Aussie Kickstarter Update!

[gully_raker]

:( Just received an Email from Ares listing the situation for the Kickstarter deliveries for USA, UK/Europe, Canada, South America & Australia/Pacific.
Sadly the news for us was that everything is still in Customs & may not be released until next week which probably means no chance of receiving them until after the 14th February.
We were hoping to have them for a game next Tuesday at our games club.
Originally it was mooted that Australia would be one of the first to receive the models but the US is already receiving them. :p

[Baxter]

Hi Barry,

I guess that gives you more time to think about bombing and exit strategy. I have found recently that getting home safely is probably the most difficult part of any mission. :)

[Zoe Brain]

If I were Paranoid, I'd be wondering whether when Ares said "our warehouse" they might meant the Jedko warehouse in Melbourne, which acted as transit point for many games orders sent from overseas.

If so...that was owned by Milsims parent company, now in liquidation. Depending on the contract - goods with title transferred by Ares with payment for delivery, or Ares property temporarily stored with payment for delivery, they might have been assets taken during liquidation, with Ares trying to claw them back. Or in storage with no money to send them on.

Nah. I'm sure there's a more prosaic explanation for the delay. I hope. We'll see soon enough anyway.

[Flying Helmut]

Fingers crossed for all you Aussies!

[Baxter]

If I were Paranoid, I'd be wondering whether when Ares said "our warehouse" they might meant the Jedko warehouse in Melbourne, which acted as transit point for many games orders sent from overseas.

If so...that was owned by Milsims parent company, now in liquidation. Depending on the contract - goods with title transferred by Ares with payment for delivery, or Ares property temporarily stored with payment for delivery, they might have been assets taken during liquidation, with Ares trying to claw them back. Or in storage with no money to send them on.

Nah. I'm sure there's a more prosaic explanation for the delay. I hope. We'll see soon enough anyway.

Hi Zoe, do you have any contacts at Ares? Someone who should be able to confirm where our planes were dispatched to.

[gully_raker]

:) Gary I have sent a PM to Andrea asking if he could research what is the current situation.
I will post when I get a reply.

Cheers Baz.

[Baxter]

Thanks mate. Hopefully he can get something going for us.

[Zoe Brain]

If the worst does come to the worst, don't expect Ares to know very much. They may still be stuck uncollected in a customs warehouse, or, worst case, have been mistakenly(?) gathered in as a Milsims asset, rather than an embailed one. Embailed - similar situation to when a car repairer goes up, they have possession of the vehicles under repair, may even have been paid for repairs, but have no title. If so, the liquidator should keep them separate from other assets. If he knows the situation...

But that's assuming the "shipment hub" was Turton Pty Ltd (Milsims), something which is completely conjectural at this point.

From Feb 12:

We expect all shipments to International backers to ship between Monday and Wednesday. We will confirm as soon as shipment is complete.

From Feb 2

Australian/Pacific Area Backers
Giants of the Sky are now in customs, and they should be delivered at our warehouse later this week or early next week. We plan to start shipping your rewards next week if there's no custom delay.
...
We will post another update next week to confirm we're starting the shipment from the Australian, Canadian and German warehouses.

Milsims was liquidated on Jan 27, before this post.

From Jan 20:

We expect the other shipments from the factory to arrive at the other warehouses (Europe and Ausrtalia) approximately at the same time.

From Nov 19

The good news is that we will use 4 shipment hubs, shipping out from Australia and Canada, not just Germany and USA. This will save some time to backers in the Pacific area, and custom charges to our Australian and Canadian backers.

If anyone in Australia takes delivery, then we'll know that there is no problem. If no-one has them by the end of the week, we know the wheels have fallen off somewhere, but the Milsims collapse may have nothing to do with it, it may be another issue entirely. If no-one has them by the beginning of March, then it's not looking good for either Ares or the backers.

[flash]

I hope you chaps and chapesses get your Giants delivered soon - this is painful to watch ! :erk:

[Zoe Brain]

I hope you chaps and chapesses get your Giants delivered soon - this is painful to watch ! :erk:
I just hope they get delivered.

