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corn in the bible
Jun 5, 2004

Oh no oh god it's all true!
this hamburger looks fine but please cook another one and this time put a plastic window in the side of it

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ADBOT LOVES YOU

Michaellaneous
Oct 30, 2013

Michaellaneous fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Oct 3, 2015

KiddieGrinder
Nov 15, 2005

HELP ME

Ah the troubles of distributed development.

Sushi in Yiddish
Feb 2, 2008

Decrepus posted:

It is an IED an irony explosive device. If an enemy detects the mine they might want to peer inside the window, inside they would find a tiny sheet saying "This mine is about to make make you its bitch" just before exploding causing between 20 and 100 points of damage depending on how much real life money you spent on it.

Fredrik1
Jan 22, 2005

Gopherslayer
:rock:
Fallen Rib
I'm gonna start a burger joint where all I sell is pictures of the burgers I'm developing.

Young Freud
Nov 26, 2006

Mr SoupTeeth posted:

That might be a bit of a stretch since crowdfunding is pretty far removed the rest of the industry and constitutes a very small part of it. However with recent debacles like Halo MCC, Arkham Knight, and pretty much anything half digested Ubisoft and EA has dropped from their proverbial butt cheeks in the last several years, it could be the perfect storm to erode consumer and investor confidence. I wouldn't count on it though, consumers have proven themselves incredibly myopic time and again and there's a big difference between dropping thousands on a ship.jpeg/house/stock investment/.startup and a $50 videogame.

The biggest thing this will have an effect on is Kickstarter games. It really means that you can no longer rely on nostalgia for a property to get a crowdfunded project. Brian Fargo started from nothing when he started up the development for Wasteland 2. Jordan Weisman and Harebrained Schemes were probably a bit more father along with SR:R, Golem Arcana, and now Battletech when they started up their campaigns, but needed that influx of cash to keep things going. With Croberts making GBS threads the bed for everyone, it's going to make things much harder for . If they came out now following the SC campaign, I doubt Brian Fargo would have gotten Wasteland 2 funded.

Agrajag posted:

the short demo video they show of the rifle shooting is rather mediocre. also, there are companies that churn out fps's on a yearly basis that look better than that.

Check out that frames per second on that Star Marine test. 45fps to 30fps drop when the gun is being used. And these are on top of the line development computers?

KiddieGrinder posted:

That is loving hilarious.

Seriously that's such a confirmation, nothing like that should happen in game development at that stage. Changing the (finished?) high poly model with drastic changes, and ones that would be simple to add if done from the start, is such a bad sign of development. It shows they don't stick to the approved concept, they don't care about artists/company time being wasted on needless revisions, and a basic lack of understanding how art is created for a game.

Yeah, that's what I noticed as well. What's even more damning is that the EMP grenade is actually concept art. You can see the areas where it was painted and edited down at the top with the Eraser tool in Photoshop. It likely means that the EMP grenade concept art was finished after the Sweeper EMP claymore model was made and that there was never a fully-integrated design for either one of them. Typically that stuff would get hashed out in the concept art phase, when the artist throw out a bunch of concept designs to see which one sticks, along with iterations and related concepts. The fact that two weapons of the same EMP class weren't designed together at the same phase of the process is bad. It also means that Croberts is going for "the latest and the greatest" when it comes to concept art and assets, so everything here is being constantly redone at CIG.

OhDearGodNo
Jan 3, 2014

Archive still has the version of the TOS that was 'valid' between 2013-2015.

https://web.archive.org/web/20141102060551/https://robertsspaceindustries.com/tos

This is the one that currently legally justifies any refund requests prior to the new TOS, because of this part:

quote:

RSI agrees to use its good faith business efforts to deliver to you the pledge items and the Game on or before the estimated delivery date. However, you acknowledge and agree that delivery as of such date is not a promise by RSI since unforeseen events may extend the development and/or production time. Accordingly, you agree that any unearned portion of the deposit shall not be refundable until and unless RSI has failed to deliver the pledge items and/or the Game to you within 12 months after the estimated delivery date.


(I believe at the time this TOS was drafted the release date for SQ42 was May 2014 or something)

This was removed after February 1st 2015.

In addition, this covers any transactions- so even if you melted something and checked the "new TOS" box it doesn't matter as this refers to deposits and not store credit.

Even with the new robots.txt they will not be able to hide the original TOS.

BluestreakBTHR
Oct 2, 2015

Fucking Star Citizen True Believers are passive-aggressive douchebags. Sorry if I have the ability to use my critical thinking skills. I didn't drink the Kool-Aid, motherfuckers.

That's me trying way too hard to fit in here. Please accept me, I need validation. I'm very depressed.
Grimey Drawer
Today's show is going to be SO MUCH FUN.
I have 8 pages of notes.

See you at Noon Eastern!

kikkelivelho
Aug 27, 2015

Michaellaneous posted:

At this point W40K is more consistent with their art- and technology-style.

