There was an article posted earlier today on PC Gamer UK outlining some of the frustrations that the reviewer had with the pre-day 0 version of the game as well as a problem he was having with tactical battles.
In the article, he quoted an inflammatory forum posting I made on a site I participate in called Quarter to Three. This is a site I’ve been a participant in for many years and many of the people I discuss things on there are personal friends of mine.
During one such exchange with my friend Ben Sones, I angrily responded with a statement “Ben, please stay away from our games in the future. I consider it ready for release and if others disagree, don’t buy our games.”
This comment was totally out of line and I apologize for it. It was made in the heat of a ~2000 comment long thread and is not how I honestly feel. Ben’s a friend of mine and his comment that the game felt like a “beta” to him upset me and I responded inappropriately. I post a lot on many forums and unfortunately, sometimes the things I say are inappropriate or inflammatory.
As the CEO of Stardock, I want to be clear that my comments on the Quarter to Three forums do not reflect my team at large. They were words spoken out of frustration and sleep deprivation and I am truly sorry. We stand behind what we feel is a great product, one that we will continue to support for a number of years.
With regards to a post on Rock Paper Shot Gun, which picked up the PC Gamer UK story, they erroneously point to a 2+ year old URL to a Stardock news item that is no longer active (we switched news systems a year or so ago). Their article falsely implies that we have stepped away from our commitment to the Gamer’s Bill of Rights.
The site, www.gamersbillofrights.org was set up and is run by Stardock. We stand by it. It is, with some irony, our commitment to no DRM on our DVD release that ultimately caused the rough pre-release experience of Elemental. Several retailers broke the street date and we felt we needed to release our gold version to our customers who had pre-ordered from us as well as to our beta community that helped make the game the outstanding strategy game that it is.
However, it also became clear that the pre-day 0 version of the game was problematic as outlined in the PC Gamer UK article. The official day 0 version of the game, what is available right now, should address most, if not all the issues that have been described. That said, as is our long-standing policy, we will continue to release updates and improvements Elemental just as we do for the other titles we develop.
I anticipate us putting out regular updates for Elemental for months or years to come based on player feedback, suggestions, and yes, bug reports.
I hope this offers some explanation as to the events that have come up. I sincerely apologize and feel terrible for the effect my forum posting on Qt3 may have had not just on our fans but also my team that has worked incredibly hard over the past 3 years to produce what we hope, is a game that you will enjoy for years to come.
Nice mea culpa Brad.
Most of the complaints will be knocked out in a few days. They always are by you guys. It's almost as if people are jumping down your guy's throats in the hopes that you'll fail. But.. for the record.. I'm having a great time.. it's addicting.. (I'm doing the video conversion right now on several videos..) and since I've updated to the latest Nvidia 258 drivers, no white screen of doom. (Though there are unusual slow downs after a few turns, but then again I'm running on a gigantic 14x14 custom map, and it's a frakkin' blast! And there are a LOT of monsters..!)
I think you are doing MUCH more than any other developer of any game I have purchased has done. I have no major problems with you, your company, or the game. I understand what you all have done with what you have and are continuing to do. I would much rather be a part of something from the beginning and see it's changes than wait another year or so. It feels like all of us really have a say in the ongoing improvements of Elemental and that's pretty rare. Just know that a lot more of us appreciate your efforts than don't. Now hopefully someone is working on a Monty Python and the Holy Grail mod.
Disappointing article. Very harsh but probably fair enough from the stand-point of their audience who may buy the game and only ever play the gold version without updating. At least PC Gamer have given the game some grace to rectify the issues before reviewing it.
It is also disappointing that one of the aspects that makes you so different and refreshing as a developer, your closeness to your gaming community through your blogs and posts, can be used against you. Doubly difficult because you are working in a creative industry where wearing your heart on your sleeve is part and parcel of the environment yet can be then used against you. I really feel for you mate. You must truly feel you are in a 'no-win' situation and that the Sword of Damocles is ready to fall at each and every moment.
All I can say is please keep on doing what you are doing. You have made a massive difference to gamers through your public stance on DRM and your willingness to walk the talk openly. You have every right to feel very proud of what you are doing - both with Elemental, and with your strength of character in general.
Keep fighting the good fight.
You have no reason to apologize. You made it clear to them that they weren't reviewing the "day 0" code. He was just being an ass.
I bought this game BECAUSE of the regular updates.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.....................................
I would like to thank you for this. It is things like this that will keep me supporting the company. I can understand going of like that but is a pet peev of mine that companies rep's should not. That you stood up and apologized and said you were wrong to do it, means a lot. Keep up the great work and I look forward to buying more of your games.
