London Diffractor (!!! --- EBAY AUCTIONS ARE LIVE --- !!!)

[VXD]

Lance, where are you??

[hsbc]

The Bronze Edition of the London Diffractor campaign features a new Card Back, Ace of Spades, Jokers, Tuck and Metal Case. This edition is designed by our good friend and collaborator Lance T. Miller - we think you'll agree that the artwork is fantastic!

The metal case for this edition features black screen-printing instead of our usual (white) laser-etching, giving this metal case a unique look within our bespoke metal cases collection.

Both variations are number-marked and extremely limited in production, as follows:
$47 -- 'Bronze Diffractor' = 499 Units,
$73 -- 'Bronze Metal Diffractor' = 499 Units

(Is that logo on the side of the tuck final.....? )

[irtjames14]

this is really gonna hit a wall in my wallet.... lol

[VXD]

There was no jibe at Montenzi. I have moved this here, where it should be.

I heard a story last night from someone which made me think very hard about the direction I was going, in my life (and in pursuing this 'dream' I had re playing cards). It brought up all the sadness I've experienced in two great losses I've had in my life recently. I need to change course and do something good. It's very hard to explain, but some sort of explanation was due re the post I put up over there.

I've told my business partner and also Lance and will tell all others involved in this business, that I'm retreating and that I have to re-assess my life and find a new direction.

I wish everyone here the best and keep it positive.

Take care

Andrew


Note - The London Campaign will continue as planned. The passion for the idea and brand will not be diminished, by me taking some time to re-assess personally. There are many more people involved. I just want to step back publicly.

[Bradius]

I get it. Thanks for the explanation. Even if you move in a different direction, pop in from time to time and say hello. You do have friends over here. Friends are always good, but especially close ones in real life.

[Timmargh]

All the best, Andrew.

[brownsl]

Does this mean I should cancel my pledge??

[VXD]

This kind of thing needs to be stamped out on this forum:

[RichK]

You have a great attitude Andrew. Always open to peoples opinions and listening along with answering them. Don't let the few bad members get you down. Hope Mike or someone can handle this member.

[robcan0630]

Good luck and take care. I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Bradius]

Does this mean I should cancel my pledge??

NO! I feel confident the campaign will fund. I am hoping the other partners will be able to keep moving on with VXD. If not, I guess they may cancel the campaign, but it will not be because I canceled my pledge.

[VXD]

Brad

There is no question of the campaign being cancelled...and we are 100% sure it will fund....14 days to go and we're now working on some marketing strategies (which always have to take a backseat to vital design and production tasks). We're half way through on the campaign time and have 288 awesome backers already. There are going to be bonuses for existing backers and one more very cool surprise.

The show goes on, I just want to take a little time away from the front line, which I will do, at least for a while. But as a brand and collective, we're committed to making lasting, innovative products for the playing card industry.

In the meantime...go grab yourself a Millennium Falcon-esque playing card deck.

Cheers

Andrew

[rousselle]

Andrew,

I've always appreciated the fact that you came here with your ideas, listened to meaningful critique, and took it into consideration. You made many changes on the basis of what you found here, and refrained from making others, which is great; you've been staying true to you grander vision while making minor adjustments based upon constructive criticism as you deemed appropriate. At the end of the day, all we want here is for more excellent playing cards to be produced, and you seem to want the same.

I also appreciate that you offered your own constructive feedback to other creators here. This is absolutely for the win.

I hope your stepping back is fruitful for you, and helps you to move in a direction that is more in line with where you want to be. We appreciate you being a member of our community, and trolls aside (and, really, there is nowhere you can go -- the physical world or in the internet -- where you won't occasionally encounter haters and trolls, unfortunately), you are *always* welcome here.

Hang in there!

[LanceTMiller]

Hi UC family,

While I may remain quiet on most boards and threads, I'm never far away. I wanted to take some time now that I've completed all of the art for the London Diffractors to acknowledge some of your comments and thoughts.

Firstly in solidarity with Andrew I wish to show my appreciation and admiration. He strives tirelessly to bring the community new and exciting concepts and technology. Every conversation we have explores the vast array of possibilities we have with the Diffractors and how they can lend themselves to being some of the most inspiring and truly advanced decks of playing cards. I've been working with Andrew for several years now and even before we started creating the Diffractors it was always about his desire to help build a better community around the notion that technology can bring some real impact to our lives as playing card enthusiasts.

Second, as a fellow Kickstarter project creator, I know the stress and emotional rollercoaster all too well. Dealing with personal life situations as well as keeping up with the daily connection demand can be daunting and very draining energetically. I applaud you Andrew for keeping your transparency with the public during these trying times.

Next, I'd like to address you, our fellow friends and UC family. Your unwaivering support has been a huge catalyst in alot of the decisions we've made regarding the design and implementation of the Diffractors line of playing cards. Thank you all for your comments and critique. It makes a huge impact even if I never address any of you personally. I spend most of my time hunched over my desk obsessing over details most people will never even notice. xD

In that light, I'd like to discuss the direction of the art. To date the artwork had been black and white as a way of exploring how we can create a sort of duality between the cards and the holographic overlays. The decision on both decks was to take the illustration back to earlier days of illustration employing classical Roman-esque shading for the Vegas deck and then to go with a gritty dark woodcut style for the London deck.

