To review. In the amazingly written opening Eveotorial we learned that the CSM is little more than our own Student Council. And while we all might be attending a posh private school, the reality is that the effectiveness of the CSM dwindles as time marches on.
Due in large part to what we learned in Part Two, which was also extremely well written, CCP is increasingly spread thin during the current chase for additional revenue sources.
Which brings us all to - now what?
I've started writing and re-writing this post several times. It could easily go many different ways and there is a lot that could be said. In the end however, I decided that I would attempt (completely as an outsider) to lay out a plan for CCP in regards to moving forward. The past is dead as someone once wisely said, so let's set our sights on tomorrow.
Again, this is all my own opinion based on my experience both in-game and out. And while I do not have any special knowledge of the inner workings at CCP, which I freely admit, beyond those of any player - I do bring a different perspective to the table based on my own experiences and knowledge outside of the game.
Change is difficult, destructive and painful. It is also unstoppable. As Eve matures and CCP grows, changes will continue to happen. As players, as passionate players, it is our inherent desire to want the very best for Eve, our time in-game, and the overall experience that comes with it. It is not however, an inherent right to have.
That doesn't mean we have to keep quiet, or shut up, or stop asking, or otherwise stop making a big stink. In many ways I was extremely proud of those that shot the statue in Jita, and I've written about that before. In all the ways that really matter, Eve IS real. It is because it all boils down to the transaction of real world currency. CCP provides a product for which we pay to play. We don't like the product, we simply stop paying. Enough people do this and the product simply disappears. And while no one wants that, someday it will happen.
Eve will eventually die. Next year or decades from now. My point over the last two posts has been that the sooner that happens, the worse I think it is. The things that will hasten that demise, the actions of the CSM, the inactions of CCP, the market forces of Dust, the debts associated with expansion, the thinning of the work force, the multiple patches, the twitchy focus, the delays in ambulation, the... pick one. The more these forces work together to kill the thing I love... well, that's just bad.
So where do we go now? 50% of the votes, and a vast majority of the respondents of my quick poll yesterday want CCP to focus on Flying in Space. WiS is not taking hold amongst the player base. This is primarily due to two major reasons, 1) Lack of shared vision, despite the trailer, we still don't understand (beyond the tie to Dust) what we'll be doing in station, what it looks like and what it means to game play; 2) Delays. We're still looking at a door. Heck, we're still looking at a Minnie Door!!
I have no control over how CCP does their business, roles out features, or deals with anything. I hope beyond hope they know what they are doing. I do have some theories on the WiS delays, but those are best held for another post at some point.
Given all that, here is what I would do if I was in charge.
• Don't fire the CSM, but this is going to be the last one. Time that announcement for sometime in the Spring, after the FiS mini-expansion (see below), the Incarna expansion and the release of Dust. So much good stuff no one will notice the CSM doesn't exist anymore.
• Roll out a nice FiS mini-expansion called something like Frontiers or something nice like that. All new Caldari ship models, Thunderdome PvP, 5 minute GCC, Battle POS, new Battleships for all four races, SC Nerfs, and a new line of Jovian Cruisers that take a new line of Skill Books to fly. (Whatever the actual "monkeys" are, they are FiS focused.)
• This doesn't affect the WiS expansion plans which go on as scheduled.
• Focus on using social and public media to their best use. I don't know who your PR firm is, but they should be fired. There are excellent ways to communicate with your players, you should be using them to their full advantage.
• Kill WoD. Vampires, really? That train has left the station and the resources could be better used on Eve and Dust. Focus. Focus. Focus.
• The Null Sec expansion and re-balance is the Spring expansion, tied to Dust, it features true-sec based fixes, Cap Balance, resource allocations and WiS Control Rooms for planning Dust based operations for sov. (Or however you plan on dealing with that, I don't know since you haven't shared.)
There is so much more, but I'll stop there. I've written an awful lot of words about this the past three days and I'm done. I want to get back to flying, shooting and blowing stuff up real good.
If Eve never changed again I would still play. I like it the way it is and while I will never stop thinking about ways it could be better, the truth is, it is much, much better than it was. But it won't stop changing, growing and evolving.
And neither will I. So let's hug it out and get back in our ships.