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[Matariki Rain]

This is what you get when a games company confuses it's content department with a marketing team.

Problem is, it needs to do both. And a lot of the time--perhaps especially of late--the need for marketing to keep the company solvent will trump the desire for particular types of content.

I was surprised at the amount of staff time that seemed to go into supporting A'J. Not unpleasantly so: I was curious about this type of play that seemed to appeal so strongly to some players, and I was intrigued that there was still scope for trying something which I considered so creatively profligate at that time. But it seemed like a resource-hungry project that would engage a tiny proportion of the players, and it wasn't immediately apparent that it would have spin-off effects that would improve the world for the wider group of players who weren't involved directly but who like there being a detailed world out there.

None of that helps with the feeling of having invested a lot of yourself in something that... didn't work out the way you'd hoped. Sympathy.

[Kybernetes Moros]

That they approved a project so resource-hungry in the first place makes me question CCP's own understanding of their limitations and capabilities, honestly.

Even before the cuts, A'J was a tremendous resource drain on top of their various live event arcs (many of which left somewhat hanging, if I understand correctly). Why give the go-ahead to something that they didn't have the proper resources to maintain for long enough for its benefits to the wider player base to be apparent?

[Matariki Rain]

Possible good reasons:

1. It reinvigorates CCP's creatives.

2. It's part of a reveal-and-launch process for new content or gameplay: it creates in-game champions who know the new releases and advocate them widely.

((

A guess at a likely reason:

Someone wanted to try it because it's one of those things "story people" (like us and them) find appealing, made a case for it, and then put a lot of their own time into it alongside what work time they were allocated. They then burnt out (partly dealing with us being rather argumentative and grabby), didn't get the buy-in they'd hoped for in-house, timelines meant the Templar One launch pre-empted some of the things that might otherwise have come out through A'J, and the resource was recalled for work on other core projects.

))

[Yoshito Sanders]

Considering recent personal developments with Dropbear, I wouldn't expect anything from A'J in the near future.

[Myyona]

Is that developments besides being put on "babysitter duty" in the New Player Experience team?

But yeah, I think the project has been put on infinite hold. I have also opted on a less active interest with a resulting diminish of my interest in EVE at all.

[Nmaro Makari]

Anyone going to fanfest?

I figure fanfest is a good an opportunity as any to get some answers.

[Morwen Lagann]

Is that developments besides being put on "babysitter duty" in the New Player Experience team?

But yeah, I think the project has been put on infinite hold. I have also opted on a less active interest with a resulting diminish of my interest in EVE at all.

He got married and is taking a trip to Australia for a month or two with his wife. He may or may not return to CCP when the trip is over. He doesn't know yet.

[Myrhial Arkenath]

I'm hoping we can get some closure on this, so it doesn't fade away. From him or from someone else. It'd be a shame for all the work he and others put in it, I've found leaving these things open creates a downward spiral until it is eventually forgotten and that's just no fun for anyone.

That said, happy for him really :3 He's deserved it all. Although I'm a bit sad to see him go.

[Yoshito Sanders]

Yeah, I'm conflicted on it. On the one hand, he most definitely has the right to move on with his personal and professional life. But on the other hand, were I in his shoes, I would feel an obligation to bring some closure to the A'J project. But then again, who knows how much leeway he has been given from CCP to actually finish it up?

[Myyona]

Oh, he got married? Good news for him.

I got married last year which surprisingly has resulted in a delivery date for a daughter in the beginning of June. I already had a feeling that event might put a dampener on both my available time to play EVE and put my interests elsewhere. As I do not see any focus from CCP in the near future on topics I find remotely interesting my EVE career will likely come to an end at my next re-subscription.

Please do not take this as bitter talk as I am more than looking forward to being a father.

[Yoshito Sanders]

You never fully leave EVE. It'll suck you back in, eventually. The depth of the game itself is too good to be gone for long.

Which is what I say to myself about Dropbear too.

[Matariki Rain]

Excellent news for Dropbear. Does anyone know if he'll be back in Iceland for Fanfest? He's someone I'd like to catch up with if it's possible (and he's not already being mobbed by others).

[Nmaro Makari]

Congratulations to Dropbear.

Congratulations aside however, I'd be lying if I said I wasnt a little irked that the project has been next to killed off with little or no explaination.

[hellgremlin]

I'm sure it's just on hiatus. Maybe Gnauton or someone can pick up where Dropbear left off. It seemed like a pretty plot-critical thing.

[Random Sentience]

I'm sure it's just on hiatus. Maybe Gnauton or someone can pick up where Dropbear left off. It seemed like a pretty plot-critical thing.

The problem is this:

Dropbear, Headfirst and crew put a lot of effort into Arek'jaalan. The problem is, it was all to support the revelations of Templar One. It is not even arguable at this point whether or not Dropbear and company had foreknowledge of the events of Templar One, or what was going into it. One can look at the "mysterious" chronicles and fill in those new, missing pieces. They laid the foundation for what was to come, and no one ever saw it coming. For better or worse, EVE got a whole lot more dynamic, and probably not in the way that most EVE fiction fans would have expected.

I'm sure that, had certain individuals made slightly different decisions, things would be far different at this point. Templar One wouldn't have been the hailstorm of revelations that probably double-tapped a few excellent theories before they were ready.

 

CCP had a plan. Arek'jaalan played into that plan, and most certainly still plays into that plan. The question is, are you going to be the puppet, or are you going to cut the strings and go your own path?

I know what I'm going to do.

 

The biggest revelation? Templar One is past events. Things have moved forward, far more forward than you'd think. Take it as CCP cutting the cord; you've got answers, and you've got more questions; how are you going to react? Are you going to let them dictate terms, or are you going to dictate terms to them? I'm not saying "OMG let's out the Sleepers!" I'm saying, perhaps it's time to shake things up moving forward.

Arek'jaalan got a nice bump by Dropbear. Maybe it's time to give that bump back; live, adapt, adjust, and move forward.

"Research, Document, Educate"

Who said anything about Dropbear giving answers? All the answers are there. They have been all along. Perhaps instead of focusing on what Dropbear and CCP are going to release and when, we should be doing more things like the Seyllin conference and actually making a concerted effort to hasten and streamline communications.

Just my opinion though, no need to go spreading it around. 

tl;dr
We don't need Dropbear to spoon feed us information. I've been trying to tell him that for what... two years now?