[update 10\5] Escapist article and related info [merge thread / Katamari Damashii]

  • Thylbana

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    And this is a core problem with large organizational operation: the conceit that any one person knows more than another. There are many successful companies that eschew typical ladder structures for organic ones. Riot, which has been discussed here, is an incredible success story. W.L. Gore & Associates was founded with a lattice structure to encourage participation and group leadership, and they've done pretty well.

    Actually, THIS thinking is the problem. Communal development makes for COMMON game. Great games aren't developed by a group. Never have been. It's all about following one person's vision. It remains that one person's responsibility, as well. There has never been anything great done by the communal vision of a group. There is always a leader. Groups tend to do a whole lot of nothing. When and if they ever accomplish something, it's mediocre by definition.

    That is why they are the Captain of the ship.
    Have you never played a modded Elder Scrolls game? League of Legends also seems to be the most popular thing on the planet right now...

    Also, my example of W.L. Gore & Associates is a direct refutation of your opinion. I'll give you another one: Deloitte found that incorporating a lattice produced a 90% employee engagement rate, compared to 60% worldwide. I'm sorry, but this is a topic I am recently and thoroughly familiar with. This article on Forbes by Deloitte's then-Vice Chairwoman and Chief Talent Officer Cathleen Benko may help provide insight into the benefits of a lattice: http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/16/corporate-lattice-ladder-leadership-managing-hierarchy.html.
    Yup. A LOT of those mods suck (FAR more than 50%) and League of Legends was done due to the vision of one man, Tom Cadwell.

    As for your familiarity, you obviously didn't understand it. You read an article on ONE person. Cathleen Benko was still in charge. That is what a leader does. Maybe we could take this into the nerd world and talk Trek. Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway all sourced their command crew, but in the end, the Captain decided. For good, or ill, the Captain made the call. There is only one person who is in command. EVERY time one of the command crew got out of line, the Captain put them in their place.

    You will get farther with a leader with vision, than a group without leadership. Even if the group has passion.
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  • Samoh

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    infografik_1469_die_teuersten_Videospiel
    with publishers, advertising, contracts and deadlines

    CIG have just Star Citizen^^

    and keep in mind that the new star wars movie is doing some magic for spaceships. that will push elite and star citizen

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  • Badja

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    What are you talking about? Did you even read the article?
  • honkifyourehorny

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    Hey I wonder what going on with that space sim I pre-ordered last year...
  • Noobicon

    Posts: 4504

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    I believe last year I thought there was no more money to be had.

    Then again this summer.

    Then watching it climb about 1/4 million during this news drama stuff.

    People forget, that is a LOT of money.

    I've quit pretending to understand the depth of backers wallets. I'm guessing the majority are new.

    Yeah. Who knows if it will end, all that matters is if the game is worth it in the end. Should have a good idea on that really really soon. I expect it to be impressive.
    Ever poop so hard your butt hurts afterward? Yeah me neither....

    "Are you a sovereign citizen? You are, aren't you. I never thought I'd see one in the wild."
  • Bilaris

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    this has been brought up a lot lately.
    So lets look at it.
    If it costs them 100k per employee,
    in 2013 they had 80 employees. so, 8 million for employees
    in 2014 they had 160 employees, so 16 million for empolyees
    in 2015 they had 260 employees, so 26 million for employees
    that adds up to 50 million.
    Now lets figure they spent another 10 million on offices for em.
    That is assuming they are paying ALL their employees that much and you can bet they aren't, but they may be paying others a little more so it will even out.

    So that would be 60 million.
    They are in HUGE trouble with 30 million sitting there.

    Chris Roberts has stated over and over and over and over and over that they keep a large reserve of cash to ensure they can finish the game AND carry them past launch to ensure they can continue adding content.

    Where do people get the idea they are out of cash??

    Personnel, such as salaries and benefits, and rent expenses are not even close the only expenses to consider. A few of the items are listed below:

    - Capital expenditures (PCs, office furniture, etc.)
    - Insurance payments
    - Licensing and trademark fees
    - Payments to outside vendors (engineers, legal, auditors, etc.)
    - Travel expenses
    - Telecom and communication expenses
    - Office supplies

    Also, there are a host of taxes, at various levels, that must be accounted for.
  • X71

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    Hey I wonder what going on with that space sim I pre-ordered last year...

