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CCP Focuses on EVE Universe - A CCP Announcement

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La Merovingian
Sailor's Grave
#261 - 2011-10-19 19:22:48 UTC
I'm guessing that since they've fired the CCP'ers who were in charge of organizing Fan Fest, that there will be no Fan Fest?

Even if there is still a Fan Fest, I have no desire to spend money on a community event when CCP clearly has no concept of the EVE community. The dismissal of so many of our friends who fought to keep the relationship between the community and the company alive is unforgivable. I haven't decided if I'm going to cancel my accounts just yet, but I will not be spending thousands of dollars to attend a "Fan Fest" that has lost all of it's meaning for me.

Restructuring. Reorganizing. Call it what you want. I understand that some people had to be let go. I understand the shift in priorities. What I cannot understand is how you can justify dismissing EVE Staff (not WoD or DUST), when you're supposed to be refocusing on EVE. How can you let Community Management and Content be whittled down to nothing, when these pillars of your company were the ones who did their damnedest to stem the tide of fleeing accounts? They lived, breathed, and bled EVE Online for you, and you repay them by showing them the door. They weren't just talking heads for CCP. They were people who related to players, and players related to them. The majority of them had earned the trust and respect of the community when so many within CCP had blackened and tarnished themselves in our eyes.

As I sit in my chair and stair at my computer screen in disbelief, I struggle to read and type through tears. I know that those who were let go are all talented in their own right, and that they will eventually pick themselves back up. But that doesn't make it any easier for me to see my friends suffer. None of them deserved this.
Barakkus
#262 - 2011-10-19 19:25:18 UTC
Yblarbo Janks wrote:
Barakkus wrote:
Yblarbo Janks wrote:

In summary, I honestly feel for the first time this is the confirmation that Eve Online is on a downward track - and it's one that not many actually will see right now, but down the road will be able to look back and think "you know, it all started then"


It's not. This happens all the time in the gaming industry. SOE has done it a few times, but not publicly, I'm sure Blizzard has, Bioware, etc.

As long as the product is still solid, then the problems that caused this will be overcome. As I see it right now, EVE is still a solid product and can pull CCP as a whole out of whatever difficulties they are experiencing right now.

EVE is far from dead, and I think a bit of restructuring and re-prioritizing as they are doing now will keep it solid for a good long while still.


Thinking more on it, there is one big difference here. They have a direction that we collectively think is good (the updates from past two weeks).




Yeah, if they hadn't made the decisions they have just made in terms of their core product, then I would say they're in pretty deep ****, but I do think they are going to be just fine, this is just a bump in the road...or a giant pot-hole at least...

http://youtu.be/yytbDZrw1jc
Master Akira
Licence To Kill
Mercenary Coalition
#263 - 2011-10-19 19:26:33 UTC
So, in order to save the game you fire Fallout and Valar and keep... t0rtifrans? Really??

GOOD JOB!
Kozmic
State War Academy
Caldari State
#264 - 2011-10-19 19:28:38 UTC
CCP Manifest wrote:
My good friend CCP Fallout wrote a heartfelt message that she shared with #tweetfleet. You may remember her from such things as deleting your post or promoting your awesome player creation. I asked her if I could also share it here.

She will be dearly missed at CCP.

An Open Letter to the Players of EVE Online

Heya guys,

Many of you know me as CCP Fallout, but to most people I’m just plain old Mist. If you are reading this, there is a good chance you already know that CCP has laid off approximately 20% of its workforce. I am one of the 20%.

For the last three years, I have been the associate community manager for EVE Online. I have had both the honor and the privilege to not only work with an absolutely amazing team, but extremely talented and passionate designers, programmers, QA, customer support and others who have brought, and continue to bring, EVE Online to life. My co-workers have, and I hope will continue to, inspire, educate, amuse, and drive me bat **** crazy. These people are extremely passionate about their work, and each of them is tremendously talented. It has always bugged me that players never truly got to see this side of EVE Online’s devs unless they went to Fanfest. When you speak face-to-face with someone at CCP about EVE Online, that’s not just some mask they are wearing for three days… EVE Online is something we love, something we want to grow, and something we are proud of. In this respect, EVE Online’s devs really are not that much different from players, even if I know you might not believe me when I say it.

