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Showing posts with label far west. Show all posts
Showing posts with label far west. Show all posts

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Far West RPG Releases Nearly 12 Years After Promised Release Date

I will give credit where credit is due. Gareth Skarka, nearly 12 years after the promised delivery date, has finally released Far West - in PDF. Don't hold your breath for print copies any time soon. 

Years ago, when Gareth felt he was being unfairly forced to offer refunds, refunds for print books were offered at full price less 10 bucks - as that was the assumed price of the PDF. Instead, Far West is currently on sale for 29.95 at DTRPG for a 278-page PDF. I can't speak for the gaming content, as I haven't read it yet and likely won't get to it for a while (after 12 years, what's the actual rush, right?), but I will offer some samples of the included art - art that was likely paid for by individual backers, like myself (59 of us), to be included in the book. You be the judge of whether or not THESE specific backers got / will get, their money's worth.




Tonight on Gamers' Health, Rach & I have a Special Guest, Author Daniel Hand. Daniel recently released Role-Playing Games in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner's Guide. Needless to say, Rach is taking the lead tonight 😉

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Friday, April 14, 2023

Far West - Another 5 Months of Silence From The Most Skilled Avoider in Gaming

Far West. Infamous for lack of any sort of, well, anything. The forums are gone, and the Discord Server has an invite link that only lasted 7 days. You CAN set a Discord link to NOT expire, but it's obvious Gareth doesn't REALLY want to interact with his Kickstarter backers that he's been fucking over for over 11 years.

As of today, it's been over 5 months since the last Far West Kickstarter update, which is the ONLY way Gareth can actually be sure he's communicating with his backers.


We don't care about the fiction. Your backers want what they paid for back in 2011.

Gareth has redefined what a failure at Kickstarter truly is.

How many missed completion dates? You can check here: https://www.mutedhorn.net/far-west-delivery-estimates


But at least Gareth has time to tweet. Imagine if all those tweets over the last 11 years were put into book form. I'd guess they'd dwarf Far West in whatever size it theoretically releases in.


Of course, now he can blame Eric Trautmann for its further delay...



The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar


Monday, January 2, 2023

What is 11 Years Late and Likely the Most Infamous Failure in RPG Kickstarters?

 


Gareth! Tweet harder my man! 

On December 31st, 2022, the Far West RPG was OFFICIALLY 11 years late. 11 years of lies and broken promises.

Of course, now Gareth is passing the blame for the - yet again - missed release date on his partner, Eric Trautmann.

I must say, when you can make Ken "Whit" Whitman look like an honest businessman, you've leveled up to unheard-of levels. Well done, Gareth. Well done!



The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  


Thursday, December 1, 2022

Far West - 11 Years and Counting - Why Bother Caring?

I'm just going to put this here:


This makes me read things like the following with a pound of salt:



The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  


Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Wayward Kickstarter - Far West - BACKER UPDATE - Finished Manuscript within a Month or so - So Gareth Says!

 Well, Gareth has made promises before, so let me just add the following:


Sure, it's a "Backers Only Update", but after more than a decade of excuses and delays, I'm not sure how many backers actually care at the moment. Here's today's update, sans Dropbox link (I'll look over the linked material later):

Greetings, Backers --

I have some excellent news for you all.  I've spoken to my partner, Eric Trautmann, who informs me that the layout of FAR WEST will be completed within the next month or so!  We are so close to delivering the PDF!

Your incredible patience has made this all possible, and I cannot begin to thank you enough.

It occurred to me as I was preparing to send you this news that I hadn't yet sent you the complete manuscript, from beginning to end.  You'd seen bits and pieces of it, but not the whole thing.  So, without further ado, I present the following to you -- PDFs of the entire manuscript, from the Front Matter to the Open Game License that closes the rulebook.

No link for you - if a backer, look for today's update

Another piece of news for you:  As you know, our Far West society forums on the website were the victim of an attack, which corrupted several critical files, and ended up with us losing the entire forum.  Well, I have now replaced that forum with a dedicated Discord server -- and, as a thank you for your support and unbelievable patience with us, every backer of this Kickstarter is being given a lifetime membership to the Far West Society, and access to the Discord, where you can ask questions, make suggestions, and generally converse with your fellow members.  The invite is here:

No link for you. If you are a backer, look for today's update.

