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EVE Online's CSM 7 looks toward the future, opens communication

Matt Daniel — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items, Sandbox

EVE Online's CSM 7 took office earlier this month on April 4th, and the Council of Stellar Management is now officially in business. Today, the members of the CSM have released a letter outlining their plans and philosophies for the future. They first take the opportunity to announce their CSM officer choices, revealing Seleene as the CSM Chairman, Trebor Daehdoow as Vice-Chairman, Two Step as the CSM Secretary, and Hans Jagerblitzen as Vice-Secretary.

The letter then takes a moment to address the upcoming CSM 7 summit, which will be taking place between May 30th and June 1st. The CSM members note that "the summit will be a major opportunity to provide community input as CCP develops [its] plans for the Winter Expansion," and they encourage players to make their voices heard. But how? Well, the letter states that "one thing that CSM 7 will be doing differently than past CSMs is directly communicating with the players as much as possible" through a variety of media, including in-game chat, the CSM member blog, Twitter, and monthly Town Hall meetings, the first of which will be taking place in-game on May 19th. So get out there, players. Now's your chance to make your voices heard and to shape the future of the EVE Online galaxy.

EVE Online's CSM 7 looks toward the future, opens communication originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's seventh CSM results are in

Brendan Drain — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Sandbox

EVE Online's seventh Council of Stellar Management elections have come to a close, and moments ago at the EVE Online Fanfest, the results were announced to Fanfest attendees and players watching the livestream from home. Although the CSM was originally put together as a way for players to submit specific ideas to CCP, it has become an essential part of the game development process. The council is now consulted on practically everything that goes into EVE, acting as a democratically elected advisory council.

Last year's chairman, The Mittani, secured the chair again this year with a record voting turnout of over 10,000 votes. Making it into the CSM as full council members are Two step, Elise Randolph, Greene Lee, Trebor Daehdoow, Kelduum Revaan, Seleene, UAxDEATH, and Hans Jagerblitzen. In the event of their absence or inability to continue as part of the CSM, alternate council members Meissa Anunthiel, Dovinian, Issler Dainze, Alekseyev Karrde, and Darius III will take over.

Read on for a full graphic summary of this year's CSM members along with their campaign information from our CSM roundup.

Continue reading EVE Online's seventh CSM results are in

EVE Online's seventh CSM results are in originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: CSM 7 candidate roundup

Brendan Drain — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, Endgame, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Guides, Sandbox

EVE Online is unique among MMOs, and nowhere is this more evident than in the political struggles that take place every day in New Eden. Just this weekend, I spent long hours negotiating the surrender of a friend's wormhole starbase with an Elysian Empire diplomat, only to have his CEO overrule the decision because he wanted to get the killmail for blowing the starbase up. For EVE's more ambitious political machinists, perhaps the greatest challenge of all is to be part of the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM).

The council functions as an advisory board to CCP and a mechanism through which players can get their views and ideas across to developers. Last year's CSM was instrumental in forcing CCP's hand and making the company refocus development on EVE Online. With this year's ambitious plans to revamp all ships and forms of PvP, and DUST 514 due for a summer release, the stakes for this year's council are even higher. Voting is now underway to select the team of players who will represent the EVE playerbase to CCP for the coming year.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I round up all of this year's candidates to help you choose whom to vote for.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: CSM 7 candidate roundup

EVE Evolved: CSM 7 candidate roundup originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online jazzes up website, opens CSM application process

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, real-world

If EVE Online's website were a teenage girl in a movie -- and we're not for a moment suggesting that it's not -- today is the day she'd go through one of those peppy makeover montages and ultimately reveal the beauty that was there all along (just in hiding -- stupid glasses). The new design is up for the world to see, sporting a sleek sexiness along with an interesting ticker relating the latest and greatest from the game. CCP is hoping that the redesign will come off as more "user friendly" for newbies.

In other EVE news, CCP will begin accepting applications tonight for the Council of Stellar Management (CSM). The process is quite involved: Players will apply until the 22nd, after which nominations will be pulled from the list and then community voting will commence. If you're interested in becoming a major voice of the community by advising CCP in EVE's development, then you'd do well to check out the list of candidacy qualifications and get your app in on time!

[Thanks to Xilmar for the tip!]

EVE Online jazzes up website, opens CSM application process originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online prepares the schedule for the next Council of Stellar Management

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items, Sandbox

EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management is about to change seats once again. On April 4th, the current council's term will expire, meaning that it's time for a new council to be formed among the game's players. CCP Games is starting the process for election early, posting a full timetable of the upcoming election as well as the requirements for candidacy. Applications for candidacy will be open from February 8th through the 22nd, followed by nominations until the 29th, with the election proper running between March 7th and March 21st.

Thinking about throwing your hat into the ring? Eligible players must be 21 years old or older by April 4th, able to travel to CCP's headquarters in Iceland, and have an EVE Online account older than 30 days. Anyone eligible will also be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, since the Council of Stellar Management frequently receives information not yet available to the general playerbase. Even if you're not interested in running yourself, it's going to be interesting for EVE players to take part in the election once again.

EVE Online prepares the schedule for the next Council of Stellar Management originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Development on EVE in 2012

Brendan Drain — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, MMO industry, Previews, PvP, Opinion, MMOFPS, EVE Evolved, DUST 514, Sandbox

Following the summer drama that came to be known as monoclegate, the past six months have been challenging for EVE Online's players and developers alike. When players learned that cash-shop clothing was priced higher than its real-life equivalent, the quirky story of the $80 monocle swept across gaming blogs like wildfire. The story's tone soon turned a great deal more sinister with the leak of an internal company newsletter titled Greed is Good, and a second leaked memo from CCP's CEO added more fuel to the flames. Ultimately, players spoke with their wallets; subscriptions fell by at least 8%, and with no financial backup plan, CCP was forced to lay off 20% of its staff worldwide.

