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CCP Focuses on EVE Universe - A CCP Announcement

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Cyniac
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#621 - 2011-10-21 16:08:12 UTC
I don't particularly find this reassuring.

As a fan of EVE I am holding any judgement on the future until I see the winter expansion. Words are not what I base my opinions on and so far I'm hearing nice words but I'd waiting for results.


However before coming to EVE I was (and still am) a die-hard fan of white-wolf in particular of the Masquerade. In this respect what has happened bites very very deep. From my point of view, you took something precious, filled it with your bloated ambitions and have left it lying by the roadside. Along the way you have terribly wounded, if not killed, something which was great. This is hugely frustrating.

However, I don't blame you. You tried to dream big and gave it a shot. You flew the flight of Icarus and fell back down to earth and are now feeling the pain. Odds are pretty good the pain is not over yet. I firmly believe though that if you have the option between trying to reach for the moon, and not doing anything at all, reaching for the moon is always the best option. Consequences can be brutal though.


Make EVE work. Learn to love EVE again. Then all will be better.
Slippery Duke
Monkey Scumbucket Consortium
Shadow Ultimatum
#622 - 2011-10-21 16:15:59 UTC
Hilmar Pétursson: I feel very accountable for the situation and it's really hard to go through these steps in this way. We took on too many things as a company and our focus was spread too thin. These were very much the decisions that I as CEO made and supported, and I think everyone now agrees that we need to do these adjustments. That's a hard thing to realise, especially because people are hurt in the process. That's the reality.

This is a understatement of gross proportions maybe time to let some one else have the centre seat old chap.


Quote taken from http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-21-eurogamer-interviews-ccps-hilmar-petursson-interview
Azelor Delaria
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#623 - 2011-10-21 16:16:02 UTC
Quote:
Eurogamer: The statement you issued on October 5th was extremely candid. Since the release of Incarna we've seen two very different personae - that of the leaked e-mail, and then this statement. Can you talk a bit about your mindset and how it's changed between June and October?

Hilmar Pétursson: It's a danger of having gone from success to success for such a long time. We've consistently bucked the trend with Eve now for eight years. Eve as an initial creation was an almost impossible feat and we've carried that through the years, growing each year. It frankly made me arrogant and making a change to the game as we did over the summer - in the way that we did - led to taking a look at the whole company as a result. We've done a lot of retrospectives leading up to this moment and it's been an ongoing process ever since August/September.

I just realised that I needed to look more closely at myself and go back to a different time when we were closer to our products, making decisions more in line with their benefits - and not for the benefit of our very ambitious strategic plan.


Why did it take so long for him to realize he was the problem? Why did it take so long for the man who claims to be the CEO of the company so long to understand that his decisions are what led to this?

Quote:
Eurogamer: The statement was so frank that it read as though you were about to announce your resignation. Did you ever consider that option?

Hilmar Pétursson: I absolutely considered that but I think that frankly it would have been an easy way out. Being accountable for this type of situation, leading the company into this position, it's also my responsibility to lead us out of it. I've had support from employees in doing that. I've now learned a life lesson from going through this and I hope that will make me a better CEO in the future.


Translation: I had no intention of leaving the company, since my incompetence ensured I would never find a job as a high-paid CEO in another company. Might as well cut other people off from our teat so I can keep my $1,000 Japanese designer jeans a week!

Quote:
Eurogamer: What was your own reaction to the leaks when they began?

Hilmar Pétursson: CCP has always been run as a company where all information is available to everyone. Fearless [CCP's internal newsletter] is an example of that where we have public discussions about really hard questions. To see that turned on the company was very disappointing. But we can't make one incident completely change us.

Obviously the company was not on a great course at the time and we needed to do something about it - but this was not a good way to point that out. To use that as a tool against the company was really disappointing to see, especially for the people who make and participate in the discussions. It was sad to see that being turned on people. A strength of our culture is to be open about things and I don't think there's a lot of information at CCP that people don't have access to. It was sad to see that being turned around and used to damage the company.


