the "where has Statesman been" explanation
By
5th_Player,
Posted on: 2005-08-03 17:45 in Developers' Corner
Best of luck to your brother in Iraq, Jack, and to all my heroes that serve America.
And yes... I, for one, prefer your honesty, even if it may occasionally sound 'snarky'. It's a refreshing change from the smooth answers we MIGHT get on so many other games.
Best wishes to your brother, Jack.
You and I disagree on a lot of things with respect to Issues 4 and 5, but some things are more important.
Now about those "less important" things on which we disagree ... 
Regards,
FCM
Please try MA arc ID 351455, "Shard Stories: Scavenger's Hunt." Originally created for the Dr. Aeon contest, it explores the wild potential of one of the City's most concept-rich but content-poor settings: the Shadow Shard.
Best wishes to your brother and all those serving their country in these turbulent times.
Right now, I am not liking the test Invuln, but I won't take it as a personal attack. I hope you see all the people that want our res back and damn the defense!
As a 7 year Vet. US Army Infantry btw. I wish your brother the best and tell him to "keep his head down" 
As to your responses, I've never seen them as 'flippant' or 'snarky'. At least, I don't think I've ever said anything like that. It is IMO refreshing to see a Dev not only communicate so regularly with their playerbase, but to speak their mind as well.
So--if you don't call me a dick for speaking my mind. I won't call you one for speaking yours.
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I do NOT pass my posts through PR, community relations or anyone.
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Obviously.
Best of luck to your brother, he's a good man for doing what he's doing.
Glad you popped in to let us know and I hope your brother finds his tour as uneventful as possible. I wouldn't worry about how 'snarky' your responses sound. Those who want to will tear apart anything you say, polished or not, so don't bother polishing. On the other hand, you better keep Posi busy on some of these questions, because there's either a lot of bugs or a lot of stuff that missed the patch notes. If you think you miss CuppaJo NOW... just wait.
And welcome back.
Good luck to your brother, my cousin in law is also in Iraq and has been there for some time.
Additionally, thanks for posting your ideas without them being polished. I REALLY hate Blizzard's system where everything has to be approved by higher ups for posting.
Thanks again Statesman
Told you guys there was a reason.
Luck to Statesbrother! Tell him to say "hi" to my cousin.
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
Jack,
Ill quote John Wayne,
"The more plain english you use, the less people misunderstand you."
So, keep speaking your mind, we all appreciate it.
Family First as Always.
I wish your brother luck and a safe and speedy return.
Is it just me or has this post not appeared on the dev digest?
Jack, all we want is your total honesty and no spin. Your customers have very strong feeliings about this game. Over the past year we have grown very attached to our heroes so I hope you'll understand why players like myself and others have a tendency to take reductions in our powers personally. I may not agree with your vision but if you take the time to explain the severity of the changes I'll at least have a better understanding of why.
On a much more important note, my best wishes to your brother. I hope is is able to safely return to you and your family soon.
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Gang,
Sorry that I've been out of touch for the past week. I spent most of the time with my family back East. My brother is set to deploy in Iraq in just a few days so I wanted to make sure that I saw him off right! He's a hero of mine, and one of the game's most committed players. I can't speak highly enough of my brother and all that he's done for this country.
OK - now back to work stuff. I'm going through my PM's (287 of them at last count) slowly but surely. I at least read, if not respond, to every one of them. Positron and I will also be reading all of the threads over this week and we HOPE to post updates or responses on every single one.
Now, I'll wax philosophic for a moment. Before I left, I posted a couple of things that a few posters thought were "flippant" or "snarky." I certainly didn't intend either...but here's the reality. I do NOT pass my posts through PR, community relations or anyone. I post, well, exactly as I think. So sometimes I won't sound polished like a snake oil salesman. Sometimes, I'll sound just like any other gamer out there. I could have someone edit everything I post - but that would inevitably delay responses and cut back on communication. I think, though I could be wrong, that the majority of you would prefer my honest thoughts, rather than sales talk. It's probably pretty different than the game developer norm, but it's what feels right for me to say. I'm not going to always write the best responses, but you'll at least have truthful ones.
