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Dice Base™: FLUME 2 - The Ultimate Dice Tower System

Created by Hal Zucati

The best dice tower (we've) ever made. Hard and exotic woods. Portable, modular, simple, and feature packed. Board Games and RPG ready

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Project Closed - Go to ZucatiCorp.com
almost 4 years ago – Fri, May 08, 2020 at 11:57:30 PM

Kickstarter Project Closed

When I started this project I had many successful Kickstarter projects completed and fulfilled.

I thought I knew what was coming and what to expect and I had a clear plan how to complete this project just like all the others.

Then I got sick, for the better part of 2 years and this project more or less got put on hold, and then sat while I declined, and have now been recovering.

I've tried many ways to get things going again, but each time I do I've been delayed by something I hadn't expected

The length of time it would take to recover, the death of my mother, and the latest the Covid-19 virus pandemic.

Each of these has slowed, and in some cases stopped my ability to start, continue or even finish some or all of the work associated with this project.

I'm done with Kickstarter

Because I'm running a small business, and because that business is my primary source of income (reduced more than 80% since March this year) I've had to make concession after concession on my Kickstarter projects so I could keep my revenue stream as constant as possible and make it possible for me to complete both my daily work and my outstanding Kickstarter projects.

That's meant that it's taken all this time to get us all here.

Where is here? Here is me closing down this and all my other Kickstarters on Kickstarter (and by extension backerkit) and moving all my obligations to where I'm working now.

Etsy.com (store name ZucatiCorp) and Zucaticorp.com

What this means is that I'm no longer going to check this project, or any others for comments, messages or anything, nor will I be working in the BackerKit tool either.

All fulfillment, communications and all other obligations from this and my other outstanding Kickstarter projects will be handled and completed through Etsy.com (store name: ZucatiCorp) and ZucatiCorp.com

What this means for your pledge

1. The money you pledged in support of my work is directly transferable for anything currently available on my Etsy and ZucatiCorp sites.  I'll want your Name and E-Mail you used in Backerkit to confirm your pledge and payment made and then I'll transfer your pledge over so you can use it for anything I make and sell. Now, right away. As soon as it can be shipped. All Etsy and ZucatiCorp items listed are made and ready to ship now.  Custom Orders can also be placed with your pledge money if you want something you don't see that i can make and deliver in a reasonable time-frame.

2. I'm not offering cash refunds. I tried that, it just makes it too hard to live and hurts too much to do financially. And it takes WAY too long. If I was super rich, or there was no global pandemic, I was forecasting to have enough money for this already this year from convention income, but those conventions were all canceled, and may remain canceled through this year, or mabye more, so I can't count on that.

3. It's going to be on you to come to me. I've tried doing the work to contact backers, but because of the time that has lapsed and the response rate I've gotten, less than 1% reply to my requests for information, I'm putting this on my backers to do the work to both read this update, then go to Etsy.com (store name: ZucatiCorp) or ZucatiCorp.com and find something they want with their pledge amount in mind, contact me and provide their Name and E-Mail for verification of their pledge status. I won't be working through Backerkit for pledge processing, but I will be verifying pledges that way as a last use of that system.

You will need to pay shipping

While I'm providing full credit for your pledge, including whatever shipping you paid. I need all backers to pay for whatever the current shipping cost is on whatever they pick from my Etsy.com and ZucatiCorp.com sites. That means I'm crediting shipping and then requiring shipping on pledges processed through those sites.

Everyone with an outstanding pledge should do this

1. Find your pledge, here or on Backerkit.

2. Write down how much it was for including shipping charged.

3. Go to: ZucatiCorp.com or Etsy.com (Store name: ZucatiCorp)

4. Contact me through one of those two sites and I'll setup either a coupon or custom order for you that you can use to purchase whatever is available on my site.

5. If all else fails, contact me at: [email protected] with the same info and I can get the ball rolling that way, though with the e-mail throughput I have daily, this is the slowest option.

Why I'm doing this

I've tried working inside the Kickstarter and Backerkit walled gardens. I've tried using their tools and their processes and it's failed and failed and failed.

