Farewell TSL

[Say]

It's very sad for me to announce I am stepping down from my Directive role in the TSL development team. As I made final updates in DA and Myspace I felt really nostalgic and reluctant to even write this at all. But here it is.

It's been a while since I've been part of this team, and I'm terribly sorry to inform you that the reasons I'm stepping down is because Development and PR do not come to an agreement anymore. They've got their own future ideas and I've the community at heart and we do not seem to be capable of working together anymore. Therefore, being the minority I need to step down and allow them to continue as they all agree to.

Due to respect to the project I cannot disclose specific details, but I will tell you that the game production is still going on and I truly hope you will be rewarded for your support and love to this project.

Thank you for everything, you are indeed the one thing I will miss of this project.


Saydmell Salazar

[Delling]

Oh no! Say come back!  You'll be around the forum, right?

[Say]

I doubt so.

I will *try* to give one final update to DA because I had some files stored for updates, so I might as well publish those. Gabriel Mancini is a wonderful artists and that's his last collaboration with PR. I really appreciate he took a stand and helped PR when Development neglected for so long.

I already put some files up there btw, you should go check it out
http://thesilverlining.deviantart.com/



But I won't promise otherwise. I will be around just for a couple of days (because of this thread and some final updates) but then I'll be gone.

[Elessar]

It's very sad for me to announce I am stepping down from my Directive role in the TSL development team.

Oh no! Say come back!  You'll be around the forum, right?

I doubt so.

This is terrible! Couldn't you stick around the forums? We're all going to miss you extremely if you don't stay.

[PirateKingChris]

Terrible news  Sorry to see you go and wish I could have gotten to know you better.

[GunHoMac]

"Development and PR differences"

Translation: I wasn't doing my job, so they let me go.  Now, I don't want to be the cynical d*****, but if Say's job was PR...what exactly did she do recently?

The goal of PR is to inform fans about what is going on, and to PROMOTE to the PUBLIC awareness, or at the very least, to the community that is already has a vested interest in the game.

If she's been doing that, and I'm in the minority about not knowing it, then I'm truly sorry.  As of right now though, I have no idea what she was doing for the past several years.  PR is by definition a public position, but the only thing public has been this website and it's members.

The development team has an obligation to keep their work hidden, otherwise it would ruin the game experience it is being built to provide.  The PR department is suppose to be the messenger between development and us, the fans.  The stale and stagnant environment many of us have felt is directly due to this lack of PR involvement.

I appreciate any work you have done for TSL, but as a PR entity...you failed.  Life goes on, and people get fired or quit.  Hopefully, whomever takes over (if anyone) can do a better job.

[Petra Rocks]

 Whatever your gripes about the environment on the forum, or the PR job done for the game, an area I confess myself wholly ignorant of, I have to condemn your tirade at this time and place as more than a little rude.  A long standing member of the forum and friend to many regulars is leaving for good, this is not the time or place to indulge your habit of attacking the team. I don't want to mar this thread farther, so PM if you want to reply.

 Goodbye Say. I wish we could have talked more, our meeting was too brief. But such is fate. Good luck and fare well wherever you fare.

[Cez]

I find your comments extremely rude, GunHoMac.

Say brought life to this website, fed you guys more than any fan out there can even ask for, made magic out of nothing because she basically had nothing to work with, and on top of that, she's tied up because of Legal stuff from Vivendi.

It is extremely rude to attack her like that when all she's ever done is give you guys her full soul and heart to this project. She doesn't deserve your words, nor your ignorance.

She gave you even when I've stopped giving her material to give you. She got artists to be resourful and help her even when she knows she was distrupting production, which I asked her several times not do. She's worked so hard for this and this team has been blessed with her presence among us, with her true dedication, with her love for the project, and I'm the proudest guy in the world when I say I'm honored to have had the chance to work with her.

I respected her decision to go. It was all in good understanding. One of the reasons she had to leave is because people like you didn't understand her position, and how she had to be a punching guy for this whole team and how, unfortunetaly, some people inside the team never saw directly and didn't quite understand her frustration.

It's our fault to have tried to reach the stars. It's our fault to have tried to do something so blown out of proportions and that we weren't able to deliver. It is our fault we've missed deadlines.

Say didn't fail. She achieved the impossible. Because of her work, Vivendi gave us a chance, because of her, you have so much information from the project, because of her, you have such a close relation to the project, one that you decided to abuse.

And because of people like you, I'm truly considering just shutting these forums down, out of respect for the team, and especially, out of respect for Say, the girl who gave a face and a star to this project.

You are the one that failed, buddy.

Cesar Bittar

[koko_99_2001]

Say, you did an incredible work for the team. I hate that you have to go. I wish there was some way you could stick around. While even I don't know details, I trust your judgment. Maybe, one day, you will feel as if things have straightened out and you can return to the team.

