Hi! I'm Brandon, your new Community Manager for STO, reporting for duty!

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Hello Captains! :)

My name is Brandon and I am the new Community Manager for Star Trek Online.

I would first like to say that it is an honor to be working for Perfect World Entertainment, especially on STO team. Truth be told, I am a huge fan of the game and have been continuously playing since Closed Beta. You may also recognize me from my work as the former STO columnist for Massively.com (http://massively.joystiq.com/editor/brandon-felczer) and the former co-founder/ host of Priority One podcast (http://www.thequantumcafe.com/priorityone). In-game, I play a Federation VA of each class, and have a Tactical KDF LG. For those that have played with me before, you know that I am obsessed with the STFs and love teaming up with players to complete missions and participate in PvP.

Aside from STO, I am also a huge Star Trek fan, with Star Trek: Voyager being my favorite series (although, DS9 may be pulling ahead). My favorite Captain is Janeway (don't hurt me!) and my favorite ship is the Prometheus class (oh yeah! MVAM! /squee). Fun fact: when I was a kid, I used to collect all of the toy ships and hang them from my bedroom ceiling to reenact battle scenes, using stretched, colored yarn as the beam weapons -- I've got to try and find a picture of it for you all. Okay, back on topic...

Being a part of this community, as a player, has been one of the best experiences in my life, so it is a dream come true to be able to serve you all in this capacity. As you can imagine, like you, I have a lot of ideas that I would love to see come to life for us in-game, on the boards, and on the website. I will be working closely with the PWE and Cryptic teams to ensure that your ideas are passed along, your feedback is heard, and your questions are answered. I also want to make sure you all have a great experience on these boards by ensuring that they are fun, welcoming and productive. I can already tell you that there are going to be some things coming in the next few weeks that are going to give you a chance to get more involved -- more details on that soon.

StormShade will be assisting in my transition before he moves onto his next project supporting other games, so you will still see him on the boards from time to time. Viva la pup in the cup!

As with anything new, there are bound to be a few bumps in the road here or there -- I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We are going to have a GREAT time together and I look forward to all of the amazing things that will be coming soon™ (oh, and trust me, some of them are EPIC :cool:).

Cheers, and see you around the galaxy!

Brandon =/\=

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:-D

CONGRATULATIONS :-)

Couldn't think of many people better to be honest

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Brandon,

Congrats on the new job. Well deserved. Your passion for the game and all things Star Trek is nothing but good news for you, for the game and for the players.

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Hello Captains! :)

My name is Brandon and I am the new Community Manager for Star Trek Online.


Brandon =/\=

Congratulations - was a pleasure dealing with you back during the Priority One days talking about our App - hope you enjoy the new position.

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Congrats from SubSpace Radio, and myself sir!

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Congrats Brandon :)

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Congrats Brandon, so what is or are the names u use in STF hope to see u in Tribble, maybe we even have played a few STF together who knows???

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You mean they hired someone who has actually been playing the game?

There might be hope for STO yet.

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Congratz...so are standard issue starfleet uniforms fire retardant, and has Stormy shown you where the escape pods and site to site transporters are yet?

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Congrats Sir !!

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Wow, thats awesome!
Congratz! :)

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So that was your countdown on twitter. I was curious to see what it was.

Anyway, congratulation on your new job.

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Congratulations dear sir!

Now.. can you let me borrow than Ban Hammer just for 10 mins? Please? :o

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why dont you have a Gold name?... nevermind

Where's StormShade? nevermind

Since you are a long standing player, it goes to reason that you have made many friends in-game, what is to keep you from showing special favor towards your friends when managing this community?

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This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.com/announcement.php?f=20&a=5). ~Stormshade

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Hey! No trolling the new guy Q!

Also, congrats Brandon!

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is this guy more important than you now stormy

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Congrats!

Now get over to the F2P forums and give us answers that everyone has been ignoring :P

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WOOOO!!! Congratulations, Brandon!


(...man, I really have to get a usable resumee put together before all the job positions get filled)

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What exactly is your job as a Community Manager?

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Welcome aboard. Good luck!!!!

