the "where has Statesman been" explanation
By
5th_Player,
Posted on: 2005-08-03 17:45 in Developers' Corner
Well wishes and best of luck to your brother, and to all of our men and women serving in Iraq, or anywhere, for that matter. My cousin's son is in Iraq, too. It's amazing to read how many people have served or know someone who's serving.
Anyway, keep up the great work with CoH. I really like the game, and look forward to many more hours of online fun. 
Hey Jack, your brother will be in my prayers. He truly is a real life hero for risking his life. You're an awesome brother for going to see him off!
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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!
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Best wishes to your brave 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.
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Thanks. We couldn't post testing results because there have been no redname posts after the latest patch went to the test server.
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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.
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That's the way I like it, Jack. Warts and all, I'd rather have your real words instead of some PR BS.
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I'm not going to always write the best responses, but you'll at least have truthful ones.
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To be honest, the closest I've seen you get to "shading the truth" is when you do have time to think about it, like the justificaitons for changes in the release notes. When you post directly into the threads, we know where your coming from. We may not always like it, but we know it.
Thanks for the straight-shooting, Jack. And welcome back.
Jack, my prayers go out for your Brother. I have so much respect for the heroes that defend my country.
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... I'm very honest and blunt, so I can appreciate that, BUT I also know when to use careful wordplay and tactfulness. Your explanation for I5 was anything but that.
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You and I must have read different explanations for the issue 5 changes because the one I read was clear, concise and extremely tactful.
Honestly, I think you might be confusing the fact that you dont agree with the changes with the idea that the changes were presented in something other than a civilized manner.
Jack
Best wishes to the whole family and everyone over there.
As for those that have taken to telling Statesman how the proper way to respond in the forums is....
I think that Jack is educated enough, and savy enough to post how he wants. Much the same as you post how you want.
If you want to tell him how to post, then perhaps he should tell you how to post and enforce his choice of "how" you post when you dont post in the manner he wants you to.
That 'might' produce a lot less posting by some people.
The developers allow a great freedom in how people post on their boards. Many choose to post with legitimate concerns and suggestions. There are a good number that post with whines and mud slinging towards the developers.
Why do the people that wish to berate Statesman for how he chooses to post, not in turn tell those that mud sling etc how to post? Why must everyone make Statesman into the mechanically politically correct idealist professional in 'their' eyes alone.
There are a good many people that have said they not only have no problem with how he posts, but don't want him to change at all. I think the select few that wish him to post as described above, should perhaps just read what is said to them and not how it is said.
Try to remember, that this is a forum, and while there are some posts that dont read professional enough for some ... Statesman has held an above board attitude towards people despite the constant complaints and mud slingling towards him.
If you think it was less than professional, perhaps it was simply in how you chose to view it.
Member of Team Awesome���
Justice Server
good luck and my prayers go out to your brother. I hope he returns home safely and quickly!
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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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I will pray for his safe return.
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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.
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Welcome back.
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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." 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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This is one of the reasons I like this game sooo much.
Ratman
States, I wish your brother and all those troops over there good luck and best wishes.
As for the Professional vs. gamer response, I'd rather have the gamer. It's hard to articulate with forum postings. One person perceives "snarkey" another doesn't.
When you made the comment, it didn't read as snarky to me and I was rather confused at why people were peeved at the response.
Keep it real 
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I'm not going to always write the best responses, but you'll at least have truthful ones.
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And, honestly, this is one of the reasons I'm still a subscriber to the game. Game operators don't always understand how much difference it makes to have open communication lines, even if we the players don't always agree with the devs.
Thanks for bucking the trend. 
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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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Best of luck for your brother, our thoughts will be with him.
Good response on the "Snarky" thing. Nice to know you're listening.
May your brother come home in the same condition he left in. Our thoughts are with him.
And thanks, Statesman.
Good luck to you and your Bro States.
Also All the comments that you post doesnt seem Snarky to me not compared to some of the things other write anyway. For me IMO if people are going to talk others about being professional than they should show professionlism first before they criticize anyone. Whatever happened to you show me respect and you get shown respect in return.
Mastoid lvl 50 ss/inv tank Freedom
The Solar Sentinal lvl 2 ss/fire tank Freedom
Steel Bus lvl 34 ss/inv tank Virtue
War Tide lvl 6 axe/inv tank Triumph
"Snarky"...
