay. I am posting this update. Grimlord Games is going something new.
They are launching Endure The Stars 1.5.
This edition contains all of the fixes for the problems that appeared in the game the first time around. New rulebook, new tiles, new counters, new updated card decks, new game boxes with actual storage trays for your minis.
For the people who had backed the game's initial version. They are offering upgrade packs. Which allows getting all the nice new shiney stuff. Without having to buy the figures all over again.
The price I had to pay for this is far less than I would have paid for getting the replacement cards and rulebook printed on my own. So this is a really good deal.
I plopped $76 US on this. Before shipping. Which was certainly within my budget. It's an expense I was prepared for.
Shouldn't they have given you the replacement material for free? I'm surprised you'd want to go in for more money now.
Quote from: Dumarest;997966Shouldn't they have given you the replacement material for free? I'm surprised you'd want to go in for more money now.
I would have loved for them to have given the replacement material for free. I truly would have.
But the production on that material has a serious cost behind it. Considering the extent they have gone.
They have redone the board tiles and all of the counters. Redone the card decks completely. Nearly every componant but the miniatures have been redone for this new version of the game.
They are not just providing upgrades for the core game. But also for every expansion set that was introduced in the first Kickstarter. They are even providing new game and expansion boxes. With trays to accomodate every miniature.
But I also mentioned in my previous post that I had a budget in mind. A maximum I was willing to pay for the replacement parts. That if it were beyond what I was willing to pay. That I would not. But they nailed what I could afford. Dead on. So I'm not at all upset by it.
Also. This new Kickstarter will have stretch goals. New stuff that didn't exist at all in the previous version of the game. That means that I will get stuff well beyond just the replacement parts I'm expecting.
I thought long and hard about taking this plunge. But at the end? I'm good with it.
Is this there first game?
Are you recommending them or not? I'm not entirely sure from your last post.
This was the company's very first game. The prior Kickstarter was their first as a company.
I would recommend the Endure The Stars 1.5 Kickstarter for people new to the whole thing. It corrects the issues I had with the first edition of the game. It's a better put together product.
If you liked Space Hulk. You will like this game.
I canceled my pledge this morning.
As things developed: It just looked like the company was intent on soaking more and more money from the customers they had short-changed in the first place.
They should have provided the new rulebook and corrected cards to the backers of the first Kickstarter at no charge in physical form. That would have been the right thing to do. And it would have generated quite a bit of good will.
But they didn't do that. They provided PDFs of the corrected versions. Not physical accessories to actually make the game complete.
But I do not want to spend $82 on a re-skin of a game that should have been done right in the first place. Upgrade packs or not. I just don't really want to give them any more of my money.
I did the long running to try and find a card printer who would print the replacement cards myself. And that ended up being just a complete mess. And way too prohibitively expensive on the consumer end. Same with the full color rulebook.
Sorry dude. That sucks that you got burned.
The way I read your experience: "This should be a good game, the rules are all there, but the production and packaging were an absolute disaster.
Version 2 should fix all those problems and deliver a good product, but this company has no track record of competency, and no reason for me to expect they are capible of delevering a playable product, nevermind a high quality, complex and physically satisfying game I expect for the price they are asking."
Would that be fair to say?
Quote from: Headless;1000752Sorry dude. That sucks that you got burned.
The way I read your experience: "This should be a good game, the rules are all there, but the production and packaging were an absolute disaster.
Version 2 should fix all those problems and deliver a good product, but this company has no track record of competency, and no reason for me to expect they are capible of delevering a playable product, nevermind a high quality, complex and physically satisfying game I expect for the price they are asking."
Would that be fair to say?
Absolutely 100% fair.