I wont miss him. The stuff he made like the sorties and STF revamps were mediocre. And claiming there is no content drought when there was one just screams he's as dense as they come. BB Gozer. please stay away this time.
I wont miss him. The stuff he made like the sorties and STF revamps were mediocre. And claiming there is no content drought when there was one just screams he's as dense as they come. BB Gozer. please stay away this time.
I think Gozer had one of the stronger grasps on traditional MMO architecture of anyone on the content team.
I also think that grasp was too tight at times and even traditional MMOs have moved away from "traditional MMO architecture."
I wish the guy the best. His bluntness was kinda endearing and my every attempt at guessing what STO's teams were working on suggested that he was often doing 5-6 devs worth of work. Agree with his decisions or not, he worked HARD.
Good lord. Are conspiracy theories this prevalent in other MMO forums?
I hear DStahl was replaced by a Changeling and the Borg are running PWE :biggrin:
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I get the sense PWE is cleaning house, based on forum feedback. People have been complaining about the "brokeness" of PvP since shortly after release. I love the game, but have to admit, if the Doff system hadn't come along, I wouldn't be logging in everyday. Let's face it, the game has been stagnant for awhile. PWE seems to be restructuring, re-aligning, and cutting dead weight. As with any change, some aren't gonna like it. Look at it this way. There's a new captain, put all the malcontents ashore, run up the black flag, and head for open water. Hopefully, PWE fills these vacancies with more capable staff. I reserve judgement until then. Still not keen on StarFleet's merchant marine, though. Stupid idea.
No offense to those who enjoy Gozer's "style"... but I certainly won't miss it in the game. His vision for what makes an enjoyable gaming experience and mine are about as opposite as black is to white.
Though my first thought on reading this was... "Again??"
Hopefully the "new guy" will be less focused on trying to create a niche group of "followers" within the gaming community to whom he can give special treatment in the name of "development" and more on coming up with new and inspired ways of challenging the players.
As far as the PVP changes go... I wonder if it's even possible to have both a strong PVP and PVE game all in one? It seems that the those two worlds (and the players who prefer the different styles) are contrary to each other. Maybe it is possible for the two to co-exist and each be amazing in it's own regard, the good news is it sounds like there will be an opportunity for a new person to see what they can do!
This game needs a measure of dumb fun group content. This is a lot of people's first taste of raiding and dungeon running and it should not turn them off on the idea
You need a Scarlet Monastery or Deadmines before you can have a Black Temple or Tempest Keep. A Positron TF before a Hamidon raid.
It also needs solid reasons to team (or at least passively play around other people) and replay content.
I'm not kidding when I say that I'd like whoever handles 5 mans to look more at X-Men Arcade Game or Turtles in Time and less at Everquest or Vanilla ********, at least for the introductory group content.
Gozer leaving is my Christmas. Maybe they can finally get someone competent to balance gameplay.
AFAIK, Gozer was never in charge of balancing. He seemed more a content designer. 1-shot critting invisible torpedoes were not his design. The STF reward system was probably more his idea or work though, and I give you that it's not that satisfying. But he got some results - STFs are played a lot again.
I don't know if his PvP work would have worked out or not. But the fact alone that he's leaving and can no longer continue that job is bad for PvP.
That said, he has every right to leave for greener pastures. I hope his next job will be as fun or more enjoyable and interesting as his job at Cryptic and which him well in all future endeavors.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Gozers going? (Again?) Well, looks like STO PvP is up a creek without a paddle.
But given some of the most prominent people on the STO Dev team leaving recently, it really makes me start to question the health of STO under Perfect World.
No offense to those who enjoy Gozer's "style"... but I certainly won't miss it in the game. His vision for what makes an enjoyable gaming experience and mine are about as opposite as black is to white.
Though my first thought on reading this was... "Again??"
Ditto here, maybe we will finally start to see some changes to the STF missions. Best of luck to Gozer in his new endeavors though.
Ditto here, maybe we will finally start to see some changes to the STF missions. Best of luck to Gozer in his new endeavors though.
It should be noted that the last state of the game talked about changes to how STFs drops work for S7, so they have been planning changes while he was still there.
The.Grand.Nagus
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NPW Forums
It's always sad/frightening when you hear of a dev going, but I assure you, this is how the industry is. The game industry has a HUGE amount of turnover compared to most others. At 7 years in one place, Heretic (and I) was like 140 in Dev years. Most people change companies in the 2-5 year time range. I guarantee this happens at every company that makes every game you play. The only difference is that we are in closer contact. You know our names, so it feels worse when we leave.
