Author Topic: SPARTAN CLOSING  (Read 16075 times)

Landlubber

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #45 on: August 27, 2017, 11:12:28 pm »
Speaking of seeking survivors

Does anyone know who or how to contact the creator of this
http://ohmcz.eu/campaignstats.html

Wow. That's pretty cool! I looked all over that page and couldn't see a way to contact the author. I'm not familiar at all with the Tableau program, that was the first time I'd seen it.
"Sometimes, you gotta roll the hard six."--Commander Adama

Fracas

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #46 on: August 28, 2017, 01:21:54 am »
There was a thread in the SG forum updating it as it went along
Firestorm: Aquan, Directorate, Retholza, Hawker (FsA)/ Terran (FsPf), RSN (FsA)/ Dindrenzi (FsPf)
DW: EotBS, FSA, PLC.
Warmaster: Kislev, Khemri, Dwarves,
BFG: Pacification Fleet (IN), Tau Expeditionary (SG), Battlefleet (Chaos), Kher-Ys Corsairs, Crusade Fleet (IN),
LotR: Khand, Gondor, Mordor

sleeping_squirrel

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #47 on: August 28, 2017, 03:15:53 pm »
Speaking of seeking survivors

Does anyone know who or how to contact the creator of this
http://ohmcz.eu/campaignstats.html

Hi, another DW refugee here. OHM is a member of our Czech community, I can contact him very easily or should I make him to register here as well? :-)

Fracas

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #48 on: August 28, 2017, 03:17:51 pm »
Please do invite him
I think the best way to keep the game alive and stay connected is through campaigns such as the one he ran!
Firestorm: Aquan, Directorate, Retholza, Hawker (FsA)/ Terran (FsPf), RSN (FsA)/ Dindrenzi (FsPf)
DW: EotBS, FSA, PLC.
Warmaster: Kislev, Khemri, Dwarves,
BFG: Pacification Fleet (IN), Tau Expeditionary (SG), Battlefleet (Chaos), Kher-Ys Corsairs, Crusade Fleet (IN),
LotR: Khand, Gondor, Mordor

sleeping_squirrel

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #49 on: August 28, 2017, 03:35:04 pm »
Ok, I will direct him to this forum.

Landlubber

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #50 on: August 28, 2017, 04:35:46 pm »
Ok, I will direct him to this forum.

Thanks much! I don't recall seeing this in the old Spartan forums. Would like to know the background.
"Sometimes, you gotta roll the hard six."--Commander Adama

Andrewchristlieb

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #51 on: August 28, 2017, 09:32:25 pm »
Hey guys, yes I'm still alive and out of lurk mode obviously ;) While the current mood is a bit doom and gloomy in spots online after SG's announcement I was thinking of what we could try and do to help lighten the mood. What do y'all think about hosting a for fun event on the forum? Maybe something with some nice badges or banners like you see on some other hobby forums? Just to show people that the community is still strong and planning on sticking around.

Edit: obviously while blasting it on the various social media sites for the games  8)
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RuleBritannia

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #52 on: August 28, 2017, 09:51:29 pm »
Why not a mini campaign? 

Andrewchristlieb

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #53 on: August 28, 2017, 10:42:54 pm »
Mini campaigns are certainly an option, but I believe Ruckdog has something coming up soon on that already and given the number of games spartan had it's probably best to focus on something simple that everyone can take part in if we do this. I think a paint challenge or a lore(writing) challenge would be something engaging that people from all game systems could participate in, but I'm sure there might be other options we could come up with as well.
I don't make the rules, I just think them up and write them down.

Landlubber

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #54 on: August 29, 2017, 12:15:31 am »
Mini campaigns are certainly an option, but I believe Ruckdog has something coming up soon on that already and given the number of games spartan had it's probably best to focus on something simple that everyone can take part in if we do this. I think a paint challenge or a lore(writing) challenge would be something engaging that people from all game systems could participate in, but I'm sure there might be other options we could come up with as well.

Those are great ideas. Not sure what this forum platform can support regarding badges, etc--Ruckdog probably knows more about that than I do.