If they're in customs, then the receiver not only has no obligation to pay the 10% GST on them, he'd be remiss in his duty to do so and be lumbered with goods that aren't company assets, and which he's be obligated to keep safe pending someone else collecting them. From his viewpoint, better to abandon them. It's his duty. From there it gets murky.

But again, let's not go around making assumptions.

[Zoe Brain]

Dear Zoe

fortunately, it's not Milsims doing our fulfillment in Australia, but (REDACTED)

There is indeed some trouble communicating with them - they received product at least one week ago, but they have not provided a satisfactory reply to our e-mails asking about the status of the fulfillment.

I do not want to expose them in public (in the end, from the backers' perspective, it does not really matter who's mishandling logistics!), and show them in a bad light to our Australian customers, but definitely this situation casts a bad light on us.

We have 12 hours of time-zone difference so when we're at work they are not, and we rely upon e.mail communication only.

You have always been a great asset for us, so I would dare to ask you, if I do not get a good reply from them before tomorrow, to try to give them a call on our behalf (in an "official" manner) to investigate about the situation? Let me know if you are willing to, and I will give you contact information.

I think they are just behind with the fulfillment (probably because they moved warehouse recently, as far as my boss told me). But you never know until it's done...

Let me know, thanks and best regards,

Roberto

[gully_raker]

:thumbsup: Thanks for that update Zoe!
At least we know its not involved in the Milsims problem.

[Zoe Brain]

Without going into the gory details....

The warehouse has definitely got them through customs, and has had for a while.

The distributor has just moved their warehouse, with resultant chaos and backlogs.

They're hiring new temporary staff and taking other measures to clear the jam.

While it's not completely impossible that dispatch will start this week, a realistic timeframe for backers to receive their goods is next week. Whether early next week, as Ares is trying to arrange, or late next week, as was the distributors plan before getting some pressure applied, that's unknown right now. The last written commitment was to start getting them out the door no later than Monday. A later verbal commitment was to have the dispatch completed, rather than just started, no later than Monday. Fires have been lit.

More to the point, there was inadequate communication from the distributor to Ares, possibly due to an over-enthusiastic spam filter. This may now have been solved - they sent a hasty email to Ares within 30 mins of my initial phonecall, and have been tasked in a later one with giving a more detailed response and hopefully a more rapid timeframe by close of business today.

Expect more data from Ares on the Kickstarter site now they have been appraised of the siituation. The reason Ares hasn't been more forthcoming with updates was the communications gap - they were being kept in the dark, so couldn't say anything.

I'll update this thread daily, after each phonecall to the distributor to get a status report.

[flash]

Liking this Aussie solution - "Get delivering, or, we'll send the girls round"....! :wafangry:
Good work Zoe :hatsoff:

[gully_raker]

:thumbsup: All I can say is "WELL DONE ZOE!":clap::clap::clap::sAprvd: Rep incoming.;)
Also thanks to Ares & Roberto for giving Zoe the "clout" to get things moving.:thumbsup:

[Rebel]

Having already got my four big birds via Keith at the AA I really feel for you Aussie Guys and Gals. That I should get mine before those who actually contributed is very wrong. I really hope they arrive soon for you.

[Beer&pretzels]

Way to go, Zoe!

[IronBravo]

Any update?

Has anyone received their Giants?

[Zoe Brain]

Any update?

Has anyone received their Giants?

They are being sent from the warehouse as of 1229 AEST, so should arrive Tuesday-Friday, Wednesday or Thursday being the most likely ETA in most capitals. Maybe Tuesday in Melbourne, Friday in Tasmania, Perth and rural areas.

[gully_raker]

:thumbsup: Thanks for the update Zoe.
Looks like Friday for me (if Iam lucky:confused:)

[Zoe Brain]

An e-mail from Australia Post

Your delivery will be
on its way soon
From Good Games Pty Ltd

Started
YFR0003654
Delivering to
Zoe Brain
41 Burn St
Downer ACT 2602
To keep you up to date, we'll send another notification when the delivery is in transit.