Society members receive special offers on Far West products, including exclusive merchandise not offered for sale to the public. The Society receives access to a private members-only Discord server, where they have direct access to the Far West Core Development Team, as well as early access to information and material before it is released via the main site.

Most importantly, however, the Far West Society has the ability to add material to the official Far West canon, and to directly influence the outcome of events within the setting. Society members can propose new characters, locations, organizations, events and more, and those proposals are discussed and collaborated upon by their fellow members. The proposals are honed to razor-sharpness by the community, and incorporated by the Core Development Team into the official setting!

We look forward to talking with you all on the official Discord!

That's all for now.  Talk to you again soon, when we sent you the final PDF of the game!

Sincerely,

Gareth-Michael Skarka

Adamant Entertainment

13 September, 2022.


Don't forget to subscribe to the Tenkar's Tavern Youtube Channel to ensure you don't miss an episode. https://www.youtube.com/c/TenkarsTavern

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar 

 

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Far West Kickstarter - Is This an Actual Update from Gareth?

On Twitter, of course. The real question is, will it release under 11 years late? 




The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on YouTube.

Monday, May 2, 2022

Weird Frontiers RPG 50% off the PDF for Backers of the Far West Fiasco

David Baity (creator of the Weird Frontiers RPG) is offering a special deal for the backers of the Far West RPG Kickstarter, which is over 10 years late as I type this.

From David:

I’m a big fan of Tenkar’s Tavern, and one of the things I love about this guy is that he keeps up with those that don’t follow through on their KS campaigns. 

While I’m a year late on my own, the book has doubled in size and has quite a lot of additional products involved and Weird Frontiers is about to reach the fulfillment stage, so I thought it would be nice to offer Far West backers a deal on the PDF just in case you still have an itch for something weird and western! For 72 hours you can use the link to snag 50% off the PDF!

I'm putting the discount link on a Far West Kickstarter Backers Only Update, so make sure you are logged into Kickstarter to get the discount link.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern. 

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on AnchorYouTubeor wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

Monday, February 7, 2022

Far West Kickstarter - An ACTUAL Update From Feb 1, 2022 - More Promises

Now, it should be noted that Gareth was informed of the Far West Forums being offline from one of The Tavern's readers. Never let it be said that we don't care. I'd have notified Gareth myself via the only medium he communicates via - Twitter - but he has me blocked. Ah well.

Now, on to the update:

Gareth-Michael SkarkaCreator

February 1, 2022

Greetings, All -- 

Several updates in this email, and we're busy as a cow’s tail in fly time, so I'll get right to it:

1) The manuscript has been handed off to Eric Trautmann (my business partner, formerly of West End Games) who is well underway on the layout, and should be done soon.

2) All additional spot illustrations requested by Eric have been delivered to him.  You can see one of them here, illustrating the "Artist" skill (in this case, a musician):

3) Once complete, we'll be delivering the PDF to you.  While layout is underway, meanwhile, I am conducting reviews of US-based printing companies, checking on prices, scheduling, and quality -- the pandemic-related supply chain issues, as you may have heard, have made overseas printing problematic.  Shipping from printers in China, for example, can take as long as 18 months or more.  So US-based it will be.  I'd rather not go the print-on-demand route, so I'm looking at offset printers -- -the costs will be higher, but, to be honest, this project is already a money-losing operation, so that's not a massive concern (but I would obviously like to keep it reasonable).

4) To that end, before physical delivery, I will be asking you all to email me directly with your present address.  Obviously, since this project has taken so long, there will be many of you who have changed your residence.  I will make an announcement of when I need that info.

5) We have been the victim of some malicious bastards who decided to mess around with our websites -- last week, backer John Fiala notified me that the forum on the FAR WEST website was spitting back fatal errors.  I hadn't touched anything on the site in over a month.  When digging, I discovered that somehow, the entire database for the forum had been removed.

