"AQTMF Kickstarter Frustration" Topic

It's very frustrating to see that stuff I was promised in wave 1 let alone all the stuff now selling that should be in my hands as a kickstarter backer. I'm frustrated because after investing a large amount of money I have gotten very little not even my wave 1 stuff was complete. Yet I see buddies and friends of the CEO of Alien Dungeon getting their stuff and anyone ordering from AD's online store gets top notch fast service why am I and many other high end kickstarters not treated with the same respect as any other customer? And I'm sorry the argument that they are financially struggling is not acceptable to me, they had no problem taking the $500 USDK from us all. I for one will not be supporting anything from Alien Dungeon again; I truly doubt I will ever see all my stuff from my kickstarter. I am curious to as how new models and armies are being sculpted and produced yet all the kickstarters again don't have their stuff. And I'm sure you can go and read up on all the promises AD has made and broken. OK the rant is over from a very disgruntled KS backer. It's a shame I have no further recourse.

I have to agree with you. They have had really poor service. They run several business and all of them seem to be losing their customer service that made them so great to buy from.

I am sure you have contacted them. They might not have your correct information.

What is AQTMF?

Proper names. Use 'em at least once.Otherwise it's incomprehensible geek jargon.

AQua Teen Meal Force?

All Quite on the Martian Front

Yes, it would be nice to have all the stuff I ordered, but people ARE receiving their Wave 2 boxes now so I think it is only a matter of time. Fortunately none of us will die or really be hurt in any way by the delay in getting another big box of toys. I'll have the same amount of fun with my Martian Front collection whether it arrives tomorrow or next year…

And by the way, the Kickstarter amount collected was $300 USDK, not 500.

I feel the same way. My frustration is only partially that I'm still waiting for things, like most people. For me the problem is seeing some of what I'm missing for sale at my local game store for about two months now, and still not having it as a KickStarter backer. Recently they stepped up their efforts to communicate with KS backers, which is great, but I sent private emails that went unanswered by Alien Dungeon.
I was really excited about this game when it first came out. I planned to support it by hosting games at the local game store and local cons to try and get other people into it but AD has lost that desire in me, and I daresay, others as well. In fact the opposite now holds true, at least in my case.
Too bad.
Bill

See, that is my biggest concern. The folks who backed the kickstarter should have there items well before retail stores. I know some kickstarter projects have a retail pledge, but I don't think this one did.

This weekend got an email from AD on what items they would have for sale on Black Friday\Cyber Monday. I replied that I would not purchase a single one of their products from anywhere until my KS pledge was filled.

Received an email today that my KS items were being shipped.

Coincidence???

Coincidence???

Could be…

I got my Wave 2 on Saturday. Still missing items (Tesla tank, some other miscellaneous things). Ernie and crew were not prepared for this KS, that's for sure. I know they're trying to make things right, but I have to admit, they've still not got things completely together. There was plenty of grumbling re: Wave 2, which was promised in August (and is just now shipping). You would think they would have figured it out by now. I have sympathy for Barb and crew…but they obviously do not have enough people working on this.

My apologies about the proper name and I stand corrected on the KS amount.

Ambush Alley Jim that's not good to hear missing items on Wave 2, I still haven't gotten my wave one stuff or replacments of my broken wave 1 trenches. And yes contacted several times no reply. I haven't moved since Kick Starter ended and my small Wave 1 box arrived just fine though I must have been one of the last to get mine and I live in Ohio.

JustBill I feel the same way. The 2 local hobby stores here were going to get the game till they heard how the backers of the kick starter were treated they will not order the game now. So Alien Dungeons poor service has hurt the game already.

Four attempts at contacting AD and still no reply..

I was one of the last in the UK to get my wave 1 it looks like it will be the same with wave 2. No notification of shipment sent yet and others in the UK have had their mail and box up to 4 weeks ago.

Not good news about the Tesla, it looks like we will be waiting for a further wave – waves in 2015.

I'm also very frustrated with Alien Dungeon about this. I was planning to run a game for some friends at Historicon 2014 but could not because my Wave 1 was missing key items (such as a rulebook). I was not happy to see items I was missing from my Wave 1 shipment for sale at the Alien Dungeon booth on top of that! This is one of the few Kickstarters I've backed that I regret backing.

I feel you mate, I'm a ROW backer of Robotech and we're being screwed royally by Palladium. I've learnt to truly and fully hate Kevin Semenbeater.

Too many people taken in by too many Kickstarters glad i stick to companies that have enough belief in their own projects to fund them.

I just don't do kickstarters.

I thought this was Architechs of War? If so, then I'm really surprised. Barb and Erinie are wonderful people to deal with.