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Statesman it's your off the cuff honest responses that are usually the best. Your controller comments for example were simple, honest and to the point. The explanation given with the update notes was BS and that's what got people mad.
You've been very blunt in your recent postings and PMs and I greatly appreciate that. Although I reserve the right to remind you of "Concern = Small Tweak. Don't worry Regen Scrappers," I think that you have a great handle on what the community likes. This post is testament of that.
Now if you could just get that Geko chap to stop being so stingy with the power info, we'll be in heaven. 
*Good Luck and my best wishes to your brother. I hope he's safe on his tour.*
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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Is it just me or has this post not appeared on the dev digest?
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It takes a few minutes.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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Gang,
Sorry that I've been out of touch for the past week. I spent most of the time with my family back East. My brother is set to deploy in Iraq in just a few days so I wanted to make sure that I saw him off right! He's a hero of mine, and one of the game's most committed players. I can't speak highly enough of my brother and all that he's done for this country.
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Best of luck to your brother, and to all of his fellow soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen in these troubled times we live in. May they all return home safely.
Good luck to your brother in Iraq, and that he comes back safely.
While being a newbie at the forms (been stealth for the last month) I appreciate the developers responding to the comments, and when problems do occur (ie, the negative accuracy with movement in I4) you respond quickly based on input.
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Gang,
Sorry that I've been out of touch for the past week. I spent most of the time with my family back East. My brother is set to deploy in Iraq in just a few days so I wanted to make sure that I saw him off right! He's a hero of mine, and one of the game's most committed players. I can't speak highly enough of my brother and all that he's done for this country.
OK - now back to work stuff. I'm going through my PM's (287 of them at last count) slowly but surely. I at least read, if not respond, to every one of them. Positron and I will also be reading all of the threads over this week and we HOPE to post updates or responses on every single one.
Now, I'll wax philosophic for a moment. Before I left, I posted a couple of things that a few posters thought were "flippant" or "snarky." I certainly didn't intend either...but here's the reality. I do NOT pass my posts through PR, community relations or anyone. I post, well, exactly as I think. So sometimes I won't sound polished like a snake oil salesman. Sometimes, I'll sound just like any other gamer out there. I could have someone edit everything I post - but that would inevitably delay responses and cut back on communication. I think, though I could be wrong, that the majority of you would prefer my honest thoughts, rather than sales talk. It's probably pretty different than the game developer norm, but it's what feels right for me to say. I'm not going to always write the best responses, but you'll at least have truthful ones.
[/ QUOTE ]
Statesman it's your off the cuff honest responses that are usually the best. Your controller comments for example were simple, honest and to the point. The explanation given with the update notes was BS and that's what got people mad.
You've been very blunt in your recent postings and PMs and I greatly appreciate that. Although I reserve the right to remind you of "Concern = Small Tweak. Don't worry Regen Scrappers," I think that you have a great handle on what the community likes. This post is testament of that.
Now if you could just get that Geko chap to stop being so stingy with the power info, we'll be in heaven.
*Good Luck and my best wishes to your brother. I hope he's safe on his tour.*
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I too hope your brother the best and a safe return.
I also want to mention that "snarky" or not, I always prefer a honest answer to someone trying to sell me something.
Thank you for being frank and honest with us.
Seryphim : Virtue : Empath/Archery Defender
Fueur-Engel : Virtue : Fire/Thermal Corrupter
it's on the digest now. states...thx for keeping the comm line open. best of luck to your brother.
p.s. and as one of evilgeko's evil brothers in greenness i second his note about...being that special shade of hero green. =)
*runs to make another Where have the devs gone?!?!?!11111 Thread 
*
Welcome back
This space is intentionally left blank.
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Is it just me or has this post not appeared on the dev digest?
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It takes a few minutes.
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Oh yeah, apparently i haven't accounted for BST so the post times are an hour off.
Hope everything goes well with your brother.
As I tell friends in my guild, real life comes first.
I know CoH is your job but good jobs let you get time off for family needs.
On being honest in your posts, please continue. LOL, just expect some posters to be honest right back at you. 
This is a service-oriented business, and it's all
about keeping the player happy over the long term.