The staff members who remained were faced with the task of turning things around, and with the feature-packed Crucible expansion, they did so spectacularly. In just a few short months, hundreds of high-profile features, graphical overhauls, and quality of life improvements breathed new life into a neglected universe. I think most players recognise that this has been a genuine turn-around from within CCP, but some are still skeptical that the company has really reformed. The question on everyone's mind is whether CCP can really keep up this quality of development in the coming year as it delivers two full expansions and integrates EVE with DUST 514.

Perhaps nobody is better qualified to assess that than CSM delegate and former CCP game designer Mark "Seleene" Heard, who recently attended the December CSM summit and witnessed first-hand the aftermath of monoclegate and Crucible's development.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I delve into Mark's CSM Summit report to find out how development at CCP has changed, what we can expect in 2012, and how monocle-gate has affected CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Development on EVE in 2012

EVE Evolved: Development on EVE in 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Should devs listen to player councils?

Brianna Royce — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, EVE Online, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management started as an idea with good intentions, as a way to bring the players' ideas and wishes to the development staff. But the scandals surrounding EVE's CSM seem to undermine its potential for constructive feedback. Few gamers seem to believe that the Council, dominated as it is by megacorps with their own agendas, truly acts in the best interests of the game or the playerbase. And in spite of CCP Games' declarations of cooperation, few players believe that the CSM is much more than CCP's way of paying lip service to the community.

But perhaps that's as it should be. What say you, Massively readers? Should games bother with councils of players reps? Are players simply too narrow-minded or corrupt to be trusted with such power? And should devs be strong-armed into listening to the mandates of such players?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Should devs listen to player councils? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Expansions, not excuses

Brendan Drain — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Expansions, Lore, MMO industry, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Over the last few months, the phrase "Flying in Space" has been increasingly used by both EVE Online's developers and its players to describe features other than those of Incarna. It seems like a redundant phrase as all of EVE's gameplay currently takes place in space, but the distinction has become necessary when discussing the allocation of development resources. Members of EVE's player-elected Council of Stellar Management have recently spearheaded a wave of new complaints about the level of resources dedicated to EVE's in-space features, claiming that developers have been left without the resources necessary to do a good job.

In the previous three EVE Evolved columns, I discussed the upcoming nullsec revamp scheduled to begin this winter and the incredible new gameplay players might get as part of it. Members of the CSM know exactly how many people will be working on that revamp, and although those numbers haven't been made public, several delegates have gone public with their disapproval. EVE's subscription fees are currently paying for the development of CCP's upcoming fantasy MMO World of Darkness and its ambitious console MMOFPS DUST 514, leaving few resources for new EVE gameplay and content.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look back at the success of EVE's first blockbuster expansion and ask why development on EVE Online has dramatically decreased over the past two and a half years.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Expansions, not excuses

EVE Evolved: Expansions, not excuses originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP releases EVE's emergency CSM meeting minutes

Jef Reahard — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Sandbox

There's no drama like internet spaceship drama, and the boohoos stemming from last summer's EVE Online Incarna expansion -- and the associated monoclegate controversy -- continue to make waves.

CCP has finally gotten around to releasing the minutes from the "emergency" Council of Stellar Management meeting that took place in Iceland from June 30th through July 1st. According to CCP Xhagen, the lengthy delay was due to the fact that "it takes time to create a document that everyone can accept. It is important to keep in mind that CSM meeting minutes are not released unless both CCP and the CSM give their approval."

The document summarizes the discussions and presents the brouhaha surrounding captain's quarters performance, the Noble Exchange, and CCP's future plans for virtual goods from the perspective of both devs and player representatives. The PDF ultimately serves as a useful summary of EVE's latest drama explosion, and you can read it in its entirety by following the link below.

CCP releases EVE's emergency CSM meeting minutes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview with CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson discusses recent events

Brendan Drain — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Interviews, MMO industry, News items

The recent EVE Online controversy over the direction CCP is taking with the game's development took the game's developer CCP Games completely by surprise. What started as a quirky story about virtual clothing being sold for more than real clothing rapidly got out of hand with the leak of an internal company newsletter discussing previously rejected ideas for gameplay-affecting microtransaction options. The ensuing controversy quickly escalated with the convenient leak of global company email from CEO Hilmar Petursson and CCP's abject silence in response to player concerns.

CCP eventually released joint statements on the contentious issues with EVE's democratically elected player advisory council, followed by a thorough press conference to address any concerns not handled in the statements. The only person we haven't heard from yet is Hilmar Petursson himself. In an interview with gamesindustry.biz today, Hilmar answered some frank questions on recent hot topics ranging from feelings inside CCP following the leaks to the company's reasons for implementing microtransactions now.

At popular EVE fansite Failheap Challenge, players have posted a transcript of the interview and have begun discussing the issues it addresses. The discussion highlights that this interview was performed the day before the CSM met in Iceland for its emergency meeting and so represents Hilmar's views before that event. Among the important answers is confirmation that CCP has a commitment to discuss all future microtransaction options with the CSM before implementation, something players have been asking for since the initial statement came out.

