A DayZ player/Reddit user says they recently got some really bad customer support. Not the wait-20-minutes on hold kind of bad customer support. More like the threaten-to-send-your-home-address-to-criminals kind.

The saga, which popped up in Reddit and message boards for the popular DayZ zombie mod, involves some escalating exchanges between the gamer, known as SinisterPrime, and the tech support at Defcon Servers, a self-described "premiere game hosting company."

SinisterPrime recently purchased a server from Defcon Servers to host a DayZ game with his friends. What he didn't realize was that the server required 40 players to run. He thought it only needed 10. So he took to Defcon's customer service line to inquire about a refund.

But SinisterPrime's experiences didn't go over well. He shared his story on a Reddit thread:

I actually purchased a 10 man server from them with the idea of making a DayZ server as they advertise having a DayZ installer. After purchasing the server, I was having issues and contacted their customer support. They informed me that it is required to have a 40 man server for DayZ and being that a 40 man server is 80 bucks I asked for a refund while I found some people to join with and buy a server. They declined the refund and were very rude throughout the entire conversation and basically stated I was dumb for not knowing the requirements first (Can't argue that point much).

I left them with a message about how to be better at customer service and recieved a message back with a half assed "We can't do anything, sorry you feel that way"

SinisterPrime later received this response via email, which includes vulgar language and even some upsetting threats:

So you want to play games you little shit? How about I post your home address and personal details all over the internet? Would that make you happy? Watch who you fuck with. I will make it so every criminal in your state has your address.

The threat follows with a Google maps link to what is presumably SinisterPrime's house, which you can see in the email interaction documented by the image below.

SinisterPrime says the customer service representative then contacted him again, in which the alleged Defcon Server customer support representative accuses him of blackmail. The quote is from an email, presumably addressing SinisterPrime:

ordered a server with the intent of running a specific mod and made the mistake of not knowing the mod makers policy. We gave you the exact server you ordered and it worked as advertised. If you have a complaint with that I would take it up with the mod maker not us. It's they're policy not ours. We don't owe you a refund and we sure as hell won't be blackmailed into giving you one. Which appears to be your intention here as I don't see any other motive. That "I'm just trying to let the world know" charade is B.S honestly and I don't buy it.

Giving you a refund would be against our Terms of Service which is a legal binding document. We do not offer refunds on pre-paid services and we don't give refunds based on your inability to run a 3rd party mod on your server, That is not within our control as we do not make the mod nor do we make the rules for them.

We have been in business for over almost 10 years and in that time I'm quite sure there have been folks who didn't agree with our practices, That goes for any business anywhere, You simply cannot please everyone. I wouldn't go as far to say we "have a history of bad customer support" as the 10+ thousand current customers we have can attest to our support. You can also attest to our answering each and every ticket you submitted within a few minutes. Being a "user friendly" company is about making the customer aware of your policies and upholding them both on our end and yours. Refunding you for not being able to run a mod would go against our Terms of Service. How would that make us a user friendly company if we simply pick and choose which rules to follow? This all could have been a non- issue if you simply inquired about the rules of the mod maker BEFORE ordering service and you would have been provided that information. We had no way of knowing which of the several mods we have available you were planning on using so I fail to see how we could be at fault here. We set your server up how you ordered it and for that we have to be paid for it. Your quarrel should be with the mod maker not us.

It appears that this afternoon, Defcon Servers posted a public apology on the DayZ forums, stating that the tech support representative was "disgruntled" but has since been terminated, and the company is even considering pursuing legal alternatives to retaliate to the comments, which Defcon says "borderline on criminal." The full statement is below:

This is quite an embarrasment to me personally and our company and I don't know how to begin explaining how this happened.. From what I understand speaking with one of our techs; is the person who made those comments (A different support tech) was disgruntled (to say the least). From my understanding the customer ordered a server from us and later was told we could not host a 10 slot dayzmod for them so they proceeded to cancel and later requested a refund which was denied. I'm not clear on what transpired between that time and when those comments were made but understand there were emails sent back and forth using a company address and as you can see they made some threats and used strong language which I have to take full responsibility for as they were under my employment.

