Which is why more than one source from CR himself puts the release date Oct-Nov 2014.
You - just like jcrg99 - quote a timeline from Nov 2012 that was OBSOLETE in Dec 2012 due to the immense success of the crowdfunding campaign. The scope of the project changed and with it the timeline. Of course you know it and intentionally continue to quote the OLD, OBSOLETE timeline. Its not like CIG have not communicated that the timeline has changed ... many many times .... for the last 2.5 years. Lets conventiently leave out that little piece of data.
The interview you quote is from Oct 2012, before the immense success of the crowdfunding campaign. It AGAIN refers to the OLD, OBSOLETE timeline. Back then even Chris Roberts would not have known that his campaign will net him 20 times more than expected.
Have fun
CR said 20 million dollars would launch the game that two sources quote CR placing around Nov 2014. CR could crowdfund 15 billion dollars for fluff and 150234 DLC packs.
Once again where is the 20 million dollar (CR estimated) core game?
I am going to make a single post to say that, once the mainstream media who have informed me that they are doing their investigations, start doing their own reporting, these people will - hopefully - stop making this about me.
The fact is this - and I want all of you to remember this - I will be 100% vindicated when the truth comes out. No question about it.
And when that happens, we can all sit back and ponder what has gone on here, and why people have found it necessary (race, jealousy, what?) to attack me, while trying to completely deflect from the questions being asked.
It is only a matter of time. I am right. And I will be vindicated.
You think the White Knights are pissed now? Wait till my NY Times ad article goes up. Then we'll see.
Mr. Smart, don't waste your time explaining yourself to the rabid fanboy trolls who would rather smear the messenger than address the very important issue at hand. I implore you to work through the media. They are much more objective and will be more than happy to pick up on this investigation because it is obvious that there is foul play at hand with this sham CIG is pulling, and we all know the media loves to report on these type of mass multi-million dollar "ponzi scheme type" financial scandals.
We are also all well aware that trying to explain anything on game forums is just a waste of time. Especially with a game like Star Citizen that has amassed an obsessive and fanatical following that includes nearly 950,000 contributors. It is obvious that CIG has dispatched a slew of shills to the various gaming forums to try to smear you with your efforts to secure accountability. And why wouldn't this be the case when they set this tactic in motion by trying to do so themselves?
On every forum that you go to you will find 4-5 of the same posters regurgitating the same talking points (and we all know who those 4-5 are in this forum, don't we?). Even if CIG dispatched just one percent of those nearly 1 million fanatics it would amount to close to 1,000 fanboys on forums smearing you in their desire to silence you. So don't waste your time with the minions and go straight to the media outlets. They will be more than happy to indulge themselves in this investigation and when they do they will go for the "gusto," the boss encounters with the rare worthwhile loot, to get to the real matter at hand. They love that kinda stuff. Its what they do best.
That said, just know that there are many more people who do not frequent gaming forums who are supporting you in your effort to look out for the naive backer who is not aware of the shady tactics being practiced in this industry. And its getting worse with every game released. The only thing left is for gamers to be asked to contribute money so that a developer can go to bed, dream up a concept, and start selling space ship drawings for thousands of dollars with nothing more to show for it after 3-4 years than some fancy talk, a state of the art website, and concept drawings of space ships. Oh, wait ... nevermind *sigh*
Anyways, keep up the good fight Mr. Smart. You have a lot of support and your efforts are commendable in this instance. Might be worth looking into a crowd funding type campaign to raise funds for this cause. Whatever you decide, please do keep up the good fight on behalf of the little guy who has been trying to voice the same concerns you are now voicing only to be stymied and told to shut up by CIG and their legions of fanatic minions. Their actions are an admission of guilt and you will be vindicated. That is a certainty.
Private jet hmm is this true I read that somewhere . Well some authority should start an investigation into this scam if indeed it is one. No idea well time will tell I guess.
I also feel if you are dealing with donations from funding for the game there should be a cap on how much you pay yourself. If you start using this money and paying yourself and family large amounts it should be investigated.
Private jet hmm is this true I read that somewhere .
Its a rumour. Coming from ... who would have thought ... Derek Smart. No one has brought any proof. Its just fire to fuel the flame war.