[Slexlaw]

An e-mail from Australia Post

Your delivery will be
on its way soon
From Good Games Pty Ltd.

Just got one of these myself.
According to the Kickstarter page there are only 48 Aussie backers, so it seems strange to me that logistics got held up for such a small distribution. Thanks Zoe for taking action.

[flash]

Fingers crossed for you all !

[Zoe Brain]

2 items in YFR0003654

In transit
YFR000365401000600208
5:13pm
Mon 29 Feb
Chullora, NSW

In transit
Last item in delivery YFR0003654
YFR000365402000600205
5:12pm
Mon 29 Feb
Chullora, NSW

Might even get them tomorrow with any luck... Australia Post has trucks going to Canberra overnight. It depends on the Canberra mail centre and local delivery services. But if not Tuesday, Wednesday unless the wheels fall off.

[Zoe Brain]

According to the Kickstarter page there are only 48 Aussie backers, so it seems strange to me that logistics got held up for such a small distribution. Thanks Zoe for taking action.

A "perfect storm" of key personnel on leave, their stand-ins off sick, a move of warehouse with associated chaos apparently. They had to hire temporary staff to work over the weekend to clear the backlog in all their deliveries. The absences meant communications with Ares broke down. All I did was draw their attention to the problems the delay of this particular order were causing, and perhaps uupped its priority a bit.

Credit should go to Roberto for coming up with an imaginative solution - getting someone from Australia on this site who's done some Project Management work to light a few fires without causing counter-productive emotional upset to those in the poo and doing their best to ameliorate this unfortunate situation.. He gave me Carte Blanche to act in Ares name.

[Gemmas Brother]

Not yet Dan.

[Zoe Brain]

Goodgames just sent this to Ares:



Just an update on the kickstarters.
All kickstarters were packed over the weekend.
All the locals were dispatched today & are on there way.
The last 17 overseas orders are being labeled now & will be dispatched tomorrow.
I'll complete the costings & freight tracking info & forward to you tomorrow.

Kind Regards
Theresa

[gully_raker]

:confused: Interesting as I have not had an Email from them yet.
Has any other Aussies on site not received an Email ?:hmm:

[Zoe Brain]

From Australia Post:

In transit
With Australia Post for delivery today
7:56am Tue 1 Mar
Fyshwick, ACT

In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
5:12pm Mon 29 Feb
Chullora, NSW

In transit
3:12pm Mon 29 Feb
Seven Hills, NSW
Picked up from sender

12:21pm Mon 29 Feb
Seven Hills, NSW
Shipping information received by Australia Post

[Zoe Brain]

Collected from the post office at 1655. The Giants are now landing in Australia.

[gully_raker]

:thumbsup::clap::clap::clap::sAprvd:

Finally got an Email about half hour ago saying I should have mine by Friday!

Getting ready to do the Snoopy Happy Dance! :singin::cheezy::singin::drinks::drinks::drinks::sAprvd:

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Great news Baz.
Just sorry you are so far behind us. About the same as the delay from the States to us was.
Rob.

[Zoe Brain]

Finally got an Email about half hour ago saying I should have mine by Friday!

You may get them Thursday. The ETA for mine was tomorrow.

I think you'll be pleased with them. The wing join on my Stackens is almost invisible at 2 inches.

[Tonx]

You may get them Thursday. The ETA for mine was tomorrow.

I think you'll be pleased with them. The wing join on my Stackens is almost invisible at 2 inches.

A classic example of the saying the best things come to those who wait ... Even if the wait in this instance has been rather enforced.

Congratulations on your new arrivals Zoe - with congratulations in advance to everyone else Down Under whilst I am at it :)

As well as on the top wing of the Zeppelin Staaken there were also noticeable joins / seams complained about on top of the engine nacelles. Any improvements noted with these please?

