Not a lot in terms of numbers but one stands out as a concern:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Cloud-Imperium-Games-EI_IE776546.11,31.htm
From Santa Monica:
I have been working at Cloud Imperium Games full-time (more than an year)
Pros
Number one crowd funded game in history.
Free gifts from backers.
Fans are very supportive.
Cons
You will be crunching all the time, say goodbye to any free time, family, friends, loved-ones, hobbies etc. Management is highly incompetent at delegating tasks properly.
Owner refuses to listen to employees about possible ideas / solutions to problems.
Tons of backer money is being poorly spent on inefficient / outdated development methods, expensive sports cars, fancy dinners etc. That money should be going to the game and hiring more staff to get the tasks finished.
Employee moral is really low.
There's no real game plan, just making it up as it goes along.
Advice
Working your employees to death without giving them any recognition, over time pay, and just down right treating them poorly isn't going to help you make a game in the long run.
Stop adding ridiculously complicated features to a game that is already most likely impossible to finish.
The owner tends to be abusive towards his employees. He uses fear as a motivator. He terminates jobs without warning, belittles people in meetings, and overall, just seems to lack empathy.
Is it me or could the reviews be summarised in the same way? While i'm not suggesting that these are lies, do you get the impression that its the same person? I mean its a single review from each of the offices, and they make the same points.
That said - it does worry me with regards to the spending. If a significant money is being wasted (ie - not reinvested) its a worry for the future of the project as a whole. Until the product is released, there is no income. Very troubling.
Does anyone actually use those as a guide to things? Seriously?
That particular review has been up on that site for ages, so is not exactly current. In any case, you're bound to get a miffed employee anywhere in a decent-sized company, I'm even miffed at my own employer which is me!
How about this review:
QuotePros
Plenty of good people who deserve better. Some good people at production level.
Cons
Constant crunch due to mismanagement of time. Reckless spending and hiring without the money to pay for it. Project was discontinued with job losses due to management failings and medling. No managers lost their jobs.
Wage reviews were repeatedly postponed for some 8 months, up until the project was canceled and folks were let go. This came right after Christmas, when just before we were being assured funds had been secured. A lie.
Advice to Management
My advice is probably not fit for publication.
That review was about Frontier Development. not CIG.
CIG has 4 reviews, one of them 5/5, the other 3 being 1/5. Statistically insignificant in a company and sample of that size.
FD has 8 reviews, a full house of 1,2,3,4 & 5 scores and a couple of extra 2/5 and one additional 5/5. Again, insignificant.
I'd ignore both the scores and the site. If serious shiznit were going on then we'd hear about it from more than just 3 people. :P
That's reassuring actually. I can't imagine a audit process like this can yield truthful results. It has got me thinking though.
Quote from: albert;392098Stop adding ridiculously complicated features to a game that is already most likely impossible to finish.
My single biggest fear for star citizen so far.
If they really manage to deliver on everything they claim, or even most of it, I will be stunned, and also very happy for them and us players. I just do not see it happening.
Should we perhaps petition for a feature lock?
If anyone wants more cheese with this thread, then the Reddit thread that kicked it off in October is here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/2jk4h8/the_first_thing_to_worry_me_about_star_citizen_i/?limit=500
And the RSI thread that picked up on it later here:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/191216/o7-to-the-devs-if-this-is-true
(page 3 of this thread is particularly funny, re OT and other things)
and
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/197262/i-m-skeptical-but-this-disturbs-me
Just remember, we're backing a game idea. If you can't afford to lose the money, don't back the game. Same thing goes for Elite: Dangerous. Both games have given us snippets and only a fraction of what we backed, so if you are unsure then wait for the final game release.
The lavish dinners and sports car thing. If these are directly from company funds then shame on them, ok you can say having these things helps promote the business but most companies give these perks as a bonus. Everyone has the right to spend their salary as they wish. My point is although I've seen many bad reviews of CEOs on that web site none of them are accused of buying sportscars.
Also there are a few damning statements about CR. I've read lies before and also exaggeration, which it might be but something spurred the mention of his aggressive and berating nature, which is reasonably well known anyway, but not the guy to be leading the company. Let your lieutenants do your dirty work.
I also agree that the number of reviews is low and normally only griefers make the effort.