W40K is actually a great example. Most of the things in Warhammer are completely retarded and unrealistic, but the game sticks to that design and the world has a consistency that Star Citizen can only dream of.

Either croberts has no actual grand vision or he's not communicating it very well.

Lodin
Jul 31, 2003

by Fluffdaddy

Fil5000 posted:

Moist accomplished things
Mostly because he falls for Adora and wants to make things right to impress her. Sandi is no effin Adora.

OhDearGodNo
Jan 3, 2014

kikkelivelho posted:

W40K is actually a great example. Most of the things in Warhammer are completely retarded and unrealistic, but the game sticks to that design and the world has a consistency that Star Citizen can only dream of.

Either croberts has no actual grand vision or he's not communicating it very well.

The point of 40k is to take the retarded and absurd to such a level that it's fantastic.

Example: Noise Marines.

EminusSleepus
Sep 28, 2015

drat these guys said it before and they are right!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ya3gCIGpiE

Minorkos
Feb 20, 2010

I'm not too educated on star citizen stuff but have they already run out of money? It's crazy that they could burn through that much money in such a short time. There are games that have spent like a decade in development hell and still have cost way less

sorla78
Oct 11, 2012

EAT THE PAIN AWAY!
Can we talk a bit about Escapist Magazine, and Defy Media who owns this poo poo? And what is the background of these journalists (if they even have any journalistic background at all, as their current editor in chief is mainly an advertisement guy) And have they been investigative ever before?

TLDR: Defy Media is the Click Bait Empire, the whole point of their brands seems to be content delivery to their target groups built on a giant ad-platform to monetize upon. It's literally the cancer of the internet.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sk5tel
I am no longer the Editor-in-Chief of The Escapist.

Due to budget cuts at Defy Media, the parent company of The Escapist, Game Front, and GameTrailers, a large number of my colleagues have also been let go. This news sucks for everyone, including those left behind to run these publications. My thoughts are with all of you and I hope you bounce back with a new gig soon.

I want to thank the people who made working for The Escapist awesome. I'm especially proud of the team of senior editors I assembled to cover the super-wide spectrum of geekiness out there. We produced a monumental amount of editorials, reviews and columns that were informative and fun-to-read, but, much more importantly, we had each other's support when we needed it most. Thank you for making the last six months bearable.

There is not much more to say right now. I am hanging out playing Disney Skylanders with my kid and I have plans to finally get in shape this winter. I'm excited for the future.

In the meantime, please enjoy my tweets about Civilization, parenting, baseball and beer.



Escapist:


The Escapist (typeset as the escapist) is an online magazine covering mostly video games as well as movies, comics, TV, and more. Published by Alexander Macris since its inception,[2] it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009,[3] then by Russ Pitts through September 2011,[4] then by Steve Butts until September 4, 2012,[5] then by Susan Arendt until June 14, 2013,[6] then by Greg Tito until January 21, 2015[7] and is currently edited by Joshua Vanderwall.[8] The Escapist was first published on July 12, 2005.[9] The Escapist originally ran weekly with a main edition published on Tuesday but it is now updated continuously.[10] On the 15th November 2012 it was announced that the Escapist had been acquired by online media company Alloy Digital from its corporate owner, Themis Media, for an undisclosed sum.[11] In 2014, Alloy Digital merged with Break Media to form Defy Media, the website's present owner.[12]


Josh Vanderwall, current managing editor (the fourth in four years)
Most recently working in Ad Operations for Themis Group, Inc. and The Escapist, I managed the video, banner, and custom inventory, monitoring weekly traffic trends to predict campaign delivery problems. Managing all ad trafficking, as well as mid- and post-campaign reporting, I developed a knack for identifying problems early, allowing the Sales team the opportunity to address any potential issues with clients.
Previously, I worked in Customer Service, starting as a Game Master in 2004, and eventually managing my own team of six CS reps for Wizard101's 2 million players.


Parent Company Defy Media


Barry Blumberg, Head of Content for Defy Media,
Oversees the company’s content and programming strategy for its portfolio of top ranked digital brands.

In his previous role under Alloy Digital, Blumberg also continued to serve as President of Defy-owned pop-culture phenomenon SMOSH – hailed by Time Magazine as the “SNL of the Internet” and FORBES “30 under 30.” The comedic duo’s award-winning website and multiple top-ranked YouTube channels attract a devoted audience of teens and young adults that reach more than 30 million total platform subscribers. Under Blumberg’s guidance, SMOSH has blossomed into a multi-faceted enterprise that includes multiple record-setting channel spinoffs, top-charting musical endeavors, merchandising brand extensions, mobile apps, gaming and theatrical exhibition (credit geoffrey). He is also the brainchild behind SMOSH’s Shut Up! Cartoons, the original animation channel which ranks among the most viewed premium funded channels, as well as SMOSH Games, one of the fastest growing channels in YouTube’s history.