Today, I discovered that the Adamant Entertainment website had been vandalized.  Somehow, somebody had managed to gain access to the admin account.  Luckily, I had a "back door" account set up (in the event that I ever forgot my login info, etc.) -- so I used it to gain access to the site and I deleted the offending account before it could do more damage.  UN-luckily, that account was the genuine admin account, so literally every post and page created by the account was deleted as well.  POOF.  The entire site is now empty.  

I have changed all of our login info, passwords, etc., on every site, and increased our security.  The amount of work that is currently staring me in the face is formidable -- so much so that I'm considering just starting from scratch on the Adamant site, and foregoing a forum entirely on the FAR WEST site (in favor of a dedicated Discord channel).  We'll see.

I know that the ridiculous amount of time this project has taken has made me some enemies out there, but still -- this has really been a gut-punch.

Anyway -- that's it for today.  Back to work.  I hope that you and yours are staying safe and healthy in these most peculiar times.

Gareth-Michael Skarka

Lawrence, Kansas

1 February, 2022

Before this fiasco known as Far West, I used to be a supporter of Adamant Entertainment. I literally couldn't give two fucks about Gareth politics, as he put out a crapton of good product. At some point, that morphed into producing no product and spewing politics non-stop on Twitter. It seems, for some, social media literally is a curse.


The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support 

The Tavern.  

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on AnchorYouTube

or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. 


Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Far West Forums are now Dead - So, Where Do We Get Our Promised Updates Now, Gareth?


And so it was, in the month of January, in the year of our Lord 2022, that the Far West Forums went offline. Our savior, Gareth Skarka, had promised over the last few years that the forums would be his salvation from the toxic comments on the Far West Kickstarter page. Now, even this latest promise is dead - From the History of the Failed Far West RPG - Iconic for a Failed Success

I'm guessing we are being set up for yet ANOTHER failed delivery date in five days.

Gareth is nothing id no dependable in his unreliability.

But hey, the twit is still on Twitter. Nothing about Far West though...



The Tavern
 is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support 
The Tavern.  

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on AnchorYouTube
or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.

Friday, January 7, 2022

Far West Kickstarter - Promised to Deliver SOMETHING Prior to the End of 2021 - "Delayed" Again

Gareth is, if nothing else, reliable in his unreliableness.

2021 was going to be the year, and Gareth was promising Far West, in whatever form it was, by the end of 2021.

So, guess what happened before the end of 2021?

Announced at, of all places, Gareth's "safe space", Twitter.

Promises from Gareth are as valuable as Iraqi dollars. They are a curiosity at most. Worthless for all purposes.

Looking for a list of ALL 77 missed Far West Completion Dates?

https://www.mutedhorn.net/far-west-delivery-estimates



Sunday, April 18, 2021

I Missed a Far West Kickstarter Fiasco Update in February 2021!

Holy fucken shitballs! I had nearly given up on updates on the Far West Kickstarter. Of course, the Kickstarter itself hasn't seen an update since July 15th, 2019. That's sneaking up on two years. At this point, Gareth has CLEARLY qualified himself for a VP position over at Kickstarter with his amazing history of responsibility, timeliness, and truthfulness. I'm sure if he reached out to Luke Crane he could get a few pointers.

So, what actually does Gareth say in the update buried on his Far West website? (note, my commentary is in Orange - Tenkar)

Here we are in 2021.

Ten years. A decade. The original FAR WEST Kickstarter was in 2011. Ten years is a long goddamn time to ask people to wait, I know. (I don't recall being asked, but whatever)

It’s been the hardest decade of my life (its been a hell of a decade for possibly everyone). Professional (challenges like keeping your pen names straight) and personal challenges, like I’d never experienced before. Physical and mental heath crises requiring damn near all of my focus and attention (well, and Twitter. Twitter has consumed nearly ALL of your focus for the last 10 years). The work on FAR WEST definitely suffered   (I doubt much work on Far West actually happened over the past 10 years) You know it. I know it. 

