Support NeoGAF

[LastCupOfSorrow]

Reputation "trashed" for about the 100 or so people in these threads.

Don't over estimate neogaf representing the real world.

Edit: the above refers to the so called controversy. There are plenty more who don't like it for other reasons, as in ANY game.

Everyone at this point knows how deceptive he was. Obviously it is way more than one hundred. Hell, a lot of folks on here who bought and enjoyed the game are pissed about the promises that never transpired. Not just me, 1,000's. Just look at the 78% drop in playerbase on STEAM in a week. Or the amount of negative userscores on review compilation sites. Or just look at the critic reviews themselves where they bash the game into the ground for not being what was promised by SM and HG.

The guy trashed his reputation in the industry, not just on NeoGAF. He literally can not be taken at face value anymore because we have video proof of him lying to dozens of interviewers over a period of years, right up until after launch... Then he went quiet and disappeared and now only releases info on patches. He has no integrity and I think that more folks see this than you would like to believe.

 

[Avatar1]

If Sean Murray goes out and pitchamns another game in the future, you can bet this will follow him around comments sections and internet threads everywhere. You can't say this means nothing. People will be (rightly) skeptical of him next time -- Period. Skeptical or outright dismissive.

Yes. The small % of people who actually go to forums and hang on every word uttered on social media and in the "press" will be, certainly.

Do you think the majority of the hundreds of thousands that bought this do so?

No. They saw it somewhere once or maybe twice and thought it looks cool.

 

[Gator86]

Nah. I think he's taken the cake as the shadiest and most untrustworthy dev. People say the game was successful because of the sales, but I don't know that their reputation will ever recover.

And his reputation shouldn't. He went completely silent once people could disprove all the bullshit he threw out during development. I'm sure once the sales for this have died down to nothing and they're nearing release on their next game, he will have some enlightenment and want to air things out with the press, apologizing and assuring them his next game will be different. Dude is Molyneux.

 

[Avatar1]

Everyone at this point knows how deceptive he was. Obviously it is way more than one hundred. Hell, a lot of folks on here who bought and enjoyed the game are pissed about the promises that never transpired. Not just me, 1,000's. Just look at the 78% drop in playerbase on STEAM in a week. Or the amount of negative userscores on review compilation sites. Or just look at the critic reviews themselves where they bash the game into the ground for not being what was promised by SM and HG.

The guy trashed his reputation in the industry, not just on NeoGAF. He literally can not be taken at face value anymore because we have video proof of him lying to dozens of interviewers over a period of years, right up until after launch... Then he went quiet and disappeared and now only releases info on patches. He has no integrity and I think that more folks see this than you would like to believe.

Let's say 1000s then. Hundreds of thousands bought this and it will keep selling.

I also think I'll see a large % of those go away mysteriously if it hits xbox, if you know what im saying. Yup. Many, like Etta, holding pitch forks and obviously partisan and probably never had interest in the game.

The steam drop off? That's almost any game I'm sure.

I'm not saying this won't have an impact. I'm saying it won't have as much impact as you think.

 

[cicatriz]

The game literally had 3 trailers showcasing exactly what the 3 main portions of the game are comprised of.

Those 3 things are all present in the launch game. It's safe to say a large portion of the people who purchased the title couldn't give a shit less that they can't land on an asteroid.

 

[LastCupOfSorrow]

The game literally had 3 trailers showcasing exactly what the 3 main portions of the game are comprised of.

Those 3 things are all present in the launch game. It's safe to say a large portion of the people who purchased the title couldn't give a shit less that they can't land on an asteroid.

And once again, you miss the point that this is about his lies. And, by the way, one of the biggest complaints is that it is NOT even close to being similar to the trailers. Entire features from those trailers are missing which have been touched upon by everyone from GAF to major gaming outlets, lol. This info can easily be found by going over the past 2,600 posts.

We are now beating the horse's skeleton...

 

[UrbanRats]

I just don't know. What good is $10 million if no one will trust me again... it's a really hard call

although people probably will trust him again. pretty sure moly went through several big lie cycles before his reputation was thoroughly ruined

What good is $10 million

Ehm, with 10 million dollars, you can live until death VERY comfortably, essentially anywhere in the world.
That is, unless you feel the need to waste them in sports cars and shit.

