Caspian pinned to the wall, "I fuk'd up!"

Kyleran

Terrific audio conversation presented by KiraTV, of Jeromy Walsh of Soulbound Studios/ Chronicles of Elyria answering people's questions on the COE private Discord.

Starts out with the standard scripted questions (though you will hear Jeromy utter the title phrase in the early minutes) but fast forward to 38:28 or so.

You'll hear a woman start asking extremely pointed questions that everyone has always wanted to hear Jeromy answer, and low and behold he actually does.

She has him on the hook and around 18 minutes in she seems to stun him into silence.  

We learn how the studio basically ran out of money after their last big, but long delayed (6mo) funding campaign raised only $10K in March 2020 (which COE apparently never received) but had been counted on (delusionally IMO) to raise $2M -$3M and "take the game to Alpha."

He also discusses the factors which led to him "soft" closing the studio and what he spent the 2 yrs of PPP funds on. (Wasn't on retaining staff as we all knew) 

Give it a listen...some say Jeromy is almost brought to tears by her questions, I didn't hear it, but then I haven't finished listening to the last 5 minutes of the video yet.

Sovrath

Kyleran said:

Terrific audio conversation presented by KiraTV, of Jeromy Walsh of Soulbound Studios/ Chronicles of Elyria answering people's questions on the COE private Discord.

Starts out with the standard scripted questions (though you will hear Jeromy utter the title phrase in the early minutes) but fast forward to 38:28 or so.

You'll hear a woman start asking extremely pointed questions that everyone has always wanted to hear Jeromy answer, and low and behold he actually does.

She has him on the hook and around 18 minutes in she seems to stun him into silence.  

We learn how the studio basically ran out of money after their last big, but long delayed (6mo) funding campaign raised only $10K in March 2020 (which COE apparently never received) but had been counted on (delusionally IMO) to raise $2M -$3M and "take the game to Alpha."

He also discusses the factors which led to him "soft" closing the studio and what he spent the 2 yrs of PPP funds on. (Wasn't on retaining staff as we all knew) 

Give it a listen...some say Jeromy is almost brought to tears by her questions, I didn't hear it, but then I haven't finished listening to the last 5 minutes of the video yet.

It's as I've said before, there are people who just believe the can do it but are willing to fail so they just try to hit toward the stands and whatever happens happens. And if they fail? They do it again.

Nilden

I knew back when he first said he was going to make a MUD.

https://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/comment/7387661/#Comment_7387661

"There are multiple reasons why nobody else in the industry makes a MUD before a MMORPG. This was a huge red flag when this started."

So by 1:30 of this video I'm going I told you so.

That's only the tip of the iceberg for how much failure, lack of knowledge, fraud, lies, bait and switches, facades and he took money like a snake oil salesman. To the tune of 8 million dollars and delivered next to nothing and is walking around scott free.

The scam is over. He got away with it.

At this point all he is doing is continuing a game making charade for legal reasons.

cheyane

Holy smoke that lady really creamed his ass.

kitarad

Well it's quite remarkable he actually tried to answer her. She was very precise and pointed and he was quite clearly stumped. However no matter how great that felt he is never going to be accountable for anything in the end. As you can see from his answers it will be very difficult to find him liable for anything. It's a lost cause.

Kyleran

What's interesting is in addition to blaming his web team for the final funding campaign failure he mentions some sort of secret contractual issue in December 2019 that further delayed delivery of it until March 2020.

He also showed remarkable fear of C0VID -19, must have been a West Coast thing.

I attended the Florida Strawberry festival the weekend before the Feds shut everything down in Mid March.

I do agree with him on one thing, the damn toilet paper shortage was annoying, all because of a bunch of panicked streamers who sent folks off to hoarding stupid shit. (See what I did there.)

Slapshot1188

Kyleran said:

I do agree with him on one thing, the damn toilet paper shortage was annoying, all because of a bunch of panicked streamers who sent folks off to hoarding stupid shit. (See what I did there.)

I am quite proud of my toilet paper fortress.

mekhere

It's scot's fault. He didn't cast the tissue spell right. 

Slapshot1188

Loan details

PPP is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll. First Draw PPP loans can be used to help fund payroll costs, including benefits, and may also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to COVID-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020, and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations.

First Draw PPP Loan forgiveness terms

First Draw PPP loans made to eligible borrowers qualify for full loan forgiveness if during the 8- to 24-week covered period following loan disbursement:

• Employee and compensation levels are maintained,
• The loan proceeds are spent on payroll costs and other eligible expenses, and
• At least 60% of the proceeds are spent on payroll costs.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

mekhere

You have inspired me slappy! Check this out! 

