Saturday, September 20, 2014

Calidar General Sales Are On!

Calidar General Sales
At long last Calidar's hardcover book, its PDF files, and the poster maps are now available for general sales. If you missed the original Kickstarter, now is the time to jump in! 


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Calidar Sales Kickoff

Calidar DTRPG ebay
Many among you who missed Calidar's original Kickstarter event, along with backers who picked an entry-level tier, have been asking: "when and where will I be able to get all that good stuff?"

Fret not!  This day is fast coming.  


I placed the answer to your question in a separate page to be easier to locate later on.  Sorry for the redirect.  Click here for the right location, or at the top of the blog page on the tab labeled:

Where Can I Get Calidar?

Monday, September 8, 2014

Sending Kickstarter Rewards

You know what they say about the best laid plans.  So far, the book's softcover version still lies with the printer, waiting to be cleared.  It's now been ten days, a longer period than the hardcover book demanded, which is basically identical save for its cover format.  I sent a query to DTRPG and am waiting for an answer on the reason for this unexplained delay.  At this point, it seems unfair to hold up the entire fulfillment as a consequence, especially considering nearly three quarters of Calidar's backers are either at the Admiral or Captain tiers, which both call for hardcover books.  I hope you will agree with me that fulfillment should begin now.

So here's the plan.  
  • Today or Tomorrow: I'll ship the packages to those Admiral backers who did not order a softcover book.  Four will be withheld until the softcover books come in.  Delivery should take in most cases a week to ten days. [Update: 9/9/2014 10:03 am, first batch of Admiral tier packages dropped off at post office.]
  • This week: I'll process hardcover book rewards on DTRPG so shipping can begin.  In general for the USA, figure ten days or more for the books to be printed and shipped (remember, these are printed on demand).  Those intended for overseas addresses will ship directly from the UK.  Delivery could take from a few more days in western Europe to at least three weeks everywhere else. [Update: 09/12/2014, most of the hardcover books for foreign backers have been ordered via DTRPG.  General order processing, printing, & handling will likely take about a week.  For delivery to Western Europe, figure another 5-10 days.  For delivery everywhere else overseas, figure another 3-7 weeks.  For Brazil, I'll have to send those via USPS from Burlington WI.  Hardcover books will be likely processed on 09/13/2014.  09/13/2014, hardcover books ordered for Canada; unfortunately, due to Canada's crazy customs regulations, printing & shipping will be from the UK; delivery is now 3-7 weeks, and I'm shaking my head in utter frustration.  Also on 09/13/2014, hardcover books ordered for the USA; delivery time is 2-4 weeks incl. printing & handling.]      
  • Later this week: I'll drop off at the local post office the six bins of padded mailers with the poster maps.  For delivery in continental USA, figure about a week or less, and anywhere from a week to ten days everywhere else (depending on where you reside, international mail can take longer). [Update: 9/10/2014 08:41 am, poster maps mailed to foreign addresses. 09/11/2014 08:47 am, poster maps mailed to US addresses with est. delivery mostly on 09/15. Watch your mail!  Some have already been delivered as of 09/12/2014.]
  • Over the weekend: (or earlier) I'll process online PDF files for all backers.  These will come in the form of a DTRPG coupon emailed to your accounts.  You can redeem these coupons at DTRPG.com in order to obtain your copies of the PDF files. [Update: 09/14/2014, all coupons  for the full PDF version of "In Stranger Skies" have been e-mailed from DTRPG.  Watch your spam boxes!  09/14/15, two coupons were mailed, one Sunday and the other today, Sept. 15th.  The first coupon turned out to be for a bundled download of three PDFs, which does work.  The one sent today was redundant and does not work anyway.  Sorry for the confusion.  Airman-level backers have not yet received their coupons.  They will as soon as the above issue is resolved with DTRPG's tech staff.]
If the softcover book is approved today, I still have to order a proof copy from DTRPG to verify that it is printed correctly.  This can take ten days or more before I receive it.  If no corrections are needed, I can then process through DTRPG the remainder of the rewards.  Timing is the same as described in the bullet points above.  If corrections are necessary (let's hope not), this could add another two weeks or more to the process.  Alas, those softcover books intended for the four Admiral backers who requested them still need to be sent to me (after the proof copy's final approval) so I can package them with the rest of their rewards.
[Update: 09/13/2014, unfortunately, a correction was required for the softcover book. DTRPG remains entirely at fault for failing to update their web site which showed obsolete printing options. Consequently, our cover spine isn't of the right size.  The corrected files have been uploaded this morning.  The new expected timetable is: printer's approval next week; receipt of the printer's proof late the following week (at the earliest); possibly passing orders for the softcover books immediately afterward *if* the proof is correct.]

The situation isn't ideal, but at least things are finally moving.  Keep your eyes open for e-mails and packages.  [Update: 09/13/2014, Some have already begun to arrive.]  Thanks again for your support and for making this project possible.

Update: 09/17/2014, I received notification from the printer that hardcover books have shipped from both UK and US plants.  For most of you, this means it'll be a few more days before your receive your books.  For destinations in Asia/Pacific, figure about 10 days.  Woot!

Update: 09/17/2014 at 02:00pm, DTRPG coupons to download Calidar's Airman Edition and Under the Great Vault PDFs have been sent to Kickstarter backers at the Airman tier.  By now all backers should have received links to download their PDFs.  Please contact DTRPG's customer service (or me, privately) if you're still experiencing difficulties obtaining your PDFs

Update: 09/26/2014, the softcover version of the book has finally received approval from the printer.  I've ordered the proof.

Update: 10/01/2014, Received the softcover proof from the printer.  Looks good (see today's blog post).  I immediately ordered the books still due to the remaining Kickstarter backers.  Delivery should take place within 1-3 weeks for the USA and Western Europe, 3-7 weeks everywhere else.  Some of the books ordered earlier and poster maps are still reaching their destinations as of Sept. 30th.

Update: 10/06/2014, the softcover books have shipped to both US and foreign addresses.