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1 day ago
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
Posted project update #23Advanced / Origins copies are in the air!
Firstly, I need to give a huge, HUGE thank you to Betty Xu over in Shanghai who just did two things:1) Confirmed that the Advances / Origins copies have been picked up - and will be in Michigan (with Jeremiah) and Amsterdam (with me) by Tuesday of next week.2) Accepted the role of Production Director to make sure our print runs go much more smoothly going forwardsI don't think I need to tell anyone that production has been a "development opportunity" at Cambridge Games Factory for a while. I'm really looking forward to working with Betty to get it fixed!ADVANCED COPIESUnited States, Canada, Latin America:Jeremiah is aiming to mail the advanced shipment games out on Wednesday (May 30th) before he leaves for Origins.His schedule is extremely tight, though so it's not certain that he'll get all of the games out in time - any not sent by then will be mailed after he gets back from Origins. Worst case, all sets will be sent by the middle of the following week (June 6th).Europe, Middle East, Africa:Ed will mail out the advanced shipments by the end of next week (June 1st)Asia, Australia and New Zealand:Now that the air shipments to Europe and America have left Betty and I are starting to plan the local distribution.Provisionally, we're aiming to get the advanced copies shipped by the end of next week (June 1st) but that could slip by a few days once we finalize arrangements.RUBBLE / THINKER BACKERSYour packs will be sent out from Boston once the 'main' Airshipment arrives (the one where we didn't spend an extra $1000 to ship in 2 days instead of 5!) - current estimate is that they'll go out by June 8th, although that could slip by a few days if we get held up in customs.MAIN RELEASEI am delighted to announce that Christopher Rao has agreed to take on the role of Release Director, responsible for both making sure that our games get to market after they're produced and ensuring they are properly marketed when they do.Right now he's talking to our shipping agents to arrange the main pick ups for both Europe and America - we'll have details next week - but back of the envelope this should have the games arriving with us at the end of June, and getting sent out to you in the first and second weeks of July.PROMO ITEM PACKSThe games themselves are heavy, while the promo items are complicated (who came up with the idea for all those choices!?!) so we're splitting up the collation / distribution process.Most of you won't notice any difference but Advanced shippers and shipments to Asia, Australia and New Zealand will come in two parts - you'll receive Glory To Rome, Plato 3000 and the BlackBox Promo cards first, followed by a second shipment with risers, mini-camps, I.V Promo cards, etc.T-SHIRTSIt's a long, long time since I last printed a T-Shirt - who knew that Girls' T-Shirts are cut differently from guys?
Right now we have only one request for a woman's T-shirt size - if you'd like to switch please let us know as soon as possible by emailing kickstarter@cambridgegames.com - we've printed enough of both but Jeremiah is going to be sending out the American T-Shirts with the advanced shipments, so they'll be leaving in a couple of days.Also, these T-Shirts were never intended as a Kickstarter exclusive so we're going to be selling them at Origins ($17 each) - if you'd like to add one to your Kickstarter order just let us know and we'll be happy to include it.
AND FINALLY...
Sorry the last update was short on specifics.
We knew we had to get a status update out, but at the same time our first priority was making sure the games actually got to Origins as promised and so I was more focused about making sure that the printers knew exactly what was going on than you guys.Also, to explain my own situation a little better: Cambridge Games Factory has several full-time employees, but I am not one of them - right now I'm taking a couple of weeks off between projects to get things moving, but once the team have found their way again I will need to get back to my "real" work - I love running a games company, but it certainly doesn't pay my mortgage.I'm happy to make amends in all sorts of ways (e.g., Plato 3000, better card stock, $1000's in extra shipping fees, etc.) but my livelihood depends on my ability to keep my consulting customers happy, so when the chips are down I have to put them first.I'm sorry that some of you find that disrespectful - but not so sorry that I'm willing to lose my house over it.On the other hand I do recognize that we're way behind on expectations, and that we still have ground to make up. I already have a couple of ideas about how to do that which I think you'll like - but lets talk about them after we've started getting games into your hands!CheersEd CarterManaging DirectorCambridge Games FactoryYES! We'd love to see your game idea
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4 days ago
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
commented on a project updateDaniel, Please send an email to kickstarter@cambridgegames.com with the subject "[#SRX00127] Origins Pickup". (This ID number is unique to your request - I can't tell which Daniel you are in the backer list without it.) Also, please include your full name so that you can be identified at the con. -- Chris Sniezek, Logistics Specialist, CGF
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5 days ago
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
Posted project update #22Good news - I lost my job (for a bit)
It's not what you don't know that kills you, it's what you know for sure that ain't true. (Mark Twain)After a rocky period, I completed my "real job" project here in Amsterdam about a week ago and so I have some dedicated time to get things moving again while I seek out my next assignment.An immediate first step has been to switch our weekly team meeting to a daily one; we're structuring it as an Agile "Scrum" to help get blocking issues surfaced and fixed more quickly.I also finalized the shipping plan / quantities over the weekend, including identifying 28 separate shipment / distribution locations.The next urgent task is getting games available for Origins pick up, as promised in the last update.