Maybe buy some high quality property to rent out and invest them.

He may have trashed is reputation (although it took Molyneux several games to do that) but he doesn't really need to release a second game.
That is, assuming he really got away with 10mil in his pocket, which i'm not sure happened.

 

[ahoyhoy]

This has been my biggest personal complaint. The damn planets just have way too much stuff on them, and way too close together. There will literally be two or three ruins, four or five buildings, and three or four drop pods all within like 2 minutes of each other. And it doesn't help when so much of it is so similar to the other stuff that is less than a 2 minute walk away.

That just makes it feel more like I am in some shitty suburb going from strip mall to strip mall rather than like I am exploring a planet. The stuff is just WAY too dense. That isn't what I envisioned at all.

This is a great analogy. Every planet feels like your generic suburb with the same franchises, same basic street layout, same basic houses etc.

Sure, there's some variety in climate, but that's about it.

 

[freenudemacusers]

i mean sure for a reasonable consumer space this would be a significant detriment to a dude's ability to conduct business in the future but videogame buyers have very clearly, time and time again, shown:

a) they are willing to spend $60 sight unseen based on nothing but marketing because needing to play something on day 1 trumps waiting for consumer feedback

b) are emotionally attached to their purchases in a way you see only in the comic book movie world (wow go figure huh)

c) more than happy to pay extra for collector editions that provide very little value because of a) and b)

d) accept buying broken software at release due to a) and b)

e) and will defend all of the above as a result of a) b) and c)

throw a 'developed by an aw shucks indie darling plaid shirt guy not a big bad megacorp pr drone in a suit' cherry on top and you've got yourself a sundae ready to be gobbled up.

 

[cicatriz]

And once again, you miss the point that this is about his lies. And, by the way, one of the biggest complaints is that it is NOT even close to being similar to the trailers. Entire features from those trailers are missing which have been touched upon by everyone from GAF to major gaming outlets, lol. This info can easily be found by going over the past 2,600 posts.

We are now beating the horse's skeleton...

Many of these "promises" you and other conspiracy theorists pretend actually exist, are mostly vague generalizations or things that have been promised as later add-ons. The misleading marketing you and others like you describe have not been in advertisements to the masses.

There are definitely features mentioned that either didn't make their way into the game as described or in some cases, in the game at all, but you can't honestly believe that the game didn't deliver in what it's always described itself as.

 

[Jobbs]

The marketing promises you and other conspiracy theorists pretend actually exist, are mostly vague generalizations or things that have been promised as later add-ons. The misleading marketing you and others like you describe have not been in advertisements to the masses.

he went on with colbert on CBS and lied about the game

 

[Jokab]

Yes. The small % of people who actually go to forums and hang on every word uttered on social media and in the "press" will be, certainly.

Do you think the majority of the hundreds of thousands that bought this do so?

No. They saw it somewhere once or maybe twice and thought it looks cool.

Anecdotally: two separate friends who both only casually play games, as in they buy the Assassin Creed's and FIFA essentially, have both heard that this game is is disappointing some people, that it failed to deliver in some aspects, and are now turned off buying it. They don't go to GAF or read the press but they've still heard this. Again, anecdotes mean little but it's something.

 

[sazzy]

A big talking point about the game was OMG 18 quintillion planets!!! Would anyone be able to tell apart 18 quintillion from 1 quintillion? How about 18 quintillion from 1 billion?

I'm guessing the developers wrote a stupidly complex algorithm to generate planet sized terrains, and then spent 3 years unsuccessfully trying to optimize it and not much else.

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

The most damning thing, in my mind, is that the Steam page still has that 2014 trailer with the dynamic gameplay that totally misrepresents the game. That should have been removed ages ago, and it's continued presence suggests some degree of purposeful shadiness.

It'd be like if the Bioshock Infinite page had it's mindblowing and totally inaccurate 2013 demo on display.

