This is a quote from his state of Elyria letter about what publishers told him:
"Either work faster, show us more, or we're going to want to take over
development and make changes to the business model." This was
unacceptable to us"
I mean... Does anything else sum up this game, studio and their ultimate fate better than this?
Also, this may be a win for future crowdfunding games. I can see a case being made if the backers go for litigation and try to get this situation in front of a judge. Maybe it'll lead to laws or restrictions on what these companies can do to scam people.
I'm not lawyer, but at this point, whats left for these poor guys?
---------------------
Oh, and everyone here is considered a winner now. Not sure why anyone thinks the result would be the same if Caspian listened to the naysayers.
I'm fully convinced this weasel knew the ends he wanted, and that the naysayers were only roadblocks from the beginning. So stop assuming anything would be different. He is an adult with experience in his field, and from it looks like this is probably as far as his egregious scheme went.
---------------------
Personal note: I am actually disgusted by the idea that he could lie to people to their faces and take their hard-earned money for what may have been from the beginning.
Even though I wasn't a fan of him, the vision of CoE was appealing from the moment I laid my eyes on it. So, barring my bias against him, I did want the game to succeed and I'd even play it.
But, the idea that an individual can tell bold-faced lies, jerk people around from their responsibilities only to postpone and waste their sick/vacation days, all while taking an enormous 8 million in donation is very telling of his character. There is a nobility when you do honest work and do your best to conduct good business. You live in a 1st world country with endless opportunities to make an honest living, but instead choose to be the Judas that your children will have to unfortunately learn from.
To the backers: There's a risk for everything, you put money in and hope for the best. So there is an argument to be made that this should have been expected. But there is also a assumption that your money would actually be used for the en devour being done and not mismanaged by an ape. I feel sorry and hope you guys can recoup your losses.
Caspian, if you are reading this, this is the scummiest shit I've ever seen. I hope people sue and get ever single penny and more and leave you homeless.
The only question I have is, has anyone seen any evidence of a company? Other team members? People actually doing something? I don't mean a picture of a "board room" with the Unreal Marketplace Parkour Pack playing on projector, I mean something REAL?
Just curious.
A year or so back they posted photos of their new studio, however it was devoid of any people. In recent years their forums never contained any photos of "the team" hard at work, outside of the few conference room shots with a handful visible.
I always wondered if many of the staff actually worked remotely, and questioned how many they actually had after laying off a third of them at the end of 2017.
Caspian would always share info about new hires, but I suspect more often than not they were more to replace those who had left, but it was hard to tell as the roster was never fully shared in recent years.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Since this was a scam they need an audit. He should be made to account for every cent he spent. No one should be allowed to get away with this.
I suspect his long recap in the State of Elyria of everything the team worked on or "accomplished" was in fact his first "shot across the bow" to show justification on where the money was spent.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I am really hoping this and other games like this will be used to tighten up the kickstarter rules and to introduce a 3 monthly requirement for all these crowdfunded games to give an account of where every penny collected is used. It's about time these scams are regulated properly.
Well I counted my money as lost when I hit pledge, if it was recovered I would ofc take a portion back happily but I doubt that will happen.
Now someone posted on the CoE discord that $8m divided by 20 without the cost of buildings equipment etc was 100k/year/employee.
Take away say 2m for costs (doubt its that much but let's be fair). That's still a wage of 75k...
Average wage for a game dev is 50k a year... These guys were on to a good thing...
I seriously doubt that there was any kind of even split. A POS like Caspian wouldn't treat his employees any better than his backers.
He was a lying SOB to the very end, even blaming the shuttering on Covid-19.
The truly sad thing about this is that gamers won't learn. A new Jeromy Walsh with a good line and totally bullshit projected release timelines will come along and will sucker in a new batch of "donors" who will spread out all over the internet and attack/insult any skeptics.
Gamers have shown that there is nothing too unsavory or dodgy that they won't throw money at. And not just in crowdfunded games either. Their idiocy makes the slicker con-men in the AAA industry with their loot boxes and shit a fortune.
So to all the backers who came here over the years to troll and harass the skeptics who have been telling you that there was something very wrong with COE, a big fuck you, dumb asses. You deserve this.
