Please-Read Update & Elephas UNLOCKED!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 05:29:02 AM
We've Reached $12,000 - Elephas Unlocked!
The Elephas have been unlocked! Thank you to everyone so far who has helped contribute to getting everything funded to this point. The next stretch goal are the Minotaurs at $16k and then the Voludeek at $20k.
We are doing FANTASTIC!!!
Before my fingers fall off with what I'll be going over, I wanted to bring a perspective to everyone that may help - This campaign is doing great! This is steady progress with way more than over half of the time left. Awareness is the biggest determination for funding speed. Every day, more potential backers are visiting the campaign and making pledges. We're continuing to fill up an already full glass since we're funded! Basically we're doing great and we're moving along at a great speed! It's all relative based on an unknown outcome!
Important Info Regarding This Campaign - Please Read!!
There are two large concerns I would like to go over and I will do my best to keep it short.
1.) The two Tessera Sets stretch goal is a large leap and I will explain why below. Would you prefer they keep the clear spell effects at their current price or be altered to have non-clear spell effects for a 35%ish cheaper stretch goal? Non-clear plastic would also allow for each of the two sets to be split up so each of the two Tessera sets could be their own stretch goals.
2.) What to do with stretch goals that may not be reached - this has been a topic of concern from many of you and I thank you for bringing this up! I will go over this in some detail to try and explain everything and the hurdles that are presented along with possible solutions.
Clear Spell Effects Or...
Alright, so the Tessera miniatures have been designed with clear spell effects. The creation process for clear spell effects requires an entirely separate mold so the transparent plastic can be used during the process - the normal and clear cannot be mixed in the same mold during manufacturing. What does this mean? I'm glad I asked for whoever wants to know! Answer:
Clear spell effects means it will cost over 38% more for the Tessera stretch goals than if the spell effects were NOT clear/transparent plastic. Furthermore, this would then open up a new question of whether or not the spell effects should still be separate from the minis or if they should just be part of the minis like how the Minotaur Wizards are. Separate spell effects means more assembly required, but easier time for painting. Also, the clear spell effects are also much more viable and cost effective if they are done at the same time - meaning if I separate the clear spell effects into their own stretch goals and only one gets made, having the next set made will double the clear spell effects price which will effectively make it even MORE expensive than it already is.
I've created a questionnaire in Google Forms to get everyone's feedback - please make sure you choose the options you would prefer based on the information above. I will leave out the numbers and details, but this is basically what this boils down to: Clear spell effects are more costly while normal (or non-clear) spell effects are cheaper and allow for splitting up the Tessera sets into separate stretch goals.
Click>> Clear Spell Effects Questionnaire <<Click
Why is the campaign setup the way it is?!
Alright, so this is the big thing I wanted to talk about. If anyone was unaware, there was a previous attempt at getting most of these miniatures funded all at once, but that did not work due to a few factors - having huge promotors back out at the day before launch to having potential backers not wanting to risk backing a project that wasn't basically already funded when they stumbled upon it. You can see this previous campaign here.
This current campaign is structured the way it is for a number of reasons:
- A funded campaign is a "safer" bet to make a pledge on. While I don't entirely agree with this because unsuccessful campaigns never charge you if they fail, I think not-yet-funded campaigns are a lost cause in some backer's minds after a certain amount of time has passed for said campaign. So to combat this, I set the initial funding goal much lower and for a single set to get funded quicker and to encourage potential backers to feel better about helping further funding the campaign for stretch goals. Isn't the point of Kickstarter to help bring something to life that couldn't otherwise be done without the help of awesome backers like you? I know it has become more a storefront for some companies with great deals for backers (due to logistics and advertising once), but it seems that some of the original concept of what crowdfunding is has been somewhat lost with how popular it has become in the past several years. It's a risk to make something with the help of the community!
- I can not make all sets available, unfortunately. If I were to make all sets accessible, I'd have to make the funding goal much higher - which I tried previously and that attempt failed. If I make all of the current stretch goal sets available to choose from and the overall funding only gets some of the way for what is needed, I'd be in the hole by several thousand dollars which I could not cover and everyone would ultimately get screwed over and krakenships would most likely fade away.
