Welcome Lance!

I met Lance at the 52+ Joker convention last year. Really nice guy. We talked briefly about some of his projects, but he really wouldn't/ couldn't divulge too much. I know he has several projects going, so I'm excited to see what he has planned.

Thanks Rob! Was great meeting you. Will you be at this year's 52+ Joker convention?

Thank you guys for making me the cover story and really shining light into the development of my career. I know I provided a lot of the material, but Don and Lee did a fantastic job cutting up a lot of my ramblings, and really showcasing the historical aspect.

Wow. Just wow. You guys are doing an amazing job!

Quote from: Don Boyer on January 12, 2015, 04:07:27 AM

Quote from: lancetmiller on January 11, 2015, 03:21:56 PM

Hooooooooraaaaaay!!!! I don't have to be quiet anymore! There's one of my new deck designs! So glad to see the photos. Yippeeeeeeee! 

Congrats, Lance!  Nice to hear from you!  Would you like to say anything or perhaps tell the story of how this came to be?

I'm with Don, welcome back Lance. Glad to see your back playing around with cards. 
I saw your name come up in the Clear the Deck last month & was hoping you would be getting active again with some new card designs.
Looking forward to seeing this deck and any other contributions in the pipeline, its been awhile since the Actuators.

Thanks Shade!

I'll tell you all this, I never left, I just went deep undercover xD

Seriously though, I've been way more active in the card scene than a lot of people realize. I've consulted with the artists on some of your favorite decks, worked hand in hand with Joey Heninger to bring about the International Cardistry Open, Planned and executed more than 5 deck projects (yet to release), and have built a massive collection of resources that I will be utilizing as I progress in the business. I'm always here, even if I'm not always active on the forums. I love you guys and know that I wouldn't be anywhere without the support of our amazing community. I'm not gonna leave that all behind.

- Lance

Hooooooooraaaaaay!!!! I don't have to be quiet anymore! There's one of my new deck designs! So glad to see the photos. Yippeeeeeeee! 

This is a reply I issued over on UC, but still seems to fit over here as well in terms of general response:

With so many people commenting on the one-way back I feel it necessary to clarify my current thought process, while hopefully you all keep in mind, this is a work in progress.

My initial design actually had the shields flipped opposite of each other, then I got to thinking about the practical applications of one-ways, and the fact that in my previous decks a lot of folks said my one-ways were too subtle and even unusable. So I started thinking about this design and performance settings, and I really delved into looking at it from a laymen perspective. They would not notice or even think to consider that the little point on the shield was what told you their card, if you craft your performance well and, like all great performers, misdirection would lead them to consider an alternate means of discovering their card, thus leaving you clean on the real effect.

I've shared the design already with some rather prominent performers in our field and they unanimously agreed that it is a nice one-way that would pass even the most perceptive of laylays given the proper performance and handling. I'm not sure why but I like both shields sitting in that upright position more xD

As far as requests for theme info, I'm not quite ready to let the cat out of the bag on the name or theme, but suffice it to say we have some real sharp people here that are all over it.

- Lance

So i was having a conversation with a few people and this topic came up. Why does everyone hate alex for his shipping but no one even complains about lance. According to his last update he doesn't even have the freaking decks yet! And in my opinion that is 100x worse then late shipping. So please offer your opinion on the matter down bellow.

This is a good question, one I have actually asked myself. It's not that there haven't been complaints. On the contrary, you can see numerous instances on the Kickstarter where people have voiced their opinions about the deck taking too long. I couldn't agree more. This deck took way too long, and I've been in nail-biting suspense waiting for the day when everyone demanded their money back. The fact is, it's not coming, and I'm thankful. That means you guys have stuck with me through, easily, one of the biggest projects in my young career. For that, I am more grateful than words could ever express.

I will say this: while on site at USPCC this week, I settled the shipping matter and the decks are already on their way to my house! So what does that mean? That means that as soon as I get the decks, we will begin fulfillment. Kickstarter Backers of course will be the #1 priority. You guys know how I roll. So what you'll see is this: I will have the decks very early this week, and Mike (BM Pokerworld), Jason Arakellian (the1eyedjack.com) and John Aragi (AceKing) will get their decks at the same time. That's called drop shipping and doesn't mean that I don't care about you guys, it's just how the retail world works. They get shipped factory direct so they can have them for the launch date. Other than that, all other decks will be shipped from me to backers and my pre-order customers on my site and you all should know by now, I won't sleep until everyone has their packages. Especially after this wait.

