Star Citizen has lit up headlines for its impressive fundraising success since its Kickstarter campaign in 2012. Unfortunately, the projects is making waves now due to a conflict with a backer that led to developer Cloud Imperium Games canceling a pledge from one of its earliest supporters.
On November 19, 2012, Cloud Imperium Games celebrated the closing of its $2.1 million, 34,000 backer Kickstarter Campaign to fund Star Citizen. The project was pitched as a return to the heyday of space simulation games, and according to the original pitch, we should be playing it right now.
The “finished game” was promised for delivery in November 2014, but even before the Kickstarter campaign closed, Cloud Imperium and its leader Chris Roberts (of Wing Commander fame) had bigger ideas. The company had started raising money via its own website, pulling in over $3 million more during the campaign that was unaffiliated with Kickstarter.
Today, over 925,000 people have contributed more than $85 million to the project, which has exploded in scope. In addition to the single-player Squadron 42 campaign, the multiplayer Arena Commander modes, and a persistent universe, CIG is building a first-person shooter “module” for the game.
The company has rolled out a huge number of ships for purchase, with individual models (with access to the game) as low as $45. A “completionist” package that includes all ships designed and released for sale in 2014 plus a couple from 2015 will set you back $15,000. That includes 46 different ships (with some duplicates), and the game is still only in its alpha phase.
Recently, Roberts had to address the community regarding the months-overdue first-person module, Star Marine. At that time, he admitted the company had strayed from its pledge of open communication, rededicating itself to that mission.
About the same time, independent developer and Star Citizen Kickstarter backer Derek Smart started to raise concerns over the game’s “feature creep.” In a lengthy blog post, he lays out specific reasons for his frustration, including delays, key staff departures, allegations of nepotism, and a complete shift from the original pitch to a project that has become unrecognizable to the earliest backers.
Specifically, he states that the Hangar Module, the first piece of Star Citizen that was made available in August 2013, is simply a gallery for looking at ships that couldn’t be used. The current Arena Commander multiplayer module is allegedly “largely a broken mess,” and with the Star Marine FPS module indefinitely delayed, Smart asserts that there is, in fact, “no Star Citizen game.” Later, he calls the game "vaporware."
Smart suggests that the game that CIG has laid out in a roadmap does not resemble the original Kickstarter pitch and, with the growth of the scope, would cost in the neighborhood of $150 million to deliver. He is currently calling for an FTC investigation of Cloud Imperium Games to loosen the ability for unhappy backers to receive refunds.
“Some have also pointed out that, in my bid to get answers, that by exposing all this stuff, raising all these questions, prompting people to get the FTC involved etc, that I run the risk of outright killing the project,” Smart writes on his personal website. “My short form answer to that is this: if you are saying that the FTC going in there is going to lead to them finding something which would ultimately kill the project, how exactly is that my fault?”
While these allegations from a fellow developer are certainly worth considering, it’s what happened next that piqued our interest and spurred us to investigate the situation. Rather than engage Smart in a dialogue or simply ignore one of over 925,000 backers’ allegations, CIG took action.
Click to enlarge.
Smart received the email above, canceling and refunding his Kickstarter contribution and repossessing his in-game goods (via cancelation of his game account). We contacted Cloud Imperium for its response to these allegations and a statement on why it suddenly canceled Smart’s pledge. A representative sent us the following statement via email.
We refunded Mr. Smart’s package because he was using Star Citizen as a platform to gain attention as part of a campaign to promote his ‘Line of Defense’ space game. Our Terms of Service (or in this case, the Kickstarter ToS) allows us to refund troubled users who we would rather not have interacting with the community. The process lets us entirely disable their accounts, preventing them from playing the finished game. Think of it as the video game equivalent of a ‘we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’ sign in a restaurant. We’ve used this ability a limited number of times in the past, always with the aim of improving the community.
That is not to say you can get your money back by simply being as obnoxious as possible; we’re also able to close accounts without requiring a refund. But sometimes we take a look at a user and decide that they’re so toxic or their intentions are so sinister that we simply don’t want them associated with Star Citizen.
