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Can we get a confirm here?

abfabfleetabfabfleet Member Posts: 0 Arc User
edited March 2015 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
Rumour has it our Community Manager Captain Smirk is no longer with PWE, can we have an official statement?

From a big fan, SMIRK WE LOVE YOU! Your livestreams we're hilarious and your ship builds, well those made you awesome as well. If your still here, there are quite a few of us that stand behind you.
Post edited by abfabfleet on
«134567

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    virusdancervirusdancer Member Posts: 18,687 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    Remember when this...

    https://twitter.com/TheCaptainSmirk

    ...was...

    https://twitter.com/pwecaptainsmirk
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    evilmark444evilmark444 Member Posts: 6,950 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    Based on everything I've seen, most importantly his removal from the dev tracker and the changing of his twitter handle ...

    "He's dead Jim!"

    I personally find it very disheartening, I always got the impression that he was one of the few devs to actually care about the players. At least we still have Taco.
    Lifetime Subscriber since Beta
    eaY7Xxu.png
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    aoax10aoax10 Member Posts: 271 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    It wouldn't be surprising with the massive turn-over rates at PWE.
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    thutmosis85thutmosis85 Member Posts: 2,358 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    evilmark444 wrote: »
    I personally find it very disheartening, I always got the impression that he was one of the few devs to actually care about the players. At least we still have Taco.

    Smirk wasn't/isn't really a Dev, though ... he was/is Community Manager, so his Job was/is to "care about people" & interact with said Community -> Just saying ...
    Patch Notes : Resolved an Issue, where people would accidently experience Fun.
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    abfabfleetabfabfleet Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    Please keep it respectful in this post... it's about Smirk, not the game or where it's heading. A polite response for support for him is more important.
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    pwecangetlostpwecangetlost Member Posts: 538 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    The twitter handle seems to go a long way to confirm it, which is pretty sad. :(
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    section31agent#8506 section31agent
    section31agent#8506
         Member Posts: 665 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    I see there are some changes going on behind the curtain. Is this because of the fallout of player complaints over the Annivesary Event? Or perhaps it has to do with a decrease in the revenue stream. One thing is for sure pink slips are flying around. Who is gone and who is left and more importantly who is coming onboard to replace them?
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    thecosmic1thecosmic1 Member Posts: 9,365 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    evilmark444 wrote: »
    Based on everything I've seen, most importantly his removal from the dev tracker and the changing of his twitter handle ...

    "He's dead Jim!"

    I personally find it very disheartening, I always got the impression that he was one of the few devs to actually care about the players. At least we still have Taco.
    Smirk was the worst CM we ever had - and that is going all the way back to Wishstone who would ban people at the drop of a hat. The man just did not do his job properly. I cannot even count all the times I have had to go to other Cryptic game forums to get information that Smirk should have gotten to us here.

    I have nothing against the man personally, and I am certain he is a wonderful, fun, person to hang with, but as a CM he just did not cut it, IMO. You need to be more then friendly and nice to do your job properly. You might think your surgeon is the nicest person in the world but if every patient he/she ever operated on died you would be rethinking him doing your surgery.

    I wish him well in his future endeavors but I am not sorry to see him go.
    STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
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    evilmark444evilmark444 Member Posts: 6,950 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thutmosis85 wrote: »
    Smirk wasn't/isn't really a Dev, though ... he was/is Community Manager, so his Job was/is to "care about people" & interact with said Community -> Just saying ...

    True, but he was still involved in the development process, even if it was just listening in on a meeting or sending out emails about our concerns.
    Lifetime Subscriber since Beta
    eaY7Xxu.png
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    orion0029orion0029 Member Posts: 1,122 Bug Hunter
    edited March 2015
    Smells like Rumors and/or gossip...

    Edit: Just read 18 employees layed off at PWE :( Feel kinda bad for those who lost their jobs, hope they'll be ok.
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    thutmosis85thutmosis85 Member Posts: 2,358 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    orion0029 wrote: »
    Smells like Rumors and/or gossip...

    I think he's mostly talking about the Layoffs ... one of them is already confirmed ... another one seems to be highly likely ... not just "Rumors" anymore ...
    Patch Notes : Resolved an Issue, where people would accidently experience Fun.
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    abfabfleetabfabfleet Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Smirk was the worst CM we ever had - and that is going all the way back to Wishstone who would ban people at the drop of a hat. The man just did not do his job properly. I cannot even count all the times I have had to go to other Cryptic game forums to get information that Smirk should have gotten to us here.