What else can I say, Alex is a great kid, with great ideas. I'm a little sad he's gotten a bad rap, but you guys should take note, that we're pioneers here. We're treading a new path and that will always be lined with obstacles that are different for each of us. It takes infinite patience on the part of the creators (especially when backers get frustrated) and more patience still for the backers who are literally bringing into creation that which we ourselves could not fund otherwise. If you're the kind of person that can't wait to have decks, Kickstarter may not be right for you as a backer, but if you can discern that the person you're backing will go the extra mile to make sure you're more than satisfied with the results, then back a project and be supportive. At that point, you're not just funding a project, you're helping someone live a dream. I can't tell you how many emails I got telling me everything was alright and that they weren't mad at me or disappointed in anyway. That was amazing, it was the most uplifting feeling and it affirmed that it's been well perceived that I have done everything in my power to get the decks at the quality you all expect as fast as I could hope to get them.It's possible the next deck you see from me won't even come from Kickstarter, but you can bet that I will take everything I've learned and do everything 100% better the next time around.

Finally, I'll close with this: Paul Carpenter, Russel Kercheval, Adam Clarkson, Alex Yusupov, myself, and the rest of the Kickstarter gang you've all come to know and love (or loathe), talk and share ideas so that each time we can get a little better than the last. We look out for each other and share the utmost respect for one another, because we understand what it's like to be in the trenches alone. Yet, though we have our personal support for one another, your continued fan support is what keeps us creating, and drives us to innovate. Without the community we'd be nothing, and I can tell you that every single one of us Independent developers shares that mentality.

This last bit is a question from over on UC. I figured I'd add it here because it's good for you guys to know

Hmmm well Jaspas (Jaspas Deck) got them already and shows off in his latest cardistry
video "our Legacy".
BMPokerworld will have them next week too.
I guess Lance will show up and post something regarding shipping ;-)
Don't worry he is one of the good guys.

In regards to this piece of information ^ This is actually misunderstood. Jaspas doesn't have the B&W's.... he has fake versions called Prototypes that cost $250 each to produce (only 4 were made). The same goes for all the promotional photos you've seen on my website. They're fakes! They're mean to look like the final product in every way possible so that we can do promotional photography, video representations, and so we can film the explanations of the magic effects built in to the decks. Hopefully that clears some things up.

As always, the most humble of regards to you all,

Lance T. Miller

EYE CANDY!!!!







BUY:

Black Edition: http://lancemillerdecks.com/black-edition-actuators-series
White Edition: http://lancemillerdecks.com/white-edition-actuators-series

- Lance

Hello Everyone,

Great News! USPCC emailed yesterday and said that the Black and White Edition cards will be printed the week of August 6th and will ship within the following 2-3 weeks!!!

So, now that we have an official timeline, I will begin releasing details and trailers for the effects that come with the decks. Make sure to pay particular attention to my Facebook page: http://facebook.com/lancemillerdecks and the main Kickstarter project update thread for more info.

With regard to the surveys, I have received many of them ~ including your personal / direct emails. Don't lose heart if I have not responded to you (yet). I have easily received 4x more emails directly related to this project than any other. I will make sure that every backer gets exactly what they paid for and will be contacting you soon if I have not done so already. If you have not filled out your survey yet, I really need you to do so. My ability to get these out to everyone in a timely manner hinges on having an excellent logistics response and unfortunately, Kickstarter does not let me contact a backer directly unless they have messaged me or filled out a survey first.

Thank you all for your kindness and patience whilst this project has come to reality. I want to let you all know that I have been working with USPCC very closely to learn their methodologies and project management policies so that we never have a 6-7 month (public) wait time on any projects moving forward. You all have my personal guarantee that I will do everything in my power to ensure timely and most cost effective delivery of new products in subsequent endeavors.

Most Humble Regards,

Lance T. Miller

P.S. Sorry for the radio silence for a bit. Things have been super crazy! Photo Shoots, Video Shoots, Summer Travel, New Artwork... etc

Wow, first I have to say thank you guys so much for checking the deck out. It really means alot to us. And you guys have some great points about the deck. The hardest thing about Design is trying to find that place where you make everyone happy, so for what it's worth, just know in our future decks, your words will be on our minds when we work.
...