And of course, none of this would happen without you, the players, the most amazingly insane bunch of space assholes (1, 2) ever to play an MMO ever. I have been so incredibly blessed to have had the privilege and honor of working for you all these years, and thank you for allowing me into your universe. Not a day has gone by where I wasn’t either amused or shocked by some of the crazy things you guys would come up with. Every day was an adventure; every day was an experience that I can’t ever forget. I am indebted to the EVE community teaching me both passion and humility, and for reminding me how important the voice of a community is during both the good and bad times.

So, what does the future bring for me? I’m not entirely sure. To be honest, I am a bit scared and concerned, but I am hopeful. I do realize that I am probably going to have to stop wearing pajamas all day, and introduce myself to some soap, but I am confident that things will be okay. And I wish the same thing for all of my friends who currently are on the same boat as I.

Please do fly safely. I’m going to go now, because I am starting to cry.

P.S. Yes, I know what’s coming into the game next. No, I will not tell you

1. You know I only mean this with love!
2. Also: haha, no blackfilter on my site!


Sad

Nice going, CCP. "The community is upset - best fire all the community managers, then we won't hear how upset they are!"

How about the art team that has produced one ship per year for several years? Cut them all and just keep the guy that did the Scorpion during his breaks - with a hefty raise of course. Or how about the guy that needs 6 months to change the Logi warp speed or dramiel base speed in the database? Or - huh! - how about the inept CEO or the genius who decided that one solo room was good enough for an expansion and justifies years of development and that 70 USD is the perfect price for an in-game monocle?
Tallianna Avenkarde
Pyre of Gods
#265 - 2011-10-19 19:30:13 UTC
Here's hoping that all that have been laid off find their next project fairly quickly. Special thoughts go out to fallout, and if the rumours are true zyrmgist, who have both been done exemploray jobs dealing with us retards.

And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell. Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell.
James Razor
RazorEnterprise
#266 - 2011-10-19 19:30:40 UTC
Well, i once said CCP always finds new ways to disapoint me. And now they prove it again.

As far as i can see it, CCPs attitude didnt change at all. In fact, they try to hide their mistakes even more behind nice words, but silently they keep doing the wrong things.

The last patch was underwhelming again. This Window Bug is annoying as hell.


As someone who was unemployed as well, i can only say that i did not want this to happen when i participated in those protests. We as customers wanted the management at CCP to realize that they where going down the wrong path.

It seems the managemet is not listening and now puting the blame on the community contacts, because they failed at selling us the crap the management wanted us to swallow.

Also, i realy doubt someone that plays eve would give a even a fart about what CCP is developing, as long as all these annoying bugs in Eve would get fixed over time. A lot of people have asked countless times for CCP to stop pushing out new stuff and entirely focus getting things to work properly.

The Monoclegate was caused not only because there was no new content for the Spaceship game, but also because the Spaceship game has issues that have not been addresed since years.

We didnt want people to lose their jobs. Especially not those people at CCP who helped to try to show those high up why we where upset and what was wrong. The sad part is that the people to blame for this are the same ones that make these decissions and for me it looks like CCP Management wants to clean up their house and get rid of those people that did not follow their road into failure.

For me this game is dying. I worked hard over years to get where i stand now, kept paying my sub in the hope that one day Eve will be as awesome as those videos always make us belive. I feel sorry that my decisions in this are affecting people, because it is my money that also contributes into securing these jobs.

But as a paying customer i have to make a decision. And tbh. i am also tired of Soon (TM).

The recent changes to Eve and the things they promised are just eyecandy. The bugs are still there, QA before patch release is still not exsisting (no matter what u claim, some things u cant miss, not if they happen EVERY time) and the changes to capital ships is a slap in the face to those you did spend money, time and countless workhours to get to fly them.

This action is just prove to the fact that the CCP of once is gone and replaced by an company as their are many others. Greedy, selfish, with a management living in an Ivory Tower and without the balls to actually take the blame for the crap they are doing.


PS: I onced said i would never post on the new forums, good work at getting me upset enough to break my word on this @Hilmar.

Old Bitter Veteran.
Zowie Powers
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#267 - 2011-10-19 19:35:31 UTC
I hope that Hilmar isn't paying any price at all for this failure and misery he's caused, in the same way that no other CEO or Chairman ever has to feel the burn of their too little too late corrections. I hope he's still getting a big fat shiney car that he thinks he deserves.

ATX: The best of the rest.
Azelor Delaria
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#268 - 2011-10-19 19:35:36 UTC  |  Edited by: Azelor Delaria
Covert Kitty wrote:
Some of the replies here are just silly

Quote:
Hilmar has no reason to fear for his job ...... everyone under him is expendable. That is the problem.

