tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322951344595055282024-03-05T07:34:57.264-08:00Code Hero Code BlueAlex Peake's Code Hero is in a sorry state. This unofficial site, blog, or whatever is intended to be a responding kick in the pants to make things right. Clear!Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-88565923452907953642013-08-16T10:41:00.004-07:002013-08-16T15:57:47.818-07:00Beta PreviewI just finished trying out the beta preview. I'm going to explain my experience and compare it to the alpha.<br />
<br />
In the alpha releases, there was this entire world called Gamebridge. It was like the Hogwarts equivalent to coding, as the Ada Lovelace AI explained. There were different buildings and rooms that you individually chose to visit. For instance, there was a place to go learn Javascript and another area for Unityscript.<br />
<br />
Instead, the beta preview throws you into a new Unity tutorial that teaches you to use the editor controls to move and resize game objects, using them to make it from one side of the room to the other with each lesson. An achievement is unlocked with each successful crossing. It's reminiscent to the old Unityscript platform level of the alphas. At the end, you use all the combined skills to reach three gold stars in different locations.<br />
<br />
After that, you are brought into a redone version of the Javascript tutorial. It's much the same, although it tosses off the random show-off cube blast and trades sitting in one room for the entire thing for breaking it up into separate rooms for each lesson. Also unlike the alpha, at least if I recall correctly, it instead encourages you to execute code in the editing screen as opposed to exiting and shooting at the wall-mounted console window.<br />
<br />
When you complete that, you are tossed back to where you began, to start over. So that's basically it.<br />
<br />
I am left wondering what happened to the entire Gamebridge campus? Perhaps it will still exist and this preview is just that, a showing of a couple areas that are polished off enough for Mr. Peake to be confident enough to share them.<br />
<br />
There's still some bugs and I feel the transitioning between topics (especially for the Javascript tutorials) needs some work, but it does feel like an improvement. Ada also didn't any immersion-breaking phrases that seemed out of character for her, like her use of "owned" so easily in the alpha.<br />
<br />
There's no telling how much of the alpha will be kept or tossed, with none of it completely intact for this beta preview. Without any further details on what's happening from Mr. Peake, we don't really know how much of the game there really is and what will come. Let's hope he gives an update soon, one with some real details.<br />
<br />
<b>Update:</b> Recently added to the Primer Labs' site:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It has been a while since our last update and some were concerned when our site went down but we're back online with a beta preview release to show you some of the levels in the upcoming Code Hero Beta. We've been working hard on getting the game ready, and we need to work just as hard on communicating better with our backers. We're now resuming weekly updates. You'll hear from us regularly about the progress of the beta and we want to hear from you about what you think of the new game levels.</blockquote>
And there's an <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/primerist/code-hero-a-game-that-teaches-you-to-make-games-he/posts/571204" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">update on it on Kickstarter</a>.Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-33203073616409119752013-08-15T15:23:00.001-07:002013-08-16T16:08:11.563-07:00August 9th ~ August 15thSo from this batch of comments, it seems Kickstarter has been contacted by Mr. Decker but has not responded. Majugi also gives his own update on the happenings with the poker sites. And then, a <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/code-hero-one-year-later-money-lawsuits-and-poker/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">new Joystiq article</a> on the whole thing!<br />
<br />
First, it seems at least primerlabs.com is no longer the poker site. Only codehero.org redirects to there, the rest seem to still be that CheckandRaisePoker page. According to the article, Mr. Peake couldn't afford the hosting.<br />
<br />
Why didn't Mr. Peake just use a free host temporarily, rather than let the site go blank and fall into his whole poker mess? Surely he, or one of his many programmers, are knowledgeable enough to have done that? The domains were under Godaddy, not the host (Linode), so he should have had easy access to them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx50LpSRxCudJHWGzoHjuuLtVxydqBCFDjx1iqgt2dJdsGJiv6J5UE7A6WTL6uLxiFcJXJmLEy8Jo_W1YK8ZEmpaxv0pz-nHdccmMQMbAS0qPYwRyrT2uXAi0tKMrV8sbbsmdf_Ind4Ene/s1600/primerrestoration.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx50LpSRxCudJHWGzoHjuuLtVxydqBCFDjx1iqgt2dJdsGJiv6J5UE7A6WTL6uLxiFcJXJmLEy8Jo_W1YK8ZEmpaxv0pz-nHdccmMQMbAS0qPYwRyrT2uXAi0tKMrV8sbbsmdf_Ind4Ene/s1600/primerrestoration.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Up on the page that's under construction, there's links to download a "beta preview." What is that? I'll find some time to try it and find out.<br />
<br />
There is also part of the article dedicated to how Mr. Peake has run his company. Besides bounced checks, it's been terribly unorganized.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Lopez described the working conditions at Primer Labs as unprofessional.
Peake didn't have a game design document – an essential aspect of
development – and would change mechanics or the art style without
warning, after the team had already drawn up concepts for another
approach, he said. The team was never the problem.</blockquote>
It's impossible to get a game or any computer program done if one keeps moving the goal posts and throwing out chunks of it to be replaced with something different. Seriously, this sounds reminiscent of the setup of a death march project.<br />
<br />
To quote <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_march_%28project_management%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Death marches of the destined-to-fail type usually are a result of
unrealistic or overly optimistic expectations in scheduling, feature
scope, or both, and often include lack of appropriate documentation or relevant training and outside expertise that would be needed to do the task successfully.</blockquote>
Granted, I don't know how hard he is actually pushing the programmers to be truthfully considered a death march, but it sounds like the project has at least some of the big components of one. As I said before, disorganization and constant changes make for a project that is really difficult to finish, with time and efforts wasted.<br />
<br />
I suggest that Mr. Peake read <i>Software Engineering: The Current Practice</i> by Václav Rajlich for how to properly run his project, should it continue. Dr. Rajlich had run his own death march project in the '70s but learned from it, so perhaps that would be a bit inspiring.<br />
<br />
Once again, in this article Mr. Peake complains about the negativity of the comments getting him down and that's why he's so silent. I don't think saying it a second time made it any better of a reason, truthfully. <br />
<br />
Also, the biggest thing here: Mr. Peake once again spoke with a news
site rather than directly speak with the backers. No new updates are on
Kickstarter, nor are there any comments from him either.<br />
<br />
Admitting your problem is the first step, but it's not the final one. This game will <i>never</i> speak for Mr. Peake, as much as he wants his work to, with the way things seem to be going. At this point, any positives will be outweighed by the negative actions he has taken. He will be labeled for his failure in this project (as well as past ones, as they are brought to light), especially if he does nothing to improve the situation. There's always a chance, though.<br />
<br />
Everyone falls. It's how you handle the fall that matters.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Nearly forget! Here's the comments:<br />
<br />
Urutsini (August 9):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I realise it's not Kickstarter's responsibility but has anyone even discussed this with them?</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard (August 9):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Kickstarter has not returned any of my messages, tweets, etc. Not
really surprising, but it is unfortunate. Their support team doesn't
have the best reputation.</blockquote>
Brandon Robinson (August 10):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I'm never going to back another video game kickstarter again. Sigh.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 10):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Quick update on primerlabs.com: it's still under development, recent
changes include the addition of a "bitcoin accepted here" banner linking
to bitcoin.org and a "GetChipsNow" page with the following message:<br />
<br />
"Deposits- BTC spot value is determined by when it ARRIVES. Minimum Deposit 0.20 BTC(20% of a Bitcoin). EMAIL <a href="mailto:support@checkandraisepoker.com" rel="nofollow">support@checkandraisepoker.com</a>
RIGHT AWAY with: The pokername to be credited,The deposit amount,(in
BTC) and The BTC address to confirm. Chips are credited immediatly after
confirmation.
