"Battlefront Miniatures/Dust Studios falling out" Topic

Usually I don't post scuttlebut like this but given BF posted an 'official' response here ( link ) I guess it's for real. Anyone have any more info on what's actually going down?

-Will

The rumor mill is that BattleFront collected all teh funds from the KS, but never paid Dust Studios

Took a look at the comments. Sounds like a flipping mess. I bet FFG is now glad that Paolo took Dust somewhere else, though I gather that the FFG and Dust Studios split was at least professional.

Just a week ago, I was wondering if maybe I should have gotten in on the KS. looking at the original delivery date (fall 2014) and now fracas this I'm rather glad I didn't. Here's to hoping for another FFG blowout sale so I can grab some more cheap units.

"Here's to hoping for another FFG blowout sale so I can grab some more cheap units."

+1.

Another reason to avoid KS!

Rhysius,
Maybe, but I've had full fulfillment on all 9 of the KS's I've signed up for with the exception of those still in progress. I've been happy with the results and I saved a bundle.

The crux here is that usually it's companies with a bad rep who's KS goes bad, but this time it's two very established companies.

Well, out of the two-dozen-some-odd KS I've backed this appears to be the first one I might have gotten bit on; that's assuming Dust Studios doesn't come through on their end after all. I actually got most of my order, missing a couple of the 'wave 2' items but that's not all that much compared to what I did get.

-Will

One KS I backed failed to deliver most of the promised product and seems to have dried up and blown away. the rest have either delivered or are open and transparent about where they are in the process of production and (eventual) delivery.

It may help that I tend to back KS from people with an established track record of delivering product.

Only burnt once on KS!? Oh that's ok then! So you've only been robbed once then?

My friend backed a KS with money he received from his family for his birthday present, all his other KS's had been ok, but this one went wrong. They are a large family so this present was significant as any present is, but particularly for my friend.

This family have been through hell.

It was due to deliver 6 months ago. Still no sign. However you try to defend it and dress it up, this is daylight robbery. It is not ok. Robbing people is not ok.

Guess what, I have never backed a KS and never been robbed!

I buy, with my hard earned money, from established manufacturers who don't ask you to take the risk for them.

If I set up a company right now called Future Products, and I asked for money with a vague suggestion you might get something back in return for your money in a years time, would you give me money blindly?

No, not ever, not even once! This is what KS is!

Only burnt once on KS!? Oh that's ok then! So you've only been robbed once then?

KS has it's risks. The risk to the backers (in big business they are called investors) is that you can lose your money for a variety of reasons. It's that simple. So, if you are shocked, just shocked that someone is looking at it as one loss out of many, he probably has the right attitude.

Also, KS is not an opportunity to get something for a sharp discount. Rarely does that happen though Reaper Bones was so insanely successful that most folks measure KS by those sorts of successes. It's just not the case. You invest in something because you think it is a good idea and want to see it in the gaming community. If you get some extras out of it, great! Most of the time, you will be getting a product a few weeks earlier than the rest of the world and occasionally, you will be listed as a backer.

For the record, I rarely back anything on KS for more than $1. USD I don't need more games or miniatures. I do it just to help out.

I had a online mail order from a miniatures company never showed up once. So using your logic all onlinemail order operations are robbers and I should never order online again.

The one KS that seemed to vanish did at least deliver the digital copy of the rules I backed them for. The rest was really gravy anyway.

Not the same thing as being robbed. More like going to see a movie that turned out to be bad, or getting a bad meal in a restaurant.

Nobody has said it is OK for a company to launch a KS project then take the money and run. Also a late project, especially if updates are still flowing, is not the same as taking the money and vanishing. The fact is most KS gaming projects are late.

KS is fundamentally venture capital and some projects don't deliver. The relevant phrase is "caveat emptor".

I got burnt on one Kickstarter. Never again.

Guess what, I have never backed a KS and never been robbed!

Never had a mail order go missing? Never had a product not work as advertised? Never had someone do a half-assed job on something? Wow, wish I could live as charmed a life as you.

But as others said, KS is a risk, a risk I'm willing to assume and I never risk more than I'm willing to loose. I suppose all the guys who sent me the product I paid for were crooks in your mind as well, since they used KS? Overall I'm out maybe 20-30 bucks if there's no further delivery in this case, something I can luckily absorb with no problem. Don't go around telling me how to spend my hobby money, it's none of your ed business.

-Will

It was due to deliver 6 months ago. Still no sign. However you try to defend it and dress it up, this is daylight robbery. It is not ok. Robbing people is not ok.

You apparently fail to understand what KS even is.
You're not buying a product, you are not making a purchase.
You're apparently thinking of it like you are, this is wrong.

You're investing in an idea. It may work out, it may not, that's the investment. You may gain from it, you may not.

KS is not a shopping site, don't think of it like one.

^^^ I was just going to chime in and say something similar. KS is not a shopping site for future products. Its an investment page.

Think of all those people who invested their retirement funds. But when the economy crashed in 2006 they lost their retirements. the government used tax funds to bail out the corporations. But the retirement funds were considered an investment with risk, so no bail out. KS is the same thing just on a smaller scale.

WATJ,
I mostly agree with you, but I would disagree with this part.

Also, KS is not an opportunity to get something for a sharp discount.

A sharp discount is almost the only reason that I sign up for a KS. As we all know, a KS is a risk. If it looks like they're only offering retail (or discount retail) prices, I'll let someone else take the risk. If the deal is good, however I'm much more likely to bite.

Reaper, RAFM, Mega Minis, KOW 2, etc. I backed all these for the discount. And the discounts are/were HUGE. In most cases more than double retail value. At this rate, one in 4 of the KS's could fail (none of mine have yet done so) and I'd still be way ahead in terms of investment vs return.

Rysius,
Even if you're doing it like me for the deal, sith KS you approach it as if you were investing in a startup. Sometimes they do well, sometimes just ok, sometimes they fall on their faces and sometimes they take your cash and run somewhere with no extradition treaty. However, if my investment vs return was compared to actual business investments, then I'm doing REALLY well.

Out of curiosity, what KS did he invest in?

Are we a tad off topic, peoples?

Not if you researched Battlefront. Plenty of negative comments about BF on the Dakka forums before the KS funded. The misleading part is that the creator of the KS was shown as Dust Studios. BF was mentioned in the home page and was already established as the distributor.

Like Robotech and AvP, you need to find out all the parties who *might* be involved in the project, then find the "weakest link", including the licensor. Ask the Creator who is actually involved in the project, and *hope* you get an answer. If you don't, adjust expectations accordingly! ):