I'm not looking forward to Dan going, much as I was sad when Heretic left. But losing the two of them is not the end of the world, or even the end of the game. In fact, there was a new designer that started this morning.
:::goes off to hug Dan:::
I tied Logan's shoe laces together, and slashed Heretic's tires. . . what should I do to keep Dan around. . . ?
It just feels like we finally took one step forward (despite the changeover and the different monetization systems) only to have just taken two steps back.
Where I am from, we say "Bad things come in threes." So I wonder what else is to come.
Maybe its better not to know our developers at all. I don't know anymore.
It's always sad/frightening when you hear of a dev going, but I assure you, this is how the industry is. The game industry has a HUGE amount of turnover compared to most others. At 7 years in one place, Heretic (and I) was like 140 in Dev years. Most people change companies in the 2-5 year time range. I guarantee this happens at every company that makes every game you play. The only difference is that we are in closer contact. You know our names, so it feels worse when we leave.
I'm not looking forward to Dan going, much as I was sad when Heretic left. But losing the two of them is not the end of the world, or even the end of the game. In fact, there was a new designer that started this morning.
:::goes off to hug Dan:::
I tied Logan's shoe laces together, and slashed Heretic's tires. . . what should I do to keep Dan around. . . ?
Whilst its disappointing to hear that gozer is leaving, i speak for every single person in the STF community, that we wont miss your broken RNG very rare proto tech drop system, shame its not going with you :rolleyes:
I think we are seeing a "weeding out" process whether self inflicted or forced.
It is never a good thing to see people lose their jobs, but in this case there has been a lot of inflexibility and resistance or it's "My way or the Highway" apparent.
Cryptic tended to be a family and protected each other from the repercussions of screwups which made their environment less professional leading to more screwups, a vicious circle.
I look forward to more positive development from the company now that new standards are in effect.
I thank the departing devs for producing the stuff I like in game and "Happy Landings."
so new designer got there today, let him introduce himself and say what his job is going to be!
Give the person a chance to learn the ropes before throwing him into the shark tank.
Probably doesn't even have a working computer yet, let alone a dev account.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I know that they've said they are looking for new career opportunities, but 2 lead devs, within a week?
Punching that data into my Conspiracy Theory Generator(tm) comes up with all kinds of results;
Something is seriously wrong at Cryptic
They're both leaving to work on the same project elsewhere.
They're secret lovers, and have decided to run off to a desert island together.
I don't know how employment law works over there in the US, probably have different laws per state. But over here in the UK when you're offered and you accept a job you sign a contract of employment, which always include a minimum tenure. Which unless you get fired, or have a serious change in circumstance, you have to fulfill.
Some companies have terms in their contracts which state if you rise to a position of seniority or a management supervisory role, the amount of notice you have to give increases so they can find/train a suitable replacement for your position.
I've also worked with companies that operate on project cycles, and their contracts have often included terms stating you can't leave during the planning/development/implementation/release/initial support phases of projects.
I'm guessing none of that happens in the US, or in the software/games development industry.
I know that they've said they are looking for new career opportunities, but 2 lead devs, within a week?
Punching that data into my Conspiracy Theory Generator(tm) comes up with all kinds of results;
Something is seriously wrong at Cryptic
They're both leaving to work on the same project elsewhere.
They're secret lovers, and have decided to run off to a desert island together.
I don't know how employment law works over there in the US, probably have different laws per state. But over here in the UK when you're offered and you accept a job you sign a contract of employment, which always include a minimum tenure. Which unless you get fired, or have a serious change in circumstance, you have to fulfill.
Some companies have terms in their contracts which state if you rise to a position of seniority or a management supervisory role, the amount of notice you have to give increases so they can find/train a suitable replacement for your position.
I've also worked with companies that operate on project cycles, and their contracts have often included terms stating you can't leave during the planning/development/implementation/release/initial support phases of projects.
I'm guessing none of that happens in the US, or in the software/games development industry.
I'm sure there are contracts that apply to executives that are a lot like that.
But a great deal of employment over here is under "at will" terms, unless the person is in an occupation that's heavily unionized. That means the company can terminate me at any time for any reason.
There are some companies in certain industries that will show you the door the moment you do give notice.
Likewise I can leave at any time, though it's not a good idea to burn your bridges by failing to give notice. It's also a good way to forfeit any severance or compensation for unused vacation time.