<br />
<br />
Withdrawls- BTC Spot Value is determined when you submit your
withdrawl.Support will email back with approved price and chips. Minimum
Withdrawl= 0.5 BTC(half of a Bitcoin). Email <a href="mailto:support@checkandraisepoker.com" rel="nofollow">support@checkandraisepoker.com</a>
to request a withdrawl through BTC. CheckandRaisePoker.eu chip value is
$0.01 USD per (one cent) PLEASE NOTE WITHDRAWLS CAN TAKE UP TO 8 HOURS
FROM THE TIME CHIPS ARE REMOVED(you will be emailed) DUE TO SECURITY
SCREENING FOR FAIR PLAY.WE BELIEVE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT ALL
PLAYERS.We also suggest for the casual player using trusted Bitcoin
wallets such as Coinbase.
<br />
Address for deposits:1Hb4akrka3h4x9etAfaxQgbsYmQ6Wn2xgH"<br />
<br />
The copyright info on the page has been changed to read "Copyright
2013 Las Vegas Productions LLC." There's also an "Affiliates" page
describing a convoluted affiliate advertising program.</blockquote>
Alan Dang (August 15):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Joystiq update: <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/code-hero-one-year-later-money-lawsuits-and-poker/" rel="nofollow">http://www.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/code-hero-one-year-later-money-lawsuits-and-poker/</a><br />
<br />
Shoutout to Dustin!</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-976588339187378392013-08-09T11:04:00.001-07:002013-08-09T12:46:46.942-07:00July 24th ~ August 7thAs we left off last time with the comments on Kickstarter, there was growing talk with taking legal action. The more recent comments return to this subject matter, citing <a href="http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/01/8590-kickstarter-lawsuit-neil-singh/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the successful lawsuit by Neil Singh against a Kickstarter that failed to deliver</a>. In the least, there is a case with Mr. Peake failing to deliver on pledge rewards, which is a requirement by Kickstarter. There are also other issues as well, such as Mr. Peake referring to his original build as a beta instead of the prototype or alpha it actually was. Also, <a href="http://codeherocodeblue.blogspot.com/2013/07/july-9th-july-21th.html?showComment=1374573601078#c8707708454125237889" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Primer Labs doesn't seem to be a registered company with any sort of liability protection</a>, at least Mr. Peake's anyway.<br />
<br />
The recommended course of action though seems to be, for those who can, to file your own personal civil suit.<br />
<br />
Moving on from that, an interesting comment was posted by njt that I thought was worth slipping in:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I'm sensing a pattern. See below ↓<br />
<br />
From his biography on his now down site:<br />
---
<br />
He created an online empire simulation game called Mage Princes
using play-by-email turn files to bypass FirstClass BBS systems' lack of
game support. Hundreds of players signed up to pay for the sequel which
he planned to include more sophisticated military, economic and
tradecraft RPG elements to allow players to cooperatively build nations.<br />
<br />
When a BBS shutdown and a hard drive crash destroyed his 7th grade
business, he dreamed bigger and decided to finish school to focus on
developing the game.<br />
---
<br />
Had an idea(rpg) - built a part of it - took money - something
happened -- new idea(corsets) -- built a part of it - took money -
something happened -- new idea(code hero) -- built a part of it.... etc
etc </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In each case something happens and he moves onto something "bigger and better".<br />
<br />
Alex, it's not hard to get a site up. It's not hard to show progress.
It is hard to admit defeat and face up to your failure. You will see
criminal prosecution if you continue to... dare I say it, play games. <br />
<br />
No more postponing, you've done that far too many times already.
Either show concrete evidence of you actually doing things or finally
come clean.<br />
<br />
Also, don't tell us that these comments are the reason for you not
being able to go on - or it wasn't good enough. I was there when you
were releasing new alphas in irc. There was nothing but hope in those
channels. I'm sure if you look for negativity you can find it, but there
was hope too. The reason you're getting so much heat is because you
fall into a pattern that has already been seen time and time again. Do
something different this time - be it actually succeed or to face it
like a man. Anything other than what you've shown us so far. Show us you
can change, man.</blockquote>
For the last topic I want to touch on, remember how in the last post I did on the comments, I pointed out how Mr. Peake has several domains pointing all to the same site? Well, it seems that since at least July 31st, they've all been pointing to a webpage for the site CheckandRaisePoker.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNA1fAYv_rIx_KbwB38X9Xl5OY7UHy3LjdK9xxVV5R-Jr7dmwyrr0LBFtfwf3Z28H-XUh8jRuc7DPeKq94YdA5TryYifBM9_8uCgcQW1WxZFEyW2Z4rtBJRcVB3z8jg_F3HOGTdzytxht/s1600/CheckandRaisePoker-page.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNA1fAYv_rIx_KbwB38X9Xl5OY7UHy3LjdK9xxVV5R-Jr7dmwyrr0LBFtfwf3Z28H-XUh8jRuc7DPeKq94YdA5TryYifBM9_8uCgcQW1WxZFEyW2Z4rtBJRcVB3z8jg_F3HOGTdzytxht/s1600/CheckandRaisePoker-page.png" width="385" /></a></div>
<br />
From what I have gathered, the .com, .net, .info, .biz, and .us versions of it were all purchased by Douglas Bale of Las Vegas on July 4th of this year. Although his domain information is private on most of his domains, it is not on the .us one, where such privacy is not allowed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXY8a-mZvCH9YFGUp5y4E8vxd5RU8J4CB5SE3ZTzCtb3AVeEKv3XvN56tQWB5uMEhyphenhyphen4I6VeidHpaGsr4ZY50r9fG2zF6REX6y0E2lSt7eA_jlX8QLAVGb-UCtEJ6WIl0t8Q3B_MM6i3Iz/s1600/checkandraisepoker-google.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXY8a-mZvCH9YFGUp5y4E8vxd5RU8J4CB5SE3ZTzCtb3AVeEKv3XvN56tQWB5uMEhyphenhyphen4I6VeidHpaGsr4ZY50r9fG2zF6REX6y0E2lSt7eA_jlX8QLAVGb-UCtEJ6WIl0t8Q3B_MM6i3Iz/s1600/checkandraisepoker-google.png" width="400" /></a></div>
From a Google search on the domain, I found that Mr. Bale also owns the .eu name (and may be preferring that as the main one). This matches what Majugi on Kickstarter found. Also, there is a bit of a description from a now gone post on Craig's List that gave some information on what it's supposed to be: a poker site that uses the internet currency Bit Coin.<br />
<br />
Trying out each of the domain versions, I found the placeholder-like page for all of Mr. Peake's domains is also held currently by the .info, .biz, .us, and .eu versions of the CheckandRaisePoker domain name. The .info, .biz, and .us all change to the .eu name when entered. The page itself is of the IP 50.97.99.218, which is hosted at JacksHost (a possible subsidiary of SoftLayer?) as opposed to Linode, where Mr. Peake had hosted his domains. These pages link to port 8087 of the IP, which is what the .com is and where a seemingly functioning online poker beta is located. I haven't tried it myself though, but a screenshot is below.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtSRpGjJvZNA0G91LQHv5W9cbaqlcqlqL4jB6SRrSZVVVv9th6gIox3AGCq761oX-xB7-L7h6OvEnfSI7Y6QE0Uh__Y5ZFEF1SXiTTOYACk087E5dsfCg6bgfIzN1AtyRcHMJACefJfFj/s1600/CheckandRaisePoker-beta1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtSRpGjJvZNA0G91LQHv5W9cbaqlcqlqL4jB6SRrSZVVVv9th6gIox3AGCq761oX-xB7-L7h6OvEnfSI7Y6QE0Uh__Y5ZFEF1SXiTTOYACk087E5dsfCg6bgfIzN1AtyRcHMJACefJfFj/s1600/CheckandRaisePoker-beta1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I would like to also point out that Mr. Peake had more than just primerlabs.com, codehero.org, and alexpeake.com pointing to the same website. It seems he also owned unityversity.org, openprimer.com, and openprimer.org and did the same with them. They don't seem to have expired though, still being under his ownership.<br />
<br />
It's not clear what's going on, especially with Mr. Peake remaining silent on the issue despite recent logins on Kickstarter. Were his domains hijacked? Is Mr. Peake working with Mr. Bale on this new Bit Coin poker? Was Mr. Peake moving from Linode to JacksHost and this happened on accident? We'll just have to wait and see what's said when Mr. Peake eventually does talk.<br />
<br />
With the site down since apparently June 30th and over a month of silence from Mr. Peake, things don't seem to be looking good at all for <i>Code Hero</i>. Could Mr. Peake have finally given up?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Here are the comments from the Kickstarter, with dates listed where I thought was necessary or good to.<br />
<br />
Tomimt (July 24):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It looks like every web address given in the Alex's bio is offline,
so here's the archive links to all of them if anyone's interested:
<br />
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130429175945/http://www.alexpeake.com/" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20130429175945/http://www.alexpeake.com/</a>
<br />
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130614173810/http://primerlabs.com/" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20130614173810/http://primerlabs.com/</a>
<br />
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20120503020305/http://www.tacticalcorsets.com/" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20120503020305/http://www.tacticalcorsets.com/</a><br />
From the looks of it he is trying to get underground.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For those keeping an eye on other "failed" KS projects, there's a $122k
board game project that just bit the dust today. At least the creator
had the balls to give his backers a straight answer (project is
cancelled) but people are still furious since he apparently has a year
long history of misleading backers and making lots of claims that never