 

[freenudemacusers]

he went on with colbert on CBS and lied about the game

sorry we've moved the criteria to count as "advertisements to the masses" from network tv interview and long-form interviews in The Atlantic to 'postcard mailed to each household in the US'

 

[LastCupOfSorrow]

Many of these "promises" you and other conspiracy theorists pretend actually exist, are mostly vague generalizations or things that have been promised as later add-ons. The misleading marketing you and others like you describe have not been in advertisements to the masses.

There are definitely features mentioned that either didn't make their way into the game as described or in some cases, in the game at all, but you can't honestly believe that the game didn't deliver in what it's always described itself as.

He outright lied and said you can do dozens of things that aren't even in the game. No promises of later releases or patches, but straight up said, "yes, you can do that."

But the thing is, you can't... Because the features are not there because he lied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuz3WETd4ug

This video says it all. It includes a large portion of the BS he spewed over years and dozens of interviews.

It sucks to see that you do not care about the facts. Calling me a conspiracy theorist when we have hours of video proof of him lying, lol. Crazy, crazy...

 

[freenudemacusers]

but have you been to every planet to confirm?

'can you potentially manually fly to other solar systems'

'*awshucksindiedeveloper* yes'

CONSPIRACY!

 

[Fourth Stooge]

he went on with colbert on CBS and lied about the game

This bears repeating. Guests are not just invited to a show like Colbert without going through several pre-interviews with producers. Staffers identify guests that may be interesting to their demographic and producers interview potential guests prior to booking them.

You don't just walk onto the set and answer random questions.

Those guests are told the questions beforehand so they can be sure the whole segment is choreographed. They don't want any dead air or a guest sitting there saying "Ummmm...let's see...I don't know..." There weren't any "gotcha" questions. There was nothing to be confused about or caught off guard. Murray likely told the Colbert people the features of the game so appropriate questions could be asked.

 

[cicatriz]

He outright lied and said you can do dozens of things that aren't even in the game. No promises of later releases or patches, but straight up said, "yes, you can do that."

But the thing is, you can't... Because the features are not there because he lied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuz3WETd4ug

This video says it all. It includes a large portion of the BS he spewed over years and dozens of interviews.

It sucks to see that you do not care about the facts. Calling me a conspiracy theorist when we have hours of video proof of him lying, lol. Crazy, crazy...

Maybe you're reading a different response? I don't know how else to make it any clearer for you. The game's core fundamentals have always been described a certain way, that game exists today. The game also shipped with many lower level features like you describe missing, and that's disappointing. Some of these features are more significant than others, but to many, including much of the press who've reviewed the title, those features don't greatly detract from the main theme of the game - the same theme that's been showed to us the same exact way for years.

 

[Jimrpg]

Ehm, with 10 million dollars, you can live until death VERY comfortably, essentially anywhere in the world.
That is, unless you feel the need to waste them in sports cars and shit.

Maybe buy some high quality property to rent out and invest them.

He may have trashed is reputation (although it took Molyneux several games to do that) but he doesn't really need to release a second game.
That is, assuming he really got away with 10mil in his pocket, which i'm not sure happened.

$10m?

They sold at least 2m copies by my estimates so far. At least 750k copies on steamdb.info, and I reckon at least 1m copies on PS4. Revenue of about $120m on 2m copies.

That's around about $50-60m after the Sony distribution, retail and steam cut. Even if he gives half to his staff, that's $30m for himself. He doing fine.

A high end estimate would be about $50m for himself.

There's 37k players playing on steam now... It's doing great.

 

[freenudemacusers]

'will you be able to play with your friends?'

'yeah'

'is there a competitive element to this game?'

'yeah if you want that yes'

'can you grief other players'

'a little bit'

'do you ever get a good look at your character'

'you can see other characters and they can see you'

'can you run into other people, other players, in the game?'

'yes'


CONSPIRACY!

 

[LastCupOfSorrow]

Maybe you're reading a different response? I don't know how else to make it any clearer for you. The game's core fundamentals have always been described a certain way, that game exists today. The game also shipped with many lower level features like you describe missing, and that's disappointing. Some of these features are more significant than others, but to many, including much of the press who've reviewed the title, they don't greatly detract from the main theme of the game - the same theme that's been showed to us the same exact way for years.