As to Walsh, I truly hope he gets sued into homelessness but I seriously doubt that he will. The system is set-up to prevent it. I'm sure he has enough paper full of legal entanglements to make sure he comes out of this laughing all the way to the bank.
"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
Seriously if any posters have lost money from this I hope it does not effect them badly, this is a way to lose faith entirely in MMOs, indeed any sort of CF project.
Well I hope all the haters (AKA: Harbingers) are happy with this, as this seems to be what they wanted all along.
I personally am amazed he kept trying for as long as he did.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Well I hope all the haters (AKA: Harbingers) are happy with this, as this seems to be what they wanted all along.
I personally am amazed he kept trying for as long as he did.
Actually no, I wanted to see him admit he was wrong, and apologize for his mistakes, but he held true to form right to the bitter end, it was everyone else's fault.
The backers, the investors, the employees, the Harbingers, and finally, COVID‐19, clearly all were to blame for the game's failure. Not.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Well I hope all the haters (AKA: Harbingers) are happy with this, as this seems to be what they wanted all along.
I personally am amazed he kept trying for as long as he did.
Actually no, I wanted to see him admit he was wrong, and apologize for his mistakes, but he held true to form right to the bitter end, it was everyone else's fault.
The backers, the investors, the employees, the Harbingers, and finally, COVID‐19, clearly all were to blame for the game's failure. Not.
So even after hounding the man, insulting him, doing all you can to undermine him and his project. The continual mocking of anyone that supported him to the point that the game finally shuts down.. you're still not happy you did not get your pound of flesh.
And you refuse to accept that after all the harassing on social media that the haters and harbingers did to him and his supporters, that you are in fact at least partly to blame for it's failure, and then turn around and expect him to shoulder the whole thing.
I don't think any of you have the right to say shit about my issues with any other game.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Well I counted my money as lost when I hit pledge, if it was recovered I would ofc take a portion back happily but I doubt that will happen.
Now someone posted on the CoE discord that $8m divided by 20 without the cost of buildings equipment etc was 100k/year/employee.
Take away say 2m for costs (doubt its that much but let's be fair). That's still a wage of 75k...
Average wage for a game dev is 50k a year... These guys were on to a good thing...
I seriously doubt that there was any kind of even split. A POS like Caspian wouldn't treat his employees any better than his backers.
He was a lying SOB to the very end, even blaming the shuttering on Covid-19.
The truly sad thing about this is that gamers won't learn. A new Jeromy Walsh with a good line and totally bullshit projected release timelines will come along and will sucker in a new batch of "donors" who will spread out all over the internet and attack/insult any skeptics.
Gamers have shown that there is nothing too unsavory or dodgy that they won't throw money at. And not just in crowdfunded games either. Their idiocy makes the slicker con-men in the AAA industry with their loot boxes and shit a fortune.
So to all the backers who came here over the years to troll and harass the skeptics who have been telling you that there was something very wrong with COE, a big fuck you, dumb asses. You deserve this.
As to Walsh, I truly hope he gets sued into homelessness but I seriously doubt that he will. The system is set-up to prevent it. I'm sure he has enough paper full of legal entanglements to make sure he comes out of this laughing all the way to the bank.
I agree with everything you posted except the last part. I still think this was an instance of epic mismanagement and incompetence and not intentional fraud. I honestly think that he was convinced he would bring in millions with the latest land sale and even the stupid parkour demo. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with morons who ignore reality. Those folks, in my mind, share culpability here. Some didn’t even put up their own money but just felt compelled to defend the studio and fight the “harbingers” at every turn.
Some of those people are mentioned in this thread and others are posting in it. Have a good long look in the mirror guys. You contributed to this day. You contributed to people losing $8M put into it. You contributed to these people losing their jobs. You should think long and hard before posting agin.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Since this was a scam they need an audit. He should be made to account for every cent he spent. No one should be allowed to get away with this.
I suspect his long recap in the State of Elyria of everything the team worked on or "accomplished" was in fact his first "shot across the bow" to show justification on where the money was spent.
Yeah, pretty much. It's his preparation for the inevitable Lawyers of Elyria.
One would expect that the "we're shutting this down" news would be the only thing worth posting.
