Its not whether there was a screwup, its how the devs react to a problem that shows the quality of a coin imho.
There are two major points to consider here:
1. The dev has almost instantly started looking into the issue.
2. The dev is involving the community in the resolution.
That is the mark of a quality coin imho.
I also believe there is a way to reward early adopters and taper off the block reward in such a way that maintains the coins attractiveness to mine long term, while also giving it a multi year lifespan.
I have pm'd the dev with my thoughts and believe that there are ways to modify this coin and ensure it retains its high attractiveness. There is over 500MH/s on this coin afte less than 2 days. This is a great start and shows that it has potential.
This is obviously an issue, but it most certainly can be fixed and involving the community in the fix is a fantastic way of ensuring that it remains attractive to miners and investors.
Very good work from the dev so far.