- I'm aware the current pledge reward tiers don't work well if several of the stretch goals are never met, BUT having a means to allow backers to pledge and contribute more towards the overall goal and stretch goals of the campaign help tremendously in ultimately reaching those goals. I address this in the next section of the update as well in more detail.
- The stretch goals are set up in the order they are in based off of ranked-choice voting I did in the previous campaign to see which sets were the most wanted vs which were not - the results are the current stretch goal order. The Tessera Sets are a large leap from the other stretch goals due to the above explanation. This may potentially change depending on the new questionnaire I've linked above.
- If I were to just do a single set every campaign without expectation of reaching some or all of the stretch goals, each campaign would take substantially more backers every time as opposed to just once. The pledge rewards - which would basically just be a single set and existing minis with the option for duplicates if anyone wanted which are rare - would require a lot of creativity that go outside of the main focus of the campaign which is to make hard to find miniatures. Also, getting campaign awareness is SUPER DIFFICULT. I can not go all out every single campaign just to reach one set as it does cost a good amount of time and even more money in marketing, ads, and mustering up awareness through social media outlets that are already flooded beyond belief.
What you can do in regards to unmet stretch goals:
Pulling your pledge is absolutely okay and you should not feel bad about doing so. After all, it's your money! However, please keep these points in mind:
- The last two days of a campaign are always come with a super huge bump in pledges from a historical standpoint from almost every campaign that has already been funded or is very close. Perhaps reconsider withdrawing or reducing your pledge until the last 24 hours or so in order to help give everyone the best chance at getting their pledges in and knocking out stretch goals! (If you do this, I'd recommend setting a reminder so you don't forget!)
- Making a pledge for the current number of sets that is unlocked is a smart move, but consider bumping it up every time a stretch goal is unlocked if you're interested in said stretch goal to help raise the overall funding amount to get even more unlocked! Doing this every time will help substantially with knocking out stretch goals.
- Once a campaign has been funded and you have been charged for your pledge, you can request a full or partial refund. This will allow you to get some or all of your money back if a certain stretch goal was not met and/or you were unable to change your pledge before the campaign ends. Ideally, having everyone request refunds would be a nightmare to handle on my end, but it's something that exists and I will respect!
- Obviously, it's your money so do what's best for you!
Yeah, but still... why?
The biggest hurdle I have being a very small company and using this method for making miniatures (and oh wow, how I've checked out other methods and companies), it's based around a minimum quantity per order with the initial order being by far the most expensive due to the metal molds that have to be created. Being a small company, the volume of miniatures that go out to backers is very little compared to the bigger companies who can order thousands or tens of thousands without batting an eye and ultimately be able to sell them for so much cheaper due to bulk ordering - it's all extremely weird with how the numbers work and makes it super difficult to get physical miniatures made that are seemingly niche in demand that few people have interest in and larger companies don't focus on (which is probably why they don't make these or something along similar lines?).
But I'm doing what I can! I believe the community should have access to the miniatures and I figure I can attempt to help with that. krakenships also usually loses money on each Kickstarter overall and it makes it even worse when I'm unable to set up a campaign that would allow for the best selection for everyone to choose from due to the back end costs and how much funding is generated. Once the miniature's molds are made (the single biggest cost for making these miniatures), getting them out is much easier and more accessible. This is why I choose to do Kickstarters for my miniatures so the largest financial hurdle can be overcome by those who also want these miniatures!
I don't personally have the money to bank roll everything that krakenships can do or else I would! It's also difficult to do everything involved with krakenships as I am the only one employed in krakenships (I started and manage every aspect of krakenships as a hobby currently) - I utilize fantastic artists, modelers, and painters that help with the mini creation process, but even with that a company takes a ton of work and time (and that's made more difficult with a personal life and a full time job). I aim to at least try and get close to breaking even, but typically krakenships comes out a bit behind on Kickstarters, which is fine in the long run.
Remember...
...this campaign is now an overflowing glass that is spilling over into all of the stretch goal... glasses! Have a great weekend everyone!