But as you go through it, it feels almost like ticking check boxes next to the kickstarter promises.
Does not matter whether the bullet points half way down his post have actually been implemented (not in a releasable way and with no resemblance to what was promised); the fact that he wrote the post and formulated the bullet points in that specific way are his clear message to the courts that the 'minimum viable product' has been delivered and crowd funding promises have been met.
His post has nothing to do with the game, nor with the backers and everything to do with his future lawyers.
Since this was a scam they need an audit. He should be made to account for every cent he spent. No one should be allowed to get away with this.
I suspect his long recap in the State of Elyria of everything the team worked on or "accomplished" was in fact his first "shot across the bow" to show justification on where the money was spent.
Yeah, pretty much. It's his preparation for the inevitable Lawyers of Elyria.
One would expect that the "we're shutting this down" news would be the only thing worth posting.
But as you go through it, it feels almost like ticking check boxes next to the kickstarter promises.
Does not matter whether the bullet points half way down his post have actually been implemented (not in a releasable way and with no resemblance to what was promised); the fact that he wrote the post and formulated the bullet points in that specific way are his clear message to the courts that the 'minimum viable product' has been delivered and crowd funding promises have been met.
His post has nothing to do with the game, nor with the backers and everything to do with his future lawyers.
I think you give him too much credit. The early portion of that reads much like all the other State of Elyria posts. I think it was drafted weeks ago. The last part about shutting down IMHO was just tacked on when they came to the (to them) unexpected realization that the sale was a failure and so was the parkour demo.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
A year or so back they posted photos of their new studio, however it was devoid of any people. In recent years their forums never contained any photos of "the team" hard at work, outside of the few conference room shots with a handful visible.
I always wondered if many of the staff actually worked remotely, and questioned how many they actually had after laying off a third of them at the end of 2017.
Caspian would always share info about new hires, but I suspect more often than not they were more to replace those who had left, but it was hard to tell as the roster was never fully shared in recent years.
There was a weird, probably troll post last year. I can't remember it completely basically something like "I hired someone to look into SBS, they found no studio and no company. Also looking into Caspian, it's all lies etc etc". It was naturally deleted very soon into posting.
But like you said, they rarely show pictures of people working. Even without 10k videos. They most I saw was 4 or 5 people sitting around looking at crap on a screen. There really wasn't videos of showing people working. All we ever got in some DJs was "x y z are working on this" "a b c are working on this". But again, never any proof being shown off from either team.
Personally this whole thing is just confusing to me. So take the last several months. Anyone with half a brain would know from a year back things are going badly. Do investors really not want to touch him or is it really he is a dickhead that won't accept help? That aside, DSS made them a fucking killing. How did they spend 1 million in less than a year? Even if they had nothing before that. 1mil just went.. in seconds. Then they needed Settlers of Elyria to also make a killing. But over just pushing it out or even cutting it and just selling the titles via their store. Then people can pick anywhere. They completely change the map, which takes too long and run themselves into the ground.
He then says it's all over because of the virus. Which makes less sense, because no one would buy in the first week. Most would wait until the last few days.
He also keep telling 10k people within the videos "oh we have enough cash to last us years". This was a question that often came up. Having a mod mate that did have an higher level of NDA. While he knew about this "demo" that came out. He had zero idea things were so bad. Which did they release this 'demo" to cover their arses? "Yeah see we were making a game, just run out of time".
And to finish it off. So they know they will need to close their doors. But still keep this auction up and still take peoples money. Just.. umm.. what? That has to be illegal right?
Well I counted my money as lost when I hit pledge, if it was recovered I would ofc take a portion back happily but I doubt that will happen.
Now someone posted on the CoE discord that $8m divided by 20 without the cost of buildings equipment etc was 100k/year/employee.
Take away say 2m for costs (doubt its that much but let's be fair). That's still a wage of 75k...
Average wage for a game dev is 50k a year... These guys were on to a good thing...
I seriously doubt that there was any kind of even split. A POS like Caspian wouldn't treat his employees any better than his backers.
He was a lying SOB to the very end, even blaming the shuttering on Covid-19.
