It's been 3 months since my last blog. And for that I'm sorry. The reasons for the delay I'm not so sorry for, so please bare with me while I explain.
My last blog was of course the day I was elected into the CPM. This in itself should tell you something about the delay between blogs. It's been a busy time for the CPM. Hotfix Charlie was in its final stages when we started our term and we were immediately into Delta.
Arguably Delta was the biggest of the Hotfixes. It most certainly didn't start that way, with Rattati wanting a smaller, focused set of changes. But finding himself with a fresh CPM, full of enthusiasm, ideas and willingness to help, Delta grew into a monster which balance passes across nearly all weapons, dropship rebalancing (which was, despite claims to the contrary, badly needed), changes to the NPE and starting skills and the return of the BPO's.
That's the reason I'm not sorry for the delay. Its been fantastically busy and rewarding to help influence the game directly rather than throwing in ideas from the sidelines. I spend a lot of my free time reading through the forums (even while at work), reading your feedback and either highlighting it or linking it directly to the Dev's.
Another underlying reason for my blogs quiet spell is summed up in three letters. NDA.
Because of its nature, we have to try and get feedback about concerns the players have, without tipping off those that can connect the dots better. And there is a lot of you that excel at that. There's a larger number that don't however and that's a reason you might get accused of tin foil freshness.
And while keeping safe details of Hotfixes might be easy, our first real test of secret keeping came just over a month ago when CCP Rouge informed us of Uprising 1.9
Of course speaking as a player, I and the CPM were thrilled to hear the news which was a complete surprise and very welcome. Even more so as it became clear that this wasn't some drive by patch. Some substance client fixes and changes were on the way, produced by a significant amount of Dev time and talent.
The changes already mentioned in the Patch announce to are only a part of the content of 1.9, with the rest of the details yet to be brought to you all, I can admit to there being a couple of things on their way that I'm very excited to hear from you all about.
But the real point of 1.9 is that it is a result of the progress the game has made since the Hotfixes began. The enthusiasm of the playerbase for the changes made in them, proven not only in the forums but also in the stability and even growth of the playerbase, has more than proven the need for continued development of Dust 514.
With that continued growth and confirmed willingness of the players to invest, not only their time but cash into the game (the new Quafe suits are everywhere), the chances of a 1.10 increase all the time. And with CCP's absolute intent for an equitable transfer to Project Legion should it become an official game, I for one have no problem investing my money in a game that gives as much pleasure to me now as it has in the past two years.
And you shouldn't either.
