Star Citizen Drama

[theyarecomingforyou]

I really respect your posts theyarecomingforyou but that last line is extremely hypocritical. I've read every post on this thread so far and on numerous occasions you attempted to serve your points by drawing similarties between Derek and Asmodai.

One such as "You're just regurgitating Derek Smart's irrational accusations without any critical thought." that you just said up above. I took a snip just in-case it vanishes mysteriously.

You are absolutely right and I apologise to Asmodai and anyone else affected. Clearly I stepped over the line with that comment. I try to be objective and reasonable but sometimes I get carried away and that was obviously one such example.

[FunkyMike]

[Fugi]

I don't know if I've ever seen such butt hurt on Neowin... Should be an interesting story to follow, and if this game is able to accomplish its goals that'd be pretty neat too!  I'm currently playing Elite, but SC looks like it may turn out to be more Eve like which i'd totally pay a monthly fee for.  All-in-all i'm excited to see what SC turns out to be, and I hope all this e-drama ###### doesn't ruin a good thing.

As to all the bitching and moaning about the kick starter or SC devs TOS, if the broke the law get off the internet and spin up a class action... otherwise stfu.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Here's another interesting take on the drama:

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/883/feature/10184/Death-of-a-Salesman.html

[theyarecomingforyou]

Here's another interesting take on the drama:

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/883/feature/10184/Death-of-a-Salesman.html

That's a pretty terrible article. Here are some quotes:

A good friend of mine spent a portion of his re-enlistment bonus backing Star Citizen, where he picked up a package with the Drake Caterpillar.  A ship he still can’t access or fly, by the way.  Though there are an increasing number of new ships not in the original campaign that he could purchase and get right into the game with.  When I asked about it during a visit to CIG, I was told he didn’t have his ship yet due to how non-linear the development process was.

I’m afraid that doesn’t cut it.  Early backers are still waiting on their ships while CIG entices new players with shiny new toys, and that’s not okay.  It shows a complete disregard for original backers and a lack of concern for ensuring folks get what they paid for.  Those who bought ships like the Caterpillar are completely justified in being upset, and every new ship design announced is just salt on the wound.

That's because multi-crew hasn't been implemented. The single-seater ships have been prioritised because that's all the engine currently supports. As a backer he should know that.

Backer money should be treated with a certain level of respect that CIG hasn’t given it.  Every opportunity to save and stretch funding should be taken.  Moving the bulk of your operations from Austin, TX to Santa Monica, CA is not how to do that.  Besides the fact that the game was pitched in Austin and represented through the early campaign as being based in Austin, the fact that property and salaries are so much more expensive in California is a very clear example of CIG not being a good steward of the funds they were gifted.

Where it's being developed is completely irrelevant. The studios have evolved over time and that's led to different needs. It's completely sensible for CIG to respond to that. There wasn't originally any intention to open a studio in Germany but things changed.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter whether Smart is telling the truth about Chris paying himself and Sandi excessively.

Again, this is an article based on the trolling campaign of Derek Smart. Whenever there's a Star Citizen concern story he's always at the centre.

Chris has created too big a cloud around the project.  He needs to step away.  With a strong Number 2 in the organization who he would have ceded his authority to, Chris would have been a fantastic asset to the project.

[...]

There’s a path forward.   It’s risky and they may not get to the finish line, but I don’t think they’ll make it at all unless something dramatic changes.  Specifically, Chris Roberts needs to go.

That's repeating another Derek Smart claim, that Chris Roberts needs to be taken away from leading the project despite him being the reason people backed the project.

Except there is one qualified candidate still around that could take over, Erin Roberts.  Erin’s name has come up multiple times during my interviews on another article about the business of video games.  His former Origin colleagues all seem to respect him, and I’ve heard his leadership complimented more than once.  I hate the idea of waiving one brother against another, but CIG is in trouble.  If it’s going to be salvaged, Chris needs to step away and Erin is about the only one left to step into his place.

That neglects the fact that Erin Roberts has stepped up, taking over from Alex Mayberry as the number two.

As you shift gears, take a hard look at financials and cut everything not directly related to supporting those two products and getting them out the door.  Part of that will mean shifting work Manchester where development is less expensive and CIG could take advantage of a 25% tax benefit, eventually closing down the shop in California and probably Austin, as well.  I’d rather see the work go to Austin, but Manchester is where Erin is, and it’d be better for the game in the end.  While you’re running on backer money, you have a moral obligation to be extremely conservative.

So they're wanting CIG to pull out of the US altogether, despite that being where a large amount of the talent is? That's a pretty ridiculous statement to make. I mean, why stop there? Poland is an even cheaper place to develop games than Manchester or Frankfurt. What about China? It's for Chris Roberts and CIG to decide where the studios are and whether they're cost effective, not armchair critics who don't have the pertinent information.

