Narf the Mouse Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter This is the second time you've posted that Narf. Why don't you post in the company questions thread or PM Jason. Also note that the price has already been complained about and the reason for the cost given, either in this very thread or the clone of it over in the Champions section. For your first question, I was directed to post it in the thread for said kickstarter. I did so. For your second question, *Slaps forehead*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter For your first question, I was directed to post it in the thread for said kickstarter. I did so. For your second question, *Slaps forehead*. If you were specifically told to post here, my bad. Just thought there was a more direct way to issue a complaint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narf the Mouse Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter If you were specifically told to post here' date=' my bad. Just thought there was a more direct way to issue a complaint.[/quote'] Don't know if Steve meant this thread specifically. It's late and I've got a headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndreare Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Out of curiosity how will the PDF’s be delivered? Isi it possible to just have them added to our http://www.herogames.com accounts or will they end up being delivered in some other way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter I am having kickstarter specific international banking problems. Will a .pdf be available via the online store at a later date? I want to support the company - and writers - as they transition if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Will a .pdf be available via the online store at a later date? Sorry to hear you're having trouble re: an international bank account. Since the project has succeeded, the PDF will certainly be made available for sale at some point after the Kickstarter concludes. (The same applies to hardcopy book sales if the company is able to print more copies of BotE than are needed for the KS, but I can't speak to their plans on that point). However, keep in mind that backing the Kickstarter tends to be a more cost-effective way of getting stuff. I can't speak to the question of "just the PDF" specifically because I don't know what Hero Games intends to charge for the PDF, but the $50 reward level is clearly a deal compared to buying the book, PDF, and Character Pack separately. Obviously that may not matter if issues pertaining to international banking affect you, or if you only want the PDF, but I wanted to mention it just so everyone's clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Out of curiosity how will the PDF’s be delivered? Isi it possible to just have them added to our http://www.herogames.com accounts or will they end up being delivered in some other way? The "estimated delivery" date listed for the PDF reward level of the Kickstarter is "February 2012." The main X factor as to exactly when in February it will be is the new $150 reward tier and the potential $14,000 new goal level reward. Hero Games may want to wait and send the PDF(s) for those rewards at the same time as the PDF of the book, to cut down on administrative effort and expense. OTOH they may decide to go ahead and send the PDF of the book itself out pretty quickly. The information on where to send the PDFs is taken directly from Kickstarter, I believe, so the PDFs will go to whatever e-mail address you specified during that process. If for some reason that doesn't work for you, Hero will find a way to get you your PDF. Y'all have supported Hero, so Hero's darn sure gonna do its best to reward that support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter I just added an update to the Kickstarter with some another piece of interior art from the book. Go check it out if you get the chance, and please join us as a backer if you haven't already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter And in other news, I've already gotten feedback from three of the $150+ donors and have written up two of the characters (I'm doing one per day). So far I've been really impressed with the creativity of the ideas, and better yet none of the characters that have been suggested are anything like stuff that's already in the book. This PDF is definitely going to add something awesome to the book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter I just finished the third of the $150 characters, and like the first two I think it turned out great. For those of you who are big fans of seeing "old favorites" from past editions of Champions return in a new form, you're going to get a big kick out of this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memorax300 Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Any idea as to when it will be available to purchase in the HG online store? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Any idea as to when it will be available to purchase in the HG online store? Sorry, but I don't. The PDF could conceivably be available sometime in February, though that's not guarantee the company will want to make it available right then. For the printed book, Hero will have to wait approximately three weeks to get the money from the Kickstarter, then schedule the printing and whatnot. The KS lists the estimated reward date as "April," which is probably a pretty good estimate allowing for all the factors involved. But of course the priority will be to get Kickstarter backers their copy first, so that may delay when the book itself makes it into the Online Store (and potentially to other retailers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter I'm prepared to content myself with a PDF until I can get my hands on a hard copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memorax300 Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Sorry' date=' but I don't. The PDF could conceivably be available sometime in February, though that's not guarantee the company will want to make it available right then. For the printed book, Hero will have to wait approximately three weeks to get the money from the Kickstarter, then schedule the printing and whatnot. The KS lists the estimated reward date as "April," which is probably a pretty good estimate allowing for all the factors involved. But of course the priority will be to get Kickstarter backers their copy first, so that may delay when the book itself makes it into the Online Store (and potentially to other retailers).[/quote'] No worries I get that the KS backers get priority. After all they invested in the book. Thanks for answering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teflon Billy Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter No worries I get that the KS backers get priority. After all they invested in the book. Thanks for answering. You know you aren't doing anyone any favors by waiting until after the Kickstarter has closed to buy the book. In fact, this kind of wait and see delaying is only going to damage future Kickstarters. TB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memorax300 Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter You know you aren't doing anyone any favors by waiting until after the Kickstarter has closed to buy the book. In fact, this kind of wait and see delaying is only going to damage future Kickstarters. TB The thing is between dental work tommorow costing 165-185$ and having to pay a 450$ electric bill I can't afford to be giving money to HG. Would I like to support their Kickstarter project of course. I also need to prioritize where my money goes too. For now it has to be bills first then gaming. Don't assume that because I want to wait I don't want to support the company. Not all of us have high paying jobs with large expense accounts. I also never hurts to be cautious when investing in something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Heya Herophiles! We've got less than a week to go and things are lookin' pretty good. But