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YAY!!! Brandon, you're going to do an amazing job! I'm so excited! Congratulations on your new position and best of luck! Don't let the trolls get you down! =)

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*Files heels to a sharp point. Spit-shines leather.*

There - these boots are now ready for her new sla.... oops! I meant Community Manager. That's it Community Manager...

Honestly Brandon - I couldn't be happier for you. I'm also excited for Stormy in his new endeavors too!

Great news!! You're going to be wonderful!

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welcome as an official part of the community!

Not really a new and uknown guy, but now official :)

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Geez. First all the forum regulars got blue names, now they're all getting yellow names.

I'm eagerly awaiting word on when my job interview is.;-)

Good luck, Brandon.

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Congratulations, Brandon. You're definitely moving up in the world. You're a great guy and I'm sure you'll do great. :)

Still it's a rough time to be a CM here as Stormshade has probably already told you. For that all I can say is hang in there, it's bound to get better.

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Hey! No trolling the new guy Q!

Also, congrats Brandon!

Okay -- that was awesome....

And...
Gratz, Brandon! Enjoy all the well wishes while they last. :D

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!congrats on the new job!

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Hey! No trolling the new guy Q!

Also, congrats Brandon!

So you moderate Q and he retroactively gives your job to Brandon. I see how this works.

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Awesome! Congratulations! Couldn't have happened to a better guy. I wish you much luck and smooth sailing. ... Now there's something I need to complain about ... just kidding. plenty of time for that later. Right now is party time.

/emote fireworks

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is this guy more important than you now stormy

Well, Brandon will be taking over the day to running of the STO Community, and I'll be moving on to other titles. So, for you all here, in a way, yes.

However, we'll be working closely together during the transition period, and I'll always be right behind him if he needs a hand with anything. So, right now, think of Brandon and I as a team.

Just remember that you'll be seeing less and less of me as Brandon comes up to speed. However, this doesn't mean that I'm ditching you all or anything. This community means alot to me, and always will. I'll still be around from time to time due to this.

Thanks,

Stormshade

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Thought id give you your congratulations on the forums as well. So CONGRATULATIONS Brandon. It was worth the wait and all of my fingers-but not the thumbs :D

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Congrats Brandon

and Stormy busting Q made me LMAO Epic!!

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So now that you're a soulless minion of orthodoxy ( :p ) how do you feel about the theft of so much of our in-game earnings by the currency conversion (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=241365)? Considering that we (as I'm sure you have too) earned that currency supporting (through paying for and playing) an incredibly content-light game that repeatedly delayed and witheld content from us time and again, effectively telling us that the time we put in is no longer worth as much to Cryptic?

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Hey! No trolling the new guy Q!

Also, congrats Brandon!

Don't shield him from the trollings Stormy, the boy must learn how to defend himself... ;)

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Well, Brandon will be taking over the day to running of the STO Community, and I'll be moving on to other titles. So, for you all here, in a way, yes.

However, we'll be working closely together during the transition period, and I'll always be right behind him if he needs a hand with anything. So, right now, think of Brandon and I as a team.

Just remember that you'll be seeing less and less of me as Brandon comes up to speed. However, this doesn't mean that I'm ditching you all or anything. This community means alot to me, and always will. I'll still be around from time to time due to this.

Thanks,

Stormshade

before you go Stormy, could you let it slip to us what happened to Wishy?... :D

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Don't shield him from the trollings Stormy, the boy must learn how to defend himself... ;)

LOL, If there's one thing I have learned about Brandon - he already KNOWS how to defend himself. ;)

TMI?

:rolleyes::eek:

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First off, congratulations Brandon on joining the STO team! I'm hoping your insights as a player for almost two years aids in the "outsider" viewpoints.

As you said you're here to answer our questions, one has been burning very bright in the forums for over a week now (Brigadoom beat me to the punch) -- 1) why are the Season 5 currency conversions being given at a 30% loss from what the same mission rewards are worth on Tribble and 2) why are there diminishing returns of up to 60% losses on top of that for the players who have been the most active (and thus full of loyal, paying subscribers) (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=241365)?

To the best of my knowledge, neither of these issues have ever been answered why by anyone from Cryptic. As I'm taking account-wide losses of 50% (essentially the last year gone), I am genuinely interested and concerned in the answer.