panned out. Sound familiar, anyone? That project is here: <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/forkingpath/the-doom-that-came-to-atlantic-city/comments" rel="nofollow">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/forkingpath/the-doom-that-came-to-atlantic-city/comments</a></blockquote>
Schadrach:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
@Deckard: There's another one for a video game called Rain that
posted a similar post a few weeks ago. Relatively tiny project by the
standards we're talking about here though.<br />
Unfortunately I'm a backer on both of them as well as this one. At
the same time, my KS experience has been mostly/generally positive, and
most campaigns have done their thing successfully (though Japanime Games
and Ouya should fire their shipping people, preferably out of a
cannon).<br />
<br />
I think the best case for all three of these would be to open up what
exists. Open source Code Hero and Rain, and either get physical
rewards sorted out or refund less however much the level for "a copy of
the game" was. That way there's at least a chance it will see
completion, eventually.<br />
<br />
As for the one you mentioned, open sourcing would be a bit more
complicated because it's a board game. At the same time, we've seen
most of the game components in one form or another, so they must exist
in some form. Which means a print-n-play version could theoretically be
released, along with CAD models for the minis which would allow for
3d-printing if you really wanted the full experience.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, some KS projects are going to fail, and it's probably for
the best if they are up front about doing so and try to find a way to
come to a mutually workable solution with their backers.</blockquote>
Peter S:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
@Dustin, have you tried reaching out to Neil Singh? It appears that he's
one of the first people to successfully pursue legal action against a
failed KS project: <a href="http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/01/8590-kickstarter-lawsuit-neil-singh/" rel="nofollow">http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/01/8590-kickstarter-lawsuit-neil-singh/</a></blockquote>
Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
@Peter- I have not reached out to him personally, but I've read
everything I could find with his name, and it appears he simply filed a
small claims suit against his project creator, which was easier since it
was in the same state. I would personally encourage any backers reading
this who live in California to pursue filing a smalls claims suit -
it's much easier if you're in the state vs out of state.</blockquote>
Lawrence "Saker" Collins:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Criminal prosecution is the way to go with circumstances such as this.</blockquote>
njt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I'm sensing a pattern. See below ↓<br />
<br />
From his biography on his now down site:<br />
---
<br />
He created an online empire simulation game called Mage Princes
using play-by-email turn files to bypass FirstClass BBS systems' lack of
game support. Hundreds of players signed up to pay for the sequel which
he planned to include more sophisticated military, economic and
tradecraft RPG elements to allow players to cooperatively build nations.<br />
<br />
When a BBS shutdown and a hard drive crash destroyed his 7th grade
business, he dreamed bigger and decided to finish school to focus on
developing the game.<br />
---
<br />
Had an idea(rpg) - built a part of it - took money - something
happened -- new idea(corsets) -- built a part of it - took money -
something happened -- new idea(code hero) -- built a part of it.... etc
etc </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In each case something happens and he moves onto something "bigger and better".<br />
<br />
Alex, it's not hard to get a site up. It's not hard to show progress.
It is hard to admit defeat and face up to your failure. You will see
criminal prosecution if you continue to... dare I say it, play games. <br />
<br />
No more postponing, you've done that far too many times already.
Either show concrete evidence of you actually doing things or finally
come clean.<br />
<br />
Also, don't tell us that these comments are the reason for you not
being able to go on - or it wasn't good enough. I was there when you
were releasing new alphas in irc. There was nothing but hope in those
channels. I'm sure if you look for negativity you can find it, but there
was hope too. The reason you're getting so much heat is because you
fall into a pattern that has already been seen time and time again. Do
something different this time - be it actually succeed or to face it
like a man. Anything other than what you've shown us so far. Show us you
can change, man.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
njt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For good measure - here's how to keep users updated.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playstarbound.com/" rel="nofollow">http://playstarbound.com/</a></blockquote>
Jason Hoeft:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If any backers are interested in downloading the game, you can do so here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130603114855/http://primerlabs.com/download" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20130603114855/http://primerlabs.com/download</a><br />
<br />
I just downloaded the windows version, and was surprised that the 451mb download went through!</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard (July 31):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
So, uh... right now, primerlabs.com and alexpeake.com are pointed at an
online gambling site. Consider me confused. Alex signs into Skype pretty
regularly if anyone wants to find him on there...</blockquote>
Jonathan Jou:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Suffice it to say, I don't think it will be right for us to let
anyone considering a future Peake venture go unawares of an unbroken,
well-established pattern. While I think Alex deserves to try as many
times as he wants, I imagine future contracts will entail more involved
supervision, milestones instead of lump sums, and an actual contract
enforcing deliverables.<br />
<br />
How we want to maintain awareness is a different matter, but $200k is
not to be spent lightly, even from crowd funding, and I'm worried for
both Alex and whomever he might find audience with. There's a small
chance he might want to go to business school and pick up a computer
science degree to back his vision with some pedigree.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Yeah... unless Alex shows up at PAX with Code Hero in a few weeks (and
even then, who knows if he'll update the Kickstarter) it's possible he's
washes his hands of this whole mess. Either my first suspicion was
right, and he forgot to pay his domain or hosting bill and lost control
of his domains/DNS... or he's sold them off, or he's just pointed them
at that gambling site to intentionally misdirect people. This could be
the nail in the coffin for this thing.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 2):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Weird... I finally got around to checking primerlabs.com again, and
it's not even a gambling site -- not a working one anyway. Look at the
page source: it's super clean, and there's almost nothing happening on
that page. The links are all placeholders and even the "online now" part
has placeholder numbers (123 tables and 1234 players). Who would hack a
webpage then slowly develop a gambling site in its place?
"CheckandRaisePoker" apparently, but Google doesn't turn up any results
for that brand, so it's apparently a brand new company (or one with
terrible SEO).<br />
<br />
checkandraisepoker.net was registered on July 5, 2013 according to
domain-kb.com which was shortly before primerlabs.com went offline.
checkandraisepoker.net is currently a GoDaddy holding page. My best
guess at the moment is that Alex is behind the development of the
placeholder site and it's possible that the poker site itself is his
next project. If so, it would be a marked departure from his previous
revolutionize-the-world efforts. To be clear, I'm not aware of any
direct link between Alex and checkandraisepoker besides the hosting of
the site, but whatever's happening is extraordinarily dodgy.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 2):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Also, both alexpeake.com and primerlabs.com contain the same
material, but only those two sites currently show up in Google search
results for "CheckandRaisePoker maintains the highest standard of
security" (a phrase found at the bottom of the page) [screenshot: <a href="http://i.imgur.com/WHUJCZi.png" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/WHUJCZi.png</a>].<br />
<br />
It's technically possible that both sites were compromised at the
same time and the attackers were satisfied in using both of those sites
to host some placeholder webpage, but you'd think if they wanted
multiple sites with the same content, they'd add it to some other
compromised sites (unless this attacker has _only_ managed to hack
Alex's sites). And again, if you've got unauthorized access to someone's
domain, a WIP gambling website is pretty much the worst choice you
could make for taking advantage of that.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 2):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The registrant of checkandraisepoker.net is Domains By Proxy, LLC...
which tells us nothing other than whoever owns the domain doesn't want
to be identified.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 2):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I see I was wrong about how long primerlabs.com has been offline:
it's actually been since June 30 (before the registration of the poker
domain). So someone first took down Alex's sites, then bought a domain,
then decided to start working on their poker site on his domains anyway.