Interview with CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson discusses recent events originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP responds to monoclegate, reaches consensus with players

Brendan Drain — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Culture, Expansions, MMO industry, News items

This has been a difficult week for EVE Online developer CCP Games, with massive controversy hitting the media surrounding what should have been a momentous expansion release. The first stage of the eagerly awaited Incarna expansion went live this month, bringing with it the new captain's quarters. Unfortunately, simple complaints over some very overpriced microtransactions soon escalated into outright panic and even in-game riots with the release of an internal company newsletter and subsequent internal email casting doubt on the game's vanity-only microtransaction policy and its development direction in general.

A devblog released in response to the issue only served to make things worse, so CCP opted to fly the game's democratically elected Council of Stellar Management to Iceland for a series of emergency meetings to get a handle on the situation. Those meetings were concluded yesterday, and both the CCP and CSM made statements today to clarify the decisions reached. During the meeting, the CSM negotiated on behalf of the playerbase to hammer out an agreement on EVE's microtransaction policy, overheating issues with the captain's quarters, and other recent hot topics.

Skip past the cut to watch the video accompanying the statement, and head over to the EVE devblog to read the official statements. If you have any further complaints or issues relating to the recent controversy, please mail them to brendan@massively.com or leave them in a comment and I'll do my best to ask the CSM delegates or pose your questions to CCP at Tuesday's upcoming press conference.

Continue reading CCP responds to monoclegate, reaches consensus with players

CCP responds to monoclegate, reaches consensus with players originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP issues brief mea culpa, EVE CSM to meet with devs

Jef Reahard — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries

It seems as if an olive branch has been extended in the escalating conflict between CCP and hardcore fans of the company's EVE Online MMORPG. Arnar Hrafn Gylfason, otherwise known as CCP Zulu, has issued an apologetic blog post as a followup to the controversial piece he penned last Friday.

Zulu chalks up the confrontational tone of the previous post to the stresses surrounding CCP's recent data leaks and also advises fans that the company is flying the Council of Stellar Management to Iceland for meetings on June 30th and July 1st. More importantly for players chaffed by CCP's assumed about-face regarding game-altering microtransactions, Zulu finally answers the burning question regarding whether or not EVE Online will eventually see pay-to-win cash shop items.

"There are not and never have been plans to sell 'gold ammo' for Aurum," Zulu writes, alluding to fan reactions to the Fearless newsletter leak. While CCP certainly isn't out of the woods yet with regard to this public relations nightmare, the fact that the company is acknowledging a serious breach of customer trust, coupled with the "no gold ammo" quote, seems to be having a calming effect on the community as it waits for details to emerge from next week's emergency CSM summit.

CCP issues brief mea culpa, EVE CSM to meet with devs originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Eight years of EVE Online

Brendan Drain — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Lore, MMO industry, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

In last week's EVE Evolved column, I celebrated the third anniversary of the column with a competition to win one of three prizes worth over 500 million ISK. Congratulations go to Uniqdragon, mdubs28 and Thorium88, who will be contacted via email to arrange receipt of their prizes. In a bizarre twist that I can't believe I haven't noticed for three years, it turns out that the anniversary of my column occurs just over a week before EVE Online's own birthday on May 6th. With that in mind, this week's column is dedicated to the game's anniversary and to looking back at another successful year.

The past eight years have been a wild ride for EVE Online and its developer CCP Games. EVE has grown from a fledgling niche game with under 40,000 launch subscriptions to a global melting pot of over 360,000 actively subscribed accounts. The company itself has seem similar expansion, starting from humble beginnings as a small independent studio in Iceland and growing into a multinational monster with offices in China, Iceland, North America and the United Kingdom.

In this huge two-page anniversary edition of EVE Evolved, I look at how EVE Online has kept up with the industry over the years and then go on to examine this past year in detail, from the highs and lows to all the scams and awesome events.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Eight years of EVE Online

EVE Evolved: Eight years of EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minmatar captain's quarters coming to EVE Online test server this week

Jef Reahard — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Dev Diaries

Get ready, capsuleers. Captain's quarters are coming, and sooner than you might expect. CCP Tanis breaks the news that a rough version of the Minmatar captain's quarters will be making an appearance on the Duality test server this Thursday, April 21st.

That's right: Two days hence, all you Brutors, Sebiestors, and Vherokiors will finally be able to walk around on your own two legs inside of the EVE Online client. CCP's newest dev blog cautions that the test environment is a true work-in-progress, and Tanis states that "we're still at the chisel-in-hand-in-front-of-a-marble-form stage."

Why make the environment available to the public at this point? CCP is mainly looking to gather feedback and general impressions on usability, since the captain's quarters interface is eventually slated to replace the current in-game hangar view. The test run will also feature new in-station and crash course tutorials as well as interfaces for planetary interaction, corporation management, avatar re-customization, and ship fitting.

In other EVE Online news, the new Council of Stellar Management held its first fireside chat a few days ago, and an audio recording of the broadcast is now available for download on the official EVE forums.

Minmatar captain's quarters coming to EVE Online test server this week originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online CSM explains its power and the limits thereof

Jef Reahard — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items

EVE Online boasts a wide variety of players, many of whom happily go their own way in the vastness of New Eden with nary a thought as to the power struggles, machinations, and celebrated conflicts that garner headlines for CCP's space-based MMORPG on a regular basis. So when hardcore EVE players debate the pros and cons of the newly elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM), newer or more casual denizens of EVE could be forgiven if they were to say, in effect, the pros and cons of whom?