The truly sad thing about this is that gamers won't learn. A new Jeromy Walsh with a good line and totally bullshit projected release timelines will come along and will sucker in a new batch of "donors" who will spread out all over the internet and attack/insult any skeptics.
Gamers have shown that there is nothing too unsavory or dodgy that they won't throw money at. And not just in crowdfunded games either. Their idiocy makes the slicker con-men in the AAA industry with their loot boxes and shit a fortune.
So to all the backers who came here over the years to troll and harass the skeptics who have been telling you that there was something very wrong with COE, a big fuck you, dumb asses. You deserve this.
As to Walsh, I truly hope he gets sued into homelessness but I seriously doubt that he will. The system is set-up to prevent it. I'm sure he has enough paper full of legal entanglements to make sure he comes out of this laughing all the way to the bank.
I agree with everything you posted except the last part. I still think this was an instance of epic mismanagement and incompetence and not intentional fraud. I honestly think that he was convinced he would bring in millions with the latest land sale and even the stupid parkour demo. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with morons who ignore reality. Those folks, in my mind, share culpability here. Some didn’t even put up their own money but just felt compelled to defend the studio and fight the “harbingers” at every turn.
Some of those people are mentioned in this thread and others are posting in it. Have a good long look in the mirror guys. You contributed to this day. You contributed to people losing $8M put into it. You contributed to these people losing their jobs. You should think long and hard before posting agin.
It doesn't have to be fraud to take care of yourself first. Incompetence and looking out for #1 are not mutually exclusive especially if you have family and friends making you do it.
Enough extra salary for yourself in your exalted role as CEO coupled with a few friend and family "contractors" in the weeds would be enough to leave his personal life smelling like roses despite his incompetence as a computer game project manager.
Obviously IDK for sure but I have gotten an impression over the years that he really, really likes himself. Rewarding himself first and foremost would go hand in hand with that.
"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
Well I counted my money as lost when I hit pledge, if it was recovered I would ofc take a portion back happily but I doubt that will happen.
Now someone posted on the CoE discord that $8m divided by 20 without the cost of buildings equipment etc was 100k/year/employee.
Take away say 2m for costs (doubt its that much but let's be fair). That's still a wage of 75k...
Average wage for a game dev is 50k a year... These guys were on to a good thing...
I seriously doubt that there was any kind of even split. A POS like Caspian wouldn't treat his employees any better than his backers.
He was a lying SOB to the very end, even blaming the shuttering on Covid-19.
The truly sad thing about this is that gamers won't learn. A new Jeromy Walsh with a good line and totally bullshit projected release timelines will come along and will sucker in a new batch of "donors" who will spread out all over the internet and attack/insult any skeptics.
Gamers have shown that there is nothing too unsavory or dodgy that they won't throw money at. And not just in crowdfunded games either. Their idiocy makes the slicker con-men in the AAA industry with their loot boxes and shit a fortune.
So to all the backers who came here over the years to troll and harass the skeptics who have been telling you that there was something very wrong with COE, a big fuck you, dumb asses. You deserve this.
As to Walsh, I truly hope he gets sued into homelessness but I seriously doubt that he will. The system is set-up to prevent it. I'm sure he has enough paper full of legal entanglements to make sure he comes out of this laughing all the way to the bank.
I agree with everything you posted except the last part. I still think this was an instance of epic mismanagement and incompetence and not intentional fraud. I honestly think that he was convinced he would bring in millions with the latest land sale and even the stupid parkour demo. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with morons who ignore reality. Those folks, in my mind, share culpability here. Some didn’t even put up their own money but just felt compelled to defend the studio and fight the “harbingers” at every turn.
Some of those people are mentioned in this thread and others are posting in it. Have a good long look in the mirror guys. You contributed to this day. You contributed to people losing $8M put into it. You contributed to these people losing their jobs. You should think long and hard before posting agin.
It doesn't have to be fraud to take care of yourself first. Incompetence and looking out for #1 are not mutually exclusive especially if you have family and friends making you do it.
Enough extra salary for yourself in your exalted role as CEO coupled with a few friend and family "contractors" in the weeds would be enough to leave his personal life smelling like roses despite his incompetence as a computer game project manager.