Prior to joining SMOSH, Blumberg served as President, Walt Disney Television Animation, overseeing production of more than 1,000 episodes delivered to Disney Channels and other global distribution outlets. Prior to Disney, he was EVP of Harvey Entertainment, where he managed media and merchandising activities for Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich.

CEO Matthew Diamond
As CEO of Defy Media, Matt Diamond guides corporate strategy and oversees company management. He was formerly CEO of Alloy Digital, where his keen vision was instrumental in the company’s meteoric rise in a rapidly evolving digital space and the significant growth of globally recognized and top-ranked media platforms. He played a key strategic role in the recent “merger of equals” with Break Media.

In 1996, Matt co-founded Alloy, Inc. together with Jim Johnson, taking the company public in May 1999 and building it to become one of the most important millennial-focused media and marketing companies of the past two decades. Alloy Digital was the outgrowth of Alloy, Inc.’s interactive division, a dedicated unit formed in 2009 addressing industry needs amid shifting market trends.

As CEO of Alloy, Inc., Matt was instrumental in the establishment of the company’s multi-discipline marketing unit, Alloy Media + Marketing, and lead key expansions, including the acquisition of Alloy Entertainment (formerly 17 th Street Productions), the youth media behemoth behind pop culture phenomenon’s “Gossip Girl,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Pretty Little Liars, among others, which was sold to Warner Bros. Television Group; Channel One, the award-winning premiere television news network for teens; and Alloy Education, a leader in student recruitment solutions for higher education. Until 2005, Alloy, Inc. included the youth merchandise brands Alloy, CCS and dEliA*s. Under Matt’s leadership, these businesses grew to be among the largest direct marketers (e-commerce and catalog) to teens and young-adults in the U.S. and were divested via a public to public spinoff (credit dumas). In November 2010, Alloy, Inc. completed a go-private transaction by an investor group led by ZelnickMedia.

Prior to founding Alloy, Inc., Matt held positions in the Finance and Operations groups at the General Electric Company, including two years at the company’s offices in Tokyo.

Matt also serves on the board of Do Something, Inc. and, in 2009, the youth focused non-profit organization honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award for the company’s considerable contributions. He has also supported youth education initiatives in New York City, dedicating his time to the Bronx Academy of Letters—awarded a rare A in both the Department of Education’s 2006-07 and 2007-08 progress reports—and as a member the PENCIL program pairing business leaders with public schools.

Matt graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in International Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991 and received his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1996.


President Defy Media Keith Richman
As president, Keith oversees all areas of content development, product, technology and marketing for DEFY Media. Keith co-founded Break Media in 2004 and as the CEO was responsible for the overall strategic direction of the business, building it into a 160 person, profitable digital media company. He led the company through its merger with Alloy Digital in 2013.

Keith is a prominent voice on the successful implementation of workable business models in the ever-changing digital video space and the convergence of TV and digital. Named by The Hollywood Reporter as a member of the 2014 “Silicon Beach Power 25,” Keith is considered a leading expert in marketing to the coveted young digital demographic, which makes up the majority of DEFY Media’s audience of more than 155 million monthly viewers.

Prior to co-founding Break Media, Keith was the co-founder and vice-president of OnePage (acquired by Sybase 2002) and co-founder and director of business development for Billpoint Inc. Keith was integral in developing the business plan and raising venture funding, which ultimately led to the company’s successful acquisition by eBay in 1999.

Previous posts also include business development manager at Excite and Classifieds2000, as well as director of corporate planning at the Walt Disney Company, where he focused on consumer products, cable and emerging media.

He was included in The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen 2007 New Media list of the most talented executives in film, television, representation, legal and new media, all age 35 and under, recognized in the prestigious annual “40 Under 40″ by Multichannel News and was named one of the “10 to Watch” by Television Week in 2006.

Keith holds an MA and a BA from Stanford in International Policy Studies and resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

EVP Marketing Andy Tu
Andy Tu is the EVP Marketing at Defy Media, a leading digital media company formed by the 2013 merger of Alloy Digital and Break Media. Defy Media creates some of the most popular content in digital media across brands including Break, Made Man, SMOSH, Screen Junkies, Clevver and The Escapist, together reaching more than 155 million consumers monthly through owned web, YouTube, mobile, social and emerging OTT platforms.

Andy leads strategy across corporate and consumer marketing initiatives for the company including research, trade and consumer marketing, public relations, social media, audience development, events and creative services. Rooted in research, Andy spearheads the company’s Acumen Report, an initiative that provides insight into both the male and youth audiences to help bridge the gap between advertisers and audience (credit geoffrey). Last year’s study received national media attention for shining a light on the changing dynamic of men and masculinity.

Andy joined the Break Media team in 2007 and was instrumental in developing the company’s initial go-to-market sales strategy, which helped grow Break Media’s client roster from a small handful of partners into hundreds of relationships with blue chip clients across various industries including entertainment, gaming, CPG and automotive.

Andy is a proud Nebraska native and lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son. Prior to Defy Media, Andy worked in sales strategy and account management at AOL to help develop and execute integrated campaigns for AOL’s most valued advertising partners.

