Yesterday, CCP Fozzie announced on the official forums concerning the Upwell 2.0 changes. You can read it in full here. In summary, three modifications were announced:
So, this is clearly good for the game. This announcement has been met with some satisfaction, and with good reason. But it also gives us another reason to be optimistic – CCP used tools of interaction to understand what players wanted.
There is something of a narrative that CCP only listened because of PC Gamer. Specifically, this article. It is not overtly critical of CCP, but it does indicate the limitations of some game mechanics. However, it does not concern itself with the GTFO module or the 5-minute fitting period. So, we can dismiss the idea that PC Gamer won this for us.
Instead, what happened was that CCP read /r/Eve and the forums. These changes were included in some of the opinion pieces written by players. CCP Falcon is on record as saying that he doesn’t usually write on Reddit due to harassment. But it is clear that he and other employees do listen.
Moreover, this represents a victory for the CSM. We know from Fuzzmeister (CSM10-12) that these changes have been in discussion for some time. He is, of course, bound by an NDA. However, this seems to imply that the CSM has been carrying out their duty in an effective manner.
It is very much in vogue at the moment to bash CCP. Many of these complaints have firm ground. I’ve indulged in the practice a little myself. However, we should not become blinded by spite. CCP does contain hardworking people who listen to the community. CSM serves a valuable purpose. Writing detailed critiques on Reddit can get results.
What we must avoid is the temptation to fall into the trap of just reckless criticism. The sort of bittervet shrieking which is so often the flavor de jour of /r/Eve helps no one. As a community, we have to move past that. We can and should work productively with CCP. This change proves it.
