Revelations

Poking through the Hilmar interview that Eurogamer did I found an interesting comment/revelation.

The question was posed to Hilmar about the CSM. I found the answer very interesting.

First, the question, posed to Hilmar by Eurogamer:

“The Council of Stellar Management (CSM) has been increasingly vocal and rebellious in recent months. What’s your relationship with them like at the moment – your personal feelings and those of the company as a whole?”

And Hilmar’s answer?

“The CSM has been under constant evolution based on what's going on in the current environment, what's going on with CCP and Eve, who's on the Council and all that. The CSM has helped greatly through the years in getting feedback for aspects of the game.

“But some of my concerns right now relate to whether the CSM is maybe focused on a particular aspect of the game and I'm starting to get feedback from players that they worry the CSM is too pre-occupied by a certain playstyle. That might mean we may need to change the structure, but definitely the CSM has worked as a feedback tool greatly throughout the years. We will have them over at the end of the year, after everything that's gone on, and we will have a chance to talk about that. We'll just see where we are and take it from there.”

See? Interesting.

The beginning of the answer was the standard boiler plate of “it changes constantly, but is really useful for player feedback”. Which, historically up until CSM 5 is exactly what it was used for. But it’s the second paragraph that peaked my interest.

When the CEO is saying things like “maybe focused on a particular aspect of the game” and “too pre-occupied by a certain playstyle” that is a big fat red flag that all is not well in CCP-land. Especially when he follows it up with “we may need to change the structure”.

What pray tell is he talking about?

Why he’s referring to the “NULL SEC OR BUST AND DAMN THE TORPEDOES” current mission statement of President Mittens and his cronies. For the un-initiated, CSM 6 has been waging war on every sector other then Null sec. Their main concern is making Null sec worth living in. Which I agree with, but not with their methods. Currently, their favorite method to “boost” Null Sec is by nerfing the other space. Like nerfing High Sec by relocating Ice to Null. Or (our personal favorite) the removal of ABC ore from wormhole space. Low sec is just being ignored as usual, as nerfing Low sec is kind of like picking on a retarded kid. Which is bad for Low Sec, but really, par for the course ensures it doesn’t get any worse.

While sometimes nerfs can be a good thing, calling for them when you don’t know shit about it in the first place is when it’s bad. And so far, that’s what CSM 6 seems to be good at. Open mouth, insert foot. That could not have been more obvious by their ridiculous call to remove ABC ore from wormhole space. Not only is it a complete lack of understanding where the majority of the ore comes from (hint hint CSM, try looking at the bots in your backyard) but a complete lack of understanding the wormhole playstyle.

I didn’t comment about capital ship changes and jump bridge and freighter buffs/nerfs. Do you know why? Because I don’t know shit about them. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, nor could tell you the reason why because I have no practical experience there. I know that topic is outside my wheelhouse, so I leave it alone. I don’t go off on a tizzy, calling for changes I know nothing about.

It appears that whole bump in the road Mittens thought he so cleverly swept under the rug a month or so ago has clearly come back to the very top. Somehow Hilmar has gotten wind of it, and his comment about possible changes is probably a direct result.

Its interesting Hilmar said there would be a discussion. Mittens can sell his bullshit story based on his super extensive experience about how wormholes shouldn’t have access to ABC ore ever, because in his expert opinion he thinks its crap people can fly from Jita to a field of ore, mine it and profit. And while on a base level he’s right, Mittens doesn’t understand wormhole space and what goes on in there. Or the logistics. Or really anything about it. Never mind the stats that will say the majority of ore comes from null sec. In his mind clearly the price is falling on that ore cause of small amount coming out of wormholes.

It makes me wonder what the possible changes would be. Perhaps a change to a regional election process? One that insures the people are fairly represented? Kind of like the US House of Representatives. The more people living in the State, the more reps they get. In that case, the CSM would be dominated every year by people from Hi-Sec. Or maybe something more along the lines of the US Senate, where you get 2 reps per state, period. In EVE’s case, 2 members from each section, high, low, null and wormhole space?

Interesting revelations indeed.