As for refund requests working the other way: per the ToS, we’re not required to offer them. We do try and work with backers who are facing hardships, but the hard truth is that the money is by necessity being spent to develop a game rather than sitting unused somewhere (that being the significant difference with Steam; those refunds are taken out of their games’ profits rather than their development budgets.)
In the end, we reserve the right to close an account for any reason. In this case, Derek was causing distress to our staff and our community by generally using Star Citizen and his criticism of the game to attract attention to himself and his game.
That completely goes counter to the spirit of the relationship we have with our community and as such we don’t want him part of it. BTW, we haven’t asked him to take down his post or sent him any C&D. We haven’t asked other people to remove/edit/moderate their posts either. Derek is entitled to his opinion, we just don’t want Derek as a backer.
Smart vehemently denies CIG's assertion. "I have NEVER - EVER - posted there," he told us. "As in NEVER. Not even with an alias (I simply wouldn't do that)." CIG, however, cites Smart's blog and social media presence as the source of distress.
Smart also disputes CIG’s right to close his account and seize his in-game goods. “And on top of all this, they have pretty much given validation to the notion that, aside from all the hyperbole that some would say are evident in my articles, there is something that worries them in what I am writing in my articles,” Smart wrote in a post on the MMORPG.com forums. “Why else would they attempt to kick me out, or to silence me? What did I do ON RSI SYSTEMS that would warrant such an action? Here's the thing. It changes nothing. Them yanking my account, and items, doesn't change the fact that I owned them, they took them illegally, libeled me etc. amid my articles, and the flurry of press and discussions surrounding them.”
Smart says his concerns prompted a poll in the Star Citizen forums related to the CIG refund policy. Approximately 25 percent of the 1,173 respondents believe that the developer should now make refunds available to anyone who requests them. Based on CIG's statement to us, it does not seem that the developer will making sweeping changes to its refund policy.
My take on all this is that people should be asking for refunds I asked for a refund myself late December last year due to the same concerns, its like they keep stringing this project along and not getting any work done, hell half the Kickstarter projects I backed in 2012 like Wasteland 2, Elite Dangerous, and several other titles are all 100% completed and released, while CIG seems to be still developing and selling concept ships, I had great faith the first couple of years that we would see stuff rolling out at a decent pace, my faith started to drop as their live streams over that time, partying, getting high on live streams and other nonsense, as someone who loved previous Chris Roberts titles seeing all this over time made me less and less interested in the project.
I made the request for a refund and of course they refused , so I basically sold my account thankfully I did with all this stuff now coming to light.
I would hope Mr. Smart actions doesn't kill the projects completely for the sake of other backers but you gotta do what you gotta do if you feel if there are concerns.
My question is how is him talking about SC and his own games on his own website and blog grounds for account removal? Sounds like a reach for a reason to me.
Also 925,000 for 85 million? Something doesnt add up unless they have a handful of people that donated millions and I seriously doubt that or else they would look to be real investors looking for future gain.
My question is how is him talking about SC and his own games on his own website and blog grounds for account removal? Sounds like a reach for a reason to me.
Also 925,000 for 85 million? Something doesnt add up unless they have a handful of people that donated millions and I seriously doubt that or else they would look to be real investors looking for future gain.
$85,000,000 / 925,000 backers = $91.89 per backer. Seems to add up or should I say divide up fine for me.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
I keep myself off of hype trains. I'll look on from a distance. I refuse to get emotionally invested in games where I'm not seeing developers hard commit to benchmarks and due dates.
These days, all a guy has to do is have a resume that includes a game that we used to love, some 3D fly throughs, and a whole lot of sweet talk and the panties drop right off for a good portion of you. Collectively it's your right to be gullible and throw your money at anybody who can fast talk you out of it. This is the American way (apparently). The problem is when it sets a dangerous precedent for the entire PC gaming business.
