Star Citizen Employees "Speak Out" [Oct 01, 2015, 4:35 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
An
article on The Escapist talks anonymously with some purported current and
former employees of Cloud Imperium Games about Star Citizen, the
crowdfunded space combat and exploration game. Their sources express
doubts about the viability of the project, and guilt over the sale of virtual
ships to eager customers. The story was updated after it was posted to add some
responses from CIG's Chris Roberts, who suspects "these are the words of a few
bitter ex-employees trying to stir trouble," and the included quotes also
touch on a toxic work environment and issues with Roberts, his wife, and
other management, lending support to his contention. There is also a
Chairman's Response to The Escapist post on the Roberts Space Industries
website (thanks 88fingers). The article concludes with a quote from one of their sources, and Roberts'
contrasting statement of faith in his project and his 261 employees:
"Chris Roberts thinks he's George Lucas. He thinks he's a genius," CS2 asserted. "He's a fraud, pure and simple. If he was just a salesman, or he worked in marketing, or he was answering to a producer, he would do well. But the emperor wears no clothes. Anybody who has worked with him will tell you the same thing. The difference is that lots of people have a dream, but only some can communicate it. I don't think he's sinister, or a bad person. He's Donald Trump. He thinks that if he wants to do something, he can. Because he's Chris Roberts."
"I'll put my 261, their passion and energy against the complaints of a few disgruntled ex-employees any day," Roberts said. "We have backers visit the offices all the time, they all come away with the same impression - that the entire team is dedicated to making the best game possible."
jdreyer wrote on Oct 1, 2015, 18:26:That's because giving figures only serves to fuel his critics and provides no benefit. No figure he could give would satisfy Derek Smart and would only give him ammunition to attack the company. What you also have to consider is projected income, which is commercially sensitive information and won't be shared.
Still, CR was very careful to avoid discussing their burn rate and how much they have in reserve. I just hope that his alternate sources of funding are substantial.
jdreyer wrote on Oct 1, 2015, 18:26:That's not what he said. They've been working on assets at the same time - they've completed performance capture, finished a lot of the ships, created large world environments, designed the character models and outfits, made progress on multiple planetside locations, etc. What he's referring to is the major engine work, like moving to 64-bit precision to allow for large world maps and local grids to support multi-crew. We don't know how far along Squadron 42 is but clearly a lot of work has already been put into it beyond merely the technology. The monthly reports have detailed a lot of that work."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," Roberts said. "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."
Three years to build the underlying architecture before you even begin on the content? That's nuts.
Flatline wrote on Oct 1, 2015, 18:26:We're talking about claims made by anonymous individuals. It's quite easy for misinformation to spread. For instance, most employees aren't going to be given access to the company's financial records - that tends to be hearsay.
How often do you get ex-employees who make up specific, detailed, consistent bullshit about their old employers that mystically matches up with all the other stories from ex-employees? In almost 20 years of working professionally I've only encountered it maybe once or twice. Generally speaking most grudges from ex-employees are grounded in reality.
Let me be clear, I'm not dismissing the allegations. I'm just understandably sceptical.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
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