A new letter from the CSM aims to demystify its purpose (and the limits of its power). CCP Diagoras recently posted the letter on the official EVE website, and the piece shares the collective opinion of all nine council members on everything from time dilation and lag issues to developer communication and two "ugly truths" about the council.

First up is the fact that "CCP is under no obligation to interact with the CSM outside of the strict confines of the CCP/CSM summits." Also noteworthy is the council's take on its power relative to actual game implementations. "There is no explicit power behind any player-initiated legislation approved by the CSM." Why assemble the group at all, then? Read the rest of the dev blog to find out.

EVE Online CSM explains its power and the limits thereof originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's sixth CSM election results are in

Brendan Drain — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, Endgame

The elections for EVE Online's sixth Council of Stellar Management have come to a close, and earlier today the results were revealed to both excited Fanfest attendees in Iceland and players at home. In previous years, the CSM's role was to collect issues players had with the game and bring them to the attention of developers. This role has morphed over time into a more advisory form, with CCP running ideas by the council and using them to help prioritise the development backlog. This year's elections were heavily influenced by political voting from EVE's nullsec alliances. Organised voting secured spots on the council for several big players in territorial warfare, and a few old faces returned for a further term.

Political voting isn't necessarily a bad thing for the CSM, as players who are heavily involved in EVE are still the types of people we want to see on the council. CCP employees can't also be power players in the game, so they miss out on the perspective that alliance leaders and other heavily involved players will have. Participation was huge this year, with a total of 49,069 votes being cast in a two-week period. This represents 14.25% of the total accounts eligible to vote, an increase over last year's 12.67%.

Read on for a full rundown of the elected members of EVE's sixth Council of Stellar Management.

Continue reading EVE Online's sixth CSM election results are in

EVE Online's sixth CSM election results are in originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM 6 candidate roundup

Brendan Drain — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry

Starting life as a humble indie MMO development studio, CCP Games was always noted for its close relationship to the players of its flagship game EVE Online. That relationship diminished a lot over time as both the size of the playerbase and the scale of EVE's development grew to immense proportions. Today CCP relies on players to guide development more than ever, but it needs a lens through which to focus feedback from such a large community of players into a form that the team can use. The democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM) is that lens.

Fifty-seven players submitted their applications to join EVE's elected player council this year, and all this week, players have been voting to decide who will represent them in discussions with CCP. With so many candidates in the running and only four more days to make up your mind, it can be hard to pick one individual from the list. To help you decide, Massively has compiled a full list of every applicant in the running along with a short message about his or her campaign and handy links to available campaign resources.

When you're ready to vote, follow this link to the voting page, log in, and click the vote button to the right of your chosen candidate. Remember to get your vote in before March 23rd when polls close! The results will be published on March 30th, and we'll find out who will be representing the EVE playerbase to CCP for the coming year.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM 6 candidate roundup

Massively's EVE Online CSM 6 candidate roundup originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Your vote counts -- EVE's sixth CSM

Brendan Drain — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Of all the groups involved in EVE Online, the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM) may be the most significant influence in the game's development. The council was originally created as a way to reassure players that the developer corruption exposed in the T20 scandal would not be repeated. Players voted for a list of representatives from the community, who were then flown over to Iceland to review CCP's newly created internal affairs department. Since then, the CSM has taken on a more advisory role to CCP, presenting itself as a conduit through which players can focus their ideas and any issues they're having with EVE.

With the fifth CSM term now coming to a close, voting has begun to choose the members of the sixth council. Players with active EVE accounts over 30 days old have until March 22nd to log in and register their votes. If last year's record 39,433 voter turnout is anything to go by, this year your votes will matter even more than ever. Competition is high for a spot on the council, and it's up to the players to determine who will best represent them in meetings with CCP. If you're having trouble deciding whom to vote for, stay tuned to Massively's EVE Online coverage this week for a breakdown of all the candidates in the running.

This week's EVE Evolved is dedicated to convincing you that your vote counts. In this article, I address a few common reasons people are put off voting, explain why the CSM is a force for change in EVE, and hear a few words from ex-CSM Stephan Pirson.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Your vote counts -- EVE's sixth CSM

EVE Evolved: Your vote counts -- EVE's sixth CSM originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Candidates announced for EVE's sixth CSM

Brendan Drain — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items

Over the past few years, EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management has been making an increasingly large impact on the game. Every year, thousands of players vote in the CSM elections to select nine volunteers who can represent the interests of EVE's players. The council's job is to collect together details of issues players are having with the game, from bugs and balance issues to widely supported gameplay suggestions. Twice per year, the council members meet with CCP's developers in Iceland for the CSM Summit. It's here that the issues players have raised are discussed and prioritised.

As CCP's advisory council on game design, the CSM has been placed in a position of significant influence over EVE Online's development. Early last month, CCP put out the call for players interested in running for election to sign up and declare their intent to join the council. The entry period is now over, and a list of the approved candidates we'll soon be voting on has been published. Of the 72 players who applied, only 57 met the role's criteria for eligibility. Among those accepted are four previous council members hoping to continue their stay in the group and two former alternates. Each candidate has prepared a short statement on his or her reasons for standing for election, and many will be running campaigns on the forum and in-game in the weeks running up to the vote.