Star Citizen has raised enough money to be put into AAA category. If they don't deliver an AAA quality release it will be a tremendous and very visible blow for PC gaming OVERALL. People calling RSI on missteps and questioning them is needed. What is also needed is for RSI to DELIVER. Being in a constant state of "it's done when it's done" feels more like a scam than a legit business practice. We've seen this many times in many iterations. I don't know if they will or won't but I don't see how these guys are magically different than all the other POS guys who are out and about selling pipe dreams and not following through.
Taking advantage of impulsive, restless, and gullible PC gamers with lots of disposable income is great for shysters but bad for the overall business and entertainment that is PC gaming. It's funny how PC gamers refer to themselves as the Master Race when they're constantly bent over by vaporware devs/publishers.
"As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*"
Originally posted by ceratop001 I guarantee somebody is going to Jail after this is all said and done.
Unless someone is stealing money from the government, nobody is ever going to jail for not completing the kickstarter goal, or in case D. Smart is wrong for defamation of the Star Citizen enterprise.
Originally posted by chilliz I think he has some very valid concerns and questions. Its one thing just being a hater, but really questioning and asking whats going on with this game should be anyones right. Everything about this game just seems dubious, they are getting funds that tentpole Hollywood movies might get, and its only right to be asking the questions
this.
I think in general the community is afraid to speak out against companies in this manner. I think D Smart is brave for stepping up and publicly questioning something a lot of us have long thought..
"Beliefs don't change facts. Facts, if you're reasonable, should change your beliefs."
"The Society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
Currently: Games Audio Engineer, you didn't hear what I heard, you heard what I wanted you to hear.
They should simply make a new refund police where they offered the money back for people that ended deceived by their sales statements.
They changed things promised and things added resulted in an expanded game in scope (per own Roberts statements). Nobody is obligated to accept to stay. Some people bought not willing to wait for too many years beyond 2. It's just... fair.
If any person go to legal means, CIG will have to do that anyway. "Fair Act"... there is a reason for the law having this name. "Do not be unfair with customers".
It just make a lot worst for their image. Why to do that? The result is obvious. They are been ridiculous. Want to play the "fanboy hero" role or something.
And when "lawsuit opened because do not want to give refund" headlines start to pop up, they can consider themselves death in this business. It's a very sensitive target public. They won't come this way. Neither will feel good on staying.
And they did the worst possible move when banned the guy.
They basically proving him right by doing that.
If they have nothing wrong to hide, they would just show and prove him wrong. At this point is pretty clear that their image is affected and their reliability is seriously damaged. Or they do something, or, maybe they don't care and are just scamming people after all. It simply does not make sense.
For me personally it comes down to a matter of trust. Whom do i trust more ? Chris Roberts, creator of functioning, working games (milestones in computer game history) that gave me some of my most memorable moments in my personal gaming history ? Or Derek Smart, creator of some of the worst pieces of buggy untested rubbish i ever bought out of the second hand bin, self-proclaimed internet troublemaker desperately trying (by flaming CIG) to get SOME publicity for himself (and his old games and his failing steam early access MMO that is currently burning up in a downward spiral).
The answer: I trust Chris Roberts more than i trust Derek Smart. I gave CIG my money (1 ship, Constellation) and trust them to come up with a new milestone in the space sim genre - and I personally do not care how much time they need, as I rather have a well tested, well polished, content heavy game like Witcher 3 than a buggy rush job delivered on time like Batman (PC).
Have fun
It's not a question of past games though.
It's a question of this game.
It's a question of: Can Star Citizen be delivered? When? and in what state with what features?
And in your case - when a game is delivered - will you be able to play with the content you have already paid for?
Hate Derek Smart and like Chris Roberts all you like - none of that addresses the questions.
As for "trust" - well - good luck - I hope it pays off for you. If it does - well done. If it doesn't - please learn from it.
Heh. What, no one ever heard about Derek Smart before? Even this heated discussion works into his favor just as he intended. Actually, this is not about Star Citizen. This is about Derek Smart acting as he always does. 'Star Citizen this, Star Citizen that...' It's all a lie. Yeah, yeah - valid points, of course! - my bad. But they were valid long before Derek's pledge was refunded. He shouldn't have used SC for advertising in the first place.
It's another to try to start a shit storm that leads to tons of people asking for a refund and killing the game for no reason other than schadenfreude.