This person has been terminated and we are now considering pressing charges. I'm not certain if that's possible at this time but the comments made borderline on criminal. I sincerly apologize on behalf of defconservers to the dayz community for the actions of this person and can assure you this is not the way we operate our business. We are and have always been a customer oriented business and pride ourselves on customer support and this has given us a severe blow to that which I hope we can overcome. Again I apologize for the comments made and will be contacting the individual they were directed at personally to extend our apologies as well.

According to the harassed customer, Defcon Servers have since refunded SinisterPrime's purchase, and reached out to him personally to apologize.

We've reached out to both SinisterPrime and Defcon Servers, and will update this post should we get a response.

[Update] After speaking with SinisterPrime, we've updated this post to reflect the proper timeline of when these emails were sent. We'll update you with more information from him as we receive them.

Like its nameless protagonist, Planescape: Torment might come back from the dead.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz in an interview posted today, Obsidian co-founder and Planescape: Torment creator Chris Avellone said he's "very tempted" to start a Kickstarter to revive his beloved classic role-playing game. Although he'd ditch the D&D—and maybe even the setting, too.

"I think the challenges we've spoken about would all have to be considered and to be honest I don't know if I'd want to do it as a Planescape game - I think a better approach would be to ignore the D&D mechanics and respect what Planescape was trying to do and what the game did and see if you can do what Fallout did when it became the spiritual successor to Wasteland," he said.

"I think if you made a game using some of the concepts of Planescape, the metaphysical ideas and the plane travel, without using the D&D mechanics, you could actually come up with a much better game. With Torment, I'd argue that the D&D base actually, in places, got in the way of the experience. It was a lot harder to make a game with those ideas in it with D&D mechanics. So much that we had to break a lot of them. We had to ignore certain spells, change up the class mechanic so that you can switch at any time you like by remembering abilities.

"That was stuff that D&D didn't allow for, it was [too] restraining in some respects. If we did do a spiritual successor, then I don't know if we'd use the Planescape licence or attach the mechanics, perhaps something that has a different feel to Torment."

If we get characters as awesome as Morte the talking skull, I'm cool with whatever.

Return to the Wasteland: Obsidian's Chris Avellone [GamesIndustry.biz]

Editor's Note: Do you want to read about some secrets about the gaming industry? Would you like to know about plans and projects that have been hiding in plain sight? The person known as Superannuation believes that you do and has another haul of them to share...

An Infinity Ward engineer's resume appears to corroborate recent reports that the studio's next Call of Duty title, presumably coming out next year, will include versions made for future-generation consoles.

Alongside "XB2" (Xbox 360) and "PS3" on the list of platforms for the company's currently unannounced title—which is presumably a Modern Warfare 4—are "PC DX11" and an intriguing "TBA." Additionally, Infinity Ward is working on a "new high-end DX11 code base" for the game.

Given the prohibitive costs of current AAA game production, it seems unlikely that the next-generation versions of Infinity Ward's next game will be an entirely different game from the current-generation versions, as was the case for Call of Duty 2; rather, a more feasible scenario is that current-gen versions are ported down from their cutting-edge counterparts.

* * *

According to a job listing from earlier this month, id Software is developing "an unannounced game for future-generation consoles." The listing also mentions that "Familiarity with id Software games, characters, brands and universes" is a requirement — which basically narrows the possibilities to Rage, Wolfenstein, Quake, and Doom (technically, the anticipated Doom 4 hasn't been announced, even though id people have referenced it).

John Carmack has said id would double down on a Rage 2 after Doom 4 shipped, which doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Barring the mobile Wolfenstein RPG, id hasn't directly developed a Wolfenstein game since Spear of Destiny in 1992, and Dutch site Gamer.nl recently made the rather plausible posit that Zenimax Swedish subsidiary Machinegames' long-in-development id Tech 5-based shooter is a new Wolfenstein title.