Candidates announced for EVE's sixth CSM originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Candidacy opens for EVE Online's sixth CSM term

Brendan Drain — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry

While many MMOs have a community team whose job it is to bring issues affecting players to the attention of developers, EVE Online goes one step further by involving players directly. Once per year, players vote on whom they want to represent the playerbase in meetings with CCP Games as part of the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management. During its 12-month term, each edition of the CSM works hard to compile a list of issues players are having with the game or its development, including balance issues, bugs and ideas for changes the developers might not have considered. The most important of these are scheduled for discussion at one of the twice-yearly CSM council summits in Iceland, in which the council converses directly with developers.

The fifth council session will soon be coming to a close, and as with the previous councils, it has had both high points and low points during the year. The council's poor treatment in the summer summit and the subsequent player uproar was followed up with some positive changes at CCP and a complete turnaround in the winter talks. With the fifth council session ending, CCP has issued an open call for candidates for the sixth council. To submit yourself for consideration and public voting, read the official conditions in the latest EVE devblog and then head over to the submission page on the EVE website. Among the terms and conditions this year is a new requirement that makes a campaign message mandatory. The last election saw several players enter the running without any campaign message, so this is a welcome change from last year's submission rules.

Candidacy opens for EVE Online's sixth CSM term originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE CSM interview: Incarna and nullsec PvP

Brendan Drain — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion

In part one of our interview with EVE Online's player-elected Council of Stellar Management, we asked council member Deirdra Vaal about EVE Gate, the upcoming forum revamp, CCP's microtransaction policy and other topics discussed at the December CSM summit. In three meeting sessions, CCP and the CSM tackled some hard-hitting issues, the biggest of which were Incarna and nullsec PvP. Most of the details on Incarna are currently locked under NDA, but that didn't stop us from asking the CSM about it. Nullsec PvP has also been a hot topic recently with the revelation that levels of PvP have actually been declining since the Dominion expansion. Dominion was intended to open up nullsec for smaller entities, but we still see EVE's political landscape dominated by massive coalitions of alliances spanning several regions.

Massively: The CSM expressed significant concerns about the Incarna development plans it had access to. Does the CSM think that CCP is heading in the wrong direction with Incarna?

Deirdra Vaal: We feel that the approach taken to Incarna is the wrong one, and we emphasised this to CCP. However, CCPs general idea to set Incarna as an "off the grid" environment where we go for shady deals is something the CSM is reasonably happy with. It's just that so far we haven't really been shown any compelling gameplay. So we think they might be heading in the wrong direction, if they are lazy about it. They might also be heading in the right direction, but so far we haven't seen compelling gameplay that would support this assumption.

Skip past the cut for the rest of our interview with EVE's CSM on Incarna, nullsec PvP and the future of EVE.

Continue reading Massively's EVE CSM interview: Incarna and nullsec PvP

Massively's EVE CSM interview: Incarna and nullsec PvP originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE CSM interview: EVE Gate, microtransactions and more

Brendan Drain — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion

Earlier this month, the official minutes of meetings between CCP Games and EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management were published to the general public. EVE's democratically elected council of volunteer players meets with CCP's developers twice per year at the company's headquarters in Iceland. At the meetings, the concerns of EVE's players and details of upcoming expansions are discussed. Response to the December summit's minutes has been largely positive so far, which is a huge turnaround from June's tirade of negativity.

EVE blogs have been considering some of the problems raised in the meetings, and insider Keith Neilson delivered his assessment of how the meetings went right here on Massively. The only people we have yet to hear from are the council members themselves. To make sure the CSM has its say in the public arena, Massively interviewed council member Dierdra Vaal about the summit and asked some critical questions on CCP's plans for EVE's future. In this first of two interviews, we discussed EVE Gate, the growing botting problem, user interface upgrades, CCP's microtransaction policy, how the summit went in general, and how attitudes within CCP have changed toward the CSM.

Skip past the cut to read the first of two illuminating interviews with EVE Online's CSM.

Continue reading Massively's EVE CSM interview: EVE Gate, microtransactions and more

Massively's EVE CSM interview: EVE Gate, microtransactions and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE blogs examine CSM discussions on nullsec warfare

Brendan Drain — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, PvP, News items

The first round of minutes from EVE Online's CSM summit were released yesterday, with two further parts to be released in the coming week. EVE blogger Keith Neilson was privileged to be present at some of the meetings between the CSM and CCP, and has posted a summary on his blog. Since the official meeting minutes have yet to be released, concrete conclusions on any specific points in the meeting can't be made. Keith was able to confirm, however, that nullsec PvP was heavily discussed at the summit. In particular, the effect of last year's Dominion expansion on nullsec warfare was examined, some problems were highlighted and potential solutions were explored.

The summaries on Keith's blog reveal some surprising facts about nullsec. CCP's lead economist Dr Eyjo is said to have voiced concerns over the fact that new players are moving into the more PvE-focused wormhole content instead of forming alliances and moving into nullsec territorial warfare. This is understandable, as wormhole systems are much more friendly to colonisation by small groups. They offer a similar level of rewards to nullsec but the size of a potential attacking fleet is naturally limited by the size of connecting wormholes. In anticipation of the official minutes being released later this week, Calais from EVE blog The Hydrostatic Capsule has delved into Keith's summaries and drawn some compelling conclusions about why nullsec is still the domain of massive alliances.

While Dominion was meant to open nullsec for smaller groups, Calais suggests that super-capitals and jump bridges actually prevent smaller groups from competing in nullsec PvP. "Where small teams should have the advantage of stealth and agility - the ability to strike fast and hard before melting away," Calais explains, "we actually see the very opposite." Using supercapital jump drives and jump bridges, it's big alliance fleets are able to outmaneuver smaller invading forces who can't afford to set up and defend the same infrastructure. Full details of the discussion between CCP and the CSM about nullsec PvP will be released later this week on the EVE devblog page.

