2nd Breakfast update: SXSW and public update info for pre-orders
about 5 years ago
– Mon, Mar 18, 2019 at 09:40:11 PM
Hello From Texas!
Hello Realm Dwellers!
This update is going up a little late due to SXSW Gaming, which happened this weekend. Wooded Realms had a booth on the show floor, and our tables were featured as part of the SXSW Gaming premiere tournaments during the show! We got to meet several backers, and announce that pre-orders have officially opened to the general public. If you know someone who was interested in a table but unable to back the Kickstarter, then they should head to our KS page or www.woodedrealms.com to place their pre-order now!
An Update for Non-Backers
A lot of our previous updates have been backer-only, which means some pre-order folks were unable to keep up with our new delivery timeline and production updates, so here are some of the key bits of information for those folks. I'll make ongoing posts public as well for everyone's benefit. Here are some of the details:
here's the new timeline:
- April: Local pickup locations will be finalized
- May 1st: Pledge Manager closes
- May 15th: Tables and accessories will begin shipping
- Mid-June: Tables will arrive in the US
- Late June: Local Pick-up in Seattle will begin
- July: Local pick-ups in other cities will begin
- July-August: Tables will be delivered
A quick summary of the reasons for the changes: Our production facility (Michael's factory) was set up for onsite furniture production in office buildings, so there was an unexpected knowledge gap with regards to creating customer-accessible packaging and assembly. Some of our assumptions about the materials we were using turned out to be incorrect (for example, using beech hardwood for every component in the table was *not* measurably better than using other materials designed for those purposes), and after facing a looming deadline with these questions still open, we decided it would be best to push delivery back until any quality issues have been resolved, and we are better prepared to deliver the tables and the experience that folks expect.
OK
Now that we're all up to date, here's what has been going on since the last update. As many people are aware, Michael is here from China, and we are both in Austin TX. In the time leading up to the SXSW Gaming conference, we have been evaluating our tables together, and looking for any changes we can make to the tables to improve them. We have already produced around 170 tables, so any changes we make will be minor; they are mostly focused around improving the workflow for producing the tables, but we've also managed to improve the stability of the tables, and the ease of assembly.
Also! For those who are asking about removing the shipping charges that appear when you choose local pickup and purchase add-ons: We will provide a discount code to remove the shipping charges near the close of the pledge manager. This will happen for everyone at the same time, and I will make an announcement when it starts.
Lastly, Michael also brought in some fabric samples that include the stain guard. I'm unclear on the exact functionality, but it looks like a type of hydrophobic treatment:
Ok! Our next update will be on the 1st of April. Over the next week or so, Michael will be in Seattle, and I will be taking care of non-WR business, but we will continue to work on our messages and communication for you guys! Talk to you soon!
