Flashback Overlays: Intellivision Productions & Psycho Stormtrooper

[Eric7100]

Completely and utterly untrue. I think it's comments like that this that have mostly gotten me frustrated with many of you. You're taking selected anecdotes and making an entire case out of them.

 

Should I have said that shipping notifications and product arrivals for December 1st orders are mostly happening after disputes have been filed by Keith's customers?

[Hyperboy]

Option #3 with an 11 day delay between shipping label being printed and actually getting into the system. According to my tracking they will arrive Tuesday (PO is closed on Monday for holiday). I ordered x4 on 12/1. I sent a total of 4 emails and filed a PayPal dispute. 2 emails were answered only after dispute was filed.

 

This is my story and names were not changed to protect random porn stars.

[SoulBlazer]

 

 

People had actually begun to discuss the overlays themselves at one point. I for one was curious what people thought about the quality etc, but those posts have long since been drowned out.

 

I would love to talk about the overlays....it's a little hard to talk about something I don't have, though.

 

Rest assured that when I finally do get my order I'll be glad to share my thoughts on them. And I'm encouraged also by the good things people have said about them. I'm sure this will be worth the wait.

[freewheel]

 

Should I have said that shipping notifications and product arrivals for December 1st orders are mostly happening after disputes have been filed by Keith's customers?

 

I still don't see much evidence of that. What I do see is at least a dozen people in early-mid January saying "I received mine", some of which were ordered on Dec 1st, others who didn't specify - followed each and every time with several posts of "but I didn't get mine yet!", which kinda drowns out any positive news here. We then see 3-4 people who filed payment disputes, some of whom then got a shipping notification, and at least one who never heard anything afterwards. And a lot of "Ah-ha! Filing a dispute is the only possible way to make this work!", which I think is just a tad premature given the small sample set.

 

Unfortunately with 1000+ orders, we have basically zero to go on in terms of actual numbers here. The other 900+ people who don't post in this thread haven't shared.

 

At the end of the day I still stand by what I've said all along:

 

1. The IPI website broke, CATASTROPHICALLY.

 

2. It sure looks like some orders got lost as a result. Sorting this out will take time. A lot more time than many people here believe to be reasonable. Yes, that could mean months, even if you've never experienced this sort of delay in your life before. And yes, unfortunately that means that some orders will be sent out of order, no matter how "fair" that seems. This is how every single business operates, believe it or not. It's especially noticeable with one-man or otherwise very small operations. They are not going to hold up hundreds of orders just to sort out a dozen fuck ups.

 

3. The majority of orders seem to be going out, albeit very delayed (they didn't even start shipping until late December!).

 

4. The very vocal people here have made the entire thing seem way worse than it is. Yes, some people didn't get their overlays, period. Others had to file payment disputes which may have triggered action on Keith's part (although to what extent this works is unclear, as we have others who have filed disputes with zero response, and still others who never filed a dispute but then started seeing action around the same time). But most orders seem to have been sent - much later than we'd expect in this day and age. Weeks, approaching months now.

 

5. Keith's customer service leaves something to be desired. (I'm pretty sure that is not quite STFU, but tomato, tomato).

Edited February 16, 2015 by freeweed

[+thegoldenband]

Unfortunately with 1000+ orders, we have basically zero to go on in terms of actual numbers here. The other 900+ people who don't post in this thread haven't shared.

I think the regular posters to the Intellivision boards here make for a reasonable sample size, no? You don't need 50% of the data set to take its temperature, let alone 90%. The only caveat would be a relatively high number of early buyers, which probably would have impact.

 

5. Keith's customer service leaves something to be desired. (I'm pretty sure that is not quite STFU, but tomato, tomato).

Heh, fair enough, though my faux-quote of "STFU" was directed at something else (actively trying to discourage people who had negative experiences from posting). But like I said your levity seems sincere, so no rotten tomatoes are gettin' thrown here.

[+cmart604]

 

I still don't see much evidence of that. What I do see is at least a dozen people in early-mid January saying "I received mine", some of which were ordered on Dec 1st, others who didn't specify - followed each and every time with several posts of "but I didn't get mine yet!", which kinda drowns out any positive news here. We then see 3-4 people who filed payment disputes, some of whom then got a shipping notification, and at least one who never heard anything afterwards. And a lot of "Ah-ha! Filing a dispute is the only possible way to make this work!", which I think is just a tad premature given the small sample set.