[Flying Helmut]

YAY!

Great news at last for all you cobbers!

Really glad for you - hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine when you finally get your paws on them!

[gully_raker]

:thumbsup::clap::clap::clap: Yee Haaa!
It came in the mail today which was much sooner than I expected.
So well done Good Games for finally moving swiftly.
Thanks again Zoe for your invaluable efforts.:salute:

[fast.git]

OUTSTANDING NEWS!!! :clap::clap::clap:

And yes, I am yelling... I'm so happy to hear that your GIANTS have finally landed!

[Slexlaw]

My aircraft appear to be stuck at Westmead.
Perhaps commandeered by the Broncos, bombing the eels NRL stadium? :p

[pbhawkin]

Yes, I got the same email yesterday and mine are in transit to Mudgee, NSW.
Should get them this week.

[flash]

:thumbsup::clap::clap::clap: Yee Haaa!
It came in the mail today which was much sooner than I expected.
So well done Good Games for finally moving swiftly.
Thanks again Zoe for your invaluable efforts.:salute:

Happy Daze !! :pint:

[Baxter]

I got an email saying they should be here by next Wednesday :)

[Yell]

Pardon me for showing my ignorance - but what is Kickstarter?

[gully_raker]

Pardon me for showing my ignorance - but what is Kickstarter?

:D Hi Danielle!
Last year Ares launched a "Kickstarter" Campaign where folk could pledge the costs of purchasing a choice of two different coloured Zeppelin Staaken or Handley Page 0/400 minis for the game. You paid up front but had access to other "goodies" at good prices that became available as Target Amounts were met.
The Kickstarter programme has been used to launch new Games & Projects via the Internet for some years. Sails of Glory was another launched on Kickstarter.

After the Kickstarter specials are finalised then standard models will be released via retail stores.

Keith of the Aerodrome Store actualy purchased a Retailer special Kickstarter package & has the models available now.

Hope that helps!:thumbsup:

[Beer&pretzels]

Glad that you guys and gals are finally getting your planes. All is well in the universe!

[Yell]

Barry. Thank you for explaining what Kickstarter is all about. I have noticed this mentioned all over the place so I was curious as to what it actually was :thankyou:

I am a long way off getting hold of any large bombers like the Zeppelin Staaken and the HP Q400 but I guess there will come a day :)

[gully_raker]

Barry. Thank you for explaining what Kickstarter is all about. I have noticed this mentioned all over the place so I was curious as to what it actually was :thankyou:

I am a long way off getting hold of any large bombers like the Zeppelin Staaken and the HP Q400 but I guess there will come a day :)

:D True Danielle! Just take your time.
Main thing is to get a few Scouts for each side & then a couple of two seaters & let things develop from there.

Do you have the details of your great grandfathers Squadron?

[Yell]

Hi Barry thank you for the advice. My last posting meant to say O400 by the way not Q400 which is a modern day turboprop aircraft flown by Qantaslink.

2 Squadron which was merged into 4 Squadron AFC from what I know so far. He served in 2 Squadron during the Oswald Watt days - the general sentiments were very Australian & Proud Of It!

The merger with another AFC unit to form 4 Squadron AFC was blighted by dissent and a general sense of them and us rivalry within. Watt no longer in the picture and replaced instead with a less effective and less experienced leader by this time. When in my opinion a merger required somebody with more experience as leader to handle and prevent the sort of things that happened. Infighting. Cliques. United We Stand - Divided We Are Nothing ... etc. The way I understand it morale really did plummet but despite a number of requests they never placed Watt back in command again.

[gully_raker]

:thumbsup: Thanks for that info Danielle!
Yes Oswald watt was a great leader & loved by his pilots.

Do try to grab a copy of "Fire in the Sky"
Perhaps you can access one from a decent Library.

