From Virgo@New.net Thu Nov 05 18:37:23 1998 Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.space-sim,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action Subject: Re: BC3K - History of Mr. Smart's Flame War From: Virgo Date: Thu, 05 Nov 1998 21:37:23 -0500 Bill Huffman wrote: > PRE-HISTORY YEARS (before BC3K) > The very beginnings of this story have never been chronicled for > Derekology. I assume that Derek Smart was born. Come to think of it > I believe that Mr. Smart has even admitted to being born. WRONG ! Smart was 'spontaneously generated from the Black Ether Hole'. He truly is a 'space baby' > Note: these very early years are based entirely on Mr. Smart's word. We know that the 'murky' years of the BCK saga is still riddled in mystery and intrigue > > -When Mr. Smart was in London he started working on his game > 1988-1989. > You missed some crucial information here. Apparently, Mr. Smart was the man who sold Bill Gates on the idea of purchasing the Digital Research MSDOS license. Also, Mr. Smart was THE inventor of the Xerox Windowing system, and the Motorola 68x chip. At this point, when he was still a diaper clad teenager , Smart thought up a KEWL game called BATTLECRUISER. OF course, since he was smarter than the garbage man, he couldn't tell anyone of his prophetic vision. He had to wait 20 years until the technology caught up with his vision. > > > -In October 1992, Derek signed with BC3K's first publisher. In a post > made before Interplay was announced as a distributor, Mr. Smart said > that BC3K had a total of 4 publishers (IIRC). Derek Smart is most famous 'to those in the know' for inventing the Computer Publishing industry. So, in a sense, he had many more than 4. If you visit his lush offices in the alleys of Miami where his Mercedes is parked next to the Dade County Soup Kitchen, you will see his diplomas lauding his accomplishments in creating such industry giants as Electronic Arts. > -By January 1993 the publisher (Intracorp?) had dropped BC3K. > Not true. Derek told them to keep their pennies and walked out. > -By March 1993 another publisher had picked up and dropped BC3K. Not true Huffman. Watch your 'facts.' Smart was having an affair during this period with a sexy red Coke Machine. > > -In early 1993 Derek came out with BC3K demo 3.0. The manual is > available in the archives/1DerekHistory/1Before1997/93demoManual.txt > Derek says, "The purpose of this demo is to ensure that GALCOM > operatives remain confident that this program will be worth the wait. > A whole bunch of features have been disabled such as trading, docking, > > personnel deployment etc." What about : Gameplay? Install routine? Graphics? Marines? Mouse Support ? Operating system support? > -On May 10, 1995 Three Sixty Pacific announced that they'd signed > with Mr. Smart to complete BC3K, and they soon went bankrupt. > "After seeing the huge demo about a couple years ago (about 12 meg > or so in many pieces) and all the hype in the readme's, it has made > me wonder why anyone will pick it up at all. The game just really > stunk." An excellent quote. You misunderstand the context, however. He was referring to Derek's 'game' of farting during important meetings. > > editorial note: You have to hand it to Mr. Smart, he is persistent > and determined. So are maniacs, lunatics, fiends, and foreign despots. > > -August 1995 Take2 announced "Yes, BC3000AD has been in > development for a long time (o.k. a really, really long time), but the > game is in Beta now and it WILL be worth the wait." Typical. Derek writes a great game, but Take 2 screws up the release info. When Derek signed his contract, he said it would be ready in 2006, NOT 1996. > > -December 15, 1995 Derek announced "THE RELEASE DATE OF > BATTLECRUISER:3000AD HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK TO JANUARY 15TH 1996." > (see archive/1DerekHistory/1Before1997/BC3KTardiness.txt) This > post is also the earliest post I've found where Mr. Smart claims > a PhD. His credibility was running thin at this point and he needed to bolster his ego. > > -2/12/96 is the first date I've found for Derek posting on the > Usenet. Prior to that, he posted very frequently on AOL and I > think also on Compuserve. Of course he did ! He was the managing partner of both those firms ! Of course, his tax returns for those years are framed in his office, but the IRS never heard of him. > > -2/16/96 was Mr. Smart's first flame on Usenet, "Here we go again. > What's the matter with you people." Only a mild one but, a first is > a first. Very much like a small pebble rolling down a mountain that starts an avalanche. > > -2/21/96 was Mr. Smart's first Derekism spoken on Usenet, > "Give me more credit than I am due." The most famous Derekism > today is probably, Some people have even