IANL and I have no idea which party has the stronger legal case in this situation. From a layman’s perspective Derek Smart, Chris Roberts, and Ortwin Freyermuth come off as petty assholes in this interaction with each other. In order of craziness I’d put Derek before Chris and Chris before Ortwin. I think Derek’s initial attack on CIG, coupled with The Escapists article, pushed Chris over the edge and made him lash out. I think Ortwin has the double disadvantage of being kind of a huckster to start with, while also being a bit too personally involved. Throughout it all, Derek is being Derek, and the way this has blown up is probably the most awesome thing ever in his eyes. He’s getting all the attention he craves.
Unfortunately for Chris Roberts, Derek Smart had the wherewithal to hire an actual law firm this time that’s not fucking around for public applause. That letter isn’t written to impress the peanut gallery of video game players. It’s written to shut down someone else’s bullshit.
It’s going to be interesting to see what, if any, response we get from CIG.
hepcat
1603
It was a joke. Of course I don’t believe either is evil. I’m just saying (through hyperbole) that they’re both unlikable in this context.
And don’t forget that the reason the project fails is not poor management, it is a conspiracy by DEREK SMART!
As if Derek smart is some big hitter that can take down a project of this size on his own.
The best thing all of them can do right now is shut the hell up. If Derek Smart wants to keep talking and the Escapist wants to keep publishing, I think that could end up being inadvisable for both of them - but there’s no point yelling so.
Whatever happened to “speak softly and carry a big stick”?
I’m reminded of what you should do if you ever find yourself under arrest. Shut the hell up and ask for your lawyer, and let them do all the talking. I don’t care how innocent you are, let the professional handle it. Because anything you do say is admissible, and even the slightest error can snowball.
That lawyer letter is the real deal. I wouldn’t want to get one of those. And it could have easily been avoided.
Timex
1607
Yeah, honestly, after reading previous garbage from Derek Smart, I wasn’t really interested in giving his site any more traffic.
I’m reminded of what you should do if you ever find yourself under arrest. Shut the hell up and ask for your lawyer, and let them do all the talking. I don’t care how innocent you are, let the professional handle it. Because anything you do say is admissible, and even the slightest error can snowball.
That lawyer letter is the real deal. I wouldn’t want to get one of those. And it could have easily been avoided.
Yes, when it comes to lawyerin’ you let the lawyers do it.
I think CR let his ego get the best of him… which is kind of understandable, when you have some colossal douchebag personally insulting you and your wife, accusing you of any number of crimes with absolutely no evidence. Not wise, but perhaps understandable.
What’s really the most ironic aspect of all this is that while Derek Smart has been running this epic campaign against CIG’s delaying release of their game, his own game itself continues to be delayed, and in a state which is really quite laughable at this point. While actually flat out telling people that he wouldn’t refund any of their money.
You should read that lawyer letter (it’s hosted on Dropbox BTW, so you aren’t giving his site any more traffic). And compare it to that “legal letter” issued by CIG. And then tell me who’s the professional lawyer doing his job.
Timex
1609
If only game development was driven by legal teams, then maybe Line of Defense wouldn’t be so terrible compared to Star Citizen.
rowe33
1610
Wait, what? At least one of those games actually exists…
JonRowe
1611
The lesson here is, ignore the trolls, and they lose power.
and wasn’t funded through crowd sourcing. Apples and oranges.
Deformed, rotten apple versus imaginary, over-hyped orange. Ghetto fruit war.
Timex
1614
Which one exists?
I mean, Star Citizen in its current form is infinitely more of a game than Line of Defense currently.
rowe33
1616
I don’t have a stake in either game but it just seemed weird to say how terrible LoD is compared to a game that may never actually be created.
Lol. This made my day. Thanks for posting.
mok
1618
This hit the reddit drama thread. Pretty much sums up the events to date:
Timex
1619
But like I said… the part of Star Citizen which actually already exists, is a better game on its own than Line of Defense.
Right now, you can play the Area Commander part of Star Citizen, which is basically a little arena space combat shooter, with a variety of ships and weapons, etc. They also have space racing built into it. There are a bunch of folks who play this on a daily basis. It is essentially a functional game, albeit much smaller in scope than the full Star Citizen vision.
Line of Defense, in contrast, is by all accounts unplayable. There are tons of videos posted by folks where it crashes constantly. Where folks have tried to review it, and been literally unable to actually play the game at all. Most of it is totally unfinished, with NPC’s who are essentially just static models that you can’t interact with at all. When you look on steam’s stats for the game the peak number of players for the past 30 days is FOUR. FOUR PLAYERS.
That comic leaves out a panel of CIG going just as nuts in one of their responses.
I didn’t realize how completely over the “cheezburgers” thing I am.
