Having seen both sides of these latest allegations I'm inclined to agree with CCP, it really doesn't look like they did anything wrong in these cases. Whether their actions were deliberatly taken out of context in these allegations or not I don't know, but many people felt this is exactly what would happen after the monumental mishandling of the first incident involving t20.
The damage done in that first scandal is going to take CCP a long time to fix and anything fishy between now and then is going to be portrayed in the wrong light by default.
However I have no doubt certain groups in the game have benefitted from having developers in their ranks. Not just BoB, though I'd suspect they've gained more than the average advantage over the years. I personally know a few people who are either good friends with developers or have access to certain databases internal to CCP's development and testing team. Although they're hesitant to share "inside information" I've learned a lot about the game from them that can't be found anywhere else. Put one of them in charge of an entire alliance and you can be sure they'd put that information to good use, gaining an unfair advantage for an entire group of players in the process.
These latest accusations may have been baseless, but there are still problems that need to be addressed. A major one is transparency. If CCP employees are going to be playing the game there can only be two policies; complete secrecy or complete transparency. They tried the former and failed, time for another approach.
bought a 1988 Honda CRX instead of a new car last year. When something goes wrong I'm usually able to fix it myself with nothing more than a few tools and a CRX repair manual I found on the internet. The car is almost 20 years old with 230,000 km on the engine and still runs strong, and with the money I saved I could easily replace the entire engine block if the need arises in the future. If any sensor or electrical component fails the ECU spits out an error code that tells you exactly where the problem lies, no need for fancy diagnostic equipment.
6 months ago my CRX was blowing a fuse repeatedly. The ECU registered a fuel system error code, and after checking the repair manual I found there's only 1 fuel system component on that particular fuse. A few hours later I'd replaced the fuel pump and everything was working fine again.
Meanwhile I've had to take a look at my parents new Ford sedan nearly every month, mostly because of some vague electrical problem (certain fuses keep blowing, but for the life of me I couldn't find the cause). Turns out the 02 sensor was grounding a wire improperly, causing a fuse to blow that was (seemingly) completely unrelated to the sensors. Without the specialised diagnostic machine the mechanic used I never would have found the problem.
Progress isn't necessarily in the forward direction...
Do you think any marriage could survive the couple being together 24 hours a day in an enclosed space for several years?
Do we think anyone could survive such conditions for many years? Even astronauts doing extended stays on Mir or the ISS get things like regular delay-free contact with Earth, occasional visitors, resupply missions etc. Lets assume a 3 year mission to Mars; 14 months combined travel time and roughly 1.5 years on the surface waiting for the next optimal Earth-Mars distance. That's 3 years of passing the time with the same activities, drinking the same recycled water, breathing the same recycled air, staring at the same metal walls.
Then, as if those bleak conditions aren't enough, you're constantly reminded that just outside your tin can floats certain death. That the very tin can you're entrusting your life to is being run by thousands of lines of computer code written by hundreds of different people, and that one bad variable is all that stands between you and that same certain death. A lot can go wrong in 3 years...
Granted that's a very pessimistic view of the situation, but I believe remaining optimistic will prove more and more difficult in such a stale environment. NASA spends a lot of time finding candidates who are as base line and "normal" as possible, but if you ask me a person who's already a little crazy may do better in such a situation.
You make good points that making money off movies might be hard in the future, but the fact is that the big bucks in movies comes from movie theater tickets.
That's it exactly. 10 years ago it wasn't practical for people to acquire movies online, if you wanted to see a movie you bought or rented it. The entertainment industry was directly supplying something the public couldn't get anywhere else; VHS and DVD copies of movies. Now that's changed, anyone can download a movie to watch at home, so what's left for the entertainment industry?
Theaters of course. Seeing a movie in a theater is a different experience, and it's one people are willing to pay good money for if the product is good. Recently I caught a glimpse of some new display technologies coming out of HP's labs including a curved display using multiple cheap projectors to produce a screen that surrounds the user's field of vision. Imagine a display like this in a theater environment playing high definition video and good quality sound. I'd certainly pay money to see a good film on such a display rather than watching it on a comparitively small monitor at home. Then of course there's the added fun of watching a film for the first time with many other people, even if you don't know any of them being part of a large audience that's seeing a movie for the first time adds to the experience.
Initiatives like this are what the movie industry should be working on right now. They have a couple more years at least before streaming DVD quality videos online becomes a common activity, they should be using this time to prepare a new business strategy. Maybe they'll lose some money, maybe they'll end up making more, who knows? It's a risk for them, but the risk in trying to halt technical progress is far greater.
I think there are a lot of people out there, who like me, don't mind paying a little bit to support the people who make the music, television, or other content that we enjoy.
There are also a growing number of people who flat out refuse to support companies with such a heavy handed approach to the inevitable changes the internet is bringing. The actions of companies like Viacom and the various **AA members are creating a lot of consumer hostility, and in a situation where the consumer has a choice between getting content for free or deciding to support the creators such hostility can mean the end of their business.
I believe most people would willingly support their favorite bands, or the creators of TV shows they often watch, but not when the organizations managing those groups continue to bite the hand that feeds them. The reality of the situation is simple; broadcasters and distributors are being trumped by a much more efficient distribution medium. Instead of adapting their business models they're flailing about in some futile attempt to stop the inevitable and alienating their consumers in the process.
