Up Your Game with Custom Dice!

Update #44: Happy Holidays from QT Games!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 25, 2020 at 02:10:54 AM

Dear friends, 

I hope during this very Covid Christmas that you are able to find a moment to take a deep breath. To just relax a little and maybe drink some hot cocoa or enjoy a pleasant surprise. Like most of you, I'm not able to spend Christmas with everyone I would like to this year, and while 2020 has had many frustrating, unpleasant and even painful events associated with it, some good things have happened, too. I hope you've managed to fair it okay and that like me, you are looking forward to the new year.

It is easy to get caught up in the chaos of the commercial side of Christmas, or in bad memories you may have associated with Christmas even in a good year, or perhaps you have a loved one who is currently sick or other concerns weighing on you. I don't know everything, but I'm a willing ear in case you need someone to talk to, as I am able. Please feel free to contact me. 

I have a different perspective on life than many. I'm not saying it's better, just that I'm a pretty positive person, despite many things not having gone my way over the years. I don't ignore my problems or failings, but focus on what is working and on the things that are going well, as well as those I can look forward to. I encourage you to not let past or present difficulties weigh too heavily on you — especially the ones you can't change, and to look past the trappings of Christmas and focus on the real reason for the season, as that path is one that brings peace and even joy, regardless of circumstances. There is still much to hope for, much to look forward to. 

As for the Overkill Kickstarter, I've asked before many times if there are any needs, and have taken care of any backers that have come forward with inquiries regarding dice or a shipment. A couple of you took care of some things on your end, sparing me additional work, for which I appreciate. The factory tells me what few defective dice were found and returned are being taken care of. It will take some time. Like some of you, they are taking a holiday, but I'll keep you in the loop as we get closer to replacement dice being sent out to cover those who sent theirs back in time. The return date was set by the factory and the return window is past now, as it takes time to ship, as I stated previously. 

So, aside from the factory shipping out a few replacement dice, I consider this Kickstarter to be fulfilled. If you never went to Backerkit, please contact me, of course. If there was a problem with your order, again —please contact me and I'll see what can be done. 

QT Games isn't vanishing. We're hard at work on some very, very cool projects, and I imagine we'll do other Kickstarters down the road, including, perhaps, another dice Kickstarter. I certainly have some other dice I'd like to make! And we've still got some dice left over from this Kickstarter, so if any of you need some more — yep, please feel free to contact me after the holidays. 

I won't be actively pursuing sales, so it will be up to you and your friends to get any dice before they're all gone. I'm not going to be opening an estore any time soon, but if I run another Kickstarter, I may offer up some or all of the existing dice, ordering more for that, of course. Be sure to join my mailing list at QTGames.com to make sure you never miss anything. We only send out that newsletter a few times per year (maybe more in 2021), but I do sneak some content into it that doesn't tend to pop up elsewhere, including, sometimes, special perks.

As for what we're working on (well, it's just me currently) . . . Darkhold: Prelude to Apocalypse is taking center stage and that board game is really shaping up nicely! Oh, I've got a number of side projects, but Darkhold's the "main thing" for now, and I look forward to renewing playtesting again as soon as I finish the latest prototype for it in the next week or so! Before long I'll also be revisiting the 2 games I gave away free earlier this year and will polish them up and make available Print and Play docs for them, as time provides. 

I couldn't be more excited about the projects I'm putting together via QT Games. The hardest part is just getting folks aware of what it is we do. If you haven't taken the time to look a bit deeper into the Cosmoverse or Toonaria, I encourage you to do, and you'll find some wonderful nuggets of goodness to brighten your day, and some very cool goodies to look forward to down the road.  Know someone that would like the fiction, games and/or games we make? Do us both a favor and point them to QTGames.com. Thanks!

That's all for today. Let's wrap up this year as well as we can, keep in touch, and make 2021 a great year! Stay safe and take care, my friends. 

Cheers!      —Bob

Update #43: Still Moving Forward!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 12:41:15 AM

Hi, all. 

I hope things are going well for you overall, and that you've been fairing the pandemic okay. I know this year has been crazy and even painful in some way for most of us, and I know that in the US we've had an added layer of chaos with the presidential elections. (For roughly half the country the results are likely to bring hope and encouragement, and for the other half, further discouragement.) Personally, I think that the future of America rides on a whole lot more than whoever sits in the White House. It relies on individuals and families and how we choose to move forward in these difficult times, where we focus our energies and attention —how we choose to react to hardship.