No it doesn't, The planets do not even orbit a star, among a plethora of other missing features that he stated numerous times were already in the game.

This is about his lies, which are very evident in that video I posted that you refuse to watch (apparently.) He lied about the features that were included in his game, period. he did it on purpose, being deceptive even up to the day of release.

See, we have proof: Video evidence. You have feelings and opinions based off of how you want things to be, but that is not how reality works. We have to base our decisions off of the facts and since Sean Murray refuses to answer his consumer's questions, we only have the years of video lies and archived social media to base things off of. The fact that they are still using trailers to promote and advertise the game that do not even include the features in the said trailers years after the fact, says how deceptive they are. They literally do not care that you are paying for an idea from a trailer from years ago. He sat in front of millions of people on Colbert and straight up lied about how his game works. How can you even have less integrity than that?!

The fact that he lied about practically EVERYTHING has me very concerned since I bought the game based off of his years of interviews. The planets do not orbit any star, they are all skyboxed which he dragged other developers through the mud for and claimed he had this super secret sauce with 18 Quintilian planets. Well that is not true either. You can't join factions or play with your friends or even travel to other solar systems, as he stated many times before. The video adds more clarification because the words are coming from Sean's mouth directly, but you don't seem to care about that.

The planets are literally rinse, wash, repeat with the exact same assets being used. The time of day isn't even relevant because they are all the same on every single planet. You can't leave the solar system because it hasn't created the new one for you to even travel to yet unless you warp. It is crazy. I may not understand every bit of technical information, and I may be a little off on some of the things, but that does not change the fact that this is not the same game that was shoved down our throats for two years. To pretend that it is is an insult to your own intelligence.

I feel bad that you bought into his snake oil charm...

 

[Ambient80]

Imagine you've worked insanely hard creating an amazing game. One unlike any other, what could literally be the next Minecraft. Of course in interviews you'd be enthusiastic about the possibilities of the game, be it at launch or down the road a bit.

The PS4 has a lot of limitations, but the PC version has only just launched. Mods will fix some problems, patches will fix others. The base game is still incredible. Maybe your expectations were higher than mine, but to me what was advertised is for the most part what I'm getting.

Compare this release to the first Alpha release of Minecraft. A huge patch, expansion pack or sequel that builds on this is gonna be amazing. A mod could flip on multiplayer tomorrow and you've got the best MMO ever made.

Lol, best MMO? No dungeons, no customization, no end game whatsoever, will almost never see another player, no trading with others, no chat system, no party system, and I could go on.

Truly a WoW killer. /s

 

[Gator86]

i mean sure for a reasonable consumer space this would be a significant detriment to a dude's ability to conduct business in the future but videogame buyers have very clearly, time and time again, shown:

a) they are willing to spend $60 sight unseen based on nothing but marketing because needing to play something on day 1 trumps waiting for consumer feedback

b) are emotionally attached to their purchases in a way you see only in the comic book movie world (wow go figure huh)

c) more than happy to pay extra for collector editions that provide very little value because of a) and b)

d) accept buying broken software at release due to a) and b)

e) and will defend all of the above as a result of a) b) and c)

throw a 'developed by an aw shucks indie darling plaid shirt guy not a big bad megacorp pr drone in a suit' cherry on top and you've got yourself a sundae ready to be gobbled up.

 

[Jobbs]

Man. I wish the olympics had a lying event. Sean woulda gone far.

"Will you be able to play with your friends?"

"Yeah."

"Is there a competitive element to this game?"

"Yeah, if you want that, yes."

"Can you grief other players?"

"<laughs> A little bit."

"Can you customize the look of your character?"

"Ummm.. Sort of."

"Will you ever get a good look at your character?"

"You can see other characters, and they can see you."


What on earth is he talking about? What is he doing? Is it just not exciting enough to say "no" to all those things? Doesn't the truth matter?

It's like we're not even talking about the same game.

 

[Axiology]

Reputation "trashed" for about the 100 or so people in these threads.

Don't over estimate neogaf representing the real world.

Edit: the above refers to the so called controversy. There are plenty more who don't like it for other reasons, as in ANY game.