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Congratulations B!!!

I'm both surprised and happy for you my friend! :)

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Congrats, Brandon

You're moving up in the galaxy!

:)

DJ Jhen - host of The Blue Frequency
Subspace Radio

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*pokes Brandon*

Hmmmm....

*pokes Brandon again*

Hi!

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I say this with the utmost respect in regards to Stormshade, but this is perhaps the single best bit of news I've heard of for this game in quite some time. I don't wish to see or suggest that Stormshade is being "replaced", but having someone in close communication with Cryptic who is acutely aware of the community's current concerns can only be a fantastic thing.

Congratulations, Brandon!

And Stormshade... All my very best regards. :)

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Congrats Brandon!!! They couldn't have hired a better person! I'm so happy for you man :cool: :D

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Jolan'tru Brandon and Congrats.

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Gratz. and good luck. :)

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Congratulations Brandon!!!!!!!!!!! :)

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Congrats, and may God have mercy on your immortal soul. You'll need it here.

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Congratulations Brandon I bet you can't wait to get your teeth into the job.
See you around the galaxy

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Congratulations!!
Never forget that there is the silent majority out here that is appreciative of what the Cryptic staff does. We all look forward to your enthusiasm and I hope that you have a lot of fun with this new position!
Mark (Aka James Bailey)

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Congrats Brandon!

We are so very happy for you!

Just remember, this doesn't let you out of your Annual August Obligation! :)

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Congratulations Brandon!

No better and more dedicated person for the job!

Oh and do Cryptic know what they've let themselves in for by letting you represent us? ;)

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Aside from STO, I am also a huge Star Trek fan, with Star Trek: Voyager being my favorite series (although, DS9 may be pulling ahead). My favorite Captain is Janeway (don't hurt me!) and my favorite ship is the Prometheus class (oh yeah! MVAM! /squee).

You mean I'm not the only one??? :eek:



Fun fact: when I was a kid, I used to collect all of the toy ships and hang them from my bedroom ceiling to reenact battle scenes, using stretched, colored yarn as the beam weapons -- I've got to try and find a picture of it for you all. Okay, back on topic...

I used to do the same with Legos. :cool:

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Congratulations sir.

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I presume you'll be announcing your resignation as a Massively columnist soon. Wouldn't want there to be a conflict of interest, implied or otherwise.

Although to be fair, the Massively column has been an extension of Cryptic diktat for months. May as well get on the payroll proper.

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Man! Now how am I going to unload all these " Stormshade and the Banhammer of Doom" t-shirts?:p

Welcome Brandon.

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Welcome :D

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Man! Now how am I going to unload all these " Stormshade and the Banhammer of Doom" t-shirts?:p

Welcome Brandon.

BranHammer of Doom?

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Congratulations from Stonewall Fleet, and me. :)

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I presume you'll be announcing your resignation as a Massively columnist soon. Wouldn't want there to be a conflict of interest, implied or otherwise.

Although to be fair, the Massively column has been an extension of Cryptic diktat for months. May as well get on the payroll proper.

What have you been told about reading minds without permission? :p

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I presume you'll be announcing your resignation as a Massively columnist soon. Wouldn't want there to be a conflict of interest, implied or otherwise.

I was JUST going to post this... get out of my head!

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Welcome. :)

(I would *love* to see the pictures of those model space battles. I only had one model Enterprise as a youngster, so I used to go to the library and check out the Star Trek encyclopedia, then send it to work with dad and a little post-it telling him how many xeroxes of each page to make, then I'd sit for ages and cut out the top views of ships and fold them into vaguely the right shape and let fly.)

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Awesome. An ex-host from each of my two favorite STO podcasts now working on STO.

Been listening to you since before Priority One so I know that you're a great fit and will do an awesome job.

Congrats!

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I, for one, welcome our new breakfast-cereal Community Overlord! I mean manager. :D

Congratulations from Subspace Radio's Yeti-Borg DJ!

Stormy, you will be missed, but my yeti-senses tell me that we'll be seeing you on the Neverwinter forums.

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Please accept my warm wishes and congrats on the new job. There are very few people whom I have seen on the forums (and podcasts) that I feel could take over for Stormshade and you are in my top 5 (close to the top :) ).