 

Unfortunately with 1000+ orders, we have basically zero to go on in terms of actual numbers here. The other 900+ people who don't post in this thread haven't shared.

 

At the end of the day I still stand by what I've said all along:

 

1. The IPI website broke, CATASTROPHICALLY.

 

2. It sure looks like some orders got lost as a result. Sorting this out will take time. A lot more time than many people here believe to be reasonable. Yes, that could mean months, even if you've never experienced this sort of delay in your life before. And yes, unfortunately that means that some orders will be sent out of order, no matter how "fair" that seems. This is how every single business operates, believe it or not. It's especially noticeable with one-man or otherwise very small operations. They are not going to hold up hundreds of orders just to sort out a dozen fuck ups.

 

3. The majority of orders seem to be going out, albeit very delayed (they didn't even start shipping until late December!).

 

4. The very vocal people here have made the entire thing seem way worse than it is. Yes, some people didn't get their overlays, period. Others had to file payment disputes which may have triggered action on Keith's part (although to what extent this works is unclear, as we have others who have filed disputes with zero response, and still others who never filed a dispute but then started seeing action around the same time). But most orders seem to have been sent - much later than we'd expect in this day and age. Weeks, approaching months now.

 

5. Keith's customer service leaves something to be desired. (I'm pretty sure that is not quite STFU, but tomato, tomato).

Since I don't feel like rereading all 35 pages, (and I have read every post so far) , I'm curious as to the number of folks who haven't received theirs yet, did they all order on Dec 1st? Or at least the majority of them? I'm convinced that the bulk of the screwed up orders, whatever that number might be, happened to be ones placed Dec 1st when the website shat itself, as Freeweed has said. I could see that my order was mixing my info with others that had ordered and I bailed, and ordered a couple of days later, and I received mine just fine. Bring on the poll I say!

 

I also feel this has the makings of a Root Beer Tapper type of game. Just sayin.

[freewheel]

Heh, fair enough, though my faux-quote of "STFU" was directed at something else (actively trying to discourage people who had negative experiences from posting). But like I said your levity seems sincere, so no rotten tomatoes are gettin' thrown here.

 

Actually, if we're going down this path - my levity is actually puzzlement:

 

When I look at the homebrew scene here, what I see is a community of enthusiasts and basically micro-businesses (not trying to diminish the scale of what Elektronite has become, no pitchforks please William!). Which to me says that delays, cancelled orders, lack of communication, all of that - that is the NORM. It's a bunch of guys with day jobs running things out of their basement, in their spare time, on shoestring budgets. Accepting money for product that doesn't even exist in many cases. Trying madly to fulfill hundreds of orders all at once, for a very, VERY hungry audience. I see games that take YEARS to get released. I see the usual small business fuck-ups: things get lost in the mail and/or USPS damages packages, websites go up and down, orders go missing, people get double-charged, stuff gets forgotten, games get shipped with bugs (big and small), you name it, the problem happens.

 

So mostly I'm just kinda surprised at the level of vitriol here. I mean I'm not completely surprised, because I've seen at least one person go on a daily personal crusade to be "proven right" over what ended up being a lost-in-the-mail situation... but still. I guess people view Keith as Big Business so the tolerance for nonsense is lower?

Edited February 16, 2015 by freeweed

[Rev]

Eric7100, small suggestion -- do consolidate your replies into a single post, or edit your posts to include them in one. I don't agree with the way people have treated you in certain threads, but multiposting like that is a legitimate irritant.

 

 

Eric is going after the coveted Spammer Award of 2015! I have no chance of winning this year....

[freewheel]

I also feel this has the makings of a Root Beer Tapper type of game. Just sayin.

 

Waaaaay ahead of you, buddy I'm avoiding it for 3 reasons:

 

1. You kinda HAVE to use Keith's likeness, which I'm pretty sure he would not be amicable towards.

 

2. It would be hard to not come off as making fun of people with legitimate complaints.

 

3. I'm scared about trying to publish a game given the narrow margin for shipping mistakes allowed. Although the ironing would be delicious...

 

Maybe in a few months when cooler heads have prevailed on all sides.