So that leaves two candidates for id's next-generation title: Quake 5 and Doom 4. A few months prior to Rage's release, Carmack said that there was strong internal interest for a game that hearkens back to the Lovecraftian influence of the original Quake, but no such game was in development at the time. Following the apparent leaks of Doom 4 imagery, id's creative director Matthew Hooper commented that the "images have nothing to do with what you're gonna see in Doom4"—which almost suggests that id has gone back to the drawing board with the game.

Could we see something of this mystery title at QuakeCon next week?

* * *

In late June, THQ moved a small number of curious domains to a new server that might provide some insight into the company's future plans.

Alongside two Saints Row-related domains, 1666amsterdam.com and 1666thegame.com appeared on the server. Some might recall that THQ filed a trademark application for "1666" in March, around the time THQ registered the two aforementioned domains.

The ostensible historical context of "1666" led people to speculate that it could be related to the Great Fire of London — something that might mesh with THQ Montreal creative director Patrice Désilets' background on the Assassin's Creed series. However, the "1666amsterdam" domain does not seem like it could co-exist with something set in London, and although the Second Anglo-Dutch War was occurring at the time, nothing of note happened in Amsterdam during the year. The only other possibility that comes to mind is an Amsterdam Avenue, which does have a 1666 address — and the number in context of an address seems to evoke a horror subtext. Could "1666" be a new name for Guillermo Del Toro's InSane?

Other domains THQ moved to new server include evolvedgame.com, evolved-game.com, endangergame.com, and endanger-game.com. In February, THQ filed a trademark application for "Evolve," which some surmised is connected to Turtle Rock's game for THQ. The latter two domains—which THQ registered two months ago—sound like a contingency name for the Turtle Rock title in case they cannot secure the "Evolve" name.

* * *

Finally,NBA 2K developer Visual Concepts is apparently branching beyond sports simulations, according to a recent job posting. The listing, for a mobile game designer, says that Visual Concepts is "new venture developing innovative [new] IP for the mobile market." Particularly, the designer will "Generate new ideas and proposals for mobile casual games" and "Concept and balance core game mechanics like economy, progression, and rewards"—two lines that suggest these will be free-to-play, casual titles.

Several other items under "Requirements" further buttress that these new games will target a very different audience than VC's traditional titles. The studio wants someone with an "Understanding of simple, effective UI design for a casual user base" and "Experience creating and balancing meta-game and RPG-style progression systems." Since the NBA already has its own social gaming efforts, this is unlikely to involve a basketball in any way.

Stare, stare, stare at Nintendo's latest hardware and software sales figures and what do you see? The Wii and DS proved to be more popular in America and in "other areas" (aka the rest of the world) than they were in Japan by a wide margin. America is pretty big, of course! But the 3DS? Check that Life-to-Date column. It's still biggest in Japan.

The Halifax division of HB Studios, the Canadian group of developers behind numerous sports video games, is closing, an HB rep confirmed to Kotaku today. The studio is responsible for this fall's NBA Baller Beats, an unusual and innovative Kinect game that teaches you to dribble with a real basketball (we tried it at E3).

The company said the timing was due to the expiration of the Halifax studio's lease. According to HB's official website, that studio's first games were NBA Live '09 for the Wii, PS2 and PSP and NHL '09 for PS2 and PC.

Here's the statement about the closure that we received from HB's director of operations Melanie Williams:

"HB Studios is closing its satellite studio in Halifax and consolidating at its Lunenburg HQ. The Halifax Studio has been in operation for almost 5 years. With the lease on its Barrington Street location coming to an end, the Company has made a decision to not renew. There are 24 full time development staff at the Halifax Studio; the Company is working to transfer as many as possible to its 15,000 sq ft HQ. The final two projects that the satellite studio worked on – Olympic-based iPhone game Medal Bound and NBA Baller Beats for the Kinect – were co-developments between Lunenburg and Halifax and have been completed. Post launch support for both will be handled in Lunenburg."

A PR rep working on behalf of NBA Baller Beats publisher Majesco was not able to comment in time, but if we hear back, specifically about how this might have any effect on the release or post-launch support of the game, we'll let you know. But with confirmation that the game was completed by the Halifax and Lunenburg teams at HB, a delay seems unlikely.