Obviously IDK for sure but I have gotten an impression over the years that he really, really likes himself. Rewarding himself first and foremost would go hand in hand with that.
I have frequently posted that I have a serious problem with him, a supposed entrepreneur, paying himself and potentially family members with "donations". This was bad on a number of points, not the least of which was that it reduced the sense of urgency that most start-ups have.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
It doesn't have to be fraud to take care of yourself first. Incompetence and looking out for #1 are not mutually exclusive especially if you have family and friends making you do it.
Enough extra salary for yourself in your exalted role as CEO coupled with a few friend and family "contractors" in the weeds would be enough to leave his personal life smelling like roses despite his incompetence as a computer game project manager.
Obviously IDK for sure but I have gotten an impression over the years that he really, really likes himself. Rewarding himself first and foremost would go hand in hand with that.
Here's where it could be somewhat fraudulent. It has often been said Jeromy took a $500K mortgage to fund the production "work" done for the KSer and Pax East demos.
We are also pretty sure he's been paying himself (and perhaps his wife) a "Seattle level" salary. Unlike MJ or Renfail, he's never confirmed he wasn't, so probably safe to assume he did.
The big question is did he pay himself back in terms of enough salary or direct payments to clear the mortgage loan?
If he did it might be enough evidence to "pierce the corporate veil" and allow backers to file suit against his personal assets.
If he didn't, then no harm, no foul, and it looks like he might have to go live with his father in law who Jeromy admitted in a Discord post last fall always questioned whether he could pull off the game's delivery.
Should be an awkward conversation at the next family gathering.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Comments
People should be looking for how to approach this situation via litigation, not wallowing.
Who in the fuck really cares?
"Either work faster, show us more, or we're going to want to take over development and make changes to the business model." This was unacceptable to us"
I mean... Does anything else sum up this game, studio and their ultimate fate better than this?
I'm not lawyer, but at this point, whats left for these poor guys?
---------------------
Oh, and everyone here is considered a winner now. Not sure why anyone thinks the result would be the same if Caspian listened to the naysayers.
I'm fully convinced this weasel knew the ends he wanted, and that the naysayers were only roadblocks from the beginning. So stop assuming anything would be different. He is an adult with experience in his field, and from it looks like this is probably as far as his egregious scheme went.
---------------------
Personal note: I am actually disgusted by the idea that he could lie to people to their faces and take their hard-earned money for what may have been from the beginning.
Even though I wasn't a fan of him, the vision of CoE was appealing from the moment I laid my eyes on it. So, barring my bias against him, I did want the game to succeed and I'd even play it.
But, the idea that an individual can tell bold-faced lies, jerk people around from their responsibilities only to postpone and waste their sick/vacation days, all while taking an enormous 8 million in donation is very telling of his character. There is a nobility when you do honest work and do your best to conduct good business. You live in a 1st world country with endless opportunities to make an honest living, but instead choose to be the Judas that your children will have to unfortunately learn from.
To the backers: There's a risk for everything, you put money in and hope for the best. So there is an argument to be made that this should have been expected. But there is also a assumption that your money would actually be used for the en devour being done and not mismanaged by an ape. I feel sorry and hope you guys can recoup your losses.
Caspian, if you are reading this, this is the scummiest shit I've ever seen. I hope people sue and get ever single penny and more and leave you homeless.
That's all folks!
I always wondered if many of the staff actually worked remotely, and questioned how many they actually had after laying off a third of them at the end of 2017.
Caspian would always share info about new hires, but I suspect more often than not they were more to replace those who had left, but it was hard to tell as the roster was never fully shared in recent years.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Now someone posted on the CoE discord that $8m divided by 20 without the cost of buildings equipment etc was 100k/year/employee.
Take away say 2m for costs (doubt its that much but let's be fair). That's still a wage of 75k...
Average wage for a game dev is 50k a year...
These guys were on to a good thing...
He was a lying SOB to the very end, even blaming the shuttering on Covid-19.
The truly sad thing about this is that gamers won't learn. A new Jeromy Walsh with a good line and totally bullshit projected release timelines will come along and will sucker in a new batch of "donors" who will spread out all over the internet and attack/insult any skeptics.