Honestly, I’m all out of apologies. (Apologies need to be meant to have value. I have heard no apologies of value)

2021 is the year where FAR WEST finally gets released. (where have I heard THIS before?) I have not abandoned the project (I have not yet begun to fight! wait, wrong quote). I am finishing it up (where have I heard THAT before) (currently adding some things, suggested by my editors, to various parts of the manuscript, mostly in the final chapter (the Narrator’s chapter). My business partner, Eric Trautmann, has begun layout of the completed chapters. Things are proceeding (if by proceeding, you mean nothing of value has been happening, then yes, things are proceeding). PDFs will go out first to the long-suffering Kickstarter backers, and then will be released commercially, followed by the printed book (again, to backers first, and then wide). (there is NO WAY printed books are happening, not unless the PDF sales are huge. The money is long gone. Gareth has said so)

We will release this year– delays, disasters, pandemics or societal collapse be damned. (somehow, I doubt this statement. No. Really. Is that bad of me, to NOT take Gareth, the icon of honesty, truthfulness, and honor in the gaming industry at his word?)

Home is on the horizon (What, we're not in Kansas anymore?). We’re racing the sunset, but we’re gonna get there.

謝謝你的好意

Gareth-Michael Skarka

Lawrence, Kansas

22 February, 2021

I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth. 

Then we had some comments, and Gareth replied:

Chad S. says:

February 25, 2021 at 11:24 am

Will you commit to releasing the pdf to backers, in whatever state of completion it may happen to be, before the end of 2021?

admin says:

February 25, 2021 at 11:26 am

Yes, without hesitation. (even if that state is Nothing Completed)


Darq says:

March 14, 2021 at 10:54 am

And the long suffering Pre-Orderers who didn’t have the benefit of all the secret “backer only” communications and releases, I hope! (wait! There were Pre-Orders on top of the Kickstarter backers? How much money did Gareth take in on this shell game?)

admin says:

March 14, 2021 at 4:56 pm

That’s one of the reasons why I’ve moved all updates to this site and our social media accounts. (the main reason was inability to remove negative comments from the Kickstarter page)


Michael says:

March 17, 2021 at 11:08 pm

Would those be the social media accounts you blocked people on when they asked once every 4 years for an update? (see? EVERYONE knows the reason)

admin says:

March 18, 2021 at 12:14 pm

Nobody has ever been blocked for asking for updates. Several people have been blocked for being rude jerks. (me love you long time. Feel free to attempt to "punch Tenkar in the throat" big man)


 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar


Monday, October 26, 2020

Gareth Sharka tells Dying Man that Far West is Expected to Deliver by the End of This Year

 


I have no idea how I missed this back in September. 

Oh wait, that's right. All Far West updates are via a forum for which new sign-ups are broken and Gareth never posts on.

Until now.

Here's the direct link to the thread in the Far West Forums

Darq has been asking about progress on Far West since 2014. I hope and pray Darq doesn't truly have a terminal illness, but if he does and Gareth has made yet another promise he can't keep it will be a new low, even for him.

I'm at a loss for words.


Sunday, September 13, 2020

Gareth Sharka Releases - Star System: Every Star A Destination - Still No Far West update over 12 Months Later



 Ah, sweet, sweet Gareth. No time to work on Far West. Time, however, to work on and release Star System: Every Star A Destination. 24.99 for PDF, 24.99 in Print, 24.99 in Print plus PDF.

BACK INTO THE BLACK...

The writers and editors behind some of your favorite releases for the greatest space-fantasy RPG of all time return to the D6 System!

Former West End Games Star Wars Creative Director Eric S. Trautmann assembles an all-star bullpen of veteran D6 System writers, including:

Bill Smith (Line Editor, The Star Wars Roleplaying Game.)

Peter Schweighofer (Editor, The Star Wars Adventure Journal.)

Timothy S. O'Brien (Pirates & Privateers.)

Drew Campbell (Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids.)

Gareth-Michael Skarka (D6 Space: Ships.)

Michael Kogge (Star Wars Adventure Journal.)