Cesar, I hate it when people bash the project, because I know every team member's heart and soul is in it. I just hope you will find it in your heart to keep the forums up for the dedicated TSL fans. We love you guys to death. And I know many of us would do whatever we could to help out the team. Trust me, if I had the knowledge, I would love to do more than be a Global Mod. But, I feel this is a position for me where I can support the team with my limited talent and experiences.

To the team, I thank you. No one will ever understand or know how much you have sacrificed for us.

[Petra Rocks]

Whoa now Mr Bittar. I understand your anger, but shutting down the forums because a group of people I recall being about 3 or 4 strong is abusing the team sounds like a bit of an overreaction. There are a dozen or more people here who care about the team and game and would be hurt, even offended if you shut down their beloved forum. I might consider warning\banning people who become personal or rude in their attacks on the team, I have actually wondered why you never did that. The kind of behavior Mac just showed would never be tolerated on most of the other forums I visit.

 That said, depriving others of this place because of a few peoples misdeeds would be an error. A lot of people like this place. And while your desire to commemorate the departure of a valued team member is understandable and laudable, is destroying her project really a good way to do honor her memory? I don't think so. Think through all the implications carefully before committing to such an act.

[Rick_Florez]

I'm not going to pretend that me and Say are the best of friends.  We have had our fare share of disagreements, some even continuing to this day.  Despite those differences however, I cannot help but be angered by the outight disrespect you have shown Say here and now.

If there is one thing I can say about her is that she has left a tremendous legacy.  She has been fully dedicated to this project despite the fact that she never really was a King's Quest fan.  She's given this project her full attention and love.  She's excelled at her position more than any of could have imagined and her departure will leave quite a big hole to fill, if we even can.

If she is leaving its her choice,  She feels its time to move on and we should all be thanking her for the time she already gave to us.  She's laid most of the groundwork for the PR of TSL already and any response we get when this game in the future will be thanks to what she's already set in motion.

So thank you Say for all you've done.  Despite our differences you have my respect when it comes to the way you've handle the PR for this project.

If this is indeed your final decision then best of luck.

Rich
Art Director
Silver Lining Development Team

[tessspoon]

TSL without you?   Hardly seems possible.
 
Thanks so very much for working at such a tough job for so long. I admire you, and the whole team, for working so hard and putting forth so much time and energy into the game, not for money or because you had too, but because you wanted to. TSL and the people associated with it, both the fans and the team, have come to mean much to me, and I only hope that one day I can have the good fortune to work with people like yourself and the team.

Good Luck, Say. You'll be very much missed.

[KatieHal]

I don't come here often at all anymore, but I also have to reply and affirm that Say is most certainly NOT leaving because she didn't do her job. Not even remotely. She has done an incredible amount of work for this team and this community, and no one should think or accuse of her anything else.

[Say]

Translation: I wasn't doing my job, so they let me go.  Now, I don't want to be the cynical d*****, but if Say's job was PR...what exactly did she do recently?

Two things I think you failed to read:

1.- I quit, I wasn't let go.

2.- I cannot possibly update when development holds me back. I can't tell you what I'm not allowed to or hasn't happened yet.

This is such difficult thought to process for you, obviously.


I couldn't do a damn update in 2007 because everyone in development voted for PR to keep a "low profile" due to heavy production. It wasn't even MY own call, but I was just stupid enough to agree to such terms. I cannot work like this anymore, I had an agenda I had to cancel AGAIN.

I had two agendas literally thrown away because either Vivendi didn't legally clear the path, or because development simply didn't have people like you at first. I did. The same person who built everything since 2003 and today you just choose to trash because that's what your limited knowledge allows you to.

Personally, I won't indulge your resentment of lack of information and proceed to provide you any information I'm not legally entitled to just amuse you. The team will move forward with or without me, and regardless of my position towards the strong disagreements, I will not break my NDA just because of such ignorant approach.

If you assume anyone is going to do my job better than me by all means get your head out of your ass and look back in time when they had 3 PR/Web Directors before me and they didn't even do more than 2 updates in a year. Yet they barely ever even replied to ANY single fan email or post, or at least cared to inform their mods so they are capable of answering what there is to be answered. I did, and I did even more than that.

TSL team made it up to quite a few magazines, we reached a milestone of 7.5 hits a month and we have even staff members who have achieved recognized positions in companies such as Activision, Ubisoft and others without even releasing a demo or a game. That's a fact. Yet the name of the project was capable enough to even have a community so large to have the fans themselves save the project from the C&D letter from Vivendi. Having their own Lead PR tell us that it was indeed overwhelming for just a damn fan project.

This happened because of what? Magic? I might not have been able to give all the answers or give you the game at your every whine. But that is clearly *not* my doing because no matter how far ahead PR would ever get to, no one can give you anything without development cooperating. As everyone has clearly lived through. How ignorant you could possibly be to not understand something of the sort, is beyond me. But it is clear not too bright to choose to personally attack me over some personal resent me when it is clearly a 1 out of 100 things, and that is clearly the reason why I'm leaving.

