The Eidolon Council, in cooperation with leaders in PS2 and Tera,
reviewed a number of dice options from customization houses, including
16mm and 19mm black dice, as well as 16mm and 19mm casino dice. We also
looked at regular "crystal" dice from other manufacturers that can be
customized.
After many months of back and forth, and finally after receiving
prototype dice (for which we paid), we settled on two designs: the 19mm casino dice, and 19mm black dice painted in a 2-colour purple-and-grey pattern.
We shared these designs in the April 30th Ghost Generals meeting, at
which 15 people were in attendance. 75% of those polled said they would
buy dice, and of those, there was universal acclaim for the translucent
purple casino die. We also ran an open poll on the gotr.us forum the week of May 1, and the results were about the same: 75% in favour of the purple casino dice. The message is clear!
You can see pictures of our 16mm and 19mm prototypes (the 19mm are in
white, no black dice were available at the time of prototyping) in this
gallery, gotr.us login required: Album: GOTR Dice
Why not also another die type or size?
GOTR must up-front purchase at least 200 of these one-of-a-kind
custom dice, costing about $1200. We have to start somewhere.
If these sell well - and we think they will - there is absolutely
nothing stopping us from placing another order in the future for the
other die design(s).
How is the project being funded?
By you, our members! GOTR will be covering a small quantity of the
dice to keep in reserve for our web store, to be launched later in 2015.
This way, even new members can self-serve buy dice in the future and
have them delivered any time of year, not just during our outfit
fundraiser.
What am I getting for my money?
Each die costs GOTR $6. You're in addition paying $1 for shipping, and making a mandatory $1
donation to GOTR to cover the costs associated with running our website,
the commercial software we use to do so, and the TeamSpeak and game servers. Some
of the higher tiers have a reduced donation to GOTR. Remember, not one penny goes into any individual's pocket at the end of the day
- everything goes back into operating everything that keeps GOTR what
it is today. GOTR is not a money-making business for anyone in the
outfit.
What if I just want to donate to GOTR and not get any dice?
We're thrilled you love us that much! Along with supporting our
website and servers, we'll use part of your donation to offset the cost
of dice for other members. Your donation may also go to purchase dice
for people that cannot afford them, or as awards for exceptional service
to the outfit.
What about the yearly raffle?
We're still going to hold a raffle this year! Prizes include a Star
Citizen account pack, another 1 pound of teal-and-purple M&Ms, GOTR
dice, a blank GOTR dog tag and more. If you have something to donate to
the raffle, please contact robocpf1 by PM on our website.
Is what I see in the picture exactly what I will receive?
No. We are making some changes to the prototype to make the finished product cheaper and more well finished. The photograph in the header was colour corrected from the red casino die blank the custom dice company had on hand to more closely resemble the final colour. The ink will also be in white, not silver, as this keeps the cost further down and matches the factory finish of the 2-3-4-5 sides.
The Casino dice will resemble the
sample serial-numbered 19mm casino dice in colour and finish. On the 6
side, instead of a serial number, the letters "GOTR" will be engraved
and painted to match the pips. On the 1 side, instead of the single pip,
the GOTR shield (as designed by TallonHunter/Mitri) will be engraved and painted to match the pips. The
2-3-4-5 sides will look exactly as they do in the above picture.
(For
the curious, the cost to engrave all 6 sides on a blank purple die
raises the cost per die by $2. Leadership felt this would make the dice
too expensive for some, and the result does not look as professional.)
Are the dice balanced?
For the precision casino dice, all 6 sides are flush and machined to
0.0002" / 0.005mm accuracy by US law and general international
agreement. Our dice will have the 2-3-4-5-6 sides finished as regular
casino dice, but the 1 side will be blank, then etched with the logo. The 6 side is further etched with the letters GOTR.
Informal testing of a fully 6-side cut die (as you see in the pictures) gave the following results:
# rolls Side #
100 1
99 2
107 3
106 4
86 5
102 6
As you can see, the distribution is pretty regular, and all rolls are
within 2 standard deviations even at this small sample size (1 sdev =
11.09955, variance = 123.2). With the 2-3-4-5 sides in the production
die being guaranteed completely even, and with the logo/logotype cutting
on both the 6 and the 1 side, our dice cutting contractor feels that
the balance of this die will be better than your average die shipped
with any board game. He further agrees that the dice will likely exceed
the quality of most that you would buy from a gaming or RPG supply
company.
In the interest of full disclosure, should this assertion prove
false, GOTR will not be able refund your purchase price due to the
nature of group buys and the up-front purchase of dice required.