    Its still having all the ingredients put together. If you're good, Mum will let you lick the spoon.
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  • MorphusOne

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    Don't worry, they'll reach $100 million, and that's the holy grail. Chris specifically mentioned $100 million as the point where he'd be able to do everything he wants to for the game.

    We've got less than $10 million to go.

    lol...
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  • Razimus

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    Don't worry, they'll reach $100 million, and that's the holy grail. Chris specifically mentioned $100 million as the point where he'd be able to do everything he wants to for the game.

    We've got less than $10 million to go.

    Hmm. Don't worry, they'll reach 100 m. Hmmm... Mmmm. Hmmmm. M... Mh... Hmmm...

    Last I checked the kickstarter goal was reached. over 2mil. No one *needs* 100mil. According to kickstarter, all anyone needs is simply 2m, and 2m was reached. Awaiting 2m promised 2m product.
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  • X71

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    Bah | Bah said:
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    That guy just managed to out-troll both Derek Smart and JCR:
    http://i.imgur.com/tjNmxRD.png

    Seeing as you already have 1 of my screenshots, it is really a crime to not show 2 more

    http://i.imgur.com/KEmrM9Q.png
    http://i.imgur.com/asoPufJ.png
    lol
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  • Choddas

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    Hi all,
    Obviously this drama between The Escapist and CIG is threatening to devolve into needless drama and endless back and forth, but I thought I would give my perspective on the artice, from the perspective of a journalist (which I, unfortunately, am.)

    Now I don't write anything as important as gaming news - I covered political affairs in the Middle East for 2 years before moving to Asia to cover international relations, riots and politics. (Feel free to follow me @Fishmyman on twitter for politics and IR from Myanmar to the Philippines - shameless plug)

    In my line of work, there are a lot of unnamed sources, to protect them from reprisals from governments/insurgents/kidnappers/retribution. It is a common journalistic practice when the norm is one of kidnappings and extortion.

    Much better journalists than myself have gone to jail to protect the identity of their sources.

    THAT BEING SAID, a couple of things do not make sense in terms of this Escapist claim that they're protecting their sources.

    - 7 unnamed sources is irresponsible. If you're going to have that many and the article is going to be a hit piece, you need at least one NAMED source or else it will devolve the way it currently has.
    - The Escapists goes on and on about common journalistic ethics, but journalistic ethics means that you never go to press without getting both sides of the picture - including giving the source ample time to respond. --- It seems like they did not give them sufficient time but still got a response which they failed to include at time of press.
    - What kind of online outlet has a "rush to print" deadline?
    - That response time frame is the thing that stinks the most and why this feels like a really biased piece, the rush to print, the claims of a response email going to spam.

    Needless to say if I was the ME of this publication, I would ask serious questions of my staff.


    hope this offers a new perspective.

    best
    C
    A knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked.
  • steve-2001

    Posts: 1122

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    I still remember the original kickstarter days. Two million seemed to be so far away. Could we make it?

    We'd all bought a ship package. Hey CIG, let us all buy another one! Multiple ship ownership was born.

    We all kept spreading the word and buying what we wanted, bit by bit, with CIGs help.

    We blew apart the original kickstarter goals, ALL of them.

    We petitioned CIG to continue the pledge drive on their own site after the kickstarter campaign wound down. They did.

    We petitioned for ongoing 'kickstarter' type goals to keep the funding alive, and we did them for as long as we could.

    We kept finding ways to move ahead, day by day. We surpassed every historic milestone of ever kind ever measured, one by one, time after time. Slowly, steadily we built up this project together.

    We are now sailing in areas of the history of all mankind. Few ever see these rare places, but we all do.

    We have always found our way together, and we always will.

    100 million is not the beginning of the end, it is the end of the beginning. There will be many years of this thing called Star Citizen, and we will all be here to see them together.

    I can't begin to imagine what the Star Citizen juggernaut will look like in these years to come, but I believe that it will be magnificent and full of awe for us all.

    Keep you hope, you earned it.
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  • Snagle

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    What are you talking about? Did you even read the article?
    reading it is not the point, it belongs in fan sites
  • JEDESiS

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    TL;DR Escapist is fucked.
  • JEDESiS

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    Umm, trying to draw traffic to a poorly made site with 3/4 articles from an unknown person which is most likely you? For shame.

