Editing Robotech RPG Tactics (section)

==Kickstarter and other Controversies==
* Around 2010-11, a fan-designed Robotech/Macross game started making the rounds at conventions. When the creator decided to try to license and make it official, he first contacted [[Ninja Division]]. At the time they were moderately-successful pump-and-dump Kickstarter specialists with several anime themed games to their credit. When ND, in turn, showed their 3d models and his prototype to Harmony Gold, they revealed that Palladium Books had technically held the license for Robotech games since the 1980s. Through legal shenanigans, ND and PB agreed to market the Kickstarter as a "tactical mass-combat supplement" to the RPG rules.
''(see: https://robotechbattles.blogspot.com - the original writer's website.)''

* The Robotech RPG Tactics kickstarter was launched on April 18, 2013 with a funding goal of $70,000. It went on to raise $1,442,312 in pledges, drunkenly flinging stretch goals at the walls as it went. At this point, one of the first controversies began. Ninja Division had (according to them) supplied Palladium with complete 3d models, prototypes, and the rules; they were contracted to produce the game itself, while Palladium would handle legal and production issues. Both convention-goers at the time, as well as Carmen Bellaire (who had been hired to re-write some sections of the rules to use Palladium Books™ terminology) reported that the game itself was ready to go. They even posted tactics and combat videos on the site. This tune would change within days.

* Shortly after the KS closed, Palladium announced that they would be taking over production of the game, and planned to change factories. Exactly what happened next is unclear. Palladium claims that Ninja Division failed to perform contracted services, but without specifying what they were. Ninja Division said that they had delivered a production package for a lump sum to Palladium, and that Palladium then tried to force them to re-sculpt all of the miniatures and dozens of new ones for no pay, arguing that the up-front sum paid for production covered any future work. There were also rumors that Harmony Gold or Palladium had directly interfered with the game's rules and model designs (see below), as demo players began reporting significant nerfs to Zentradi units compared to the demo videos and the earlier Robotech Battles closed beta rules.

* After many delays due to this unexpected level of support and the general incompetence of all parties involved ([[Palladium Books]], [[Ninja Division]], [[Harmony Gold]], Chinese manufacturers), (part of) the game finally began shipping to backers in October of 2014, almost a full year after Palladium's original estimated ship date. As a result of the logistical clusterfuck, the rewards were divided into two "Waves". As of February 2017, Wave 2 was ''still'' in preproduction while European and Australian backers were still awaiting delivery of Wave 1. 

*It's estimated that 98% of the backers were [[BattleTech]] fans seeing a way to get their hands on new Unseen models. '''While this 'fact' is clearly intended for hyperbole, such a definitive claim requires objective data.'''{{fact}} It's worth noting that when Palladium made the exchange offer, the "good" Battletech models (the Artillery Destroid packs) were gone within a few days and nearly all of the other Destroid packs sold out by the end, while there were still hundreds of Zentraedi packs left to liquidate (Miniature Market bought them up, and still had the packs up at fire sale prices as of early 2020).

*Uproar from backers over preproduction pics of assembled models with dozens of parts and "massive impossible to fill seams" (particularly on the RDF's Spartan) led to a schism in the fanbase between the unwashed masses who wanted Tactics to be a ready-to-play boardgame and True Wargamers™. And also the True Wargamers®©™ who wanted to be able to put together more than one squad a week. This is now commonly referred to as "spartangate". This uproar would increase when models finally arrived years later. A combination of bad CAD and mold design had left several models with parts that didn't fit into the model (Scout Regult), sprue gates on top of details, extremely flimsy parts, and missing or improperly-mirrored details on multiple models.

*Rumors of the possibility of box sales being made at GenCon 2014 before backers received their rewards led to anger and talk of legal action. The response from Palladium was to put the matter to a "vote" that was incompetently (and blatantly) rigged. Which garnered even more controversy. In the end, production delays rendered a month of arguments moot. They followed this "vote" up with a lengthy post whining about the difficulty of producing infantry and vehicle models in 1:285 scale, begging to upscale the Invid-era designs to 10mm or 12mm. The poll on the post ''immediately'' shot down the scale shift. 

* At the following GenCon, reports began filtering back that the Palladium booth had a suspiciously large number of Wave 1 boxes, and rumors began circulating that Uncle Kevvy had dumped most of the money supposed to be funding Wave II on starter sets. This would prove true (check the "fuck you" letter, below) after three years of steadfast and outright denials from Palladium's webteam and Kevin himself. 

*Carmen Bellaire of Rogue Heroes Studio, the publisher of the upcoming Rifts© Boardgame©, posts in the kickstarter on 2/17/2017 that the RRT backers best play nice with his Rifts© Boardgame© kickstarter or he'd burn the RRT.  The backers respond in kind with trolling and threats of an organized campaign against the Rifts© Boardgame© kickstarter.  After so many mean comments Carmen attempted to change the "Rogue" in his company's name to "an".  Kevin Siembieda© then posted an update blaming the backers for Carmen's unsuccessful an hero™ attempt.

*As of March 2018, due to "reasons" (read: incompetence), Palladium Books has, finally, lost the license for Robotech from Harmony Gold. This means that 1) Palladium fire-saled all their Robotech books and, hilariously, their PDFs. 2)Dropped RRT like a steaming turd. On February 27, 2018, Kevin Siembieda© announced "with sadness and tremendous heartbreak" that Wave 2 would never be delivered, and that he'd very much like everyone to suck his ass [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rrpgt/robotech-rpg-tacticstm/posts/2120399]. Meaning that the backers were being shafted out of huge chunks of their pledges BUT it's ok because they offered backers more of the models they already had in exchange! Just pay shipping! On models you already have too many of because the force org chats are stupid! Needless to say Kevin Fucking Siembieda has used this [[Rage]] to ascend to godhood on the cries of a class action lawsuit.