Stardock Sues Ex-Employee for $1M

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Let me get this straight...a single employee that allegedly deleted marketing data turned your game into a pile o' crap, riddled with bugs and broken AI? Umm, okay. :rolleyes:

Stardock says in its filing that the loss of the materials led to a detraction from programming, debugging, and other responsibilities, and Elemental was subsequently unsuccessful in the marketplace, "earning a fraction of its anticipated profits and causing [Stardock] damages of over $1,000,000".
 
Yeah, because they had no clue people like software to actually work without that deleted data to go on......
 
That is, if they manage to serve her.

According to PACER, the lawsuit has not yet been served and it's been weeks.
 
I didn't know Stardock was still relevant. I remember using their WindowBlinds program back on Windows 98, that's all I ever knew they did.
 
I didn't know Stardock was still relevant. I remember using their WindowBlinds program back on Windows 98, that's all I ever knew they did.

I think Stardock is banking on their coming back into relevancy when users go to them for Metro replacements.
 
Stardock games are actually pretty good. I had a lot of fun with Demigod when it launched. Also I believe Sins of a Solar Empire was one of theirs as well.
 
So some marketing person is responsible for the fail they produced?

Scapegoat much?

I did use Stardock's start button thingy on my Windows8 preview.......works really nicely.:D
 
Gotta say though the whole "Our game sucked because we worried about the marketing data rather than making it not suck" is an original excuse :D
 
In addition to this, Stardock claims that Miseta did not return the company laptop she had been using, and had in fact been running side businesses during work hours using the company laptop.

Wow! :eek: Sounds like a real winner of an employee.
 
Doesn't excuse stealing tuff I she did, but marketing had zero to do with the shitstain that game was
 
I didn't know Stardock was still relevant. I remember using their WindowBlinds program back on Windows 98, that's all I ever knew they did.

This is the best press stardock has ever received.
 
I thought everyone loved Stardock. What happened?

Never liked them myself though, I can't get into any of their game and Elemental looked like a disaster.
 
They make a couple of useful programs IMO: Fences being one and the windows 8 "fix" another.

This is one of the few companies that has a realistic view for DRM in games IIRC.

Lost data (ie analytics <= this word bothers me...) could have impacted the end game... but not that much. I do wonder why the employee would delete data, that is incredibly stupid and opened up a can of worms and possible litigation for a stupid revenge move. Most contracts in software companies (and all?) have the statement any work you do on the clock (or in the case of my company off the clock) is subject to company property. I have often wondered if bitcoin farming would fall under this wording.

X
 
I didn't know Stardock was still relevant. I remember using their WindowBlinds program back on Windows 98, that's all I ever knew they did.

They also did the Galactic Civilizations series. I loved Gal Civ 2, that was really well made.
 
They make a couple of useful programs IMO: Fences being one and the windows 8 "fix" another.

This is one of the few companies that has a realistic view for DRM in games IIRC.

Lost data (ie analytics <= this word bothers me...) could have impacted the end game... but not that much. I do wonder why the employee would delete data, that is incredibly stupid and opened up a can of worms and possible litigation for a stupid revenge move. Most contracts in software companies (and all?) have the statement any work you do on the clock (or in the case of my company off the clock) is subject to company property. I have often wondered if bitcoin farming would fall under this wording.

X

Unless the data literally read "GAME HAS BUGS! THIS IS HOW YOU FIX THEM!!!", I can't imagine that data being the sole reason the game didn't sell.

Which sucks, because the game looked like a cross between Civilization and a Heroes of Might and Magic like game.
 
I've used a lot of Stardock software in the name of customization and this is over several machines. The software is still janky in my opinion as in, buggy and glitchy. I have never been able to use any of it without something not working right, looking right or taking a visible performance hit.

I gave up on them. Of course if there is a Start menu replacement overlay for Windows 8 that cuts out metro then it would be something I would be willing to try, BUT, I am sure with Windows 8 being such a cluster-phuk with the whole start button / metro ui disaster, I am sure other companies would come out with solutions as well.
 
Unless the data literally read "GAME HAS BUGS! THIS IS HOW YOU FIX THEM!!!", I can't imagine that data being the sole reason the game didn't sell.

Which sucks, because the game looked like a cross between Civilization and a Heroes of Might and Magic like game.

It was originally a Master of Magic remake then diverted off because of disagreements or something. I was looking forward to it soooooo much but..... alas.. it failed.
 
Huh, strange. Stardock games have typically been fun and DRM free. They try new things, and not many game companies are willing to do that these days...

Elemental was kind of like one of M. Night Shyamalan's later movies :p Let's hope the company doesn't share the same fate as him!
 
So some marketing person is responsible for the fail they produced?

Scapegoat much?

I did use Stardock's start button thingy on my Windows8 preview.......works really nicely.:D

It is almost a 100% certainty that the lawyers are responsible for the bit about Elemental failing due to the defendant's actions. Stardock probably just wanted to sue for damages due to lost files but the lawyers will make everything melodramatic and try to claim as much damages as possible.

The chances of getting $1 million in damages are almost non-existent. The first thing any competent attorney is going to do is file a motion under FRCP 12(b)(6) to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted (the term "claim" in federal court is like voodoo, it doesn't mean no case but rather it's either not a federal issue or some technicality was present in the complaint).
 
GamePro felt that the game's complexity and lack of focus may be off-putting, but fans of the 4X genre would find a fun game underneath the bugs and lack of tutorials.

IGN called the game "strangely engaging" despite its instability and inaccessibility issues, concluding that Elemental was "a game with some great ideas that just haven't been implemented as well as they could be."[/url]

That, my friends, is how you polish a turd..nay...chrome a turd.

This reminds of a very (in)famous game from the 90's called BattleCruiser 3000AD. It was supposed to revolutionize the game industry and ended up being a huge flop for what sounds to be the same reasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlecruiser_3000AD
 
GamePro felt that the game's complexity and lack of focus may be off-putting, but fans of the 4X genre would find a fun game underneath the bugs and lack of tutorials.

IGN called the game "strangely engaging" despite its instability and inaccessibility issues, concluding that Elemental was "a game with some great ideas that just haven't been implemented as well as they could be."[/url]

That, my friends, is how you polish a turd..nay...chrome a turd.

This reminds of a very (in)famous game from the 90's called BattleCruiser 3000AD. It was supposed to revolutionize the game industry and ended up being a huge flop for what sounds to be the same reasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlecruiser_3000AD

I wouldn't even compare those two games, honestly. Battlecruiser had the same problems as Elemental, but also had problems with giving you any kind of direction to what you're doing and had horrible controls, physics, and other issues.

Yes, I own a copy of Battlecruiser 3000 AD.
 
Don't say that stuff about Battlecruiser in here! It'll draw the ire of Derek Smart, the game's developer. He'll flame the entire forum until someone bans his crazy self from making insane, irate posts. I even heard he kicks kittens out of spite. :eek:
 
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