Live long and Prosper.

Matt

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Bye Stormy, I'll miss you. Welcome Brandon, and good luck in your new position!

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Greetings Captain Brandon ;)

I remember meeting you a couple of weeks ago at ESD, asking what people would like to see in the game!

Congratulations that you made it!

Regards

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Welcome Aboard Brandon.

Best wishes in your position here.

(Did SS pass on the Shield and Mase yet?)

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Congratulations Brandon!!!

Please don't ban me right away :p

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StormShade will be assisting in my transition before he moves onto his next project supporting other games, so you will still see him on the boards from time to time. Viva la pup in the cup!


So all the whining on this forum finally got to him.

Have fun with these people..you will be pulling your hair out within the first week of dealing with this bunch.

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Congratulations. :)

Borticus, ThomasTheCat, now you.
Talk about giving the monkeys the key to the banana plantation.

What's next?
BigRedJedi becomes lead Systems Design? *hope springs eternal*
Roach Klingon writer supporting Kestrel in her job?

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Well, Brandon will be taking over the day to running of the STO Community, and I'll be moving on to other titles. So, for you all here, in a way, yes.

However, we'll be working closely together during the transition period, and I'll always be right behind him if he needs a hand with anything. So, right now, think of Brandon and I as a team.

Just remember that you'll be seeing less and less of me as Brandon comes up to speed. However, this doesn't mean that I'm ditching you all or anything. This community means alot to me, and always will. I'll still be around from time to time due to this.

Thanks,

Stormshade

So Stormy Congrats to your First "Minion" Let it not be the last one, you need more, capable of various Languages :)


And Congrats to Brandon. I once commented one of your Post with " do you want to work for Crypticc" (not claiming Credit)

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First Borticus now Brandon, forget the borg invasion, it's the invasion of the Podcasters.
I did wonder what the countdown was on Twitter . Anyway congratz on the job it's great news for the community with FTP just about to hit - as Uhura said in TMP "Lieutenant, our chances of returning in one piece may have just doubled."

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Congrats on getting the job Brandon. After meeting you at the San Diego Comic Con Dev Meet, this last summer, I know you're a cool guy and I'm happy for you! :D

Not to be negative, but I don't envy you the way things have been around these forums lately, but hopefully they will turn around. Knowing a new face is there is good news. Maybe part of the communication problem was Cryptic's short-handedness, and your able-body will be able to pick-up some of the slack.

Please do start by encouraging the release of an Official Response to the Dilithium Tax and Diminishing Returns (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=241365) issue (one that is honest and not(too)evasive/spun). After that, the F2P Q&A Forum (http://forums.startrekonline.com/forumdisplay.php?f=226), in it's entirety, could really do with some more A to balance out all the Qs. Thanks in advance! :cool:

And to Stormshade, I understand you'll still be around, but still I wanted to say Good Luck in whatever and wherever your focus ends up. :)

P.S. I love Stormy and Q bringing the Lulz... Hahaha...

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Hey Brandon I'm curious about your forum handle, are you now employed by PWE or Cryptic or is it both?

It's just occurred to me that you are the only yellow name with PWE in your handle, to my knowledge.

I mean I don't think it really matters as long as the two companies stay together, but just curious...

Btw do you have any plans to do anything different, within the boundaries of your new position?

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What's next?
BigRedJedi becomes lead Systems Design? *hope springs eternal*
Roach Klingon writer supporting Kestrel in her job?

BRJ as the ingame tester of balance would rock!
I'm fairly sure Kestrel does not need a jester though.:p

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BranHammer of Doom?

The sequel?

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Oh. Hi.

Welcome, I guess.

JK LOL
We're glad to have you on the team, Brandon. :D

(Also, Stormshade, I thought flouncing posts weren't allowed...? Surely you weren't doing that, right?)

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Brandon, you lucky sob. You get to work with Zero.


Zero baby, how you doin? :cool:

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Congratulations!

First J-Man, now you! This is good news indeed. :)

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Brandon, you lucky sob. You get to work with Zero.


Zero baby, how you doin? :cool:

That's not creepy, nope, not in any way.:eek:

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I'm just being friendly :o

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Brandon, you lucky sob. You get to work with Zero.