I doubt it isn't clear in anyone's mind that you are a clueless "cynical d***** bag", indeed. Nothing in this world is worse than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

Next time try to ask before assuming, or at least think before you flame. Questions are welcome, but personal attacks are not. This thread is for everyone to understand an important change to come, not for anyone to vent away.

[mfortunato]

I don't normally reply to self proclaimed d***** bags.  But I MUST speak up about your ridiculous post.  Sir d***** Bag (aka GunHoMac), take a look at this website, take a look at our myspace page, deviant art.  Can you even fathom how much time it takes to put this together and to maintain it DAILY?!?!?!?  Say is one of the hardest working people we have on our team.  She was not "let go" as you assume.  Nor do we wish her to leave.  Say has one of the hardest (if not the hardest) jobs on the team.  She is the buffer between you and us, the developers.  If we don't meet our goals, she gets the brunt of your attacks.  For years, she has shielded us from the sh*t that you and your fellow d***** bags have thrown in our direction.

Say was the driving force behind us getting into Game Informer, Edge, GameSpot, G4, and countless other magazines and webzines.  She busted her ass to get us noticed.  And because of this, when Vivendi wanted to pull the plug, we were well known enough due to her efforts, that the fans that she had amassed on our behalf, fought back and we are able to continue development. 

The only ones who have failed in this instance, are us, the developers.  We have failed to meet our deadlines over the years and thus the game development has dragged on.  And during all that time, Say has scraped and yelled and bled to get content to the fans.  Almost every single feature on the website was Say's idea.  She has worked tirelessly to keep you interested and to cover up the fact that we have not been able to deliver what we originally promised on time.

If you feel the need to rant, and I understand that need after all of these years, yell at me for not getting the artwork in on time.  But don't take it out on Say.  She is the only one who has always delivered what she said she would:  ON TIME.

I apologize that this sounds like a personal attack on you, sir self-proclaimed d***** Bag.  But you and everyone else who is frustrated about the development time of this game, need to understand that she has done everything to try and make you all happy.  This is a FAN project.  It is completely unfunded.  The money comes out of our pockets directly to make this game.  We are not getting paid and we have to work other jobs to pay our bills.  So this game has taken a long time because we do not have 40+ hours per week per person to work on it.

If you have such issues with this game development and with us, who are working TIRELESSLY on it for YOU, please feel free to leave these forums and relieve us of your foul, used-d***** smelling presence.

Thank you.
- Michael Fortunato

Assistant Art Director
The Silver Lining

[PirateKingChris]

I commend Say for the job she's done.

And I wonder why GunHoMac has been allowed to continue to post on this forum when any thread I've seen him involved in has led to resentment and bickering,

[Yonkey]

GunHoMac, your countless disrespect towards Say and the TSL team has occurred not just on this occasion, but dating back to April of this year and earlier.  You have been banned in the past for offensive comments, and were permitted back with the understanding that you'd cease your negative behavior.  Clearly, you haven't, and your last post is ample proof.  Your posting privileges have now been revoked until further notice. 


*takes a breath*


Say, you've been with me from the time I've started, and the one who brought me into this team.  You have no idea how deeply saddened I am that you have decided to leave the team.  I wish the circumstances were different, and that there was something I could do to make you change your mind.  But, I also know that there are too many things outside of our control, and that I must respect your decision even if I disagree with it.  As I've said before, I understand why you must do this and how things will change without you here. 

You've created this website, nurtured this community, established this game and defended this project for years, purely out of loyalty and respect for the team.  I will never forget that, and I'm sure no one else will either.

If you do decide to return in the future, I'm sure the team and community will welcome you back with open arms.  And if not, I certainly will.

I wish you all the best, and if you ever want to talk, you know how to reach me.


Sincerely,
Neil Rodrigues

[hercrabbiness]

Say!! I hardly know you, but I'll miss you. You are CLEARLY very important to the people on this forum, and I know that we'll be very sad to see you go. I wish you the very best, whatever happens.

[Petter Holmberg]

We would be nowhere without you, the fans, and we would have no fans if it was not for the work of PR. Say has done a remarkable job, given the time it has taken to develop this game and the lack of resources. We have hit many snags over the last few years, both due to our own inexperience and due to events out of our control. Say has seen a lot of her planning going down the drain due to this, and I understand her frustration with us on the production side for repeatedly putting her through this. It is indeed one of the most frustrating positions in the team that she has had and we can only thank her for putting up with it for as long as she did. Thank you Say!

So, how does this affect production? Is this a sign that the whole project is crumbling? The answer is no! We are in a very active phase of production and are making great progress with the game. Time will tell how much we will be hurt by Say's departure but it is difficult to believe that we won't, even though she's leaving gracefully with the intention to do as little damage as possible. At this time we need you, the fans, to keep supporting us and believing in us, because this is the main reason we keep working on the game! I understand that it's more difficult without Say being around to keep you entertained while you wait, but hang in there, it'll be worth it!

[hula_chick]

Say!!! We'll miss you!!! I didn't get to know you that well, but i most definitely WILL miss your presence in the fourm.