Derek Smart Touts Galactic Command SE Release, Promises Satisfaction With Money Back Guarantee

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Outspoken developer Derek Smart has promised that anybody who is dissatisfied with his latest effort, the first episode of Galactic Command: Echo Squad SE, is eligible for a full refund.

The 3000AD founder made mention of the refund in a comment on Blue's News last week. "If you're a space sim fan, can't wait for the demo and you buy the game... but think its crap, I'm tits up and talking trash, I'll personally refund your money," Smart wrote on the site. He noted that those who pursued a refund would not have their license keys disabled, though he failed to detail the specifics of the refund process.

"I'm quite certain that there may be other takers," Smart wrote MTV Multiplayer regarding possible exploitation of the offer. "Who knows. But regardless, people know who they're dealing with, so its not like they're going to try and pull a fast one. After all, this is Derek Smart weÂ’re talking about :D."

Galactic Command: Echo Squad was originally produced as a four-part episodic series for digital distributor GameTap. The company axed the deal last month, noting that though Echo Squad was not the right title for GameTap audiences, it was among Smart's greatest work.

Smart, who had been plotting to release a revamped version of Galactic Command: Echo Squad following the initial GameTap offering, unleashed the first episode of the series via several digital distribution platforms, including Direct2Drive and GamersGate, last Friday.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 10, 2008 4:14 PM

    Nobody has ever accused Derek Smart of lacking confidence, that's for damned sure.

    • reply
      March 10, 2008 4:23 PM

      I find Derek Smart to lack confidence, and I hold this against him.

      There.

    • reply
      March 10, 2008 6:36 PM

      talking about confidence:

      He posted this on bluesnews a couple of months ago:

      "...I can do a Star Trek MMO in under three years, with a skeleton crew and for around $5m. Guaranteed. Primarily because I have (a) the sci-fi and space game background/experience (b) the technology (c) the discipline to stretch every damn dollar on the game instead of pissing it away and coming up with nothing ..."

      would he presonally refund the $5m investment too?

      • reply
        March 10, 2008 6:48 PM

        Hell, I could probably do one in the same timespan.

        Spend six months in preproduction with a staff of 4 coders, 4 artists, 1 producer, 1 tester; outsource base asset creation to American McGee's Chinese content creation firm; license BigWorld for the backend; beta test in South Korean game cafes.

        Have your first 20 levels be offline (Starfleet Academy), go for a homeworld hub system with a macrogame for ship-to-ship combat and exploration; have individual planets be instances for away team missions (5-man and 25-man), have AI redshirts to fill out player shortages if you have at least half or if someone drops, etc.

        • reply
          March 10, 2008 7:04 PM

          That would be an incredibly skeletal team. What you outlined would be a small team for just a Nintendo DS game.

          • reply
            March 10, 2008 7:08 PM

            I'm just talking preproduction.

            • reply
              March 10, 2008 7:31 PM

              You could get a prototype up with a team that size, at least.

              • reply
                March 10, 2008 7:58 PM

                Very barebones, but yeah, one stubbed city, basic viz, one instance, just enough tech to learn what would be hard to do in the tech, etc.

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