I've been successful using my own sites and processes so I need to do whats working for me.

I need to eat, pay rent and continue growing my business, one that I'm working on for what I believe will be the rest of my life. I love doing it, I'm good at it and I can't put it aside or delay it anymore than I already have for these Kickstarter projects which are not working they way I've been trying. A good friend of mine told me to do what works, till it doesn't then do something else  that works. That's what I'm doing.

Thank you for helping start and grow ZucatiCorp

While this all may seem to some like I'm giving up, coping out, or in some way not delivering on what I promised you in exchange for your pledge of support, I don't see it that way.

You helped me create ZucatiCorp. You helped me buy equipment,  expand my skill, grow my business knowledge and make the contacts, supply-chain improvements and materials purchases in a time-frame I would not have been able to do alone.

You have all been extremely important supporters and investors in my skill, talent, creativity and work. And you've enabled me to make a huge career-shift from something that I now think was killing me slowly to something I look forward to doing every day.

You.

And for that I will always be grateful and do whatever I can to repay your kindness and support as I am able.

Lastly - What I really need

I know that by posting this here and then not looking back it's possible that some folks who pledged will not get the message. So if you're reading this, and you know someone that needs to hear this message, please send them along here to read it, or just tell them what they need to get their pledge fulfilled. Basically just go to one of my sites and contact me so I can transfer their pledge.

Additionally, I would ask that anyone who can, or wants to, donate their pledge and simply move on. You've supported me already and that's gotten me and ZucatiCorp here. If you can, dropping your pledge and being satisfied with the knowledge that you've done a very good thing and helped me become a better person and provide my services and products to the world would be of the most help to me.

I'm not going to ask this of anyone outside of these Kickstarters or again as I see this as a one-time thing for both you and me, but if you're feeling charitable, I've been though a lot, and this is one way you could really help me without any further trouble or expense.

Thank you.

Thanks again for your support, this is the best I can do, and it gives everyone with an outstanding pledge to use that pledge for something I've been able to make with their support. It's not like I planed at the beginning of this, but it is where we all are now. It doesn't leave anyone behind and offers everyone a choice as to how to proceed.

I have no plans to come back to Kickstarter, at this point it's done for me and ZucatiCorp what I originally wanted which was to help me start a business, and then grow it. Mission Accomplished. It's been harder and messier than I wanted or intended, but Kickstarter did it's job.  And so did you by participating.

Thank you.

- Hal

We're still alive. And we have a substantial update.
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 02:20:22 AM

Changes

With everything that's happened and now the current state of things it's been one hell of a year.

Rather than simply giving up and writing this off I and the team here at ZucatiCorp have kept working to fulfill all our ongoing projects and now this one's up.

We're still working on the Half and Quarter core project as well as the DM Screen and Flume Fusion projects, but with the time we've been able to focus recently I've been able to refine and update this design to one that I can finally feel good about. 

Wait, Re-Design?

Indeed. As with any new invention there are things that are impossible to know going in and things that turn out to be less functional than they are after time has passed and lots and lots of testing is done.

The one good thing that's come out of all of this time that's passed is that I've had time to fix some of the first version problems with this project.

What changed? A lot, and not very much.

The Final Flume 2

I moved the magnetic attachment from the middle of the flat to the corner. This does two things, it makes the attachment more stable and leaves more of the rolling surface open.
The tower has the same look and feel when assembled from the front and the back.
With the corner attachment now the tray can more easily be used by right and left handed users without sacrificing an additional table space where you need it most.
The internals have been upgraded to still offer our exclusive Zero-Pass baffle system and the ability to roll a 5mm or 30mm die with the same industry leading randomization not possible on towers with flat ramps (Wyrmwood) or worse yet simple drop and exit systems (Elderwood Academy).
The tower can still be configured as either a two piece double width or two piece slim configuration. With the double width (shown) maximum size is achieved while keeping a simple two-piece design.
Prototype magnets are shown here... the production version will have only one set of magnets in the middle of the outer two halves. The placement is central on the bottom to allow the best balance and stability during use. (front two are prototype only installed and will not be on the production pieces)
Zero-Pass custom baffles mean that you can drop dice of any size from 5mm to 30mm through this tower and they have zero possibility of passing through the baffle system without being properly randomized.

