Tag: Greenlight

Greenlight Fraudsters: MechDefender Scams Greenlight Bundle


MechDefender is a recently released game by developer Elite Games Ltd, Vadim Starygin, and one that currently has zero concurrent players, a factor that probably won’t change much so long as Elite Games refuses to give keys to the customers who purchased them. You see, MechDefender was partnered with the OtakuMaker Greenlight Bundle, a Steam bundle where players are given the ability to buy games before they are greenlit on Steam at a major discount in return for a key once the game is approved and on the store (this is not a Valve-sanctioned bundle).

Except that while MechDefender was successfully Greenlit, the developer has no intention of actually giving players keys. Why? Despite no doubt knowing how much money he’d be making from each sale, the developer decided after already taking part that it just wasn’t enough.

So I`m about to close this topic. I`ll give out a few keys to play&test in next topic after patch.
Here is bottom line of this disccusion:
1) At this moment I do not have money from “this bundle”.
2) If you wanna get your four cents back – ask for refund at place where you “spend” your cents.

So the developer sold copies of his game cheap in order to get it approved through Steam Greenlight, and then reneged and has decided that the price is too cheap and the buyers won’t be getting their copies. Normally MMO Fallout takes a position of presuming incompetence over malice, but this practice is an outright scam, one that were it to be pursued in a western court would most definitely result in Elite Games on the losing end.

But Elite Games will happily provide a refund, which it has valued at 4 cents.

And, no, I didnt get any ‘real money’. I would love to give it back. It is around 4 cents per copy. At this point we trying to work out a solution. Any suggestion is welcome.

The developer goes on in the linked thread to begin awkwardly going through the play histories of people criticizing his business decision, questioning their play styles and making conclusions to not give them keys based off of perceived motivations which, as far as consumer law goes, is none of his business.

Alright, alright, he’ll send out the keys. But only to people who have been nice…

Since MechDefender is moving towards release candidate.
Lets try first round of keys? To nice ppl – who wasnt calling me names or put in his??????list.

But you people aren’t real customers in his eyes…

“Just wanna add – you are not my customer. I dont consider you a customer – even if you spend four cents and demanding a gift a 5$ value…”

“…I meant not you personaly – but all users who want copy for four cents. They are not customers – including or excluding you – depens on your deeds. I did lost count and stuff.”

And don’t think you scumbag customers thinking you’re entitled to a product just because it was sold to you are going to get this deal again in the future, because you won’t.

And for other games – I can only do this with MechDefender. You have to meet me at half-way.
If you dont like this plan, and insist on more games for four cents – that will not happen. Ask for refund.

A quick glance at the forums shows a familiar field of banned accounts that has become so common with developers engaged in shady practices. While Elite Games has sworn off of Otaku bundles going forward, perhaps it is best for consumers to keep in mind exactly how Starygin feels about his customers, or whatever he calls them because they aren’t customers in his eyes.

Elite Games was founded by Russian developer Vadim Starygin and his wife Tatiana Budarina. The company operates out of Kaliningrad and has been releasing titles for nearly ten years.

KingsIsle Wants Help Getting On Steam


KingsIsle, makers of popular MMOs including Wizard 101 and Pirate 101, have a new game coming out: EverClicker. If you can’t tell by the title, it is a clicker game. Effectively, KingsIsle wants to learn about the process of submitting and having a game put up on Steam, and EverClicker happens to be the guinea pig that will be going through said trial.

It’s easier to start our journey onto Steam with a game that isn’t hugely complicated with a lot of moving parts. Starting with EverClicker on Steam allows us to learn the process. If successful, we hope to be able to offer more of our games on Steam and other distribution outlets in the future, which could include games such as Wizard101 and Pirate101.

If you’d like to see more of KingsIsle’s games on Steam, head on over to the EverClicker page and check it out.