I can understand the frustration people are feeling about this. Clearly some mistakes have been made. But from talking with Ernie Baker a number of times one thing is very clear to me: All Quiet on the Martian Front is a labor of love for Ernie. He REALLY cares about this project and he is doing everything in his power to make it the best product he possibly can. Assuring the quality of the product has led to some delays, but any fears that he is just going to 'take the money and run' are completely unfounded. I have every confidence that I, and everyone else, will get all the items they are owed from the kickstarter.

I'm sorry Scott but those reasons just don't wash. How can delays be explained by ensuring quality when those same products are sitting in racks on retailers' stands? Saying they weren't prepared for the kickstarter? Well, they certainly sounded like they knew what they were doing when they were peddling for our money.

45thdiv- AD in particular stated, well after funding, that not so much as a transfer sheet would be sold retail before the project was fulfilled.

I'm happy to tank any number of delays on a project- heck I'm in on Kingdom Death and more than happy with what's going on there. It's dishonesty and poor communication that make me regret being a backer, and both of those have been on display here.

Leigh

Leigh,

As I understand things (and please don't take this as anything official, I'm Ernie's friend, but I don't work for Alien Dungeon, so this is entirely my own guess on the situation). The majority of AD's products are manufactured by subcontractors. Much of the casting, both metal and resin, are done by other companies. There have been some delays with those other companies. There's nothing unusual about that, most small companies work that way. But the result is that some of the items are getting finished before others. So, some items are piling up in AD's warehouse, while they are still waiting for others. Naturally we can ask: Why don't they just ship us what they have? Well, the answer is the cost of packing and shipping 1,001 boxes! That's how many kickstart backers there were. We are talking thousands and thousands of dollars in packing and shipping costs beyond the cost of the actual product. And that cost is going to occur for every 'wave'. So quite naturally AD will want to keep the number of waves to an absolute minimum.

So, they are (were-boxes are shipping) waiting for some items to complete Wave 2. But meanwhile they have finshed products collecting dust in their warehouse. Why not sell them? I mean it might seem 'fair' for them to hold back until the kickstart backers get all their stuff, but it is not good business sense.

So they are doing what they have to do. Frustrating for us, but if they did it any other way it might drive them out of business and then we'd never get our stuff. (And I might add that even though I'm Ernie's friend and a limited partner with my PaperTerrain business, I'm still waiting for my Wave 2 stuff, just like you are.)

So just hang in there.

yes, hang in there because they already have your money so their first priority is to get new sales. i mean, what have you done for them lately?

just like buying models in a ks based on renders then you see the casting quality and have a heart attack.

but this isn't the company's fault. it's yours. if you buy something based on some vague future promise, you are encouraging this exact kind of behavior. welcome to our kickstarted hobby! :(

Hardly a fair comment in this case. Alien Dungeon is delivering the products it promised. It might not be delivering them as quickly as we'd like, but is delivering them. It's easy to see where our money has gone--into the products. I'm aware that some kickstarters have gone really bad and turned into nothing but rip-offs. But this is NOT one of those.

Hi Scott,

Yes, I understand the myriad reasons for potential delay, but why not TELL us? I don't get some sort of malicious kick out of taking simple problems and blowing them out of proportion. The standard of communication from Alien Dungeon on this kickstarter, and the actions compared to the promises, really does make them look very dishonest.

The fact is, even if what you say is true (no indication of that from AD themselves, mind), my opinion has soured and it will not improve. The game could have been good, but the rules are not watertight and the treatment of backers has the appearance of contempt. I'm sure that's not the case; no company wants to appear like that in this business. Incidentally I do have my Wave 2- like I said it's not a question of when, just that I am no longer inspired by it.

It's such a shame.

Leigh

The delays have been frustrating. This was supposed to be last year's Christmas present. Now I'm wondering if I'll have everything I pledged for by this Christmas.

However, it is unfair to compare this to any of the train-wreck Kickstarters out there. It is clear the funds were invested in creating the product, as promised. The quality of the models is great, and has met or exceeded what was promised. Yes, the rulebook should have been edited better, and there should have been more playtesting. But that is true of most games, and AD has been supporting the rulebook with ongoing supplements and fixes, all as free downloads. And otherwise, the rule book is a great read, with lots of well-done background, art, and photos.

I for one remain pleased that I backed this game.

Me too! I have been saying all along that although I would like my goodies as much as anyone I can certainly wait for them. I have talked with Ernie as well and I have no doubt they are an honest, if understaffed business. The stuff will come…

As I pointed out, I think the big issue here is there were 1001 people excited enough about this project to pledge money.
Those people could have been key agents to help sell this game. They way things have gone I think they have lost some valueable positive advertising, and tarnished their reputation among some folks.