Update: A rep for the game's publisher Majesco says: "the HB Studios' HQ office will continue to support NBA Baller Beats in the future, therefore not affecting the game's release."

These days Dead Space fans seem scared by something other than the jumps and thrills of the series. It's what the next installment in their beloved horror series could turn into that terrifies them.

Visceral's horror franchise has won players' loyalty for a few key staples, like dark claustrophobic corridors, sudden scares and menacing Necromorph enemies. In the two Dead Space games released so far, great sound design and assured pacing—where big set pieces balance against sequences of quiet dread—have created memorable experiences for players.

But fans of the franchise are nervously awaiting the release of Dead Space 3, a title in the series that seems to take some steps away from said familiarity.

For one thing, there will be co-op for the first time. Cooperatively playing through Dead Space is for pansies, some fans say. It takes the thrill away from exploring the religious lore, ominous artifacts and hallucinations you experience as a lonely Isaac. And while I don't personally feel this takes away from the franchise, it's obvious to Visceral and EA that introducing a co-op mode has taken the title's fans outside their comfort zones.

So they want you to know: as much as this new title is making steps outside the bounds of the original Dead Space, it's still very much building on the same foundation of what made the first two games great.

Where's the proof? I saw some encouraging signs in an optional Dead Space 3 side mission I checked out last week.

Wait, optional side mission? We're talking full-on, non-linear, exploration-encompassing side missions. That doesn't sound very Dead Spacey.

Even so, it's in this side mission that I found the game to resonate with its predecessors. Isaac is exploring the Lost Lunar Flotilla and, in response to an outgoing signal, boards one space ship that's been desolate for over 200 years. He'll find more information on the origin of the Necromorphs—a very clearly pressing matter if you've ever played even a moment of any Dead Space title—while aboard this research facility floating in space.

It's here that I navigate Isaac up and down ladders, and around the bends of windy, dimly-lit corridors. The only difference in navigation is that now Isaac can roll, and take (non-sticky) cover. But Isaac doesn't just encounter the gangly Necromorphs he's encountered dozens of times previous. He'll also have to solve certain puzzles to be able to open doors or start generators. Sometimes, this includes using Kinesis to turn handles or remove doors.

In between ships—as well as debris of ships floating around the Flotilla—Isaac will gracefully float in zero gravity to carry out his investigative exploration. (I'm told that certain paths will be specifically dedicated for the co-op experience, so it sounds like exploring with a friend has its benefits.) If you've played a Dead Space game, you might be taking in a breath of air from relief. These are all familiar aspects of the franchise.

But while I was playing I couldn't help but think dreamily of the newer Dead Space developments. I thought back to the swirling snowstorm I first saw at E3 and how it could hide armed enemies (a new inclusion) that could strike at me from the blinding whiteness. That's a case of new elements creating a different kind of fear. Potentially not such a bad thing.

I can see why there's some trepidation towards antagonists equipped to shoot back at you. Maybe you're thinking this is just going to be some other actiony shooter that you don't care for. Horror isn't mainstream, after all, so it figures they'd water it down with fast-paced action, right? Since my encounters with them have been hands-off, I can't speak to how it feels to have armed zombie-like enemies tracking you through the snow. But I'm optimistic. Visceral hasn't let me down with the series yet, and I don't expect them to start now.

My time hands-on with the game was short. EA took me through a short sequence to show off some of the more claustrophobic environments that harken back to older Dead Space. Demos like the one I checked out at E3 seem to be a stretch for the franchise. Once you factor in the wide-expanse of a snowy planet and new, human-like enemies that can shoot guns at you, it's easy to wonder what happened to your Dead Space. Fortunately, if you were looking for it, this one particular level showed off the traditional feel that the game's representatives promise it won't forget about.