Wayne Humfleet (Heroes & Rogues.)

...together again to bring you an anthology of eight brand-new D6 System-compatible space-fantasy adventures.  Each scenario is ready to be dropped into any existing campaign, or used to launch a new one!

Visit scenic Tekazzil, home to a royal society that views laws as optional and profit as king; slog through alien jungles in search of an ancient artifact... and the lunatic who hopes to find it first; battle octopoid pirates above the gas giant Arx; try to survive an ancient ghost ship trapped in a ruined sector of space; witness the fearsome might and utter horror of a planet of bureaucrats; avoid being caught in the fatal crossfire between vicious university academics; battle for survival against a brutal race, long believed to be extinct; and join a rag-tag fleet of xenoecologists as they attempt to preserve a pod of galactic leviathans...

The galaxy is vast and unforgiving... especially on the edges of known space.  Out there, a willingness to risk it all can be the key to survival. Every flight means danger, every landing field, starport, or orbital base can be the line between life and death.

EVERY STAR A DESTINATION

PDF and Print Edition are the same price -- and if you order the Print Edition, you get the PDF for FREE! Included with the PDF are a set of bonus files with all of the handouts, references and templates, ready to print.

This adventure anthology is the first of Adamant Entertainment's new line, STAR SYSTEM, a series of epic space-fantasy releases intended for use with any game using the classic D6 System. Follow Adamant on Twitter (@adamantent) to stay informed about new releases! (but not Far West. Never Far West)


 

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Thursday, September 3, 2020

Gareth Skarka gives a Big F-You to his Far West Backers


Ah, Gareth. To know you is to seriously dislike you. Far West funded just over 9 years ago. 9 fucking years. In 4 short months, Far West will be 9 years late. No update in over a year. A forum that you can't register on. You make Conman Ken look like a Far West preacher.

So, what do we get to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the funding of Far West? A new scheme from Garth. Details are light, but I took some screenshots of the gif Gareth Shared on Facebook.

Make of it what you will, but its certainly a "Fuck You!" to backers of the Far West Kickstarter. BTW, Gareth, if you are still looking to "punch me in the throat", aim for the left side. That carotid artery is completely occluded. You might actually do me a favor ;) 



 
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OSR Humble Bundle for as little as a buck!

Friday, July 17, 2020

Far West - Obligatory Annual Update on Gareth the Hut



On July, 15th, Gareth Skarka made the following update on the Far West Kickstarter (funded way back in 2011 - note, my commentary will be in ORANGE)
For those of you that haven't seen this already via social media, the following update appears on my personal blog and the FAR WEST website (not Twitter? I'm surprised):

I've been quiet recently, I know. (but not on Twitter. NEVER quiet on Twitter. If only Far West could be written 256 characters at a time)
First things first:  Far West is NOT dead (please, bring out your dead). I only have one chapter remaining to assemble from the earlier drafts (and I have this bridge in Brooklyn to sell really cheap).  Things are moving slowly, and I figure that I owed you an explanation. (I think we are owed a new explanation)
It's no secret that among the many trials and tribulations that have plagued this project, my depression and anxiety have been at the forefront.  I have been my own worst enemy. (strangly enough, it hasn't stopped Gareth from working on other projects, which we'll detail below)
Well, a few months ago, my family convinced me to finally seek treatment. 
So I've done that. 
The initial stages of the process, where, among other things, we were trying to zero in on the right combination of prescriptions and correct dosages, made it very difficult to get anything done.  I just couldn't focus on anything other than my mental health. 
Now that we are further along, and I've begun to feel the effects, I'm coming back into myself, in a way.  And that includes finishing Far West. (so close, yet so far...)
So that's what I'm going to do. 
I appreciate the patience of so many people who have given far more than I could have ever asked. "Thank you" seems terribly inadequate, given the circumstances. (i think the last year you've given so many people a big FUCK YOU)
As a final administrative note:  All official updates will now appear on the Far West website (last update was THIS very update).  We have a forum there where I can be reached for questions. (last forum comment, not from Gareth was January 2 - Gareth's last was in 2015 - did i mention the forum hasnt taken new sign-ups in years?) The Kickstarter page will be used purely for delivery of texts, PDFs, etc. to backers. (so obviously the KS page hasn't been used)
Now, the home stretch.  Talk to you soon. (but only on Twitter)

Gareth-Michael Skarka
Lawrence, KS
July 15, 2019.
So, what else has Gareth written during the time frame he HASN'T completed Far West?