Personally, I think employees have an ethical responsibility to give the traditional two weeks notice unless there are extenuating circumstances (unethical behavior on the part of the company, health issues, etc).
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
You know Gozer has left Cryptic before, I can't recall when exactly, but he came back. The executive producer dstahl also left and came back, it's possible other devs who're not as well known have done the same to.
The point being that the devs are people, with lives and peoples lives change. People go from job to job, and rarely will stay in a single position throughout an entire lifetime, especially so these days. This is sad news, but it's really nothing to do with Cryptic or PW, the sky is not falling and everything's going to be all right.
I will totally miss Gozer, but remember Gozer's naturally a traveller, time for him to choose a new form and destroy some new worlds!
It's always sad/frightening when you hear of a dev going, but I assure you, this is how the industry is. The game industry has a HUGE amount of turnover compared to most others. At 7 years in one place, Heretic (and I) was like 140 in Dev years. Most people change companies in the 2-5 year time range. I guarantee this happens at every company that makes every game you play. The only difference is that we are in closer contact. You know our names, so it feels worse when we leave.
I'm not looking forward to Dan going, much as I was sad when Heretic left. But losing the two of them is not the end of the world, or even the end of the game. In fact, there was a new designer that started this morning.
:::goes off to hug Dan:::
I tied Logan's shoe laces together, and slashed Heretic's tires. . . what should I do to keep Dan around. . . ?
I'm actually kind of amazed at the number of developers/producers who've been with this game since (before) it launched. Including the several (3?) who left and subsequently returned.
It's easy to be doom-and-gloom, but if it were that bad, there'd be more than two people leaving. A lot more.
You know Gozer has left Cryptic before, I can't recall when exactly, but he came back. The executive producer dstahl also left and came back, it's possible other devs who're not as well known have done the same to.
The point being that the devs are people, with lives and peoples lives change. People go from job to job, and rarely will stay in a single position throughout an entire lifetime, especially so these days. This is sad news, but it's really nothing to do with Cryptic or PW, the sky is not falling and everything's going to be all right.
I will totally miss Gozer, but remember Gozer's naturally a traveller, time for him to choose a new form and destroy some new worlds!
Comments
LMAO... thats funny right there!
Star Trek Online, Now with out the Trek....
I think Gozer had one of the stronger grasps on traditional MMO architecture of anyone on the content team.
I also think that grasp was too tight at times and even traditional MMOs have moved away from "traditional MMO architecture."
I wish the guy the best. His bluntness was kinda endearing and my every attempt at guessing what STO's teams were working on suggested that he was often doing 5-6 devs worth of work. Agree with his decisions or not, he worked HARD.
This brings to mind the scene in Shawshak Redemption that goes "Fish Fish Fish Fish Fish".(Insert Evil Smilies Here)
Also, with Gozer leaving does that mean work on Into the Hive has come to a halt?:biggrin:
I hear DStahl was replaced by a Changeling and the Borg are running PWE :biggrin:
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Though my first thought on reading this was... "Again??"
Hopefully the "new guy" will be less focused on trying to create a niche group of "followers" within the gaming community to whom he can give special treatment in the name of "development" and more on coming up with new and inspired ways of challenging the players.
As far as the PVP changes go... I wonder if it's even possible to have both a strong PVP and PVE game all in one? It seems that the those two worlds (and the players who prefer the different styles) are contrary to each other. Maybe it is possible for the two to co-exist and each be amazing in it's own regard, the good news is it sounds like there will be an opportunity for a new person to see what they can do!
Captain Ariel Trueheart Department of Temporal Investigations
U.S.S. Valkyrie - NCC 991701
=/\= ================================= =/\=
You need a Scarlet Monastery or Deadmines before you can have a Black Temple or Tempest Keep. A Positron TF before a Hamidon raid.
It also needs solid reasons to team (or at least passively play around other people) and replay content.
I'm not kidding when I say that I'd like whoever handles 5 mans to look more at X-Men Arcade Game or Turtles in Time and less at Everquest or Vanilla ********, at least for the introductory group content.
AFAIK, Gozer was never in charge of balancing. He seemed more a content designer. 1-shot critting invisible torpedoes were not his design. The STF reward system was probably more his idea or work though, and I give you that it's not that satisfying. But he got some results - STFs are played a lot again.
I don't know if his PvP work would have worked out or not. But the fact alone that he's leaving and can no longer continue that job is bad for PvP.
