Castle Tower Replacements!
about 4 years ago – Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 01:20:40 AM

Hello folks!

Some of you who have purchased the expansion, Feudum: Rudders & Ramparts have a warped tower(s) that require a little push or pinch of the castle for the Feudum disc to fit. If the warpage is minimal, we thank you for working with the tower(s) you have! However, some of you have a tower(s) so warped that it will not accept a disc, or it would damage a disc if it was forced.  We are very sorry this occurred!

Naturally, Odd Bird Games and Panda stand behind this product and want you to be 100% satisfied!  If you wish to have one or more of your towers replaced (brown, yellow and/or blue), please fill out the form at the following link for a FREE replacement! 

https://forms.gle/ey5iSRNjtpHJu9Ft6

Currently, I have a small supply of replacement towers on hand, but Panda intends on making more in the near future.  Please know that this is an issue I had discussed with Panda previously. It was something I had given feedback on after receiving samples. Panda is sure that the molds for the castles are all the same size, but unfortunately there was still some variance in the castles. I will be working with Panda closely to figure out why this variance occurred and to make more replacement parts.

 Due to the Coronavirus situation in China, Panda's factories are currently shut down. They are hoping to be able to reopen fully in early March, but the health and safety of everyone in China is our number one priority. This means that figuring out why this problem happened, and making more replacement parts will take longer than we'd like. We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding, and we'll keep everyone updated as we get more information.

Mark Swanson & the Panda Team

Worldwide Fulfillment Schedule + Domestic/International vs. Retail
about 4 years ago – Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 01:37:45 AM

Folks, 

Quartermaster just provided the backer shipping schedule below!  Tracking numbers would go out once fulfilment centers begin shipping orders!  

Fulfillment Schedule

North America/RotW from QML

• Fulfillment scheduled to begin 2nd week of February.
• Shipment from Panda delivered.

Note: Canadian fulfillment (Snakes & Lattes) is generally 2-3 weeks behind US. i.e. 3-4 (business days) transit to New York, and then Snakes & Lattes moves it across the Canadian border (5-7 days). And then they queue it and ship it, depending on what other projects they have queued.

Europe from Spiral Galaxy

• Fulfillment scheduled to begin the first week of February (3rd - 7th), likely earlier. They'll send address confirmations out today so they can start next week.
• Shipment from Panda delivered.

Australia/NZ from Aetherworks

• Fulfillment scheduled to begin the first week of February (3rd - 7th), likely earlier.
• Shipment from Panda delivered.

Asia from VFI

• Fulfillment scheduled to begin the second week of February (10th-14th). We'll try to get them started earlier.
• Shipment from Panda delivered.

Domestic/International Partners vs. Retail

Please note that on the domestic front (United Sates), I’ve always sent retail versions of my products to my distribution broker (Impressions), AFTER freight delivery to all of my fulfillment companies. This ensures that the majority of backers enjoy two advantages for being "early adopters" on Kickstarter:

• They receive products AT LEAST 2-3 weeks before they would ever see it in a retail store.
• They receive a Kickstarter Edition of the product that are NOT sold to retailers. (with the exception of just a handful of retailers who are KS backers and pay for KS-edition products)

However, I’ve never had a policy in place that would 100% ensure that International backers would not see products in retail before receiving their order.  Currently, It just seems unfair to deliberately delay products (from the Panda warehouse) destined to an International localization partner (who pays directly. (These are publishers such as Maldito, Hobby Mind, Moroz/Crowd, Ludofy, Czacha, Angry Lion, Ghenos and Corax who translate and distribute Feudum products). In some cases, their investment into products is sizeable, and they have a vested interest in satisfying their distributors and retailers in a timely fashion. Nevertheless, I am open to addressing this more fairly in the future and I am reaching out to other mentors to see what best practices should be.  Thanks for your understanding as I work through all of this!

Freight/Shipping/Tracking Update + Guild Tracking Dice Pics
over 4 years ago – Sun, Jan 12, 2020 at 01:58:27 AM

Hello folks, here's what's happening…

Freight Update

On Thursday, the team from Quartermaster Logisitcs told me they had received a list of shifted port dates for the Rudders & Ramparts shipment (about a 10 day delay). This was confirmed by Project Coordinator, Robert White as shown in the email below. 

