So here we are, a selected War Council, Hand Picked by CCP, without your vote, without your consent

CCP could sit there and argue why or who they picked and some people are going to be either rolling their eyes in disregard or foaming at the mouth mad blathering incoherent streams of hate and ire for months on end. Some are going to remember I was part of the Council of Planetary Management formed up of player interests and no official sanctioning or interference and are going to continue to knife me with that. Some will continue to hate me for it or think somehow that being in IRC and the CPM has had a special privilege in my selection. There are those who are simply going to hate me because they don't understand my relationship inside the Betamax corp.

I don't think I should be going into details but I think the community needs to know that when CCP contacted me for the CPM they pointed out the dedication in keeping people informed and helping them along in the beta on the forums alone was why they tapped me, not the fake CPM, not the IRC chatter, and certainly not the artwork or roleplay. When the announcement blog of the WC was going to form, quite a a few of you 'voted' for me in the replies and even outside Dust 514 I picked up mutterings of me being likely on the council. So whatever I was doing it was enough for me to say 'Yes' when CCP asked, and from there I worked my posterior off to make up for the week of college I will be missing for this year's Fanfest.

Either way the CPM is seated and the favorite pub stomper isn't and there isn't much anyone can change about that for now.

What is done however is done. This leaves the community on what has to get done next

As a CPM member I have to take on the roles found similarly to the Eve Council of Stellar Management. While I don't know entirely all those roles are yet, the meeting at 2013 Fanfest will help with this and I thank Hans for sitting in to help with the transition and founder issues. It is going to be work. Its not going to be fun and games. It is a serious position to which I have to thank the player CPM for help train me a bit in and the community's vote of confidence.

"Either lead, follow or get the hell out of the way!"
-Ted Turner

CCP's 2013 next decade discussion talks about instigators, followers and bystanders. Not everyone can be an instigator, I can see why, its quite a bit of work to find that special flame to breathe into an inferno. Then there are followers, they see that flame and follow it. Then the by-standards... the guys that don't pay attention.

I am more of a follower myself, not because I want to bask in the glory of that pyre but to see other people do so. I like observing, planning, and seeing things work and flow. If battlefield commander role was on dust 514, you just got yourself a general. None the less I would love to see this game grow, evolve, and start putting other titles to shame as they seek out their next sequels while Dust will never get its own sequel for it will never be needed.

I will not be changing much other than my ability to 'speculate' will be severely restricted. Also any progress that is covered by the NDA will be maddeningly annoying me as I have to keep muzzled on the best juicy bits until CCP says it on the IRC or blog and I will have to start quoting directly from now on it would seem. This may also seem I have to hand my sources over too :(

I will still continue to trawl though the threads every day, looking for a pattern in complaints, verifying with independent data, research and interviews and present them to CCP. I will still continue to play the game when time allows for it, I will still help out in responses when possible. Because not only do I like this game I have the best aspirations for it.

I want this game to turn into the sandbox shooter it deserves to be.
I want more sand, more tools in that sandbox I want to see other players making sandcastles and kicking them down.
Then seeing clever players putting landmines in those sandcastles.
I want to see that box removed one day, I want to give you guys the whole beach, and hell while we are at it the ocean too.

My idea's of Dust 514's growth and expansion is probably just as crazy or nearly competing with CCP's own 10 years of planning. I have a pretty good idea which features are foundations and which are just decorations. While I feel that all 10 years worth of features are important, I know that CCP are only human and they can only generate content so fast. The features picked today have to be carefully weighed against the future.

I would like for you players to enjoy the game as much as possible as well, make it inviting to come back time after time even when the latest shine of the latest Call of Zombies wears off, New Eden will still be here waiting for you to come back. Maybe one day you realize Dust 514 has ruined all other shooters for you.

I may be mean in my responses but only because I have either over heard it or believe you didn't think it out enough, but make no mistake I am still always listening, considerate, and compromising. As long as you have enough respect for yourself to present your idea in a sound and clear conscious I will give you my respect for it.

In the next weeks the issues will continue to be pressed forward and CCP will be doing most of the steering, but I will still listen and still chip in when possible based on what I read from you guys on the forums and on the field.

We will finish this game Together.

Hunt Well,

Iron Wolf Saber,
<^`-'^>