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Post by fitzy on Jul 9, 2016 15:22:19 GMT -5
My partner was very happy with the crate but he also said that he feels like he's missing something and I can't help but agree. I got him the gold experience and the mailings overall have told a fairly disjoined story. Maybe I was expecting too much to think it would be a tight narrative, but I had hoped that there would be more focus on the archaeological expedition. For us it was only mentioned in the previous mailing. We are also still waiting on the bonus chapter. To those who asked whether lower levels received the diamond extras, from reading on here we seem to have received about half of what diamond received pre-crate. We did receive the fairytale article (but not the other contents of that mailing) as an apology for delays.
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Post by thejackalope on Jul 9, 2016 16:19:25 GMT -5
...Which is fairly common for this sort of kickstarter, like is actually the norm sort common, and with that in mind I'm happy to actually have made it to the crate. This sort of kickstarter has broken many prop makers and I've been very worried about how far it could go. Did they promise more than they could deliver, obviously. But at some point you have to say it's better to have them move the goals than break themselves trying to deliver the undeliverable and to have you wind up with nothing. I'm not say that you shouldn't be upset, or that you shouldn't voice said concerns, but some people are more upset than they need to be... Keep in mind that there are quite a lot of people reading this board who purchased the retail experience on Black Friday for $399USD, roughly equivalent to the KS Diamond (around $340USD, iirc). I think when we invite people to take a view, that it was a Kickstarter and there were no particular guarantees about the Century Beast, we need to remember that some people did indeed purchase a retail experience that didn't have Kickstarter-type caveats attached. Whether it's the KS price (especially Diamond) or the Black Friday price or the current price, none of it's pocket change and anyone who pays that amount of money for an experience is entitled to express a negative opinion without being called childish names. I know Beckett is something of an apologist for the company; that is his right and he expresses his views civilly. It's the tone of the other message that makes this place less inviting. But if the mods find that acceptable for "civil" discourse then of course others may decide to express their views that way. If that's the kind of community they want here, so be it.
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Post by Serburas on Jul 9, 2016 17:28:07 GMT -5
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me remind you there is no other chapter. If you have received the crate, that is all the chapters. The bonus chapter is one of the two mailings sent before the crate. The only thing left for KS backers gold and higher is the Curios and Conundrums special Century Beast edition, the reveal, and the very special note. Genii I am excited to see what you get in your crate, and as a diamond level I'd love to exchange pictures of our experiences to see the differences in them.
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Post by thejackalope on Jul 9, 2016 17:49:43 GMT -5
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me remind you there is no other chapter. If you have received the crate, that is all the chapters. The bonus chapter is one of the two mailings sent before the crate. The only thing left for KS backers gold and higher is the Curios and Conundrums special Century Beast edition, the reveal, and the very special note. Genii I am excited to see what you get in your crate, and as a diamond level I'd love to exchange pictures of our experiences to see the differences in them. My guess is the "special" edition of Curios will tell of the heist of an artifact, the search for a suspect, a mysterious disappearance, etc. And scattered throughout -- worked into the story -- will be names and details of those who paid for bespoke and other higher levels of the experience. Just a guess. But, I guess we'll find out when it gets sent out... in a week or 10.
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Post by Todd on Jul 9, 2016 20:57:32 GMT -5
I know Beckett is something of an apologist for the company; that is his right and he expresses his views civilly. It's the tone of the other message that makes this place less inviting. But if the mods find that acceptable for "civil" discourse then of course others may decide to express their views that way. If that's the kind of community they want here, so be it. I'm doing my best to allow both sides to be heard without letting this degrade into a flame war. I'm only human.
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Post by thegenii on Jul 9, 2016 22:51:33 GMT -5
Todd, what would you consider to be untoward comments. Helps to know the boundaries.
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Post by Todd on Jul 9, 2016 23:30:54 GMT -5
Todd, what would you consider to be untoward comments. Helps to know the boundaries. If something offends you, report the post. Let me deal with it behind the scenes. Don't escalate a tense situation. I want everyone to be able to have a voice. People will disagree. That's a given. There is a responsibility associated with freedom, which requires you to accept that there are opinions other than yours. If you are offended, you have a right to express that. But please refrain from flame wars and directed attacks. I really do do my best to provide an unbiased hand when personality conflicts come to the fore. Respect opinions that differ from yours. Acknowledge that others might not phrase their opinions as eloquently as you. And remember that this is a community. A group effort. Those with whom you disagree will often provide the variant insight you need to solve a problem. But again, most of all, report offensive posts and let me or one of the other moderators deal with it.
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Post by thegenii on Jul 10, 2016 0:18:27 GMT -5
Have I fallen afoul of this yet?