It may be false. It may be true. Who knows ? Perfect ammo for a mud fight.
I could potentially hire a private jet. With my own private money. I even have a pilot amongst my friends. *** Gasp *** Runs and hides from the pitchforks and torches ***
I also feel if you are dealing with donations from funding for the game there should be a cap on how much you pay yourself. If you start using this money and paying yourself and family large amounts it should be investigated.
In any company there is a 'cap' on how much you can pay yourself.
It is done in one (or both) of two ways:
Salaries etc can be set by shareholders / stakeholders / stockholders (depends on your local lingo) at AGMs. In big (public) companies people will vote to approve CEO salaries for example. You might say "Then why do they get paid millions?" - well because in successful companies people want to retain good CEOs so they pay them enough to stay.
In the case where the Directors control most of the shares (and so control the votes) what is usually done is to compare with 'industry standards' or 'what do all the other companies pay for the same job'?
So, Blizzard's CEO earns 2 million plus, so does Atari's. EA's got a mere $800,000. For an $85 million project.... anywhere in that range could probably be justified in that way. You could argue it... but you would need an expensive legal team to do so.
Unless you can show an obvious (in your face type) rort or incompetence - it's a difficult thing to argue.
Private jet hmm is this true I read that somewhere . Well some authority should start an investigation into this scam if indeed it is one. No idea well time will tell I guess.
I also feel if you are dealing with donations from funding for the game there should be a cap on how much you pay yourself. If you start using this money and paying yourself and family large amounts it should be investigated.
Over and above the SC-specific issue, I have always had my own issues with the whole KS thing as applied to large projects with multi-million dollar budgets.
I get that KS donations ARE donations after all and there are neither guarantees nor oversight of the projects - they are all a leap of faith. That is all well and good in modest projects that raise money in the thousands where donors are typically donating amounts in the $10s or at most $100s.
But SC kicked this up to a new level and continued raising even more money with the sale of very expensive digital assets (ships) which many of us have been gaping at from afar in the same way we would watch a car wreck: wondering in horror how such things can happen.
So. IMHO, the usual truths about this being just donations and not normal commercial transactions, although being satisfactory explanations for small scale KS projects, should not really apply to something of this magnitude. Something that has the potential of tarnishing KS permanently for the many wonderful small projects that depend on it.
Then we can add all the missed deadlines, the exit of prominent developers after just a brief stay, the nepotism in hiring, the "indefinite" holds on much-promoted "stretch" features, etc. and yes, I agree, a serious investigation should happen.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
So. IMHO, the usual truths about this being just donations and not normal commercial transactions, although being satisfactory explanations for small scale KS projects, should not really apply to something of this magnitude. Something that has the potential of tarnishing KS permanently for the many wonderful small projects that depend on it.
Then we can add all the missed deadlines, the exit of prominent developers after just a brief stay, the nepotism in hiring, the "indefinite" holds on much-promoted "stretch" features, etc. and yes, I agree, a serious investigation should happen.
FYI I was just reading this in relation to FTC rules WRT e-commerce:
"What is the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Rule?
The Rule requires that when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days. That is why direct marketers sometimes call this the "30-day Rule."
If, after taking the customer’s order, you learn that you cannot ship within the time you stated or within 30 days, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delayed shipment. If you cannot obtain the customer’s consent to the delay -- either because it is not a situation in which you are permitted to treat the customer’s silence as consent and the customer has not expressly consented to the delay, or because the customer has expressly refused to consent -- you must, without being asked, promptly refund all the money the customer paid you for the unshipped merchandise."
(My underlinging)
So, does this apply to KickStarter and computer game 'pre-orders' including Virtual Goods?
incite (and/or even invent) and exploit any investor (and in this case, KS backer) anxiety about their stake in the company,
convince voting stakeholders that he just wants to help,
eventually finagle control and, ultimately, ownership of the tech
In Alganon's case, he exploited a rough launch of a too-soon-released game and acquired the product of 10s of millions of dollars worth of development. While Alganon the game flopped, David Allen, the original head of the company developed every tool a game developer would need IN-HOUSE, resulting in a development environment/ tool that owes royalties to no one. No middleware, no engines, nothing. That's why Alganon is still up after 5 years with, like, 10 players. The regular bills that most other developers would have to pay for tools/engines, what have you, are not there.