    I don't know man, maybe you need to brush up on your investigative skills.
  • Quicksilver

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    What are you talking about? Did you even read the article?
    reading it is not the point, it belongs in fan sites
    It's not a fan site. This is a blog entry regarding Star Citizen from Kevin Dent (CEO of Tiswaz Entertainment)
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  • Scian

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    Ib4l, I wonder what will be on sale for citizencon?
  • Seria

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    That's kinda what most of us already concluded after reading Chris' letter, but it's nice to hear the same thing reinforced by a real journalist.

    Cheers.
  • Armass

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    Bah | Bah said:
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    That guy just managed to out-troll both Derek Smart and JCR:
    http://i.imgur.com/tjNmxRD.png
    http://imgur.com/Yg9id3Q

    I'm not a fan of his (he is an *hole), but still, there should be an achievement/trophy for that.

    However, this is a bit worrying. Guys like him usually only come around when there's a great potential for drama, this means things will only get worse for quite a while.

    This post made my day
  • Admiral

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    Can I ask a dumb side question, is Escapist actually popular? Like how popular is it that everyone suddenly cares? I've never heard of it before this whole thing, but I guess it's just me.
    TRADE - dedicated to the pursuit of the most profitable goods and artifacts.

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  • Seria

    Posts: 10647

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    Can I ask a dumb side question, is Escapist actually popular? Like how popular is it that everyone suddenly cares? I've never heard of it before this whole thing, but I guess it's just me.

    This is the first I'd heard of it too.
  • Samoh

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    can we talk about ships n pewpew? maybe? please

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  • Wyldshot

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    Why get married anyways? Tax benefits?

    Would you believe we love each other and wanted to formalise the matter within the law of the land? It does make some things easier, but it's just a piece of paper we both signed, and moreover both signed using our individual given names from birth.

    The Icelanic naming convention (though I understand that's on it's way out somewhat these days) is much more useful.

    This is something I never could figure out. If you love each other then why do you need some paperwork to prove it? The institution of marriage(really the religious institutions) was more about familial arrangements for political or practical purposes historically and I think that notion is in limbo in modern times. Today It seems it's more about that special day for daddy's little princess then the hell of divorce courts if you live in a community property state than anything else. Meh, maybe I'm too cynical. Sure is a money maker though.

    Want to get sobered up about marriage watch the documentary Divorce Corp. Scarier than The Ring. And what does the law of the land have to do with love at all? The land can shove it's law up its patootie.

    The paperwork gives you certain rights and privileges, such as inheritance, Tax statuses. Never mind going to copy and paste from
    http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/marriage-rights-benefits-30190.html

    "Tax Benefits
    •Filing joint income tax returns with the IRS and state taxing authorities.
    •Creating a "family partnership" under federal tax laws, which allows you to divide business income among family members.

    Estate Planning Benefits
    •Inheriting a share of your spouse's estate.
    •Receiving an exemption from both estate taxes and gift taxes for all property you give or leave to your spouse.
    •Creating life estate trusts that are restricted to married couples, including QTIP trusts, QDOT trusts, and marital deduction trusts.
    •Obtaining priority if a conservator needs to be appointed for your spouse -- that is, someone to make financial and/or medical decisions on your spouse's behalf.

    Government Benefits
    •Receiving Social Security, Medicare, and disability benefits for spouses.
    •Receiving veterans' and military benefits for spouses, such as those for education, medical care, or special loans.
    •Receiving public assistance benefits.

    Employment Benefits
    •Obtaining insurance benefits through a spouse's employer.
    •Taking family leave to care for your spouse during an illness.
    •Receiving wages, workers' compensation, and retirement plan benefits for a deceased spouse.
    •Taking bereavement leave if your spouse or one of your spouse's close relatives dies.

    Medical Benefits
    •Visiting your spouse in a hospital intensive care unit or during restricted visiting hours in other parts of a medical facility.
    •Making medical decisions for your spouse if he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to express wishes for treatment.

    Death Benefits
    •Consenting to after-death examinations and procedures.
    •Making burial or other final arrangements.

    Family Benefits
    •Filing for stepparent or joint adoption.
    •Applying for joint foster care rights.
    •Receiving equitable division of property if you divorce.
    •Receiving spousal or child support, child custody, and visitation if you divorce.

    Housing Benefits
    •Living in neighborhoods zoned for "families only."
    •Automatically renewing leases signed by your spouse.

    Consumer Benefits
    •Receiving family rates for health, homeowners', auto, and other types of insurance.
    •Receiving tuition discounts and permission to use school facilities.
    •Other consumer discounts and incentives offered only to married couples or families.