Or possibly the sites went down on their own and a cybersquatter picked
it up to start their business (why they'd ever want a gambling site on
alexpeake.com, I don't know). Or maybe the sites are just really lazy
fakes. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Alex, if you see this (and your last login was a few days ago, so you
probably will), now would be a good time to defend yourself.</blockquote>
jack:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Alex, can you seriously not even take 2 minutes out of your day to type
up a couple of sentences letting the people who gave you $170k know why
the project site now points to an online casino?</blockquote>
jack:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Can we at least get credit equivalent to our pledges at your new casino?</blockquote>
PegasusOrgans:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I'd still be happy to wait for Code Hero and not ask for a refund if
there was any evidence whatsoever that you hadn't given up on it. Just
post a few lines telling us what's up! Doesn't even have to be an
update, but don't do this. If you don't want your reputation ruined
forever, you gotta do at least that. Remember, the internet NEVER
forgets, but it does forgive, if you ask for it, that is.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard (August 3):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I've had a few Code Hero buyers email me over the last few days
asking what's up with Alex's website. Unfortunately, there are lots and
lots of people who bought the game directly from his website, rather
than Kickstarter. :( We know Alex made over $30k from those poor souls.
They actually might have better legal standing than us backers, since
we're the "idiots" who gave Alex our money as part of a crowd-funding
campaign, and the direct sales were pretty obviously pre-orders that
deserve refunds.</blockquote>
Tomimt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Each day it's getting clearer that Alex is just hoping that we'd forget
about this all. What makes me even sadder is, that he never did man up
and come clean about the failure of the project.</blockquote>
PegasusOrgans:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Does anyone have more info on Alex? I mean, he wouldn't go and scam
ppl if he used his real name, would he? Something like this could haunt
him forever.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 4):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The site's been updated again: the placeholders for number of players
and tables that I commented on yesterday have been changed to "xxxxx
tables" and "xxxxx players". The "register" button now goes to a site
that loads some flash-based poker thing at the IP address 50.97.99.218
(it's a Dallas-based IP that used to be associated with Primer Labs).
Since we're now dealing with active content, I'm more reluctant to poke
around, but it is possible to create accounts and there does seem to be a
poker system of some sort in place (no money is involved at the moment
and there still appears to be no real users).<br />
<br />
There are also some adverts for checkandraisepoker.eu showing up
around the site and that domain is hosting the same content as Alex's
sites. The EU domain was registered on July 4, 2013 by Marcaria (a
domain registration service).<br />
<br />
What will happen next? Will this actually turn into a full-fledged
gambling site? How many different domain registration services decided
to register "checkandraisepoker" domains around July 4-5? Stay tuned to
find out!<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
But getting back to Code Hero, in the best case, Alex is not
responsible for this new turn of events which means that he's merely
lost control of the websites and is continuing his policy of conspicuous
silence.</blockquote>
Majugi (August 4):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The checkandraisepoker.com site is now redirecting to
50.97.99.218:8087. I think when I checked yesterday it wasn't in use.
That domain is another one registered by Domains By Proxy on July 4th.<br />
<br />
This continues to not make any sense. At this point, if Alex is
behind the poker sites, he's spending a bit of cash on it (buying a
minimum of three domains through proxies and putting some amount of
development effort into the site). This seems excessive as a diversion.
If he is NOT behind the sites, who on earth could be? They already have
three themed domains, the only thing Peake's domains bring is notoriety
and a lack of credibility as a legit poker site. It's worth pointing out
again that the Peake sites are not re-directing to an established poker
site: the main poker web app is on the Primer Labs IP address. The fact
that the IP address has remained the same also implies that the hosting
company (SoftLayer) hasn't changed since Peake controlled the site.</blockquote>
Nathan Lewis:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
From the Kickstarter FAQ:
<br />
------------------<br />
Is a creator legally obligated to fulfill the promises of their project?
<br />
<br />
Yes. Kickstarter's Terms of Use require creators to fulfill all
rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not
or cannot fulfill. (This is what creators see before they launch.) We
crafted these terms to create a legal requirement for creators to follow
through on their projects, and to give backers a recourse if they
don't. We hope that backers will consider using this provision only in
cases where they feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to
complete the project and fulfill.
<br />
--------------<br />
So, what is our next step? I honestly just want my refund at this point.</blockquote>
Tomimt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I think it's safe to assume we all would want a refund. I think US
based backers could look into possible legal action, but us others can
pretty much just hope for the best. Those who are entitled of physical
rewards, or higher pledges, propably have better changes of getting
refunded. But in all we are on rarely walked grounds here.</blockquote>
Peter S (August 2):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
v Tomimt, I think the right step is for someone with the means/desire to
start organizing...some kind of a legal prosecution where lots of us
can get our money back all at once. That may be called a "class action",
or maybe something else is better, I'm not sure.<br />
<br />
Dustin suggested that CA backers try to get refunded through small
claims court...but in my case, I contributed little enough, that I
simply don't feel like it's worth the effort of dragging myself through
the CA legal system to get it back. (Note, I'm not waiving any legal
rights with that statement - I'm just saying that it's a tiring thing to
do, leading me to not do anything about it just yet.)
<br />
<br />
That said, if someone (or several people) were to organize a class
action (or something) so that lots of us could get our money back all at
once...that would save lots of people time, and gets lots of people
their refunds.
<br />
<br />
I think a good start would be to contact Neil Singh (<a href="http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/01/8590-kickstarter-lawsuit-neil-singh/" rel="nofollow">http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/01/8590-kickstarter-lawsuit-neil-singh/</a>), and get his advice - perhaps he could even help organize this class action, if that turns out to be a smart idea.
<br />
<br />
So...who wants the experience of organizing a "Kickstarter Class
Action"? EG, if Neil Singh is able to successfully help us out, he could
get a positive reputation as the "Kickstarter Lawyer" or something (not
sure if he's actually a lawyer). Any lawyer/legal-types out there
hoping to make a name for themselves?
<br />
<br />
All of that being said - as always Alex, if you'd like to start
being transparent and have generous communication with us backers, the
sooner the better.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard (August 7):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Hate to be the bearer of bad news Peter, but while Neil may have some
additional insight for you, it would only be because he is an attorney.
He did not file a class action suit against his failed Kickstarter, he
just did a small claims suit. If you want to try to find someone willing
to take this case as class action, feel free, good luck, and let me
know if I can help. But I have been trying for 6 months and the facts
are: Alex spent all his money - he reportedly has enough left to live
off of for a while, but he's also reportedly a trust fund kid so we
can't assume where his living expenses are coming from. Also, $200k is
not enough money for an attorney to go through all the hassle of a class
action suit, certainly not for free. If someone wants to pony up around
$10k for a retainer to get something off the ground... power to you.