    I have nothing against the man personally, and I am certain he is a wonderful, fun, person to hang with, but as a CM he just did not cut it, IMO. You need to be more then friendly and nice to do your job properly. You might think your surgeon is the nicest person in the world but if every patient he/she ever operated on died you would be rethinking him doing your surgery.

    I wish him well in his future endeavors but I am not sorry to see him go.

    Again, this about respect for Smirk, we honestly don't know the circumstances or what orders he was given and should be left out of this post. It's entirely about support for him from this community, please, please keep it respectful.
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    thegcbaconthegcbacon Member Posts: 434 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Smirk was the worst CM we ever had - and that is going all the way back to Wishstone who would ban people at the drop of a hat. The man just did not do his job properly. I cannot even count all the times I have had to go to other Cryptic game forums to get information that Smirk should have gotten to us here.

    I have nothing against the man personally, and I am certain he is a wonderful, fun, person to hang with, but as a CM he just did not cut it, IMO. You need to be more then friendly and nice to do your job properly. You might think your surgeon is the nicest person in the world but if every patient he/she ever operated on died you would be rethinking him doing your surgery.

    I wish him well in his future endeavors but I am not sorry to see him go.

    Well said. He never seemed to get into the groove of the job. Idk if the pay was so poor he had a 2nd job somewhere else that took most of his time away from STO, but he didn't seem organized. I never expected him to last his long actually.
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    thecosmic1thecosmic1 Member Posts: 9,365 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    Most of the layoffs seem to be PWE. PWE is not Cryptic. The only Cryptic Dev we know was let go so far was Matt Miller.

    Perfect World owns PWE. PWE owns Cryptic, Cryptic North, and some other North American companies.
    STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
  • Options
    evilmark444evilmark444 Member Posts: 6,950 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Smirk was the worst CM we ever had - and that is going all the way back to Wishstone who would ban people at the drop of a hat. The man just did not do his job properly. I cannot even count all the times I have had to go to other Cryptic game forums to get information that Smirk should have gotten to us here.

    I have nothing against the man personally, and I am certain he is a wonderful, fun, person to hang with, but as a CM he just did not cut it, IMO. You need to be more then friendly and nice to do your job properly. You might think your surgeon is the nicest person in the world but if every patient he/she ever operated on died you would be rethinking him doing your surgery.

    I wish him well in his future endeavors but I am not sorry to see him go.

    I thought about explaining my disagreement, and calling out a particular dev that I find extremely rude and condescending, but I decided this is not the place.

    We are all entitled to our own opinions, so I'll just leave it at that.
    Lifetime Subscriber since Beta
    eaY7Xxu.png
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    thutmosis85thutmosis85 Member Posts: 2,358 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Most of the layoffs seem to be PWE. PWE is not Cryptic. The only Cryptic Dev we know was let go so far was Matt Miller.

    Perfect World owns PWE. PWE owns Cryptic, Cryptic North, and some other North American companies.

    So ? Matt Miller being let go at this point & time is supposed to be pure coincidence ? PWE certainly affects Cryptic as well ... to what extent, we don't know yet ... maybe it's just the one Dev ...
    Patch Notes : Resolved an Issue, where people would accidently experience Fun.
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    nyxadrillnyxadrill Member Posts: 1,242 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Most of the layoffs seem to be PWE. PWE is not Cryptic. The only Cryptic Dev we know was let go so far was Matt Miller.

    Perfect World owns PWE. PWE owns Cryptic, Cryptic North, and some other North American companies.

    Looks like Smirks gone to.

    Edit: however that could have been Smirk jumping ship?
    server_hamster6.png
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    thecosmic1thecosmic1 Member Posts: 9,365 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    nyxadrill wrote: »
    Looks like Smirks gone to.
    Yeah, but Smirk works for PWE, not Cryptic.
    STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
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    aoax10aoax10 Member Posts: 271 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    There is also a plural with the term 'lay offs'; meaning more than one.
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    nyxadrillnyxadrill Member Posts: 1,242 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Yeah, but Smirk works for PWE, not Cryptic.

    Ah! yes good point.
    server_hamster6.png
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    hevachhevach Member Posts: 2,777 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    More importantly than what company the layoffs were in is what jobs they were. So far what we know is all community/web and PR, not development, and across several games, not just ones with currently hot controversies.

