Assembly Hall

I’ve been watching a serious decline over the past 6 years of expertise in this game. It’s apparent that at CCP, the developers are not properly assigning the right people to the right jobs. It’s not doubt apparent that you have many capable and smart members of your company, but somehow, delegation of task is falling through. This recent round of massive adjustment to titan stopgap fix proposals is just one indication that somewhere there is a flaw in how you delegate tasking. There is no excuse for the developers working on a change first and foremost, do not know the problem, and secondly, do not understand the mechanics needed to fix the problem. Surely, there are better developers in those specific fields around that can be tasked those duties.

Similarly, as with any elected office, popularity contest do not assure proper expertise of CSM members. A body of CSM does not guarantee that all the members are adequately able to discuss the mechanics of the game which the players address to them and then transfer those ideas properly to CCP.

Proposed changes to the CSM:

Before Ideas ever get voted on by the CSM, committees are formed. These committies are responsible for pooling player knowledge and resources and forming a think tank on an idea. The committee then takes the refined idea to the CSM and can cite what player resources they used. If it’s a combat mechanics, then a combination of many FC’s from empire, to lowsec, to 0.0 and wormhole space are pooled together. If it’s mining, then experienced people with credible records are pooled from each area. If it’s alliance and corporation management, then Leaders of entities across the game are pooled.

That way, the CSM is adequately proposing ideas that are a collective of relevant knowledge, rather than unspecialized members throwing their weight around. The CSM can release these meetings, with disclosure on who was part of the committee, why they were justifiably relevant, and the decisions that were then lifted up to the CSM and ultimately CCP. The playes used are disclosed so that self serving interest of player pockets can't be exploited. Example being Elise Randolf can't just committe nothing but PL and NC. together w/o the regular player base and CSM seeing how he's stacking a committee for a singular interest.

I’ve heard from countless CSM members that to date, their jobs and duties are pretty meaningless, and this gives them a much more relevant and active role and expectations.

Proposed changes to CCP:

Redesign your teams around proper developer knowledge. Have a dedicated core of developers that work in each different area and become specialized in that topic. If someone is dealing with combat, then every task they get assigned should always be somehow combat related. This requires them to understand the flaws in that field. They should not be working on industry, or trade mechanics, NPC’s, etc.

The same goes for:

empire, lowsec and sov mechanical changes
Industry and research
Market activites
Mining
Combat mechanics
Empire building/alliances and corporations
ETC.

This means that anytime a fix or addition to the game has a mutitiered effect: people from each field are adequately represented. But someone from the combat division should not have his/her hands also in something that relates to mining.

This way, your divisions can also focus their own gameplay activities on their specific task, so that they can better examine the play and impact of changes they try to make.

I think if you combine the developer changes with the CSM changes, you have a chance to pool a lot of resources for true expertise and return to proper patch ideas. This will hopefully avoid the “OMG CCP WTF WERE YOU THINKING THERE” ideas you seem to be coming out with that make the players question your competence. There is no reason or excuse why the developers cannot see some of the insanely obvious flaws in their ideas that have become more and more frequent over the years. After all, if you’re designing the game, shouldn’t you be experts? Shouldn’t you at least be able to see the obvious WTF bad ideas?

I'm sorry, but you cannot tell me that somehow, these developers should have their hands in so many cookie jars of gameplay. No player in game has that kind of understanding of all mechanics, there's just not enough time in the day. Find the best solution, not just someone who did this for a while some time. I mean ****, I've mined in game before, but there's no way I'd call my self god's answer to mining. But I can certainly think of players who would fit that label.

You do know I'm pushing for titan nerfs right troll?

I can list many debacles from several iterations of a carrier patch changes, to 3 super iterations, to tower changes, to sov changes, etc.

Nice speech....too bad I disagree and suggest you watch fanfest again.

Also might help to do some research on the subject before you make claims like you do.