Gamers have shown that there is nothing too unsavory or dodgy that they won't throw money at. And not just in crowdfunded games either. Their idiocy makes the slicker con-men in the AAA industry with their loot boxes and shit a fortune.
So to all the backers who came here over the years to troll and harass the skeptics who have been telling you that there was something very wrong with COE, a big fuck you, dumb asses. You deserve this.
As to Walsh, I truly hope he gets sued into homelessness but I seriously doubt that he will. The system is set-up to prevent it. I'm sure he has enough paper full of legal entanglements to make sure he comes out of this laughing all the way to the bank.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Seriously if any posters have lost money from this I hope it does not effect them badly, this is a way to lose faith entirely in MMOs, indeed any sort of CF project.
I personally am amazed he kept trying for as long as he did.
The backers, the investors, the employees, the Harbingers, and finally, COVID‐19, clearly all were to blame for the game's failure. Not.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
And you refuse to accept that after all the harassing on social media that the haters and harbingers did to him and his supporters, that you are in fact at least partly to blame for it's failure, and then turn around and expect him to shoulder the whole thing.
I don't think any of you have the right to say shit about my issues with any other game.
Some of those people are mentioned in this thread and others are posting in it. Have a good long look in the mirror guys. You contributed to this day. You contributed to people losing $8M put into it. You contributed to these people losing their jobs. You should think long and hard before posting agin.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Yeah, pretty much. It's his preparation for the inevitable Lawyers of Elyria.
One would expect that the "we're shutting this down" news would be the only thing worth posting.
But as you go through it, it feels almost like ticking check boxes next to the kickstarter promises.
Does not matter whether the bullet points half way down his post have actually been implemented (not in a releasable way and with no resemblance to what was promised); the fact that he wrote the post and formulated the bullet points in that specific way are his clear message to the courts that the 'minimum viable product' has been delivered and crowd funding promises have been met.
His post has nothing to do with the game, nor with the backers and everything to do with his future lawyers.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
But like you said, they rarely show pictures of people working. Even without 10k videos. They most I saw was 4 or 5 people sitting around looking at crap on a screen. There really wasn't videos of showing people working. All we ever got in some DJs was "x y z are working on this" "a b c are working on this". But again, never any proof being shown off from either team.
Personally this whole thing is just confusing to me. So take the last several months. Anyone with half a brain would know from a year back things are going badly. Do investors really not want to touch him or is it really he is a dickhead that won't accept help? That aside, DSS made them a fucking killing. How did they spend 1 million in less than a year? Even if they had nothing before that. 1mil just went.. in seconds. Then they needed Settlers of Elyria to also make a killing. But over just pushing it out or even cutting it and just selling the titles via their store. Then people can pick anywhere. They completely change the map, which takes too long and run themselves into the ground.
He then says it's all over because of the virus. Which makes less sense, because no one would buy in the first week. Most would wait until the last few days.
He also keep telling 10k people within the videos "oh we have enough cash to last us years". This was a question that often came up. Having a mod mate that did have an higher level of NDA. While he knew about this "demo" that came out. He had zero idea things were so bad. Which did they release this 'demo" to cover their arses? "Yeah see we were making a game, just run out of time".
And to finish it off. So they know they will need to close their doors. But still keep this auction up and still take peoples money. Just.. umm.. what? That has to be illegal right?
Enough extra salary for yourself in your exalted role as CEO coupled with a few friend and family "contractors" in the weeds would be enough to leave his personal life smelling like roses despite his incompetence as a computer game project manager.
Obviously IDK for sure but I have gotten an impression over the years that he really, really likes himself. Rewarding himself first and foremost would go hand in hand with that.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
We are also pretty sure he's been paying himself (and perhaps his wife) a "Seattle level" salary. Unlike MJ or Renfail, he's never confirmed he wasn't, so probably safe to assume he did.
The big question is did he pay himself back in terms of enough salary or direct payments to clear the mortgage loan?
If he did it might be enough evidence to "pierce the corporate veil" and allow backers to file suit against his personal assets.
If he didn't, then no harm, no foul, and it looks like he might have to go live with his father in law who Jeromy admitted in a Discord post last fall always questioned whether he could pull off the game's delivery.
Should be an awkward conversation at the next family gathering.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018