Kevall Longstride
DUST University
Ivy League
919
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Posted - 2014.02.01 17:47:00 -
[1] - Quote
1. About 28 minutes after the Open Beta appeared on PSN for the Fanfest 2012 attendee beta codes. So about 18 months.
2. The CPM purpose is an advocacy group, able to look at the ideas and designs of the Dev team from the perspective of the players and advise CCP as to any issues, positive or negative that might impact on the players, both those that are active on the forums and those who are not. They can constructively give feedback as to what might need a higher priority in the development of the game and give reasoned arguement as to what needs iteration or fixing. With the NDA protecting them and CCP they can be more candid with CCP than is normal.
They are also there to represent the whole community , not just those that vote for them. As elected representatives they should make themselves as available as possible within reason, for the community to give feedback directly to CCP via the CPM.
3. A legacy of raised expectation and unfulfilled promises. While the concept for Dust is still one of the most exciting in the industry, decisions made 2 years ago without thought as to how they could implemented or indeed possible in the timeframe and chosen hardware, have stalled the process creation. A lot of what has been said was coming soon was, in hindsight, merely stated to sound 'cool' rather than if it doable.
4. The community that has built around it. A game that was mostly written off an an Icelandic folly after the poor launch has not only survived long enough to repair most of the damage of that troubled launch but to actually start to look forward to a much more postive future with 1.8 round the corner and the next named expansion hopefully arriving at Fanfest.
5. It's complete and total lack of anything resembling an enjoyable NPE. With nothing put a rapid proto based kicking waiting for new players, once they stagger ill educated from the Academy, it's amazing that concurrent numbers have held steady and shown some improvement in the last few weekends.
6. Carry on what I'm doing now in the UNI and work with those elected to the CPM like I have with the current one. Then try again in a year. Not one for sulking.
7. To be perfectly honest at least half of the list are not going to happen in the next year and likely then not till the game is on a more powerful format. Some are likely fixed in the next couple of patches such as the tank balancing. But my top three would be the NPE, proper matchmaking keeping the proto users from the new players, and new game modes.
8. They were predicted. Running players over is a valid mechanic. LLAV's tanking better than the tanks and killing with the merest touch.... whoever let that slip through internal testing needs an 6 monthly evaluation.
9. WTF? Again why didn't internal testing pick that up? This is, I hope, one of the many internal changes that I hear CCP Rouge has brought it. I've always thought it better that CCP be cautious with the stats of a new item, then buff if needed shortly after rather than delaying for too long with a required nerf. It was also symptomatic of CCP Shanghai's MO at the time of messing around with too much at once and hoping for the best.
10. Love it now that you can't fire while clocked, which again is something you have to wonder how it got past internal testing. I'm also pleased that it finally gives those players unfamilar to Eve, the concept of a massive fitting bonus to make a particular role suited for a specific module. It's something that I hope we'll see more of in the future. As a side note, cloaking is the end game for a scout. There shouldn't be a militia version of the cloak at all. It must be something that you skill into and aim for.
11. The slayer logi only came about because the assault suits were completely not suited for the intended role they had. The FOTM craze is entirely of CCP's making. If the roles and suits for them are serviced in the correct way from the moment they arrive in the game, the FOTM phenomenon will go the way of the dodo. As will the the constant threads demanding respecs.
12. First and foremost the NPE has to substantial enough to provide an ordered and structured learning experiance while not wrapping the new player in cotton wool. They must also be introduced to the forums and the player run corporations as soon as possible. We need corps to be able to advertise themselves in the Mercenary Quarters and the Neocom. Perhaps at some point in the future using answers to multiple choice questions the game can point them to corps that might suit them.
Stable and easy to run corporations are the key to growing the social interaction in the game as well. We all know from our own experiances that a socially vibrant corp in both Eve and Dust are the ones that last. The corp UI needs a complete overhaul. Grantable and visible titles and medel's must arrive in game as soon as able and all the infomation of a player should be visible in the info panel. Chat channels need admin powers very badly as well as team deploy in matches so a corp can field a full team with no worries of a squad of blueberries causing them to lose the game or worst go AFK'ing in the MCC. The mail system of Eve has mailing lists that should make their way to Dust, so divisions in a corp can have their own newsletters, directors can quickly keep other member of the board apprised of operations.
While the forums are a great tool, the more than can be done in game via the Neocom the better. It's immediate and gives a player logging on the sense that if they don't play more often their going to miss out on the really cool stuff.
Mercenary Clone of Dennie Fleetfoot
CEO of DUST University
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