[Rev]

If Eric can spam this thread, then SO CAN ME!

 

 

 

[+Lathe26]

For what it is worth, I ...

• ... placed an order on Dec 1st, before the website crashed.
• ... received a few but not all of the emails sent by Intellivision Productions.
• ... have not sent any emails to Intellivision Productions (saw no need).
• ... have not complained here (only posted minor status updates).
• ... just had mine shipped a couple days ago (moving from city to city).

Just sharing to show a positive experience with Intellivision Productions (once it is taken into consideration that their website crashed on the busiest shopping day of they year and that their staff got stretched thin with way more orders than they expected).

[mr_intv]

I got worked up a few days ago but then I made a BLT sandwhich....oh who am I kidding.... There was no LT just a whole lotta Bacon! And then I felt much better. I will not be asking for a refund or submitting a PayPal claim. I have though agreed to purchase some overlays from a fellow member in the mean time. When my overlays from IP do arrive they will Be included in an upcoming giveaway contest. If they don't ever show up, maybe I'll just pretend I gave them away instead. I'm moving on from this, I mr_intv, have decided to give Keith the oportunity to let this mess work itself out. Now to focus on the fantastic releases of 2014/2015, it's time for some Kroz.....

Edited February 16, 2015 by mr_intv

[+thegoldenband]

So mostly I'm just kinda surprised at the level of vitriol here. I mean I'm not completely surprised, because I've seen at least one person go on a daily personal crusade to be "proven right" over what ended up being a lost-in-the-mail situation... but still. I guess people view Keith as Big Business so the tolerance for nonsense is lower?

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me (and I'm guessing for many others) it's all about the lack of communication.

 

There's a Vectrex game I've had on pre-order for something like 3 years now, which in truth is a little ridiculous -- but whenever I email the guy to check in, he always replies within a day. I don't (and never did) give two shits about getting my IP order 14 months late -- it happens, and other than the mug I wasn't expecting to "use" anything in there anyway.

 

But getting it 14 months late with zero communication, after my money had already been taken, was infuriating. Honestly, even empty excuses would've been better than silence.

 

When you repeatedly ignore someone's emails, phone calls, etc., it reads as disrespect, or even contempt. One of the most fundamental things in human interaction is acknowledging that the other person exists, right? So if you take someone's money and then treat them like a non-person, it's hardly a surprise that it pushes their buttons. Most people have had that experience in their daily lives, or something like it -- the other person disappears as soon as they get what they want -- and it usually means they've been used, cheated, or otherwise made a fool of.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

If Eric can spam this thread, then SO CAN ME!

 

 

 

intellivision flapee bird box - Copy.png

Is there a 'snowball' level?

[freewheel]

Yup, I get that, and 14 months? I'd be right there with you.

 

Where the line got a bit fuzzy for me was people getting upset about "I emailed him yesterday and still no response, this is horrible customer service!". Let's just say it really gave me pause to the thought of self-publishing here. I'm gonna take a vacation from time to time (never mind Real Life TM interfering occasionally) and to get flack for taking a few days to respond to an email over something as trivial as a video game hobby? Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it's just me.

 

And what I still can't figure out is WHY Keith seems to communicate so well to so many of us, and yet some seem to get completely ignored. Hell, if you read this thread, he was CALLING people at one point. Quite a lot of us (no idea of percentages mind you) at least received the generic "hey, things are delayed, sorry, we're working on it" emails - and some didn't. And those that didn't - really seemed to take it personally. I still think it's likely that he's either lost some email addresses, or even more likely that some spam-esque filtering somewhere is gobbling up certain people's emails. But no, I (and others) get attacked for defending the most corrupt businessman ever for even suggesting that.

 

As someone else suggested early on in this saga, never attribute to malice that which can be better explained by incompetence. I find it pretty hard to believe that Keith is giving the middle finger to a select group of people here, but that sure does seem to be how some are taking it. I just don't see it as such a personal thing. People are human and fuck up. *shrug*

[freewheel]

If Eric can spam this thread, then SO CAN ME!

 

 

 

intellivision flapee bird box - Copy.png

 

I JUST noticed the filename here. ROFL!

[Rev]

 

I JUST noticed the filename here. ROFL!