Cool, cool. So, Hilmar, since we're on an "open and transparent company" binge right now, mind forking over your e-mails from the time this started to, oh...today? And don't leave out the ones demanding internal affairs "find and dispose of" the leak to save face. It won't work!

Quote:
Eurogamer: Did you ever identify the people who were leaking?

Hilmar Pétursson: That's a very complicated question to answer because there are a lot of legal matters involved - so I would choose not to comment on that.


Translation: Yes. Do you think we're firing only the competent people who did nothing wrong? We're also firing competent people who give a damn about the players.

Quote:
Eurogamer: Back in June, I wrote about the challenges of resolving these issues while having to assume that any discussions will enter the public domain. How did you manage the situation?

Hilmar Pétursson: A lot of the realigning has happened a few months after, in the middle of summer. I think everyone saw how much the information had been taken out of context, and everyone realised how damaging it can be, trying to fix the company in the public spotlight. Since then we have done a lot of introspective work where we have teams working on various development initiatives, talking about our challenges and what needs to improve.

That frankly has been a very inspirational process to see how people love the company and want to make it stronger by really being frank and open about their mistakes and where they see the company needing to restructure - because the communication is not flowing and teams are not being productive. That was a really inspiring moment where we saw a lot of people really applying themselves and getting to the bottom of everything that had been going on.


I found the underlined portion to be the most relevant in this entire article. We made it clear during out protests that we weren't going to take being lied to, and that we expected some form of transparency. We wanted Hilmar to answer to us, because like it or not, we, the players, are the equivalent to shareholders. We pay for the development. We pay the salaries. At the end of the day, we want a great product that we can be proud to say we use and show off to our friends.

However, we accepted that Fearless was an internal newsletter that did not speak for CCP's intentions. That's fine. What we accepted at the same time was that Hilmar's leaked memo was genuine and real, and he has come out since then and said, "Yes, that was me, and it's real." To come out and say the information presented - all of it was taken out of context is disingenuous and insulting the the intelligence of the players.

[cont.]
Azelor Delaria
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#624 - 2011-10-21 16:25:03 UTC
[cont.]

It is clear that though Hilmar says "Yeah, I f*cked up", he has not truly come to understand this. This is a PR ploy, and it is clear the only reason he is doing this is because subscriptions did take a substantial hit. The loan had to be paid off, I understand that. But if the status quo in terms of subscriptions remained constant, then he shouldn't have been too worried. This mea culpa is simply a ploy, and nothing more.

As I have said from Day 1, this entire thing can be handled badly, or well. The CCP management has opted for lip service, thus taking the "bad" route. When it failed for them, they passed the blame to CCP Pann and her crew. They bit the bullet when they didn't want to, and try as they might they couldn't stop the angry masses. We wanted answers, we wanted the truth. Well, the truth is Hilmar screwed the pooch royally, and his employees have to pay for it in the end.

This is a classic example of the idiocy that is Hilmar. We have been taken along for a ride and told things we want to hear. They are "refocusing" on EVE they say, and at the same time they are laying off people who have, since the opening stages of this game, been with us to do it. How does this make sense?

If CCP Pann was incompetent, I'm sure she would have been gone long ago; the same with Fallout and crew. However, because the crap Hilmar et al. tried to shove down our throats through them didn't work, they are now seen as "obsolete". They were "fat that needed to be trimmed".

And because of this, we were made to look like the reason for the layoffs a few days ago. Hilmar's take on this hasn't changed, even in this: the players called him on his BS, they cancelled subscriptions, and so they had to stop development on another game to placate us. "It's because of them that people lost their jobs. I hope you're happy, players."

You know what? I'm not happy. You can put all the fixes you want into the next expansion. But will it matter in seven or eight months? Who knows. I'm not going to be happy until this wrong is righted, and you find yourself on the end of a pink slip.