What he said. Your so active and responsive to forums and feedback that it was only a matter of time before you said something stupid. And honestly, I don't think what you said WAS too stupid. Then again, I can anger too and don't care much for being politically correct.
Keep up the good work Brad. Take a short break if you need too, you've earned it.
The only other CEO I know of who is as active is Bohemia Interactive Studio's, who goes by 'Maruk'. Interesting that two of my top three favourite developers do this...
Yo, you are just an human like everyone else. Which is good.Getting upset once in a while is normal.Defending your own hard work is normal.Being proud of your own product is good and normalLast but not least, the game rocks and it has only a handful bugs. I have seen BY FAR!!!! worse released games.
Because of one inappropriate line i don't start to think bad of the entire Team, not even about the guy who responded inappropriate.We know Stardock, and seriously, the entire Team is freaking awesome!
I hope the sites in question have the integrity to update their articles with this response from Brad.
Froggy probably didn't pay his protec....err advertising fees to the magazine. Problem with journalist now-a-days is the same as politicians has always been. They are bought and sold like commodities. Well at least their networks are and they are censored and edited as the network generally decides.
The article is harsh but it is correct. It plays like a beta, buggy buggy buggy! That being said, I didn't expect to get the game until February of next year, so I am totally okay with that because I still believe Stardock is going to deliver me a decent product via patches over the next several months.
I don't take anything posted on a forum seriously - so "professionalism" doesn't factor into it for me, at all.
That said, I think the game is fantastic - but I can see how it might be perceived as "feeling" like a beta. It's the artwork. The UI designs are good, clean, well organized, and work well - but visually the UI is universally flat, uninteresting, and way too colorful - seeming more like comp designs than finished UI. Give them some texture, make the palette seem more deliberate.
The game plays well (and I personally haven't had any run-ins with noticeable outstanding bugs), but aesthetics have a very heavy effect on perception, and the look isn't so much "we were going for an illustrated, cartoonish look" as it is "we didn't quite finish the art".
I don't know, maybe they're a little harsh but based on what I've played I feel PC Gamer is right in saying Elemental was released too early.
It still feels rough, buggy, and like a beta. It seems to be missing features, and the campaign is lacking a great deal of polish.
I think pushing back the release Window would have solved all of those problems.
I'm sure Elemental /will/ be a great game, but in the world of Game Reviews and Sales you want to make a good first impression.
Stardock CEO fail, that's all there is to it
I am a loyal customer of Stardock. I am enjoying this game. I have not experienced the majority of the problems described by PC Gamer and RPS although I have played most of the publicly available builds.
There are bugs. I would like to see more content, some polish and some fixes. But I am enjoying this game and I am glad I pre-ordered it. I do not feel I wasted the money. The criticism is over the top.
As I said the game is good and it will get better.
+1 for honesty in business. I don't buy Stardock products because they're perfect; I buy them because they're supported by people who care. A little emotional attachment to one's product isn't a bad thing.
FWIW, if Stardock had created Spore I would probably have gotten it. DRM and inflexible pricing have left me out, though. Instead I've spent my pennies on Impulse Weekend Deals, and pre-ordering Elemental.
Yep, that is really great and its very good that they are honest to their fans, which is rare, too.
No problem bud!
Keep up the great work on this awesome game!I personally cant get enough of it!
Yes there are some issues in thsi game, its obvious... BUT... it also has so much upside and is a real gem.
I have not had any crashes or anyhting like that in 6+ hours with the game. Sure some AI issues and the problem with teh archers, but Stardock always sticks with there games and has alreayd done a great job in updating this game.
Cant wait to see what the future holds for this game!
This is why I like Stardock. Brad's a real person and instead of just hiding he stood up and took responsibility and apologized.
I wish more companies were like this.
The game is great, I have had very little problems and I can mod the game to be more like I want it to be. I have been supporting you for a while now stardock and that isn't going to stop. The naysayers probably wouldn't have liked the game regardless of what you do. You can't please everyone and I have to say that the game is shaping up to be great!
Loyal StarDock customer and I have to say I very much appreciate your presence on the forum and I hope this does not effect it at all. Owning up to a mistake is the best thing you can do and you did it. Kudos to you. Now more Elemental!
I was wondering why my experience with Elemental was so different than the one described. It's never crashed for me, I've played it for hours on end, the tactical combat is very MoM-esque and it lives up to what I was expecting.
I don't buy games at a store anymore, so maybe it's the boxed version that's problematic.
Personally, I think Stardock should just come clean. The pre-release version was a beta for the Day 0 patch, right?
That was big of you Brad. Thanks for the confidence.
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