 

Obviously, 50 Shades of Eric and Keith is coming soon by Collectorvision! You cracked the code,

[+JasonlikesINTV]

FWIW, I ordered on December 2nd. I intentionally delayed my order after hearing of the initial people who were getting their info mixed up. After Keith mentioned that the site was repaired/replaced I placed my order. Here's my timeline:

 

12/02 Order placed. Immediate confirmation from both PayPal and IP.

 

12/23 Received generic email from IP including this statement: "...we completely re-built our webstore, in the middle of that night! So all orders placed December 2 and beyond were in our new/current webstore, which we promise is glitch-free. Rest assured, however, that we have all the December 1 orders intact and you will receive your merchandise."

 

01/07 Received two shipping confirmation emails from IP, one of which included tracking.

 

01/08 Shipping label created (Hermosa Beach, CA)

 

01/09 Arrival in Santa Monica, CA

 

01/12 Delivered (Delivered items correctly matched packing list)

[pimpmaul69]

 

If the restaurant personnel had specifically told me (or another customer) that they serve food in the order that food orders are received, then I would expect that statement to NOT be a blatant lie.

i tried to give you a means to be happy and satisfied but im not sure if you ever will be.

 

I have had my share of problems with these orders too, but i dont ever want to get so worked up that i give myself a heart attack. Sometimes people need to step back, take a deep breath, and realize the world didnt come crashing down. If everything went to shit tomorrow how would people react? People spend too much time panicking about the small stuff. If you do that how do you react when something truly bad happens? Hakuna matata.

[+MattelAquarius]

Hakuna matata? Ain't that just a passing craze? What does it mean?

[+LS650]

I'm enjoying reading all the negative complaints, actually; it comforts me to know I'm not alone...

 

[+thegoldenband]

As someone else suggested early on in this saga, never attribute to malice that which can be better explained by incompetence. I find it pretty hard to believe that Keith is giving the middle finger to a select group of people here, but that sure does seem to be how some are taking it. I just don't see it as such a personal thing. People are human and fuck up. *shrug*

 

There's a third category besides malice and incompetence, though: lack of effort. You might brand that a form of incompetence, but I think there's a difference between something getting messed up and someone just not bothering to get the job done.

 

Maybe it's just the lens of my own experience, but I seriously wonder if someone at IP has a personal issue which makes them reliable 75% of the time, and a complete shitshow 25% of the time. I know people like that IRL, and they confuse the hell out of others because 75% of their colleagues or customers say "He's great!" and the other 25% say "Are you kidding? He was the biggest disaster that ever happened to us!" At my old job, I once convinced my boss to hire a friend as a sub, a guy whom I knew to be terrific in the field...but I didn't know then that he was an alcoholic. Suffice it to say his job performance was in the 25% category. Not good for me, him, or anyone.

 

BTW I don't really buy the idea that we should lighten up because it's video games -- as if there's something faintly embarrassing about video games? But the hobby is no more trivial than any hobby, or any form of media, or anything really that isn't lifesaving surgical equipment or medication.

 

Lightening up because it's a small sum of money, sure, that I can buy. But I doubt most of us are absolutely flush with cash. Speaking for myself, $15 isn't so small an amount that I could shrug it off without a second thought; $50 certainly wasn't.

[pimpmaul69]

Hakuna matata? Ain't that just a passing craze? What does it mean?

it is swahili for "no problems at all"

[MTLGUY]

I orderd mine on December 9th and nothing yet. Quite a long wait to be mailed something. I understand they had more orders than planned, but are they working like 10 minutes a day on them?

Only got 2 generic emails, last one on January 13th about shipping overlays now...

[freewheel]

 

Obviously, 50 Shades of Eric and Keith is coming soon by Collectorvision! You cracked the code,

 

YOU MADE ME DO IT, YOU MANIAC!

 

Apologies in advance. This is a quick 2 hour hack job based on an old experiment, so it has a bunch of untested, extra code that I'm not 100% sure won't affect the core gameplay. Hopefully it plays well enough for its purpose. Also, I HIGHLY recommend the Intellivoice for it (-v1 option in jzintv).

 

ERIC and KEITH used without license. Whoever gets to the highest rank first (with screenshot to prove it) gets copy #1 of the CIB release, free, when it comes out later this year.

50shades.rom