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Guild Summit for Star Wars: The Old Republic fielding a plethora of revelations

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Patches, Previews, Endgame, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Would you like to be able to Force Choke people on your Bounty Hunter? Do you want your orange modifiable gear to be viable in the endgame? Are you looking for a little more variety in your Warzones? The first Guild Summit for Star Wars: The Old Republic is promising all of these things, with new information coming in a mile a minute. And if you're missing the livestreams due to work or other obligations, there's thankfully a summary available on Darth Hater covering the big points being hit.

The developers are heavily discussing the upcoming patch 1.2 and all that it brings as well as fielding several player questions regarding the design philosophy. Operations are being more finely tuned and polished starting with 1.2, with future Operations meant for two tanks and potentially splitting the group into two teams for two objectives. PvP players will be getting a new set of gear to bridge the gap between fresh 50s and veteran players; there will also be gear with more pure PvP stats to minimize crossover. And if you're more the sort to roll alts, the Legacy system promises more options and combinations than you might have imagined possible. There's a great deal to digest and a lot for Star Wars: The Old Republic players to anticipate, and the event isn't nearly over yet.

Guild Summit for Star Wars: The Old Republic fielding a plethora of revelations originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inaugural STO Podcast Summit announced

Brandon Felczer — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Interviews, Opinion, Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online has always been known for generating unwavering support from its community of gamers. Whether identifying as trekkers, trekkies, casuals or hardcore gamers, players are extremely dedicated, including yours truly. Alongside the numerous fan sites that have been created, there is a select group of individuals out there who have gone beyond the call of duty and put out weekly podcasts.

This Sunday, April 17th, the STO podcasting community will come together for the inaugural STO Podcast Summit. Join Red Shirt Army, STOked, Priority One, Podcast UGC and Hailing Frequency as they broadcast live at TrekRadio.net from 6 p.m. EDT to 8 p.m. EDT. If you miss the livestream, have no fear -- the show will be posted in mp3 format on each of the podcasts' individual websites. We are also told that there may be even some surprise guests who drop by, including Cryptic developers.

Inaugural STO Podcast Summit announced originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:00:00 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 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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CCP Games video interview on the Council of Stellar Management

James Egan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST

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

MMORPG.com's video scoop from the Leipzig Games Convention wasn't limited to info on EVE Online's upcoming expansions. They also got some face time with Lead Economist Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson of CCP Games, who discusses some of CCP's projects and initiatives, namely the Council of Stellar Management (CSM).

Dr. Eyjólfur shares his point of view on the process of having players interact with the developers on affecting the development pipeline. He also addresses the poor voter turnout in the CSM election, which was not surprising given the general apathy many people have about real-life elections, he comments. The interview largely focuses on Dr. Eyjólfur's experiences with the CSM, but given his role in the company, he also mentioned the economic impact of factional warfare on the market in EVE. More information on this aspect of EVE should be covered in one of his forthcoming Quarterly Economic Newsletters, he says. Be sure to see the video at MMORPG.com if you're interested in seeing more about the Council of Stellar Management and the economics of EVE Online.

CCP Games video interview on the Council of Stellar Management originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The CSM speaks, will CCP Games listen?

James Egan — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, News items

EVE Online's delegates elected to the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) have made headlines in recent weeks, both in the gaming press and mainstream news. Amidst all the media attention, EVE players have been debating to what extent the CSM will be able to work with CCP Games on changing the game to better accommodate the playstyles of the subscribers.

An article at The Escapist called 'Politics in a Vacuum' explores this interaction between the CSM and CCP Games, focusing on the Council summit in Reykjavik. CSM delegate Alison Wheeler (aka Inanna Zuni in EVE) told The Escapist: "I'm not totally sure yet how much agreement there is between CCP management and CCP development teams. They've opened this can of worms that said, 'These people get elected by other pilots and players, they have the right to say, "We want this to happen; please make it so!" Predictably, this could lead to some problems where the expectations of EVE's players, conveyed through the CSM, are unrealistic in terms of what CCP can deliver on.