This is actually BS. Go on Youtube and type in "No Man's Sky," check it out on the Steam forums, check out Hello Games' twitter, look at the comments on any article about this game. Everyone's talking about the lies. Just because the average person walking out of Gamestop with the game might not know about the controversy doesn't mean it's not a big deal.


Edit:

Let's say 1000s then. Hundreds of thousands bought this and it will keep selling.

I also think I'll see a large % of those go away mysteriously if it hits xbox, if you know what im saying.

LOL, what?

 

[Crossing Eden]

It seriously doesn't help that the datamine showed that there was no evidence of a lot of the features they were promising just a few months ago. Meaning that is isn't likely that they were on the pipeline or in an old build but rather words that were never put into practice.

 

[Daffy Duck]

The thing that compounds all this for me and has prevented me buying the game, is the fact that the promises of updates and we'll add x and y is from the same guy that has been dishonest for many years, so why should I believe anything will actually materialise for updates.

I'll see what happens over the coming months/year and then decide to buy it then.

 

[Saint of Killers]

Man. I wish the olympics had a lying event. Sean woulda gone far.

"Will you be able to play with your friends?"

"Yeah."

"Is there a competitive element to this game?"

"Yeah, if you want that, yes."

"Can you grief other players?"

"<laughs> A little bit."

"Can you customize the look of your character?"

"Ummm.. Sort of."

"Will you ever get a good look at your character?"

"You can see other characters, and they can see you."


What on earth is he talking about? What is he doing? Is it just not exciting enough to say "no" to all those things? Doesn't the truth matter?

It's like we're not even talking about the same game.

There are so many features missing that I am of the thinking they didn't have time to put them in for launch, or always planned to include many of them post-launch. (Which is obviously shady af, but it's better than nothing.)

 

[Henkka]

Man. I wish the olympics had a lying event. Sean woulda gone far.

"Will you be able to play with your friends?"

"Yeah."

"Is there a competitive element to this game?"

"Yeah, if you want that, yes."

"Can you grief other players?"

"<laughs> A little bit."

"Can you customize the look of your character?"

"Ummm.. Sort of."

"Will you ever get a good look at your character?"

"You can see other characters, and they can see you."


What on earth is he talking about? What is he doing? Is it just not exciting enough to say "no" to all those things? Doesn't the truth matter?

It's like we're not even talking about the same game.

I'll give him the benefit of assuming he sincerely believed those features would be in the game on release. They just didn't bother to inform people when they realized they couldn't make it.

 

[crazepharmacist]

I was calling this guy Moly from the start and usually shouted down.

ex 1

ex 2

ex 3

just saying.

Wow good foresight

 

[th4tguy]

I'll give him the benefit of assuming he sincerely believed those features would be in the game on release. They just didn't bother to inform people when they realized they couldn't make it.

This is exactly what happened. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if it was added later on as dlc. Really bad on them for not communicating the change but I garuntee they were adviced not to by a marketing team as it would cut too much into day one sales.
My prediction is we will get an explination for the missing multiplayer at the same time the feature is announced as free dlc

 

[freenudemacusers]

a multiplayer component and all of the design and programming it involves seems like a pretty big feature to have just 'oops our bad' slipped off the radar.

one might even believe evidence of its implementation/testing isn't present in the game files. &#128064;

 

[Axiology]

Lol, this whole thread just took a warp back to like page 6.

"Conspiracy theories"

"Benefit of the doubt"

"Somehow he didn't know these things were impossible 5 months before the game went gold"

Never change, guys.

 

[Jobbs]

I'll give him the benefit of assuming he sincerely believed those features would be in the game on release. They just didn't bother to inform people when they realized they couldn't make it.

He goes on and frames it as a game with significant multiplayer features, he talked about working together with other people

This is fundamental shit. This isn't some little feature you can add or remove. This is a reaally elemental feature to any game -- whether you can play with your friends or not isn't a footnote, it's a transformative feature.