The Puppeteer in Ghost in the Shell summed it up quite nicely, "All things change in a dynamic environment, your effort to remain what you are is what limits you." (I bought several GITS DVD's after I'd downloaded the first movie, I'd never have bothered to look into it otherwise)
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Having seen both sides of these latest allegations I'm inclined to agree with CCP, it really doesn't look like they did anything wrong in these cases. Whether their actions were deliberatly taken out of context in these allegations or not I don't know, but many people felt this is exactly what would happen after the monumental mishandling of the first incident involving t20.
The damage done in that first scandal is going to take CCP a long time to fix and anything fishy between now and then is going to be portrayed in the wrong light by default.
However I have no doubt certain groups in the game have benefitted from having developers in their ranks. Not just BoB, though I'd suspect they've gained more than the average advantage over the years. I personally know a few people who are either good friends with developers or have access to certain databases internal to CCP's development and testing team. Although they're hesitant to share "inside information" I've learned a lot about the game from them that can't be found anywhere else. Put one of them in charge of an entire alliance and you can be sure they'd put that information to good use, gaining an unfair advantage for an entire group of players in the process.
These latest accusations may have been baseless, but there are still problems that need to be addressed. A major one is transparency. If CCP employees are going to be playing the game there can only be two policies; complete secrecy or complete transparency. They tried the former and failed, time for another approach.
bought a 1988 Honda CRX instead of a new car last year. When something goes wrong I'm usually able to fix it myself with nothing more than a few tools and a CRX repair manual I found on the internet. The car is almost 20 years old with 230,000 km on the engine and still runs strong, and with the money I saved I could easily replace the entire engine block if the need arises in the future. If any sensor or electrical component fails the ECU spits out an error code that tells you exactly where the problem lies, no need for fancy diagnostic equipment. 6 months ago my CRX was blowing a fuse repeatedly. The ECU registered a fuel system error code, and after checking the repair manual I found there's only 1 fuel system component on that particular fuse. A few hours later I'd replaced the fuel pump and everything was working fine again. Meanwhile I've had to take a look at my parents new Ford sedan nearly every month, mostly because of some vague electrical problem (certain fuses keep blowing, but for the life of me I couldn't find the cause). Turns out the 02 sensor was grounding a wire improperly, causing a fuse to blow that was (seemingly) completely unrelated to the sensors. Without the specialised diagnostic machine the mechanic used I never would have found the problem. Progress isn't necessarily in the forward direction...
Do you think any marriage could survive the couple being together 24 hours a day in an enclosed space for several years?
Do we think anyone could survive such conditions for many years? Even astronauts doing extended stays on Mir or the ISS get things like regular delay-free contact with Earth, occasional visitors, resupply missions etc. Lets assume a 3 year mission to Mars; 14 months combined travel time and roughly 1.5 years on the surface waiting for the next optimal Earth-Mars distance. That's 3 years of passing the time with the same activities, drinking the same recycled water, breathing the same recycled air, staring at the same metal walls.
Then, as if those bleak conditions aren't enough, you're constantly reminded that just outside your tin can floats certain death. That the very tin can you're entrusting your life to is being run by thousands of lines of computer code written by hundreds of different people, and that one bad variable is all that stands between you and that same certain death. A lot can go wrong in 3 years...
Granted that's a very pessimistic view of the situation, but I believe remaining optimistic will prove more and more difficult in such a stale environment. NASA spends a lot of time finding candidates who are as base line and "normal" as possible, but if you ask me a person who's already a little crazy may do better in such a situation.
Ahh the million mile high club!
Theaters of course. Seeing a movie in a theater is a different experience, and it's one people are willing to pay good money for if the product is good. Recently I caught a glimpse of some new display technologies coming out of HP's labs including a curved display using multiple cheap projectors to produce a screen that surrounds the user's field of vision. Imagine a display like this in a theater environment playing high definition video and good quality sound. I'd certainly pay money to see a good film on such a display rather than watching it on a comparitively small monitor at home. Then of course there's the added fun of watching a film for the first time with many other people, even if you don't know any of them being part of a large audience that's seeing a movie for the first time adds to the experience.
Initiatives like this are what the movie industry should be working on right now. They have a couple more years at least before streaming DVD quality videos online becomes a common activity, they should be using this time to prepare a new business strategy. Maybe they'll lose some money, maybe they'll end up making more, who knows? It's a risk for them, but the risk in trying to halt technical progress is far greater.
I believe most people would willingly support their favorite bands, or the creators of TV shows they often watch, but not when the organizations managing those groups continue to bite the hand that feeds them. The reality of the situation is simple; broadcasters and distributors are being trumped by a much more efficient distribution medium. Instead of adapting their business models they're flailing about in some futile attempt to stop the inevitable and alienating their consumers in the process.
The Puppeteer in Ghost in the Shell summed it up quite nicely, "All things change in a dynamic environment, your effort to remain what you are is what limits you." (I bought several GITS DVD's after I'd downloaded the first movie, I'd never have bothered to look into it otherwise)