I know you guys have all made it easier on me during my own difficulties due to your amazing patience and kindness, for which I love you all and am very grateful. I know I'm not perfect, and operate with limited wisdom, but I am doing my best to please you all and keep moving forward. And we are doing just that! If you are struggling and need someone to talk to, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm at work for part of the day, and sleeping another part, but when I am able, I will certainly respond and be there to listen/chat, whatever you need, whenever I can. Together, we can accomplish so very much more than we can on our own, and we all have blind spots and are strong where others are weak, so together we can indeed keep moving forward!!

As for the campaign, all of the orders have long-since been fulfilled and shipped, but the pandemic has certainly done a number on delivery times. US packages have arrived swiftly for the most part and all US backers who finalized their orders should have their dice by now. International packages have been way, way harder and have taken 5-6 weeks plus in many cases. Almost all packages should have arrived by now. 

Tracking has been abysmal. I have packages that say they are out for delivery that actually delivered weeks ago, and other packages that haven't shown movement in almost a month, well . . . many of those have still been popping up at doorsteps every few days, I hear. 

Time Sensitive: With so many delays, it means that returning any defective dice to the factory has now become a very time-sensitive situation. If you have a defective die and haven't made arrangements with me yet to return it (and you don't plan on repainting the die) please contact me asap so we can get you taken care of yet. We are running out of time to handle it, since it may take many weeks to get them back to the factory once I am able to get authorized to issue you a return. Communication is also key here. So, yeah, time is critical. Please check your dice as soon as they come in and let me know. Thanks! So far, only a few of you have contacted me about returning defective dice, so hopefully that's a good sign!

Tracking: I've been tracking all of the packages I sent out (again, I'm not perfect, so if you are concerned, or if you've been waiting for me to email you back regarding something, please contact me!) Speaking of contacting, I've been contacting the couriers for the most delayed packages (They often just send me form letters, but when I have managed to get a response, they just tell me that the package is just severely delayed, not lost —just??? Their tracking just isn't accurate at this time.) I know this delay isn't pleasant (It drives me crazy when I think about it because I want the dice in your hands!), but it may well take another week or two for the remaining International packages to get to where I sent them.  way back in September.

You guys have been great at telling me when your dice arrive and I appreciate that. Most packages have now been delivered, thankfully. I hope the remainder arrive within the next two weeks (if not much sooner!) I will continue to reach out to the couriers. I just wanted to touch base with you all, and let you know that you are not alone, and that if your dice haven't shown up yet, they should soon, regardless of what the tracking says (sometimes the tracking shows a package is in LA instead of your country because there are in some cases multiple couriers for a single package and you may not have the latest tracking number. In most cases, your courier should be able to help track a package where I cannot. If you are still concerned, please feel free to reach out to me. Thanks!

Cheers      — Bob

Update #42: Living as a Masked Vigilante —er masked person + Shipping Update
over 3 years ago – Sat, Oct 31, 2020 at 10:34:40 PM

Hi, all. 

You're probably tired of wearing masks. When I wear one (which is pretty much whenever I'm around people outside my home) I don't feel like Batman or Spiderman or whatever. It isn't exciting, and I don't feel like climbing up onto a roof—I don't feel superheroic. Masks fog up my glasses when I breath (which is most days!) They are a pain to wear (I can't stop adjusting my mask or trying to make it more comfortable, and yeah, I know you aren't supposed to touch them or your face). I wear it for you — well, you, the human race. Even though I don't have the virus (as far as I know), I want to help keep folks safe, but like vampires, I'm so over the concept, but I will definitely continue to comply. 

I look forward to a world where I can see both halves of my friends' faces, of going out in public without concern for what I might breath in. It's messing things up —not just for me, but it's causing headaches for all of us. I don't know how folks date anymore (virtual dates?) But for now, it seems masks are needed. I'm not going to stop wearing mine until I'm told it's safe by "those who know". Wear them or nor, I'm telling you what you probably already know — the pandemic needs to go. 

In addition to everything else, the pandemic is messing up my shipping, making even domestic packages take way longer to reach my wonderful backers. And my international backers — gosh, it's taking 5-6 weeks plus to get to most of you. I even got back a package the other day that I sent a month and a half ago, and no delivery attempt was ever made. It was returned with a shiny new label and not a word as to why. It just bounced around airplanes, the backs of trucks, sat in warehouses, etc. and then the courier put a return label on it and sent it back to me just for fun. 

Tracking: Tracking has been horribly inaccurate. I've got over 2 dozen packages that say they are enroute (a few of which I know for a fact they have already been delivered because the backers have told me so), but the tracking on many of the packages hasn't been updated in 3 weeks! I've submitted lost claims on a few of them, but so far every time I've done that, the package  happens to show up the same day or the next, or they flat out tell me the package isn't lost, but they don't tell me where it is, and then it shows up a few days later on a backer's doorstep. So, yeah, like many (or likely all of you — unless the masks make YOU feel like a cool vigilante) I am so ready for this pandemic to be over. And I'm not making light of the pandemic. I know personally of some who have lost their lives or have gotten sick from it. Nasty business, but I pray you have all come through safe and sound, and will continue to be.