EVP, General Counsel and Secretary

As EVP, General Counsel and Secretary, Gina DiGioia oversees the company’s corporate, legal and business affairs. She works closely with other DEFY Media team members to effectively support the company’s growth initiatives, including managing its M&A activities. She played an integral role in the recent Alloy Digital and Break Media “merger of equals”.

Prior to the merger, Gina served as General Counsel & Secretary for Alloy Digital. Gina joined Alloy, Inc. in April 2001 as the Company’s Vice-President, General Counsel, and in 2004, the Alloy, Inc. Board of Directors also recognized her as the company’s Chief Legal Officer. As a member of the executive management team, she helped build Alloy, Inc. to become one of the most important millennial-focused media and marketing companies of the past two decades. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day legal affairs of the company, Gina managed more than 40 corporate transactions, including the 2005 public to public spinoff of Alloy, Inc.’s merchandising business into dELiA*s, Inc.; the 2010 Alloy, Inc (credit geoffrey). go-private transaction with an investor group led by Zelnick Media; and the 2012 divestiture of the Alloy Entertainment business to Warner Bros. Television Group.

Prior to joining Alloy, Inc. Gina was with the law firm of Grant, Herrmann, Schwartz & Klinger, LLP. She received a B.A. in International Studies from American University in 1991 and a J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law in 1996. Since 2010 Gina has been a member of the Board of Directors of National Safe Place, a national outreach program that educates young people on the dangers of running away and offers a safe haven for those in threatening situations.

CRO, Mark Gall

As Chief Revenue Officer for DEFY Media, Mark Gall leads the company’s sales staff and guides the strategic direction and development of media and custom advertising solutions across the its top ranked owned and operated brand portfolio.

Mark brings more than two decades of strategic advertising sales and marketing experience to DEFY Media. Prior to joining DEFY, Mark Gall served as EVP, TV & Digital Ad Sales for BBC Worldwide since 2007, where he built and led the North America, Canada and Latin America sales team responsible for significant revenue growth across both cable and digital platforms during his tenure. Mark’s career in media sales spans over twenty years where he held senior level positions and leadership roles at several globally recognized media companies, including The Weather Channel, Tribune Broadcasting, Discovery Communications and CNN.


Break Media
Break Media was a privately held company that owned several Internet properties targeted at men (males aged 18–34 make up 70% of their visitors), including Break.com (its first website), Screen Junkies, CagePotato, Chickipedia, HolyTaco, MadeMan, AllLeftTurns, TuVez and GameFront. It was founded in June 1998 by Keith Richman. From then until its eventual merger, the company's websites experienced significant growth. Traffic across all its websites grew by 35% in 2009, with 27.9 million visitors in February 2010. The company's network of websites, many which create original video content, make it the 11th most popular video network online.[1] In October 2013, Break Media merged with Alloy Digital to create Defy Media.[2]

Alloy Digital
Alloy Digital is one of the largest YouTube multichannel networks, with properties including Smosh, and claims to reach more than 95 million unique users per month. Break Media, whose principal investor is Lionsgate, says it reached 70-plus million uniques monthly, centering on comedy site Break.com.

Under one roof, Alloy Digital boasts the critical assets for a multi-platform, next generation media company targeting the highly-coveted, early-adopter 12-34 year-old demographic--Generate's cost-effective development, production and talent management, premium original programming from creators such as Smosh and Clevver, distribution across Alloy Digital's top-ranked network of media platforms and monetization through sponsorship, ad sales, social media and promotion. Alloy Digital's proprietary digital media network has ranked top in its category for more than three consecutive years, according to comScore, and attracts more than 90MM consumers each month with reach to over 53% of P12-34 internet users. Alloy Digital holds its position as offering a top-10 video network which delivers several hundred million monthly streams and includes award-winning Smosh, the #3 YouTube channel, as well as Shut UP! Cartoons, one of the fastest-growing YouTube premium channels. The network has attracted over 14MM followers combined across its dedicated social media profiles. Alloy Digital delivers digital campaigns for FORTUNE 500 advertisers and has received multiple industry accolades, including the prestigious ADVERTISING AGE Media Vanguard, an OMMA Award and a DIGIDAY Video Award.

Alloy Digital CEO Matt Diamond will become chief executive of Defy Media, while Break Media topper Keith Richman will assume the role of president.