So some people in PR loose their jobs and suddenly you think everyone under the ceo is expendable? The best PR is a good game, a good game is made by programmers and artists. Don't get me wrong, PR is important, but don't inflate their role just because you hear from them more often than others.


I would appreciate it if you would quote the entire sentence before trying to put words in my mouth. For those just tuning in, the entire portion of that reads:

Quote:
Hilmar has no reason to fear for his job. Until such time as there is some cataclysmic incident where money is lost at a rate the company can not make back in a foreseeable future, everyone under him is expendable. That is the problem.


I bolded the entire portion that was conveniently left out. Please re-read it. :)

Quote:
The entire source for the original post was an attempt by CCP to try to guilt trip us. ..... and because we were selfish people lost their jobs.

Funny, I was there shooting the statue in jita for a day and a half with the rest because I was pissed off about all the problems in Eve that were being ignored and the introduction of half finished, stupid features nobody cared about.[/quote]

Once again, please quote the entire portion...

Quote:
The entire source for the original post was an attempt by CCP to try to guilt trip us. They wanted us to look at it and go, "Wow, we caused this to happen". Undoubtedly, many CCP "fanbois" (or alternatively, CCP employees masquerading as "players") will post (or have, I haven't read through the entire thread yet) saying we are wrong, and because we were selfish people lost their jobs.


Please don't act like a moron and try to project your idiocy onto others. Thank you.
Issler Dainze
Tadakastu-Obata Corporation
The Honda Accord
#269 - 2011-10-19 19:39:27 UTC
Anyone that sees this as a good thing is not seeing what this really is.

- CCP is having financial issues.

- They also realized that the technology they bet the vampire farm on, that they couldn't deliver WiS with can't scale to an actual MMO game at this point in time. It was too resource intensive at a minimum, maybe other issues as well.

- They still believe consoles are a cash cow that will save them and DUST 514 is based on known technology, so they can deliver that.

- CCP did not ADD resources to EVE, they cut resources overall. This wasn't a "we will move 80% of our vampire wranglers to deliver WiS for example, or teach them how to makes FiS stuff". This is we are chopping up decks on our steamship to throw into the fire to keep the pumps running.

So, glad they are cutting their losses on a project that exceeded their ability to grasp and they are trying to win our "hearts and minds" with some PR spinnage but this is not time to celebrate.

This is time to ask if the sudden listing of the decks towards the bow might be something other than the ship surfing on some knarly waves like the captain just announced. Does the listing and the water up to our ankles have something to do with the second announcment that we have a new supply of fresh ice for our blender drinks?! Shocked

Issler
Barakkus
#270 - 2011-10-19 19:39:35 UTC
Honestly guys, I can pretty much guarantee no one is keeping their salaries if they're laying people off. I would venture a guess they probably fretted over the numbers for a good long time the last couple months to try to avoid laying anyone off, in the end I'm sure they cut pay as well as let people go...and I'm pretty sure no one, absolutely no one is happy about it over there....if you actually pay attention to all the stupid little videos and stuff they put out, it's a pretty close family, I'm sure it's pretty heart breaking, all the way to the top to have to do any of this.

http://youtu.be/yytbDZrw1jc
Thomas Abernathy
Fusion Enterprises Ltd
Pandemic Horde
#271 - 2011-10-19 19:40:08 UTC
So, after all the "We look at more what people say that do" You actually lost enough business to force layoffs? Oops

Why is CCP the only one that seems surprised? Shocked

"Fighting CCD since 2139"
Florestan Bronstein
Ministry of War
Amarr Empire
#272 - 2011-10-19 19:40:19 UTC
Renan Ruivo wrote:

Last thing CCP needs right now is for the CEO to step down. If he does, CCP stock will plummet, and the company will die. Regardless if Jesus Christ himself fills the position of new CEO.

CCP stock is not publicly traded.
Hakaru Ishiwara
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#273 - 2011-10-19 19:40:50 UTC
Barakkus wrote:
Blood Fart wrote:
so the idiots who came up with the bullshit can get the same size pay checks?



I would venture a guess quite a few people if not all of them took sizeable paycuts.
This makes me chuckle. Since when has it been typical or standard for CEOs or their executive team to take pay cuts?

Very rare is the CEO or other executive that takes a pay cut. Their egos will not let it happen.