Zero baby, how you doin? :cool:

From that view point he is pretty lucky -- he doesn't have to sit as close to me as the J-Man. ;)

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Wow, 3 players now working for Cryptic. Congrats on the job!

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From that view point he is pretty lucky -- he doesn't have to sit as close to me as the J-Man. ;)

You're surrounded by J-men!

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Holy cow, all these devs in one thread.

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Gratz Brandon.

This is a well deserved move. Now I can quit wondering what all the changes you have been up to were all about. Makes sense now. hehe.

Look forward to working with you and wish you all the best. You deserve it.

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You're surrounded by J-men!

You wanted to say surrounded by top men didn't you? :D

And congratulations Brandon.

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You're surrounded by J-men!

Oh my gosh -- you're right! O_O

I never realized...

I hope this doesn't mean I'll have to change my name to something J-ish.

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Hey Brandon I'm curious about your forum handle, are you now employed by PWE or Cryptic or is it both?

It's just occurred to me that you are the only yellow name with PWE in your handle, to my knowledge.

I mean I don't think it really matters as long as the two companies stay together, but just curious...

Marketing and CM (and probably more groups like customer support) are PWE now, not Cryptic. I sincerely hope the devs get to stay Cryptic.

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Congrats, Brandon! I listened to Priority One occasionally so I know you'll do a good job.

Well, Brandon will be taking over the day to running of the STO Community, and I'll be moving on to other titles. So, for you all here, in a way, yes.

However, we'll be working closely together during the transition period, and I'll always be right behind him if he needs a hand with anything. So, right now, think of Brandon and I as a team.

Just remember that you'll be seeing less and less of me as Brandon comes up to speed. However, this doesn't mean that I'm ditching you all or anything. This community means alot to me, and always will. I'll still be around from time to time due to this.

Thanks,

Stormshade

Stormy,

Best wishes to you as you move on to supporting other games. Imo, you are one of the best and most helpful community managers. Always not overly strict and willing to go the extra mile to help players.

Thanks for everything!

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It's nice to see professional effort by those within our player base pay off with professional careers within the same community. It's a nice trend to witness. Congratulations, Brandon!

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I presume you'll be announcing your resignation as a Massively columnist soon. Wouldn't want there to be a conflict of interest, implied or otherwise.

Although to be fair, the Massively column has been an extension of Cryptic diktat for months. May as well get on the payroll proper.

I was JUST going to post this... get out of my head!

That's .... been handled. ;)

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Well at least now it makes sense why all of your massively articles were one sided Cryptic PR.

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That's .... been handled. ;)

HAHAHA

Congrats again Terry :)


*pimps Reunion*

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Marketing and CM (and probably more groups like customer support) are PWE now, not Cryptic. I sincerely hope the devs get to stay Cryptic.

Now you've said that, Brandon will be working as CR for Champs and Neverwinter if an when he's required to, or maybe he'll also be CR for other PWE games if and when he's required to do so.

OR maybe he'll solely be a STO rep and Stormy will handle the other games, StormShade was handling CO and NW when Wishy was here, so... It's not a big deal anyway, I was just curious. :)

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WOW so many dev posts in one thread....this dosn't compute!!!!!

Keep up the good work and good luck Brandon (again)

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This is EPICALLY awesome news!

Brandon, I can't express how many congratulations you deserve. I have loved you as a part of Stonewall Fleet, as a columnist, as a podcaster, as my editor on the Stonewall Times (:D), and - most of all - as a member of the STO community.

Well bloody done! x10^e

And the very best of luck. You'll be ace. In fact, you'll be acer than Ace (http://www.tenthplanetevents.co.uk/ekmps/shops/happyhenhomes/images/sophie-aldred-ace-doctor-who-1-3239-p.jpg) herself! :D

Ali
xx

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WOW so many dev posts in one thread....this dosn't compute!!!!!

Keep up the good work and good luck Brandon (again)

to be a snot, of course, its a silly thread, and therefore they don't have to deal with anything. And on the other hand, they are welcoming a member to the team and doing so publicly with humor in some cases so it is not surprising at all.

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Oh my gosh -- you're right! O_O

I never realized...