HM,

Welcome to the forums. I must say, I saw your Kickstarter a few days ago and had the same initial "Meh" reaction. However, I went through a similar situation with my cards,  they were trashed horribly before the first deck I ever put on Kickstarter, and many were here to witness it. Of course that was on United Cardists, but the fact remains, the public has grown a voice and they aren't afraid to use it. You may not know me, and I'm not trying to say that I'm a somebody, but in my case, I encourage raw critique and a "no holds barred" type of feedback towards my product and toward other products hitting the market. It helps you gain insight into things you may have blinded yourself toward because you're in love with your own project. That's good that you're in love with your idea, you should be, else you shouldn't be trying to come to the market.

From a consumer product aspect, the Eclipse deck has a lot of potential, but your design aesthetic could use some work. The title font for "Eclipse" is highly illegible and part of design is knowing that less is more. Just because you can do a big outer glow or stroke on a font, doesn't necessarily mean it's the right thing to do. I further agree that from a legibility standpoint, the indices need a way for them to stand apart from the border. From a brand strategy perspective, Bicycle will literally come after you if they see their logo re-envisioned as you have it drawn on your Kickstarter page. They have worked tirelessly for 125 years to create a brand worthy of recognition and we owe it to them as designers to respect their intellectual property and their brand space. If you intend to make it a Bicycle deck, that's awesome, but you should go through the proper channels and ask for permission to use the Bicycle Logo on your Kickstarter. They have been cracking down on that, specifically on Kickstarter, for a while and I'd rather give you a heads up than to have them make you pull your project completely.

Now, you'll notice a lot of this thread will tear you down, but offer advice on how to build your deck back up. A smart designer knows that there are certain aspects which can be highly detrimental to their deck if changed. Listen to the advice and make the changes you feel best meet the overall community's desires. It's sad to say, but there are many people throwing their hats in the ring right now to be deck designers, who don't have the first clue about consumerism. The fact is, it doesn't matter if you like the deck, it matters if the market you are trying to sell it to likes the deck. It's a fine line to try to appease everyone and you've mentioned that you know that's not possible. That's a great start. However, don't neglect the advice that Paul mentioned before you hopped into this thread; consider other candid responses that you are discovering as you find new forum topics talking about your project, those are the questions and points you should be reflecting on. Look at those and the other posts honestly and before taking a defensive stance and ask yourself if some changes will benefit your project for the better. Your ability to discern the right moves to make will determine your success or failure.

Lastly, as much as it pains me to point out, your spelling and grammar need some serious help. I say this with a caveat that I, myself, am not perfect in my grammar or spelling by any means (there are probably errors in this very post). I'm not saying this to poke fun or to demean you in anyway and I'm not saying you have to be perfect with grammar, but I am saying that errors should be minimal and not detract, or distract, from your core message. I'm saying this because as a man developing a company that is about to sell a product, you owe it to your consumers to respect them enough to write with decent vocabulary and spelling. To put it in analogy, imagine if Pepsi constantly had spelling errors in advertisements but was trying to take more market share from Coca-Cola, who, for the hypothetical sake of this conversation, had no errors in spelling or grammar in their ads. Who would be most likely to retain their share and perhaps gain more of the market? When you present yourself as a businessman in written communication, such as these forums or your Kickstarter page, it is really hard for people to connect with you as a professional if your sentences are structured poorly or broken by misplaced or misspelled words.

I hope you don't get angry at me for pointing that out, but that is where knowing your strengths and weaknesses comes in. If you know you aren't great at that part of your business, hire someone else to write your communications (as dictated by you) so that your thoughts are still the prevalent idea, or invite someone whom you regard highly in terms of their communication abilities, to proofread and correct your writing.

Keep a strong heart toward your goal and you'll get there.

- Lance

Guys you're both right,

Which is why if you remember back to my original Contest Tier #1, I had a similar format. The goal with the first contest of any new tier will be to boost awareness through shares, and / or tags. The subsequent contests turn to trivia and chance, and then final round contests involve doing something or engaging with a puzzle in some sort of variation of an brain teaser.

Meanwhile there are always spur of the moment contests that pop into my head that are varied based on what I am doing at the moment.