But I'm not so concerned. I want to see more of what's different. I'm hopeful. I'm confident, even, that the developers have had enough experience with their own franchise to evolve it properly. It may very well turn out that a less linear experience and experimental enemies might not do the game any favors. Maybe co-op—which is 100% optional (your co-op bud won't appear as AI if you choose to experience the game in the traditional single player route)—won't be as terrifying. But I'm curious to see where the franchise goes next. Even if it isn't the Dead Space you remember and love, maybe Visceral can introduce you to another side of Dead Space that you never expected. It might even be great.

I don't even know anymore. I don't know where to begin. Sometimes I have to wonder why we spend so much time writing about polished, big-budget games where there are games like BRUCEfilm's Stay Dead out there.

Here we have an iPad fighting game that uses real actors to stage ploddingly choreographed, cheesy fight sequences while players quickly match button-presses in some kind of quicktime event frenzy. The appeal of the game is that it's all full-motion video—there are real actors participating in the fights and responding to your actions. It's like the future! Of the past.

It's like the combat in Heavy Rain if Heavy Rain had been made in the early 1990's for $15. Stay Dead is… not a good video game. Hmm... maybe that's why we don't write about these kinds of games more. It's not that responsive, the moves are extremely limited, there's no element of strategy or thought. And yet, it is a hilarious game that gets by on kitchiness alone.

As you make your way through the fighters, your pseudo-mulleted generoballs protagonist will go up against such foes as

• A sweaty street ninja
• A big black guy who fights in a black and white junkyard
• A scarfaced Nazi SS general who fights with a stick

As you fight, the game prompts you to hit different buttons in time with its prompts. It's all pretty random, and has no real rhythm to it—if you miss a press, you'll go on the defensive and have to press other buttons to keep up.

Despite the fact that it's not all that fun to play, I found that I still liked trying to match the presses and get a high score (The scoring system is humorously overwrought and complicated for such a simple game). I didn't care that Stay Dead isn't as "good" as most other games—I still wanted to show my cheesy enemies what time it was, and I wanted to unlock other cheesy enemies.

Games like Stay Dead are particularly well-suited for iOS devices. It costs three bucks and you can take it with you to a party, where it will be worth it just for dumb entertainment value. It's an uncommon game that lets players slap a fully costumed SS officer around with a stick, after all.

Stay Dead [$2.99, App Store]

As I exited the theater early Friday morning after a midnight showing of the third and final film in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed Batman trilogy, the air was filled with excited chatter. "I didn't see that coming!" "I knew it all along!" "I want to see it again!" The crowd seemed quite pleased. I wasn't feeling it.

Then, from somewhere deep within the roiling crowd it came. "It sucked." Now that I felt. While there were plenty of moments in the movie I genuinely enjoyed, ultimately I felt more let down than uplifted.

Why do we suck, Master Bruce?

In case you didn't read the headline of this article before clicking on it (it happens), this is not going to be five paragraphs of beating around the bush. If you've yet to see The Dark Knight Rises and don't want the entire movie ruined for you for all eternity, stop reading now. I'm gonna wreck it.

Now I don't necessarily disagree with Evan Narcisse's critical take on The Dark Knight Rises. He makes several good points, and his ultimate conclusion is sound. "The Dark Knight Rises finishes an operatic cycle of myth-making where a familiar story becomes re-imagined for new times and layered with increased resonance." It does indeed do that thing.

It just does several other things that keep me from enjoying the ultimate entry in that operatic cycle. For instance...

Alfred Gives Away the Ending

Alfred hoped that Bruce Wayne would never come home from his initial self-imposed exile from Gotham. Every year during the time Bruce was away he'd take a vacation, sit in a cafe somewhere, and image he saw the young Master Wayne sitting there with a woman, maybe a couple of kids. They'd not speak — that would ruin the magical moment. No, they'd just nod to each other, and Alfred would know that Bruce had finally made it to the end of the film.

Oh wait, not the end of the film. Just true happiness.

And then end of the film.

As soon as Alfred launched into the tale of his vacation days I knew which way the movie was headed. Had Nolan only included Alfred mentioning the story in passing I might have been thrown off, but he filmed Alfred sitting in the cafe. He filmed Bruce sitting there with his fake girlfriend. He burned the image into our minds so that when it rolled back around to it at the end everyone would see what an excellent film craftsman he is.