In March, Alloy Digital raised $30 million in funding from ABS Capital Partners; previous investors included Zelnick Media. Then in April the company bought Digital Broadcasting Group, one of the biggest online-video syndication networks, which was its sixth acquisition in past two years

Above mentioned merged into

Defy Media
Defy Media owns and operates online brands including Smosh,[4] Shut Up! Cartoons, Clevver Media, Smosh Games, The Escapist,[5] Teen,[6] Gurl,[6] The Gloss,[6] and Crushable, as well as Break.com, Screen Junkies, CagePotato, Chickipedia, HolyTaco, MadeMan, AllLeftTurns, TuVez and GameFront which were inherited from Break media. Each of these brands operates a dedicated website and YouTube channel. Defy Media's online program offerings include The Single Life, The Confession, Fashion on the Fly,[7] Dating Rules,[4] Chasing,[8][9] Style Rules,[10] Wendy,[11] Style Setters,[12][13] and The Sub.[14]
According to ComScore, Defy counts more than 38 million followers among its owned brands, reaching 221 million unique visitors each month.[15] Together, its channels reach over 80 million video viewers monthly.[16]
Defy's main investors are Viacom, Lionsgate, ZelnickMedia and ABS Capital.[17]

Main Investors
Viacom, Inc.
(short for Video & Audio Communications) is an American global mass media company with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television. It is the world's sixth largest broadcasting and cable company in terms of revenue (behind The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, Comcast, Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., and CBS Corporation, respectively). Voting control of Viacom is held by National Amusements, Inc., a privately owned theater company controlled in turn by billionaire Sumner Redstone.[3][4][5][6] Redstone also holds, via National Amusements, a controlling stake in CBS Corporation.
The current Viacom was created on December 31, 2005, as a spinoff from CBS Corporation, which changed its name from Viacom to CBS at the same time. CBS, not Viacom, retains control of the over-the-air broadcasting, TV production, outdoor advertising, subscription pay television (Showtime) and publishing assets (Simon & Schuster) previously owned by the pre-split company. Predecessor firms of Viacom include Gulf+Western, which later became Paramount Communications Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Comprising BET Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures, Viacom operates approximately 170 networks reaching approximately 700 million subscribers in 160 countries.[7]


Lionsgate

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (or Lionsgate)[4] is a Canadian-American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 3, 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.[5][6] As of November 2013, it is the most commercially successful mini major film and television distribution company in North America and the seventh most profitable movie studio.[7] Lionsgate Films is not to be confused with Robert Altman's former company, Lion's Gate Films, although both names refer to the same Vancouver landmark, the Lions Gate bridge.

ZelnickMedia
ZelnickMedia LLC is a private equity firm specializing in buyout investments in middle-market companies. The firm seeks to invest in under-valued media enterprises with a focus on video games and interactive entertainment; television advertising; wireless network enabling software; business information; tradeshows; media-related business services; publishing; recorded music; television production and distribution; Telecommunications Infrastructure; digital media; entertainment content production and distribution; loyalty marketing; radio, advertising; online games and entertainment software; direct marketing and market research; branded properties; and media-related technologies.


Strauss Zelnick

founded ZMC (originally known as ZelnickMedia) in 2001. Mr. Zelnick is responsible for responsible for originating, structuring and monitoring investments. Mr. Zelnick currently represents ZMC on the board of Alloy, L.L.C. He is Chairman of ITN Networks and serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Previously, Mr. Zelnick was on the boards of Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, L.L.C. and Naylor L.L.C. He also served as Chairman and CEO of Columbia Music Entertainment and was Chairman of Direct Holdings Worldwide and OTX.

Prior to forming ZMC, Mr. Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of BMG Entertainment, at that time one of the world’s largest music and entertainment companies with more than 200 record labels and operations in 54 countries.

Before joining BMG Entertainment, Mr. Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Dynamics, a producer and distributor of interactive entertainment software. Prior to that, he spent four years as President and Chief Operating Officer of 20th Century Fox, where he managed all aspects of Fox Inc.’s worldwide motion picture production and distribution business.

Previously, Mr. Zelnick spent three years at Vestron Inc., two as the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Zelnick also served as Vice President of International Television Sales at Columbia Pictures.

Mr. Zelnick holds a BA from Wesleyan University, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School and a JD from Harvard Law School.


ABS Capital

ABS Capital Partners is an American venture capital firm focused on investments in companies across a range of industries, including business and education services, information and communications technology and health care.

The firm, which is based in Baltimore, was founded in 1990. The firm has raised approximately $2.5 billion since inception across seven funds.

ABS Capital Partners is a member of the National Venture Capital Association [1] and the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association.[2]

ABS Capital Partners was founded in 1990 and was originally the investment arm of Alex. Brown & Sons (later BT Alex. Brown). The firm's founder, Donald Hebb spent more than 20 years with Alex. Brown where he was CEO from 1986 to 1991, leading the initial public offering in 1986.

ABS is an acronym representing the firm's predecessor organization Alex. Brown & Sons.

Among the firm's notable investments include Rosetta Stone, American Public Education, Captivate Network, iTOK and DoubleClick.

sorla78 fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Oct 3, 2015

eonwe
Aug 11, 2008



Lipstick Apathy

corn in the bible posted:

this hamburger looks fine but please cook another one and this time put a plastic window in the side of it

Very good post

Agrajag
Jan 21, 2006

gat dang thats hot

Minorkos posted:

I'm not too educated on star citizen stuff but have they already run out of money? It's crazy that they could burn through that much money in such a short time. There are games that have spent like a decade in development hell and still have cost way less


i think croberts spent a good chunk buying a seperate studio specifically for mocap and also opened another studio for his brother and other stupid poo poo.

with spending habits like that it really isn't surprising that its being floated around that they have blown through most of their capital

Agrajag fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Oct 3, 2015

Tippis
Mar 21, 2008

It's yet another day in the wasteland.