Is that like a snark? Those horrible little exploding red beetle things from Half-life?
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"Snarky"...
Is that like a snark? Those horrible little exploding red beetle things from Half-life?
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"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears,
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words "It's a Boo-" NERF!!!
Then, silence.
(with apologies to Lewis Carroll )
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I couldn't possibly agree more. Honesty is one thing, but being proffesional when speaking to customers is another. It's almost as though he's saying that we're a lower class of people so it's ok to be a jerk.
I am honest every day at my job, when someone is wrong or has misunderstood something, I have to tell them. But I do it nicely. What's wrong with that?
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Nothing's wrong with that. But we're not co-workers. And there is a significant minority of posters who don't feel the need to say things politely or courteously. In fact, the amount of personal mud that has been slung at the developers in general and Statesman in particular is simply embarrassing. Moreover, when I explain something to a client more than once, I tend to get testy too. The client's don't leave, they start listening because I am providing a service that it's difficult for them to get elsewhere, as is Jack. Clearly, the game is meant to be played differently in I-5. While it's clearly not, as some folks have claimed, 1 hero=3 minions, clearly the spawn described in the post that's got everyone's attention was not meant to be soloed. And Jack's response was, as most are, taken out of context. He said the ZONE was meant for groups of 5+ players, not that particular spawn. He was driving home the point that the hazard zones are no longer a place for solo farming.
Whether or not you (and for this and the rest of this post I don't mean you, TheMiddleman, it's just a general rant)
agree with this vision is one thing, but the vision has been laid out and we can try and change it or adapt to it. But ignoring it, as many posters are doing (And I still see quite a few posts complaining how difficult it is to HERD in I-5) is going to get you snarked at.
However, I don't recall Statesman ever calling a poster or the player community a *censored*, *censored*, or even a *censored*; things Jack gets called all the time on these forums. People feel free to call him things that if said to a number of people (including me) in RL would lead to a fistfight.
If the player community wants courtesy, then it needs to start by giving some. If it wants answers, then let Statesman give them without worrying about whether it might hurt someone's feelings. Geezus, these are the forums. If folks are going to be insulted or upset by sarcasm, then maybe the forums aren't for you. Heck, the game very well might not be for you. I've noticed far more sarcasm than RPing in the game.
Anyway, thanks for the vent. And to Statesman, as I said above, I hope your brother's tour in Iraq is boring and uneventful and that he returns home ASAP.
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Forgive my laziness...but I complete agree with Quickshadow here. I feel a lot of ppl on the boards are more about whining and less about playing and having fun. Remember, we are here to play heroes, not crybabies.
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Forgive my compounded laziness. I wish to associate myself with Quickshadow's remarks above. Strongly associate myself with his remarks, even---hyper-strongly associate; hell, even uber-l33t-hyper-strongly associate...you get the picture.
Good karma and blessings from the Gods to your brother, States. While I disagree on many levels with our real life heroes having to do what they are doing, I nevertheless stand firmly behind them, wish them all good vibes and cannot adequately describe how proud I am of their noble sacrifice on our behalf.
As for I5, don't pass out or anything, but I'm tired of waiting for it to go live heh heh
Cal2
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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.
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Actually, with just about everything you say, you sound like someone who's never played the game a single time. That's the problem. We WANT you to be part of the gaming community. We WANT you to sound like a gamer. But you sound like someone who's completely out of touch with reality.
Telling a level 50 tanker that he needs a team of 5-6 guys to take on a group of SEVEN EVEN LEVEL mobs. Sorry, but no player that's ever played the game for more than 30 seconds could say something like that.
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Telling a level 50 tanker that he needs a team of 5-6 guys to take on a group of SEVEN EVEN LEVEL mobs. Sorry, but no player that's ever played the game for more than 30 seconds could say something like that.
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What part of 2 Bosses = 3 Heroes do you not understand?
And yes ... I've played City of Heroes considerably longer than 30 seconds.
NCIS: Best gorram show in the 'verse.
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Telling a level 50 tanker that he needs a team of 5-6 guys to take on a group of SEVEN EVEN LEVEL mobs. Sorry, but no player that's ever played the game for more than 30 seconds could say something like that.
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What part of 2 Bosses = 3 Heroes do you not understand?
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The part where that statement has been a complete joke for A YEAR AND A HALF. I guess we're all supposed to just ignore that year and a half? Pretend it never happened?