Greenlight Fraudsters: Asset-Flip Developer Dentola Studios Files Bogus Copyright Claim


Fraudster:
2a:  a person who is not what he or she pretends to be :impostor;

Dentola Studios is a shady indie developer peddling premade Unity store projects and trying to sell them via Steam Greenlight. How do I know this for a fact? Because the photo above and the photo below are both the exact same thing, however they come from two sources: The first, said shady developer’s Steam Greenlight page. The second, the Unity asset store it was purchased from for $20 USD. We have officially hit a low point.

But let’s continue, because Dentola Studios, whose titles are now under the name Jaffstook, a guy so trustworthy that he actually has a VAC ban on his account, has been religiously deleting any comments showing where you can buy said asset packs for a mere $20. First is Escape From The Tribe, better known as Archer Hero Must Die. There is Castle Defense, or Monster Defense. There’s Endorforce, I could honestly go on all day, or more accurately however long it would take to list all six games.

In response to criticism from Youtubers like SidAlpha, Dentola Studios has begun filing bogus copyright claims. This studio is claiming copyright on a game that they didn’t make, just purchased a license for, compiled, and threw on Greenlight to hopefully sell. Dentola has no more rightful ownership of their games than a Craigslist seller claiming copyright on the Tonka Truck name.

One statement that I will say for the record is that while they may be blatantly shady folks with no discernable programming talent and an evidently bankrupt moral code, there is no evidence of Dentola doing anything illegal. Like it or not, the premade packs on the Unity Store are perfectly fine with someone buying the product and selling it as is.

Now filing a bogus DMCA takedown is potentially illegal, because you do so under the penalty of perjury which can result in fines and even jail time should action be taken against the aggressor (pro tip: In cases like this it usually never is). For Dentola Studios, no doubt oblivious to the can of worms that they have just opened, this assuredly means nothing less than a reputation tattered and burning, their actions stamped into the internet’s history forever, and a gaggle of Greenlight watchdogs ready to follow them and document their deeds for the rest of their lives.

I’ll leave you with these words: If you want to know what happens when you act like this, take a look at James Romine’s desperate attempts to rebuild his shattered reputation after the Digital Homicide saga. Go to a man whose name is now synonymous with internet villains and ask him if it was all worth it. Also all editorial complaints are to be directed to contact[at]mmofallout[dot]com.

Valve Kills Steam Greenlight, Implementing Steam Direct


Steam Greenlight, has been both applauded and derided, as a method for small developers to find a platform to make money and as an easily gamed portal through which Steam has turned into a dumping ground for Unity asset flips and actual money laundering schemes. On one hand, the change seems to be mostly cosmetic, a new name attached to an old machine. On the other hand, Valve seems intent on stemming the virtual avalanche of low quality titles, and has announced a per-title application fee for Steam Direct.

While we have invested heavily in our content pipeline and personalized store, we’re still debating the publishing fee for Steam Direct. We talked to several developers and studios about an appropriate fee, and they gave us a range of responses from as low as $100 to as high as $5,000. There are pros and cons at either end of the spectrum, so we’d like to gather more feedback before settling on a number.

Currently Steam Greenlight asks for a $100 one-time fee, which is donated to charity, in order for developers to show their determination. As it turned out, $100 wasn’t much to deter developers like Digital Homicide from flooding the platform with dozens upon dozens of low quality shovelware titles. Valve has stated hopes that Steam Greenlight would one day have no curation on their part.

More information on Steam Direct as it is revealed.

(Source: Steam)

DigiHom Update: Some Clarification


To our readers,

Last week, MMO Fallout published a piece titled “DigiHom Update: Tons of Games Disappear From Greenlight.” Since its publishing, we have received word from Digital Homicide over several inaccurate statements in the article. According to these statements, the games we noted that were removed from Greenlight were voluntarily removed and not by Valve as we originally surmised. The issue of Digital Homicide’s games being tagged incompatible was revealed to be due to a bug in the Steam API. The games themselves were indeed listed as incompatible on June 3rd, a decision that was reversed on June 6th.

Finally, we’d like to clarify that the lawsuit against James Stanton (Jim Sterling) was filed by James Romine himself, and does not involve Digital Homicide as an organization.