Nathan I completely understand the reluctance to share based on an obligation to do so. I am the same way, but Facebook and social marketing are a double edged sword. As much as I hate the concept of forcing a share, it does grab other people's attention. For instance since we hit 500 and started the first contest there have already been 37 new Likes within the first two days. Contrast that to the previous 30 days that saw about 40 Likes total. I do like to grow organic results, but many people out there don't even know I exist. I hope that gives some insight into why I lead in with a "Share / Tag" type of procedure.

- Lance

The main reason for my question was that you posted about pre-orders here, but you haven't posted about them on the Kickstarter site, and I think there may be people who would like to order additional items, especially now that we have the Artist's Edition Actuators in our hands. And believe me, I do understand that it takes time for these projects to happen. After following all of the other projects for the past year, I realize that it can take more time than expected. I do wish that the people doing the Kickstarter projects would tell us more. You guys tend to shut up when nothing is going on, but there's really no such thing as "nothing going on". Even waiting is something, and it helps other card deck designers. We still see new deck projects coming online with estimated delivery dates that are within 6 weeks of funding.

(In case it matters, Lance, I'm David Elliott from your Kickstarter projects.)

David, I understand fully about the uncertainty that can come from no updates at all. I've just made an update on KS though I really don't feel like it contains anything of value. I can't tell people when the decks are being printed because USPCC is so aloof with that kind of information that, if I say what they tell me, I'd have egg on my face about 3 weeks out of the month. Mind you, they're not making idle promises, they are really are intent on accomplishing something within a certain time period and indicate that to me. Then, as always, they get yanked in 50 different directions and mistakes happen. I had to send them back to make changes a couple of times now which of course eats up more time. One of those times was me changing the QR code because of the time that all this has taken; I now have new URL's but that is minimal. The other stuff is just circumstantial and, while I know that I owe it to you guys to provide you with regular, timely updates, I also don't want to make it a habit of blowing smoke up people's arses either.

As to why I didn't post about the pre-orders on KS, I thought it would be considered rude to offer pre-orders on the Kickstarter site since, in effect, they have already committed to their pre-orders. I also am fairly certain that more than a few of the people would begin making statements like "how are you offering pre-orders when we've already given you our money and have nothing to show for it?". Perhaps that is a irrational fear on my part, but I tend to have a pretty good understanding of the consumer mindset and my instincts generally serve me pretty well.

However, since you've contacted me many times Dave, you know that I am always on the up and up with you, and I give you an answer every time even if it isn't anything more than saying "still waiting bro". If I spent every week posting on KS, "still waiting guys", eventually people would give up and want their money back. Whereas, I feel, based on many years in consumer sales and marketing, that if I wait until I have news that includes progress, those same people, while perturbed at the situation, will be more likely to patiently wait it out. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and you my friend have been one of the most patient of all. It also helps, that in my eyes, you're kind of a Kickstarter veteran having been around the block with more than just a few projects. Your emails contain highly valuable insight and I have appreciated them every step of the way.

In reference to your statement about new decks cropping up with 6 week post-funding delivery, a lot of those new designers, are looking at what we posted and getting the same positive statements from USPCC, and some of them may have already handed in their artwork. Who knows? What I can say for myself, based on all the experiences that I've had over these three decks, is that I will not be using Kickstarter any longer. Not because it's a bad platform, but more so, so that I can get through the processes with USPCC on a timescale that isn't necessarily going to be scrutinized to the point of exhaustion. That way, when I have the prototypes in hand, I can start the pre-orders, and people can buy as they please, without the hassle of thinking their money is tied up in something that may never show. I seriously made my initial delivery date on the Kickstarter based on a statement from USPCC. I thought hey, they already have all the artwork, should be no big deal to make that time frame. Boy was I wrong.

I guess the moral of the story here is, we have a great platform that offers many people the opportunity to fund creative projects, and a lot of people who aren't project managers step up to the plate. We have stars in our eyes and are dreaming of endless possibilities, but not fully aware of what we have gotten ourselves into until it's been dropped on our heads. We promise the moon and we're hitting the stars, but in the mean time, we are learning that promising anything is dangerous ground, not because we've not upheld our end of making sure artwork is done in a timely manner, but because there are outside influences shaping our timeline that we can't control. We're also learning that we can strike out on our own and make our companies a reality, but it comes at a price. I have lost more than a few people who probably would have been great customers, and that pains me, but I can't dwell on the losses. I have to look at the growth that has been achieved and the change that has been affected in the industry over just the last two years, and realize that there is much more ahead. (sorry for the manifesto in return to your simple inquiry, but I am passionate about what I do).