Fulfillment

We're staring on this final version this month and will start making and shipping as funding allows. The biggest roadblock is international shipping as well as material costs. While we've made the production of these pieces more efficient and cost-effective the process is still very labor intensive with so many curved surfaces and parts to finish. When will you get yours? Hate to put it bluntly but when its finished and shipped.

We're also not able to make all versions as we'd originally planned but we will be shipping everyone as close to what was pledged for as possible. We'll be in touch if we need more info on what you'd prefer if necessary, otherwise we're going to do our best to get everyone what they pledged for.

Thank You

For back when you pledged, for waiting and for the support you've given both myself and ZucatiCorp that us to where we are today. It's not what we'd planned, but we're here, we're working and in part that's because of you. Thank you very much.

I'm not going to promise a schedule or updates because at this point there's to much going on I can't control, but I'll do what I've always done, my best. Some days I get it right more than others.

 - Hal

Current Status
about 4 years ago – Fri, Jan 10, 2020 at 08:40:15 PM

I'm processing refunds, shipping items and moving forward with this project now.

You'll either get a refund on the card or payment method you used, or a shipping notice when your itme ships. I'm leaning heavy on the refunds as I have to make a call  with what I can actually complete and what isn't ever going to get done.

Sorry this too so long to get going, but it's starting now.

Here's where things are today:

Refunded pledges are then canceled and don't show in this list... but the locked addresses will go down when the refunds are processed...

I'm not 100% sure if this product will be continued... if it does it needs some additional refinement as I've never been happy with how the tower attaches to the bases.... but that's for another day. 

For now you'll either get your pledge made and shipped, or refunded. 

I'm not sure how long this is going to take as it depends on how much money is available each month for refunds, but however long it takes everyone will be taken care of one way or the other.

Thanks for your support and patience.

 - Hal

Quick update for November.
over 4 years ago – Sat, Nov 30, 2019 at 04:32:36 PM

Been a bit longer than I wanted for an update, sorry.

This and the half-core project are on the back burner for the time being till I finish the DM Screen project... just shipped a couple more screens for that and am working on the next.

26 more DM screens set left to go, its going slowly but it's going. 

I've got two dice campaigns I'm also working on, the Elemetals, which I'm still rounding up dice for to fulfil pledges... and the latest Perfect Plastic dice... which I've got dice due for delivery in January...

Other than machine and finishing time, shipping funds are one of the limiting factors. I can only afford so much per month for shipping, So I ship what I can, in all campaigns where I've got pledges ready... 

This one I've shipped a few things, and will keep doing that till I focus on it... 

I have been selling my earlier test pieces and sets that didn't come out the way I wanted to raise money, both to operate and to pay for stuff like shipping, so you'll see a few of all the project items in our online store... none of these are your pledges and all of them are being sold to help get you your pledges. The more I sell the more money I have to finish these projects. 

Additionally I'm working in refinements and other small changes to make your and all the other pledges better as I go. 

Thanks for your patience. I'm working, I'm recovering, and I'm making progress.

Whatever I'm working on, selling or doing next. I'm doing it to eat, pay rent, fill pledges and meet my commitments. Please feel free to follow my work, and activities on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter... as Kickstarter is usually only updated when I have something project specific to post... and with this and the other three wood projects I'm not focusing on right now...the wait can be longer than I'd like.

Thanks for your patience.

 - Hal

September Update 2019
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 25, 2019 at 01:52:01 AM

Thanks everyone for your patience and support.

We've been making money at a couple of local conventions here in Seattle to ensure that we can both eat and keep ZucatiCorp running.

We've got some of your pledges ready to go and will begin producing and finishing others in the next week. That means shipping will begin again for another round about the 1st or 2nd week in October.

Nothing more to report other than I'm feeling much much better, am no longer on oxygen during the day and have lost close to 75lbs since March. 

Thanks again.

 - Hal