This sounds like another version of the same scenario.
There's only one reason that Alganon is still up. It's because Derek wants to claim he has/had a long running MMO on his resume. Even though it HAS to be bleeding money every month considering they actually have staff on the project. He probably convinced the investors that he could make it profitable and they don't want to give up that hope. No legit company would waste resources keeping a game like that running.
I seriously doubt David Allen made a toolset worth tens of millions of dollars when you actually look at that product. Your claim is laughable.
Did you enjoy that laugh? I hope so, because you have no idea what you're talking about. I sometimes wonder what it's like be the person that loves to run his mouth off no matter how little he knows. And to be arrogant about it too? LOL.
We actually built and own all of our technology. There aren't many who realize what this means. Most companies sub license other technology to build their product and never really gain the ability to control the technology. This results in products that technically get stuck. We will not have this problem. We can evolve any aspect of Alganon as we see fit over time.
The Client and Server systems already support flying mounts, so we can put them in anytime. We can add player housing, guild housing, you name it. It's our engine, and it has been built to grow. The sky is the limit, and if we want to, we can move that, too.
And regardless of how well/ badly Alganon was, the technology infrastructure that he came out of the Quest Online coup is worth,yes, TENS of millions of dollars. If you don't have to pay out ANY royalties, that's hundreds of thousands per year in savings, and gives you endless flexibility. It allows you to run an MMO forever. That's why games shut down even though they have a couple thousands players: the licensing fees mean they need at least 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars every month to just break even at the operational level.
Go ask any MMO producers what a custom-built royalty free engine would do for them.
And Smart, by undermining QOL's investors faith in Allen, got it for a pittance. Probably the same thing he's doing here, since it already worked so well with Allen and QOL.
Funny, about the only thing the Star Citizen proponents can seem to do in this matter is flame Derek Smart. What they should be doing is questioning how they have spent all this money on a game that will never be what was promised.
When they started to sell those expensive ships, it was time to bail.
I'm no SC proponent, I've done little more than watch a video or two on it, no backing, highly skeptical it will even release. That doesn't change my opinion that DS is completely manipulating this story to his favor. He's taking those real concerns people should have to exploit them. In order to get this level of attention and scrutiny to his chief rival at this time, if this game does release, he knows he'll lose many of if not most customers he does get with his attempts at games like this.
On the other hand it could be said that folks who have obvious strong feelings against SC, crowdfunding etc (your statements make that obvious)... want so badly for these accusations to be true, you're willing to side with anyone site unseen in hopes to see the crash you so very much want to see happen to Roberts and his product.
Nonsense. I could care less whether the game succeeds or fails. I just don't like snake oil salesman like Chris Roberts, he give the entire industry a bad name and makes kickstarter look bad. I have backed some kickstarter games and seen some successes and some not so successful. I will probably do so again.
As to Mr Smart, several other gaming forums I read have, for quite some time, been criticizing what a joke SC has become. This is NOT about Derek Smart, it is about the huge scam SC has become. I am glad he is making a ruckus about this game, it is about time someone did.
Once again where is the 20 million dollar (CR estimated) core game?
Being worked on, if you cared to read the reports and watch the vblogs.
Personally I rather get a working, tested, polished core game (as long as it takes) instead of a buggy rush-job like Batman.
Have fun
All I have to say to your nonsense is look at 38 studios, they took Rhode Island for a ride, Chris Roberts is doing one better and taking foolish internet gamers for a ride. If you think a game that entails all of Chris Roberts promises will ever result from this you are surely in la la land. It is looking more and more like a 38 studios fiasco.
LOL the only thing entertaining about this who Chris Roberts, Derek Smart stuff is nothing new... if you really have faith in Derek Smart then go play the games he has been a part of, I'll even give you a list! ROFL
Now lets see a list of games that Chris Roberts has been apart of.