we're still about $1,500 short of our secondary goal, which unlocks a cool new reward for everyone who backs the Kickstarter. So if you haven't become a backer yet, we'd certainly appreciate it if you'd consider joining us and help make The Book Of The Empress a reality! Book Of The Empress Kickstarter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter You know you aren't doing anyone any favors by waiting until after the Kickstarter has closed to buy the book. In fact, this kind of wait and see delaying is only going to damage future Kickstarters. One thing I would hope is that the product is not made available in the online store (or through other sources) for a lower cost than the kickstarter. As an example, we've seen a few complaints about the shipping costs. If pledging the Kickstarter means you get the book in April for $30 more (say) than someone who waits until May and orders it from the online store, I could see that acting as a disincentive to some (especially those who don't care about the other rewards) from participating in future Kickstarter efforts, instead waiting for the online store to make it cheaper. To analogize to the comics, "I'll just wait for the Trade". If the price drops six months to a year later, well that's par for the course - unloading slow moving inventory is another matter, and the buyer takes the risk that it sells out in three months. Even with Kickstarter, the procrastinator risks there being few or no books for sale later, but I can't see why the .pdf would ever be pulled, so non-participants can at least have confidence they can access the .pdf as long as the book goes ahead. New business models are always fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter One thing I would hope is that the product is not made available in the online store (or through other sources) for a lower cost than the kickstarter. While I can't speak for the company officially, I feel pretty confident in saying I can guarantee you that won't happen. In fact I'd expect that international shipping costs for all orders are likely to rise. The years of Hero Games subsidizing international shipping to generate sales are going to end, and soon. It's true, as some people have pointed out, that there are cheaper ways to ship books internationally. But Hero's experience has been that when it uses those methods, the books get the crap beaten out of them. Then, of course, the customer complains to Hero and demands a new book, further increasing Hero's costs. Sturdy boxes cost more, but in the final analysis they work better for Hero's needs. As I've said in a couple other posts here, backing the Kickstarter actually ends up being a real bargain. For $50 you get the $40 book, plus PDF, plus HD Character Pack. All three of those things purchased separately are significantly more expensive. So in fact for many (if not most) customers, "waiting for the trade" is a bad idea. Add to that the fact that backing the KS makes it more likely that a book will actually be produced, and that backers get goodies that ordinary customers cannot, and becoming a backer is a win-win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter Just to play Devil's Advocate, though... With the current pricing tiers, some customers might argue that (in some cases) they would be paying more for the Kickstarter. If you want the physical book, the least expensive option in the Kickstarter is $50. Granted, this also gives you the PDF and the HD Character Pack, which is an excellent deal if you also want the PDF and the HD Character Pack. But if those things don't have any value to you (perhaps you never use PDFs for gaming, and don't use Hero Designer), you're paying $10 more than you'd pay for just the book once the book is available. It might be worth it to you to pay the extra $10 anyway, to help ensure that the book gets published. But after the Kickstarter is funded, someone who truly wants only the book might feel like they're best served to wait until it's available... Note that none of these sentiments would apply to me. I'm just saying that I can see why people who really only want the book might be holding out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter For in country orders you'll be paying for shipping if you wait and orfer it from the store. That won't be $10 but it does lesses the percieved gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter With the current pricing tiers, some customers might argue that (in some cases) they would be paying more for the Kickstarter. If you want the physical book, the least expensive option in the Kickstarter is $50. Granted, this also gives you the PDF and the HD Character Pack, which is an excellent deal if you also want the PDF and the HD Character Pack. But if those things don't have any value to you (perhaps you never use PDFs for gaming, and don't use Hero Designer), you're paying $10 more than you'd pay for just the book once the book is available. It might be worth it to you to pay the extra $10 anyway, to help ensure that the book gets published. But after the Kickstarter is funded, someone who truly wants only the book might feel like they're best served to wait until it's available... This is true. But as I've also observed: 1. There's a limit to how many reward tiers that can be offered. Too many and you create "choice paralysis" in your potential backers and can very well end up shooting yourself in the foot. Kickstarter's experience and research suggests that 5-7 tiers is the optimal number. Creating a lot of tiers, each with only minor variations, to cater to any possible permutation of customer desires, isn't a good idea. 2. So, say you don't want the PDF or Character Pack. Wait to order the book. You'll pay $40, plus shipping from the Online Store. The $50 tier comes with free shipping (in the US at least; not abroad). So the overall price isn't all that different, and you're still getting more goodies with the $50 tier. Give 'em away if you don't want 'em. Plus you get backer-only rewards like copies of the $150 tier characters that people who wait to buy just the book later won't get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter The $50 tier comes with free shipping. This is definitely the opposite of what I inferred from the Kickstarter pages and comments on these forums, and would undoubtedly make a big difference to many people when they decide on their pledge level. If this is true, IMO it needs to be clarified and emphasized post-haste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter LL -- the Kickstarter says: "(Price includes shipping within the continental United States; for shipping to Canada or Mexico add $30; for shipping to Europe add $50.)" It's right there in the reward description. I expanded on my comment above to make sure this was clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Re: BOOK OF THE EMPRESS Kickstarter This is true. But as I've also observed: 1. There's a limit to how many reward tiers that can be offered. Too many and you create "choice paralysis" in your potential backers and can very well end up shooting yourself in the foot. Kickstarter's experience and research suggests that 5-7 tiers is the optimal number. Creating a lot of tiers, each with only minor variations, to cater to any possible permutation of customer desires, isn't a good idea. 2. So, say you don't want the PDF or Character Pack. Wait to order the book. You'll pay $40, plus shipping from the Online Store. The $50 tier comes with free shipping. So the overall price isn't all that different, and you're still getting more goodies with the $50 tier. Give 'em away if you don't want 'em. Plus you get backer-only rewards like copies of the $150 tier characters that people who wait to buy just the book later won't get. Understood. I'm just thinking maybe some people aren't breaking it down that way, and are just seeing it on the surface as "Oh, it's $10 more for the book plus stuff I don't want." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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