For my part, I may be playing a massive (maybe 2500+ points) DW game on Labor Day. Plus I played a 1250-point Firestorm Armada game yesterday and a 1500-point Halo Fleet Battles game today. And I'm currently painting a Covenant Carrack-class merchant cruiser for Halo Fleet.

So...Long Live Spartan Games!
"Sometimes, you gotta roll the hard six."--Commander Adama

ohm

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #55 on: August 29, 2017, 05:00:41 am »
Hi survivors,

I am the one who created this http://ohmcz.eu/campaignstats.html website. It is actually just the statisics page who is part of a global campaign http://ohmcz.eu/dw/main.php .

I am running the technical background. Another guy, Typhus, is writing the narrative (Swiss Financial Times).

We stopped with the campaign about a year ago since people gradually stopped posting their battles and we both were too busy with family stuff to chase anyone.

If there is enough demand, we can probably kick it off again.

« Last Edit: August 29, 2017, 05:05:20 am by ohm »

voidstarsinger

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #56 on: August 29, 2017, 06:36:42 am »
I was sorry to see this news although  never really played their stuff and I have to wonder about halo licence costs and if enough comp gamers where even bothered to make it worth while . as a none halo gamer but a space navel gamer  , I was never even tempted (plus I prefer a game to have 4 clear factions min )   its odd that the halo stuff its not motioned in the statement ? 
take this ship to where the fire is at its heaviest  that where we can make a difference

erloas

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #57 on: August 29, 2017, 10:57:19 am »
I was sorry to see this news although  never really played their stuff and I have to wonder about halo licence costs and if enough comp gamers where even bothered to make it worth while . as a none halo gamer but a space navel gamer  , I was never even tempted (plus I prefer a game to have 4 clear factions min )   its odd that the halo stuff its not motioned in the statement ?
They wouldn't have mentioned Halo because they were just licensing the IP and they probably have no control over anything that happens to it.  They probably also, likely thanks to lawyers, did not want to even imply there was any problems at all with the HALO IP.  Such as having someone search for HALO and seeing a business closing notice and think the HALO IP is dying.

There is a very good chance the HALO IP hurt them.  It was a gamble because the IP has a lot of potential value but capitalizing on that value is a big unknown.  The biggest issue there is that HALO used quite a bit of plastics and plastics have a very high start-up cost and need to move a lot of units before they pay for those up-front costs.  Until they sell X units they aren't actually making any money, they're just loosing less with each sale.  I don't know the costs exactly, but I've done some research on it previously and the mould production costs on things that size are probably in the $20k-50k range.  The main point though is that you have to move a lot of models before you've even paid off the moulds.  And if a retailer is selling the product for $40 there is a good chance Spartan gets about $10 of that (distributor marks up about 100% to $20, and retailer marks up 100% on top of that to hit $40).  And since they are made out of house, Spartan probably keeps about $5 and pays the person casting it $5.  But even at $10 per model and a $10k mould cost it takes 1000 models sold to even break even.

Which is of course why only really big companies tend to make much in plastic.  The production costs go down as well as the original mould design costs, but the machinery to even start that is a huge chunk of money too. 
Resin, and metal, have very low mould costs, but the cost of each casting is higher, so it is a lot more practical for low volume sales where you have fewer units to cover the start-up costs.

If it costs you $3 worth of resin to cast a model or $0.50 worth of plastic you can clearly see the savings, $2.50 per model cast.  But a $10k mould vs a $100 mould means you've got to sell 3960 models before you realize the savings.

But the other side of resin is that you can only go so big with a model before the cost really hurts you.  The cube-square law says that as you double in size (length x width) you've quadrupled the volume.  So a 2" by 0.5" ship might cost $1 in resign, but a 4"x1" ship costs $4 and 8"x2" model (like the ice maiden) would cost $16.  And while the Ice Maiden is a very large chunk of resin, it is not all that big by plastic model standards (see all of the plastic models for sale at a place like Walmart).  So you can see why the largest models in HALO are almost impossible to make in resin.