I imagine Bruce got completely sick of going to that cafe every day for lunch until Alfred eventually showed up. I'd like to think that immediately after the scene ended he ran off to find an iHop. Nothing washes away the taste of telegraphed callbacks like a Rooty Tooty Fresh-and-Fruity.

I Know You're Batman Because I'm Hurting Too

When commissioner Gordon tells Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake that the city needs Batman, Blake makes a beeline for stately Wayne Manor, because he's the greatest emotional detective that ever lived. He knew Wayne and Bats were one in the same because he too had felt the pain of losing his parents.

No, it doesn't make much sense.

Blake explains that he's no stranger to putting on a mask to please others; to hiding the pain of his parents' passing behind the facade of a smile. Years ago, when Bruce Wayne visited the orphanage Blake was raised in, he saw that same pain. That means that Bruce Wayne is Batman. It just makes sense. Joseph Gordon-Levitt isn't Batman, so who else could it possibly be? That other in-pain guy.

I'm thinking that the fact that Bruce Wayne went all recluse at exactly the same time Batman stopped prowling the night had something to do with it as well.

Why Do We Fall? To Pad the Movie by Twenty Minutes.

Oh my fucking god just get out of the pit already.

I realize the whole prison scene was an important part of Batman's recovery not just from his Bane-induced spinal dislocation, but of years of mourning and wallowing in self-pity. I understand that we needed to see Bruce Wayne at his absolute lowest point. We had to rise with him out of that giant hole in the ground filled with people that no one knows about in this age of satellite imagery and Google maps. I get that.

I was just not entertained by it. We knew he was getting out. Seeing him fail once would have been enough. Hell, I would have loved a montage of him failing, perhaps accompanied by "Harder Better Faster Stronger".

What I really would have preferred, however, was to see how Bruce Wayne got home after being stranded on the other side of the world with absolutely nothing except a passing resemblance to that guy from American Psycho.

The Only Reason Catwoman is Wearing the Leather Outfit is For the Shot of Her Riding the Bike

As the mysterious thief Selina Kyle rode off into the night, all we could see was the light reflected off of her ass.

And Robin Was His Name-O

Oh come on, Robin John Blake? Not Timothy Drake, or Jason Todd or Dick Grayson? I suppose any permutations of those would have been a dead giveaway, but let's not fool ourselves; it was always a dead giveaway. You don't feature an incidental character as prominently as John Blake was in the pre-release media without there being a damn good reason behind it.

It's the same situation with Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate. The actress had to outright lie in order to throw fans and press off the obvious trail they picked up the moment she was cast in the film. Any fan immediately knew who she was really playing, just as any fan knows that Robin was never the real name of Robin, and was only used so the non-fans in the audience would get the reference.

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There's plenty to love about The Dark Knight Rises. Catwoman has some great lines. Bane is impressive as hell, even if the movie's final twist neuters him somewhat. And hey, isn't that the guy from Torchwood? I love that guy.

Ultimately the film is a chance for Batman to live a normal life, something the comic books can never let happen. Through this series of annoying events he's earned his final rest. He'll live the rest of his life as a normal Joe, just like you or me.

Unless someone notices a supposedly dead former billionaire wandering about and snaps an iPhone picture.

Dammit.

How do you buy video games? Go on and talk about recent acquisitions that you're playing, loving or even hating. Head over to Talk Amongst Yourselves, the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Go to the TAY forum at this link and do what you've always done: share your thoughts and opinions on the things you're passionate about.

Mario on rails? Some stages in the newest Mario game will borrow the auto-run mechanic found in many mobile games like Temple Run and Jetpack Joyride.

When you enter one of these stages in New Super Mario Bros. 2, which is out for 3DS on August 19, Mario will start dashing like there's no tomorrow. You'll have to jump to dodge pits and enemies, a feat that, judging by the above video, could get pretty challenging.

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Also in New Super Mario Bros. 2: stages that take place at night.

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So what do you think? Do you welcome these new levels or does the thought of more auto-run games give you a headache?

(Videos via Siliconera)