[Kickstarter] Upworks - castles!

[Asphere]

Video looks pretty cool.

upworks.com link.

I like that you can remove the layers of the castle fairly easily by floors rather than piece by piece.

[danielc]

Asphere wrote:

Video looks pretty cool.

upworks.com link.

I like that you can remove the layers of the castle fairly easily by floors rather than piece by piece.

It does look very cool. I wonder how it will do though. I mean is there a major demand for castles in 3D? For his sake I hope so.

[Asphere]

Short answer? Yes. Long answer? People have been requesting 3D modular castles for gaming from other companies for years. I think it will do very well.

[ced1106]

DF will have a KS3 in or after November, after KS2 has been fulfilled and this KS will include castles. I doubt UW can raise the $2M that DF’s KS’s have raised, meaning that UW will hit fewer stretch goals, and offer fewer pieces. The $140 UW level starts with fewer pieces than the $145 DF level, and, even at $100K funding, won’t have as many pieces. It’s not until you pledge at the $590 UW level until you reach the “sweet spot”.

[Mark Sweetman]

I backed both Dwarven Forge kickstarters (and am eagerly awaiting the soonish arrival of my caverns) - to the value of 2 sets + some add-ons for the Tiles, and 3 sets + add-ons for the Caverns.

ced1106 is right, the 'sweet spot' that Upworks have gone with is the $590 pledge... which is very rich for my blood - especially since I'm international and would need to also stump for the $340 shipping that goes with that level. That would be roughly equal to the amount that I pledged for both of the DF kickstarters combined.

That plus the fact that Upworks aren't offering a pre-painted set will likely mean I'll wait for the next DF kickstarter - but I'll keep on eye on this regardless and see where it ends up in 30 odd days.

[Mark Sweetman]

Just doing some quick math on the relative value / stretch goals.

• $90 - 48 pieces - $1.88 per piece(no stretch goals)
  
• $140 - 43 pieces - $3.26 per piece (1st stretch adds 5 pieces - 12% increase)
  
• $295 - 111 pieces - $2.66 per piece (1st SG adds 7 pieces - 6% increase)
  
• $590 - 275 pieces - $2.15 per piece (1st SG adds 111 pieces - 40% increase)

Obviously this is just a straight cost per piece with zero weighting on the size of pieces, etc - but there is one thing abundantly clear... it's that the value spot is wholly aimed at the $590 pledge for the castle. This is both with the initial cost ratio, as well as the first major stretch goal at $100k funding. Which is obviously great for those that have that kind of cash to throw at it... but less so for those that don't.

Will be interesting if anything is done / changed to adjust / soften this weighting through the course of the campaign.

[miniaturedan]

There is a demand for Castles, but there are also plenty out there. The Tabletop Workshop one which is fully modular (ran a similar pre-order campaign last year) is available from next week!

[Nightwatch_SRB]

I like this system. UpWorks has a nice look. Other Castles may be "modular" but this goes a little farther. At least that's what the video on their website would have me believe. The individual pieces look like they were made for gaming. They easily fit the one inch/five foot ratio for land movement with miniatures. And you aren't "boxed" in with a large pre-made building. You design the block houses, keeps, guard houses, abbeys, towers, etc. piece by piece to fit your adventure.
Yeah, it's an investment, but I'm leaning toward getting this. After all, it's a hobby and if you've got the right tools then your gaming sessions become more fulfilling, entertaining and memorable.