I'm making a game myself. It doesn't have a deal with Sony (but I am published by Adult Swim Games and I understand how development goes and how it's hard and how sometimes things end up looking a little different from how you originally planned -- But all the features I've said are in the game are in the game. Ask me any question about the game and I won't make a bunch of shit up or just say whatever sounds exciting in the moment. I'll just say the truth.

--

Example:

"Is Ghost Song a procedurally generated game? Will I get a new experience each time I play?"

"No, it's a static game world and pre-designed very specifically to be a certain way. You can explore, but it will always be the same world design."

"Can you play with your friends in Ghost Song?"

"No, it's not a multiplayer game. It's single player only."

"Can you customize the look of your character in Ghost Song?"

"No, it's a preset character with a preset story path for that character."

"Can you grief other players in Ghost Song?"

"No, it's not a multiplayer game at all. It's single player only."

"Do you ever get a good look at your character in Ghost Song?"

"Yes, almost constantly. <laughs> The game takes place in the third person perspective."

--

See how easy it is? See how easy?

 

[Kinyou]

There are so many features missing that I am of the thinking they didn't have time to put them in for launch, or always planned to include many of them post-launch. (Which is obviously shady af, but it's better than nothing.)

I think if their plan is to add them post launch they would have at least said something by now.

 

[wowbaggerBR]

I'll give him the benefit of assuming he sincerely believed those features would be in the game on release. They just didn't bother to inform people when they realized they couldn't make it.

If they simply didn't bother to tell people about those nice features not making to the final game, they are still a bunch of liars.

I bought the game mainly because of the hype, but I'm spending less and less time with it thanks to its plethora of bugs and the lack of some features I was promised to get.

 

[th4tguy]

He goes on and frames it as a game with significant multiplayer features, he talked about working together with other people

This is fundamental shit. This isn't some little feature you can add or remove. This is a reaally elemental feature to any game -- whether you can play with your friends or not isn't a footnote, it's a transformative feature.

I'm making a game myself. It doesn't have a deal with Sony (but I am published by Adult Swim Games and I understand how development goes and how it's hard and how sometimes things end up looking a little different from how you originally planned -- But all the features I've said are in the game are in the game. Ask me any question about the game and I won't make a bunch of shit up or just say whatever sounds exciting in the moment. I'll just say the truth.

--

Example:

"Is Ghost Song a procedurally generated game? Will I get a new experience each time I play?"

"No, it's a static game world and pre-designed very specifically to be a certain way. You can explore, but it will always be the same world design."

"Can you play with your friends in Ghost Song?"

"No, it's not a multiplayer game. It's single player only."

"Can you customize the look of your character in Ghost Song?"

"No, it's a preset character with a preset story path for that character."

"Can you grief other players in Ghost Song?"

"No, it's not a multiplayer game at all. It's single player only."

"Do you ever get a good look at your character in Ghost Song?"

"Yes, almost constantly. <laughs> The game takes place in the third person perspective."

--

See how easy it is? See how easy?

If one of your key features was broken weeks before you were supposed to turn in your final code even after multiple delays, wouldn't AS games encourage you to cut that feature and wrap up the project for release? As your publisher, isn't AS games in charge of your marketing and couldn't they pressure you to avoid talking about said missing feature IF they thought it would hurt initial sales?

I'm not saying what the guy did was right. It wasn't. But it just seems too far fetched that he would lie about a non existing feature for so long compared to the scenario I posed above.

 

[Jobbs]

If one of your key features was broken weeks before you were supposed to turn in your final code even after multiple delays, wouldn't AS games encourage you to cut that feature and wrap up the project for release? As your publisher, isn't AS games in charge of your marketing and couldn't they pressure you to avoid talking about said missing feature IF they thought it would hurt initial sales?

I'm not saying what the guy did was right. It wasn't. But it just seems too far fetched that he would lie about a non existing feature for so long compared to the scenario I posed above.

No.. No. Adult Swim has been endlessly cool and would never ask me to lie about anything.

And he lied about not just multiplayer but how the entire game.. is. The fabric of whta was presented over the years is just a lie.

I can't imagine lying like that. I couldn't do it and ASG would never ask me to. I could sympathize with putting an optimistic spin on your game when talking about it, but I can assure you everything I've said about my game is true and whether it's good will be a matter of subjective opinion -- But it won't be a matter of "everything he said was a lie" because I didn't lie.