The entire article parrots Derek Smart claim by claim. It's a direct attack against Chris Roberts' character based on rumours and accusations.

I could list eight areas of legitimate concern off the top of my head:

1) Constantly reworking ships (the Constellation has been remodelled numerous times, as has the Freelancer, 300 series, Cutlass, etc).
2) Assigning the FPS module to an inexperienced contractor, which has led to numerous significant delays.
3) Neglecting playable content (we still only have the same two arenas and one racing location, plus the feature-devoid and buggy Social Module).
4) Allowing people to buy weapons using real-money for use in Arena Commander, making the game borderline pay-2-win (though you can earn rental credits to unlock that content).
5) Progress is kept hidden for big events like Gamescom and CitizenCon, to the point where people question whether there is any.
6) Backers are kept in the dark about when updates are coming and what they'll contain.
7) Over complicating the game before the basics are done (i.e. the passenger transport profession).
8) Missing deadlines (they claim to learn their lesson every time then make the same mistake).

[+Asmodai MVC]

 

That's a pretty terrible article. Here are some quotes:

Well that not responding to me thing didn't last long, rofl.

That's because multi-crew hasn't been implemented. The single-seater ships have been prioritised because that's all the engine currently supports. As a backer he should know that.

I think you missed his point.  I believe his point was that they should be prioritizing finishing ships they've already sold over creating even more new ships to sell.  He may very well be aware that it's because multi-crew hasn't been implemented but his position seems to be they should finish multi-crew so they can actually deliver the ships they've already sold before they make even more single crew chips.  It's an opinion of course and you can obviously disagree with him.

Where it's being developed is completely irrelevant. The studios have evolved over time and that's led to different needs. It's completely sensible for CIG to respond to that. There wasn't originally any intention to open a studio in Germany but things changed.

It's not completely irrelevant.  Where a game is developed, the number of employees they have, the number of offices, they have, etc. all determine how much money they spend.  Paying for multiple offices costs more money, having an office in CA is more expensive than having on in TX, etc.  It's all reverent to how quickly they are going through the money they have and how long they can afford to continue developing.  If they've only got $8 million dollars left (as some have claimed) and they're spending say $2 million/month of the multiple offices, developer salaries, etc. then they've only got 4 months until they run out of money... if they game is a least 6 months off that's a huge issue.  I'm not saying those are the correct numbers, neither you or I have any way of knowing the exact numbers, but it's an example illustrating why location is relevant.

 

That neglects the fact that Erin Roberts has stepped up, taking over from Alex Mayberry as the number two.

He gives pretty big props to Erin Roberts and he's suggesting that if Chris Roberts were to step down that Erin would be a great candidate to replace him.

So they're wanting CIG to pull out of the US altogether, despite that being where a large amount of the talent is? That's a pretty ridiculous statement to make. I mean, why stop there? Poland is an even cheaper place to develop games than Manchester or Frankfurt. What about China? It's for Chris Roberts and CIG to decide where the studios are and whether they're cost effective, not armchair critics who don't have the pertinent information.

I thought he explained that pretty well but apparently you didn't understand so I'll try to clarify it for you.  He seems to express he would PREFER them to stay in TX (the author is from TX himself) but the studio choice is based off the idea that Erin Roberts takes over the project.  Since Erin Roberts is based out of the UK then it makes sense to have the development center around the studio the leader is based out of.

[Luc2k]

The citizencon stream is hilarious, that counter has gone up, down, stopped, gone up again.. you get the point. Maybe they've run out of money for an actual stream.

http://www.twitch.tv/starcitizen

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

The most interesting thing to come out of all of this for me, is that people still listen to Derek Smart.

[spaceelf]

The most interesting thing to come out of all of this for me, is that people still listen to Derek Smart.

I know right?  Why would anyone do that?  I think I'd trust my neighbors opinion more, and they wouldn't know a game from a Chinese monkey.

[Melfster]

What people don't understand about it really is really breaking new ground.  People are so you use retread AAA titles they would know good original AAA title if it bit them in the ass.  I more confident this will be great game it just going to take longer than normal because (graphics/physics/ai/network) tech is vastly superior then anything that can be done on current consoles.  

[HawkMan]

The most interesting thing to come out of all of this for me, is that people still listen to Derek Smart.

Except the only people here listening to him are the diehard deniers.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Rock Paper Shotgun did a pretty good recap of the whole situation here:

Star Citizen 101: What Is It And Why Is It So Controversial?

[FloatingFatMan]

Rock Paper Shotgun did a pretty good recap of the whole situation here:

Star Citizen 101: What Is It And Why Is It So Controversial?

I can recap it even quicker than that.

Star Citizen, or How to Get Screwed Even Harder Than Richard Garriot Did By NCSoft.