Shipping: Thanks so much for being understanding about shipping. The postal services are understaffed and are having problems of their own. They are slammed and the whole system is super inefficient right now. I can't do anything about it, but I do appreciate that you aren't yelling at me about the location or state of your dice. It seems most of the dice are in super good shape, but I'm sorry that some aren't, and that some of you still don't have your dice. Thanks to those of you who just finalized your dice on Backerkit. I'll be shipping them shortly.

If after a few more days you feel that your package really is lost, not just super delayed, or you discover that one of your dice is missing a number (very few backers have contacted me about this) then please contact me. If nothing else, I might have a local tracking number you can use instead of the one that was sent to you so you can check with your local shipper and hopefully have success that way. Sometimes the tracking number can be used for multiple couriers, but other times you need a different one for the last leg of the trip. If you have a defective die, please save your packaging and let me know and I'll see what I can do to correct the situation.  

Canada: I've been trying for a couple weeks now to get Canada ready to roll for returns. I'm set up, but they aren't giving me much in the way of shipping options. That's currently the only country other than America where a backer is asking for a return. and where I am authorized to create return labels for. To my amazingly patient Canadian backers that have defective dice, thank you so much for not sending death threats! I haven't forgotten about you. I talk with my shipper regularly and keep asking for the final piece of the puzzle, and they tell me they need a bit more time. If I can't get them to set me up for shipping via Canada Post this week, I'll get you a return label from one of the super expensive carriers, as we are getting down to the wire on returns. 

Other Countries: I have to get approved for doing returns in each country that has a defective die, and that takes time for reasons I just don't get, but like masks, I have to deal with it. A few of you have a defective die and told me you have or are going to paint yours. That's awesome and it means your die is usable right away and that my headache is lessened, for which I'm grateful, but I totally understand someone not wanting to do that (I'm absolutely horrible at painting dice.) And I'm trying to be professional, of course, so I'm more than happy to take back any defective dice. After December, I'll be paying through the nose to handle such returns with no reimbursement from the factory to replace dice made for the Kickstarter, so that's another reason I'm trying to get everything taken care of. The factory won't replace defective dice not in their hands before the end of the year.

Deadline: I'm aware that there's still a handful of you who are still waiting on your dice to be delivered. Again, I'm seeing 5-6 weeks on average for international shipping. I feel your pain if you are still waiting on your dice. Hang in there, my friends, and don't worry, even if I have to draw from my private stock, I will replace any dice from this Kickstarter that proves defective, regardless of Q Workshop's deadline, but I would sure appreciate being able to handle this well before December, since it will likely take many weeks to get the dice back to Poland (and some of you are shipping to me first, to boot.)  

Return Labels: I'm told that normally a return label is supposed to be used within 24 hours, and that you can set a shipping date for a return label. My shipper says that the post office will usually allow return labels to be sent a good week or so beyond the ship date, but after that they won't honor them. And if they are stressed or in a mood they just might not allow it even then. If you use an old label, it might take awhile before you get the package back and then you'll need a new label from me and will have to ship it again, which is a pain for everyone and wastes precious time. 

Please use your return labels asap, and if you can't use them within a week or so, let me know asap and I'll cancel the label and issue another one when you are ready. We really need to stay on top of all this to get any defective dice replaced. If you've been sitting on a label or lost it, please let me know and I'll replace it right away. Thanks. I know you are busy just like I am. If you contacted me and I didn't email you back, just in case I've forgotten to respond or thought I did but didn't, please feel free to reach out again. I want to take care of you all, have a lot on my plate, and am not perfect. But I do care. Thanks for understanding!

Missing Backers: Okay, there's still a handful of you who have never gone to Backerkit or finalized your dice order. I need to get you your dice before my inventory is drained, so please go there as soon as you can. We need to get you your dice and wrap up this Kickstarter. If you've lost your Backerkit email and can't get in, let me know and I'll email you it right away. The deadline was many months ago, and I know — pandemic. I sure hope you are all okay. I love and appreciate all of you, and if you've been struggling and need someone to talk to, or need an adjustment to your order (or even need to cancel it) please feel free to contact me and I'll see how I can help! I care about each one of you. Well, that's all for today. Thanks, friends, and have a great rest of the weekend!