EminusSleepus posted:

thanks I have edited my original post :)

Perfect. :D

OhDearGodNo
Jan 3, 2014

sorla78 posted:

Can we talk a bit about Escapist Magazine, and Defy Media who owns this poo poo? And what is the background of these journalists (if they even have any journalistic background at all, as their current editor in chief is mainly an advertisement guy) And have they been investigative ever before?


It's even more crazy. the SC reddit, cult members, brown sea, all want the sources to be named. They've been hounding Liz and anyone else who piggybacks the story to out the employees to "verify" them.

Of course this isn't so they can harass or go after anyone. Nope.

Agrajag
Jan 21, 2006

gat dang thats hot
lol what the gently caress is wrong with these idiots? do they think this is some kind of federal criminal investigation and they are a congressional committee and some federal investigative department all rolled into one?

ok, now that i think about it, i think the author of the article should protect herself from these idiots.

FilthyImp
Sep 30, 2002

Anime Deviant
This sounds like some Watergate level shenanigans. If only a group of motivated gamesters could band together to root out the malfeasance!

kikkelivelho
Aug 27, 2015

Is croberts still serious about that PVP slider thingie? Because it seems like worst loving thing you could possibly implement and suggest that their "open world" is nothing more than a series of random matchmaking events.

Zsinjeh
Jun 11, 2007

:shoboobs:
Journalists are a disruptive element (DE) and we need to come up with a battle plan to dissuade further pr smears against the Commander

OhDearGodNo
Jan 3, 2014

kikkelivelho posted:

Is croberts still serious about that PVP slider thingie? Because it seems like worst loving thing you could possibly implement and suggest that their "open world" is nothing more than a series of random matchmaking events.

It's the epitome of his desire to cater to every whim.

Kimsemus
Dec 4, 2013

by Reene
Toilet Rascal

sorla78 posted:

Can we talk a bit about Escapist Magazine, and Defy Media who owns this poo poo? And what is the background of these journalists (if they even have any journalistic background at all, as their current editor in chief is mainly an advertisement guy) And have they been investigative ever before?

:words:


You really can't attack The Escapist for a lack of qualified or questionable leadership, without attacking CIG, which has blatantly less qualified and questionable leadership.

For what it's worth, Escapist is probably one of the more respected (lol) gaming journalism (L O L) websites out there, and is heads and tails above Gawker owned sited (Kotaku, io9, etc) which are blatantly and un-apologetically skewed and have an obvious agenda.

So, nice straw man's argument, let me go ahead and burn that one down for you before you feel like you've made a valid inference. :toot:

kikkelivelho posted:

Is croberts still serious about that PVP slider thingie? Because it seems like worst loving thing you could possibly implement and suggest that their "open world" is nothing more than a series of random matchmaking events.


Yes, it's awful, and ED is pointless and stupid from a PVP standpoint for having a similar mechanic.

Kimsemus fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Oct 3, 2015

sorla78
Oct 11, 2012

EAT THE PAIN AWAY!

OhDearGodNo posted:

It's even more crazy. the SC reddit, cult members, brown sea, all want the sources to be named. They've been hounding Liz and anyone else who piggybacks the story to out the employees to "verify" them.

Of course this isn't so they can harass or go after anyone. Nope.



Well it seems at least Liz seemed to have reached out to Darth Alyssa, so I assume that she counts as one of the sources. Stupid way to approach someone if you are all about keeping your sources hidden.

lizzyf620
2015-09-25 00:09 UTC
@AlyssaDelo I'm so sorry to trouble you. I am with the Escapist. Would you be willing to have a brief chat in DM? I won't take up much time.


There's also an interesting dissonance among the employees at CIG though... you read Brandon Evans who also got fired recently?

https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3n47r5/cig_employees_talk_star_citizen_and_the_state_of/cvkp29v

quote:

I doubt their sources are fake, some of the ex-employees are extreeeeemely bitter and have talked no end of poo poo about the game, but just because they actually found 7 people out of several hundred who will talk poo poo about the game doesn't mean they're right, and since they're all anonymous we have no idea what position they were even in to KNOW the state of the company.

Source: I don't work for CIG anymore and I'm calling bullshit on most of this


Anyways, I hope everyone burns.

Octopode
Sep 2, 2009

No. I work here. I manage operations for this and integration for this, while making sure that their stuff keeps working in here.

OhDearGodNo posted:

Archive still has the version of the TOS that was 'valid' between 2013-2015.

https://web.archive.org/web/20141102060551/https://robertsspaceindustries.com/tos

This is the one that currently legally justifies any refund requests prior to the new TOS, because of this part:



(I believe at the time this TOS was drafted the release date for SQ42 was May 2014 or something)

This was removed after February 1st 2015.