So you have to listen and pay attention. If a large
portion of your playerbase is screaming about
some change, you be wise to listen. - Raph Koster
I have to say I prefer your undeited comments over any edited ones. Of course, when I see something that's seems sarcastic from you, I usually agree- and am amazed at your restraint.
As for your brother going to Iraq... I recall he was recently in Korea before. Seems he's chewing the same dirt as this former combat engineer (korea 93-94, Iraq 90-91).
Some words of advice:
Aviod at all costs:
Saudi Scorpions
Kuwaiti Fleas
Iraqi Spiders
and MRE's.
Mr. Emmert,
Good luck and godspeed to your brother.
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Positron and I will also be reading all of the threads over this week and we HOPE to post updates or responses on every single one.
Now, I'll wax philosophic for a moment. Before I left, I posted a couple of things that a few posters thought were "flippant" or "snarky." I certainly didn't intend either...but here's the reality. I do NOT pass my posts through PR, community relations or anyone.
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You might want to consider it, since you're supposed to be a professional in business, and your responses are sometimes neither professional, nor businesslike.
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I post, well, exactly as I think. So sometimes I won't sound polished like a snake oil salesman.
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So, to be honest you must be flippant, and to not be flippant is to be a liar? Interesting.
I would suggest that to have the lead designer wading through thousands of posts is a waste of his time and talents, to be honest.
But MY real disappointment was that in a topic thread with so many honest concerns, so many good ideas, so many respectful questions of you--your only post was to make the flippant remark you did.
Okay, it was your honest thought. That's fine. It's not appropriate to always speak your most honest of thoughts, especially when your time could be better spent answering why there's little different content in issue 5. Why not reply to those of us who have asked about that? Or address other concerns we have? If you only have time for one post in a thread, should you really be spending it in a manner that will annoy the customer to whom you're replying?
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Sometimes, I'll sound just like any other gamer out there. I could have someone edit everything I post - but that would inevitably delay responses and cut back on communication.
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If it will mean more QUALITY posts out of the Dev team, and more professional posts, I'll take it.
With sincerity...
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Now, I'll wax philosophic for a moment. Before I left, I posted a couple of things that a few posters thought were "flippant" or "snarky.
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We DO appreciate that it doesn't get run through PR [the only thing PR/political-correctness/marketting do is try to make it sound like a good thing].
as for responses; come on over to live (where blaster defense hasn't been... um, well, I guess pillaged would be an appropriate term, so that you don't die quite as fast with that tactic of yours) and we'll show you why defiance won't be much help, even if it DID have a chance to kick in, past the hollows.
3 words in case you don't have the time though: Volleys, Mezzing, accuracy.
(volleys as in those 5+ minions firing the same weapon with the same animation at about the same time)
(mezzing as in our primary source of death, even sometimes with a defender around)
(accuracy as in that thing that makes us whiff 2-3 shots in a row every dozen or so shots with a "95%" accuracy)
Gang,
Sorry that I've been out of touch for the past week. I spent most of the time with my family back East. My brother is set to deploy in Iraq in just a few days so I wanted to make sure that I saw him off right! He's a hero of mine, and one of the game's most committed players. I can't speak highly enough of my brother and all that he's done for this country.
OK - now back to work stuff. I'm going through my PM's (287 of them at last count) slowly but surely. I at least read, if not respond, to every one of them. Positron and I will also be reading all of the threads over this week and we HOPE to post updates or responses on every single one.
Now, I'll wax philosophic for a moment. Before I left, I posted a couple of things that a few posters thought were "flippant" or "snarky." I certainly didn't intend either...but here's the reality. I do NOT pass my posts through PR, community relations or anyone. I post, well, exactly as I think. So sometimes I won't sound polished like a snake oil salesman. Sometimes, I'll sound just like any other gamer out there. I could have someone edit everything I post - but that would inevitably delay responses and cut back on communication. I think, though I could be wrong, that the majority of you would prefer my honest thoughts, rather than sales talk. It's probably pretty different than the game developer norm, but it's what feels right for me to say. I'm not going to always write the best responses, but you'll at least have truthful ones.