Space Cadets: Away Missions has launched on Kickstarter

iguanaDitty wrote: So being a non-painter I am considering the extra $20 to get the painted ones. Anyone have a clue how good "the factory" paint jobs are?

On TOS Frank Jaeger said that they'll be using the same people that painted these for Die Zwerge. They look good for pre-paints and would probably only need a few well-placed washes and touch-ups to really pop.

It should also be noted that $20 gets you an additional painted set to go with the unpainted ones already-included in the box.

I just upped my pledge. Based on SebastianBludd's photo I think a brown wash would do the trick.

jay718 wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote:

iguanaDitty wrote: I assume the game comes with a little flask I can sip from as I mutter about how hard everything is to see

$200K stretch goal.

You have to admit, it makes for a cleaner, more unified appearance. Much warmer too.

It really does tie the room together.

I heard that this tile design was considered too, but, it was flushed after game testing [very big grin]:

Wow, just saw the latest update for this, and Steve is really pulling out all the stops. I wonder if the lack of exclusives is what's holding people back. Or maybe it's that damn Conan game that's costing people $400+ to go all-in.

I have feeling, with all the new stretch goals the 48 hour mark will go well, but this mid-campaign doldrum is more painful than a lot of projects I've followed.

I just got update #17 and love the new alternate Spacemen. LOVE.

I haven't been this excited about a game in a long time, which is a feat of Herculean power. Wow. Totally nailed it, Al.

ubarose wrote:

cdennett wrote: Wow, just saw the latest update for this, and Steve is really pulling out all the stops. I wonder if the lack of exclusives is what's holding people back. Or maybe it's that damn Conan game that's costing people $400+ to go all-in.

I have feeling, with all the new stretch goals the 48 hour mark will go well, but this mid-campaign doldrum is more painful than a lot of projects I've followed.

Unfortunately its gone down by $5000 from it's high point.

I think a lot of it is that the value of the kickstarter exclusives isn't evident, or maybe people are just stupid. Additional exclusive scenarios and items really gives you more game than exclusive figures or upgraded components do.

I think Ghostbusters and Conan both took some of your backers. I don't know how to track it, but if you could, I'd bet there'd be a 1:1 correlation if you look at users who backed Al, then quit him, and then backed one of the two.

Shame the full sized cards have now been pushed way back to 120K. I'd rather have them than the current 105K deal but I have old mans eyes.

I am so glad I am not in marketing. I could not stand to do the "Oh no I've made a mistake, silly me, I'll have to give it all to you FOR FREE!! and I'll be spanking myself really hard because I'm so stoopid. Probably even lose money for the company. What was I thinking?" kind of BS. I realise that not everyone is the same, but this kind of shit is just demeaning.

I know, does it matter if it sells the game? It would to me. Hence, I am not in marketing.

There's two free goals that aren't filled. What a waste.

Scenarios are the real added value here. Hoping for a big finish, hoping people don't pull out.

S

This might be Stronghold's first and last Kickstarter the way it's going. I feel for them and they're doing a lot of the right things to structure the goals, but sadly there is a perceived value issue with the "high" price and lack of exclusives/extras. I guess I can't blame people for waiting and saving money at retail. And to be fair, looking at other projects without a lot of exclusives, it's actually done on-par so far (closest Kickstarter I could think of in a similar price bracket without exclusives/collectors editions was Moongha Invaders which had 1125 backers to the current ~1000 backers of SC:AM).

I still have to decide if I'm paying for the painted everything, and hope they don't lose their shirt on offering that. Looks like the contest + ad blitz really isn't driving traffic, so here's hoping the 48-hour push is strong. I just hope new backers don't look at it sense desperation from Stronghold and get wary because of it.

The more I watch this one unfold, the more I have come to the conclusion that it is Kickstarter exclusives that drive these things. People are now more aware that they can get the game later for cheaper, so they need extra motivation to back, and without the promise of cool stuff you can only get this way, people back off.

I think it is primarily exclusive kickstarter minis -- scenarios and cards can be easily proxied.

All in all though, this is a great success and Al and Dan should be proud. It funded at 2.5 times its original goal -- no mean feat; for every one game that is funded about two aren't.

Space Ghost wrote: I think it is primarily exclusive kickstarter minis -- scenarios and cards can be easily proxied.

All in all though, this is a great success and Al and Dan should be proud. It funded at 2.5 times its original goal -- no mean feat; for every one game that is funded about two aren't.

Definitely a lesson about the importance of exclusives. I prefer there not to be exclusives, but the market speaks.

Still, game is going to be made, it's a big game, and it's going to have miniatures because of this up front money. Victory there.

And the game will have long term legs if it's good, kickstarter has nothing to do with it. Think about the way the conversation goes around here. There are games that we've all started to return to from the past five years and some we haven't. The game design quality is going to determine if that's true.

That's so funny to me. I guess I'm not the average consumer...I don't care about exclusives on these things. I think I've backed a total of 2 games besides this one: Glamazons and Cthulhu's Vault. I never looked at either of them as a way to profit or get exclusives....they were just things that I wanted. Now, I've backed several other projects...Bingo Baby, some miniature terrain, a book, and the the first Reaper Madness miniatures. Again, I never considered "exclusive" in any of these choices.

To me, it's about value, and I don' t that "exclusive" makes it intrinsically more valuable unless it adds value to the product itself. Scenarios can be made up, and frankly, I've made up far better ones than some of the people who make games. So, free scenarios add some value but not much. The only thing, to me, that adds value and would affect my decision would be something tangible, like upgrading to painted miniatures if they're made available (which I've done several times and will almost always do) primarily because it's a matter of either extending the play experience or saving me time painting, since I have more money than time more often than not.

I see there's a bunch of KS promo cards...are those not considered "Exclusives"? Are they not something that would be considered of higher value?

As an aside, I just checked the thing and I can't really see myself going from 119$ for Rocketeer painted miniatures to 249$ for all of them being painted. It's just too steep, and I can't palate spending 250$ on a board game. For that price I could get Conan, plus all of the expansions. I wish it was cheaper, because me painting them will take FOREVER.

As an aside aside, I have just realized that I have yet to ever receive a KS game. Glamazons will probably never see the light of day, and Cthulhu's Vault has been delayed, although I'm sure it will materialize. Maybe me backing this was a bad idea...I might've cursed it!

Exclusives and Add-Ons, that's what drives a miniature game KS project these days.
Otherwise the mentality is to let the others do the heavy lifting on making the game better then buy it later from a discount retailer cheaper.