  • Axanar: Ships of the Four Years War for Squadron Strike! Troy, NY: Ad Astra Games, 2019.
  • Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game. Roseville, MN: Fantasy Flight Games, 2018.
  • Star Wars: Force and Destiny — Unlimited Power. Roseville, MN: Fantasy Flight Games, 2018.
  • Star Wars: Age of Rebellion — Cyphers And Masks. Roseville, MN: Fantasy Flight Games, 2018.
  • Star Trek Adventures: Beta Quadrant Sourcebook. London, UK: Modiphius Entertainment, 2018.
  • Star Trek Adventures: Core Rulebook. London, UK: Modiphius Entertainment, 2017.
  • Fiasco ’12: Fiasco Playset Anthology Vol 3. Chapel Hill, NC: Bully Pulpit Games, 2015.
  • Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Sourcebook. Oxford, UK: Cubicle 7 Entertainment, 2015.
  • Doctor Who: Adventures In Time And Space – Limited Edition Rulebook. Oxford, UK: Cubicle 7 Entertainment, 2014.
  • “Exit Visa”, Have Blaster Will Travel. Washington, NJ: Galileo Books, 2012
  • Defending The Earth: The UNIT Sourcebook. Oxford, UK: Cubicle 7 Entertainment, 2012.
  • Doctor Who: Adventures in Times and Space (Eleventh Doctor Edition). Oxford, UK: Cubicle 7 Entertainment, 2012.
Kind words said by those that weren't Far West backers:“[A] standout example […] of one of our newest professions: the e-book publisher.”

—The Associated Press. (Washington Post, December 2007)

“…a visionary in the electronic publishing field.”–Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Cubicle 7 Entertainment.

“A trail-blazer… an innovator… one of the inventors of ‘how it’s done’ in the ePublishing sector.”
–Sean Patrick Fannon, OneBookShelf, Inc.

“Gareth got the Inner Circle off of the ground and I couldn’t recommend a better person to take start-ups under his wing.”
–Jeffrey J. Visgaitis, The Inner Circle.

“A lot of publishers would benefit from [his] experience.”
–Steve Creech, DragonWing Games/Bastion Press.





Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Fucked Up Far West Kickstarter - You Can't Even Register on the Far West Forums and Gareth Won't Communicate via Kickstarter

Ah, Far West. I hardly know you after waiting over 8 fucking years. Yes, today is January 1st, 2020 and Far West is now over 8 years late. You really should listen to the video on the Kickstarter page. I just did. What promise. What a windbag of bullshit. Gareth is one of those creators that simply CAN'T CREATE when paid upfront. You need to pay folks like Gareth upon delivery. Few even remember the preorders on the Buckaroo Bonzai RPG (you might have expected Gareth to remove that page - I know I expected that) that predates Far West.

Now to put it simply, back in July Gareth told backers he was no longer going to use Kickstarter to communicate - it was simply going to be used to update material and such. If you wanted to talk about Far West, you would need to go to the Far West Forums, presumably so Gareth would be able to control the narrative and keep negative comments in check.

I figured after 5 1/2 months Kickstarter silence I'd register for the forums with a burner email and ask some questions. I mean, the forums are dead and even Gareth hasn't commented there in years. To my surprise, you can't even register for the forums, as you can see below:


I'm not sure if this is on purpose or not, but it is certainly "fucked up". It does keep negative comments on the forums side "in check" though.

Did I mention he's still Twittering?




Friday, October 25, 2019

Wayward Kickstarter - Far West - Where Art Thou, Gareth Shirker?