Backers of this game already worry a bit in the back of their minds about giving this kind of money for intangible goods. They probably get questioned by loved ones and friends "why on Earth would you give money to this?"
To have someone that has no business giving other people crap about how they develop their games and is supposedly "one of us" play on those fears for no apparent reason than to stick it to Chris Roberts is dirty pool, and the actions of a grade A troll.
Well, if his concern was truly because he is a backer, then he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as CIG has decided they don't need to worry about him anymore, either.
SC Backers don't need a savior. We need a focused CIG working on getting us a completed game.
It's another to try to start a shit storm that leads to tons of people asking for a refund and killing the game for no reason other than schadenfreude.
Backers of this game already worry a bit in the back of their minds about giving this kind of money for intangible goods. They probably get questioned by loved ones and friends "why on Earth would you give money to this?"
To have someone that has no business giving other people crap about how they develop their games and is supposedly "one of us" play on those fears for no apparent reason than to stick it to Chris Roberts is dirty pool, and the actions of a grade A troll.
Well, if his concern was truly because he is a backer, then he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as CIG has decided they don't need to worry about him anymore, either.
SC Backers don't need a savior. We need a focused CIG working on getting us a completed game.
So, pretty please. With sugar on top. STFU.
Yet no concern over $85 million in funds and a missed November 2014 Kickstarter release date.
Too bad more people didn't worry about this either:
It's another to try to start a shit storm that leads to tons of people asking for a refund and killing the game for no reason other than schadenfreude.
Backers of this game already worry a bit in the back of their minds about giving this kind of money for intangible goods. They probably get questioned by loved ones and friends "why on Earth would you give money to this?"
To have someone that has no business giving other people crap about how they develop their games and is supposedly "one of us" play on those fears for no apparent reason than to stick it to Chris Roberts is dirty pool, and the actions of a grade A troll.
Well, if his concern was truly because he is a backer, then he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as CIG has decided they don't need to worry about him anymore, either.
SC Backers don't need a savior. We need a focused CIG working on getting us a completed game.
So, pretty please. With sugar on top. STFU.
If it is not very obvious to you by this time how incapable Chris Roberts and his team are of achieving all the promises have made then you are extremely naive. About time you face reality.
As a prank they sent him their Goonrathi Star Citizen fleet rooster and he tried to convert it into a list of peope that supposedly want their money back from CIG ... even wanted to make it into a form to be filled out (unknowingly acting as a Goonrathi recruiter).
A Derek Smart Star Citizen pledge .... 250 $ (well, more like -250 $ now)
A class action lawsuit against CIG ... a few million $ (fishing for a settlement ?)
Goonrathi playing a prank on Derek Smart .... priceless !
As a prank they sent him their Goonrathi Star Citizen fleet rooster and he tried to convert it into a list of peope that supposedly want their money back from CIG ... even wanted to make it into a form to be filled out (unknowingly acting as a Goonrathi recruiter).
A Derek Smart Star Citizen pledge .... 250 $ (well, more like -250 $ now)
A class action lawsuit against CIG ... a few million $ (fishing for a settlement ?)
Goonrathi playing a prank on Derek Smart .... priceless !
Have fun
I thought referring to or discussing anything done by SA was a no no for you...
found this on reddit, there is so much more outrageous stuff he wrote spanning over decades.
The gift that keeps on giving.
Regarding the whole SC bashing thing I´m just wondering which will be the next topic he´ll jump on. He´ll find something new that upsets him sooner or later, dunno maybe he´s going after Descent Underground next as he already called Wingman an a**.
Comments
Star Citizen has lit up headlines for its impressive fundraising success since its Kickstarter campaign in 2012. Unfortunately, the projects is making waves now due to a conflict with a backer that led to developer Cloud Imperium Games canceling a pledge from one of its earliest supporters.
On November 19, 2012, Cloud Imperium Games celebrated the closing of its $2.1 million, 34,000 backer Kickstarter Campaign to fund Star Citizen. The project was pitched as a return to the heyday of space simulation games, and according to the original pitch, we should be playing it right now.
