Steve Jackson Games' GURPS 2020 PDF Challenge

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Are the books not already written?

I didn't say they weren't. Release isn't contingent on the supplements being written, edited, illustrated, and ready to go. Release is contingent on a show of interest. No interest means we'll do something else – as yet undetermined – with the items that weren't unlocked.

[philreed]

Originally Posted by Kromm

If it unlocks, it will eventually appear on Warehouse 23 for around $3. "Eventually" means "after all Kickstarter orders have been fulfilled" (add a few months).[/INDENT]Either way, you will be out $3 and have the PDF delivered to your Warehouse 23 account.

Adding to Sean's post:

* If you pledge $3 on Kickstarter today, you're spending $0.30/PDF to get ten files. If all twelve are unlocked, that cost drops to $0.25/PDF. Or, if we look at it another way, unlocking all 12 PDFs brings that $3 pledge to $0.025/page.

* If you wait and buy one PDF on Warehouse 23, in the future, you'll spend $3 for a single PDF. $36 if you decide that you want all twelve of the titles.

Because the Kickstarter backers are willing to put their support behind the project, they get a great deal. How great a deal depends entirely on how much financial support is put behind the project. So far, we're at ten PDFs.

Can we unlock all twelve PDFs before the clock runs out?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...pdf-challenge/

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Me too, I think hitting that 2,000 backers is more valuable than the extra $2 to $12 were estimating for the final unlock. All the backers are likely to be following and notified of new campaigns.
I'd like to see more than 49 new backers though.

I see we've added three backers at the $49 level since yesterday, which I find heartening. There's a slim chance we'll hit the current stretch goal today.

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by Kromm

I didn't say they weren't. Release isn't contingent on the supplements being written, edited, illustrated, and ready to go.

So after having invested all the resources in writing, editing and illustrating, and the product being "ready to go", you're saying sjgames might still not release it, despite releasing it having a virtually 0 cost at this point and being the only way to recoup some of the cost? Why? The worst it can do is not sell, at which point you're no worse off than not releasing a "ready to go" product. And it might well actually sell.

If you haven't written a book yet, it makes perfect sense not to write one you don't think has enough interest. But if the books are as you say "ready to go" you're past the point of investing resources, the only thing left to do is start selling them. What's the point of asking if there is interest at this point? The books are written and the costs are spent.

Originally Posted by Kromm

Release is contingent on a show of interest. No interest means we'll do something else – as yet undetermined – with the items that weren't unlocked.

You're selling 12 books as a lot; how do you gauge which individual books of the 12 people are actually interested in? Tricked-Out Rides is first on the list, but that doesn't mean it's the one people are most interested in, to me it looks like it has the least interesting subject material. I'd quite like to see Mega-Dungeons, but not enough to drop $12,000 on it, to get a 10 page PDF, which is the only thing I could do to guarantee it.

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by philreed

* If you wait and buy one PDF on Warehouse 23, in the future, you'll spend $3 for a single PDF. $36 if you decide that you want all twelve of the titles.

Are you saying that even if they aren't unlocked "Beyond the Pale" and "Megadungeons" will be available on Warehouse 23? Kromm's posts seemed to imply that they would just be binned (Despite being ready to go), if they weren't unlocked.

[philreed]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Are you saying that even if they aren't unlocked "Beyond the Pale" and "Megadungeons" will be available on Warehouse 23? Kromm's posts seemed to imply that they would just be binned (Despite being ready to go), if they weren't unlocked.

Possibly. Or, just maybe, we'll do something else with them.

Right now, we're focused on the Kickstarter campaign. If you're interested in seeing all twelve files unlocked, I recommend joining the project today. $3 will get you the ten unlocked PDFs and your support pushes the campaign closer to unlocking the next stretch goal.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...pdf-challenge/

[philreed]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

I see we've added three backers at the $49 level since yesterday, which I find heartening. There's a slim chance we'll hit the current stretch goal today.

Agreed. Thank you to everyone who suggested that we create that $49 reward level.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Are you saying that even if they aren't unlocked "Beyond the Pale" and "Megadungeons" will be available on Warehouse 23? Kromm's posts seemed to imply that they would just be binned (Despite being ready to go), if they weren't unlocked.

My posts implied nothing like that. To quote myself:

Originally Posted by Kromm

No interest means we'll do something else – as yet undetermined – with the items that weren't unlocked.

That could mean "sell them next year," "put them in another Kickstarter," "send them back to the writers for another 10 pages," or a galaxy of other things!

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Why?

Because we want people to support this Kickstarter, not decide to opt out because they're guaranteed to get what they want later. That's how limited-time offers work. The product almost always exists already, but the offer is contingent on interest. If interest doesn't emerge, there are always options for what to do with the product.

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

You're selling 12 books as a lot; how do you gauge which individual books of the 12 people are actually interested in?

We don't! We embarked on this knowing it would deliver a grab-bag, and a major goal is to show off the scope of GURPS to those who aren't playing it: For cheap, they can get a look at a whole range of genres and types of material. We don't really know what those people want, because they don't currently buy stuff from us, so we didn't sweat the release order a lot.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Kromm

My posts implied nothing like that. To quote myself:

That could mean "sell them next year," "put them in another Kickstarter," "send them back to the writers for another 10 pages," or a galaxy of other things!

Also as Phil mentioned looking at other options is counterproductive at this time. Focus on the current task and trying to make it do as good as possible.
Literally saying they will be available on W23 a few months after this kickstarter is done is actually counterproductive, why should anyone even ask that or expect a commitment at this time? The goal is to sell them NOW and at a bargain you wont get later.