Well, the answer to the question possed above is fairly obvious: he's on Twitter tilting windmills. He certainly isn't doing much work on Far West. The last update on the Far West Kickstarter was from July 15th, 2019, where Gareth told us: "All official updates will now appear on the Far West website.  We have a forum there where I can be reached for questions.  The Kickstarter page will be used purely for the delivery of texts, PDFs, etc. to backers.  Now, the home stretch.  Talk to you soon."

So, in violation of Kickstarter's own rules, all updates will now be on a forum that Gareth controls. Which means Gareth gets to control who comments. You would assume there would be some kind of updates on the forum, let alone some comments from Gareth's loyal fans, right?


So, with the exception of a comment in the Far West Music section from September 13th of this year, we have to go back to December of 2018 for the last comment on Far West over on the Forum Side.

But he's alive and well on Twitter. If only Far West were political, he could write it 280 characters at a time.


Then there was this Twitter post from this January:

Actually, its $49,324 of other people's money that you spent already with NOTHING to show for it after nearly 8 years (inferred from the inability to refund backers monies when requested) that upsets folks like me.

Thus ends the obligatory Far West Fiasco update for October 26th, 2019.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Far West Update - Gareth Will NO Longer be Posting Updates on the Kickstarter Itself



First things first. I had about a half dozen PMs, emails and the like pointing me to the latest update by Gareth Skarka about the Far West Kickstarter - it just wasn't on the Kickstarter page itself. Why would it be? Why would Gareth want to actually be respectful to the backers of his now seven and a half fucking years late Kickstarter?

Here's the latest (my comments are in orange):
I’ve been quiet recently, I know. (but not on Twitter! I kid! No, not really kidding)
First things first:  Far West is NOT dead. I only have one chapter remaining to assemble from the earlier drafts. (the same chapter I've been talking about since - forever) Things are moving slowly, and I figure that I owed you an explanation. (We've had plenty of excuses - I mean - "explanations over the last seven and a half years)
It’s no secret that among the many trials and tribulations that have plagued this project, my depression and anxiety have been at the forefront. I have been my own worst enemy. (there is no arguing with this)
Well, a few months ago, my family convinced me to finally seek treatment. 
So I’ve done that. 
The initial stages of the process, where, among other things, we were trying to zero in on the right combination of prescriptions and correct dosages, made it very difficult to get anything done. I just couldn’t focus on anything other than my mental health. (so, for the last couple of years, where you've produced work for the Star Trek RPG among other RPGs, occasionally under a psuedonym, none the less, your mental health issues only prevented work on Far West?)
Now that we are further along, and I’ve begun to feel the effects, I’m coming back into myself, in a way. And that includes finishing Far West. (I don't want to not believe you, reslly, but the outright lies over the past seven plus years...)
So that’s what I’m going to do. 
I appreciate the patience of so many people who have given far more than I could have ever asked. “Thank you” seems terribly inadequate, given the circumstances. 
As a final administrative note: All official updates will now appear on this website. We have a forum here where I can be reached for questions. The Kickstarter page will be used purely for delivery of texts, PDFs, etc. to backers. (that is NOT the way Kickstarters are updated, but I know, you want to control the narative and censor the dissenting voices)
Now, the home stretch. Talk to you soon.

Here's what Kickstarter says about updates:


Edit - How dead is Garth's website, that has been around for 8 years or so?


Saturday, June 29, 2019

Wayward Kickstarter - Far West - Still MIA & Radio Silence



As I type this, Gareth has tweeted six times in the last 23 hours.

As I type this, Gareth has posted ZERO Kickstarter updates for Far West in the last SIX plus months.

Maybe he's been trying to track me down so he can punch me in the throat and hasn't had any free, non-tweetable time ;)

I'm so glad Gareth thinks "it's just a game!" and cares not about the nearly $50k he took from backers and is coming up on 7 1/2 years late. Damn, that's practically a record for incompetence.

Now, if you follow Gareth on Twitter, you'd see he is now promising a release "sometime this year".


Why not share that on the Kickstarter page itself? Kinda disrespectful of the backers if you ask me.



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