Note that since we're not going to be selling copies there ourselves this is going to be a very small shipment - if you are hoping to collect there and haven't told us yet, please confirm ASAP to reserve your copy.Also on the list for this week is rescheduling the main air / sea shipments so we can get the the games out of the factory - the original dates we were working to slipped because we didn't get our quantities / paperwork finalized in time .I'm as disappointed as everyone else that the games are still sitting in Shanghai right now - they won't be there much longer, promise!Sincerely,Ed CarterManaging DirectorCambridge Games Factorywww.cambridgegames.comYES! We'd love to see your game ideaFOR THOSE WHO CAREIn 'real life' I'm an independent consultant / project lead, which means that I live (and / or die) on my ability to deliver as promised and on time. Not doing well here, I know...When I got on the plane to Shanghai at the end of February I was winding up one project with a firm lead on an E-Commerce project that would have kept me in work through July. I knew we were behind with arranging shipments, etc. but I had a full week scheduled to work on Cambridge Games Factory to get caught up - what could possibly go wrong?Well, all sorts of things, as it happens.My project 'exploded' as soon as I left so that I ended up spending most of my time in Shanghai working a European day to get things back under control. Fortunately this was my second project with the team and after being burnt almost exactly the same way on the first project I'd anticipated the risks and written them into the project proposal / charter so I was stuck with a couple of frantic weeks getting caught up after which I should (I believed) be able to pick up the pieces of the Shanghai trip and finish planning and scheduling the shipments, order fulfillment, etc.So far so good.By late March my project was winding down again and I was ready to get back onto the games company. As a stroke of luck, a new Chinese friend was not only an Import / Export specialist but also finishing her contract in a few days and very happy to help out while she looked for a permanent position. Perfect!And then... Words you do not want to hear the day you start User Acceptance Testing a new website - "Oh, that load function is broken. It's a known bug"Not known by me, unfortunately.I'd just spent three months of my life planning and crafting a data pipeline to hit an existing load template precisely to avoid time consuming changes to the main website. Now I was stuck working on a major bug anyway, discovered so late that it threw the project back into catch up mode, incurring repeated delays to starting User Testing as we struggled to identify and fix the root causes. The worst is that with a couple of hours testing the existing functionality back in January the issue would have been on my radar from the beginning. Lessons for next time...A more pleasant set-back was that my Chinese Import / Export friend landed a new job less than a week after finishing her old one. Great for her, but rather got in the way of having her take on planning our shipments, etc.!3 of 11View Previous Comments-
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Daniel 4 days ago
How should we contact you to pick up a copy at Origins? My plans for that weekend were only recently solidified, so I wasn't able to confirm until now.
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Daniel 4 days ago
How should we contact you to pick up a copy at Origins? My plans for that weekend were only recently solidified, so I wasn't able to confirm until now.
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Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee 4 days ago
Daniel,
Please send an email to kickstarter@cambridgegames.com with the subject "[#SRX00127] Origins Pickup". (This ID number is unique to your request - I can't tell which Daniel you are in the backer list without it.) Also, please include your full name so that you can be identified at the con.