Chris Robters list of games (shortened the Wing Commander games to shorten list)
Star Citizen (2016)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Freelancer (2003)
Wing Commander Series (1990-1994)
Times of Lore (1988)
Striker's Run (1986)
now if you look at the quality of every one of those games and the history of Chris Roberts and Derek Smart you will see that Derek Smart is no hero, He is not trying to help you the gamer/consumer out. he is just a troll with no talent that doesn't care about his costumers and all he cares about is the money. Chris Roberts has always made games and has put the gamers interestest first.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Derek Smart is doing this because he hates Chris Roberts i mean hell Line of Defense(its on steam right now LOL) was done to copy Star Citizen and it was a MASSIVE pile of crap just like every other game he has been apart of.
Once again where is the 20 million dollar (CR estimated) core game?
Being worked on, if you cared to read the reports and watch the vblogs.
Personally I rather get a working, tested, polished core game (as long as it takes) instead of a buggy rush-job like Batman.
Have fun
All I have to say to your nonsense is look at 38 studios, they took Rhode Island for a ride, Chris Roberts is doing one better and taking foolish internet gamers for a ride. If you think a game that entails all of Chris Roberts promises will ever result from this you are surely in la la land. It is looking more and more like a 38 studios fiasco.
IMO if anyone can pull off this kind of game its Chris Roberts himself
As to Mr Smart, several other gaming forums I read have, for quite some time, been criticizing what a joke SC has become. This is NOT about Derek Smart, it is about the huge scam SC has become. I am glad he is making a ruckus about this game, it is about time someone did.
You say nonsense and say you don't care then go on to essentially prove what I was saying, you have your mind made up that it's a scam, so of course you side with Smart or anyone else who can possibly bring your wish to fruition.
What makes that even more funny is you try and discredit others because they consider Derek Smarts proven track record, this isn't even close to the first time he's been behind flame wars like this, it's also not the first time he's gone after major competitors in an underhanded manner.... Yet you go on to criticize others for not buying your it's a scam line site unseen?
So you don't need proof to spread your opinion, yet others with real proof backing up what they're saying are in the wrong? Horsecrap...
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I've been thinking while reading over all this just one thing: for a man responsible inflicting upon reality 'Battlecrusier 3000AD' (a wreck I spent my money on and - much more importantly - time trying to play it) Derek Smart is sure took a uneven position. He showed himself a lot of times without integrity, so no high horse for him.
I wonder how much Smart owe me. Broken promises and all that. After all my money is part of his million.
Sounds ridiculous, isn't it? Well, that how it sounds 'we have a right to know how CIG operates'. Whatever anyone concerned with about CIG it's their own problem. Support this or not - how CIG runs things is their own business. I hear it all the time, those concerns. And that's not about concerned founders. It's about jealousy. 'Where did he get those money when I have none?' Please. Stop it.
Also, I just fascinated how people ignore everything CIG telling about development of their game. Reading some posts gave me impression that CIG for those people is some kind of black box, while if fact they systematically report on their progress. Well, of course necessary level of assurance is different for everyone. After all I am satisfied with information I have at the moment. Someone surely want to ride CIG offices and see every employee face down. Just in case, you know. They might be running some shady business there.
Board of directors idea is just 'brilliant'. They will make those lazy developers do their job, will they? Meet deadlines and whatnot. Reminds me of something, though... Ah! Yes, game company as we know it. Jeez, the whole idea was that developers control development process. 'Out when it's done'. Remember SWG? Was good game. Too early, too little, dead too. And just a thought, another angle of this: hostile takeover. Anyone agrees? 'Board of directors', ha! No, sir.
I can go on and on. But I really don't want to. All that 'message is good, messenger is... what we have' is nonsense. There is only old rivalry and a lot empty talk. There is no message. And if you have doubts - or paranoia, what the hell - just pull out. Don't make your problems other's responsibility.
The release date of this game is "When it's done". Anything else, and we mean anything else is someone's speculation. There is no date. We don't know any date. If you have a friend who claims they have "inside info", or there's some game news site, or some computer store at the mall who claims they know - they do not. They are making it up. (So is Metacritic!) There is no date. Period. And yes, we know the game has taken a long time. There's no possible joke you could make about the game's development time that we haven't already heard.
I really wish whoever wrote this article did a little more research befor they wrote it. They would have learned that Derek Smart is a complete psycho with ulterior motives, including, but not limited to, self promotion and attention whoring. He was been stalking Chris Roberts for MANY years, even when he still worked at Origin. He has been given a full refund by CIG about a week ago too by the way.