As a publication that strives for accuracy in our coverage, MMO Fallout strongly apologizes for the errors. This is meant to cover all instances where the above statements were made.

Thank you for your patience, and now back to your regularly scheduled programming,
Connor
MMO Fallout

DigiHom Update: Tons of Games Disappear From Greenlight


ss_5884a5bc03c163727ca5cb2e5953b68191546d58.1920x1080

[Update: Several errors have been fixed or clarified in bold below. MMO Fallout apologizes for the inconvenience]

Digital Homicide’s James Romine may be throwing a temper tantrum right now, and for good reason: Close to two dozen of his games have been removed from Steam.

We’ve been covering Digital Homicide filling its Greenlight queue up with spam filler ever since the developer uploaded dozens of titles back in June, a majority of them simple Space Invaders games and clones of one another. Last month I noted that Valve’s Greenlight team seems to be unsure as to whether or not DigiHom’s games qualify for Steam, with the titles being tagged incompatible on and off on a nearly daily basis. James Romine has commented that this is actually due to modifications made to Steam’s API resulting in numerous games being falsely tagged and untagged.

It appears we have our answer. Digital Homicide’s list of Greenlight items now stands at 27 from its high at 50. Of the 27 that remain, four have been greenlit and already released. All of Digital Homicide’s games (19 at the time of this publishing) carry a negative, “mostly negative,” or “very negative,” approval rating.

For continuing updates on the lawsuit against James Stanton (Jim Sterling), stay tuned.

  • 1 Ball 2 Win
  • Assault on Xarturz
  • Barnacle Explorer Sub: Octo Helper
  • Barnacle Explorer Sub: Shark Rescue
  • Daisy Sweet Time Cupcake Mania
  • Daisy Sweet Time Cupcake Mania 2
  • Daisy Sweet Time Cupcake Mania 3
  • Mike the Astronaut: Assault on Thalasian 5
  • Mike the Astronaut: Battle on Arturian Twelve
  • Mike the Astronaut: Zentaru Armada
  • Pete’s Pumpkin Apocalypse
  • Pete’s Pumpkin Apocalypse 2
  • Sarah to the Rescue 2
  • Sarah to the Rescue 3
  • Sarah to the Rescue 4
  • Sarah to the Rescue 5
  • Sinister Spiders 2: Garden Vermin
  • Sinister Spiders 3: Beetle Barrage
  • Star Scream on Orion

Heroes & Generals Boasts 8 Million Players


Luchs_Factory_1920px

Heroes & Generals developer Reto-Moto is celebrating eight million registered players today as the flagship WW2 MMO celebrates its second anniversary. Initially launched in 2014, Heroes & Generals has been updated countless times in its tenure of early access.

“Two years ago we were one of the first 10 games to be greenlit by the community on Steam – that was an important event for the company and the game,” says Martin Pollas. “Being on Steam has been instrumental in growing the player base and strengthening our very engaged community. We look forward to keep on improving the game and bringing more content to players.”

Over the past year, the game has been updated with new weapons, vehicles, tanks, uniforms, and more. In that time, Reto-Moto has implemented more than twelve thousand tweaks and squashed more than three thousand bugs.

(Source: Reto-Moto Press Release)

Gems In The Greenlight Gutter: July 21st Edition


download (2)

I’ve been meaning to start this column for quite a while now, and finally got around to figuring out what I wanted to call it. Gems in the Greenlight Gutter is a series of pieces I have planned looking at games that pop up in the Steam Greenlight list, with a twist.

Rather than looking at the bad games, as has become easy content fodder from various websites (including my own), I’m going to focus on those that showed promise. This is specifically dedicated to games that have been removed from Greenlight, as in pulled by the developer or refused approval by Valve.

Before anyone asks, there are no links to these games because they have been removed from Greenlight. Their pages no longer exist.

1. Recession

I like Recession because the concept of the game is ridiculously unbelievable. The idea of the game is simple, it appears to be a cross between Evolve and Payday 2 where four players take on the role of robbers going around doing robber things while one player plays the heavily armed cop who gets sent out to stop them because the cops can only afford to send out one guy at a time.

