Has anyone even checked this guys reviews for his games? He makes crap, if he knew what he was talking about you would think he would be able to produce a good game.
Guy has been out of touch since 1996, hell he just released crap and then pimps the same pile of crap till he gets a somewhat decent rating it seems. Took 7 years of re releases for people to even give a half decent of his first title.
Universal combat was pure fail as well, Galactic Command Echo Squad a 1.7 on metacritic, Angle of Attack 4/10 on steam, All aspects warfare 5/10 on steam with a 2.5 from critics, line of defense 5/10.
So seriously people, this is a mediocre developer just getting pissy because he has been outshone by Chris Roberts since wing commander.
Not to mention the amount of flame wars he likes to start just for the hell of it. I have a feeling that most of the people who defend his point of view have not even played area commander in SC or pledged and played. Nor do they ever actually go to the SC website to see the overwhelming amount of information that's on there.
A lot of people also don't seem to realize that people want to pledge money to see the game made. The way I see it, if a game developer wants to have a crowd funded game by selling pre orders and selling virtual items ahead of time to fund it, then why not? The people who are throwing money down for these virtual items know exactly what they are doing, and what they are paying for.
People love to scream vaporware when they don't realize it takes at least 5 years for any game to be worked on with a scope thats this size. If it fails, oh well ,but at least wait until theres actually more modules released and play them to start complaining.
Don't know that much about Derek Smart, but from his posts I wouldn't be inviting him into my gaming group. Now a bunch of my game group have experience with Chris Roberts first hand, and I guarantee that they wouldn't be inviting him in either.
Some of the points raised about Star Citizen are legit though. Roberts has admitted wasting a million man hours of work on Strike Commander. That's about 5 months work of his entire SC team now, right? And that was with the support of a major game design/publishing team. All Roberts early work was done under the umbrella of a major developer. So when he bit off more than he could chew, there was someone there to help pick up the pieces. Since then.....
Roberts left Origin to go out on his own, supposedly to 'get free' of publisher interference. What did Digital Anvil produce in their four years of his control. Nothing. The only game they released was produced out-house. And that was with Microsoft money pumped in. Yep, Roberts accepted Microsoft money as part of his 'getting free'. Once Microsoft bought him out later, it still took years of work and money to deliver Freelancer. It was already way behind schedule at the buyout, even with the MS money already spent. Well, I guess you could include Wing Commander: The Movie as something produced, but that's not a gem on anyone's resume.
Even at Origin Roberts, like Garriott, suffered from the same troublesome issue. They surrounded themselves with sycophants and yes men, putting people into positions of power based on their willingness to pander rather than their skills on the job. Though to be fair, Roberts was better than Garriott as a producer. Though that's a low bar. Despite Garriott's terrible years-long crunch mode work, he's still far better liked than Roberts among the ex-Origin staff I've talked to in the last year.
Is it possible that Roberts has learned from his experience? Well, anything's possible. Certainly, Shroud of the Avatar is moving along at a pace I'd never have expected, and that's with Garriott having the same crew of yes-men as in the past, the crew that basically sank Tabula Rasa. Garriott doesn't display the same level of egomania that Roberts has evidenced though. And that problem doesn't appear to have gone away.
Unlike some critics of Star Citizen, I think Roberts really does want to make the best damn game ever. It's just that he's unrealistic and profligate. As his history shows.
The road to Star Citizen is going to be long and bumpy, and it's very likely to end up at a different address than the one expected.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
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.
While I have my own doubts and concerns about SC, Derek Smart is without a doubt the wrong person to be the "voice" of those concerns. If he had even an ounce of self awareness, he would know this. But he doesn't, so he won't. Instead he gives us quotes like this.
"These bastards, most of whom were probably running around in diapers, rubbing poo-dipped hands on their faces, when I was earning my chops as a hardcore Internet Warlord, simply don’t know who they’re dealing with."
This isn't to say that I support Chris Roberts and SC. Far from it. Everything about this looks shady to me. If Roberts shits the bed and this fails its going to have huge repercussions not just for gaming but for crowdfunding overall.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
While I have my own doubts and concerns about SC, Derek Smart is without a doubt the wrong person to be the "voice" of those concerns. If he had even an ounce of self awareness, he would know this. But he doesn't, so he won't. Instead he gives us quotes like this.
"These bastards, most of whom were probably running around in diapers, rubbing poo-dipped hands on their faces, when I was earning my chops as a hardcore Internet Warlord, simply don’t know who they’re dealing with."
This isn't to say that I support Chris Roberts and SC. Far from it. Everything about this looks shady to me. If Roberts shits the bed and this fails its going to have huge repercussions not just for gaming but for crowdfunding overall.
Have to agree. Sadly though it seems so far rather than stepping up themselves as journalists, the staff here at MMORPG seem to be contented to let the less than professional Derek Smart be their stalking horse, rather than pursue this story themselves.
The "gaming press" has to be careful about who's toes they step. They can afford to piss off people like Derek Smart, scrutinize small indie games like Pathfinder Online or give bad reviews for a random Asian grinder like Cabal 2 (not saying any of that is unwarranted, btw). What they can't afford is to do the same to the bigger names because sites like this and "lol gaming journalism" in general are entirely dependent on access to developers and companies for their very existence. Imagine how much coverage of games at E3 sites like this would get if they were constantly calling out companies like EA and Ubisoft for their bullshit? Again, don't expect too much hard hitting news from places like this about the big players.
