|
Post by badwolf on Nov 4, 2017 6:18:30 GMT -5
Shipped via standard post without tracking number
|
|
|
Post by Jessi on Nov 4, 2017 10:53:44 GMT -5
I have an expected delivery date of Monday, November 6.
|
|
|
Post by thegenii on Nov 4, 2017 13:30:36 GMT -5
Prediction: I think this issue will: Come in a box made to look like a book. Inside we will have the Curios & Conundrums tabloid, a small pewter tchotchke, a small booklet, a pin, a papercraft, a tunnel book, and a couple stickers. Sigh. When I was interviewed by the MPC, I made exactly the same point: they have created a new template for the product that leads to great predictability and little surprise, and this would disappoint subscribers. One could also view the launching of three new experiences simultaneously (one of which was not ready for prime time), as a way to offset losses created by a diminishing number of subscribers to C&C.
|
|
|
Post by wortelboer on Nov 4, 2017 14:37:03 GMT -5
Prediction: I think this issue will: Come in a box made to look like a book. Inside we will have the Curios & Conundrums tabloid, a small pewter tchotchke, a small booklet, a pin, a papercraft, a tunnel book, and a couple stickers. Sigh. When I was interviewed by the MPC, I made exactly the same point: they have created a new template for the product that leads to great predictability and little surprise, and this would disappoint subscribers. One could also view the launching of three new experiences simultaneously (one of which was not ready for prime time), as a way to offset losses created by a diminishing number of subscribers to C&C. and if they do not announce that C&C is going back to they way it was....I predict that they will be losing many more subscribers after Issue 4 (if they even keep it that is).
|
|
|
Post by billfelty on Nov 4, 2017 15:14:01 GMT -5
I'm just curious if perhaps they've been successful at marketing the new concept to individuals not on this board: the more casual "mystery solver". that's certainly a rapidly growing market - if they can break into it. Even if they're going in that direction, I still wish they'd tie the curios more into the conundrums
|
|
|
Post by wortelboer on Nov 4, 2017 15:58:56 GMT -5
I'm just curious if perhaps they've been successful at marketing the new concept to individuals not on this board: the more casual "mystery solver". that's certainly a rapidly growing market - if they can break into it. Even if they're going in that direction, I still wish they'd tie the curios more into the conundrums Maybe. In response to my latest communication with MPC where I expressed my disappointed in the current C&C, the response was, in part: "These changes were seen as improvements by some, while others met them with reservation and even disappointment. Change can often be polarizing, but what I wish to convey to you is that our product modifications are always aimed at improving satisfaction among our customer base." I'm guessing those of us on this Board do not meet their definition of "customer base".
|
|
|
Post by Todd on Nov 4, 2017 16:38:09 GMT -5
I'm guessing those of us on this Board do not meet their definition of "customer base". I'm sure that if they could keep everyone happy they would. But this appears to be a situation where a couple thousand people want peanut butter sandwiches, and a couple hundred want surf and turf dinners. I'm not about to lower my expectations when it comes to where I spend my money, though.
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Nov 4, 2017 17:43:09 GMT -5
I am a poet. I write very intense and symbolistic poetry. When I do readings rarely more tham 30 people come. But for me and for them the experience of these evenings is so satisfying and beautiful. I often am confronted with the difficulty of my poems by people who do not understand this kind of poetry and who want poems to be easy to read and easy to get. I would surely reach a bigger audience with easier poetry. But it would not be satisfying any more.It would not be me anymore.
What I try to say is: the person/s who came up with C&C must have felt bliss and deep satisfacion in the process of designing these puzzles and the result of it must have been so wonderful to watch. I can not imagine, that someone, who can make such beautiful deep intelligent stuff would want to settle for less. I can not make a living from my poems and apparently the MPC cannot either just from the old C&C. But I would never compromize my standards. I would and I did find other ways. I hope, they will too eventually.
|
|
|
Post by thegenii on Nov 4, 2017 18:41:19 GMT -5
Perhaps the old C&C was too hip for the room.
|
|
|
Post by dmikester on Nov 4, 2017 19:34:20 GMT -5
I have long suspected, and I could be completely off-base with this, that someone major at the MPC left at some point at the beginning of this year, and that their creativity and relative polish has declined since that person (or perhaps people) left.
Gods of Madness, while a bit of a letdown, was I'm sure more or less completed by the end of last year, and that one had much of the humor and creativity that I'm used to with C&C (and while they were noticeably easier, also had well-designed and in some cases very inventive puzzles). But Brain Butchers, which was significantly delayed, was such a decline to me that I just couldn't believe it; the humor was gone, the writing was rote and boring, the curios were uninspiring, and the puzzles were either extremely simple or sloppily designed. And then consider Filigree, which was also significantly delayed and had some major creative issues (rushed aging techniques, an artifact that was not at all what was advertised and had no interactivity of any kind). The promotional emails have also gone downhill, with weird "humor" and writing and a lot of sloppiness in things like signatures, titles of people and the whole "mutinous/mysterious" thing that seems to be a leftover signature from John Augur that they just sometimes use by accident. Don't even get me started on Cold Signal.
I think Todd's observation of apathy is pretty much spot on, and I'm hoping it's not from someone who replaced someone else and who doesn't care about the things that all of us here do.
|
|
tria
Adjunct
Posts: 9
|
Post by tria on Nov 4, 2017 20:38:00 GMT -5
Having just got here one issue ago, I can't say much at all about quality difference. After reading the couple of posts before this, I have to point out that while the trinkets seemed uninspiring, the articles in the papers have sparked my brain into thinking in ways I forgot I could. I can't for the life of me find writing like this that seems to connect many subjects into one theme and have my mind run circles around them. I feel like the articles were clever and sparked my interest in long-lost inspirations. The puzzles at the end were disappointing though considering how puzzles from past volumes sound way more investing and overarching.
I've opened Clockwork Mutineers but I don't want to post about it here since it's the anticipation thread (and I forgot how to add a spoiler cut)
|
|
|
Post by eclosis on Nov 4, 2017 21:04:30 GMT -5
Clockwork is a step up from the first two, but that isn't saying much
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Nov 5, 2017 5:39:16 GMT -5
I have long suspected, and I could be completely off-base with this, that someone major at the MPC left at some point at the beginning of this year, and that their creativity and relative polish has declined since that person (or perhaps people) left. I 've had this thought for some time now, too.
|
|
|
Post by thegenii on Nov 5, 2017 20:14:29 GMT -5
It shall arrive in Wash, DC tomorrow. I hope the newspaper is interesting.
|
|
|
Post by ww12345 on Nov 6, 2017 0:14:44 GMT -5
Same here. A student bought the first few for me and I've been on the fence on renewing. If 4 doesn't get much better, I'll probably move on to a different subscription.
|
|