The “finished game” was promised for delivery in November 2014, but even before the Kickstarter campaign closed, Cloud Imperium and its leader Chris Roberts (of Wing Commander fame) had bigger ideas. The company had started raising money via its own website, pulling in over $3 million more during the campaign that was unaffiliated with Kickstarter.
Today, over 925,000 people have contributed more than $85 million to the project, which has exploded in scope. In addition to the single-player Squadron 42 campaign, the multiplayer Arena Commander modes, and a persistent universe, CIG is building a first-person shooter “module” for the game.
The company has rolled out a huge number of ships for purchase, with individual models (with access to the game) as low as $45. A “completionist” package that includes all ships designed and released for sale in 2014 plus a couple from 2015 will set you back $15,000. That includes 46 different ships (with some duplicates), and the game is still only in its alpha phase.
Recently, Roberts had to address the community regarding the months-overdue first-person module, Star Marine. At that time, he admitted the company had strayed from its pledge of open communication, rededicating itself to that mission.
About the same time, independent developer and Star Citizen Kickstarter backer Derek Smart started to raise concerns over the game’s “feature creep.” In a lengthy blog post, he lays out specific reasons for his frustration, including delays, key staff departures, allegations of nepotism, and a complete shift from the original pitch to a project that has become unrecognizable to the earliest backers.
Specifically, he states that the Hangar Module, the first piece of Star Citizen that was made available in August 2013, is simply a gallery for looking at ships that couldn’t be used. The current Arena Commander multiplayer module is allegedly “largely a broken mess,” and with the Star Marine FPS module indefinitely delayed, Smart asserts that there is, in fact, “no Star Citizen game.” Later, he calls the game "vaporware."
Smart suggests that the game that CIG has laid out in a roadmap does not resemble the original Kickstarter pitch and, with the growth of the scope, would cost in the neighborhood of $150 million to deliver. He is currently calling for an FTC investigation of Cloud Imperium Games to loosen the ability for unhappy backers to receive refunds.
“Some have also pointed out that, in my bid to get answers, that by exposing all this stuff, raising all these questions, prompting people to get the FTC involved etc, that I run the risk of outright killing the project,” Smart writes on his personal website. “My short form answer to that is this: if you are saying that the FTC going in there is going to lead to them finding something which would ultimately kill the project, how exactly is that my fault?”
While these allegations from a fellow developer are certainly worth considering, it’s what happened next that piqued our interest and spurred us to investigate the situation. Rather than engage Smart in a dialogue or simply ignore one of over 925,000 backers’ allegations, CIG took action.
Click to enlarge.
Smart received the email above, canceling and refunding his Kickstarter contribution and repossessing his in-game goods (via cancelation of his game account). We contacted Cloud Imperium for its response to these allegations and a statement on why it suddenly canceled Smart’s pledge. A representative sent us the following statement via email.
We refunded Mr. Smart’s package because he was using Star Citizen as a platform to gain attention as part of a campaign to promote his ‘Line of Defense’ space game. Our Terms of Service (or in this case, the Kickstarter ToS) allows us to refund troubled users who we would rather not have interacting with the community. The process lets us entirely disable their accounts, preventing them from playing the finished game. Think of it as the video game equivalent of a ‘we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’ sign in a restaurant. We’ve used this ability a limited number of times in the past, always with the aim of improving the community.
That is not to say you can get your money back by simply being as obnoxious as possible; we’re also able to close accounts without requiring a refund. But sometimes we take a look at a user and decide that they’re so toxic or their intentions are so sinister that we simply don’t want them associated with Star Citizen.
As for refund requests working the other way: per the ToS, we’re not required to offer them. We do try and work with backers who are facing hardships, but the hard truth is that the money is by necessity being spent to develop a game rather than sitting unused somewhere (that being the significant difference with Steam; those refunds are taken out of their games’ profits rather than their development budgets.)
In the end, we reserve the right to close an account for any reason. In this case, Derek was causing distress to our staff and our community by generally using Star Citizen and his criticism of the game to attract attention to himself and his game.