Quote:
Eurogamer: At the time of the Icelandic economic crisis in 2008, CCP issued a statement that Eve was protected and in good financial health. Is the game still profitable as a standalone investment?

Hilmar Pétursson: Absolutely, very much so. The business model of subscriptions in a thriving MMO like Eve is a very robust one so this was never the problem. How we handled Eve as a result of having very ambitious plans as a company is really what the failure was, and we're now addressing that by focusing our attention on Eve. The game itself is a robust entity.


The facts, and your recent actions, categorically deny what you're saying, and furthermore call you a liar to your face.
Kengutsi Akira
Doomheim
#625 - 2011-10-21 16:42:52 UTC  |  Edited by: Kengutsi Akira
Dodecapod wrote:

Somehow, it all slowed way the f*** down and all we've seen of INCARNA is what I sincerely consider a BETA.


THEY considered it a BETA or "prototype" too

http://www.wodnews.net/Home/tabid/41/ctl/ArticleView/mid/401/articleId/69/New-WoD-MMO-info-from-The-Grand-Masquerade-UPDATED.aspx

Quote:
Incarna is actually considered a prototype, the rendering engine that will ship with the MMO (WOD) will be much more advanced.


(before the WoD/White Wolf dismantling)

I liked the thread that got closed because it was calling for Hilmar to resign.

Its time buddy. You are out of touch with this game and its players.

Please leave before you take the rest of the game down with you

"Is it fair that CCP can get away with..." :: checks ownership on the box ::

Yes
Slippery Duke
Monkey Scumbucket Consortium
Shadow Ultimatum
#626 - 2011-10-21 16:44:32 UTC
So essentially people were paying to beta test...... excusse me while i hit myself about the head with my keyboardOops
Kengutsi Akira
Doomheim
#627 - 2011-10-21 16:49:45 UTC
Slippery Duke wrote:
So essentially people were paying to beta test...... excusse me while i hit myself about the head with my keyboardOops


yessir, love the ppl that were supporting CCP and how they were saying it WASNT a Beta etc.

Hows that Kool Aid taste now?

"Is it fair that CCP can get away with..." :: checks ownership on the box ::

Yes
Abrazzar
Vardaugas Family
#628 - 2011-10-21 17:11:27 UTC
Kengutsi Akira wrote:
Slippery Duke wrote:
So essentially people were paying to beta test...... excusse me while i hit myself about the head with my keyboardOops


yessir, love the ppl that were supporting CCP and how they were saying it WASNT a Beta etc.

Hows that Kool Aid taste now?

It tastes a bit heavy of bitter almond....

Sovereignty and Population

New Mining Mechanics
Markus Reese
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#629 - 2011-10-21 17:32:27 UTC
CCP, it is really good to see the reorganization. But of course horrible at the thought of people losing jobs. 20% is less than 100% though, and the statement about being commited to helping those that are being laid off to find new work I think really speaks alot about why people like me have stayed in eve for years. CCP represented a people company who cares about their work.

Of course like Hilmar said, this got lost over the past year or two, grand ideas that were just to big, and they are great. There are so many huge concepts that are more like betas in Eve. These last two months have started to show again that eve is once again about the player base drive over just the in house developments. In the past year and a half, the most enjoyment I had was with the live events, story and action molded by player interaction with the developers. There was no reward, no substancial goal, just all about the fun.

New Tier 3 battlecruisers, everything directed towards optimizing the player experience that already exists is quite the 180. Time dialation to make gameplay smooth and manageable is awesome. In my opinion, the TD offers more to eve than incarna. There are so many awesome things in eve, the optimization and progression back to sandbox will do more than any feature ever has.

Look forward to seeing what the next 3 years will bring, just remember, nobody knows what will make the game great than the people who play it!