I hope this doesn't mean I'll have to change my name to something J-ish.

Wouldn't that make you guys like, 'The J-Team'?

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Greetings Captain Brandon ;)

I remember meeting you a couple of weeks ago at ESD, asking what people would like to see in the game!


Sure that wasn't the other Brandon?

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That's .... been handled. ;)

Congrats, I'll have to actually start regularly visiting it now. lol

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That's .... been handled. ;)

Aye, grats!

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Wouldn't that make you guys like, 'The J-Team'?

Great, now I've got that theme music running through my head. I am disappoint.

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That theme is full of WIN!

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Great, now I've got that theme music running through my head. I am disappoint.

Disappoint? Really? C'Mon, that was a great show! I heard the movie bombed, but y'know, that's remakes.

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congrats and well deserved Brandon!

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i bet most people would rather be unemployed than be the community manager for sto.

Good luck man. :(

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Wouldn't that make you guys like, 'The J-Team'?

I think the folks at Jupiter Broadcasting called dibs on that.

Btw, ...
... congrats to Stormy for his promotion,
... opening the way in Cryptic for
... congrats to Brandon for his hiring,
... opening the way in Massively.com for
... congrats to Terilynn for her hiring!

-- Ken from Chicago

P.S. Or maybe Jupiter Broadcasting, home of STOked podcast, only has dibs on "J-Force" (always 5, acting as 1).

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Disappoint? Really? C'Mon, that was a great show! I heard the movie bombed, but y'know, that's remakes.

Oh I loved the show, but getting theme music in anyone's head is a bit low. ;)

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This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.com/announcement.php?f=20&a=5). ~Stormshade

What? How is that possible?

Mind blown

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What? How is that possible?

Mind blown

and now he is banned for 3 days.

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Oh my gosh -- you're right! O_O

I never realized...

I hope this doesn't mean I'll have to change my name to something J-ish.
Does this mean you have to do a Podcast now?
Great, now I've got that theme music running through my head. I am disappoint.

Great I read your Post and the Theme plays on the Radio

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This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.com/announcement.php?f=20&a=5). ~Stormshade


Hey! No trolling the new guy Q!

Also, congrats Brandon!

Hang on, I have the Bat'Leths right here...;)

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Wow, for a moment I was scared! I thought it's "Superlink1" and another if his attempts to rise to EP of STO ... haha, thank God it wasn't him, but another Brandon. :D

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Does this mean you have to do a Podcast now?


Great I read your Post and the Theme plays on the Radio

I've already been a guest on a few podcasts. If I do a podcast myself it won't be about STO or Trek, though. Maybe about cooking... or video games in general.

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Wow, for a moment I was scared! I thought it's "Superlink1" and another if his attempts to rise to EP of STO ... haha, thank God it wasn't him, but another Brandon. :D

Good lord, I wasn't the only one who thought this when I saw the title preview on the forums main page. :eek:

"My name is Brandon..."

"Im the new community manager"

*head explodes*

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Holy cow, all these devs in one thread.

Its a Conspiracy Man! :eek:

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If you're enthusiastic enough to host a podcast and write a column about a game, chances are good you'll be enthusiastic enough to work hard at making it live up to the high expectations of the Star Trek fan community. It's a Sisyphean effort sometimes, but I wish you luck.

Additionally, it's always nice to see fans of the game getting hired to work on it.

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I've already been a guest on a few podcasts. If I do a podcast myself it won't be about STO or Trek, though. Maybe about cooking... or video games in general.

Yay! Now, teach me how to make a pie! :p

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What? How is that possible?

Mind blown

Stormy must be dosing DNA from Chuck Norris and shirtless Kirk.

[Archived Post]

Now establashing data link...

That's very nice to have you here. Congratualitions Sir.

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Bran Flakes? Oh well! *grin*

Congradulation, here a pair of Asbestous BVD's just in case..

And I wanna hear Zero's podcast on cooking! *grin*

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Welcome aboard, Brandon (Branny? Flakey?)!

Stormy, you will be missed - don't be a stranger!

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Congratulations Brandon. Well done =)

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so...two guys working community management, and still no one's addressing the borked Merit/Mark/Badge to Dilithium exchange rate? Even though it's slated to be imposed on us in a few days?