If you read there links there are significant references to griefers.
I expect journalists would have a field day and be all over such rumours to get the big fraud story on the biggest crowdfunded game in history, however I have yet to see such stories in the press. I'm not saying such a story can't or won't happen, but these allegations have been out there for almost 3 months now and we haven't seen a press story about it yet.
Quote from: TeaLeaf;392101Does anyone actually use those as a guide to things? Seriously?
That particular review has been up on that site for ages, so is not exactly current. In any case, you're bound to get a miffed employee anywhere in a decent-sized company, I'm even miffed at my own employer which is me!
How about this review:
That review was about Frontier Development. not CIG.
CIG has 4 reviews, one of them 5/5, the other 3 being 1/5. Statistically insignificant in a company and sample of that size.
FD has 8 reviews, a full house of 1,2,3,4 & 5 scores and a couple of extra 2/5 and one additional 5/5. Again, insignificant.
I'd ignore both the scores and the site. If serious shiznit were going on then we'd hear about it from more than just 3 people. :P
Pretty much this. It's a sad fact, but most game developers have a crunch culture. As backers, we're constantly demanding progress - so it makes sense. As for sports cars etc, I'd be enormously surprised if they were from company cash. CR is independently wealthy too, don't forget (to the tune of millions) - so probably does have a sports car or two. I'm sure they spend more than they should on the odd "fancy dinner" with production partners etc, but I can forgive them that.
I'm sure plenty of people there hate their job. Then again, I've never been to a big company where everyone is delighted, either. Even in my own business, I'm sure people have a gripe from time to time - and we only employ family and friends.
Very true. I guess you don't make a project like this without breaking some eggs.
Quote from: TeaLeaf;392106Just remember, we're backing a game idea. If you can't afford to lose the money, don't back the game. Same thing goes for Elite: Dangerous. Both games have given us snippets and only a fraction of what we backed, so if you are unsure then wait for the final game release.
This is a very good point. One that many very angry backers seem to forget in some cases (go look at all the hate being thrown at DayZ atm).
You don't buy the game, you buy the chance to maybe play the game one day if it gets made. I think people expect too much once they have put their money down. But, this whole concept is relatively new, so maybe it is just teething problems as people get used to the whole kickstarter idea...
For me, it is why I don't fancy putting hundreds down on a game like this (and of course, because I can't afford it!).
The more I see that looks good the more comfortable I would feel putting my cash down, but I guess the problem there is if everyone thought like that, the Dev would maybe not get enough cash in the early days! Big games like this need people willing to take a punt on a dream, I guess.
Interesting thing, kickstarter, at times.
Quote from: Chaosphere;392123Big games like this need people willing to take a punt on a dream, I guess.
This is the thing for me. Why not give it a punt? If it doesn't work out, there's no harm done. If it does, we get a great game and a step in the right direction as far as development models go.
I'd rather everyone at CIG get treated with respect and given the recognition they deserve, but to be honest I don't know enough about what's going on there to comment. I certainly can't trust a couple of random reviews. I know people who have slacked off at great companies, got fired, then went on a facebook tirade blaming everyone but themselves. I also know people who have genuine grievances and need a place to tell people. All of them are very vocal, and nobody else is any the wiser at the end.
I'd prefer to judge the game on its merits - nobody is chained to a desk, there are other jobs if you're not happy.
Speaking from some experience this is especially true in the software industry. Generally speaking once you get your first year or so done you can go pretty much anywhere.
I'm just as excited as the ten year old that used to play elite. And since then I've seen disappointment after space sim disappointment. I hope this will be different and in a few years time we're reading about the memoirs of an overzealous developer that realised a dream.
Quote from: Galatoni;392128Speaking from some experience this is especially true in the software industry. Generally speaking once you get your first year or so done you can go pretty much anywhere.
I'm just as excited as the ten year old that used to play elite. And since then I've seen disappointment after space sim disappointment. I hope this will be different and in a few years time we're reading about the memoirs of an overzealous developer that realised a dream.
Me too - I believe it can happen. I don't think it'll happen seamlessly - I can't imagine the launch of the PU being anything but disastrous with the scale of ambition involved. I do think it'll get there in a few years though. We just need to make sure the money and the will is there to do it.