But I don't have that kind of money (spent it all on failed Kickstarters
heh heh).</blockquote>
Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-19877276967612048952013-08-04T10:00:00.001-07:002013-08-04T11:41:44.322-07:00Tactical CorsetsPrior to <i>Code Hero</i>, in 2009, Alex Peake started a business to sell what he called "Tactical Corsets," a combination of tactical vests and corsets. According to Mr. Peake, it was for him <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130429175945/http://www.alexpeake.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"[t]o learn about business and marketing"</a> and <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/13/code-hero-the-dangers-of-a-kickstarter-success-story/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"to try to create a fundraiser to help pay for <i>Code Hero</i>."</a> It was also apparently made because <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5621695/highlight/58781" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">he imagined his ideal woman wearing one, but they did not exist and making it would bring such women to him.</a> Ranging from $300 to $500 (USD), the clothing line would ultimately end in failure, with few actually getting the product they paid for. Mr. Peake claimed difficulty in making the corsets, as well as issues with the staff he hired to make them.<br />
<br />
At some point, he ended the entire thing and, according to him, issued refunds. However, this end was not made clear in either the <a href="https://twitter.com/tacticalcorsets" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tactical-Corsets/75721587713" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> accounts or even <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20120615153525/http://www.tacticalcorsets.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the website</a>. The closest I found was in one response to a buyer on Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tactical-Corsets/75721587713?v=feed&filter=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">posts by others</a>) after <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150283683742714&id=75721587713" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a buyer complained in Fall 2011 about her June 2010 purchase</a> (and had been doing so for months prior):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[0]">I recieved this after I made this post... "Hi Beckie,</span><br data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[1]" /><span data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[2]">
I'm sorry it took so long to get you a refund, I have not been working
on Tactical Corsets since I closed the store a while ago and I didn't
realize yours had not been made already. I will Paypal you a refund by
Friday.</span><br data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[3]" /><span data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[4]"> Sincerely,</span><br data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[5]" /><span data-reactid=".r[5dprs].[1][4][1]{comment10150283683742714_18823588}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[6]"> Alex"</span></span></span></blockquote>
(It didn't come by Friday, by the way.)<br />
<br />
It seems the first and final post really about Tactical Corsets on the Facebook group was made in February 2010, which coincides with the last updates on the website and on the Twitter account, being April and August (sort of) of the same year respectively.<br />
<br />
Although Amanda Coolong (perhaps one of the seamstresses?) seemed to have tried to make <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150149285227714&id=75721587713" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">an announcement of sorts regarding items being out of stock in May 2011</a>, there was still no clear message when the whole thing was over.<br />
<br />
The stories I've read, from those like Beckie Timohovich, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20101127063103/http://blog.sinthetik.com/please-re-post-and-help-boost-the-signal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tanya Regan</a>, and <span class="post-author vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://nerdsbane.blogspot.com/2013/03/pvbodyellie-bait-n-switch-pft-i-raise.html" itemprop="author" rel="author nofollow" target="_blank" title="author profile">Khellendrathas</a></span></span>, seem to show that Mr. Peake was terrible with communication. When he did respond after long periods of silence, he made promises he didn't keep (like giving refunds or the product by such-and-such date) and also would give multiple excuses. Sound familiar?<br />
<br />
It also seems that, despite Mr. Peake saying items were out of stock and eventually calling it quits on the project, he did not disable the purchasing area of the website until the site would ultimately go down some time before September 2012 (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151004850402714&id=75721587713" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see here</a>). Fortunately, the late buyers seemed to have been able to get a refund through Paypal. It's not totally clear if those who waited beyond Paypal's time limit were able to receive full refunds though.<br />
<br />
When Mr. Peake began the <i>Code Hero</i> project in 2011, he began posting on it. Throughout the Kickstarter's running time, he made several posts on the Facebook account and a couple on Twitter with information on the new thing. On both, he posted with a claim to return to Tactical Corsets once <i>Code Hero</i> was launched, seemingly in trying to persuade people to help with the new idea if they still were interested in the corsets.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGfK-qNUl9ckJqObnMC675r6nY6RfVqXjnM9O9TeT528d2HszT1XpG3mfYZy6Gx7qDDr4h_eQNSM67s8_hwHdHcK00Ke1ZO2bUzjXaQCY-qXldpXLA-xR0__1Ui3uTT39sRQLr_UJQcb2/s1600/relaunchchtwit.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGfK-qNUl9ckJqObnMC675r6nY6RfVqXjnM9O9TeT528d2HszT1XpG3mfYZy6Gx7qDDr4h_eQNSM67s8_hwHdHcK00Ke1ZO2bUzjXaQCY-qXldpXLA-xR0__1Ui3uTT39sRQLr_UJQcb2/s1600/relaunchchtwit.png" width="296" /></a></div>
<br />
Thinking on it, maybe <i>that</i> was really the closest Mr. Peake went to announcing it was officially over? By saying he'll start it up again later?<br />
<br />
I've done my best to sum up what I have found and provide links for others to see things for themselves. I hope this is helpful with dealing with the current <i>Code Hero</i> situation and other projects that may come from Mr. Peake in the future, even for Mr. Peake himself.Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-26317020799787493892013-07-21T21:31:00.002-07:002013-07-21T22:19:46.171-07:00July 9th ~ July 21stLet me talk about the happenings and news in the Kickstarter comments over the past dozen days, sort of summing it up and throwing in my own two cents. (Although, truthfully, there were no comments today.)<br />
<br />
It's been 21 days since the Primer Labs' website was noticed to be down. It's been 17 days since Alex Peake stated he was sorting out the issues with the webhost. The domain, or multiple domains (primerlabs.com, codehero.org, alexpeake.com), were purchased on GoDaddy and the website itself is hosted on Linode's servers.<br />
<br />
Now, I've done some webhosting myself with a provider, though not with Linode or for CHCB. Still, it should <i>not</i> take this long to fix it. If it does, why would you still stick with such a company? What kind of customer service is that? (Ironic, no?) With the domains on GoDaddy, Mr. Peake or a comrade could easily redirect the domains to a different host without much trouble, even to a thrown-together free site.<br />
<br />
Posting updates and links in the update area on Kickstarter, maybe even redirecting the domains to that page as well, seems like the easiest thing to do. Why is that area collecting dust, anyway?<br />
<br />
Because of this, the links to download the alpha--which the backers all have a right to do--are not normally reachable. Fortunately, Peter S used the Wayback Machine to find us some links for everyone to use, although likely just in Guest Mode. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130603114855/http://primerlabs.com/download" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here</a>. Unnormally reached, so yay!<br />
<br />
There's still some wondering on how this project is going to fare. Since those 17 days ago, Mr. Peake has also fallen silent and is ignoring his backers once again. He even logged into Kickstarter (at least) 8 days ago without a peep. Word has it that Mr. Peake has already moved on to another project, one involving alternate reality gaming glasses.<br />
<br />
One thing that has some agreement amongst the backers for sure, and that's how Double Fine has done a far better job with their own Kickstarter game running out of funding before finishing. They've kept their backers up to date. They also shipped out the awards.and have apparently been transparent about their funding.<br />
<br />
From the way the comments are turning, legal action is a desired path, even if Mr. Peake miraculously meets his latest promise. Or will Mr. Peake do an about face and suddenly change everyone's minds, updating left and right while throwing up a spreadsheet of where all the money went and have something organized for getting the rewards out? Unfortunately, the sudden change in character seems unlikely at this point, though I hope to be proven wrong. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Here are all the comments, for easy access. I put dates next to the ones that seemed I should.<br />
<br />
<br />
Majugi (July 9th):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It's nice to see that press articles can still provoke a bit of a
response here. However, I do find it annoying that this project is often
compared to the Double Fine projects (as in the Develop article linked
below). As a backer of both Double Fine Kickstarters, I have to say that
the problems aren't even remotely comparable. The Double Fine Adventure
game is looking great, backers have already received upwards of ten
hours of high-quality video updates in addition to written updates
covering both the creation of content and the management of the project
(see <a href="http://doublefine.com/dfa" rel="nofollow">http://doublefine.com/dfa</a>),
and the t-shirt and poster rewards were shipped ages ago. Although
Double Fine has projected that the Double Fine Adventure will exceed the
Kickstarter funding by a fair amount, it has already procured millions
of additional no-strings-attached funds and the controversial two-part
release is primarily motivated by the need to release something soon and
not a case of the company being unable to deliver a finished game.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There's a few reasons I'm quick to defend Double Fine: (1) they've
been very transparent about how funds have been managed and about their
project management plans, (2) whether or not it would have been wiser
for Double Fine to create a smaller game, I believe that all the funding
they have received is being put to good use, and (3) they've been very
good at delivering interesting updates and behind-the-scenes content.<br />
<br />
It's often said that Kickstarter is not a pre-order system, but
Kickstarter is ALSO not a platform for receiving free money. Double Fine
Adventure, to me, is a great example of how Kickstarter SHOULD work as a
balance between providing creators freedom and flexibility on ambitious
projects and providing backers with assurances that their money is not
being wasted. The main problem with Code Hero is not that the game
hasn't shipped, but rather the fact that there's very little evidence
that the Code Hero funding had any tangible result.</blockquote>
Daniel Churcher:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Does anyone have a link to the latest PC Alpha? I saw a Mac version a
few posts down, but the PC would be great as well, now that the website
is down.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Majugi - I want to like that comment so hard. I'm also quick to
defend Double Fine, because I've poured over every update and watched
every video, and feel very informed about the state of their game. Total
opposite of this mess here. <br />
<br />
Daniel - this project's website is down, and has been for some time.
