An Update
Dave has been over at Beasts of War for a number of days, and we are hoping that many of you will have seen the update to backers that was on the recent Weekender video. But for those of you who haven’t seen the video or the reviews on it about the Rulebook, we have put together some information below. There will also be a range of videos coming out over the next few weeks with various focuses, whether that is gameplay, spaceships or space stations!
Kickstarter Fulfilment Update
As many of you will have seen, we have been packing and dispatching a plethora of orders, with many leaving the Hawk Warehouse on a daily basis! Our UPS and Interlink drivers have had to make several return trips with larger vans to pick up what have been going out!
Over the past 2 weeks the team at Hawk have been hard at work packing and dispatching Kickstarter pledges for Dropfleet Commander, and although we are making good progress, the logistical complexity of processing 4000 individual orders is proving to be very time consuming, and though this was planned for, the delay caused by the printed elements has further delayed the shipping, more than recently anticipated.
We have increased the number of warehouse staff and secured additional warehouse space to help expedite the delivery process, as well as sending down a number of our own ‘elite team’ to help move and pack items. We wish to emphasise that the delays in fulfilment are no way due to lack of fulfilment stock and are purely reflective of the volume of orders to be processed mixed with the delay in receiving the printed material.
Dropfleet Commander Wave 1 Retail Release
Most of you will be aware that the wave 1 of the Dropfleet Commander retail release is scheduled for the 14th of October and unfortunately it is likely that there will still be some Kickstarter pledges awaiting delivery at this point.
Since the retail release consists of around a dozen pre-arranged bulk shipments of stock to distributors, delaying wave 1 of the release would not actually speed up the Kickstarter fulfilment process. This is a hard pill to swallow for us, as we have put so much effort into endeavouring to get this Kickstarter delivered before release, but we also have to be conscious of the game and with agreements made with our distribution partners.
We will, therefore, be proceeding with wave 1 of the retail release on the 14th of October as many wheels are in motion for it, and we hope that you, as our backers, will understand that we are doing everything in our power to ensure completion of the Kickstarter fulfilment in October.
What are we doing to Prioritise Kickstarter Fulfilment?
In addition to the hiring of temp staff, increased warehouse space and deployment of the Hawk elite team, we have taken the decision to defer wave 2 of the retail release. Whilst the deferring of wave 1 of the retail release would not impact Kickstarter fulfilment, pushing back the wave 2 release does mean that the warehouse staff allocated for manufacture of the battleships can be reallocated to Kickstarter fulfilment as a priority.
We are also withdrawing the sale of promotional stock at our Dropfleet pre-release events, and will be focusing every available member of the Hawk Wargames team toward the completion of the Kickstarter fulfilment in October.
We appreciate the patience and understanding shown by you, our backers, and our supporters as we reach the final stages of delivery. It has been a big process, but we are extremely proud of the finished product and we hope that when it reaches you, you will find that it was worth the wait.
Here is the video from Beasts of War if you would like to see it - Hawk Wargames Content begins at around 1:03:50:
https://youtu.be/hJUJYx9ozl0?t=1h3m50s
We can't wait to get Dropfleet Commander rewards out to you all!
Kind regards, and thank you for all of your support!
The Hawk Wargames Team
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