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EVE Online press conference answers vital questions, transcript inside

Brendan Drain — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Economy, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, News items

After what should have been the celebrated release of the long-awaited Incarna expansion last week, the EVE Online community erupted into flames. The controversy began when players realised that the vanity clothing items in the game's new cash shop were ridiculously overpriced. The $68 monocle became a centerpiece that the media latched onto, in the same way that World of Warcraft made the headlines when Blizzard had the audacity to sell a $25 mount.

The story should have ended there as a piece about a crazy Icelandic game company selling virtual clothing for more than real clothing. Unfortunately, some conveniently timed leaks from inside CCP caused this simple issue to escalate to the point of panic, causing in-game riots and a significant number of subscription cancellations. The company's silence on the simple question of whether non-vanity microtransactions would be introduced was seen as an admission that gameplay-affecting items would end up in the cash shop.

CCP flew the Council of Stellar Management, EVE's democratically-elected player representative body, out to Iceland for an emergency meeting last week. The result of the meeting was a joint statement between CCP and the CSM addressing all of the major concerns players had. Last night, CCP ran two press conferences over Skype to give EVE fansites and the gaming media a chance to ask additional questions that weren't covered in the official statement. Skip past the cut for our in-depth three-page transcript from the gaming media press conference, including answers to several pressing questions sent in by Massively readers and some great issues raised by other participating members of the press. Comments can be posted on page 3.

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EVE Online press conference answers vital questions, transcript inside originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:00:00 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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Paragon Studios hosting one more meeting for City of Heroes fans

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, News items

While the convention season has come to a close for the year, the team at Paragon Studios isn't quite done with spending time with the fans of City of Heroes just yet. It's hosting one more party for both the developers and the fans, this last one taking place in San Francisco. And as with previous meetings, the team has arranged a treat for fans, this one in the form of a new costume power allowing players to take on the appearance of a Freakshow Meat Doctor.

Having the opportunity to look like one of the slightly less-than-good doctors is special enough, but the meeting also promises to be unique in other ways, making use of the venue's large amount of space for presentations as well as socializing. Players in the San Francisco area should take a look at the full details and start making plans to meet the City of Heroes developers, as well as scaring anyone not fond of meat-doctoring.

Paragon Studios hosting one more meeting for City of Heroes fans originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Catch an insider glimpse of a Fallen Earth meeting

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, New titles, Humor

If you ever thought to yourself how cool it would be to work for a video game company - well, obviously you're not alone. However, the team at Fallen Earth, LLC have decided to release a video that's part-trailer and part behind-the-scenes at their indie studio. Entitled only "Fallen Earth Marketing Meeting" it shows off not only the team's passion for Fallen Earth, but reveals that one guy who still hopes for "elves... magic" in the mix. Aww, poor misguided soul.

For a very silly look at an up-and-coming studio (and of course, their new MMO) be sure to check out the very tongue-in-cheek "marketing meeting" video behind the break.

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Catch an insider glimpse of a Fallen Earth meeting originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Player vs. Everything: Playing with your friends

Cameron Sorden — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Guilds, Grouping, Opinion, Politics, Player vs. Everything

Players often venture into the wilderness of online games alone and friendless, seeking out allies in the worlds they inhabit and making friends as they go along. Some games are better at encouraging players to work together than others, too. You're not going to last very long playing by yourself in games like EverQuest or EVE Online, so you have to go looking for people to play with. On the other hand, in games like World of Warcraft you can start at the first level and get to level 70 without ever talking to another human being (it's even easier if you're a Hunter). Regardless of whether your particular game of choice forces you to find friends, many people like to have friends to play with anyway. Even if you don't need them, it's kind of the point of online games to play with other people. Right?

That's why some people roll into these games with a ready-made posse. Maybe it's a group of real-life friends that want to play together online, or maybe it's a guild composed of players that you met in a previous game and you'd all like to try something different together. Either way, it's pretty nice to be able to work with a group of people you already know, trust, and like. You don't have to hope that the fickle hand of fate will deliver good PuGs to you (we all know how rare those are), and you don't have to worry about trying to find a new group of people who you can relate to in a sea of anonymous faces (many of whom will have value systems, expectations, and maturity levels that will be different than yours). Is it possible you're missing out on something by bringing your own people in, though? If so, do you care?

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Player vs. Everything: Playing with your friends originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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