I realize we have had series of delays, but at this point, I'm just grateful that the freight delivery is finally happening. As a result, tracking numbers would go out once QM begins shipping orders, 1-3 weeks after the receipt of goods into the warehouse. 

Quartermaster says they will complete a sample packing and have my team do an accuracy check of the orders in the system as well. For U.S orders, fulfillment would be Early/Mid February from the Quartermaster Logistics warehouse. For EU and Australian orders, things appear to be happening a bit sooner.

Subject: Re: FW: Odd Bird Freight shipment

Hi Mark,

Just confirming that the vessel arrival dates that Chris listed are the most up to date estimates. We will let you know if there is any deviation from these ETA's.

•  Panda QML 1/22 (USA)
•  Panda Spiral 1/16 (EU)
•  Panda Aetherworks 1/11 (Australia)

Robert White, Project Coordinator, Quartermaster Logistics

Guild Tracking Dice Pics

Here are a few photos of the Guild Tracking Dice!

Latest Freight Schedule and More MPC Photos!!!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Nov 27, 2019 at 01:38:25 AM

Dear Backers,

Sorry for the update delay!  I'm going up for reappointment at the University of MIssouri where I"ve been a Professor for 10 years.....Annnnnnd I've been spending time on my dossier–Just a fancy french word for a compendium of folders filled with information that justify my worthiness to the promotion and tenure committee–Sheesh! (Wish me luck).  Anywayzzzzz, I wanted to update you on the freight schedule AND the Mass Produced Copy (MPC)!

Freight Schedule

Panda's latest freight delivery schedule to various fulfilment centers is posted below. As I mentioned before, it can take as many as 4 weeks from fulfillment centers to backers; therefore, many of you will receive your order after the holidays in January. (Quartermaster Logistics (QML) serves the USA and Canada, Spiral Galaxy serves the E.U., Aetherworks serves Australia, and VFI serves China). As always, thank you for your patience! I think it'll be worth the wait, once you see the MPC pics below!

MPC Photos

I have posted some photos of the mass produced copy of the KS edition of Rudders and Ramparts below.  I've seen the results first hand, and they are even cooler in person!  I hope you are as happy as I am! I realize now that I already posted a few of the later pics on Instagram and Facebook, but forgot to post them in a Kickstarter update! Anyway, those are courtesy of my friend Jonathan Sessions (who is mad at me for skipping game night to update my backers).

Freight Delivery Dates to Fulfillment Centers Delayed
over 4 years ago – Fri, Oct 18, 2019 at 03:17:50 AM

Dear Backers,

I received an UPDATED estimated arrival date for all freight shipments from Panda. (See below). Given that it can take as many as 4 weeks from fulfillment centers to backers, it looks like many of you will not be receiving your order until after the holidays in January. (Quartermaster Logistics serves the USA and Canada, Spiral Galaxy serves the E.U., Aetherworks serves Australia, and VFI serves China).

According to Panda’s David Lipman, “there were some issues with the mold and the plastics after the mold was finished. After testing the mold there were issues like gaps between glued parts, damage on the plastic surface, steps on the surface, and some others.”

Panda Manufacturing fixed the problem but sincerely apologizes for this delay, and so do I.

Naturally, I am disheartened by this news. We went from “ahead of schedule,” to “on schedule” to “behind schedule” within a relatively short period of time and I don’t blame you for being frustrated or angry.  Believe me, I can relate.  In times like this, I try to practice Stoicism and remind myself of the words of Epictetus. “I do not suffer from the events in my life, but from my judgement about them.” Easier said than done!!!

That said, the silver lining in all of this it is that Panda caught the issue and made sure that the product was perfect. While this may be of little consolation to some, I hope that you know that I am very, very sorry for this delay.

Any patience and/or understanding you can offer is much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Mark

P.S. In a separate update, I will show you pics of the latest Mass Production Copy (MPC) I received.