To quote Lfod Shi

The ratting itself is PvE. Getting away with it is PvP.
Asuri Kinnes
Perkone
Caldari State
#630 - 2011-10-21 17:34:50 UTC
Cyniac wrote:
a die-hard fan of white-wolf in particular of the Masquerade. In this respect what has happened bites very very deep. From my point of view, you took something precious, filled it with your bloated ambitions and have left it lying by the roadside. Along the way you have terribly wounded, if not killed, something which was great. This is hugely frustrating.

Talk to anyone who was a fan of Ars Magica before WW got a-hold of it... Or the Ellison book re-issues... WW has been full of fail for 20 years (as far as I'm concerned...)

If you like 'em, more power to you, I was just worried they would come into CCP and change eve... Into WoD.... oh wait...

Bob is the god of Wormholes.

That's all you need to know.
Slippery Duke
Monkey Scumbucket Consortium
Shadow Ultimatum
#631 - 2011-10-21 18:01:28 UTC
Markus Reese wrote:


Look forward to seeing what the next 3 years will bring, just remember, Nobody knows what will make the game great than the people who play it!



I hope some one from CCP read this particular statement as its very very true
Azelor Delaria
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#632 - 2011-10-21 18:10:43 UTC
Asuri Kinnes wrote:
Cyniac wrote:
a die-hard fan of white-wolf in particular of the Masquerade. In this respect what has happened bites very very deep. From my point of view, you took something precious, filled it with your bloated ambitions and have left it lying by the roadside. Along the way you have terribly wounded, if not killed, something which was great. This is hugely frustrating.

Talk to anyone who was a fan of Ars Magica before WW got a-hold of it... Or the Ellison book re-issues... WW has been full of fail for 20 years (as far as I'm concerned...)

If you like 'em, more power to you, I was just worried they would come into CCP and change eve... Into WoD.... oh wait...


WoD was just tabletop Twilight and nothing more. It's why I never encouraged anyone who played it. People always told me, "World of Darkness is far superior to Dungeons and Dragons in every way!" When I asked for specifics, they'd of course not give me any.

You go play Sparkly Tabletop Vampires. I'll be over here being more nerdy and kicking ass with my Warmage.
Jacob Menard
Bleeding Skulls Syndicate
#633 - 2011-10-21 18:13:30 UTC
I think instead of releasing those people, they should have redirected their efforts toward the team that is working on "the little things" and various bugs that have plagued EVE for years. That many people could have brought about some significant improvements to the entire EVE game. Imagine what the server/network team could do with an extra dozen helping, or the ones working on that huge list of acknowledged bugs/improvements in the CSM thread. If they truly want to get back to the roots of the game, they need to keep all of those people and focus their efforts on the things that are wrong with the game and how to incorporate them into the future expansions.
The Old Chap
Doomheim
#634 - 2011-10-21 19:02:09 UTC
I think CCP made a good call here. Let's hope it's enough to keep the investors happy.

I lost my job in the last year too, as part of the UK public sector cuts. So I understand something of what you guys in Atlanta must be going through. Look forward, and don't look back. If you do look back, remember the good times.

Those ****** greedy investment bankers have a lot to answer for.

Look into my eyes...   and tighten that sphincter, kid.
Radix Salvilines
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#635 - 2011-10-21 20:59:11 UTC  |  Edited by: Radix Salvilines
"We will look at what they do, not what they say" (something like that)......


I so much laugh at that now

WAHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAH!!!!



Ive quit and am back now. I will quit again if you guys CCP mess up again. This is not WOW, EVE players are big intelligent boys so play nice from now on. You now know the consequences :)

Oh and... microtransactions (nex store) - this one is still what you need to fix...
Amun Khonsu
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#636 - 2011-10-21 22:05:21 UTC
Quote:
Our subscriber numbers are higher today than they were a year ago. Unlike many other MMO's on the market, we have continued to grow year-on-year since launch in 2003. However, over the past two months, our subscribers have gone down from their peak this summer. We attribute this to our own mistakes and poor communications with our players. We are correcting that now.
- CCP Announcement

Once you lose consumer trust, it is nearly impossible to regain that back.