questioned my insanity. > But, I never doubt. No, the best is 'a Great Moment in the Anals of Gaming' > > -Sometime before May 1996 Mr. Smart suffered some personal trauma > or sadness when his wife left him. He said it was because of > time and effort he'd put into BC3K. I thought he had a new covergirl babe around this time? > > -June-Sept 1996 Derek had signed the contract agreeing to give > control to Take2 but, he didn't cooperate. From Derek's own words, > it appears he fought them every step of the way. Yes, he truly is a great leader and inspiration to his teammates. > He even worked on a different build than the rest of his team worked > on. Of course ! You think Smart would let anyone see his amazing ability in Fortran ??? > In a following quote from Derek, he even admits that his build > had a whole bunch of fixes in it that were not in the Take2 build. > Why hadn't Derek released his fixes to his development team's build? > He instead played "chicken" with Take2, assuming they wouldn't go > through with the planned deadline if their build was too pathetic > unfortunately, he was wrong. BULLSHIT ! Search Dejanews ! Smart is saying as late as July 96 how awesome the game will be, and how it will be released in OCtober ! I thought you had a Derekology PHD??????? > > -September 1996, Mr. Smart allegedly attacked a coke machine at > Take2 when he was told Take2 was releasing the game anyway. Alleged? I paid $25000 at a Christies auction for that most famous of Coke Machines. If it was only alledged, I got ripped . > Allegedly, security had to escort Mr. Smart off the premises. They tossed him out on his ear. > A curious note, Mr. Smart still says he didn't find out that > they really shipped until he went and bought his own copy. Yea. right. I am also peddling the Brooklyn Bridge. > -October 1996 Take2 released BC3K as an incomplete game. My guess > is that Take2 went through with the release in large part because > Mr. Smart had not cooperated with the BC3K development team and > Take2 didn't see any other choice except walking away and taking > a big lose on the whole deal. Correct. However, by this time Derek was raking in the bucks from his modifications to the NASA HUBBLE TELESCOPE DEEP SPACE ARRAY camera , and didn't need the money anyway. > "RE:patch d > This patch will be a major patch which marks (a) the completion of > the game's missing features, ie orbital flight model, probe ORBSCAN > logic Yeah, Derek gets lots of PROBE ORSCANS up his butt every night. I can't see the logic in it though. The D patch actually came out in October 1997. Version > 1.1 was renamed to 2.0 and is being released by Interplay as > a bargain bin title packaged with another game. IF it ever comes out you mean. Be careful, or Crafty Dan will find a way to make your words look like something Twisty Dan might say. Remember, Stiffy Dan is always cruising for a good time. > -As I understand what went on in AOL and Compuserve, Mr. Smart was > a laughing stock and the center of the flame war in these forums. Be careful. The man is Legend in his Own Mind. If you upset him, you may find yourself on the wrong end of a blistering attack of mousse warheads and vapid lawyers. > > -As the flame war moved to Usenet, the flame war topics were centered > around things like where is the promised FAQ? Where is the promised > manual? Derek blaming everything on Take2. Derek claiming that he > didn't get paid by Take2. (A report filled by Take2 with a federal > overseeing agency contradicts this.) Derek insulting customers. > Derek insulting bystanders. Derek proving he could be a most > entertaining fellow, at least when he didn't want to be. Derek > claiming he warned people the game wasn't playable from the > beginning. Derek saying he only flames in self defense. Derek > telling his customers in Europe they wouldn't be supported then > denying he ever said that. > Where do you think Skillful Dan learned his trade from? Of course Derek needed to instruct Acolyte Dan. Such training as Dutiful Dan received takes years, and costs millions of pennies. > -2/16/97 Mr. Smart said, "I would like to assure you AND give you my > personal guarantee that my midnight on 3/01/97 a complete manual in > Word 7 and Adobe Acrobat format Yes. This was Derek's greatest Faux Pas, IMHO, greater than his fraudulent PHD. He was shown to be a WILLFUL liar whose only skill is in deception, scamming, and instrucing neophyte Hypocrites. > -2/20/97 Mr. Smart makes some racist insults against an oriental > and all hell breaks loose. (see TOEFL posts in FamousFlames) Derek himself FATHERED the entire Asian race, and invented the TOEFL test to keep out some of his hideous brood. So he was entitled to his remarks. Visit his shack in the worst part of Miami, and you will see his Family Tree