[pbhawkin]

Well now I am confused.
My order seemed to be going well until the tracking note appeared:

"YFR0003646
In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
8:07am Thu 3 Mar
Netley, SA

Previous event
In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
5:28pm Tue 1 Mar
Chullora, NSW

Previous event
In transit
3:30pm Tue 1 Mar
Westmead, NSW

Previous event
In transit
Picked up from sender
12:01pm Tue 1 Mar
Pendle Hill, NSW"

So WHY does it mention Netley, SA??
Why has it gone to another state?

I wonder sometimes!!

[Baxter]

Maybe your giant is on cross country navigation exercise Peter :)

I have no idea where mine is.

[pbhawkin]

Tracking now says it is back in Chullora, NSW

In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
2:16am Sat 5 Mar Chullora, NSW

Previous event
In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
10:33pm Fri 4 Mar Chullora, NSW

[gully_raker]

Tracking now says it is back in Chullora, NSW

In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
2:16am Sat 5 Mar Chullora, NSW

Previous event
In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
10:33pm Fri 4 Mar Chullora, NSW

:eek: That's a bit weird Peter. :confused:

[gully_raker]

Maybe your giant is on cross country navigation exercise Peter :)

I have no idea where mine is.

:cheezy: Maybe yours has gone to Mudgee mate!:p

Sorry about that! I do hope you both get yours early next week.:thumbsup:

[Baxter]

Mine arrived today yippee! Also 3 UFAGs from Xen. Happy as a pig in poo :clap:

[gully_raker]

Mine arrived today yippee! Also 3 UFAGs from Xen. Happy as a pig in poo :clap:

:thumbsup::clap::clap::clap::drinks:

[Zoe Brain]

Packages landed in Tasmania today - so most backers in Oz should have them by now.

[pbhawkin]

AND mine arrived safely today too!! :-)
They look great and will be a real standout.

[gully_raker]

AND mine arrived safely today too!! :-)
They look great and will be a real standout.

:thumbsup: Pleased to hear that Peter! :pint:

[Zoe Brain]

The largest raid by these monsters consisted of 3 R.VI and an R.IV.

190368

OK the R.IV is in the earlier Eastern Front markings, but close enough.

[Zoe Brain]

If anyone has any problems with their order - broken/fault models, missing parts etc - please contact customercare@ares.com.eu

A number of spares were sent along with the orders, so they're in Oz now. But we'd like to see everything cleared up in a few months, with all backers happy. Any parts left over after all customer service issues are adressed will NOT be sent back overseas - too expensive. So we'll have to work out what to do with them. The important thing is not to act prematurely, and make sure everyone's got their pledge completely fulfilled first. Only then do we decide what to do with the rest.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Hi all,

Has anyone received any further news from Ares about the Kickstarter Wings of Glory app that was supposed to be released with the Giants.

Last word on the Kickstarter page posted on 19 Feb 2016 was that it had been given to another developer and would take 6-8 weeks.

That deadline is well and truly 'dead'.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Just received a Facebook reply from Ares Games re the Kickstarter app -
"We are preparing some final graphic elements, it should be finished soon."

No definition of 'soon' but hopefully sooner 'soon' rather than later 'soon' !

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Just received a Facebook reply from Ares Games re the Kickstarter app -
"We are preparing some final graphic elements, it should be finished soon."

No definition of 'soon' but hopefully sooner 'soon' rather than later 'soon' !

[Carl_Brisgamer]

I have sent an email to Ares Games again requesting information on the release of the app that was to accompany the Giants Kickstarter.

The last information they passed on through Facebook on 17 June 2016 stated the app was 'almost there' but two months later no further word.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

I have sent an email to Ares Games again requesting information on the release of the app that was to accompany the Giants Kickstarter.

The last information they passed on through Facebook on 17 June 2016 stated the app was 'almost there' but two months later no further word.

No email reply from Ares yet but I found this exchange on the Kickstarter page:

Jeff Newell on July 24 - Guys, where is the WoG iPad assist promised with the bombers? Coming up on 10 months late and I'm beginning to wonder if it was a false promise.

