Stargate: Phoenix ~ Tabletop RPG by Wyvern Gaming

[DrMckay]

I guess the great reviews are from US backers, I guess.

Just doublechecked: sent my mail to [email protected] on the 5th of January requesting more info.
Response: zero.

[Falcon Horus]

Just doublechecked: sent my mail to [email protected] on the 5th of January requesting more info.
Response: zero.

Oh... not cool.

[Platschu]

I have got my own copy of the RPG finally after months. Probably UK citizens will get it now.

[Falcon Horus]

I have got my own copy of the RPG finally after months. Probably UK citizens will get it now.

Seems late...

[DrMckay]

Seems late...

No kidding, SEEMS late?
I received an email on Thursday that mine should be here between 5 and 10 working days.
I ordered/paid last year in October...

Anyways, no matter if it's underway or not, my opinion stays the same: never again, and I recommend everybody to stay away from it.

The communication (basically no communication at all) was absolutely horrible, people contacting them to request information or any update at all just receive no response what so ever. My last e-mail to them was January this year: never got a response.

Should read the comments here on their kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...-game/comments

If you go through those, it seems that somebody, by some divine miracle, did get a response from them, where they quoted the following:

Please be patient with Kickstarter projects. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform not an online store. All dates are just guidelines. No one could have foreseen the hurdles presented during this project (Global Pandemic, Brexit, IP buyout, Mass Manufacturer and Fulfillment company layoffs, etc...). It is literally a nightmare for producers right now. Your patience is appreciated.

Well, those reasons , I can fully understand.

But:
- NOT communicating this AT ALL anywhere, not on their Kickstarter or on the official website (stargatetherpg.com) is absolutely inexcusable.
- NOT communicating this to ALL those who actually ordered the material (and yes, they have the e-mail address of ALL those people, including myself) to give an update and an explanation, is inexcusable.
- NOT replying to paying customers like myself (and reading those comments, a lot of other people too), people who paid a lot of money and after almost a YEAR are STILL wondering why they haven't received the goods they paid for, is inexcusable.

The way they treated their paying customers is just absolutely horrible.
I am still of the opinion that these guys should get their license from MGM/Amazon revoked for the way they handled this.

Anyways, the way all this has been handled, I'm fully expecting that when and if the goods arrive in the next couple of weeks, it will probably be the wrong book or a book damaged during transport or not everything will be included.

To say that I'm absolutely pissed off with this initiative and have basically lost all interest already in it, like a lot of other people on that Kickstarter page too it seems, is an absolute understatement. Especially for the amount of money they asked for even just the book, not considering the rest of the merchandise they're selling.

I can only hope, now that Amazon owns the IP, that next time somebody wants to do an initiative like this and come asking for a license, they are vetted way better before being granted the approval to go ahead.

[Platschu]

Well said, DrMcKay. It is worth of reading the comments :
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...-game/comments

I have also shared my "mixed" opinion 2 months ago :

"Kree! It is a complete disgrace how Wyvern Games is fooling the European fans. I have never backed any Kickstarter projects before, but I decided to support it to express my love for this franchise as it is part of my online life for 24 years. Then what did I get for my 90$? Nothing. I am so greatly disappointed. It is not just just about the money. Simply I hate lies and bad excuses. If I would make my job like them then I would have been fired long time ago. This whole almost non-existent customer service is a pathetic joke now how they delayed with the rewrites for months and months then nothing happens with the shipping. I was really patient and I am aware of the downloadable digital copy, but I wanted to experience my own book copy at first. Even if I could get it they managed to ruin all my enthusiasm and joy. I am really sorry MGM let such an amateurish small company buy the rights as we deserve better treatment. It feels pure greediness how they try to charge the remaining US buyers for every items (episodes, items, objects) while they can not fulfill the basic business expectations to the rest of the world. They betrayed those long-term fans who managed to give them almost a half million dollar in a few weeks. Shame. - Platschu"

So now I got my copy and as I read this comment back, I was right. The magic has gone. It needs time to forgive and to enjoy this product.

I really like the cover page of the special edition with the silver stargate on the black background :
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1.Star...6165598413154/
I like the drawings. I like the effort what they put into the little art details. But all together I am not that impressed what I felt during the beta version too. The font size is too big. The descriptons of races haven't got enough details. I was expecting more Jaffa Guards etc.

