So not only are they working hard to make the game playable and satisfying, they are giving you all free content to help ease the pain that you have been put through.
Finally, in regards to all the forum posts, the hate, the anger and the indignation that they could screw up the release of the beloved Sword of the Stars II, Martin had this to say:
If you are a Kerberos and/or a SotS fan then please just enjoy the game as you can over the next few weeks. I know you want to help as much as possible but to be honest you should NOT be rewarded for your support with more work. Your feedback is appreciated but in no means are you expected to act as testers or hunt bugs. Literally your patience and continued support is more than enough.
If you truly feel like you have been dumped into an unannounced beta test on this game, then please, I ask you to put the game away and not look at it till someone fires off the "all done" flag. I am not going to tell you that you should not feel this way. What I am going to say is that if you feel this way then you should not feel victimized any more than if you had made a pre-order and then been informed of a delay. I know this does not make it all right but at least it should make it clear that no one wants to use you as a beta tester nor was that ever the intent.
And finally, if you are in the camp that still feels robbed by the time you have reached this point of my post I can only offer what I can. We are fixing it and we need folks to either cheer, step aside or get out of the way because vitriol is not going to help right now.
If you demand a refund then I completely understand and you can be assured, the cost of that will make it directly to us. We will feel your "voting with your dollars", you can be sure about that and we accept that as fair play.
On the other hand, if a free copy of the orginal SotS will help tide you over while we get this game shined from turnip to jewel, then please write to "contact@kerberos-productions.com" and we will set you up. If nothing else, if you are not familiar with how we support our products, you can play it and then ask the old-timers how much it changed over the years and that may reassure you.
In speaking with Paradox they are working closely with Kerberos to get the game to a playable state. If you played the first Sword of the Stars, you know how expansive the games are and therefore can understand there being some problems with the release because all variables and possibilities could never be accounted for. That’s not to say they’re not at fault, their CEO openly admitted that he was, so accept that and know that the are well aware that there is a big problem with the game right now.
So, as always, patience is key. If you truly love the game, then you’ll wait while they get all the major wrinkles ironed out and get you on your way to playing the game you expected. Yelling at them and sending hate mail will just distract from the progress and the cause. If you demand satisfaction, a refund, or a free copy of the first game, all of those have been offered and you are free to claim all that. However, as a fan of the series, you might be best served by going and playing another game this week and coming back to Sword of the Stars II after they’ve dropped a batch of patches to get things more playable. Then work forward from there.
Making a game this big with a team that small is a gigantic feat. Did they do it exactly right in the end? No. Are they to blame for the failure? Yes and they have accepted that.
There have been several releases of late that have been pretty much utter failures and it happens to the largest and the smallest in the industry. The key is how they react and support the game and their consumers after the fact and rebound from the fall. Some have failed in their attempts to fix the problems and make things right with gamers, in the future, don’t buy games from them.
Kerberos seems dedicated to doing the right thing and making things right with you, their supporters. So support them because making them feel any worse about it isn’t going to help and in the end, it’s a game, not a life threatening situation. I am a gamer and I hate when games have problems because it ruins my fun and plans. But I roll with it, I switch to another game and still manage some enjoyment in that free time. Surely, you have other games you need to finish, right?
They know it’s broken, they’re working on it as fast as they can. Show some restraint and support them as they are supporting the game. In the end it will probably make for a better game and experience all around.
For more information on Sword of the Stars II and the state of the game, hit the Kerberos forums for SOTSII. And remember, patience and restraint will be most helpful in the long run.