I wish CIG was a little more transparent with their financials as much as any other guy, but Derek Smart is not the fucker you want infront of this. Shame on MMORPG.com for biting such low hanging fruit and spreading trash info. This is tabloid level journalism and a massive disgrace.
All he's going to do by this, if anyone takes up the 1million, is hurt everyone who wants this game to come out, because RSI is going to have to stop creating the game and spend the next number of years dealing with this freak'n legal bs.
I love how every time the white knights list Roberts' games, they list Freelancer, a game that had to be taken from Roberts by Microsoft for EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. This is, of course, after going over projected release by two years. Microsoft had to strip off all of the "ideas" Roberts kept tacking on to finally get it out. There are also a few games on that list where the only connectio to Eoberts is his company's name was on it. And of course, blindly giving him most of the credit for the Wing Commander series. As if his company now has anywhere near the talent that Origin did back then....
I guy who has made a living from selling unfinished buggy products has no right in my opinion to go around making the kind of fuss he is making about this..
I guy who has made a living from selling unfinished buggy products has no right in my opinion to go around making the kind of fuss he is making about this..
That is VERY true. But remember that this over reaching capabilities thing is sort of Roberts' thing as well. He has a bad habit of coming up with new ideas...which is AWESOME.....if your core game is already working. As it is, what he does now is spread his resources too thin, so instead of 1 or 2 working modules, we have 5 half done modules. And there appears to be no end to this in sight. I WANT this game to rock. I want it to succeed. I am just not a Roberts fanboi that ignores his past tendencies when someone accuses him of the same things and worse.
I guy who has made a living from selling unfinished buggy products has no right in my opinion to go around making the kind of fuss he is making about this..
That is VERY true. But remember that this over reaching capabilities thing is sort of Roberts' thing as well. He has a bad habit of coming up with new ideas...which is AWESOME.....if your core game is already working. As it is, what he does now is spread his resources too thin, so instead of 1 or 2 working modules, we have 5 half done modules. And there appears to be no end to this in sight. I WANT this game to rock. I want it to succeed. I am just not a Roberts fanboi that ignores his past tendencies when someone accuses him of the same things and worse.
I know what you are saying.. but Roberts has been part of some of the best Sapce Sims to date.. Is he over reaching with SC? Will just have to wait and see but I am in no rush for them to push it out, game development takes many years and I am happy to wait.
The lynchmob in this forum have already decided that CIG and CR are guilty, they have their noose and they're just looking for a good sturdy hangin' tree now...
Luckily the real world still recognizes the principle of "rule of law".
In the real world, you can't start a court case or investigation based on rumours, your "gut feel" or because "these things look very suspicious".
If you have a problem with the regulation of Kickstarter projects, then attack Kickstarter. Complain to the FTC about the fact that you believe Kickstarter organises scams and encourages fraudsters. Don't start a vendetta against one of the projects that was organised via their service. Address the cause, not the symptoms.
Seeing that Derek is offering $1M to those to investigate RSI pretty much outed him.
All of this charade is just because he has a financial interest in the game, seeing it as a serious competitor for his newest game. If you don't believe me take a minute and think about it.
I mean, some of his arguments are still legit, but you know. "Line of Defense" or something.
Comments
CR said 20 million dollars would launch the game that two sources quote CR placing around Nov 2014. CR could crowdfund 15 billion dollars for fluff and 150234 DLC packs.
Once again where is the 20 million dollar (CR estimated) core game?
Mr. Smart, don't waste your time explaining yourself to the rabid fanboy trolls who would rather smear the messenger than address the very important issue at hand. I implore you to work through the media. They are much more objective and will be more than happy to pick up on this investigation because it is obvious that there is foul play at hand with this sham CIG is pulling, and we all know the media loves to report on these type of mass multi-million dollar "ponzi scheme type" financial scandals.
We are also all well aware that trying to explain anything on game forums is just a waste of time. Especially with a game like Star Citizen that has amassed an obsessive and fanatical following that includes nearly 950,000 contributors. It is obvious that CIG has dispatched a slew of shills to the various gaming forums to try to smear you with your efforts to secure accountability. And why wouldn't this be the case when they set this tactic in motion by trying to do so themselves?