How encouraging.

No, wait. The other thing.

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Congratulations Brandon :)

I've followed your endeavours since the start of Priority One and your work on Massively and you've always come across as someone naturally adept at mediating, able to take the views of others, combine them with your own, and present them eloquently. Qualities that will no doubt come serve you well in this new position.

It's nice to see more members of the community who have experienced the game from a players only perspective being embraced by Cryptic and PWE, They'll provide you with valuable insight.

No all we need to do is;

Get foundry authors on the writing team
TerriLynnS to revoice the computer
Doc from RSA as resident voice-over artist

[Archived Post]

Hi Brandon ,

I just wanted to congratulate you on your new position as Community Manager (in training :p ) .
I know that you must be up to speed as to the general "state of things" -- so you must know that this is an incredibly good (or incredibly bad) time for you be to joining us ... , so keep those shields up mister ... , and if you'll manage to strike a tone/tehinqe between D'Stahl and D'Angelo (altho slightly more toward DStahl) , I think you'll do fine , and with you there , I for one am cautiously optimistic about the rebuilding of some bridges between the community and Cryptic after F2P get's out the door in January .
(not that I'm making promises about going easy on you :) )

Also , pass along a small thanks to Stormshade .
I know it has not been easy for him ... , in more ways than one .

Again , welcome Brandon ... into the frying pan ! :p

[Archived Post]

Dear Brandon, Congratulations and Welcome (officially) aboard!

Stormshade -- Thanks for sticking with us (and Brando*) through the transition and best of luck on your new projects.

Peace and Long Life,

Search

P.S. May I call you Brando?

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Nice!!! Congrats, Brandon. I'm sure you have a few good ideas you'd like to put in the STO community. Make it happen.

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Wow hey, congrats Brandon.
Crazy timing, we just got rid of one of our crazy exec. producers. He had to go, what a nut job.
Make sure you take good care of Spock Frog and put up a picture of him for the players to see.
He will help you moderate long and prosper. Have fun and catch ya at our next road lunch.

Ow poke Captain Logan, TTC, and Zero for me. Tell them the check for taking you off our hands
Is in the mail. Lol Jk Will miss you at the production meetings.

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I've already been a guest on a few podcasts. If I do a podcast myself it won't be about STO or Trek, though. Maybe about cooking... or video games in general.

This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.com/announcement.php?f=20&a=5). ~kirian_darkstar

wow, that was soooo inappropriate to say!!!

[Archived Post]

Great, now I've got that theme music running through my head. I am disappoint.

"I love it when a plan comes together."

;)

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I've already been a guest on a few podcasts. If I do a podcast myself it won't be about STO or Trek, though. Maybe about cooking... or video games in general.

I'd totally tune into that. In fact, I'd co-host one with you. "Cooking for Gamers". Teach folks how to make more than a hot pocket :D

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Brandon, congratulations on the new gig. Enjoy, and don't lose too many brain cells dealing with the coming storm.

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SIr...the transfer has been completed.

-Stares at the datapad, with a focus silence-

Sir? He will be boarding the shuttle in 5 minutes. Will you not be wishing him a fond forever?

-The Vulcan Admiral continues to read the current displayed information...and then slowly proceed to rest it flat on his work desk. And then looks up at his Andorian female FO, and slowly speaks-

'An approriate measure to his depature has been placed aboard the shuttle, I believe most highly he will find it..quiet satifactory'

----------------------------------------------------

Aboard the Departing Shuttle of Big Pup...


"HOLiE ------!, Romulan Ale 2105!!! Two of them!!!


--------------------------------------
On Ship.
Deck 10...New Arrival.

"So...there are your new quarters, everything should be in placed. Feel free to ask the Quartermaster office, if anything is out of place or not here. And Welcome Aboard."

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grats, now you'll be able to regurgitate cryptic's lies and bullsht as one of their employees and not a "journalist"

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I wonder if they pay you guys in C Store Points? Or do you guys get a real salary?

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Never heard of you before, but hi there new guy.

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congratulations on your new job. i think you'll do great.

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Grats Buddy, Better see ya ingame on the occasion still man lol, we gotta hit up the STF's next you on have some fun.