That completely goes counter to the spirit of the relationship we have with our community and as such we don’t want him part of it. BTW, we haven’t asked him to take down his post or sent him any C&D. We haven’t asked other people to remove/edit/moderate their posts either. Derek is entitled to his opinion, we just don’t want Derek as a backer.
Smart vehemently denies CIG's assertion. "I have NEVER - EVER - posted there," he told us. "As in NEVER. Not even with an alias (I simply wouldn't do that)." CIG, however, cites Smart's blog and social media presence as the source of distress.
Smart also disputes CIG’s right to close his account and seize his in-game goods. “And on top of all this, they have pretty much given validation to the notion that, aside from all the hyperbole that some would say are evident in my articles, there is something that worries them in what I am writing in my articles,” Smart wrote in a post on the MMORPG.com forums. “Why else would they attempt to kick me out, or to silence me? What did I do ON RSI SYSTEMS that would warrant such an action? Here's the thing. It changes nothing. Them yanking my account, and items, doesn't change the fact that I owned them, they took them illegally, libeled me etc. amid my articles, and the flurry of press and discussions surrounding them.”
Smart says his concerns prompted a poll in the Star Citizen forums related to the CIG refund policy. Approximately 25 percent of the 1,173 respondents believe that the developer should now make refunds available to anyone who requests them. Based on CIG's statement to us, it does not seem that the developer will making sweeping changes to its refund policy.
[Source: Derek Smart, Cloud Imperium Games via PC Gamer]
My take on all this is that people should be asking for refunds I asked for a refund myself late December last year due to the same concerns, its like they keep stringing this project along and not getting any work done, hell half the Kickstarter projects I backed in 2012 like Wasteland 2, Elite Dangerous, and several other titles are all 100% completed and released, while CIG seems to be still developing and selling concept ships, I had great faith the first couple of years that we would see stuff rolling out at a decent pace, my faith started to drop as their live streams over that time, partying, getting high on live streams and other nonsense, as someone who loved previous Chris Roberts titles seeing all this over time made me less and less interested in the project.
I made the request for a refund and of course they refused , so I basically sold my account thankfully I did with all this stuff now coming to light.
I would hope Mr. Smart actions doesn't kill the projects completely for the sake of other backers but you gotta do what you gotta do if you feel if there are concerns.
My question is how is him talking about SC and his own games on his own website and blog grounds for account removal? Sounds like a reach for a reason to me.
Also 925,000 for 85 million? Something doesnt add up unless they have a handful of people that donated millions and I seriously doubt that or else they would look to be real investors looking for future gain.
$85,000,000 / 925,000 backers = $91.89 per backer. Seems to add up or should I say divide up fine for me.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
I keep myself off of hype trains. I'll look on from a distance. I refuse to get emotionally invested in games where I'm not seeing developers hard commit to benchmarks and due dates.
These days, all a guy has to do is have a resume that includes a game that we used to love, some 3D fly throughs, and a whole lot of sweet talk and the panties drop right off for a good portion of you. Collectively it's your right to be gullible and throw your money at anybody who can fast talk you out of it. This is the American way (apparently). The problem is when it sets a dangerous precedent for the entire PC gaming business.
Star Citizen has raised enough money to be put into AAA category. If they don't deliver an AAA quality release it will be a tremendous and very visible blow for PC gaming OVERALL. People calling RSI on missteps and questioning them is needed. What is also needed is for RSI to DELIVER. Being in a constant state of "it's done when it's done" feels more like a scam than a legit business practice. We've seen this many times in many iterations. I don't know if they will or won't but I don't see how these guys are magically different than all the other POS guys who are out and about selling pipe dreams and not following through.
Taking advantage of impulsive, restless, and gullible PC gamers with lots of disposable income is great for shysters but bad for the overall business and entertainment that is PC gaming. It's funny how PC gamers refer to themselves as the Master Race when they're constantly bent over by vaporware devs/publishers.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
QFT, and this is the only way to operate in todays PC Gaming climate.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Unless someone is stealing money from the government, nobody is ever going to jail for not completing the kickstarter goal, or in case D. Smart is wrong for defamation of the Star Citizen enterprise.