- Lance

So, does this mean that these are finally being printed? It's been almost a month since there was a Kickstarter update, and I've been seeing other decks getting printed in the meantime.

Yeah Dcell, These are "supposed" to be being printed within the next month. As far as going without an update I think some perspective is needed here.

I feel that there is a misconception people have about just what it takes to get a deck produced. My artwork has been in USPCC's hands since the day the Kickstarter for the Black and Whites ended. From that point it's been pretty much out of my hands. Now, it doesn't help that when their pre-press department is backed up with a little over 15 decks, that they get files that are as complicated and delicate as mine. You see, I am not printing "normal" decks, I have a lot of anti-counterfeit measures that I build into the files that have to be handled in very specific ways. Then, with my artwork being so specific, if they send me things and they are wrong, I have an obligation to the people who are buying my decks to send them back to fix it. I do that, at the risk of making people upset for waiting, but let's say for instance that I, being in a rush to get these cards out, had said "just get the damn things printed!" The Artist's Edition would have been printed on a stock of paper so dark that you couldn't even make out the gears on the front. The backs of the cards themselves would not have had metallic gears, and oh yeah, my favorite little incident, we would have backwards cards on the uncut sheets that weren't meant to be backwards.

Designing, and producing your own deck is no "walk in the park", it requires a lot of things to fall into place in certain ways, and sometimes (as in this case) they are out of your control. I thought, hey, Kickstarter ended, they've got artwork, in a month I'll have the decks... (boy was I mistaken) <------ That's my fault for not realizing the scope of work necessary for them to prep two more variants of my decks. It's OK, because I have learned much from this entire endeavor, and I will be much better prepared for the next deck I release as will Russell, Alex, and anyone else who has gone through the same funding method and processes with USPCC.

It doesn't mean that I am lazy and not updating you guys, I have nothing to update you with. When USPCC says you'll have something in a week, and it's 3 weeks later that you finally receive it, who's fault is that? It's not really anyone's fault. I assure you that USPCC has been working on my files since I sent them in, and they have had a very difficult time making things to my specifications. I'm not making just any old decks here; I am making delicate pieces of art that cost tens of thousands of dollars to produce, and I'm not going to accept anything less than the best for your guy's sake. I suppose this is why the big dogs: E and T11 keep things under wraps until they release a deck. There is no real way to say "This deck is going to be printed on this date and that's that!.....". It just doesn't work that way, and they keep it quiet until the decks are in their hands. People who have publicly funded a deck don't have that luxury, you see when the Kickstarter ends, and you start a mental timer. You're a consumer it's in your nature, and I understand, because I started that same mental timer. In my mind this deck is far too late, but I'm not going to rush it just for the sake of having them done. That's just not my style.

I do thank you for your patience as always, and anyone is always welcome, if they are getting antsy to contact me and ask for a status update. Often there are really no updates of substance and that's why I am not posting. I am reminded here of when De'vo was first printing his blades, he was making post after post, telling everyone, next week I'll have cards. Next week I'll have the cards; the cards are finally being printed; they said next week my cards will be done finally. This went on for months and he looked like a schmuck for not delivering. That was not his fault. He was bringing the news that was brought to him. If I had made updates telling you guys every time I was told something was going to happen "next week", I'd probably have a lot more dissatisfied people flagging me down asking for their money back. Instead I put things simply, as soon as I know something more concrete, everyone else will too.

Pay very close attention. I am not throwing USPCC under the bus. Those guys bust their asses to make sure we have some crazy looking cards that handle well for you guys. You have to realize though, we (Aether, Circle City Cards, Lance Miller Decks) are not their only customers, and in the grand scheme of things we are their smallest customers. Therefore, it stands to reason, if one of their bigger clients has an issue, they drop what they are doing on our projects and quell the fire. They have deck after deck that they print and manage and they never stop working. It's crazy how they handle the work that they do and still sound jovial when you talk to them, but they do, and I am thankful to work with such a great bunch of people.

Sorry for my soapbox here, but it stands to reason that, if I don't educate you guys and just leave you in the dark you'll get frustrated at me even more so and think I am not holding up my side of the bargain from my Kickstarter.

- Lance