Bob

P.s. Looking for some good reading material, but aren't ready to buy one of my eBooks? You can read free excerpts at QTGames.com!

P.s.s. Our Darkhold: Prelude to Apocalypse board game is coming right along, and might be featured in a 2021 Game Prototype calendar. We'll see. Excited about the game and I'm working hard on it when not fulfilling orders and tracking shipments, of course! If you are interested in possibly being part of an official playtesting team for QT Games let me know, as I will be setting one up in the days ahead. I'll list all playtesters in the back of the rulebook, unless you request to remain anonymous. I might use Tabletop Simulator for some playtesting. Still looking into it all. 

Update #41: Shipping and More
over 3 years ago – Sun, Oct 18, 2020 at 08:21:27 AM

Hi, all. 

Seems like we're still hip deep in the pandemic, but I hope you've managed to stay safe and sane during these odd times. I've been wanting to give you an update for a week, but every time I think I'm going to have something to tell you, someone tells me I have to wait again (there's a lot that's out of my control.) If you are ever wondering what's happening in between my updates, I often post in the comments below the last update or in the main campaign comments section.  Here's an overview of what's what:

Shipping Status: I shipped out all of the packages last month, but the various carriers are jumping through hoops struggling with the pandemic, reduced staff and other issues, slowing down delivery. There are 18 packages still enroute, but should reach you soon (if by you, I mean those that are still waiting, and I do!) All the rest have already been delivered (except a couple of you who placed reorders for more dice. I still need to process those, but I've been working on International Shipping. Won't be long now!)

Everyone: Please recheck your dice. We have one shot at getting defective dice replaced. Please send them to me following the instructions in the last update, and bearing in mind the below.

Domestic Returns: A few of you had one or two defective dice and over the past week I emailed you and sent out Return Labels. If you didn't see yours in your InBox, please check your Spam folder. Let me know if you need me to resend it or if you have any concerns or questions. Return Labels are supposed to be used very soon after they are generated. Please use the package you received for the return or a similar bubble mailer. 

International Returns: I just finally received approval to do returns in Canada. It's a super clunky process, and so far super expensive. I'm hoping on Monday or Tuesday to get approval to ship via Canada Post. Otherwise, it's around $100 per package, even if it's just 1 die that weighs no more than a few feathers. There are two of you in Canada who have filed claims. Please keep an eye out for return labels from me mid next week. 

So far I have only received a few Canadian and US claims. I can get set up for most other countries, but I will only be able to do that as I have the need (I have to make a request with my shipper for each country, so it has been slowing things down, and the process is complicated.) Anyone else have a defective die they want replaced? It looks like very few dice were defective, thankfully, and a couple of you decided to repaint the defective die you got. 

Speaking of painting, if anyone does a repaint with different colors or whatever, I'd love to see it -  you can post any custom paint jobs on our Facebook fan page! (I know some like to paint dice. I've never been very good at it.)  

Triply and Zone Racer: Anyone play these games yet with your new Harbinger D12s? I'd love to get some feedback. I know they are just Alpha Playtest documents you downloaded, as I mentioned before, but I aim to improve them. Once we get all the shipping and replacement dice taken care of I'll be playtesting those games some more to see where they need additional tweaks and polish. I'm looking forward to that! 

What's Next?: I've also got a couple more games I'm working on that I'm jumping up and down excited about (well, more than two, but I'm only working on two at once currently): Darkhold: Prelude to Apocalypse and Magic Mayhem. I set them aside to tackle shipping. 

Then there's Freeze Or Burn, an epic volcano game I started revamping in 2018 that needs my attention, Storm Garden, Cone Zone, Gate Keeper, Deadly Cargo, and a huge pile of other games, web comic, and fiction all set within the Toonaria Universe sitting around waiting for me to find time to work on them! (Dying to find a way to either bend the time continuum or do QT Games full-time so I can get this content out the door faster - fun stuff!!) Oh, and speaking of fiction, did any of you finish reading one of my novels yet? I would LOVE to hear what you think about The Shadow Reaper, Arcane Synthesis, or my latest book: Sea of Worms! Those are all set in my Cosmoverse universe (yeah, dying to write some more for that universe, too!) 

As for dice, I might do another dice Kickstarter down the road. We'll see. I need to get another person or two in the mix to get more done. (Back around 2009 I had a team of 11 regular freelancers working with me, but these days it's just me and an occasional editor and brainstormer. I need to grow the budget before I can enlarge the team again.) As with all of my projects, to some degree, I prioritize releases based on interest shown. Want to see more goodies? It does make a difference! Spread the word!

