A new adventurer walks into the tavern...

nitocris83

Hello!

As @strumslinger said in his goodbye post, I will be taking over the NW CM role. I just started here at Cryptic and I'm in the process of getting a feel for the community and meeting with the rest of the NW team. I am in the same building as the NW Development team (under the NW Production team for those that like org charts). We all truly appreciate everything Andy has done and I hope to continue some of the best practices he started along with implementing new ones now that I have direct access to the NW team.

A little bit about myself:

I'm 33 (so not really a kid, as some of you expressed concern about), a gamer (video games, tabletop, rpgs), a mom of an almost 2 year old, I paint miniatures, I talk a lot, I'm half Spanish (so no one expects when I ask a lot of questions), I went to college in Michigan and grand school in Chicago, and have been in California for the last 4.75 years.


A little bit about my background in Community Management:

I was a CM at Disney Interactive for 4.75 years (yep, I moved out here for the job - before that I had a focus on academia and research). I worked on Marvel and Star Wars titles so I am used to an older playerbase, not the traditional kids/family that most people attribute to Disney. I'm also used to very VERY very passionate players, contained (for the most part) chaos, and have lived through a couple -gates. I was lucky enough to visit the Lucasfilm Presidio office in SF but never managed to get Marvel to build me a Helicarrier.


My background in D&D and Neverwinter:

I started playing D&D back in 3.5. I played some 4.0 and recently got the 5th edition books. My favorite character was my Halfling Cleric/Barbarian who had a St. Bernard as a mount. As far as Neverwinter, I started playing at launch (still favor my founders pack mount for nostalgia) and, after dabbling in various classes and taking time off to have a kid, I now main a CW. I have major hoarding tendencies so you'll often catch me playing the inventory game


The future as CM for Neverwinter:
TBD

...

JK! Well, kinda. I started a week ago and I've been ramping up fast and absorbing as much as I can. There's a lot of facets of Community Management that aren't as visible to the public (lots of planning, meetings, documentation, etc.) and I want to make sure I lay the right groundwork from the start. Over the next couple weeks I hope to set a steady cadence of feedback between the community and the rest of the NW team. My years as a CM have taught me that my goal shouldn't be to make everyone happy, but to make sure everyone is actually listening to each other. While putting out fires is an aspect of a living 24/7 job, I prefer focusing my energy on constructive discussions, proactive communication, and not lose sight of fun. At the end of the day, this is a community built up around a game so...

kreatyve

Welcome, Julia! I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you and working with you. Andy left some huge shoes to fill, but I do think that you will be up to the task!

ironzerg79

devlin

Welcome aboard!

You didn't ask for any questions, and you probably don't have the answers, but this wouldn't be the ARC forums if someone didnt ask.

1. Are you EVER going to fix .....

Nah. I'll just stick with welcome aboard (for now )

strumslinger

Yay! You're gonna do an amazing job .

two30

Second CM in a row for whom I will have spelling trouble. I always forget if Andy is Strumslinger or Sturmslinger, and I expect I'll think of Nitocris as Nitrocris.

darknessdestory7

We all welcome u with open arms you will like neverwinter players and the the fun of the interaction between everyone

ogpaulyc

Welcome to the community happy to know you main a CW, as do I

nisckis

Welcome!!!

nitocris83

devlin#3775 said:

Welcome aboard!

You didn't ask for any questions, and you probably don't have the answers, but this wouldn't be the ARC forums if someone didnt ask.

1. Are you EVER going to fix .....

Nah. I'll just stick with welcome aboard (for now )

What becomes of the hunter when the prey is caught?

two30 said:

Second CM in a row for whom I will have spelling trouble. I always forget if Andy is Strumslinger or Sturmslinger, and I expect I'll think of Nitocris as Nitrocris.

You can always call me Julia

yokki1

will we see more communication when it matters and in general or will it stay the same?

nitocris83

yokki1 said:

will we see more communication when it matters and in general or will it stay the same?

My goal is to improve communication whether it be quality or quantity, depending on the situation. Setting realistic expectations is important. For example, if at 3am on a Friday there is a sudden demand for an answer to something, you most likely won't get a post from me until 7am (when my kid wakes up) letting you know I got your messages and I'm seeking out more info. Now, come the following Monday, I would hope to have something more substantive after I do my morning touch base face-to-face.

two30

nitocris83 said:

You can always call me Julia

Julia is a fine name, but I think sticking with usernames makes it easier for infrequent forum visitors to know who is who. Also, what if I need to aggressively ping your username on all my complaints?

P.S. I like your Skottie Young She-Hulk avatar. It's almost as good as @wakeupparamour#9775's Toothless.

uptondarkdiamond

Well meet! IDK maybe I said it before Zeb did or not....

Hopefully, you are ready, if not welcome to the pot . Sounds like you been around a gaming community for some bit not to mention you are already a seasoned CM so you have experience. It is also good new that you work in the same space as the Devs, which should help with improved communications.

I look forward to improved communications, remember lots of growing ups play this game so if you have bad news just let us know, surprise bad news really sucks.

Anyway, see you in game or on the forums!

mikal

All i ask is more communication about the major changes, especially around the unpopular key changes and absence of many dungeons. I dont want to start with a negative tone but a lot of players have either left or in the process of leaving, the communication at this point matters more than ever.

beckylunatic

Welcome, Julia. I hope we will all enjoy a fruitful relationship.

dupeks

Welcome @nitocris83

I'm really glad to hear you lay out your approach to developing a more constructive dialog between the community and the developers.

I don't know how much you have heard about the challenges that Andy faced in his time here, but without exception each of the infamous "gates" that folks spew vitriol about was dramatically exacerbated by poor communication.