I would note that many of my numbers were made up just to illustrate the point, they are probably "in the general ballpark" based on the research I've done, but it should be clear from the numbers that even small changes would make a big difference in the final math.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2017, 11:04:58 am by erloas »

Fracas

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #58 on: August 31, 2017, 02:43:00 pm »
http://www.spartangames.co.uk/spartan-games-update

" Spartan Games – Update
Written by Spartan Games |
Spartan Games Closure – additional information
First, the Directors would like to start out with a sincere thank you for all the messages we have received expressing sadness at our closure.  It is good to hear that our games brought you enjoyment over the years.
Alongside a considerable number of messages of support we have received hundreds of emails with questions.  We have made a start at answering them individually but with no remaining staff, this is proving impossible.  We would therefore like to answer the most commonly asked questions here.
1.       Will I receive the items I ordered from your online store or pledged for in the Dystopian Wars Expansion Kickstarter project?
Alas, for the most part, the answer is no.  If you have received an email notifying you that goods were dispatched then they are on their way.  Deliveries can take up to two to three weeks in different parts of the world so they may simply not have reached you yet.
However, if your goods have not left our building yet, unfortunately they can’t be sent.  We were committed to shipping everything that was in stock and ready to put skeleton staff in place to do so.  Unfortunately our accounts have been frozen so we have no way of paying for shipping charges and our landlords require the return of the premises.  We discussed this at length today with our advisors and although we explored lots of options, because we know customers have offered to cover postage and even collect goods, unfortunately we couldn’t find a way to make this work.
2.       Will stock that is remaining be available for sale?
There is a possibility that it will, although there is limited final product.  There are still details to be worked out but we are building a list of email addresses for those who might be interested in purchasing whatever items of products stock we have available.  This will include items built for the Kickstarter project.  We wish we could send them to you but, as explained above, this won’t be possible due to circumstances beyond our control.  If you want to be added to the mailing list, please send an email, if you have not already done so, to spartangames@mail.com with STOCK in the subject line.
3.       Who is handling the closure of the company?
This appointment is in progress but it takes time to follow the required procedures.  We will advise who this is once the process is complete.
4.       Has there been interest in the purchase of assets such as the product lines?
Yes, considerable interest and we are following up on this with our advisors.  Parties wishing to purchase assets should email spartangames@mail.com and their email will be acknowledged and their details passed on.
5.       Are you answering emails?
As explained here and in previous statements, staff have been made redundant so we have very limited resources to handle emails.  We are working through the hundreds we have received.  If the emails are about orders, we will not unfortunately, be able to acknowledge them individually and hope this statement explains the status.  If they are about individual stock purchases, we will add email address to the mailing list we are building.  If they are about purchase of assets, we will acknowledge and pass on the details.  If they are about anything else, we will answer where possible.  Other email addresses are no longer being monitored and will cease to exist in the coming days and weeks.
Again we would like to express our regret at the impact this closure has had on staff, customers and other trading partners.  We are doing all we can to minimise the impact and to do the best that we can under the circumstances.  Please bear with us and thank you again for your support at this difficult time."
Firestorm: Aquan, Directorate, Retholza, Hawker (FsA)/ Terran (FsPf), RSN (FsA)/ Dindrenzi (FsPf)
DW: EotBS, FSA, PLC.
Warmaster: Kislev, Khemri, Dwarves,
BFG: Pacification Fleet (IN), Tau Expeditionary (SG), Battlefleet (Chaos), Kher-Ys Corsairs, Crusade Fleet (IN),
LotR: Khand, Gondor, Mordor

Landlubber

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Re: SPARTAN CLOSING
« Reply #59 on: September 01, 2017, 11:41:40 am »
I never got the email, so I guess I'm never seeing those models. Ah well. Sucks, but there are worse things in life, and my pledge wasn't too big. Plus it's not like I don't have a ton of RoF and FSA models that still need painting.

I have a feeling that DW and Firestorm models will be easier to find in the long run than anything from the Halo games, so I have hope that I may be able to pick some of them up later.
"Sometimes, you gotta roll the hard six."--Commander Adama