That's all for today, friends. As always, I hope to talk with you guys online. I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (just barely so far as it isn't very desktop friendly), and if there's enough interest, I might open a Discord channel to chat about my universes, or really whatever you want to talk about.) Stay safe, but stay connected!

Cheers!  — Bob

Update #40 Moving Forward!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Oct 06, 2020 at 02:03:18 AM

Hi, gang.

Okay, I'm still waiting for a couple answers to questions I have, but know enough to get the ball rolling. I've negotiated with the factory and met with my shipping partner and we are ready to proceed with any dice that need to be replaced (for the most part —I'm still looking into International shipping returns, but should be all set on those in the next day or two. Even so, International returns will still need the instructions, below.)

Fortunately, it looks like the number of defective dice is not as widespread as I feared. All but 54 of you have received your dice already and I've only heard about defects from a handful of you. I'm sure there will be a few more, but even in my own, much larger inventory, which I spent most of the day yesterday pouring over die by die looking carefully at every face, I only yielded a total of 13 defective dice. So, hopefully the numbers will stay low across the board.

Again, I'm so sorry to those of you who had to worry about whether yours had defects or not and even more so to those of you who did in fact get one or more with defects. Even without defects there's always a good chance with any large shipment that something will be damaged or missing, so we're still talking a small percentage of the whole. Of course, I don't like the fact that any of you got bad ones. Let's get that taken care of! Here's an overview of what needs to happen to make this work:

• Return Deadline:Q Workshop has set an end of year deadline. If they receive your package before the end of the year they will manufacture replacement dice for you and ship them directly to you on a first-come, first-served basis. They will allow a return once per backer, so please double check that you didn't miss any defective dice before confirming your final count with me.

• Return Labels: I will make you a return label and send it to you via email, for minimal delay of getting your dice returned. In order for me to make an accurate label, I will need some things from you sent to [email protected]; Subject: Defective:

1. Your address (if changed recently) and the approximate date you will ship your return (Postal services sometimes reject a shipping label if it is shipped very long after it was made. How much time you have to send your package with the label differs by carrier and postal worker's mood. Within a week or so of a label being made is usually not a problem. If it's going to be longer, please contact me, so we can make other arrangements.)

2. The exact names and quantities of any defective dice you will be putting in the bubble mailer. This is important, as the factory wants me to keep a running list of all defective dice and provide them with a continually updated spreadsheet. There are a lot of faces on a D20, for example, so it's easy to not notice one missing a number on a casual glance.) Some of you have already been wonderful about sending me a photo and telling me what's wrong. A photo is no longer required. That said, I will need everyone to double check and confirm via email to ensure you get your dice replaced even if you already said something. It's for your benefit.

3. Please use your original bubble mailer and make sure your dice are properly protected, not loose inside of the bubble mailer, so there are no hiccups with delivery or with the factory. Lose dice can fall out and get lost if a hole is ripped in the mailer during shipping. i.e. you can put them in a baggy and tie it or use a Ziplock baggy if you have one , or toss them back into the little bags I gave you and staple them closed (the factory won't return my packaging or bag toppers to you, so if you want them, leave them out. Also, please be sure to remove the Apocalypse Rising cheat sheet if you got one.)

If you tossed the original packaging or it's too ripped up to safely use, then please use a similar bubble mailer and let me know the dimensions when you confirm you dice so I can estimate its weight for making your label to avoid further delays. I'll email you the label soon after you confirm the information above. If you are not ready to make a return, please keep me in the loop so we can get your return handled later, but before the deadline. I could still use your return information, however, and then when you are ready to ship, you can just confirm the quantities and details haven't changed and I'll create a return label at that time. (To my knowledge I can't make return labels for out of country packages, so that's why I'm looking into how to do labels for those backers. I think it's just a different process.)

All of the dice will be shipped in a manner similar to how you received them, starting with your local carriers. The shipping label will indicate the carrier for drop off. The factory is helping with shipping costs so it will not crush my little company, like I worried this would. I so wanted this Kickstarter to be a wonderful, pleasant experience, and I'm really sorry about this hiccup.

I don't want to miss anyone's returns and I also want to make sure no defective dice miss the return, so even if you've told me already, please email me again confirming, to make sure I am able to get you accurate return labels. Thanks!!

I continue to be amazed and appreciative of each of you for your understanding and enthusiasm and I hope this doesn't tarnish your view of QT Games or Q Workshop. I feel like I've made some really neat friends during this Kickstarter and each one of you is important to me. Again, I'm very sorry that it came to this for some of your dice. It was a freak situation, but all we can do is replace them and let you know that we care about you very much, and will do our absolute best to make this right. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact me! Let's work together to make this a smooth process. Thanks again for understanding!

Cheers — Bob