Cant see this game being on the scale promised so I'm in agreement with the guy, I just cant imagine the modules working together as a fun experience.
They certainly churn out a lot of words about Star Citizen but until it is out its just propaganda to me.
this.
I think in general the community is afraid to speak out against companies in this manner. I think D Smart is brave for stepping up and publicly questioning something a lot of us have long thought..
"The Society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
Currently: Games Audio Engineer, you didn't hear what I heard, you heard what I wanted you to hear.
They should simply make a new refund police where they offered the money back for people that ended deceived by their sales statements.
They changed things promised and things added resulted in an expanded game in scope (per own Roberts statements). Nobody is obligated to accept to stay. Some people bought not willing to wait for too many years beyond 2. It's just... fair.
If any person go to legal means, CIG will have to do that anyway. "Fair Act"... there is a reason for the law having this name. "Do not be unfair with customers".
It just make a lot worst for their image. Why to do that? The result is obvious. They are been ridiculous. Want to play the "fanboy hero" role or something.
And when "lawsuit opened because do not want to give refund" headlines start to pop up, they can consider themselves death in this business. It's a very sensitive target public. They won't come this way. Neither will feel good on staying.
And they did the worst possible move when banned the guy.
They basically proving him right by doing that.
If they have nothing wrong to hide, they would just show and prove him wrong. At this point is pretty clear that their image is affected and their reliability is seriously damaged. Or they do something, or, maybe they don't care and are just scamming people after all. It simply does not make sense.
/thread
http://www.entropiapartners.com/?r=22415
On his own blog after paying $250 to actually back the product? Is that how advertising works these days?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
To answer the thread title:
It's one thing to question, ask for updates, etc.
It's another to try to start a shit storm that leads to tons of people asking for a refund and killing the game for no reason other than schadenfreude.
Backers of this game already worry a bit in the back of their minds about giving this kind of money for intangible goods. They probably get questioned by loved ones and friends "why on Earth would you give money to this?"
To have someone that has no business giving other people crap about how they develop their games and is supposedly "one of us" play on those fears for no apparent reason than to stick it to Chris Roberts is dirty pool, and the actions of a grade A troll.
Well, if his concern was truly because he is a backer, then he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as CIG has decided they don't need to worry about him anymore, either.
SC Backers don't need a savior. We need a focused CIG working on getting us a completed game.
So, pretty please. With sugar on top. STFU.
Yet no concern over $85 million in funds and a missed November 2014 Kickstarter release date.
Too bad more people didn't worry about this either:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/38_Studios
Nope, none at all. I've backed several Kickstarter projects, not one of which has made a deadline because of stretch goals.
Have gotten the promised product everytime, though. Even as much as 18 months late.
So, no I'm not concerned.
If it is not very obvious to you by this time how incapable Chris Roberts and his team are of achieving all the promises have made then you are extremely naive. About time you face reality.
The Goons - whatever you may think of them - never fail to entertain. They made Mr. Smart put his foot in deep ;-)
http://i.imgur.com/beRIvnp.jpg
As a prank they sent him their Goonrathi Star Citizen fleet rooster and he tried to convert it into a list of peope that supposedly want their money back from CIG ... even wanted to make it into a form to be filled out (unknowingly acting as a Goonrathi recruiter).
A Derek Smart Star Citizen pledge .... 250 $ (well, more like -250 $ now)
A class action lawsuit against CIG ... a few million $ (fishing for a settlement ?)
Goonrathi playing a prank on Derek Smart .... priceless !
Have fun
I thought referring to or discussing anything done by SA was a no no for you...
^
that sums up the whole story perfectly.
found this on reddit, there is so much more outrageous stuff he wrote spanning over decades.
The gift that keeps on giving.
Regarding the whole SC bashing thing I´m just wondering which will be the next topic he´ll jump on. He´ll find something new that upsets him sooner or later, dunno maybe he´s going after Descent Underground next as he already called Wingman an a**.
Goonrathi is a Star Citizen organisation (=player guild).
Have fun