That said, he has every right to leave for greener pastures. I hope his next job will be as fun or more enjoyable and interesting as his job at Cryptic and which him well in all future endeavors.
But given some of the most prominent people on the STO Dev team leaving recently, it really makes me start to question the health of STO under Perfect World.
Ditto here, maybe we will finally start to see some changes to the STF missions. Best of luck to Gozer in his new endeavors though.
It should be noted that the last state of the game talked about changes to how STFs drops work for S7, so they have been planning changes while he was still there.
The.Grand.Nagus
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NPW Forums
I'm not looking forward to Dan going, much as I was sad when Heretic left. But losing the two of them is not the end of the world, or even the end of the game. In fact, there was a new designer that started this morning.
:::goes off to hug Dan:::
I tied Logan's shoe laces together, and slashed Heretic's tires. . . what should I do to keep Dan around. . . ?
Where I am from, we say "Bad things come in threes." So I wonder what else is to come.
Maybe its better not to know our developers at all. I don't know anymore.
p.s. 'welcome' to new guy all the same.
I agree, thanks for posting this!
Brb while I go take care of this lump in my throat...
https://youtube.com/user/MyBalkanGaming
Tell him he won't get out of it unless a new character got all mk12 stf sets
It is never a good thing to see people lose their jobs, but in this case there has been a lot of inflexibility and resistance or it's "My way or the Highway" apparent.
Cryptic tended to be a family and protected each other from the repercussions of screwups which made their environment less professional leading to more screwups, a vicious circle.
I look forward to more positive development from the company now that new standards are in effect.
I thank the departing devs for producing the stuff I like in game and "Happy Landings."
Give the person a chance to learn the ropes before throwing him into the shark tank.
Probably doesn't even have a working computer yet, let alone a dev account.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
WTH is going on over there?!
I know that they've said they are looking for new career opportunities, but 2 lead devs, within a week?
Punching that data into my Conspiracy Theory Generator(tm) comes up with all kinds of results;
I don't know how employment law works over there in the US, probably have different laws per state. But over here in the UK when you're offered and you accept a job you sign a contract of employment, which always include a minimum tenure. Which unless you get fired, or have a serious change in circumstance, you have to fulfill.
Some companies have terms in their contracts which state if you rise to a position of seniority or a management supervisory role, the amount of notice you have to give increases so they can find/train a suitable replacement for your position.
I've also worked with companies that operate on project cycles, and their contracts have often included terms stating you can't leave during the planning/development/implementation/release/initial support phases of projects.
I'm guessing none of that happens in the US, or in the software/games development industry.
Commander, Starfleet Corps of Engineers • 7th Fleet
Commanding Officer, U.S.S. HEART OF OAK • NX-1759-B • Odyssey class Star Cruiser ( Lexington Tactical Configuration))
(Steam - feel free to follow/friend me : )
There's always the old super glue him to his office seat trick.
I'm sure there are contracts that apply to executives that are a lot like that.
But a great deal of employment over here is under "at will" terms, unless the person is in an occupation that's heavily unionized. That means the company can terminate me at any time for any reason.
There are some companies in certain industries that will show you the door the moment you do give notice.
Likewise I can leave at any time, though it's not a good idea to burn your bridges by failing to give notice. It's also a good way to forfeit any severance or compensation for unused vacation time.
Personally, I think employees have an ethical responsibility to give the traditional two weeks notice unless there are extenuating circumstances (unethical behavior on the part of the company, health issues, etc).
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
All right let's just stay calm here!!! Don't get all crazy on me! :eek:
*Comes to a stop in style*
You know Gozer has left Cryptic before, I can't recall when exactly, but he came back. The executive producer dstahl also left and came back, it's possible other devs who're not as well known have done the same to.
The point being that the devs are people, with lives and peoples lives change. People go from job to job, and rarely will stay in a single position throughout an entire lifetime, especially so these days. This is sad news, but it's really nothing to do with Cryptic or PW, the sky is not falling and everything's going to be all right.
I will totally miss Gozer, but remember Gozer's naturally a traveller, time for him to choose a new form and destroy some new worlds!
I'm actually kind of amazed at the number of developers/producers who've been with this game since (before) it launched. Including the several (3?) who left and subsequently returned.
It's easy to be doom-and-gloom, but if it were that bad, there'd be more than two people leaving. A lot more.
Go get me my Breen armour minion!