Monthly Update - June 2014

[halfbake69]

When i first purchase TI i already owned all 5 and was glad to be Abel to add to them i resale only cause money issue but since the 5 are no longer availible and they have ti to sell they should sell to anybody who want one !!! So i agree with rob on this one

[Mrhero]

i think it should be sold to people who own at least one revomaze... its really not fun when random guys will pick it cause "they like the colour"

[Chyron]

Just whatever you do, don't make a lottery of it.

Please god no lotteries. or contests.

Just let people buy the things.

[TheJuggler]

Well, I guess I missed the forum request to be able to buy a TI from this run of badly numbered cores. I'd have thought, that given as I was among the first 10 people to open the Gold puzzle, that I'd have heard about this. Of course so many things have been obscure forum posts that are easy to miss, prior to the announcements topic.

Don't know why I'm ranting, as it achieves nothing, but seeing these updates just gets my goat.

[robbaylis79]

I dont think they have gone on sale yet mate

[AndrusyszynPM]

Please just sell me a Ti. That is all I can say about this topic.

[pcad]

Maybe this just indicates how long I've been here, but this is how I remember the story of the Titanium.

CE sets were announced and sold. Chris was absolutly adamant that the only way to obtain a titanium was to buy a CE set.
The set would have a collectors titanium to match the five other CE metal puzzles.
A plastic Ti Obsession was to be included so the owner just solve the titanium and keep the CE titanium pristine.

A part of the deal was that the CE package which included the puzzles, maps, certificates, acetates, case, and detailed history of these Revomazes would and could not be sent until the series code competition was completed. OK, that sounded fair at the time.

Then came the dark days...weeks...months...years........

There were endless delays releasing the gold. When it was finally delivered, the smartest among us realized the algorithm was either wrong or so obtuse that it was essentially unsolvable except by Chris. Despite the issues with the algorithm, members started opening their golds by trying dozens of possible solutions. The final acetate was not inside the gold. To Chris, even if the gold was open, it was not solved until the owner could explain in precise detail how the algorithm worked. They were also to solve random input codes and give Chris the correct output codes. Since the algorithm was essentially unsolvable, this delayed the series code competition for at least a year despite more than a dozen golds having been opened.

Realizing that those that had purchased the CE sets and had been waiting for 2 years were running out of patience the Ti-SE was born. This was sent to those that had waited as a special thank you from Chris for staying the course. There were to be, at most, 50 of these making them relatively rare. From that point on no one else would be eligible for the Ti-SE. That meant no more brass, unplated Ti's would ever be available again.

At this point no one had received a CE set. As far as anyone knew the CE sets would still come with one plated Ti and one plastic Ti. Guess what, there were never going to be any Ti Obsessions. It seems that the plastic version was at least as expensive as the brass version to make. I don't know what they planned to give people that ordered a CE set after the Ti-SE deadline since there weren't any Ti-Obsessions.

Eventually, despite no one "solving" the gold, the series code competition was held and the purple lottery was born. At this point the CE sets should have been released. Since they still had to be made, it was still took a long time for them to reach their owners.

Today, there are still those that haven't received their CE set puzzles. No one has received the bonus material that was included in the CE set.

Some of these non-SE , non-CE Titaniums have shown up in the past, just after the library collection was auctioned. I was a little surprised by their existence since there had never been any announcement of a third version of the Ti.

Now we have a bunch of unclaimed brass Titaniums that might be made available. The idea of selling them has both pros and cons. The company needs all the revenue it can get and it will make those that buy one happy. This will also be the first time Chris has sold addition puzzles of a very limited design. How would people feel if some more Black Extremes or Handmades were for sale again? How about selling some more purples?

Some of us have always felt that all the designs should be available. Some have felt that a limited edition should remain limited. Maybe the Ti's should sell at their original price, the price of a CE set. Maybe they should be sold at cost. Who knows?

Personally I think they should be sold at a reasonable price to whoever wants one. Having said that if any other old stock of rare designs show up the same should be true of them too.

[astr0creep]

Ok, just thought I would add my opinion on the matter.

Firstly, if Chris is essentially putting it to the vote on whether the Ti mazes are sold at all, then ONLY people who have bought the collectors sets should get a vote. They are the people whose mazes are potentially being devalued.

I they do go for sale then I think it only correct that people with a set of Blue to Gold mazes get first refusal. If there is not enough uptake then open the remainder up to everyone.

I think its also important that if they go on sale that the price isn't inflated over the price of a standard static revomaze. I don't think its proper for a manufacturer to limit numbers of an item only to then use the limited numbers to inflate the price at a later date.

The other alternative is just to auction them off (open to everyone) and then the community will pay what they deem they are worth.

[stet]

I have one of these extra Titaniums. Mine is nickel plated and I assume that the rest of them are. The reason that I have one is that I had ordered CE set #5 to match the rest of my RevoMaze collection as I had every other #5 RevoMaze that was made (Blue through Gold as SEs, Black, Red, HandMade, Orange, Lime, and now Purple). Unfortunately the #5 unplated SE Titanium was instead given to the person who ordered CE set #105. I was offered one of these unplated Titaniums (the #5 to match my collection) in its place. At the time I was told (by Joseph) that there were 50 of them and to keep it somewhat quiet because they weren’t sure what to do with them at the time.

I like astr0creep’s suggestion but would like to add to it. Offer these first to CE owners who didn’t get an extra Titanium (plated or unplated) since getting one was a limited time offer and those who ordered after a specific date weren’t promised one. After that, offer them to those who have the entire main series of Blue through Gold. Whatever is left after that can then be offered to everyone.

[DWishR]

Then came the dark days...weeks...months...years...Realizing that those that had purchased the CE sets and had been waiting for 2 years were running out of patience the Ti-SE was born.

I had no idea. That's atrocious. If I have to wait more than 3 months for the Orange I just "pre-ordered," I will not be a happy camper.

To Chris, even if the gold was open, it was not solved until the owner could explain in precise detail how the algorithm worked.

Did anyone ever solve the algorithm? Or did Chris reveal it to someone who could verify that it, in fact, functioned properly in the Gold?

No one has received the bonus material that was included in the CE set.

Ouch.

Mine is nickel plated and I assume that the rest of them are.

Can someone explain the plated/unplated/bronze? I realize nickel is harder than bronze. Were the CE unplated bronze designed to look nicer, but that made them capable of damage from a regular solve?