Ares on July 30 - Not a false promise, Jeff. We'll get it done. App development is still something which is troublesome for us, as it's not a part of the core skills of the company and we've difficulty finding a reliable method of outsourcing them. But we'll get it done.

Jeff Newell on August 2 - Thanks for update. But to be clear, when this project was funded in April of last year, you didn't have iPad developer? Lame but okay. In the following 14 months you still don't have one? That's pretty disappointing. Please don't send me any emails about other Ares projects or Kickstarters until you complete this order.
Please make this a higher priority. You literally owe it to us.

This is particularly troublesome given previous communication by Ares regarding the app:

Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1402889231/wings-of-glory-miniature-game-giants-of-the-sky/comments

Ares Games Creator on February 19, 2016 - #App - We had to re-assign the development to a new studio, which restarted from scratch this month. The new studio is committed to deliver us the app in 6-8 weeks.

Ares Games Facebook exchange - https://www.facebook.com/AresGames/posts_to_page/

My post May 27 - "Any news on the Wings of Glory Kickstarter app? Last news on 19 Feb 2016 was that it would be ready by the end of April 2016 but no further word on the progress of that project since."

Follow up post June 13 at 4:34pm - "Two weeks on, any further updates on the app?"

Follow up post June 17 at 4:29pm - "Can you give a release date for the app please?"

Ares Reply June 17 at 4:31pm- "Carl, We're almost there."

Now we are told they don't have a 'reliable developer' let alone a completion date. I think we can be forgiven for believing we are being fobbed off. This is not a great state of affairs. I would recommend all Kickstarter customers send emails or post Facebook messages about this matter to try and get things moving.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

:hmm:Carl, like you we are not impressed.
Kyte.

[Zoe Brain]

80% of such projects fail. This is not unexpected, when outsourcing, unless you have a competent software project manager not just riding herd, but helping set up the project before the start.

I might contact Ares over this.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

80% of such projects fail. This is not unexpected, when outsourcing, unless you have a competent software project manager not just riding herd, but helping set up the project before the start.

I might contact Ares over this.

Hope you get some answers, let us know how you go.

[Zoe Brain]

Hope you get some answers, let us know how you go.

I've just contacted Ares, along with some suggestions on the way forward. What they promised in the KS campaign was a WGF equivalent of the WWII toolbox. This only tracks altitude and fuel. Fuel isn't counted in WGF. So the first problem is figuring out what the app should actually do.

If they take my suggestion, we might get something done soon that would over-fulfill their promise. Early days yet though.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

I've just contacted Ares, along with some suggestions on the way forward. What they promised in the KS campaign was a WGF equivalent of the WWII toolbox. This only tracks altitude and fuel. Fuel isn't counted in WGF. So the first problem is figuring out what the app should actually do.

If they take my suggestion, we might get something done soon that would over-fulfill their promise. Early days yet though.

It strikes me as a bit late to just be working out what the app should do. If it relates to bombers it should be altitude, climb counters, crew and critical damage, and bombing runs (how many cards the bombs go forward depending on altitude). Surely the devs actually play the game?

[Carl_Brisgamer]

I just posed the following question on the Ares Facebook page and Kickstarter comments:

Hi Ares just touching base about the Wings of Glory Kickstarter App. Any more news on how the project is progressing?

I think we just have to keep asking so they know we have not forgotten about it.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Another month goes by and still no reply about the Kickstarter app. The lack of communication is disappointing.

[Ken at Sunrise]

I forgot all about the app. I hope it is Android compatible.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Just submitted another post on the Kickstarter page requesting an update on the Wings of Glory app. I'll keep asking the question each month until we get a response.

[Zoe Brain]

I'll contact Ares via email on this.

[Ken at Sunrise]

I'll contact Ares via email on this.

Thank you,

[Carl_Brisgamer]

I'll contact Ares via email on this.

I hope you can get some satisfaction, keep us posted.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Any reply Zoe?

[Zoe Brain]

Any reply Zoe?
The person I contacted is currently busy in China. I'll try again when he comes back.