“Play-to-earn, Loan-for-play” NFT Game Aiza World gains international attention from world-class investors and experts before their upcoming IDO

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/play-earn-loan-play-nft-145800933.html

And you thought flash loans couldn't go any further. wait till this hit's a Sony cash station store! Your PS5 just got more expensive!

Kyleran

DarkZorvanReturns said:

First off, that lady has photos of him with a donkey or something, he's too scared to lie to her for some reason when he has no problem lying to everyone else.

Second, misuse of PPP funds is a Federal felony, so push on that.

Jeromy addressed the PPP loans, saying his lawyers advised him they could be used on expenses including legal fees for preserving the business in order for it to deliver a game to Soulbound customers.

No surprise there why his lawyers gave him that advice, eh?

Kira is actually working on an "expose" series on the total fraud the PPP Loan program has turned out to be across all industries, not just gaming.

cameltosis

Kyleran said:

I do agree with him on one thing, the damn toilet paper shortage was annoying, all because of a bunch of panicked streamers who sent folks off to hoarding stupid shit. (See what I did there.)

Blame The Walking Dead and a fair few other post-apocalyptic shows! Many of them mention the lack of toilet paper after an apocalypse.

Kyleran

cameltosis said:

Kyleran said:

I do agree with him on one thing, the damn toilet paper shortage was annoying, all because of a bunch of panicked streamers who sent folks off to hoarding stupid shit. (See what I did there.)

Blame The Walking Dead and a fair few other post-apocalyptic shows! Many of them mention the lack of toilet paper after an apocalypse.

While I consider the invention of toilet paper one of the greatest yet most underappreciated inventions in history (the Netflix series "The Sandman" made humorous note of it) the fact is humans lived for most of history without it.

My parents lived through WWII, and they told me about shortages in butter, metal, fuel etc, but never a mention of TP, yet presumably there were some since soldiers need to wipe as well.

I can't recall a single historical record, poem or epic which bemoans the challenge of not having a good way to wipe ones bum as opposed to say, the horrors of war, starvation, pestilence or death.

Maybe it was the unknown 5th horseman of the apocalypse?

Slapshot1188

I still have enough Lysol and hand sanitizer to last me until both Star Citizen and Camelot Unchained release.

No where near enough to ever see Chronicles of Caspien release though.

Kyleran

Slapshot1188 said:

I still have enough Lysol and hand sanitizer to last me until both Star Citizen and Camelot Unchained release.

No where near enough to ever see Chronicles of Caspien release though.

It's been over 3 years since Jeromy pulled the plug yet here he is still talking as if a game of any sorts, MMO or otherwise is really being worked on in good faith.

Mind boggling really.

Scot

Kyleran said:

Slapshot1188 said:

I still have enough Lysol and hand sanitizer to last me until both Star Citizen and Camelot Unchained release.

No where near enough to ever see Chronicles of Caspien release though.

It's been over 3 years since Jeromy pulled the plug yet here he is still talking as if a game of any sorts, MMO or otherwise is really being worked on in good faith.

Mind boggling really.

Jeromy is confusing his fantasy inspiration with another title, Never Ending Story.

achesoma

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

Scot

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

Kyleran

Scot said:

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

She wasn't a journalist, she was an invited guest, a backer who had insider privilege to their Discord given permission to speak.

Someone else recorded the conversation and shared it with Kira.

Slapshot1188

Kyleran said:

Scot said:

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

She wasn't a journalist, she was an invited guest, a backer who had insider privilege to their Discord given permission to speak.

Someone else recorded the conversation and shared it with Kira.

Yup.  Walsh has spent so much time in his little bubble where he controls who can ask him questions that it seemed he was genuinely shocked that someone slipped in and asked a real question.  And let's be honest, even her questions were only half as hard as they could have been.

When he started whining that there were actually SOME dates he met and it was lying to say he NEVER hit a date, she should have followed up with one of his State of Elyrias which listed the items he claimed he was going to accomplish and then the one from next year where none, or close to none, of the items were complete and he just listed new shinys that he was going to work on in the next year.

I mean, if someone knew they were going to have an opportunity to publicly ask Walsh this stuff I would have had a 10 page list of the statements he has made and not delivered on.  And that would probably only cover a portion of it.

Saddly... I didn't get an invite.

Kyleran

Slapshot1188 said:

Kyleran said:

Scot said:

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

She wasn't a journalist, she was an invited guest, a backer who had insider privilege to their Discord given permission to speak.

Someone else recorded the conversation and shared it with Kira.

Yup.  Walsh has spent so much time in his little bubble where he controls who can ask him questions that it seemed he was genuinely shocked that someone slipped in and asked a real question.  And let's be honest, even her questions were only half as hard as they could have been.

When he started whining that there were actually SOME dates he met and it was lying to say he NEVER hit a date, she should have followed up with one of his State of Elyrias which listed the items he claimed he was going to accomplish and then the one from next year where none, or close to none, of the items were complete and he just listed new shinys that he was going to work on in the next year.