Continue reading The CSM speaks, will CCP Games listen?

The CSM speaks, will CCP Games listen? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced

James Egan — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, News items, Second Life, Virtual worlds

The 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule has been announced, along with a synopsis of this year's speeches and panels. The conference on virtual worlds and social gaming will be held on September 16th and 17th, during the Austin Game Developers Conference.

Worlds in Motion bills the 2008 Summit as a conference geared toward those who wish to better understand the business opportunities offered in the expanding social game networking space, and who plan to leverage their content and brands into interactive online worlds. Early bird registration ends July 31st; details can be found at the Austin GDC homepage. Read on after the jump for highlights of the upcoming 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit.

Continue reading 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced

2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE dev blog: Council of Stellar Management Summit recap

James Egan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items

The latest developer blog posted at the EVE Online site is a brief report to the community about last week's Council of Stellar Management (CSM) Summit, the first meeting between the player-elected council of representatives and CCP Games. The CSM Summit gave the delegates a chance to discuss, face-to-face with CCP, how the players they represent would like the game to change. CCP Xhagen reports that CCP views this first meeting as being a 'resounding success.' The CSM delegates were well-prepared and clearly put a lot of time and effort into the topics on the agenda, Xhagen says.

The next step in the process is for the discussion topics from the CSM Summit to be sorted in terms of viability and priority. This involves a few factors, namely the time and work required by CCP to implement the game changes. From there, the CSM will prioritize the topics in light of the technical feasibility already established through talks with CCP. Afterwards, the proposed changes will enter development pipelines; future patch notes will indicate which issues or changes are the result of the CSM's efforts. CCP Xhagen cautions that some requests will take longer than others to realize in the game, but stated that the devs will do their best to roll out the changes and communicate timeline estimates. Xhagen finishes by saying, "The most important results of the Summit may not be immediately evident, but the seeds planted by the CSM into the minds of the EVE dev team members are already sprouting."

Continue reading EVE dev blog: Council of Stellar Management Summit recap

EVE dev blog: Council of Stellar Management Summit recap originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Second Life/Orange Island Identity Summit

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, in-game, News items, Second Life

Orange Island, previously reported upon here, will be holding a day-long summit this Friday, November 16, on the nature of identity and how it relates to one's avatar in Second Life. It's a packed event, with a host of SL luminaries presenting, including Ordinal Malaprop, Torley Linden, Celebrity Trollop, Michi Lumin, and Forseti Svarog.

The day's line-up looks like this:

9am - 10am - Avatar as a Personal Brand
Speakers: Torley Linden, Celebrity Trollop, and Saeya Nyanda
Moderator: Haver Cole
10am - 11am - Open Discussion on Avatar and Brand Identity
11am - 12pm - Persona and Identity Transparency in Business
Speakers: Ordinal Malaprop, Forseti Svarog
12pm - 1pm - Open Discussion and Gallery Showing of Avatar Showcase Winners
1pm - 2pm - Non-Human Avatars
Speakers: NeoBokrug Elytis, Kumi Kuhr, Michi Lumin
Moderator: Adri Saarinen
2pm - 3pm - Open Discussion and Gallery Showing of You and Your Avatar photos
3pm - 5pm - Wind Down Mixer and Discussions
Music and entertainment by DJ Doubledown Tandino

Finally, leading up to the event, the preceding Thursday will witness the Avatar Showcase, where "Residents are invited to present their most unique and interesting avatar in this two hour event. The top three avatars will have their portraits made and displayed during one of the gallery exhibitions during the following day's discussions." Full information on Orange Island's website. I plan to be there on either day; if you've an SL account, come enjoy the festivities!

[Thanks, Adri!]

The Second Life/Orange Island Identity Summit originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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