Dear Stardock,

First off, this is a general letter from a fan to a great company in respecting it's customers and frequent shoppers.  I don't expect anything and, hope you don't see any part of this as a trash on any person or personally.  I apologize in advance should anything be taken incorrect and would be happy to discuss anything in private if clarification is needed.

No Free Content Expected

In light of some harmful words and, backlash by some people a quick responses by others I wanted to say as a customer I never expect any free extras.  As long as the game is completed and I as a consumer have received a completed game your job is done aside from general support and bug fixes.  Should anyone expect anything more than that's expecting hand outs and personally everyone deserves to get compensated for a job well done.

What I do expect for free is bug fixes and general game play balancing and corrections.  This includes but not limited to, unrecoverable crashes, frequent crashes, Huge AI downfalls (not to be confused with general AI exploits), and anything that has been promised (although I understand things/plans change.)

Listen to Fans

Where has the communication gone?  Even during the Alpha and Beta process of Galactic Civilizations III there was great ongoing two way communication with the Founders and Stardock.  With this if something wasn't working out as expected during this process it could be altered or changed to allow for smoother game play or a better end user experience.  Since the release that communication has slowed and many things instead of constructive feedback has been taken as a bash against the hardworking staff at Stardock.

Now we as fans sometimes loose focus and understanding with all the hard work you do, however, us Founders do have a stake in how well/poor this game does.  We aren't going to tell you in general to destroy your game.  On the other side of things I don't expect you to change your plans for the game either just give us a chance to help you make this game great.  One example is the Beta process of the game and expansions.  

Allow us as fans to help smooth things out so the game can get the best reviews possible.  After all the higher the review the better chance it has to sell.  Give us the semi ready Beta earlier and let us give feedback on it.  As an example if something is good in concept and adds some great features to the game, maybe there is a gap that comes up and can be closed by taking the feedback from the community to close it.  With a short beta process that has already been done by the time we ever got the opportunity to look at it and those gaps never were addressed or closed.  I'm sure your internal quality team is great but, they don't play the game the way we play it so those types of things are overlooked and, I do have examples if needed.  

Positive Interactions

I know this is sometimes hard to do especially when it's your work and company at stake and in the spotlight.  However, shutting down and closing up doesn't help smooth things over.  Dev Streams are always fun, this provides great interaction with fans and great Q & A sessions.  This helps make the fans feel part of the team in a round about type of way.  Contests, even if just fun little contests, helps keep the fans looking for more.  General updates (news) on what is going on not just in the Galactic Civilizations world but, in the company.  If I as a customer see Star Control is available for Founders edition (which it's not) I may jump at the opportunity or at least look at the games to see more about it.  I'm not just talking about the advertisements.

Final Thoughts

Brad, is a great CEO and goes far above and beyond talking to us fans and I appreciate everything that he does.  Paul, put his heart into this game to get it up and going and I'm sad to hear that he may be moving on to other projects.  I wish him the best in whatever he does moving forward.  Sean and Brad in support, I appreciate all the time you have spent communicating back and forth over the last couple of months and hope to continue getting some things resolved.  Derick, I appreciate the help you provided me shortly after release and taking time to try to figure out issues at that time.  And finally everyone at Stardock that has helped put the Dev Streams together (Adam, Mrs. Paul:) ),plus I'm sure others as they were and hopefully continue to be a great experience.  If I'm missing anyone that has assisted me here is a big THANKS to you too....  

Don't ever give up, you're all rock stars in my book,

Thanks,

Seilore