So unless someone else has a copy of the installer somewhere, you're out
of luck. I'm not sure you would even be able to log into the game since
Alex's whole operation seems totally down. As of today (or yesterday,
idk) primerlabs.com is pointing at an IIS page, which means it's finally
reconnected to SOMETHING, but who knows.</blockquote>
Peter S:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Daniel (and everyone else): Here's a link to both the PC and Mac latest versions, thanks to my friend archive.org:
<br />
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130603114855/http://primerlabs.com/download" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20130603114855/http://primerlabs.com/download</a>
<br />
It takes a moment for the downloads to start, so don't despair if they don't start downloading instantly.<br />
<br />
Like I said before, you *can* play the game by entering 'guest mode',
which doesn't seem to require any kind of validation from
primerlabs.com (or even an internet connection, I think). But if you
want to play via logging in, then you're probably out of luck.</blockquote>
Thomas:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I have to admit that this is rather dissappointing. Ultimately, it's
probably not surprising given how long the process has gone on for, but
really, I get that some of the stretch goals may not have been as doable
as envisioned, but I don't understand how the base game isn't finished.
<br />
I can't speak for anybody else, but I suspect that financing the
stretch goals out of sales would have been an acceptable compromise.
Heck, even dropping them to get something would have been preferable.<br />
<br />
I don't really have any optimism of this game being finished, but I do hope that I'm wrong about that.</blockquote>
Daniel Churcher: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
@ Peter S: Thanks a lot, I never would have thought to use archive.org!</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard (July 15th):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
So it's been over 2 weeks since the site went down. Anyone else wondering what the reason for this could possibly be?</blockquote>
Deborah Schumacher (July 15th):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The thing is, Alex logged in 2 days ago. he just doesn't want to respond to us.</blockquote>
Majugi:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The primerlabs.com page seems to just be a Microsoft affiliate link.
Presumably whoever put that link there is earning click-through revenue
on it. My first reaction was that the domain was subject to
cybersquatting, but it's odd that the domain would lapse now, since the
registration seems to be good until August 27. Someone could have
guessed the site's admin password, but you'd think the site would be
back by now if that were the case. Maybe this is part of the new funding
plan for Code Hero; the recent press will have driven a few more people
than normal to the site, so this could be a way of monetizing that. </blockquote>
Majugi:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Huh, so apparently the Tactical Corsets site went down on around June
2 (judging by the comments on the Facebook page for that project). It's
okay though, because Alex is always up for a relaunch if this post from
February 2012 (at the end of the Code Hero campaign) is anything to go
by: "!@tacticalcorsets will relaunch! I made Code Hero, a game to teach
you to make games @Kickstarter <a href="http://ow.ly/9g7L2" rel="nofollow">http://ow.ly/9g7L2</a> 2 hours left 200K=MMO" </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Speaking of which, had I known about the Tactical Corsets (or lack
thereof) I would never have backed this project. On the other hand, the
MMO stretch goal was warning enough that this wasn't going to happen.
This is more than "rather disappointing" -- this is an unbelievably
catastrophic failure of a Kickstarter that happened at the same time as
an ongoing catastrophic pre-order business failure. Looking back on
this, it's hard to believe I ever supported this project, but I like
programming games enough that I was willing to throw money at it as a
general gesture of goodwill. I'm not looking for a return on that
investment. I'm not expecting a breakthrough game. I just feel bad for
enabling this delusional project.<br />
<br />
If you're reading this Alex, I know what I'm saying here isn't
particularly constructive, but if you want constructive advice you
should read the comments from the preceding year -- most of them could
still help you dig your way out of this if you'd actually learn from
them.<br />
<br />
For anyone still interested in the project itself, the best written
information I've seen about it is this article from November: <a href="http://videogamewriters.com/sunday-sidebar-meet-alex-peake-of-primer-labs-57127" rel="nofollow">http://videogamewriters.com/sunday-sidebar-meet-alex-peake-of-primer-labs-57127</a></blockquote>
Tomimt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
While I'm willing to admit my own blue eyednes with this project, as I
backed it in my initial enthustiastic phase of KS and didn't do proper
research on it, all this is leaving a very bad taste in my mouth. After
learning about those tactical corsets I can't help but to feel that
Peake was set out to fool us from the get go.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard (July 16th):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To make matters worse, someone anonymously sent a "tip" to my email
that Alex has moved on (in some capacity) and is working with a new
alternate reality glasses/gaming startup... so that's a thing. I have no
other info to confirm, so please spare me the lectures. I haven't dug
up anything of substance but I wouldn't put it past some of you. Not
trying to start rumors here - just want to see if anyone can confirm for
us. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And Majugi - the primerlabs.com site isn't a MS affiliate link -
that's just a default landing page for the IIS service on a Windows
server. Basically just means he's got the domain connected to a server,
but it's not configured correctly to point to the actual website
content. It's not anything to do with ads or monetizing clicks. My best
guess is that he didn't pay his hosting bill, the site was deleted, and
he doesn't have a proper backup. In which case, of course, there's no
good reason for him to keep that information private, since it's
currently just making him look like a dick. If there's another,
technical reason why the site's not up, he would be well served to tell
us - I'm sure some backers could help, offer hosting or any other
assistance.</blockquote>
Majugi:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Good to know, Dustin. That page did seem a little unusual for an
affiliate link. I can buy the "no money for hosting" theory. We know
that there's no money for the project, and one way or another most other
problems come back to that (with the notable exception of the
communication issues).<br />
<br />
I wouldn't be surprised if there's another Alex Peake project on the
horizon. It seems to be in his nature to come up with project ideas and
try to launch them, which I don't begrudge him for at all. I'd be
willing to support Alex in the future (not financially, but in
principle) if he simply called an official end to all these projects
he's left hanging and dealt directly with the consequences of that. The
constant refrain of saying they're not dead when they clearly are is
what's pushing these projects into scam territory. I don't think it's an
intentional scam: it's a pyramid scheme where even the top of the
pyramid loses. Unless it really IS a scam, in which case it's been a
very effective.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I got sidetracked there. I don't think it's a scam. I do
think that Alex is being intentionally obtuse in his communications and
he seems extremely willing to ignore obligations that are inconvenient
to his plans. I suspect he also thinks that these problems will go away
if he ever gets to be "in the right place at the right time" to make a
brilliant product or, barring that, when the technological singularity
happens.<br />
<br />
Anyway, Alex, just tell us what's happening with the project. No
really, it'll be fun. Think of how much better you'll feel afterwards.
