Tell your overdue Kickstarter story

[A2Z]

Carbon 2185, Terminal Overdrive. Funded in Nov. 2020. 2 years later was told they ran out of money and we wouldn't be getting the hard copies we paid for. They sent POD codes for DTRG instead. But I didn't want to pay more than I already had.

They've done other kickstarters since. And given interviews like this making it sound like they're still working on it. Needless to say I won't be supporting them in the future.

 

[Aldarc]

The worst overdue Kickstarter I pledged for was probably the Psionics Guide for Starfinder 1 by Dreamscarred Press, which had previously published the lauded Ultimate Psionics line for Pathfinder 1. Dead project with no communication. So vaporware. Thankfully, I didn't pledge that much. I can't remember if I even bothered with the partial refund. And now Starfinder 2 will come out before then.

But also on the "late" list were two other games previously mentioned: Chronicles of the Future Earth and Urban Shadows 2E.

I would also add Stonetop. Kickstarter was in late Q1 2021, with an estimated release date of late Q3 2021, and it still has not been finished. However, the author lets you use the current drafted pdf of the two books once you back the game, and people - including myself and others on this board - have been using that to run games since the Kickstarter. So it is a functional game, just not a completed or published one. Moreover, the author is making slow but steady progress on the book, showing their chapter progress on an Excel sheet.

 

[Froderik]

Here's a few that I supported that I never expect to see fulfilled:

Fabled Paths - Funded February 2022. Due October 2022. A neat looking sand-box system built on 0e that had its last update the month it was due. According to others in the comments the author died.

Pythagorean Pharmacology - Funded March 2021. Due June 2021. A zine with system-neutral tools for adding herbalism and alchemy to games. The author posted a number of times about his mental health issues and went silent in January 2023. (I hope he found the help he needs and is recovering.) Thankfully, he did post v0.1 of his zine before disappearing, so the project isn't a complete bust.

Caverns of Mourning - Funded March 2022. Due August 2022. Posted an update announcing that the project would be fulfilled within weeks in December 2022. Silence. Returned in a May 2023 update stating that things are delayed because life got in the way. Posted again in August 2023 stating that things were back on track. Then disappeared again.

A redemption story:

Extinguish the Sun - Funded December 2020. Due February 2021. A Troika chapbook. The author went silent as soon as he collected the funds. Complete silence on the project from December 2020 until January 2023 when the author returned with a collaborator. The project was delivered the following month. A happy surprise.

 

[timbannock]

Hunter's Mark: Long Live the Hunt is especially egregious as the creator did not one but TWO Kickstarter campaigns for the same project (the second was vaguely framed as a retailer's package, I believe), and then ghosted everyone. They opened a Patreon for print and play paper minis a while later, but that died off too.

Welcome to Tikor and the related Drift of Dreams comic were a spectacular mess. Once the comic (Drift) was finished, the fallout of their RPG one (Welcome) caused them to just post all the comics on Amazon for sale to recoup their money without fulfilling or refunding backers. So he made double the money off them and stiffed backers of both. (So far... And I have doubts a physical of Welcome will ever appear given his publisher pulled out of RPGs altogether.)

The Islands and Aswangs Book, a Filipino inspired 5E setting, was done in by author illness that turned into silence. I hope they are okay, so I'm not even a little mad about this one, but not knowing the status of the author is a bit scary.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

It's been seven years, and I'm still waiting on those Alternity stretch goals from Sasquatch...

 

[The Soloist]

ignore, wrong thread!

 

[A2Z]

It's been seven years, and I'm still waiting on those Alternity stretch goals from Sasquatch...

This one stings. I was a big fan of Rich Baker's work, and I loved Primeval Thule. And then they just... disappeared. Still don't know what happened.

 

[J.Quondam]

The only long-overdue KS i've supported was Horizon Rising, a modest 2-week KS, funded Jan 2022, aimed to release Oct 2022. Last update was May 2023 and sounded like fulfillment was imminent, but then... complete radio silence. Rumor is the creator is sorting through some personal issues, but has been incommunicado for a year and a half now. A few of the supporters on this project (as seen in the KS comments) have become pretty aggressive with legal threats and so forth, which is sad, imo, and highly unlikely encourage the artist. As for me, I've moved on, and just hope the guy's okay.

 

[Xamnam]

Moreover, the author is making slow but steady progress on the book, showing their chapter progress on an Excel sheet.

Would you mind sharing just a rough idea of how close they are / how much is completed at this point?

 

[Autumnal]

The most infamous of the latter has to be the Throne of Night Kickstarter, which is now approaching eleven years overdue as the estimated delivery date was March of 2014. The last update was October 29th, 2015.

I get grumpy about this one, from time to time. Way of the Wicked was good work. The first two installments of Throne of. Ight are good. And then…nuttin’. Ever again.