I'm new to this forum, but an old StarCon 2 fan. I've gone by PkunkFury on NeoGaf for well over 15 years, and use the same name on Playstation Network. I switched usernames on other services about 5 years ago after getting sick of explaining what it meant to friends. Just figured I should throw out some "cred" so @frogboy doesn't accuse me of being a PR firm plant.

I had long given up on getting a new Star Control game. I signed the petition ages ago, nothing came of it. Downloaded and enjoyed UQM, recommended it to a few friends who were new to the series, play it every now and then when I have time to kill. But I always thought Star Control was gone, and based on StarCon 3 and that terrible novel (Interbellum?) I figured, maybe it was for the best.

Needless to say, I was shocked when I wandered by Star Control Origins at PAX this year. I haven't been following any of the hubbub online. I had no idea this was being made. But I remembered that petition. And I saw the art, which looks so perfectly Star Control (unlike Star Con 3). I heard some of the music. I was overjoyed

But I, like every Star Control 2 fan, suffered through Star Control 3 (it wasn't thaaaaaat bad, it just wasn't what is should have been). Fool me once, shame on you... So I scrutinized the demo a bit. I didn't recognize any of the alien species (bad sign). So I asked the attendant if the original creators were involved, he didn't know. Expectations tempered. I got online that night, and what do I find but a shitstorm even worse than the one that was kicked up around Star Con 3. Let's just say I can't believe this is happening, again, and that a so called "fan" precipitated it

Needless to say I have not bought Star Control Origins, and will not purchase it until the lawsuit is settled and P&F are working on their sequel unhindered. I am someone Stardock would've have liked to have sold Origins to. Someone who made Star Control Super Melee popular among a handful of friends in the 90s, and someone who has since encouraged said friends to download the various attempts at online Super Melees as new iterations come out. Needless to say I have contacted said friends and warned them not to purchase this game, explaining that it is another Star Control 3. I am also done purchasing Stardock games until this resolved. And remember, I am someone who bought and played Star Con 3 despite knowing that Accolade worked around P&F. I was still willing to support the series and give the new team a chance since it seemed the rights were being handled appropriately. I gave the game a fair shake, as I would have Origins. I even like that the Percursors were Ortoggs! (gasp)

To @Frogboy, I have since read most of your posts, your one-sided FAQ, your shoddy, incomplete defenses of your actions (in a franchise where the fans are already familiar with this type of behavior and are conditioned to watch for it, no less. Why did you think this would work??). I'm certainly appalled by your behavior, both as a CEO and as a "fan". Your actions are consistently underhanded and your comments from the Discord chats come as no surprise. What's worse, is now I see you intend to roll out all SC2 species in your new games, but make them "different" in a different continuity. This is after you complained that P&F were causing "confusion" with the series. You are taking a bad situation and making it into an unmitigated mess. Inviting comparisons to the best game ever made by re-implementing everything with your own take is bound to fail. The comparisons invite themselves, and you put yourself in a worse position than Johnson did when he tried to reinvent Luke Skywalker. Allow me to leave you with the words of a very smart man:

"Don't go off and say, 'I have my own artistic vision.' Okay, good -- so call it something else. Don't ride the coattails of the people who came before you to launch your own artistic vision."

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20998

I also see that you are now threatening UQM, and attempting to use them as a pawn in your fight with P&F, when UQM has existed to keep this wonderfuld game alive for all of us for the past 15 years on P&Fs goodwill. It's mind numbing

I would like to add my voice to the many, many others who have claimed they happily would've bought both Origins and GOTP if this nonsense hadn't escalated. Heck, I think the idea for a prequel to SC2 is inspired. There's certainly room to play through the first contact story as an adventure game. You continue to pop up here and in other forums, yet I've never seen you provide a satisfying reason why you didn't amend or accept the very reasonable settlement P&F proposed, which seemed to give both parties the rights to create exactly what they claimed they wanted to create. Instead you went nuclear.

I don't think anyone who knows of Star Control 2 took P&F's GOTP announcement to mean Origins was invalid. We all know that the "real" sequel to Star Control 2 language was referring to the title we have all deemed a "fake" sequel to Star Control 2 at this point, Star Con 3. From what I'm seeing, you even promoted GOTP as the "true sequel to Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters (i.e. Star Control III is not canon for that universe)." then went back and changed your posts so you could play victim. Once again, you are dishonest and don't deserve my money. I just don't understand why you would do it. You wanted that game to exist just as much as the rest of us, and you still could've made your own artistic vision a reality without riding on anyone's coat tails. You know damn well that this is a niche but thirsty market which would've happily supported both products

I guess you guys can ban me or whatever if this was too harsh. Just understand Star Control 2 was a big part of my life, it really hurt thinking a new game was coming and then seeing the mess it is leaving in its wake. I needed to vent, thanks for the time