You don't need to wait for PAX every year.</blockquote>
Majugi:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Polygon's article from December is actually pretty informative. For some reason, I never saw it.<br />
<a href="http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/18/3781782/code-hero-kickstarter-interview" rel="nofollow">http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/18/3781782/code-hero-kickstarter-interview</a><br />
<br />
Update #19 was also a pretty good attempt at communication and again
reading it now, it does answer a lot of the questions I had about what's
happened to the project, so I'll give the team credit for that
(although it also promised a bunch of things that didn't materialize, so
it'd be great if you could get to those things). The one big question
that it didn't really address was what did the team actually spend time
working on and what got done? I get that the money went into developer
salaries, but what did that go into?<br />
<br />
The main reason I've been pushing to having this project stopped or
open-sourced is because I believe that it stands no chance of succeeding
with its current direction and funding status. I've been programming
for about as long as I can remember (which, admittedly, is not all that
long). And yes, if it were my own project, I would still believe I could
pull it off somehow. But rationally, if it was my project and it was in
this state, it wouldn't matter what I believed; you should have enough
empirical evidence of your progress by now to get a grounded estimate of
whether you can complete the project.<br />
<br />
Don't just think it's a matter of time to finish: do some project
management. List the tasks you still need to finish. Estimate how long
you think you'll need to get them done. Do some code sprints and figure
out how long it actually takes you and then you can scale your estimates
by your actual measures. If you try this and it seems like you'll
actually finish at some point this decade, then tell us about it! If you
try it and it looks like you won't be done before 281 474 976 712 644
AD, then still tell us about it and have a good long think.</blockquote>
Thomas:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Ultimately it is what it is, but I don't understand how they could be
out of money without even having the base system completed. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If they've truly run out of money and given up, the least they could
do is open source the code or otherwise give back to the community. I'm
only out $31 on this, but I know there's folks that have lost more than I
made last year.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Without being told otherwise, I think we have to assume that there's
two primary possibilities for why we're not being kept in the loop: 1)
There is embarrassingly little work done, the game is hardly different
than it was before the $200k came in. And 2) Alex just doesn't want to
give up the rights in any capacity, so he can keep his name on it
forever and eventually people will (hopefully not) forget that this was
such a disaster and he can put another "startup" under his belt. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Yeah, those are both super pessimistic, but I don't think anyone can
blame me for being pessimistic after everything we've been through with
this fiasco. We're about 3 weeks in now, with the website down. My big
fear through all of this is that Alex is just stringing us along at this
point, hoping the clamor will continue to get quieter and quieter so he
can completely walk away. <br />
<br />
As others have echoed, I think the best case scenario is that we get
an open source release, someone else is able to get an authentication
server up, and a few excellent "the sad story of Code Hero" articles get
written to we can close this chapter of Kickstarter/Peake history.</blockquote>
jack:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h3>
<span class="date">
</span>
</h3>
It kind of blows my mind that instead of figuring out how much it
would cost to fulfill each of the physical rewards and then setting
aside that amount from those pledges, he just went ahead and spent
everything.</blockquote>
Jonathan Jou (July 19th):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Does anyone have good references for legal counsel? I am tragically
unprepared in this regard, but I'm hopeful that between the 7,459 of us
there are a few people who will know who to turn to. It's time to figure
out what we can do, and how long it will take to put it together. I
don't think we should wait, and I certainly don't think we should stop,
even if Alex delivers on his September beta. It sounds like he wants to
move on, and in that case, what makes the most sense is a civil, if
law-enforced, resolution. There are people who want their money back,
people who want answers, and people who want what he has so far, and it
seems reasonable to try to get all three from Alex. Has anyone got the
comprehensive list of every instance Alex has gone on record and spoken
to a media outlet or one of us directly? I remember that he explicitly
admitted to having more than the funds he asked for and still deciding
not to fulfill physical rewards, that he said the money ran out paying
developers for some amount of months, and that he was trying to raise
additional funding, which means that he asked for $100,000, got
$200,000, and then needed more. The comments he's made here alone are
enough to show how many updates, verbal or deliverable, he's promised,
and I suspect that if we go through his interviews there's plenty more
evidence to make our case.</blockquote>
Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Hi Jonathan - you're correct, there's plenty of evidence against him.
The challenge is finding a legal rep who wants to take the case as a
class action deal, which to be blunt I've had trouble with. Everyone
knows how slowly the courts move, so there's still no precedent for a
class-action case against a Kickstarter like this.</blockquote>
Arthur Corliss:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Another month goes by -- but wait -- there's been change during that
month! Oh.. never mind, his site just went down. Must be the "quietly
disappear into the night" part of the scam.<br />
<br />
It's sad that this project was so disastrous that I'm extra cautious
now in choosing whether to back other projects. I'm really sensitive to
whether these campaigns are over promising...<br />
<br />
Alex: you're ruining it for everyone.</blockquote>
Thomas:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
@Dustin, ultimately, if he spent the money on development related
activities, then there's nothing more that's legally required of him. We
risked our money that he'd be able to deliver on the goods.<br />
<br />
Now, there may be some grounds for people promised physical goods or
other services, but even under the best conditions you'd be entitled to
maybe attorney's costs plus the original funds.<br />
<br />
I don't like that, but the fact is that there were always risks and
ultimately, he was hiring people with the money rather than escaping to
Cancun.<br />
<br />
BTW, IANAL, but ultimately, there's little evidence that this is
anything other than a poorly run project that's run out of money.</blockquote>
Jonathan Jou:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Thomas, that would be the most important thing, I'd imagine. Not all
of us put enough into the project to miss the funds, but there are six
people who put in at least $1012 who might have been hoping to use Code
Hero in schools by now, as well as 1217 people who were promised a USB
drive and a t-shirt. If the evidence can prove that the project was
poorly run and unlikely to make good on its backing tiers, those who
want to invest their money elsewhere will have a chance. <br />
<br />
As someone who actually wanted the project to succeed, I'm very much
interested in a post mortem and the source code, which Alex is not
obligated to offer us, but as a fellow non-lawyer I'm hopeful that the
process of getting our money back will answer any questions we have, as
well as leave the option of making the code open source in a settlement
available. I can't say I'm expecting the Code Hero engine to recoup the
losses of any of us, much less many of us, but I'd consider it a gesture
of good will and a step towards making Alex's vision a reality, rather
than the sort of fitful floundering that's going on right now.</blockquote>
Thomas (July 20th):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
@Jonathan, IANAL, but it's unlikely that anybody is going to see any
money, even if there is a lawsuit filed. And anybody that does get money
back, is likely to only be entitled to the actual cost of the item they
were promised, not the cost of the full amount they backed.<br />
<br />
It sucks, but ultimately, there was always a risk of things going
bad, and depending upon how exactly Primer Labs was set up, any awards
may very well be limited to the assets owned by Primer Labs, which is to
say just the source code. I don't see any indication about how Primer
was set up previously.</blockquote>
Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-71871667719706375432013-07-15T12:07:00.000-07:002013-07-15T12:07:54.316-07:00Things to DoHey everyone, it's just over a week since my last post and I thought I'd give an update.<br />
<br />
I've been busy, but I am working on gathering info on some past projects by Alex Peake. I am currently looking into the Tactical Corsets, what seems to be the most recent one to <i>Code Hero</i>. I am specifically looking into how communication was handled, although hitting on the entire thing in general.<br />
<br />
I am looking at the Facebook and Twitter accounts dedicated to Tactical Corsets, as well as the website (saved by <a href="http://archive.org/web/web.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the good ol' Wayback Machine</a>) and some other things I've found through some Google digging. I will provide links to everything I used when I finish.<br />
<br />
I am still trying to sort out exactly how I want to use this site. Following along with the latest <i>Code Hero</i> news is a given. Do I want to bring in interesting comments from the Kickstarter page regularly? Do I really want to provide information on Mr. Peake's past works when I just want him to finally finish this current one?<br />
<br />
So, in short, I am looking into Tactical Corsets and still not sure what I want to put up here. It's not much, but I figure as someone saying Mr. Peake should be trying to provide updates regularly, I should at least try to do it myself.Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-49552687229570395412013-07-07T21:47:00.000-07:002013-07-07T23:17:06.121-07:00July 7thOnce again, Jonathan Jou calmly gives some advice:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Alex, </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I've said this before, and I'll say it again, in hopes that you'll
actually listen. The backers who have been voicing their concerns are
the same backers who won't be appeased by more promises. I would like
answers, and I have reason to believe answers will be the first step in
salvaging your relationship with your backers. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As backers, you've given us far too many reasons to be worried about
your odds of succeeding and too few reasons to hope that you've made any
progress at all. We still don't know what your final product will be,
how you plan to finish it, or when you will even know that the end is in
sight. We're not happy with how things look, and your handling of the
situation only gives us more cause for concern. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To be clear, I'm trying to figure out the best possible outcome for
you at this point, and I'm hesitant to put faith in your fundraising
prospects or the new deadline you've promised (instead of any sort of
actual product). </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As of now, here are the problems I see:
<br />
1. You owe physical rewards to 1,217 of your backers, a great deal
of your time, or the time of your team to 76 of them, and a plane ticket
(to events whose dates have come and gone) to someone who gave you more
than enough to afford them.
