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Gazillion Entertainment hires David Bass
Back in February, David "Daeke" Bass, the Community Manager for Champions Online, parted ways with Cryptic. He was replaced by Cryptic_Stormshade, and all was quiet on the Daeke front until today. Massively received word from Gazillion Entertainment that Bass has been hired as their new Community Coordinator. Bass posted the information on Twitter as well: "Hey look! I'm the new Community Coordinator at Gazillion Entertainment! Glad I got that off my chest, finally." Finally, we received a bit of clarification from the man himself: "At Gazillion, I'll be working closely with Stephen Reid (aka Rockjaw) to coordinate all our community efforts across all products. I'll be focusing on all of them, rather than on a specific one." Not many more details are known at the moment, but it's worth noting that this is the second hiring announcement to come from that direction in just a few short days. Can we expect more news from Gazillion soon? Time will tell, but for the moment we'll settle on congratulating Daeke on his new position and wishing him all the best.
Community manager Daeke leaves Cryptic, Stormshade to replace him
Today, Cryptic_Stormshade confirmed what the Champions Online community was speculating on since the early morning hours -- that Cryptic_Daeke, the Champions Online community manager, has parted ways with Cryptic Studios. David "Daeke" Bass's leaving comes amidst heavy fire from the community on Cryptic's most recent endeavor, the addition of Vibora Bay in Champions Online. Daeke was the first member of the Cryptic staff to acknowledge that Vibora Bay would be a piece of paid content, and not a free patch to the game. The switch in community managers is sudden and unexpected, leaving many in the Champions Online community wondering if this event and Vibora Bay's announcement are somehow related. Stormshade, however, has declined to speak any further on Daeke's departure, simply stating, "Daeke has moved on to other things. We wish him the best of luck wherever that path takes him." Stormshade has now stepped away from Star Trek Online to become the new CM for Champions. We here at Massively would also like to take the time to wish Daeke the best and luck with whatever he pursues next.
Players miffed over Champions Online's "kitchen sink patch" and Vibora Bay
It's an awkward time for Champions Online. After the last State of the Game post by Chronomancer, things were looking up. The latest patch was slated to fix Lemuria (colloquially known as Lagmuria, due to the extreme system hiccups), add more power to various power frameworks, nemesis changes, the addition of team looting, and changes to the crafting system. Furthermore, the same State of the Game post announced that Champions would be getting its first expansion -- Vibora Bay. However, with the deployment of the "kitchen sink" patch, most gamers have experienced more lag in all zones, some characters are locked in Lemuria, unable to log in, and there are issues with the crafting systems. If all of that wasn't bad enough, Cryptic Daeke has confirmed that Vibora Bay will be a "paid expansion" which will add more content for levels 37 to 40 -- a move which has sent many members of the community into what can only be described as "a frothing rage."
Champions devs looking for player feedback on melee powers
Cryptic is looking for constructive player feedback on the melee powers in Champions Online. You can post your thoughts over on this thread created by Daeke on the official forums. With power sets being such an integral part of what makes this game tick the way it does, this is a prime opportunity to have your voices heard. You'll need a forum account, but besides that it's open to anyone looking to respond. Now, we know some of you harbor an unfettered distaste for the brand of MMO superherodom found in Champions Online, and that's wholly your prerogative. If you find yourself wanting to let the developers have a piece of your mind, just make sure you do it in a manner that's both organized and constructive. Red-faced yelling -- or its online equivalent -- won't get your feedback taken seriously by anyone with the authority to actually do something about it.
Champions Online has a secret
And they're not going to tell you! However, you can probably make a few guesses as to the secret if you haven't already, when you participate in their secret playtest tomorrow. Champions Online Community Team member David "Daeke" Bass posted this interesting piece of news today: "We've got a big feature coming out next week, but we want your help to test it before then. We can't give too many details now..." When this super secret new feature hits the PTS tomorrow, it will not be as a timed event, so you can log in and take a look at your leisure. Don't have any speculation as to what it is yet? A few simple instructions on what to bring to the party might help. Daeke requests that you bring a 5-man team of level 40 players and interestingly, a Nemesis. If you want to participate you can either transfer your own characters over from the live server, or level up using the contact outside the Millennium City Powerhouse. Champions Online promises more information tomorrow -- we can't wait!
The Digital Continuum: Five reasons to play Champions Online part 2
It's nothing new, it's always optional and Colin did a wonderful job discussing it. I don't have a problem with microtransactions, and haven't since I began actually learning how they affected online services and games. When Cryptic's games make more money, Atari is happier. When Atari is happier, Cryptic gets to hire more people and spend more time creating the things we love to play: MMOs.