In addition, this covers any transactions- so even if you melted something and checked the "new TOS" box it doesn't matter as this refers to deposits and not store credit.

Even with the new robots.txt they will not be able to hide the original TOS.

That's not how TOS work. Once you agree to the new one, you're bound to it for all your stuff, not just stuff after that date. You're not locked into the ones in effect at the time of any one particular purchase for that purchase because you're not actually purchasing a product, you're purchasing an ongoing license access to which is subject to those terms and which can be modified later down the line if both parties agree to it. Once you agree to the new ones, that's it, they're applicable; if you don't agree, you don't have to accept the new ones, but that means you no longer are able to make use of your license and your relationship with the service provider is over (and are, if applicable under those terms, then entitled to a refund--but there is no obligation for them to do so under US law unless the terms promised it).

Kimsemus
Dec 4, 2013

by Reene
Toilet Rascal

Octopode posted:

That's not how TOS work. Once you agree to the new one, you're bound to it for all your stuff, not just stuff after that date. You're not locked into the ones in effect at the time of any one particular purchase for that purchase because you're not actually purchasing a product, you're purchasing an ongoing license access to which is subject to those terms and which can be modified later down the line if both parties agree to it. Once you agree to the new ones, that's it, they're applicable; if you don't agree, you don't have to accept the new ones, but that means you no longer are able to make use of your license and your relationship with the service provider is over (and are, if applicable under those terms, then entitled to a refund--but there is no obligation for them to do so under US law unless the terms promised it).

This depends entirely on how the original agreement was written, and is not always the case. There is neither an automatic grandfather clause into an old ToS, nor is there a guarantee of service termination when there is a new ToS issued (Pretty much how cell phone providers and old/new plans with changing terms works, they don't automatically shut off your phone or cancel your service because they don't actively provide your plan anymore).

The ToS has to be very specific and encompassing in both cases, and this is not always the case. In fact, many ToS are not legally binding in instances anyway if you chose to fight them because they way they are worded usually violates one statute or another in your country/state.

kikkelivelho
Aug 27, 2015

OhDearGodNo posted:

It's the epitome of his desire to cater to every whim.

"Our game has PVP encounters but I know some of our players don't like PVP so we have a slider that reduces the chance of PVP happening
but it's less effective in dangerous areas where you'll still encounter PVP despite the slider." - Chris Roberts, Legendary game designer.

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon
I wouldn't be surprised if the employees with an axe to grind are the ones from Santa Monica, while the folks in the UK, Germany, or Austin were largely isolated from CR and SG and thus less likely to have their manhood questioned be exposed.

Truga
May 4, 2014
Lipstick Apathy

Alchenar posted:

The Battletech kickstarter really puts things in perspective when the initial goal for all Star Citizen was $500k whereas HBS's pitch is 'for 250k we can make a barebones random skirmish game, for $1m we'll can actually throw together a single player campaign'.

The initial goal for SC was 2 million + 10 million in VC cash he got told he'd get if he can successfully crowdfund this. Crowdfunding wasn't even his original idea.

But after they got 1.5m on their own site it crashed (like everything else star citizen), kickstarter contacted them and told them "hey, we have a platform for this". And then they got 90 million dollars.

Agrajag
Jan 21, 2006

gat dang thats hot
the witch hunt for whoever talked is all kinds of messed up
















VVVV more trouble in what way?

Agrajag fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Oct 3, 2015

Kimsemus
Dec 4, 2013

by Reene
Toilet Rascal

Truga posted:

The initial goal for SC was 2 million + 10 million in VC cash he got told he'd get if he can successfully crowdfund this. Crowdfunding wasn't even his original idea.

But after they got 1.5m on their own site it crashed (like everything else star citizen), kickstarter contacted them and told them "hey, we have a platform for this". And then they got 90 million dollars.

A very small portion of that $90m was raised on Kickstarter, they had already raised enough funds on their own site for the more basic game they wanted, and the majority of their funds have been raised well after the KS ended. To be honest, the Kickstarter was probably more trouble for them than it was worth, and they probably regret doing it.

OhDearGodNo
Jan 3, 2014

sorla78 posted:

Well it seems at least Liz seemed to have reached out to Darth Alyssa, so I assume that she counts as one of the sources. Stupid way to approach someone if you are all about keeping your sources hidden.

lizzyf620
2015-09-25 00:09 UTC
@AlyssaDelo I'm so sorry to trouble you. I am with the Escapist. Would you be willing to have a brief chat in DM? I won't take up much time.


There's also an interesting dissonance among the employees at CIG though... you read Brandon Evans who also got fired recently?

https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3n47r5/cig_employees_talk_star_citizen_and_the_state_of/cvkp29v



Anyways, I hope everyone burns.


She wrote the first piece on September 22nd, in which it was rumored that two were fired on the spot.