 

[freenudemacusers]

But it just seems too far fetched that he would lie about a non existing feature for so long compared to the scenario I posed above.

nah that seems like a very reasonable explanation.

 

[th4tguy]

No.. No. Adult Swim has been endlessly cool and would never ask me to lie about anything.

And he lied about not just multiplayer but how the entire game.. is. The fabric of whta was presented over the years is just a lie.

I can't imagine lying like that. I couldn't do it and ASG would never ask me to. I could sympathize with putting an optimistic spin on your game when talking about it, but I can assure you everything I've said about my game is true and whether it's good will be a matter of subjective opinion -- But it won't be a matter of "everything he said was a lie" because I didn't lie.

I'm happy your experience is good with AS. I've seen the behind the scenes convos for some high profile marketing teams and it's not that rosey elsewhere.
I also didn't suggest they tell him to lie. Just not mention the feature was dropped or at all, after the fact

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

If one of your key features was broken weeks before you were supposed to turn in your final code even after multiple delays, wouldn't AS games encourage you to cut that feature and wrap up the project for release? As your publisher, isn't AS games in charge of your marketing and couldn't they pressure you to avoid talking about said missing feature IF they thought it would hurt initial sales?

I'm not saying what the guy did was right. It wasn't. But it just seems too far fetched that he would lie about a non existing feature for so long compared to the scenario I posed above.

It was never there, there's no footage of multiplayer, there's no remnants in the files of multiplayer. It never existed.

 

[mnz]

Yes. The small % of people who actually go to forums and hang on every word uttered on social media and in the "press" will be, certainly.

Do you think the majority of the hundreds of thousands that bought this do so?

No. They saw it somewhere once or maybe twice and thought it looks cool.

This is not how it works anymore. There are review aggregators, there is word of mouth that spreads much faster, there are Steam reviews, there are Let's players that mostly don't play the hype man and mention stuff like this. Often they specifically do videos about outrage. Every single video Hello Games puts out for anything will be filled with this discussion for years to come.

Even casuals know to atleast look at some user ratings by now, maybe especially casuals. This isn't 1998.

 

[Jobbs]

I'm happy your experience is good with AS. I've seen the behind the scenes convos for some high profile marketing teams and it's not that rosey elsewhere.
I also didn't suggest they tell him to lie. Just not mention the feature was dropped or at all, after the fact

If a major, integral feature was broken leading up to release, I'm sure we'd delay the game. I don't think that'd happen though since we're not going to announce a release date until the game is nearly done.

It's hard to compare directly since my game, at least on the technical level, is much more simple than NMS. It's Super Metroid meets Dark Souls. But I just don't understand all this dishonesty. You can tell he's being dishonest. He's been misrepresenting the game consistently for years; Not just being wrong about a feature or detail here and there.

If you ask me any question about my game I'll just tell the truth, even if the truth is not as exciting as the lie. If someone asks "is there an inventory where you can collect items and craft them together?" (which is a plausible feature in a metroidvania) I wouldn't say "yes, of course" I'd say "no" because there isn't an inventory or crafting. I just stick to the truth because I actually care if people are disappointed later and I care about my credibility - I care a great deal

and I'm not saying this to say I'm a stand out person -- I think I'm the standard person. I think most devs will tell the truth when asked about features. Sean Murray isn't most devs. Don't group us with him

 

[Glass Shark]

Many of these "promises" you and other conspiracy theorists pretend actually exist, are mostly vague generalizations or things that have been promised as later add-ons. The misleading marketing you and others like you describe have not been in advertisements to the masses.

There are definitely features mentioned that either didn't make their way into the game as described or in some cases, in the game at all, but you can't honestly believe that the game didn't deliver in what it's always described itself as.

Find me anything in this game that looks like the first planet featured in the first trailer. You can't, because it doesn't exist. That trailer is STILL the first thing people see when going to Steam to consider buying this game. The next trailer also has stuff that isn't in the game or has been significantly changed. How is that not misleading to the purchasing public?

