Or other people. I have a lot of respect for many of the other CPM candidates I've met, and I feel a lot of them will do a great job.

The CPM has passed CSM 7 as the longest serving CCP player council. I would say that elections are more than a bit overdue.

Just over 6 months ago, CCP formed the first iteration of the Council of Planetary Management (CPM) for DUST 514. The CPM was a selected, diverse group of high level, knowledgeable players aimed to represent DUST 514 players to the development team. You can read more about their original purpose here, but IGÇÖd like to take some time to talk about their growth, current and past integration into the DUST development process, and opportunities to improve their effectiveness for both players and CCP.

The CPM was inspired by EVE OnlineGÇÖs Council of Stellar Management (CSM), a democratically elected player counsel that acts as a representative body for the player-base. The CSM serves a year-long term and, along with regular digital meetings with EVE development teams, meets directly with CCP development teams several times at intensive, in-person summits. You can read more about the CSM here.

The CPM has passed CSM 7 as the longest serving CCP player council. I would say that elections are more than a bit overdue.

Among the primary functions of the CSM, now in its 8th seated counsel, has been to act as a GÇ£focus groupGÇ¥ for the EVE development teams by getting early access to information and providing feedback on upcoming features in order to help shape the ongoing development of the game. The CPM was formed in the similar hope that they would provide a representative voice for players and be equally as helpful in the development of DUST 514. However, changes in key personnel within the DUST 514 development team has made it difficult to continuously engage the CPM in open dialogue regarding the development of DUST 514, and this lack of dialogue sometimes resulted in dropped balls, or topics being lost in the accelerated pace of development. However, we think that by understanding the difficulties and mistakes of the past, we can turn the CPM into the effective council that both CCP and the CPM have always hoped it would be.

From the beginning, CCP Xhagen and I, CCP Dolan, were the primary points of contact for all CSM and CPM matters. However, with CCP Xhagen transitioning into his role as a producer for EVE Online, I have realized that I need to enlist additional help so that we can turn the CPM into the success it deserves to be. The recent arrival and support of CCP Rouge (Executive Producer) has been immensely helpful in involving the CPM deeply in to the development process in our Shanghai office. The CPM has already held several meetings with him over the last couple of weeks and will continue to do so in the coming future. Additionally, CCP Saberwing (DUST 514 Community Manager) will be working with the CPM to organize and oversee the CPMGÇÖs direct connection with all of the relevant DUST 514 Development teams. With this new team in place, we anticipate a more active and fluid level of communication between CCP and the CPM.

Similarly, the monthly release schedule necessitated by DUST 514GÇÖs rapid development has provided its own set of unique challenges and opportunities. It has required a reassessment of our communication pathways, as we have found that the structure derived from our relationship with the CSM simply isnGÇÖt applicable. To address this issue, CCP will now focus on talking to the CPM when setting goals and designs for features far in advance of them actually being worked on. This will allow their feedback to be concentrated on the finer details once development has begun.

While there have been difficulties over the past 6 months, the CPM has demonstrated a continued commitment to working with CCP, and I must commend them for their dedicated time and effort. Their institution is invaluable in a game as new and rapidly growing as DUST 514, especially given the single shared universe it inhabits with EVE Online. CCP is fully committed to strengthening their relationship with the CPM and growing DUST 514 through the help of their collective expertise.

--CCP Dolan, on behalf of the DUST development team

https://forums.dust514.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=163679&find=unread

Looks like a couple more months until you all have your elected voices.