I mean, if someone knew they were going to have an opportunity to publicly ask Walsh this stuff I would have had a 10 page list of the statements he has made and not delivered on.  And that would probably only cover a portion of it.

Saddly... I didn't get an invite.

No one ever invites Harbinger's of Doom to their parties.

Slapshot1188

Kyleran said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Kyleran said:

Scot said:

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

She wasn't a journalist, she was an invited guest, a backer who had insider privilege to their Discord given permission to speak.

Someone else recorded the conversation and shared it with Kira.

Yup.  Walsh has spent so much time in his little bubble where he controls who can ask him questions that it seemed he was genuinely shocked that someone slipped in and asked a real question.  And let's be honest, even her questions were only half as hard as they could have been.

When he started whining that there were actually SOME dates he met and it was lying to say he NEVER hit a date, she should have followed up with one of his State of Elyrias which listed the items he claimed he was going to accomplish and then the one from next year where none, or close to none, of the items were complete and he just listed new shinys that he was going to work on in the next year.

I mean, if someone knew they were going to have an opportunity to publicly ask Walsh this stuff I would have had a 10 page list of the statements he has made and not delivered on.  And that would probably only cover a portion of it.

Saddly... I didn't get an invite.

No one ever invites Harbinger's of Doom to their parties.

That guy King Detherus who posted here did.  I promised to roam "his Kingdom" in a black Harbinger robe if the game ever launched.

Sadly... he passed away a year ago.   Never getting to spend a single minute in the game he believed in.

Kyleran

Slapshot1188 said:

Kyleran said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Kyleran said:

Scot said:

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

She wasn't a journalist, she was an invited guest, a backer who had insider privilege to their Discord given permission to speak.

Someone else recorded the conversation and shared it with Kira.

Yup.  Walsh has spent so much time in his little bubble where he controls who can ask him questions that it seemed he was genuinely shocked that someone slipped in and asked a real question.  And let's be honest, even her questions were only half as hard as they could have been.

When he started whining that there were actually SOME dates he met and it was lying to say he NEVER hit a date, she should have followed up with one of his State of Elyrias which listed the items he claimed he was going to accomplish and then the one from next year where none, or close to none, of the items were complete and he just listed new shinys that he was going to work on in the next year.

I mean, if someone knew they were going to have an opportunity to publicly ask Walsh this stuff I would have had a 10 page list of the statements he has made and not delivered on.  And that would probably only cover a portion of it.

Saddly... I didn't get an invite.

No one ever invites Harbinger's of Doom to their parties.

That guy King Detherus who posted here did.  I promised to roam "his Kingdom" in a black Harbinger robe if the game ever launched.

Sadly... he passed away a year ago.   Never getting to spend a single minute in the game he believed in.

Ah yes, he was a good guy, even more sad that he was a double King level backer, so was out like $40K yet was far less bitter about how it all turned out than I might have been.

Of course, he had other issues to be concerned with.  

Scot

Kyleran said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Kyleran said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Kyleran said:

Scot said:

achesoma said:

I guess journalism isn't completely dead. Can this lady interview all the other developers of crowdfunded MMOs still in development next?

You do realise that after this they won't come near her, that's the problem with entertainment journalism it put the journos in a tough place.

She wasn't a journalist, she was an invited guest, a backer who had insider privilege to their Discord given permission to speak.

Someone else recorded the conversation and shared it with Kira.

Yup.  Walsh has spent so much time in his little bubble where he controls who can ask him questions that it seemed he was genuinely shocked that someone slipped in and asked a real question.  And let's be honest, even her questions were only half as hard as they could have been.

When he started whining that there were actually SOME dates he met and it was lying to say he NEVER hit a date, she should have followed up with one of his State of Elyrias which listed the items he claimed he was going to accomplish and then the one from next year where none, or close to none, of the items were complete and he just listed new shinys that he was going to work on in the next year.

I mean, if someone knew they were going to have an opportunity to publicly ask Walsh this stuff I would have had a 10 page list of the statements he has made and not delivered on.  And that would probably only cover a portion of it.

Saddly... I didn't get an invite.

No one ever invites Harbinger's of Doom to their parties.

That guy King Detherus who posted here did.  I promised to roam "his Kingdom" in a black Harbinger robe if the game ever launched.

Sadly... he passed away a year ago.   Never getting to spend a single minute in the game he believed in.

Ah yes, he was a good guy, even more sad that he was a double King level backer, so was out like $40K yet was far less bitter about how it all turned out than I might have been.

Of course, he had other issues to be concerned with.  

Crikey that's awful, I have done jokes about how many SC fans will pass before it launches, but when you think about it, it will happen.