EVE blogs examine CSM discussions on nullsec warfare originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An inside look at EVE Online's CSM: From June to December

Keith Neilson — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Massively Event Coverage

Keith Neilson is a Massively guest-writer who's here to recount his experiences at the recent Council of Stellar Management summit in Reykjavik. He writes regularly about EVE Online and has been playing the game since early 2004.

It is undeniable that EVE Online is unique among MMORPGs in many ways. One of these is its Council of Stellar Management, an elected committee of nine players who play an active role in the development of the game, bringing player concerns and proposals for the future direction of the game directly to CCP at biannual summits in Iceland. Until this year, the perception of the CSM among players was that the Council is a marketing tool that does not fulfill its stated role of representing the playerbase. But in June, all of that changed.

This term of the CSM brought in some major changes to the way the Council is organised, specifically with the removal of term limits (previously delegates could only serve two terms on the CSM) and the extension of terms from six months to a year. In addition to this, the CSM has been given "stakeholder" status within CCP. This means that the Council members have an equal say in the planning of future development along with the internal teams at CCP. This has allowed the fifth CSM to have a significant influence on the future development of EVE.

Continue reading An inside look at EVE Online's CSM: From June to December

An inside look at EVE Online's CSM: From June to December originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE's December CSM summit minutes released

Brendan Drain — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries

Several years ago, EVE Online developer CCP Games instituted the Council of Stellar Management, a player-run advisory committee on game design. The members of the council are voted for by players, making the CSM a democratically elected group with direct access to developers. The council has had a significant impact on the game, having pushed through such important changes as the titan doomsday nerf and the introduction of a 24-hour skill queue. Players can raise issues or suggestions to the CSM through the official assembly hall forum. Every six months, the council meets with CCP's developers in Iceland to discuss all the important issues players have raised.

In an effort to keep the dealings of the CSM transparent, the minutes of each council session and Icelandic CSM summit are published openly. The first round of minutes from EVE's latest bi-annual CSM summit have now been released, with a further two rounds of meetings to be released within the next week. Topics covered in the first set of minutes include a new EVE forum, the possibility of a permanent CCP-administered charity, talks on the CSM process, and potential CSM activities at Fanfest 2011. For those interested in exactly what went on in the CSM summit, the full minutes of these meetings are publicly available on the EVE website.

EVE's December CSM summit minutes released originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's CSM to host public roundtable discussion

Brendan Drain — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items

Over the past few years, EVE Online's democratically elected Council of Stellar Management has had an increasingly large impact on the game. Initially formed to provide players with reassurances that changes to CCP's internal workings would prevent potential developer misconduct, the council has gone on to be an integral part of the company's feedback-gathering mechanism. Throughout the year, the CSM puts together a list of issues players have with the game or its development. Twice per year, the council meets with CCP in Iceland for the CSM summit to discuss those issues.

On Sunday, November 21st, at 19:00 GMT, the CSM will be hosting a public roundtable discussion along with CSM project manager CCP Xhagen. In an announcement on the EVE forum, council member Dierdra Vaal described the event as an opportunity for players to ask "difficult questions about what we've been doing and how we've been doing it." The list of topics for discussion certainly mirrors Dierdra's sentiment, with hard-hitting issues on the table like post-Dominion nullsec warfare, Incarna gameplay, microtransactions and quality assurance at CCP. At the coming CSM Summit in December, each topic raised will be discussed for a minimum of one hour with the appropriate developers, making this the perfect opportunity for players to have their say. For the full announcement, visit the thread on the offical EVE Online forum.

EVE Online's CSM to host public roundtable discussion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Outlaws of EVE

Brendan Drain — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Lore, Professions, EVE Evolved

EVE Online's Community Manager CCP Wrangler once said that "EVE isn't designed to just look like a cold, dark and harsh world; it's designed to be a cold, dark and harsh world." That sentiment sums up the core philosophy behind the game, which permits such nefarious gameplay styles as thief, smuggler, scam-artist, pirate and market manipulator. Underhanded deals go on every day in EVE, with bounty hunters hired to ruin someone's day and spies tearing corporations apart from within. Many are drawn to EVE because it's one of the few MMOs that allows players to embrace their darker side. The opportunity to be a real villain in a sandbox universe can be intoxicating.

Perhaps more intoxicating is the notion that the presence of tangible villains affords players a rare opportunity to play the role of hero. For every pirate gang lurking at a stargate in low security space, there's an anti-pirate squad somewhere planning an attack. For every thief ready to empty their corporation's hangers, there's a security specialist weeding out spies. The true outlaws of EVE are people who have earned their infamy through acts of ruthlessness in their chosen field.

Over the years, we've interviewed and examined some of EVE's most notorious outlaws. In this article, I look back at four of EVE's most wanted, how they earned their infamy, and what they're doing today.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Outlaws of EVE

EVE Evolved: Outlaws of EVE originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Dissent in the EVE community

Brendan Drain — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Space MMO EVE Online and its developer CCP Games are usually spoken about in a positive manner. We often hear about the awesome things that go on in the sandbox, or how CCP has gotten players involved in game development through their CSM programme. In the past few months, however, negative sentiments toward the company have been growing at an alarming rate. Players have been complaining about lag and the quality of game design ever since the Dominion expansion was released. As far as players can see, EVE Online was in a fantastic state after the Apocrypha expansion's release, and it has gone sharply downhill since then.