On every forum that you go to you will find 4-5 of the same posters regurgitating the same talking points (and we all know who those 4-5 are in this forum, don't we?). Even if CIG dispatched just one percent of those nearly 1 million fanatics it would amount to close to 1,000 fanboys on forums smearing you in their desire to silence you. So don't waste your time with the minions and go straight to the media outlets. They will be more than happy to indulge themselves in this investigation and when they do they will go for the "gusto," the boss encounters with the rare worthwhile loot, to get to the real matter at hand. They love that kinda stuff. Its what they do best.
That said, just know that there are many more people who do not frequent gaming forums who are supporting you in your effort to look out for the naive backer who is not aware of the shady tactics being practiced in this industry. And its getting worse with every game released. The only thing left is for gamers to be asked to contribute money so that a developer can go to bed, dream up a concept, and start selling space ship drawings for thousands of dollars with nothing more to show for it after 3-4 years than some fancy talk, a state of the art website, and concept drawings of space ships. Oh, wait ... nevermind *sigh*
Anyways, keep up the good fight Mr. Smart. You have a lot of support and your efforts are commendable in this instance. Might be worth looking into a crowd funding type campaign to raise funds for this cause. Whatever you decide, please do keep up the good fight on behalf of the little guy who has been trying to voice the same concerns you are now voicing only to be stymied and told to shut up by CIG and their legions of fanatic minions. Their actions are an admission of guilt and you will be vindicated. That is a certainty.
Private jet hmm is this true I read that somewhere . Well some authority should start an investigation into this scam if indeed it is one. No idea well time will tell I guess.
I also feel if you are dealing with donations from funding for the game there should be a cap on how much you pay yourself. If you start using this money and paying yourself and family large amounts it should be investigated.
Being worked on, if you cared to read the reports and watch the vblogs.
Personally I rather get a working, tested, polished core game (as long as it takes) instead of a buggy rush-job like Batman.
Have fun
Its a rumour. Coming from ... who would have thought ... Derek Smart. No one has brought any proof. Its just fire to fuel the flame war.
It may be false. It may be true. Who knows ? Perfect ammo for a mud fight.
I could potentially hire a private jet. With my own private money. I even have a pilot amongst my friends. *** Gasp *** Runs and hides from the pitchforks and torches ***
Have fun
In any company there is a 'cap' on how much you can pay yourself.
It is done in one (or both) of two ways:
Salaries etc can be set by shareholders / stakeholders / stockholders (depends on your local lingo) at AGMs. In big (public) companies people will vote to approve CEO salaries for example. You might say "Then why do they get paid millions?" - well because in successful companies people want to retain good CEOs so they pay them enough to stay.
In the case where the Directors control most of the shares (and so control the votes) what is usually done is to compare with 'industry standards' or 'what do all the other companies pay for the same job'?
So, Blizzard's CEO earns 2 million plus, so does Atari's. EA's got a mere $800,000. For an $85 million project.... anywhere in that range could probably be justified in that way. You could argue it... but you would need an expensive legal team to do so.
Unless you can show an obvious (in your face type) rort or incompetence - it's a difficult thing to argue.
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
Over and above the SC-specific issue, I have always had my own issues with the whole KS thing as applied to large projects with multi-million dollar budgets.
I get that KS donations ARE donations after all and there are neither guarantees nor oversight of the projects - they are all a leap of faith. That is all well and good in modest projects that raise money in the thousands where donors are typically donating amounts in the $10s or at most $100s.
But SC kicked this up to a new level and continued raising even more money with the sale of very expensive digital assets (ships) which many of us have been gaping at from afar in the same way we would watch a car wreck: wondering in horror how such things can happen.
So. IMHO, the usual truths about this being just donations and not normal commercial transactions, although being satisfactory explanations for small scale KS projects, should not really apply to something of this magnitude. Something that has the potential of tarnishing KS permanently for the many wonderful small projects that depend on it.
Then we can add all the missed deadlines, the exit of prominent developers after just a brief stay, the nepotism in hiring, the "indefinite" holds on much-promoted "stretch" features, etc. and yes, I agree, a serious investigation should happen.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
FYI I was just reading this in relation to FTC rules WRT e-commerce:
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order
"What is the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Rule?