It's ok to make changes. But to completely redesign the entire concept of a game after it's been out almost 2 years........that's absurd. It's been done in MMORPGS before. It killed the games.
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The part where that statement has been a complete joke for A YEAR AND A HALF. I guess we're all supposed to just ignore that year and a half? Pretend it never happened?
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Yeah... the past year an a half was all just an extension of that Winter Lord event where everyone leveled soooo fast. Time to get back to reality!
We don' need no stinkin' signatures!
Godspeed and safe return for your brother. Real life comes first. No matter what.
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The part where that statement has been a complete joke for A YEAR AND A HALF. I guess we're all supposed to just ignore that year and a half? Pretend it never happened?
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Weak. It hasn't been a year and a half.
Prior to Issue 1 the only form of herding was by high level Tanks and Scrappers in low level zones alowing low levels to kill in safty. Min/Maxer had the numbers but no tools to optimize. The tools to "herd" in it's current form are still months off.
Issue 1 Added the Portal Corp missions, giving the PL'ers a place to PL in private. But they could only herd with things like Perma-Unstoppable in those missions.
The Test Center was added. They could now test out powers before accually comitting them to the character. Before this, they were stuck with it. They could be more optimized ... but only slightly.
Issue 2: All heck break loose. They can now optimize thier build. They could base a character solely on Perma-Unstoppable, /respec out of all other Defense powers, and slot attacks. Herding commences based on "Guide Builds."
Issue 3: Perma-Unstoppable becomes impossable. Min/Maxes /respec out on Unstopable and slot up other powers to keep up the need to herd.
Now we have herding in it's current form. 8 Months ago. Did the Devs stop there? Hell no. Wolves got range attacks and stun. Then gave the mission a timer. Ninjas got caltrops. They tried uping minion HPs. Other things.
It takes time for a problem to apear. For it to be noticed. Come up with some ways to deal with it. Choose one and test it out. Revise as needed.
Sure ... mathmaticly it was possable at launch. But back then people were too busy PLing Blasters up to level 40, then 50 Solo.
NCIS: Best gorram show in the 'verse.
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Umm.....what?
Fighting 7 mobs at a time is "herding"? You sound confused.
A couple posts up you basically said that a level 50 tanker shouldn't be able to fight 2 even level bosses at a time....that it should take 3 heroes for that. Now you act like we're talking about herding a whole map and fighting 100 bosses at a time.
We're not. The discussion is about what statesman said....that a group of 7 even level mobs is designed for 5-6 players. If you consider that herding....well I don't even know what to say. But the FACT is....since day 1 of this game, a level 50 tanker had no problem fighting 7 even level mobs. Ever. For a developer to act like the game was designed for that to be impossible shows that he simply has no idea what he's talking about.
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Umm.....what?
Fighting 7 mobs at a time is "herding"? You sound confused.
A couple posts up you basically said that a level 50 tanker shouldn't be able to fight 2 even level bosses at a time....that it should take 3 heroes for that. Now you act like we're talking about herding a whole map and fighting 100 bosses at a time.
We're not. The discussion is about what statesman said....that a group of 7 even level mobs is designed for 5-6 players. If you consider that herding....well I don't even know what to say. But the FACT is....since day 1 of this game, a level 50 tanker had no problem fighting 7 even level mobs. Ever. For a developer to act like the game was designed for that to be impossible shows that he simply has no idea what he's talking about.
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I think the problem here, SirMixaLot, is that you don't account for different types of enemies. You just call them all mobs, total them up, and act as though there's no significant difference between bosses and minions. Surely you admit that there is a large difference between the two? The group you keep referring to, the one in the Rikti Crash Site that inspired the response from States, included something like 3 bosses, 2 lts., and 2 minions. I would say 3 bosses are rather tough, not to mention they had friends.
So if you account for added difficulty found within the enemy group, do you think maybe States' idea of needing a team isn't so far off?
My best to your brother and family, hope he comes home safe.
I as well think your brother is a true hero for his service to his country. I hope all goes well with his time over seas.
I am glad you are back, because while I disagree with many of the things heppening in this game, and the direction, you and the dev team are heros of mine for the creation of the game. I am glad to know there is a reason for the you not replying to our "concerns" ( which I know are out right [censored]).
I look foward to replys on the regen threads. Because we are also one shotted by AVs.
Later,
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