I don't know why people feel compelled to defend blatantly deceptive practices of something they have no financial or reputational stake in.

 

[nynt9]

If a major, integral feature was broken leading up to release, I'm sure we'd delay the game. I don't think that'd happen though since we're not going to announce a release date until the game is nearly done.

It's hard to compare directly since my game, at least on the technical level, is much more simple than NMS. It's Super Metroid meets Dark Souls. But I just don't understand all this dishonesty. You can tell he's being dishonest. He's been misrepresenting the game consistently for years; Not just being wrong about a feature or detail here and there.

If you ask me any question about my game I'll just tell the truth, even if the truth is not as exciting as the lie. If someone asks "is there an inventory where you can collect items and craft them together?" (which is a plausible feature in a metroidvania) I wouldn't say "yes, of course" I'd say "no" because there isn't an inventory or crafting.

Yeah, this is the thing. It's not that a feature was/wasn't cut. He's been giving grandiose, misleading answers all the time. Breaking Newtonian physics? Rewriting the periodic table? All that stuff was clearly hot air all along, and he's been very coy about many of the features every time.

 

[Moreche]

Nearly every single game mechanic that Sean touted about his game having is there but he's used smoke and mirrors to put it there.
The problem is that he has used nearly every opportunity to state that while all other games use smoke and mirrors his game won't.
That's some real shady shit going on. Maybe they did have each game mechanic working but when they put it all together the PS4 couldn't cope or the game just broke down all the time.
I think once he committed to shipping a retail game with Sony he was fucked. He REALLY needs to update his blog with what happened but I think Sony won't let him, not as long as the game is still selling.
This incident will go down as the most referenced reason on how not to market and sell a game.

 

[thumb]

No.. No. Adult Swim has been endlessly cool and would never ask me to lie about anything.

And he lied about not just multiplayer but how the entire game.. is. The fabric of whta was presented over the years is just a lie.

I can't imagine lying like that. I couldn't do it and ASG would never ask me to. I could sympathize with putting an optimistic spin on your game when talking about it, but I can assure you everything I've said about my game is true and whether it's good will be a matter of subjective opinion -- But it won't be a matter of "everything he said was a lie" because I didn't lie.

Oh hey, I'm a backer of Ghost Song. I'm glad to hear you say all of this. Not just for my own confidence in your work, but also for helping to create an environment where devs are strongly encouraged by other devs to be straight with consumers.

 

[Adam_Vania]

finally played this yesterday. i can see how people would have problems w the game feeling samey but the virtiol directed at Sean and the team is still ridiculous. my main problems were planets having only one biome and the space bases all looking too cut and paste. i played the game for a couple of hours and more than once was convinced i had been somewhere before that i hadn't.

but i didn't have any grand delusions this wouldn't be the case. and aside from those issues this game is incredible, mind-blowing, beautiful, relaxing, etc. a technical wonder. the gnashing of teeth over skyboxes is pointless when you have interplanetary travel this seamless. i still think people acting like Sean betrayed some sacred trust or played bait and switch are full of it. this game is pretty rad.

 

[th4tguy]

If a major, integral feature was broken leading up to release, I'm sure we'd delay the game. I don't think that'd happen though since we're not going to announce a release date until the game is nearly done.

It's hard to compare directly since my game, at least on the technical level, is much more simple than NMS. It's Super Metroid meets Dark Souls. But I just don't understand all this dishonesty. You can tell he's being dishonest. He's been misrepresenting the game consistently for years; Not just being wrong about a feature or detail here and there.

If you ask me any question about my game I'll just tell the truth, even if the truth is not as exciting as the lie. If someone asks "is there an inventory where you can collect items and craft them together?" (which is a plausible feature in a metroidvania) I wouldn't say "yes, of course" I'd say "no" because there isn't an inventory or crafting. I just stick to the truth because I actually care if people are disappointed later and I care about my credibility - I care a great deal

and I'm not saying this to say I'm a stand out person -- I think I'm the standard person. I think most devs will tell the truth when asked about features. Sean Murray isn't most devs. Don't group us with him

If they asked you if there was a map in your game (assuming there was) but it was broken at the time you were asked, would you say no?