Over the past two years, players have made an increasingly vocal case to CCP in favour of fixing bugs and gameplay issues before adding new features. They point to previous features, such as faction warfare, that were abandoned shortly after their release in favour of developing yet another new game feature. Over the years, EVE has been littered with incomplete features in dire need of balance tweaks and gameplay revisions. The past few months, in particular, have seen a worsening of public opinion. The release of the CSM minutes and recent devblogs have caused a significant vocal backlash from the community.

In this controversial opinion piece, I dig into the controversy surrounding CCP's recent communication with EVE Online's playerbase and the reactions forum-going players have had.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Dissent in the EVE community

EVE Evolved: Dissent in the EVE community originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM Interview -- Community backlash

Brendan Drain — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion

In an effort to get players more involved in the development process of EVE Online, CCP Games began the Council of Stellar Management programme back in 2008. Twice per year, developers meet up with this democratically elected group of players to discuss issues ranging from bug-fixes and balance tweaks to feedback on future expansions and how players recieved the previous expansion. The latest summit was not without its troubles, with chairwoman Mynxee and council member Ankhesentapemkah expressing their concern over CCP's attitude during the summit.

In the first of our two-part interview with EVE's Council of Stellar Management, we asked some general questions about how the summit went and what could be done to improve the CSM process. We gained valuable insight into what exactly CCP committed to do this term, what happens to ideas put forward by the CSM after approval and what's being done to improve communication between the council and CCP. In this vital second part of the interview, we moved on to more hard-hitting questions on player reactions to the summit meeting minutes, CCP's current assignment of development resources and whether the council can really achieve anything over the next 18 months.

Skip past the cut for an illuminating look at the council's opinion on these explosive issues.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM Interview -- Community backlash

Massively's EVE Online CSM Interview -- Community backlash originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM Interview -- The summit

Brendan Drain — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion

When it comes to getting players involved in the development process, EVE Online's democratically elected Council of Stellar Management has up until now been a clear success. Previous council members have managed to get some important features implemented in the game and helped CCP with feedback on up-coming expansions. Last month, members of the fifth council met with CCP in Iceland for the first of their twice-yearly development summits. In meetings with developers, they put forward issues deemed important by the player-base. Initial impressions from the summit appeared grim, with both chairwoman Mynxee and council member Ankhesentapemkah voicing concerns on their personal blogs. Players were left waiting for the official meeting minutes to be published so they could decide for themselves whether or not those concerns were justified.

The summit meeting minutes were released last week to some strong reactions within the community. The bulk of the negative reactions seemed to stem from CCP's inability to commit definite resources to any CSM issues. The community backlash was further amplified by a later devblog setting out CCP's current development schedule for the next 18 months. Of course, the people best qualified to talk about how the summit went are the council delegates themselves. Having been present at the meetings and knowing more about CCP's future expansion plans than the rest of the player-base, members of the council should have a much clearer picture of the state of play than the average player. To help clarify some of the community's biggest issues, Massively caught up with the CSM delegates and asked them some important questions about the summit and CCP's current development plans.

In this first of our collossal two-part interview with EVE's Council of Stellar Management, I probe members of the council for their thoughts on the summit.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM Interview -- The summit

Massively's EVE Online CSM Interview -- The summit originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ankhesentapemkah removed from EVE's Council of Stellar Management

Brendan Drain — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items

EVE Online's democratically elected Council of Stellar Management has been the cause of a great deal of controversy since the programme's inception. The idea that players can bring their concerns on game design issues to a player-elected representative has been popular with forum-posters. Council members work tirelessly to compile lists of issues that are important to the player-base, then present them to CCP in the CSM Summit every six months. While the council has managed to push through some very important issues and work on key features, it's been the focus of several scandals and a great deal of EVE drama.

Controversial council member Eva "Ankhesentapemkah" Jobse was removed from the council today. The official reason given for her dismissal was "a breach of the non-disclosure agreement (NDA)." The exact nature of the breach has not been publicised as the sensitive nature of the data involved renders the issue a private matter between Eva and CCP Games. As usually happens when information isn't available, the forums have exploded with speculation over what exactly Eva did that breached the NDA. Although Eva has yet to comment publicly on the issue, fellow council member Sokratesz was quick to allay suspicions that it was due to information posted in her personal CSM blog.

When reached for comment, Eva had the following to say: "All I can say at the moment is that out of respect for the CSM, the players of EVE, as well as the good people at CCP, I cannot give any details besides my personal conviction that CCP's statement is not in relation to any of my recent publications, and that I do not share CCP's conclusion that there has in fact been an NDA breach. I am currently engaged in following up this situation with CCP." Eva plans to keep her followers updated on her situation via her CSM blog as the situation develops.

Ankhesentapemkah removed from EVE's Council of Stellar Management originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE CSM delegates voice disapproval of CCP's attitude to council summit

Brendan Drain — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry

In recent years, CCP Games have made significant efforts to get players involved in EVE Online's game design efforts. In addition to pre-releasing features on a test server to collect feedback, CCP have involved players more effectively in the development process through their innovative Council of Stellar Management. The council members are voted for by players, with the highest-voted member securing the chair position for the year. Players bring important EVE-related issues to their council representatives, who meet with CCP developers in Iceland twice per year for a week-long council summit.