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Post by Todd on Jul 10, 2016 7:29:29 GMT -5
Have I fallen afoul of this yet? Our community has demonstrated incredible understanding and tolerance of differing opinions. With the exception of a few small isolated flare-ups there have been no issues at all. Every one of you, bar none, deserve a high-five.
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Post by distantsmoke on Jul 10, 2016 14:55:30 GMT -5
I think the moderators do a great job here. I learned back in the stone age it is impossible to convince anybody of anything on the internet - unless they already hold that opinion.
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Post by thegenii on Jul 11, 2016 0:50:05 GMT -5
Arrived home from the airport: it's 1:35 in the morning. I should be asleep but saw the crate and had to open it. First impression: this is the only crate I found it impossible to open without cracking the wooden lid. That annoyed me. Noted the two paper items included in the box, as well as the mailing label on the end of the crate. Anything up with the Wong International shipping name on the mailing label on the outer cardboard box? Opened the crate and am mystified as to what the item is. It almost looks like scrimshaw on the tooth or a bone of the beast. I have no idea if that's correct or not because ... to be fair, unlike the other experiences I've purchased, where I read each mailing as it came, I decided to wait until "The Century Beast" was finished before delving into it in detail, from first mailing to last. I wanted to experience it more like a novel with a 3-dimensional climax. Taking a cursory look at the paper items in each mailing as they arrived, it seemed like it would be far more enjoyable to spend an afternoon experiencing the entire thing in sequence. All of that aside, I have seen almost nothing that justifies a price double that of "The King in Yellow," "Risen," and Tempus Fugit." The final figure is no more elaborate than that of the three experiences just mentioned. The flash drive and small amulet are the only non-paper items, and they certainly didn't add $200 more per person to the price. And as someone who purchased the "Beloved Patron" experience, which included the "Diamond Bespoke" experience, I have not seen more than one or two customized scribbles in the letters. Perhaps I will find more later this week when I go through the whole thing word for word. Final judgment to come later this week. As an Aspie, I may need some help if there are puzzles involved, but it sounds like any that were originally planned have been abandoned in the final product.
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Post by Beckett on Jul 11, 2016 1:56:43 GMT -5
I may need some help if there are puzzles involved, but it sounds like any that were originally planned have been abandoned in the final product. I have been wondering about this. There were supposed to be two 'online puzzles', an academic website with information on several of the artifacts and the second one that would be added upon reaching the stretch goal. The sixth mailing (out of the ten mailings at the Diamond level) seemed to be the lead-in to the latter, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what the actual puzzle is supposed to be.
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Post by thegallant on Jul 12, 2016 12:41:01 GMT -5
My wife's crate was cracked. One nail had broken the top, and one end of the crate was broken into three sections (right behind the label stapled on)
As one of the black friday CB folks, I definitely do not feel they should get a pass as it being KS quality. My wife loved the item, and the crate. I managed to barely get the lid off without making the cracked portions worse.
I am not sure she will be as happy when she determines how much I spent for it, for her. So it is a matter of perspective.
After she gets the reveal, I will assess whether I need to contact the curator to voice my own displeasure or not.
I do like the final item, Cthulhu face on the obverse, with a kraken / ship on the reverse. Similar to Cthulhu carvings in the mythos. I'm glad they weighted it at the bottom, because the material feels like cheap plaster. Overall I am disappointed. I would have rather have gotten her King in Yellow, but I knew she appreciated Lovecraft, more than Chambers.
Re: Puzzles
I didn't feel that there was really any solvable puzzles that gave additional content, but that was something on the KS, not on the copy material provided for the Black Friday sale, so I can't really hold it against them that I did additional digging and expected them to come through with something promised elsewhere.
It doesn't have any real justification of expense. Extra postage. I wonder if anyone has tallied the # of print items to compare with the standard experiences.
the Gallant
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Post by Beckett on Jul 13, 2016 6:58:01 GMT -5
It doesn't have any real justification of expense. Extra postage. I wonder if anyone has tallied the # of print items to compare with the standard experiences. I listed the items included in each mailing here.
Now that you said it, I find it curious that the description of the fourth mailing on the website does not mention the online part of that particular Chapter at all - after all, they had an original song recorded for this.
One could argue that the multimedia content - the audio file on the USB drive, the GNARLSPUTRESCENT website and song, and possibly the yet-to-be-revealed academic website - justify some of the additional cost, but that is a difficult argument to make. As I said before, I find the roughly 270 USD of the Diamond level Kickstarter pledge much more justifiable for the Experience so far.
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Post by thegenii on Jul 13, 2016 15:05:30 GMT -5
I believe the object is made of resin. Plaster is far too fragile (and it would scratch if you run your fingernail over it).
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