Derek Smart is still continuing his ongoing crusade against Star Citizen, most notably “the bullshit that is the ‘vaporware’ […] that RSI/CIG have foisted on […] legacy backers”.
“These bastards, most of whom were probably running around in diapers, rubbing poo-dipped hands on their faces, when I was earning my chops as a hardcore Internet Warlord, simply don’t know who they’re dealing with,”
Well, okay then. Smart is responding to the fact that CIG responded to his initial calm, reasoned complaints by refunding his kickstarter. This didn’t sit well.
“All you’ve done, is strengthened my resolve, and unwittingly broadcast to the world that you have something to hide by kicking me out as a backer,” he says. “I’m going to take out a full page article in the NY times, just to prove it.”
Feel free to click through to see (I am not making this up) Derek Smart’s list of demands.
The sad part about all this is that the gaming media is eating Smart’s crazy up like it’s pudding and practically asking for more by giving his nonsensical rants all this attention which, of course, is exactly what he wanted. He’s never been the type to think any PR is bad PR, so anything that gets his name out there is something he thinks can sucker some people into paying for his horrible, horrible games.
In fact just about the only gaming site which has shown any sort of responsibility in this whole thing is themittani.com. Think about _that_ for a second, because that’s just sad and a little bit frightening. TMC, generally a shithole of epic proportions filled with gleeful trolls both on staff and in the comment sections and a place which never lets a chance to go “Star Citizen? LOL, scam, hookers and coke!” pass it by is pretty much the only site which hasn’t fallen for Smart’s tricks and ignored him like anyone with common sense ought to.
And that’s just a very sad comment on gaming media today.
Unfortunately, there is so much narcissism and BS that a casual gamer can immediately identify, that if Smart has any valid arguments, we wouldn’t know.
From the Battlecruiser 3K days, Derek Smart was known as an arrogant jerk that consistently overestimated his own products and his own abilities. He loves to blame others for his own faults (I think he claimed Battlecruiser 3K bugs were Take-Two’s problems, not his own).
Currently, Alganon is not well liked (Smart is, of course, telling everyone that they are wrong and the project he is in charge of is much more awesome), and Line of Defense’s free weekend test a few months back didn’t go very well (which Smart, again, blames review bombings), but Smart leverages to justify when early access prices should be set high.
TBH, Smart has all the appearance of someone who is just pissed that his stuff is getting negative reviews while others are getting a lot more media attention. I don’t see anything in his rants that tells me otherwise.
Smart seems like the kind of person who can’t help getting in his own way. I read his initial write-up of issues in SC and actually agreed with parts of it — they seem to have bitten off far more than they can chew, I have issues with the way they’ve procured additional funding, and his comments about custom engines and design could well be accurate.
The problem is, Smart can’t keep his statements confined to critique. They’re relentlessly self-aggrandizing: “Look what I did, I’m the only one who ever tried, etc, etc, etc.”
I’m not saying there’s no truth to that because God knows few people have ever attempted to create a game as huge as BC3K attempted to be, but the non-stop self-promotion just got old for awhile. I get it. Derek Smart has a very high opinion of Derek Smart, and a very low opinion of most other people.
Smart appears to have amassed a fair amount of evidence supporting his case. And the irreverent attitude of his rants was somewhat amusing to read.
However, on further investigation, it appears he is some sort of Gamergate supporter?
If so that would be the “third-time’s-charm” confirmation that actual gamedev supporters of GG are fringe players: Smart (’nuff said), Kern (currently on the short bus), and Wardell (day-job running a Windows software house).
Holy cow. This is going to be great!
http://www.brokentoys.org/?p=5736
TL; DR version of this debacle:
Smart may have a point. But because of past history and present conflicts of interests, nobody should believe him.