Rpg kickstarters are frustrating enough without Skarka and Whitman involved [among others]. Even the ones that sound like they will go off without a hitch are riddled with problems. Scams aside I assume 2+ years from the time the project claims is reward time, even with those that are written before the project kicks off.

And Skarka has been accused of not paying illustrators for projects before this kickstarter. He had already proven he was not trustworthy.

I just requested a refund (which GMS says he will be paying "out of his own money"...actually he'll be paying it out of my money that I paid him, but that's just one more issue about this guy that winds people up). Apparently, there are 5 people in the queue ahead of me who've asked for a refund but, I've also been informed there will be an announcement this month that "may change my mind about a refund". Doesn't GMS get it - people are fed up of his "announcements" by now - they are normally followed by announcements of further delays because he's sick, his dog's sick, he's sick again, he's started a new job, he's got to attend some convention or other, he's sick again, he's had a family crisis...ad nauseum. As other posters have said, in 6 years, all these are things that are likely to happen to anyone. Anyway, looks like I've got to wait at least until the next announcement has been made...watch this space.

Quote from: Biscuitician;980242Who rpg I see, and, iirc (though i see no mention in the credits) he was involved in the Star Trek rpg

last I knew his only involvement in the Star Trek game was the author of the Andorian book had GMS's name translate to "shit head" in their language.

There haven't been Andorian sourcebooks for years.

I was referring to the new one.

I also don't think he set out to scam people. But he's way past explaining why he's ended up doing so. Why he thinks saying 'soon' all the time is ever going to help is extraordinary. He seems to be forever and only saying "i know rite? tHis game keeps getting delayed! what's up with that?"as if he has no control over any of this.

Quote from: Simon W;980640I just requested a refund (which GMS says he will be paying "out of his own money"...actually he'll be paying it out of my money that I paid him, but that's just one more issue about this guy that winds people up). Apparently, there are 5 people in the queue ahead of me who've asked for a refund but, I've also been informed there will be an announcement this month that "may change my mind about a refund". Doesn't GMS get it - people are fed up of his "announcements" by now - they are normally followed by announcements of further delays because he's sick, his dog's sick, he's sick again, he's started a new job, he's got to attend some convention or other, he's sick again, he's had a family crisis...ad nauseum. As other posters have said, in 6 years, all these are things that are likely to happen to anyone. Anyway, looks like I've got to wait at least until the next announcement has been made...watch this space.

No at this point, it will be out of his own pocket. THat fifty grand is long long gone.

Apparently he's released the equivalent of almost all the game, bizarrely, in piecemeal. I would love to see it.

That's what's so sad about it, the game is relevant to my interests though I'm not sure what you actually play and what the average FW scenario is like?

Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

Quote from: Ulairi;980266He's a hack and doesn't know how to handle project management?

Kickstarter, especially earlier KS projects, gave people with no project management skills, business, very poor ability to budget and forecast expenses large sums of money and we are shocked that these things fail. I'm willing to bet that a lot of these failed KS projects have project creators comingling their funds with the KS funds and once that is done....game over man.

My biggest problem with this jack ass is that he gets on social media and uses the "I'm fighting for SJ" as a deflection away from his actual failure. He has no time to finish his project but plenty of time and money to head to various conventions. He's a prick.

Theres many many threads on this over on BGG and another every couple of months where a designer who went KS comes back and tells us how things went badly. Theres a couple now enumerating how the designer actually LOST money to ensure the project shipped. Losts of reasons why. The most common being they got a quite from a factory for X amount of units. and then exceded that and found out that the next threshold up costs alot more. More than they budgeted.

Or a example from a few years ago where a game with alot of minis was funded. Under its original banner it was doable within the time frame set.
But.
Instead they got greedy and kept setting more and more minis up as stretch goals. To the point that the pieces wont be all done for about three more months for a project started in 2014.

This is exactly why Kevin Crawford runs his Kickstarters so conservatively. He doesn't launch until the book is written, and doesn't set any stretch goals that haven't been fully accounted for before Day One. It's not sexy, but he is 6 for 6 with his KS projects.

I agree with Biscuit. I don't think Gareth planned FW as a scam. Things went bad, he panicked, made thing worse, now can't dig himself out of the hole.

But this is why Kickstarter is patronage, not a pre-order service. Backers are risking money, not locking down an order.

I've been lucky. All the game projects I've backed so far (save one) have completed. Mermaid Tales went well and Threadbare recently finished and that only leaves DCC Lankhmar to go.

Threadbare looks fun. Tell us more once you get it.

Quote from: Voros;980888Threadbare looks fun. Tell us more once you get it.

I've got the PDF. It looks fun, probably not something I'll run... I mostly backed it because the author is local and has lots of enthusiasm.
I'll read it at some point and put up a cursory review.

Quote from: remial;980642last I knew his only involvement in the Star Trek game was the author of the Andorian book had GMS's name translate to "shit head" in their language.

If that's true, that's hilarious. Which Star Trek game was it? Obviously not FASA as they never produced an Andorian book...although if they had, it would have been cooler than anything Paramount came up with later (see: Klingons). Still waiting on respect for Tellarites.

The book The Andorians: Among the Clans for Last Unicorn Games' TOS RPG does use the consonant combination SK-RK for "stupidity, feeblemindedness." I'm inclined to think it was coincidental, though, or at least not malevolent, since the book was published in 1999 and written by S. John Ross and Steven Long, both of whom were and are established professionals.

Quote from: Dumarest;980927If that's true, that's hilarious. Which Star Trek game was it? Obviously not FASA as they never produced an Andorian book...although if they had, it would have been cooler than anything Paramount came up with later (see: Klingons). Still waiting on respect for Tellarites.

Good luck, that game was shitcanned 15 years ago

Quote from: Biscuitician;980970Good luck, that game was shitcanned 15 years ago

You misread. Or deliberately misunderstand.

Does anyone know what the actual setting is? What compels it beyond the obvious genre mash?