In my opinion, this game's biggest asset apart from a uniquely dynamic combat system, is the passionate community that has managed to hang on through a tumultuous couple years (I mean both seasoned veterans and new arrivals).

But routinely, trust between the community and the game is undercut by lack of timely communication, poor planning, lack of context when discussion game direction, and the list goes on. There are many that are hanging on hoping that changes in leadership will lead to something good despite the mounting evidence to the contrary (the most recent 2 major updates have been _very_ unfriendly to alts and support classes, and have turned off _many_ players). You are in a place to start rebuilding that trust by facilitating the dialog between the community and the dev team.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to ask you to take a look at my personal pet cause (outside of better communication): Fixed Damage Weapons. A former dev had indicated that these shouldn't be too challenging to make available, and it would be a tremendous gesture to the community.

http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1222994/fixed-damage-weapons/p1

Happy to have you, and good luck with this crazy train!

Pickles

vandignesca

Welcome.

captaintpol

nitocris83 said:

Hello!

As @strumslinger said in his goodbye post, I will be taking over the NW CM role. I just started here at Cryptic and I'm in the process of getting a feel for the community and meeting with the rest of the NW team. I am in the same building as the NW Development team (under the NW Production team for those that like org charts). We all truly appreciate everything Andy has done and I hope to continue some of the best practices he started along with implementing new ones now that I have direct access to the NW team.

A little bit about myself:

I'm 33 (so not really a kid, as some of you expressed concern about), a gamer (video games, tabletop, rpgs), a mom of an almost 2 year old, I paint miniatures, I talk a lot, I'm half Spanish (so no one expects when I ask a lot of questions), I went to college in Michigan and grand school in Chicago, and have been in California for the last 4.75 years.


A little bit about my background in Community Management:

I was a CM at Disney Interactive for 4.75 years (yep, I moved out here for the job - before that I had a focus on academia and research). I worked on Marvel and Star Wars titles so I am used to an older playerbase, not the traditional kids/family that most people attribute to Disney. I'm also used to very VERY very passionate players, contained (for the most part) chaos, and have lived through a couple -gates. I was lucky enough to visit the Lucasfilm Presidio office in SF but never managed to get Marvel to build me a Helicarrier.


My background in D&D and Neverwinter:

I started playing D&D back in 3.5. I played some 4.0 and recently got the 5th edition books. My favorite character was my Halfling Cleric/Barbarian who had a St. Bernard as a mount. As far as Neverwinter, I started playing at launch (still favor my founders pack mount for nostalgia) and, after dabbling in various classes and taking time off to have a kid, I now main a CW. I have major hoarding tendencies so you'll often catch me playing the inventory game


The future as CM for Neverwinter:
TBD

...

JK! Well, kinda. I started a week ago and I've been ramping up fast and absorbing as much as I can. There's a lot of facets of Community Management that aren't as visible to the public (lots of planning, meetings, documentation, etc.) and I want to make sure I lay the right groundwork from the start. Over the next couple weeks I hope to set a steady cadence of feedback between the community and the rest of the NW team. My years as a CM have taught me that my goal shouldn't be to make everyone happy, but to make sure everyone is actually listening to each other. While putting out fires is an aspect of a living 24/7 job, I prefer focusing my energy on constructive discussions, proactive communication, and not lose sight of fun. At the end of the day, this is a community built up around a game so...

on behalf of everyone on the xbox side of things, welcome and may you always roll a 20 I know we can all be handfuls, but we mean well and we will have your back through thick and thin no matter what. be safe and i know what it is like with a 2 year old. In the words of my Cleric, "May Selune bless you always and forever" good work sweetie.

zman81420

Welcome to the jungle

akita

I will add my WELCOME! and optimistic hopes to the pile.

sorce

Welcome Julia! I hope you have your Shield of deflection +5 at the ready (just in case) and your Never ending Coffee mug. We promise to not be too much of a pain in the butt.

zebular

Well met, indeed! May Mystryl always guide!

rapo973

Welcome!

baeyorn

... surly hairy red-sailor beard gwf walks into the same bar as Nitocris..

... gives Le Nito the eyeball once up and down ..

... grunts rudely ...

... RAWR ...

... buys Le Nito a cold beverage ..

... gives gap-toothy smile ...

... walks out ...

-----------

As I speak GWF, translation = "welcome, enjoy the community, have fun, and here's a cold one on me"

krailov

Hi Nitocris, and welcome.
I was pleased to see your roots in DnD are long (maybe not as long as ol' greybeard, but still, long enough), as well as your experience in dealing with passionate players. I think the icing on the cake was that you have played NW extensively, so will know our current concerns.
Looking forward to your moderation and future communications, may you always find that fine line to consensus

juergeng123

Welcome, Julia all the best whishes

diloul31

Welcome to you and good luck...

It is me "testing" the new CM but...

Can someone in this board answer a simple and very easy question yet no one answered...

Is there any black friday sale tomorrow ?

( And please smart people, don't "you'll see tomorrow"-me)

silverkelt

tomorrow wouldnt be black friday, its thanksgiving , until 12:01 am at least.. which if they take the standard pacific time.. is totally different for most people.

Eat some turkey.

There is no way you can get zen from xchange now anyways.. so its just real world money, you can buy zen in about 2-3 mins if they do have a sale.. its digital items, no rainchecks needed, you will get what you want.

diloul31

null
my vip run out so i'm holding to BF for buying half price... I have 20000 da
...
And sorry, I'm not used to american traditions.
If the communication is "poor" in english forums it's almost next to zero in french board