Don't forget, too, that a lot of these "journalists" are really just glorified bloggers who are prone to celebrity worship just like the rest of us. If we were to meet one of our favourite game developers in person (Raph Koster, Chris Roberts or...Derek Smart) we would probably give them a smother ride because of our admiration, too. Also, the relationship between the "gaming press" and the industry is often incestuous with devs becoming "journalists" and vice versa. There's a lot of hidden relationships between the "press" and developers that is never acknowledged or is just hand waved away.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
Comments
Not to mention the amount of flame wars he likes to start just for the hell of it. I have a feeling that most of the people who defend his point of view have not even played area commander in SC or pledged and played. Nor do they ever actually go to the SC website to see the overwhelming amount of information that's on there.
A lot of people also don't seem to realize that people want to pledge money to see the game made. The way I see it, if a game developer wants to have a crowd funded game by selling pre orders and selling virtual items ahead of time to fund it, then why not? The people who are throwing money down for these virtual items know exactly what they are doing, and what they are paying for.
People love to scream vaporware when they don't realize it takes at least 5 years for any game to be worked on with a scope thats this size. If it fails, oh well ,but at least wait until theres actually more modules released and play them to start complaining.
It's two egomaniacs butting heads.
Don't know that much about Derek Smart, but from his posts I wouldn't be inviting him into my gaming group. Now a bunch of my game group have experience with Chris Roberts first hand, and I guarantee that they wouldn't be inviting him in either.
Some of the points raised about Star Citizen are legit though. Roberts has admitted wasting a million man hours of work on Strike Commander. That's about 5 months work of his entire SC team now, right? And that was with the support of a major game design/publishing team. All Roberts early work was done under the umbrella of a major developer. So when he bit off more than he could chew, there was someone there to help pick up the pieces. Since then.....
Roberts left Origin to go out on his own, supposedly to 'get free' of publisher interference. What did Digital Anvil produce in their four years of his control. Nothing. The only game they released was produced out-house. And that was with Microsoft money pumped in. Yep, Roberts accepted Microsoft money as part of his 'getting free'. Once Microsoft bought him out later, it still took years of work and money to deliver Freelancer. It was already way behind schedule at the buyout, even with the MS money already spent. Well, I guess you could include Wing Commander: The Movie as something produced, but that's not a gem on anyone's resume.
Even at Origin Roberts, like Garriott, suffered from the same troublesome issue. They surrounded themselves with sycophants and yes men, putting people into positions of power based on their willingness to pander rather than their skills on the job. Though to be fair, Roberts was better than Garriott as a producer. Though that's a low bar. Despite Garriott's terrible years-long crunch mode work, he's still far better liked than Roberts among the ex-Origin staff I've talked to in the last year.
Is it possible that Roberts has learned from his experience? Well, anything's possible. Certainly, Shroud of the Avatar is moving along at a pace I'd never have expected, and that's with Garriott having the same crew of yes-men as in the past, the crew that basically sank Tabula Rasa. Garriott doesn't display the same level of egomania that Roberts has evidenced though. And that problem doesn't appear to have gone away.
Unlike some critics of Star Citizen, I think Roberts really does want to make the best damn game ever. It's just that he's unrealistic and profligate. As his history shows.
The road to Star Citizen is going to be long and bumpy, and it's very likely to end up at a different address than the one expected.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
What I take from this interview is:
I, Derek Smart should be in charge of this project.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
Derek Smart from what I recall is a failed developer himself. He has no real grounds to stand on when calling out CIG.
What about Ubisoft and Watchdogs for the PC?
What about EA and their shoddy releases. You do know that DA:I on the PC the multiplayer side is still broken.
What about Batman Arkham nights that was just released and pulled off the shelves?
Or that CCP has trademarked a new name?
I dunno if anyone else has seen the Amy's Baking Company episode of Kitchen Nightmares, but this guy acts just like her in regards to criticism.
It's really amazing. And sad.
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.
While I have my own doubts and concerns about SC, Derek Smart is without a doubt the wrong person to be the "voice" of those concerns. If he had even an ounce of self awareness, he would know this. But he doesn't, so he won't. Instead he gives us quotes like this.
"These bastards, most of whom were probably running around in diapers, rubbing poo-dipped hands on their faces, when I was earning my chops as a hardcore Internet Warlord, simply don’t know who they’re dealing with."
This isn't to say that I support Chris Roberts and SC. Far from it. Everything about this looks shady to me. If Roberts shits the bed and this fails its going to have huge repercussions not just for gaming but for crowdfunding overall.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
The "gaming press" has to be careful about who's toes they step. They can afford to piss off people like Derek Smart, scrutinize small indie games like Pathfinder Online or give bad reviews for a random Asian grinder like Cabal 2 (not saying any of that is unwarranted, btw). What they can't afford is to do the same to the bigger names because sites like this and "lol gaming journalism" in general are entirely dependent on access to developers and companies for their very existence. Imagine how much coverage of games at E3 sites like this would get if they were constantly calling out companies like EA and Ubisoft for their bullshit? Again, don't expect too much hard hitting news from places like this about the big players.
Don't forget, too, that a lot of these "journalists" are really just glorified bloggers who are prone to celebrity worship just like the rest of us. If we were to meet one of our favourite game developers in person (Raph Koster, Chris Roberts or...Derek Smart
) we would probably give them a smother ride because of our admiration, too. Also, the relationship between the "gaming press" and the industry is often incestuous with devs becoming "journalists" and vice versa. There's a lot of hidden relationships between the "press" and developers that is never acknowledged or is just hand waved away.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.