The Rule requires that when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days. That is why direct marketers sometimes call this the "30-day Rule."
If, after taking the customer’s order, you learn that you cannot ship within the time you stated or within 30 days, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delayed shipment. If you cannot obtain the customer’s consent to the delay -- either because it is not a situation in which you are permitted to treat the customer’s silence as consent and the customer has not expressly consented to the delay, or because the customer has expressly refused to consent -- you must, without being asked, promptly refund all the money the customer paid you for the unshipped merchandise."
(My underlinging)
So, does this apply to KickStarter and computer game 'pre-orders' including Virtual Goods?
If so, I think this could get really interesting!
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
Did you enjoy that laugh? I hope so, because you have no idea what you're talking about. I sometimes wonder what it's like be the person that loves to run his mouth off no matter how little he knows. And to be arrogant about it too? LOL.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/11/alganon-community-interview-your-questions-answered/
We actually built and own all of our technology. There aren't many who realize what this means. Most companies sub license other technology to build their product and never really gain the ability to control the technology. This results in products that technically get stuck. We will not have this problem. We can evolve any aspect of Alganon as we see fit over time.
The Client and Server systems already support flying mounts, so we can put them in anytime. We can add player housing, guild housing, you name it. It's our engine, and it has been built to grow. The sky is the limit, and if we want to, we can move that, too.
And regardless of how well/ badly Alganon was, the technology infrastructure that he came out of the Quest Online coup is worth,yes, TENS of millions of dollars. If you don't have to pay out ANY royalties, that's hundreds of thousands per year in savings, and gives you endless flexibility. It allows you to run an MMO forever. That's why games shut down even though they have a couple thousands players: the licensing fees mean they need at least 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars every month to just break even at the operational level.
Go ask any MMO producers what a custom-built royalty free engine would do for them.
And Smart, by undermining QOL's investors faith in Allen, got it for a pittance. Probably the same thing he's doing here, since it already worked so well with Allen and QOL.
Nonsense. I could care less whether the game succeeds or fails. I just don't like snake oil salesman like Chris Roberts, he give the entire industry a bad name and makes kickstarter look bad. I have backed some kickstarter games and seen some successes and some not so successful. I will probably do so again.
As to Mr Smart, several other gaming forums I read have, for quite some time, been criticizing what a joke SC has become. This is NOT about Derek Smart, it is about the huge scam SC has become. I am glad he is making a ruckus about this game, it is about time someone did.
All I have to say to your nonsense is look at 38 studios, they took Rhode Island for a ride, Chris Roberts is doing one better and taking foolish internet gamers for a ride. If you think a game that entails all of Chris Roberts promises will ever result from this you are surely in la la land. It is looking more and more like a 38 studios fiasco.
derek tard is just an attention whore ... NOTHING MORE and he already accomplished what he wanted : free publicity and to feed the SC haters!
go away derek tard ... nobody likes you ... crawl back to your obscurity hole ... you little pathetic maggot ^_^
LOL the only thing entertaining about this who Chris Roberts, Derek Smart stuff is nothing new... if you really have faith in Derek Smart then go play the games he has been a part of, I'll even give you a list! ROFL
Derek Smart list of games.
IMO if anyone can pull off this kind of game its Chris Roberts himself
You say nonsense and say you don't care then go on to essentially prove what I was saying, you have your mind made up that it's a scam, so of course you side with Smart or anyone else who can possibly bring your wish to fruition.
What makes that even more funny is you try and discredit others because they consider Derek Smarts proven track record, this isn't even close to the first time he's been behind flame wars like this, it's also not the first time he's gone after major competitors in an underhanded manner.... Yet you go on to criticize others for not buying your it's a scam line site unseen?
So you don't need proof to spread your opinion, yet others with real proof backing up what they're saying are in the wrong? Horsecrap...
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
And all Hell break loose, heh.
Erillion, kudos.
I've been thinking while reading over all this just one thing: for a man responsible inflicting upon reality 'Battlecrusier 3000AD' (a wreck I spent my money on and - much more importantly - time trying to play it) Derek Smart is sure took a uneven position. He showed himself a lot of times without integrity, so no high horse for him.
I wonder how much Smart owe me. Broken promises and all that. After all my money is part of his million.