    What that suggests is it's just like the last round of PR and community layoffs that came at a time that STO was in an overall good place with players, but still lost personnel. Likely house clearing and cost cutting to boost some projections, possibly to offset costs elsewhere or make the company look better in preparation for an attempt to raise capital.
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    thutmosis85thutmosis85 Member Posts: 2,358 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    hevach wrote: »
    More importantly than what company the layoffs were in is what jobs they were. So far what we know is all community/web and PR, not development, and across several games, not just ones with currently hot controversies.

    Nope ... Matt Miller was one of best "Content Designers" (early KDF-Missions i.E.) ...
    Patch Notes : Resolved an Issue, where people would accidently experience Fun.
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    sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    thecosmic1 wrote: »
    Smirk was the worst CM we ever had - and that is going all the way back to Wishstone who would ban people at the drop of a hat. The man just did not do his job properly. I cannot even count all the times I have had to go to other Cryptic game forums to get information that Smirk should have gotten to us here.

    I have nothing against the man personally, and I am certain he is a wonderful, fun, person to hang with, but as a CM he just did not cut it, IMO. You need to be more then friendly and nice to do your job properly. You might think your surgeon is the nicest person in the world but if every patient he/she ever operated on died you would be rethinking him doing your surgery.

    I wish him well in his future endeavors but I am not sorry to see him go.


    I have to agree with this, also.


    He was more PR man than Community Manager.

    Not once did I feel he was acting in the best interests of the Community; being the go between us and the devs, but he did like showing off in game stuff and hyping it up in livestreams.
    Fed: Eng Lib Borg (Five) Tac Andorian (Shen) Sci Alien/Klingon (Maelrock) KDF:Tac Romulan KDF (Sasha) Tac Klingon (K'dopis)
    Founder, member and former leader to Pride Of The Federation Fleet.
    What I feel after I hear about every decision made since Andre "Mobile Games Generalisimo" Emerson arrived...
    3oz8xC9gn8Fh4DK9Q4.gif





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    shpoksshpoks Member Posts: 6,967 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    hevach wrote: »
    More importantly than what company the layoffs were in is what jobs they were. So far what we know is all community/web and PR, not development, and across several games, not just ones with currently hot controversies.

    What that suggests is it's just like the last round of PR and community layoffs that came at a time that STO was in an overall good place with players, but still lost personnel. Likely house clearing and cost cutting to boost some projections, possibly to offset costs elsewhere or make the company look better in preparation for an attempt to raise capital.

    Matt Miller who was also laid off was a Cryptic developer - a game content designer, not a PR or Community Manager. He was also one of the best and most talented people this company had.
    HQroeLu.jpg
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    sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    shpoks wrote: »
    Matt Miller who was also laid of was a Cryptic developer - a game content designer, not a PR or Community Manager. He was also one of the best and most talented people this company had.

    Yup, he will be missed. :(
    Fed: Eng Lib Borg (Five) Tac Andorian (Shen) Sci Alien/Klingon (Maelrock) KDF:Tac Romulan KDF (Sasha) Tac Klingon (K'dopis)
    Founder, member and former leader to Pride Of The Federation Fleet.
    What I feel after I hear about every decision made since Andre "Mobile Games Generalisimo" Emerson arrived...
    3oz8xC9gn8Fh4DK9Q4.gif





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    thecosmic1thecosmic1 Member Posts: 9,365 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    shpoks wrote: »
    Matt Miller who was also laid of was a Cryptic developer - a game content designer, not a PR or Community Manager. He was also one of the best and most talented people this company had.
    I like Matt, a lot. But the only things that stick out to me that he did while working on STO were the new KDF missions and that was 2 years ago. I can guess that he did some of the missions in DR as well, but they did not have as much of an impact on me.
    STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
  • Options
    section31agent#8506 section31agent
    section31agent#8506
         Member Posts: 665 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    hevach wrote: »
    More importantly than what company the layoffs were in is what jobs they were. So far what we know is all community/web and PR, not development, and across several games, not just ones with currently hot controversies.

    What that suggests is it's just like the last round of PR and community layoffs that came at a time that STO was in an overall good place with players, but still lost personnel. Likely house clearing and cost cutting to boost some projections, possibly to offset costs elsewhere or make the company look better in preparation for an attempt to raise capital.

    Perhaps, but could this also be in preperation to make cryptic attractive enough to sell off? I do know that companies cook the books before selling off assets.
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    organicmanfredorganicmanfred Member Posts: 3,236 Arc User
    edited March 2015
    how many threads do we need about this?
This discussion has been closed.