    Other Legal Benefits and Protections
    •Suing a third person for wrongful death of your spouse and loss of consortium (loss of intimacy).
    •Suing a third person for offenses that interfere with the success of your marriage, such as alienation of affection and criminal conversation (these laws are available in only a few states).
    •Claiming the marital communications privilege, which means a court can't force you to disclose the contents of confidential communications between you and your spouse during your marriage.
    •Receiving crime victims' recovery benefits if your spouse is the victim of a crime.
    •Obtaining immigration and residency benefits for noncitizen spouse.
    •Visiting rights in jails and other places where visitors are restricted to immediate family."

    All this makes marriage a matter of law not religion.
  • Arblus

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    can we talk about ships n pewpew? maybe? please

    There are 66,000+ more threads in this room alone. Take your pick.
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  • Quicksilver

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    And this is a core problem with large organizational operation: the conceit that any one person knows more than another. There are many successful companies that eschew typical ladder structures for organic ones. Riot, which has been discussed here, is an incredible success story. W.L. Gore & Associates was founded with a lattice structure to encourage participation and group leadership, and they've done pretty well.

    Actually, THIS thinking is the problem. Communal development makes for COMMON game. Great games aren't developed by a group. Never have been. It's all about following one person's vision. It remains that one person's responsibility, as well. There has never been anything great done by the communal vision of a group. There is always a leader. Groups tend to do a whole lot of nothing. When and if they ever accomplish something, it's mediocre by definition.

    That is why they are the Captain of the ship.
    Have you never played a modded Elder Scrolls game? League of Legends also seems to be the most popular thing on the planet right now...

    Also, my example of W.L. Gore & Associates is a direct refutation of your opinion. I'll give you another one: Deloitte found that incorporating a lattice produced a 90% employee engagement rate, compared to 60% worldwide. I'm sorry, but this is a topic I am recently and thoroughly familiar with. This article on Forbes by Deloitte's then-Vice Chairwoman and Chief Talent Officer Cathleen Benko may help provide insight into the benefits of a lattice: http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/16/corporate-lattice-ladder-leadership-managing-hierarchy.html.
    Yup. A LOT of those mods suck (FAR more than 50%) and League of Legends was done due to the vision of one man, Tom Cadwell.

    As for your familiarity, you obviously didn't understand it. You read an article on ONE person. Cathleen Benko was still in charge. That is what a leader does. Maybe we could take this into the nerd world and talk Trek. Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway all sourced their command crew, but in the end, the Captain decided. For good, or ill, the Captain made the call. There is only one person who is in command. EVERY time one of the command crew got out of line, the Captain put them in their place.

    You will get farther with a leader with vision, than a group without leadership. Even if the group has passion.
    Aww, I'm hurt Thylbana! You mean you didn't like my Playable Dremora Project for Morrowind or Mannimarco Revisited for Oblivion? :'(
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  • Scian

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    I never heard of DS before gamescon got me paying attention again. Hopefully soon I will never hear of him again.
  • Hellshavoc

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    In before the lock



    But still good to hear.
  • Wyldshot

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    I didn't know Sandi was Chris's wife. Why is her last name not Roberts instead of Gardnier? It seems as though they were keeping their relationship a secret.

    But on another note, CR could rebuttal the statements of financial woes that the article claimed (or confirm them) if they would just release the info on how much has been spent so far, and also to show where all said money has gone to, for example; employee wages, rent for buildings, utilities, etc.

    I know number of married couples that did not change last names when they married, it is a modern trend.
  • J4n1

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    Timing has been one, of many, issues me and some other posters in The Escapist having bringing up.
    Others have included

    1. lack any evidence
    2. only using anonymous sources
    3. discrepancies in verification
    4. article using anonymous sources right after using DS as a choice
    5. article being followed by a rather one sided podcast
    6. lack of any independent investigation
    7. lack of familiarity with the subject (assuming they did not outright lie)
    8. clear and present bias
    9. THE SOURCES HAVING BEEN IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE CONTACTING THE REPORTER

    There might be other issues i can't remember right now.
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  • Tom-ahawk

    Posts: 4518

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    Can I ask a dumb side question, is Escapist actually popular? Like how popular is it that everyone suddenly cares? I've never heard of it before this whole thing, but I guess it's just me.

    I only knew of it because of Jim Sterling, but he left....

    thank god for Jim-fucking-sterling-son :p
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