in his delicate frame. He would send it to you if it woudn't break. >As part of Derek's on-line response, he made a post in which > he waved his PhD in their faces and said that if they wanted more > detail about how it worked, they should have looked up his > dissertation because, it's published and available. He said they > should do their homework, it avoids so many hassles latter. This > proved important later as Derek's biggest known lie, his PhD, > started to unravel. see This is a lie. Derek had a bet with Casino Dan that no one could find it since he had the only record of it in his tiny cubicle in Miami. > -In this early period of 1997 a statement that Mr. Smart allegedly > made in the AOL forum that he had spent 3.5 million dollars of his > own money WRONG HUFFMAN! It was his mom's money ! > > -5/97 Derek's top quote of the month, "Is it me or are you just > oozing with stupidity? The BC3K fame directed at US the gaming > community for crying out load. Do I have to spell it out for you? > Yet YOU can tell ME I have a communicating problem? I least > when I lay it on you, you seem to understand quite well what I'm > saying. Go figure." ROFL ! This is one that even Obfuscating Dan can't decipher without his BCK Decoder Ring ! > > -6/11/97 Derek was saying he could re-release BC3K on his own if he > wanted to. Where would he get the million to do this? "I can raise > a close to a million in a week if I did the paperwork. ... Sure. He could easily send another note begging his parents for the cash. > see archives/1NotSoSmartPosts/1FamousFlames/PissInMouth.txt > This lead to me wondering if there might be a way to rid the news > group of this scourge. I thought that Mr. Smart was possibly a > pathological liar. I remembered someone from my past with that > affliction. I learned I couldn't trust a word they said. When they > made a statement that put them in a favorable light, I could almost > count on it being a lie. Previously, I'd noticed that Derek had > not responded to queries about his PhD. That had always seemed > strange to me because I'd rarely seen him pass up a chance to brag. > But, I had always just dismissed it as maybe Derek just didn't see > the post. However, at about this same time, Derek had responded > to a medical doctor that had asked about his PhD. Derek said, > "What's it to you? Still struggling with your high school > diploma????" (see > archives/1NotSoSmartPosts/1CustomerService&PR/MDRequestsPhDInfo.txt) > Putting it all together, I concluded that his PhD was probably fake. > > -8/8/97 I fire the first volley in the PhD wars. And you will probably fire the last. > -8/26/97 I hear back from the librarian that the dissertation can't > be found. She says that she should have found the dissertation. > She says she will look and see if he's ever published anything. > I posted a message to Usenet that there was now verifiable > evidence that Mr. Smart didn't have a valid PhD. > > Later that day, I get the following email from the librarian. > -------- > Subject: Dissertation-Smart > > Bill, > Here is where I have searched besides the Dissertations Abstract > Online and Sci Search. > UMI- both on line and telephone > IEEE and IE(UK) database from1988 forward. Doesn't seem he has > written anything for those pubs. > ACM Guide to all ACM Pubs. no luck > OCLC online nothing no books, dissertation, or papers > Stanford Technical papers database > Cambridge UK Technical papers database. > > If he would tell you the university where he did his paper I could > get it. I have a funny feeling he has not done one yet and possibly > he doesn't even like to write since I can't find anything. > > I will keep thinking where else I could look, but for the moment the > outlook isn't very positive. > > Sorry I could not find it for you. > -------- > I especially enjoyed the part "I have a funny feeling he has not done > one yet". It was her diplomatic way of trying to say she didn't think > he really had a PhD. (I confirmed this in a later conversation.) > > -8/27/97 The first, the original "DEREK SMART FRAUD DAY", this is > the day that Derek's fraud became obvious to the general ng reader > because there were multiple people that posted they couldn't find > his dissertation and he changed his story from "it's published and > listed" to "in submitting the BC3K code for copyright, the entire > thing is suppressed." After a post by Fthx (IIRC), I realized that > it all meant that Mr. Smart was a fraud. There was much gloating, > crowing, laughter and rejoicing. Derek said he was going away and > wouldn't be back until BC3K 2.0 was on the shelves. > > -9/19/97 Derek starts posting to the newsgroups again. To everyone's > surprise he's still tagging a PhD after his name. > -- VIRGO "A sublime state of being is always being right"