In the case that still-employed CCP personnel did take pay cuts, then that is something that would truly impress me. Austerity measures to ensure viability are a much more intelligent way of meeting budgets (rather than layoffs).

+++++++ I have never shed a tear for a fellow EVE player until now. Mark “Seleene” Heard's Blog Honoring Sean "Vile Rat" Smith.
Hrug
Lutinari Syndicate
#274 - 2011-10-19 19:40:53 UTC
Loosing a job you love doing is the worst thing that can happen to someone, especially when it happens in a friendly environment such as CCP's.

For curiosity's sake, what do people think about the idea that CCP does the the following:

  • increases our subs (temporarily perhaps?) by $1,
  • doesn't fire anyone,
  • reallocates the to-be-fired staff to EVE features that are in development.


I'd go for it...
Azelor Delaria
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#275 - 2011-10-19 19:41:09 UTC
Barakkus wrote:
Honestly guys, I can pretty much guarantee no one is keeping their salaries if they're laying people off. I would venture a guess they probably fretted over the numbers for a good long time the last couple months to try to avoid laying anyone off, in the end I'm sure they cut pay as well as let people go...and I'm pretty sure no one, absolutely no one is happy about it over there....if you actually pay attention to all the stupid little videos and stuff they put out, it's a pretty close family, I'm sure it's pretty heart breaking, all the way to the top to have to do any of this.


In many instances like this, you fire peons so the higher-ups can keep their paychecks at the amount they are right now, as well as the annual "bonuses" they sneak into their contracts.
Poloturion
Genco Pura Olive Oil Company.
#276 - 2011-10-19 19:41:31 UTC
Job security and the games industry tend not to mix very often.

My condolences to those who lost their jobs and wishing you luck finding a job in the industry you love.

Also, please fix POS.
Barakkus
#277 - 2011-10-19 19:43:32 UTC
Azelor Delaria wrote:
Barakkus wrote:
Honestly guys, I can pretty much guarantee no one is keeping their salaries if they're laying people off. I would venture a guess they probably fretted over the numbers for a good long time the last couple months to try to avoid laying anyone off, in the end I'm sure they cut pay as well as let people go...and I'm pretty sure no one, absolutely no one is happy about it over there....if you actually pay attention to all the stupid little videos and stuff they put out, it's a pretty close family, I'm sure it's pretty heart breaking, all the way to the top to have to do any of this.


In many instances like this, you fire peons so the higher-ups can keep their paychecks at the amount they are right now, as well as the annual "bonuses" they sneak into their contracts.


Actually that has not been my experience.
I'm pretty sure all of upper management has taken their lumps in all of this as well.

Now if it were a bank or some mult-national investment firm maybe...CCP is still a small shop in comparison to most companies out there...

http://youtu.be/yytbDZrw1jc
Sam Bowein
Sense Amid Madness
#278 - 2011-10-19 19:43:35 UTC
I don't get it, you say resources are stretched too thin, so you lay people off ???
Yakumo Smith
No End To Infinity
#279 - 2011-10-19 19:44:33 UTC
Nearly 5 years since the merger.

Wonder if WW employees had protecting written into the merger deal???

Something similar happened at my company, we took over a smaller outfit and all of their staff got 3 years protection from being made redundant etc. This had a side effect of protcting current employee's as well as just firing the old guard could have came across as discrimination. Year 3 saw my company downsize 20%.

I applaud the decision CCP. The last series of DEV blogs has given me hope that you can actually pull it together. A someone in a company that went through the process you are now going through, I can see the benefits we gained from trimming ourselves down. It's a tough pill to swallow, but once you have it down your neck, the benefits start to become clear.

+1 resubscribing
Barakkus
#280 - 2011-10-19 19:44:51 UTC
Hakaru Ishiwara wrote:
Barakkus wrote:
Blood Fart wrote:
so the idiots who came up with the bullshit can get the same size pay checks?



I would venture a guess quite a few people if not all of them took sizeable paycuts.
This makes me chuckle. Since when has it been typical or standard for CEOs or their executive team to take pay cuts?

Very rare is the CEO or other executive that takes a pay cut. Their egos will not let it happen.

In the case that still-employed CCP personnel did take pay cuts, then that is something that would truly impress me. Austerity measures to ensure viability are a much more intelligent way of meeting budgets (rather than layoffs).


The CEO and VP of the company I work at right now took a 10% paycut right along with the rest of us when we went through this very same thing in February.

http://youtu.be/yytbDZrw1jc