<br />
2. You have never given us any sort of financial, technical, or even
factual breakdown of what's happened between now and last February. It
looks like a lot hasn't gone as planned, and your backers don't know
what went wrong, much less how you're going to fix it.
<br />
3. None of us have any idea where you're going with this, and the
most alarming part is that we can't say for sure that you do, either.
Everyone can and should pursue their dreams, but from what you've been
willing to tell us, it really seems like your project wasn't ready for
Kickstarter, which means you've taken a lot of money and don't have
enough to show for it. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In all honesty, I don't see how you can solve any of these problems.
Instead of answers, we're left with a mess of missed deadlines,
volunteer staff, incomplete software, and unsettling lack of information
to assure us that things are going to change for the better. I want to
believe that things have changed for the better, and stop worrying that
they've changed for the worse. That starts with telling us the truth. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
So again, I urge you. Please stop working on Code Hero. Just you. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Tell us what's wrong. Don't let your biggest supporters become your
worst enemies. Answers will do you far more good than any more promises.
I'm willing to forgive being overly ambitious, but at some point broken
promises start looking like fraud, and backer discontent will trigger
legal recourse. It seems unavoidable that you're going to be explaining
yourself before a judge, but I'd hate for an unfortunate situation to
turn into unbridled hostility. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We're frustrated because we gave you our hard-earned money to help
you succeed, and now we're not sure giving you our money was the right
decision for either party. I doubt anyone here would choose vengeance
over compromise, but you're not giving us anything to work with. Give us
something to work with—help us help you. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sincerely,
<br />
Jonathan</blockquote>
I don't think there's really much for me to add. Listen to your backers, Mr. Peake. They're saying what they want.Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-30221464564318596882013-07-05T22:17:00.002-07:002013-07-05T22:20:48.340-07:00July 5thThe About page has been updated. I replaced a link and also made a few edits here and there for clarity. <br />
<br />
Moving on, the Kickstarter comments received some more words of wisdom today. First, from Dustin Deckard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You ignore everyone here for months and months and months and only pop
out whenever there's enough unrest to get the press involved. And even
then, all we've got to read are renewed commitments to get another ALPHA
build out at PAX, and a plan to start selling the game to schools to
raise funding. Complaining about how rough it is to get work done when
people are criticizing you seems silly... by my rough count, well under
5% of your backers have made any public complaints. If you want people
to stop complaining, it's painfully obvious how easy it is to resolve
that problem. Stop making promises you can't keep, and don't ignore the
people who gave you the green light on this project. They're only asking
for a tiny, tiny amount of your time once a month or so.</blockquote>
The other comment of today is by Peter S:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I think Xero said it well at <a href="http://codeherocodeblue.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://codeherocodeblue.blogspot.com/</a> :
<br />
"[Quoting Alex from the Colin Campbell article,] 'It's hard to
respond until the release is done in a way that will address people's
concerns.' [Xero responds:] Actually, no it's not. It is not hard to
post weekly with, 'Hey guys, right now we're doing blahblahblah,' or a,
'Sorry guys that we said the new build would come out on May 21st, but
it's unfortunately still got some kinks in it.' You do not have to
directly respond to criticism, just respond." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If it still feels stressful to update us Alex, you could get someone
else to do it for you. EG, Shaun Hansel (who was announced as our new
community manager), anyone you know who wouldn't mind doing it; maybe
even a volunteer from us backers, if that works best for you.
<br />
Honestly, keeping us updated will I think feel like a /relief/. If
we're told what you're working on, and get a couple of our questions
answered regularly, then the current vibe of frustration coming from
actively commenting backers should substantially calm down.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Saying nothing adds fuel to the feeling that this is a scam.
Transparency fixes that. As you must have noticed, you coming on here
(and talking to Colin Campbell) helps. If we could have maybe 3-5 times
as much communication from you (or a representative from your team),
that'd be excellent. For example, one update sometime next week, saying
whatever you like, would I think be a good start.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sorry to end on a negative note, but: If you plan on going back to
radio silence until PAX, I don't think the [small minority of] backers
keeping up with the comments page, have the patience to wait through 2
months of silence. With all due respect, we've /been/ waiting, and I
think our patience to endure more months of silence is wearing thin. Be
well.</blockquote>
I won't lie, it does feel kind of cool to see a link to here over there in the comments, but I digress....<br />
<br />
I think both comments give some good advice. The poor communication and broken promises need to be remedied. There was a period of time, albeit short, when updates were posted. That was good while it lasted.<br />
<br />
According to the articles from yesterday, the updates ceased because some backers didn't think they were good enough, and that negative criticism discouraged further attempts. I don't think the correct solution was to stop those and ignore backers altogether. Instead, I feel the right way to go about it would've been to continue the best that could be done and ignore those who weren't satisfied.<br />
<br />
You can't please everyone all of the time, and haters gonna hate. But all the people upset now, they're not haters. Not all of them at least.<br />
<br />
All is not lost. It's not too late for Mr. Peake to make things right. But from the looks of the backers, it's a limited time to work with.Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632295134459505528.post-89879253090860275832013-07-04T20:52:00.004-07:002017-09-26T08:07:54.076-07:00July 4thLet us start here: <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/4/4494562/code-hero-developer-claims-troubled-project-still-alive-despite-new" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Code Hero developer claims troubled project still alive, despite new woes</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We were doing weekly updates," said Peakes. "I know that complaining
about people criticizing us sounds dumb but honestly, it was
discouraging to hear from [critics] who just didn't think the updates
were good enough and were dissatisfied. It is hard to work on something
while you are being criticized about it. Game development is hard work. I
know it would be better to take it on the chin and respond to every
criticism but it can be psychologically taxing to do so."</blockquote>
Alex Peake, it does sound dumb. Many of your backers just want to hear from you.<br />
<br />
Time and time again, you promise to give info. You promise to keep your backers in the loop. You don't.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The website is down temporarily and will be back up soon," he told
Polygon. "A release is close to done. It's just been a little
overwhelming with people being so negative. It's hard to respond until
the release is done in a way that will address people's concerns."</blockquote>
Actually, no it's not. It is not hard to post weekly with, "Hey guys, right now we're doing blahblahblah," or a, "Sorry guys that we said the new build would come out on May 21st, but it's unfortunately still got some kinks in it." You do not have to directly respond to criticism, just respond.<br />
<br />
By Alex Peake today on Kickstarter:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I apologize for the lack of communication lately. We're working to get
the site back online as soon as possible and a new alpha release with
it. We're also securing additional developers and funding to fulfill
shirt rewards and accelerate development. The first beta will be
released September 1st and we'll make a full announcement and Q&A on
the site when we get it back online. </blockquote>
<br />
As much as I want to believe it, it's hard to, because I have seen this before and I have seen you not follow through. Past experience tells me history will once again repeat itself.<br />
<br />
Why do your backers have to completely lose faith in you before you respond, and then not only do you not respond to them directly, but to someone else?<br />
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Mr. Peake, this website was made for you, since it takes other websites getting involved to get any real response out of you. Going totally mute on your backers who you have failed to meet basic Kickstarter requirements with is not good. Your decision of silence is speaking loudly that you don't care enough about them, that talking to them isn't worth the effort. No? Prove me wrong. Please. I'm hoping you will.Xerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18206744688218749566noreply@blogger.com3