Latest update from Rob is at http://p085.ezboard.com/fpiedpiperpubli ... eRange?top icID=15.topic&start=61&stop=75

 Rob Kuntz wrote:
 
BC is shipping and my health is slowly coming back to normal after a huge bout with pneumonia.

I will be emailing an update to all sponsors and supporters of PPP as to the direction of the company, that is, after I get the BC mailed along with all the other stockpiled orders.

My apologies for the delay and to those who haven't gotten immediate responses from me by mail or phone.

RJK

More details soon!

I may be reading too much into this, but is this the death knell of Pied Piper?  It's really too bad, everything was going so well up until this latest glitch (seven months to get Bottle City finished and shipped).  Pure speculation, I guess Grodog or Deogolf could speak more accurately, but I wonder if Rob is thinking he has bitten off more than he could chew, in the instance of ill health or other disaster.  Most companies have mechanisms in place that the modules would have been mailed out even if the creator/founder/fearless leader had been taken seriously ill; the fact Pied Piper doesn't seem to have this backup in place doesn't bode well for future projects. I sincerely hope Rob is ok, and in leiu of perhaps shutting it down if he limited himself to say one project a year, it might be more manageable.
   For people like Acaeum members, when we recieve the items is perhaps secondary to actually getting them (we are a patient lot that have typically waited years to find a Woodie or a 1st print chainmail; what's seven months?).  Unfortunately, I would estimate at least 50% of Rob's base customer are not going to be the type of collector that is as forgiving for such a long lead time (maybe I'm being too expansive, it could be as low as 20%?).  In any case there seemed to be some pissed off people at the Pied Piper forum, who might not choose to subscribe to future products because of this. The casual buyer is definitely going to be put off by this.
    However, I hope Rob sticks around and publishes even if it is in a  reduced output, because I'd rather receive something than nothing at all.  I know Rob is technophobic (am I thinking of someone else?) but surely someone could indicate that you can ship out of your very house without trips to the post office...you could be completely bedridden and still get out product using a computer, printer, labels, packaging supplies, and a telephone (to call the PO to tell them to pick up the stuff).  
  Anyway, not a knock on Rob, but I do hope if he decides to keep going he can overcome these latest difficulties.

Mike B.

bclarkie wrote:
I fully agree with you here Mike.  I can't see where a long  delay like this can be anything but bad for PPP in the long run. I admit that I was even starting to get a bit impatient with this.  Being that I understand the source(and I mean this in a good way) and I trust fully that the people invloved would come through in the end, I was able to maintain my patience though. Now, being someone who is more on the outside of the process, I could fully understand them not being so patient and understanding as if I was in the same situation, I would have probaly done a charge back 3 or 4 months ago and been done with it never to return.   I hope that this isn't the case for most people, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

I'm just curious about the wording of Rob's announcement "direction of the company"; in my experience that has never boded well when someone starts talking about the direction of their company...

And yes, part of the reason for my patience has been I know and respect everyone involved. As BC said if I wasn't on the inside I wouldn't have been happy about the long release date. I do hope he keeps publishing even if it's at a reduced rate.

Mike B.

I haven't chatted with Rob in detail yet on what his new/additional plans are, if any.  I'll keep folks posted after we're able to chat.

Well, I can say with all confidence that it wasn't from lack of a good team. Grodog and I busted our rumps to get that thing put to bed back in August. It's good to read that folks have had some faith in that, at least.

Deadlord39 wrote:I've never been big on prepay anything.

Just to make a note on that:  Rob's process of pre-ordering has always been to fund the development of the product being ordered, not merely to pre-order it like you do on Amazon.  The model is different, though similar in terms of how the transaction occurs.  Without the support of folks on the Acaeum and other collectors and fans, there would not have been a Bottle City at all (vs. there merely being a late Bottle City).  I am hoping that we'll be able to work out a better way to plan and deliver PPP's products, so that the release schedule will become more predictable, which will make all of us happier

The sponsorship model does emphasize the sole-propieter nature of PPP's business model, though too:  it's Rob's, and his alone.  There are folks who help him on his projects (such as me or Jaybird, for example), but when Rob's down hard, things can (and have, obviously) grind to a halt.  PPP doesn't have much in the way of additional backup, that you would have in a more-robust/larger business.

That said, getting products out the door if you're sick is something we'll talk about, re: the USPS options that Mike mentioned.  I'm pretty sure that Rob's not aware that such services exist, so that'll be something we talk about in our next chat (to help avoid these single-points-of-failure pitfalls in the future).  

Anyway, enough rambling.  I've got some scanning to do

grodog wrote:Rob's process of pre-ordering has always been to fund the development of the product being ordered

Probably appropriate for games with a pseudo-medieval setting, as this is how it was done a few hundred years ago. Buying a book was like a magazine subscription. The author used subscriber's fees to finance the writing of the book, which would be sent in installments as it was printed. Then you'd stitch the installments into a single cover. Eventually, this system split into modern books & magazines.

Deadlord39 wrote:It's not just Bottle City; I don't preorder anything. I'm sure Rob will eventually make good, but it's just in my nature.

Sorry, Frank:  I wasn't trying to single you out or anything, just responding to the thoughts raised by your post

Deadlord39 wrote:You were picking on me! You're just not a nice guy, Allan! You big meanie you!
How are you involved in the project, Allan? I know very little about it. I think you mentioned it when we spoke earlier in the year, but anything that happened over 24 hours ago is next to impossible for me to remember.

Ah that explains it.

ShaneG.

Deadlord39 wrote:You were picking on me! You're just not a nice guy, Allan! You big meanie you!

Deadlord39 wrote:How are you involved in the project, Allan? I know very little about it. I think you mentioned it when we spoke earlier in the year, but anything that happened over 24 hours ago is next to impossible for me to remember.

I edited Rob's manuscript, and wrote the intro.  Jason did the layout work and he and I kibbitzed back and forth on that for a couple of months or so.  I also transcribed the original manuscript for the free web enhancement.  I also co-DM'd it with Rob at GenCon, which was a blast.  I'm really looking forward to BC arriving in peoples' hands, since I think it's PPP's best product yet.