During the summit, all the most important issues backed by the council are posed to developers and discussed. Previous council sessions have made a significant impact on the game, getting features like the skill queue implemented and providing key feedback on expansions. This year's council had a record voter turnout, with confidence in the team at an all-time high. At the conclusion of their first council summit meeting with CCP, however, two key delegates have begun to voice concerns at the dismissive attitude with which they were met.

Skip past the cut to find out why two council members are annoyed with CCP's approach to this year's summit, and why it's not all bad news and negativity.

Continue reading EVE CSM delegates voice disapproval of CCP's attitude to council summit

EVE CSM delegates voice disapproval of CCP's attitude to council summit originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's fifth CSM election results are in

Brendan Drain — Wed, 26 May 2010 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items

Voting season is over in EVE Online's fifth CSM elections and the results are in! The Council of Stellar Management is EVE's democratically elected liaison council between CCP Games and the game's player-base. It's their job to collect a list of some of the best ideas and game design proposals suggested and voted on by players in the council forum. Once every six months, the council will meet with CCP for a week of rigorous meetings in Iceland to put forward those ideas and discuss their feasibility with EVE's development staff. There's no doubt that the CSM has had a legitimate impact on EVE's development and with this fifth term, they're even being given the ability to assign some development resources as they see fit.

Skip past the cut for a breakdown of this year's voting statistics and to meet the new members of EVE's CSM.

Continue reading EVE Online's fifth CSM election results are in

EVE Online's fifth CSM election results are in originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup

Brendan Drain — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry

This week is voting week for EVE Online players as the fifth edition of the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM) gets underway. 49 approved candidates are in the running for just nine seats on the council, with an extra five alternate candidates agreeing to step in should any members of the council be forced to leave during their term. The council's job is to act as a go-between to help EVE players communicate major gameplay issues to the development team. In the two years the council has operated, they've become an essential part of CCP's development methodology.

The CSM plays a vital role in EVE's development and it's important that the right people for the job are elected. For those that don't normally vote in the elections, figuring out what each candidate brings to the table can be a difficult and daunting task. In this absolutely massive three-page feature, we give a run-down of all 49 candidates entered in the current election, from previous CSM members to new active campaigners and the relatively unknown pilots with little to no campaign.

When you're ready to vote, follow this link to the voting page and click the vote button to the right of your chosen candidate. Remember to get your vote in before May 19th when polls close! The results will be published on May 28th, when we see who will be representing the EVE player-base to CCP for the coming year.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup

Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup, page 2

Brendan Drain — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup, page 2

Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup, page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup, page 3

Brendan Drain — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup, page 3

Massively's EVE Online CSM candidate roundup, page 3 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: It's election time in EVE online

Brendan Drain — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Opinion, EVE Evolved

The month of May is election time for EVE Online as players vote for members of the game's democratically constructed Council of Stellar Management. Voting opened on May 5th for all players with an account older than 30 days and continues until May 19th. Once assembled, the council is tasked with bringing the concerns of players and ideas for game improvements directly to CCP. Players propose issues on the official EVE forums and the rest of the player-base can give the thread a thumbs up to show their support. Issues that get enough support from the general EVE community are elevated to the regular CSM meetings, in which the issue is discussed and voted on by the council members. If the council deems the issue important enough in a meeting, they'll add it to the list of items they plan to discuss with CCP.

In this week's politically charged EVE Evolved, I look at the role of the CSM, how it's changing with this fifth term and the impact the council has had on EVE's development.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: It's election time in EVE online

EVE Evolved: It's election time in EVE online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP announces CSM changes

Jef Reahard — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items

EVE Online developer Diagorus has just announced changes to CCP's Council of Stellar Management program via a dev blog on the official EVE web site. The Council, initially formed in early 2008 as a way to solicit player feedback and encourage community participation, features nine player-elected representatives and five alternates, the former of which travel to CCP headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland for Council meetings.

The program changes deal mostly with term limits and obligations, including a lengthening of total CSM term time from six to twelve months, as well as the removal of term limits. Diagorus also lists a few time-related adjustments for the fifth iteration of the Council, applications for which open up on March 26.

Check out the full dev blog as well as the lengthy white paper detailing the roles and responsibilities of the Council of Stellar Management.

CCP announces CSM changes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP Releases February CSM Minutes

Jef Reahard — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items

EVE Online developer Xhagen, commenting on the EVE Insider Dev Blog last night, has released the minutes for the February 18 - 20 Council of Stellar Management summit, calling it "the best summit so far."

Player response to the summit was equally positive, with CSM attendee Tim "Sokratesz" commenting "I was very skeptical initially, but the trip has convinced me that CCP has an active interest in the playerbase and is willing to listen. One of the best moments for me was when Noah [CCP Hammer] grabbed a pen to take notes during a heated debate between council members.''

A lengthy summary document details the various discussions between developers and player-elected Council representatives during the three day event held late last month in Iceland.

Included in the seventeen page report are discussions regarding the Alliance Tournament, EVE Gate social networking, ongoing account security and customer support issues, and proposed economic regulations.

You can read the full dev blog by clicking here.

CCP Releases February CSM Minutes originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE's 4th CSM election results are in

James Egan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Politics

Election results for EVE Online's 4th Council of Stellar Management (CSM) are in. The CSM are players elected by the game's subscribers, given the responsibility of representing the collective interests of the playerbase to EVE Online's developer CCP Games. The hope is that future game changes and features will be in keeping with how the subscribers like to play EVE.

The announcement from EVE developer CCP Xhagen earlier today lists the election results by real name, character name, location and number of votes:

Continue reading EVE's 4th CSM election results are in

EVE's 4th CSM election results are in originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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