Sounds ridiculous, isn't it? Well, that how it sounds 'we have a right to know how CIG operates'. Whatever anyone concerned with about CIG it's their own problem. Support this or not - how CIG runs things is their own business. I hear it all the time, those concerns. And that's not about concerned founders. It's about jealousy. 'Where did he get those money when I have none?' Please. Stop it.
Also, I just fascinated how people ignore everything CIG telling about development of their game. Reading some posts gave me impression that CIG for those people is some kind of black box, while if fact they systematically report on their progress. Well, of course necessary level of assurance is different for everyone. After all I am satisfied with information I have at the moment. Someone surely want to ride CIG offices and see every employee face down. Just in case, you know. They might be running some shady business there.
Board of directors idea is just 'brilliant'. They will make those lazy developers do their job, will they? Meet deadlines and whatnot. Reminds me of something, though... Ah! Yes, game company as we know it. Jeez, the whole idea was that developers control development process. 'Out when it's done'. Remember SWG? Was good game. Too early, too little, dead too. And just a thought, another angle of this: hostile takeover. Anyone agrees? 'Board of directors', ha! No, sir.
I can go on and on. But I really don't want to. All that 'message is good, messenger is... what we have' is nonsense. There is only old rivalry and a lot empty talk. There is no message. And if you have doubts - or paranoia, what the hell - just pull out. Don't make your problems other's responsibility.
The release date of this game is "When it's done". Anything else, and we mean anything else is someone's speculation. There is no date. We don't know any date. If you have a friend who claims they have "inside info", or there's some game news site, or some computer store at the mall who claims they know - they do not. They are making it up. (So is Metacritic!) There is no date. Period. And yes, we know the game has taken a long time. There's no possible joke you could make about the game's development time that we haven't already heard.
[3D Realms on Duke Nukem: Forever]
I really wish whoever wrote this article did a little more research befor they wrote it. They would have learned that Derek Smart is a complete psycho with ulterior motives, including, but not limited to, self promotion and attention whoring. He was been stalking Chris Roberts for MANY years, even when he still worked at Origin. He has been given a full refund by CIG about a week ago too by the way.
I wish CIG was a little more transparent with their financials as much as any other guy, but Derek Smart is not the fucker you want infront of this. Shame on MMORPG.com for biting such low hanging fruit and spreading trash info. This is tabloid level journalism and a massive disgrace.
All he's going to do by this, if anyone takes up the 1million, is hurt everyone who wants this game to come out, because RSI is going to have to stop creating the game and spend the next number of years dealing with this freak'n legal bs.
He's trying to kill this game.
I guy who has made a living from selling unfinished buggy products has no right in my opinion to go around making the kind of fuss he is making about this..
That is VERY true. But remember that this over reaching capabilities thing is sort of Roberts' thing as well. He has a bad habit of coming up with new ideas...which is AWESOME.....if your core game is already working. As it is, what he does now is spread his resources too thin, so instead of 1 or 2 working modules, we have 5 half done modules. And there appears to be no end to this in sight. I WANT this game to rock. I want it to succeed. I am just not a Roberts fanboi that ignores his past tendencies when someone accuses him of the same things and worse.I know what you are saying.. but Roberts has been part of some of the best Sapce Sims to date.. Is he over reaching with SC? Will just have to wait and see but I am in no rush for them to push it out, game development takes many years and I am happy to wait.
The lynchmob in this forum have already decided that CIG and CR are guilty, they have their noose and they're just looking for a good sturdy hangin' tree now...
Luckily the real world still recognizes the principle of "rule of law".
In the real world, you can't start a court case or investigation based on rumours, your "gut feel" or because "these things look very suspicious".
If you have a problem with the regulation of Kickstarter projects, then attack Kickstarter. Complain to the FTC about the fact that you believe Kickstarter organises scams and encourages fraudsters. Don't start a vendetta against one of the projects that was organised via their service. Address the cause, not the symptoms.
Seeing that Derek is offering $1M to those to investigate RSI pretty much outed him.
All of this charade is just because he has a financial interest in the game, seeing it as a serious competitor for his newest game. If you don't believe me take a minute and think about it.
I mean, some of his arguments are still legit, but you know. "Line of Defense" or something.
(BTW i'm not a backer, just so you know)