On the 25th, AFTER James and Alyssa were fired suddenly- why would she not reach out? That's literally how a good journalist works. There's nothing fishy about it.


According to the VERY detailed reports on the contacts listed here:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/14727-The-Escapist-Explains-Its-Star-Citizen-Sources-Vetting-and-Respo

Compared to reddit's incredible investigation abilities (such as with the Boston Bomber) and source of "Chris Roberts said so." I think the Escapist has a very good position at the moment.

I couldn't care less about if it's clickbait. Hell, every "story" that's interesting or involves personal drama is clickbait. This entire thread is clickbait and I love it.

However, it's funny seeing vapid SC cult members (and CIG) demand to know anonymous sources under the guise of "vetting." This is bullshit. CIG wants to consider suing for a possible NDO they had the employees sign, and the SC cult just wants blood.


Also, let's consider the behavior of The Escapist and Liz compared to CIG.

After the story, The Escapist and Liz

- Updated with Christ Robert's response interwtined in the article. Not just amended, but put inside it with direct responses to the allegations.
- Posted another article detailing not just the times and methods, but also included information/sources they considered unreliable and did not include.
- Looking over Liz and Jason's tweets they've been calm, collected, and rational in the face of constant online attacks and what can be easily seen as interrogation and threats


Meanwhile, at CIG:

- They actually put a token black guy on AtV.
- They had current employees post testimonials
- Only one posted a positive review, and on reddit.
- Has made efforts to remove old articles and postings that have shown outright fabrications
- Have made efforts to prevent archiving of the past (see the new robots.txt for an example)

If CIG really wanted to try and discredit the Escapist, they would publicly remove the NDO from all employees, but that won't happen.



By the looks of things, The Escapist is being as open as possible while still protecting sources (something that has been the tenet of journalistic integrity for decades) while on the other hand CIG has been pulling an Enron and shredding anything incriminating in a mad panic.

Octopode
Sep 2, 2009

No. I work here. I manage operations for this and integration for this, while making sure that their stuff keeps working in here.

Kimsemus posted:

This depends entirely on how the original agreement was written, and is not always the case. There is neither an automatic grandfather clause into an old ToS, nor is there a guarantee of service termination when there is a new ToS issued (Pretty much how cell phone providers and old/new plans with changing terms works, they don't automatically shut off your phone or cancel your service because they don't actively provide your plan anymore).

The ToS has to be very specific and encompassing in both cases, and this is not always the case. In fact, many ToS are not legally binding in instances anyway if you chose to fight them because they way they are worded usually violates one statute or another in your country/state.

The original terms have a single-side severability clause upon notification on their website, and all have had appropriate modification and agreement clauses upon notification; even if not all of the terms are enforceable, the terms have severability clauses and there's little doubt that the limited licensure of digital goods is valid as they've been tested several times in US and other courts.

Kimsemus
Dec 4, 2013

by Reene
Toilet Rascal

Octopode posted:

The original terms have a single-side severability clause upon notification on their website, and all have had appropriate modification and agreement clauses upon notification; even if not all of the terms are enforceable, the terms have severability clauses and there's little doubt that the limited licensure of digital goods is valid as they've been tested several times in US and other courts.

Sources, please.

Octopode
Sep 2, 2009

No. I work here. I manage operations for this and integration for this, while making sure that their stuff keeps working in here.

Truga posted:

The initial goal for SC was 2 million + 10 million in VC cash he got told he'd get if he can successfully crowdfund this. Crowdfunding wasn't even his original idea.

But after they got 1.5m on their own site it crashed (like everything else star citizen), kickstarter contacted them and told them "hey, we have a platform for this". And then they got 90 million dollars.

No, the original plan was for ~$20 million of total budget, with at least $1M of that coming from crowdfunding to prove interest so that he could get the rest via VC cash.

Paul Zuvella
Dec 7, 2011

Star Citizen: It's actually about Ethics in Game Development.

Agrajag
Jan 21, 2006

gat dang thats hot
then nerds came in and decided giving them a poo poo load of cash upfront, before the game was even past the conceptual phase, was a good idea. CIG is basically operating completely on profit without having ever made a single thing which is rather hilarious.

Truga
May 4, 2014
Lipstick Apathy

Octopode posted:

No, the original plan was for ~$20 million of total budget, with at least $1M of that coming from crowdfunding to prove interest so that he could get the rest via VC cash.

Okay. Crowdfunding wasn't even his original idea, though, that's what's funny. I wonder how much VC cash they went for anyway, after they showed 90 million dollars of interest in vapourware.

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Octopode
Sep 2, 2009

No. I work here. I manage operations for this and integration for this, while making sure that their stuff keeps working in here.

Kimsemus posted:

Sources, please.

For the ToS? robertsspaceindustries.com and the archive.org archive thereof?

For the applicability of limited licensure and ownership rights of digital goods? I think the precedent setting case was Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc., but if not there, there have been several cases subsequent that have affirmed the right of the copyright holder to retain ownership and license use of digital products to consumers.

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