Just now reading CR’s response to The Escapist:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14979-Chairmans-Response-To-The-Escapist
TL:DR - Okay, it’s still long.
Opening statement of “shock” followed by 3 paragraphs about Derek Smart (which was never mentioned in their article). Then an attack on TE’s sense of journalism, oh wait, another mention of Derek Smart. He then attacks the reporter directly. Oh, mixed in some twitter stuff with even more DS. A paragraph of the atrocities of journalism and how the “good ole days” were better. 4 more paragraphs of Derek. I’m just a humble guy trying to do the Gamers’ work.
Talking points:
1st point: Funding and not enough of it. Socratic method applied. No real explanation here other than "we’re being good with teh money"
2nd point: Concerns over his absence in the industry. Mentions the entire team is there and all is honky-dory.
3rd point: Concerns over expansion of KS goals and not meeting the 2014 deadline. Responds with, we’ve released the forums, dog-fighter, and we’re still working on S42. All is well, the rest is just added features and we don’t need to apply anything added after the fact to what we’ve stated prior. (While I agree with CR’s response here, it doesn’t explain the massive delays in every single release they’ve tried to make. They haven’t been the most transparent with this kind of thing, IMO)
4th point: Toxic work environment. Wife is head of HR. Our toxicity or lack thereof is confidential.
5th point: Misuse of crowdfunding money. Flat denial, but mentions that employees also play D&D in break rooms on the weekend. (I suppose doing photo shoots with company resources and playing a game in the break room are one in the same. Again, innocent until proven, but it’s a tad fishy.)
6th point: Deal with Turbulent. Mutually beneficial endeavor. (I’m fine with this.)
7th point: Too much quality stuff. Don’t be that extravagant. Uh, that’s what our backers got in our stretch goals. We intended to do this.
8th point: (Quoting this one, cause it’s akin to how I feel.) Accusations that the majority of the crowdfunding money has been used, with minimal progress made. Sources state they “feel like they were making commercials, not a game.
Response: Anybody even with minimal knowledge about game development can assess the significant progress by looking at the released modules and the detailed monthly reports from each development studio. We have a massive team, working flat out to build something special for everybody. We feel like we’ve made huge strides and have completed a good portion of the underlying technology that will enable us to make Star Citizen the game that your sources say can’t be made. I don’t know how someone could say with a straight face that they felt “they were making commercials, not a game.” In fact we haven’t had a ship commercial since last year! As an aside the commercials were used as a fun milestone to make sure everyone got the ship to final game quality, and it focused the artists on finishing the work for public consumption, which in turn helps with getting more final assets in the game sooner. It was also a great way to build the lore of the universe of Star Citizen up, which is a universe we intend to continue to expand for many years to come. (I take issue with this one so much. Yeah, they do great work, but it feels like more work went into the progression of these commercials than the dogfighter which was delayed extensively at the time. And, even after release, it was damn near impossible to play and still is a whole year later. I understand that the teams used to make these commercials aren’t the same building the mechanics, but I would presume that less time spent on commercials would be more time spent on actual game materials and assets.)
9th point: Not enough staff. We have enough staff.
10th point: CR doesn’t listen to staff. I have a strong vision and I’m ensuring that it comes to life, damnit.
11th point: Austin is closing doors. Austin is being “restructured” and hard choices are made for the good of the game.
12th point: More about crowdfunding than about the game. Crowdfunding is the tool to make the game, so yeah, it’s not always about the game. (This response confused me.)
13th point: Employees feel like they’re part of a con. These are just bitter ex-employees.
A paragraph about how he had to respond to these accusations took him away from actually working on the game. Come visit us, we’ll prove that we’re not screwing around.
All said, he asked the same question a few times throughout the response and it was “What do you plan on getting out of this?” I can’t take the victimization here as it’s not like this line of questioning is unwarranted. I wish he would just address the questions with facts rather than conjecture.