I can say that we're aware that more interest has been expressed in seeing how we could implement color more into each of the decks and we've already got a lot going for our next part of the series that explores the use of color and more dominant splashes of the holographic overlays in general.

The cool thing is, as the technology evolves, so too will my art. I always appreciate the support you all show for my work and absolutely treasure every amount of feedback I receive.

Together Andrew, myself, and the VXD team will always work to be our absolute best, but of course we are nothing without all of you. So thank you, our UC friends and family for making our Kickstarter campaigns so successful. Your word of mouth and sharing of our projects is the most treasurered gift you have given us, because it means you believe we are capable of bringing you some of the most advanced and stylized decks the world may ever see.

I'll turn on my notifications to this thread since I'm done with the project and welcome you all to ask me as many questions as you like regarding the art and design of the Diffractors playing cards.

Thank you all,
Lance T. Miller

[theCapraAegagrus]

VXD and Lance have both been invaluable contributors to these threads and this site.

[LanceTMiller]

VXD and Lance have both been invaluable contributors to these threads and this site.

Thanks for the sentiment, I don't feel like I've been invaluable. I feel like I've been far too distant. I work non-stop, so stopping by the UC forum to actually talk is a treat.

[VXD]

We were 100% going to do this anyway this time, so we've done it earlier rather than later:

TRANSPARENT HOLO FOIL ON ALL TUCKS for the London Diffractor!

Go check it out...it looks awesome, in the middle of Lance's artwork. A great balance of black and white fine line-drawing combined with flashy rainbow HOT FOIL transparent holographics

[theCapraAegagrus]

This kind of thing needs to be stamped out on this forum:

I just saw this post, so excuse the resurrection...

That user is nothing but a nuisance, Andrew. It takes a lot for me to block someone. In fact, I only have TWO users on my ignore list. Why? They send PMs to harass you in an attempt to avoid the mods. They've been suspended multiple times.

That loser has nothing critical to say, and you should forget they ever messaged you. What you've done for the playing card community is invaluable. That user has done literally nothing to make UC a better place. They've probably never done anything to contribute to any society.

Don't be dragged down by uselessness. You're better than that. You should be very well aware of how carefully I choose to spread positivity. Trust me when I say that you deserve the positive reinforcement.

[Decknowledgy]

This kind of thing needs to be stamped out on this forum:

I just saw this post, so excuse the resurrection...

That user is nothing but a nuisance, Andrew. It takes a lot for me to block someone. In fact, I only have TWO users on my ignore list. Why? They send PMs to harass you in an attempt to avoid the mods. They've been suspended multiple times.

That loser has nothing critical to say, and you should forget they ever messaged you. What you've done for the playing card community is invaluable. That user has done literally nothing to make UC a better place. They've probably never done anything to contribute to any society.

Don't be dragged down by uselessness. You're better than that. You should be very well aware of how carefully I choose to spread positivity. Trust me when I say that you deserve the positive reinforcement.

I'm pretty sure now that this GOAT account has been hacked by a genuine hacker, sold to a Samaritan, then gobbled up by a philanthropist.

[VXD]

Thanks all, appreciate your genuine support, really.

FYI - I cursed those #005/499 (Classic and Vegas Ultraviolet Diffractor) decks, using my Voodoo Diffractor Card....in case anyone ever thinks of buying them on eBay someday when they turn up. Just don't....bad things will happen to you!

[VXD]

Hi folks

We are always working to improve what the final delivered product will be, even during the campaign itself. We had another AoS option always for the 1st deck and I particularly felt that the original one we posted was not up to scratch and didn't in fact say 'London' at all. We worked on improving our second option over the last 24 hrs in order to replace it and rectify this.

Hope you agree, that this one is better looking and ties both decks together more effectively too (see campaign for Gif version):

[irtjames14]

Loving that new AoS! Thanks for updating!

[Decknowledgy]

Agree with this AoS definitely!

[Magic Tapp]

This project has now been cancelled. I got an update from Felipe saying that it should be re-launched with a lower funding target of US$45k v the original US$60k. There is not going to be a bronze deck and the overall prices should be marginally more affordable. However, the new campaign will only run for 11 days and that is highly risky as this is presumably done on the assumption that all the current backers will promptly back the new project. I just don’t think that this is going to happen and with just 11 days, this campaign may not fund (again).

[Decknowledgy]

And.... I lost my spot for the No. 1 backer for the first time

[irtjames14]

I lost my No. 2 backer spot too.. and I agree with Magic Tapp - 11 days and $45k seems very aggressive. Also, without the bronze decks, it'll be even harder. Funds were at about $42k before the release of the bronze decks...

[hsbc]

Campaigns almost always get a big boost in funding in the last two days, cancelling a project is never a good call IMO

[Bradius]

I also think you would have made your funding goal if you let it run its course, but I am fine with another round.

I lost my #34 spot too

[Thedissident001]

What about folks who lost their early bird slots, especially on the metal tiers.

If they think that people are going to back up and pay more for the same thing they have a rude shock coming.

[Bradius]

For me, the EB was a nice treat, but certainly didn't make a huge difference. I think it was basically making shipping free or close to it. If the bronze deck isn't being released, I will probably add an extra other deck for opening, so I can leave the others hermetically sealed.