I hope that CCP will not just look at people as players, but consumers. A player, you can kick, ban, suspend, tell off, troll, IGNORE, etc. Consumers pay the bills and make this product called EVE what it is and a success.

CCP consumer relations from bottom up, from communication to compaints (petitions) and feedback, needs a revamp and CCP should aadopt more of a consumerism mindset over a gaming mindset since it is after all selling us a product. Otherwise the consumers will speak by cancelling subscriptions as has been noticed recently and mentioned above.

You can have a great product, but if that product has substandard support, or the company takes its consumers for granted, or fails to hear the voice of consumer feedback, people will move on to something else.

I see CCP addressing some of these issues and look forward to the new changes.


Fight them until turmoil is no more and strike terror into their hearts. www.ross-fw.net
Sassums
Dark Venture Corporation
Kitchen Sinkhole
#637 - 2011-10-22 00:07:48 UTC
"As we reexamine our outward relations, we are also taking time to reevaluate our internal goals. In doing so, we have come to the conclusion that we are attempting too many things for a company our size. Developing EVE expansions, DUST 514 and World of Darkness has stretched our resources too thin.

Rather than allowing this to persist, we have made the decision to sharpen our focus. Sadly, this means reducing our staff. We estimate that around twenty percent of global positions will be affected by this process. These will be predominantly in our Atlanta, GA office, although select positions in our Reykjavik, Iceland office will be affected."

How the heck does that make any sense at all? If you are biting off more than you can handle, you either normally reduce what you are up to, or hire more staff. But firing them seems entirely counter productive.

Whats going on here?
Ranzabar
Doomheim
#638 - 2011-10-22 02:04:36 UTC
Unemployment sucks

Abide
Kengutsi Akira
Doomheim
#639 - 2011-10-22 05:01:23 UTC
Azelor Delaria wrote:


WoD was just tabletop Twilight and nothing more. It's why I never encouraged anyone who played it. People always told me, "World of Darkness is far superior to Dungeons and Dragons in every way!" When I asked for specifics, they'd of course not give me any.

You go play Sparkly Tabletop Vampires. I'll be over here being more nerdy and kicking ass with my Warmage.


Nice revisionist history you got there...

Quote:
release of the first novel, Twilight, in 2005


Quote:
In 1992, Vampire: The Masquerade won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1991


Dude for Vampire the masquerade to be tabletop twilight, thered have to be a time machine involved

"Is it fair that CCP can get away with..." :: checks ownership on the box ::

Yes
Florestan Bronstein
Ministry of War
Amarr Empire
#640 - 2011-10-22 15:01:08 UTC  |  Edited by: Florestan Bronstein
reposting my comment from the "fire Hilmar naow" thread:


The Method Man wrote:
How is that an answer? Guys I messed up and TWENTY PERCENT OF MY COMPANY HAD TO GO but I want to clean up my own mess. Seriously?


Guys I messed up and TWENTY PERCENT OF MY COMPANY HAD TO GO but don't worry, here is some ex-Cryptic/Sony/Turbine/... manager to replace me.

I am sure you would be delighted with that answer.


We have no idea how much of that layoff is really due to failure by CCP's executives and how much is due to external circumstances changing. All we know is that the shareholders are still happy enough with Hilmar to keep him as CEO.
Why don't you blame the investors/shareholders for being unwilling to inject additional cash to fund WoD development?


(if you threaten to fire a CEO every time he has to lay off people, you won't see any hiring sprees either -
keep in mind that during 2010 CCP's employee count increased by 155 heads (which is a crazy +38%);
if laying people off is unacceptable, you will either have to settle for much less dynamic growth or you have to increase out-sourcing/contracting during good times)