I have the AEG version too in my hand. I have never played it, but that RPG got much more little fan fiction type of stories. There are plenty of paragraph about locations, races, plots and enemies. Maybe Wyvern will reach this level if they publish more extension books in the future (like season 6 or season 7 guide), but they lost me as customer at the moment.

[Falcon Horus]

I have a feeling Wyvern won't be publishing much else -- a bit like how the comics disappeared into that same black hole the shows disappeared into.

MGM's licenses are not handled by Amazon by the way... Still in the hands of MGM.

Edit
And if the comments on that kickstarter page are anything to go by, I fear Wyvern won't have many backers left next time for anything Stargate or otherwise.

[Platschu]

If you read the comments then you can see I am not alone with mixed feelings. I wish them the best, because the RPG game could be still amazing. As far as I have heard they lost their license already as MGM noticed their controversial customer service. If this gossip is true and the company cares about it at all.

(Somehow the franchise was always cursed as they sold the rights whoever paid for it. This is the reason why we have never got a proper PC game either as the small companies were going bankrupt. Or the other released franchise products were just average or poor quality.)

[DrMckay]

As far as I have heard they lost their license already as MGM noticed their controversial customer service. If this gossip is true and the company cares about it at all.

Huh, interesting, first I hear of it.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Yeah, can't say I've heard that either. Looks like the VAT issue with the UK has been sorted and backers are now starting to receive their copies. Hopefully it wont be too much longer for me.

[Falcon Horus]

Yeah, can't say I've heard that either. Looks like the VAT issue with the UK has been sorted and backers are now starting to receive their copies. Hopefully it wont be too much longer for me.

I'm seeing a lot of UK comments saying they've seen the book on sale in locale gaming shops but haven't received their copies yet. They're not happy about that.

[Falcon Horus]

It's currently out of stock at Intrafin but they have it up on their website with march 21, 2022 publication date. Retail price at intrafin is 60 euro:

http://www.intrafin.eu/en/role-playi...ulebook-32265#

I can fully understand how that might anger a backer.

I should note that Intrafin is a Belgian distribution of games and merch company. I knew a guy who worked there, and almost applied for a job there as well. So basically the book is definitely available in Belgium since March. I don't know what the backers paid for it though.

Edit
Another source says the publication date is July 2022 -- that's confusing.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

I'm seeing a lot of UK comments saying they've seen the book on sale in locale gaming shops but haven't received their copies yet. They're not happy about that.

Of course. It's understandable, but been outside of Wyvern's hands. It's ramifications following Brexit and Wyvern having to wait for their VAT application to be processed. The copies in the country are coming in from people who were already registered.

My backer copy did ship yesterday. Seeing other people out there in the UK starting to receive their notifications now.

[Falcon Horus]

Of course. It's understandable, but been outside of Wyvern's hands. It's ramifications following Brexit and Wyvern having to wait for their VAT application to be processed. The copies in the country are coming in from people who were already registered.

Brexit didn't suddenly happen -- like they couldn't have anticipated problems. We, Europeans, certainly anticipated issues. Lots of issues... unfortunately.

[DrMckay]

Of course. It's understandable, but been outside of Wyvern's hands. It's ramifications following Brexit and Wyvern having to wait for their VAT application to be processed. The copies in the country are coming in from people who were already registered.

My backer copy did ship yesterday. Seeing other people out there in the UK starting to receive their notifications now.

Also, as I said: the reasons they mentioned for the delay are perfectly understandable... IF you, as a paying customer, know about it and this is communicated.

But just keeping everyone in the dark, ignoring questions from customers, ... How difficult is it to draft an update message and post it on the kickstarter page + the stargatetherpg-website and also send it out via e-mail to all customers who already ordered and paid and had to register their e-mail address to fulfill the order?

For me, as for a lot of other people it seems going by the comments on the kickstarter page, this has led to me losing all interest in this game.

We were planning on playing this game once the book arrives with some people in the family. To be honest, we've completely abandoned this, once the book arrives in the (maybe?) next couple of days, it will end up in my drawer and will probably never be used anymore.

On the other hand, we still have the intention to go ahead and organize a regular gaming evening with those family-members, but now we're looking at doing that with Magic the gathering. At least the material needed to play that game is generally available and also... wow, imagine that... even handled professionally!

Yes, that still is possible it would seem.

Too bad, but after my experience with this game, I couldn't care less about it anymore. Well, at least Wyvern Gaming got their money out of the fans. Good for them I guess.