-- Chris Sniezek, Logistics Specialist, CGF
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on May 10
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
commented on a projectMatt, I've updated the FAQ on the main page to include an answer to your question about shipping (along with other updates). From there: If you're changing from game store pickup to personal delivery, you will probably need to pay a shipping fee: $3 for Thinker/Rubble, $5 for Wood/Brick/Concrete. Send your payment via PayPal to sales@cambridgegames.com and note your address change. Otherwise, send your change request either via Kickstarter or via email to kickstarter@cambridgegames.com, and we'll update our records from that. -- Chris Sniezek, Logistics Specialist, CGF
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on May 2
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
commented on a project updateThom - I'm checking messages, and updating the shipping addresses, but I get so many that it's hard to respond. Sorry for the confusion. Patrice - Feel free to send your most current address to us via the KS message system. Thanks.
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on April 19
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
commented on a project updateMichael - Advanced shipment was an option in the pledge level. If you paid for advanced shipping (pledged at the $75 level), then your game will arrive earlier.
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on April 19
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
Posted project update #21Origins Pickup
If you'd like to pick up your game at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, send me an email with your email, backer username, and your name. Make the subject line "Origins Pickup". Jeremiah.Lee@CambridgeGames.com
If you're going to have a friend pick it up, let me know their full name, in the email you send.
People that paid for advanced shipment will get theirs before Origins. Other backers can sign up to pick it up at Origins. We'll make sure we get enough for every backer intending to go to Origins, not first-come first-served.
I expect we will have all the backer extras for people picking up their games at Origins.Best,
Jeremiah3 of 5View Previous Comments-
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Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee on May 2
Thom - I'm checking messages, and updating the shipping addresses, but I get so many that it's hard to respond. Sorry for the confusion.
Patrice - Feel free to send your most current address to us via the KS message system. Thanks.
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on April 19
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
commented on a project updateIf you'd like to pick up your game at Origins, send me an email with your email, backer username, and your name. Make the subject line "Origins Pickup". Jeremiah.Lee@CambridgeGames.com If you're going to have a friend pick it up, let me know their full name, in the email you send.
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on April 19
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
commented on a project updateAh! Sorry, Northern Hemi-Summer. How very me-centric. Plato 3000 is going to be shipped with GtR
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on April 19
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
Posted project update #20Dates, Ships, Planes
Some glorious news, we're excited to share.
1) Plane for advanced shipping orders leaves next week.
2) Boat for regular shipping leaves next week (though they've let us know that it's possible that it'll leave some days later, pending the boat filling up).
The games have been printed, and this is the earliest we could get the arrangements together for shipment out of China.
3) Advanced shipping orders are planned to arrive in May.
4) We will have copies to give to backers going to Origins Game Fair (May 30-June 3, 2012) will be able to pick up their copies. We'll also have a copy to demo. We will not have any available for sale.
5) Pending boat vs. ocean, and then customs, we expect games to be arriving at your doors in the summer.Best,
Jeremiah
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Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee on April 19
Michael - Advanced shipment was an option in the pledge level. If you paid for advanced shipping (pledged at the $75 level), then your game will arrive earlier.
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Michael Jean on April 19
Still waiting for my things from the Rubble pledge while the cars are available in the Geek Store. Are they on the boat?
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Todd Redden on May 17
Haven't heard about shipment in a while. I provided the name of the game store nearby for free shipment but the owner claims he's never heard a word about it. How can I confirm my game is being shipped and when should I expect it?
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Post Comment -
Ed Carter / Jeremiah Lee
Cambridge, MA
Ed graduated from Cambridge University (UK) in '92 with one of the worst Math degrees of his year after spending far, far too much time unicycling, roleplaying and playing strategic board and card games. He then spent two years learning how muc... view more
I kicked an email for a friend to pick up a copy at Origins but I never got a response back. I don't want to lose my copy and it can be mailed but I don't know what's happening. Can someone please ping me.
Dear Ed - I find that just about all the hate I have for a company is reserved for Comcast, so I'm very happy to continue as a fan of CGF :)
I couldn't manage producing games in addition to having a full time job, so I don't think you're being disrespectful. Some people just don't have patience. I own too many games I haven't played yet, so waiting a little while longer for Glory to Rome is OK by me.
Great too see this happening. I cannot wait, honestly.
People who complain over other people worrying about their mortgage must not have a mortgage to pay themselves.