Recession is an amazing concept and a reminder that the Unity engine is capable of more than just releasing asset flips. This is one of those games that I really hope sees its way to completion and finds its way back on Steam.

2. Stellar

Stellar could be the modern day reboot of Asteroids, bringing very simple gameplay to a more fast paced modern audience. The fact that you seemingly can’t slow down or stop your craft forces the player to constantly be thinking on their toes.

Forget Steam Greenlight, the developers of Stellar should be trying to put this on actual arcade machines to stick in bars.

3. Running Clones

It is far too easy to dismiss Running Clones as a Thomas Was Alone clone based on the similar graphical style, but after watching the trailer I have to say this looks like a very inventive game. The whole concept revolves around freezing clones of your character to use as stepping stones in completing puzzles. It is a pretty unique idea and, once again, the minimalist design works perfectly in context.

4. ReBound

ReBound is a minimalist puzzle game where the player places arrows to guide his piece and collect all of the things on each level. Judging by the levels shown in the trailer, the game gets pretty complicated and requires a lot of forethought and presumably trial and error in order to complete.

5. Staccato

I’d like to use Staccato as an example for the Digital Homicides of the world, just to show you the difference between uninspired Unity asset flips and a game that are made with creativity. Staccato is proof that critics have no issue with games using Unity assets, they are there for programmers who can’t hire artists.

But instead of making some lazy hack and slash, Staccato is a rhythm game that allows the player to insert their own music. An Audiosurf clone, yes, but one that has a unique feel to it. If this game popped up on Steam for $5, I’d buy it hands down.

6. Pongara

Want to know the easiest way into any gamer’s heart? Nostalgia. Putting a new twist on an old concept is the new form of porting Doom to a calculator, and people (especially gamers) suck up nostalgia like it’s going out of style.

But to be completely serious, Pongara looks like an awesome concept. Seemingly not content with just creating Pong and adding a few gimmicks to it, the creator has gone as far as throwing all kinds of new game modes around what is a very simple premise.

[Video] The Rebel Is A Reminder of Greenlight’s Uselessness


Since we discussed The Rebel’s developer having a meltdown on Steam, I decided to take a look at the game and see just how it attained a 75% positive rating (at the time). Strap in and pull your seat belts tight, this is going to be a bumpy ride.

The developer is offering the rights to this game for $500 if anyone is interested.

[Column] Valve’s Constantly Changing Position On DigiHom


download (1)

[Update: we have received notice from Digital Homicide that the issue below is due to an error in the Steam API, and not part of any deliberate decision by Valve. We apologize for the error.]

The game above is Daisy’s Sweet Time Cupcake Mania, one of numerous clone games up on Greenlight by esteemed developer Digital Homicide. This title, along with nearly a dozen others, were submitted on June 2nd to Greenlight only to be marked as incompatible on June 3rd.

Very quickly after, someone at Valve marked the game as compatible on June 6th. Evidently, the Valve employee who allowed the title is at odds with another, because the game was marked as incompatible again on the 9th, only to be marked compatible again the same day, to be marked and then unmarked again on the exact same day. The same thing happened on the 10th, the 15th, the 21st, the 27th, and again today on the 5th of July this cupcake game has been marked incompatible with Greenlight.

And, as always happens to be the case, the story gets stranger. This back and forth marking/demarking is present on virtually every single one of Digital Homicide’s current Greenlight games. In fact, in the time it has taken me to write this, someone at Valve has already re-marked the games as compatible.

Who are these two employees, locked in an endless struggle over the fate of Digital Homicide’s Greenlight titles? Are there people arguing over the Valve office coffee machine about the artistic merits of Not In My Crapper?

Just take a gander at the history of Daisy’s Sweet Time: Cupcake Mania and recognize that this is pretty standard for DigiHom’s games. I looked through a massive amount of other, random titles on Greenlight and the only other games with this history of back and forth have been removed.

cakemania