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Welcome to the fiery pits of Gre'thor!

May the forums be merciful on your soul. :)

Seriously: Congratulations! You're certainly the right guy for the job.

Regards,
Rachel

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Congrats, a good guy to have on the team.....

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Congrats! Thrusters to full, Mr Brandon! :)

[Archived Post]

Fresh meat.



Someone get me the whip....

[Archived Post]

Hello and welcome.

I wish you the best of luck being as you are, between the needs of the company and that of the community. I will not be nice, nor fun, but neccessary.

To be honest here, not all of the forum crowd are happy bunnies right now; A number of issues remain to be addressed, or even acknowledged by the powers-that-be and morale is typically low as one expects from a game undergoing significant changes.

Good luck. Be honest. Be fair.

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Congratulations :)
It's great to see past players so intimately involved with Cryptic ;)

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Hey! No trolling the new guy Q!

Also, congrats Brandon!

Hey Stormy, be careful ... it is Q after all :D

Brandon - Not sure if I should congratulate you or feel sorry for you ...... Congrats! Just be open & honest and you will do great! ....

Also try to answer or confirm answers to most questions that are asked in the Q & A forums,
Thanks!

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Contratulations, but your title line almost gave me a coronary.

No fault of your own, but a few weeks back there was somebody running around in-game and on a couple other STO sites introducing himself by the same first name and claiming to be the new Executive Producer. Your post gave me a moment of "Oh you've got to be kidding me," before I saw your last name.

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Hi Brandon, nice to meet you. :D



P.S. you seem familiar for some reason.:rolleyes:

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Congratulations on the new position and finally a Janeway fan!

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Fresh meat.


Who has the Knife and Fork this week? I Gettin Hungry!

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Congrats! You are surely the right person for the job!

Hopefully now we wont get points for having 5 lines in our signature block and protesting about the points in the signature block! :mad:

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Nice work Brandon, this was a good hire cryptic.

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hi could you please recommend a switch back to season 4 visuals?

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Someone get me the whip....

I recommend the meat tenderizer. ;)

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Welcome Brandon, you have heavy burden on your shoulders if you care about community.

First thing you should / would do: Visit guys who made decisions about skill revamp and leaving us to make most important settings after loggin into game after Holodeck upgrade and tell them WHAT KIND OF NOOBS ARE YOU? Give free respecing to subscribers right now!

After that, come back here and make tiny announcement that they just will not listen, PW has brainwashed them and we can give you pat on your head saying: Well least you tried:D

[Archived Post]

Welcome Brandon, you have heavy burden on your shoulders if you care about community.

First thing you should / would do: Visit guys who made decisions about skill revamp and leaving us to make most important settings after loggin into game after Holodeck upgrade and tell them WHAT KIND OF NOOBS ARE YOU? Give free respecing to subscribers right now!

After that, come back here and make tiny announcement that they just will not listen, PW has brainwashed them and we can give you pat on your head saying: Well least you tried:D

Wait On Tribble we got a free mandatory respec for our toons when the space skill revamp was introduced. Do you mean to tell me that if we do not have a respec token available on a toon we have to buy one with CPs?

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Wait On Tribble we got a free mandatory respec for our toons when the space skill revamp was introduced. Do you mean to tell me that if we do not have a respec token available on a toon we have to buy one with CPs?

Dunno, i expected after setting those skills in random order that i dont have respec, but 1 respec is not enough,
because i have used about 10 respecs to setup my original skills to perfect setup for my playstyle.

So it would be awesome to respec free if i have subbed.

[Archived Post]

Welcome and i hope you have a great time with the community and the game too.

Greetings

Jack

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Dunno, i expected after setting those skills in random order that i dont have respec, but 1 respec is not enough,
because i have used about 10 respecs to setup my original skills to perfect setup for my playstyle.

So it would be awesome to respec free if i have subbed.

If that is the case copy multiple copies of the toon you plan to respec to Tribble and do your respec experiments there till you get a basic build thesis you are happy with. It is one way around the system.

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Brandon could you put this link to these forums front page with CAPS!

http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/

I think that this will save many STO Subscribers whinings towards new community manager:p

[Archived Post]

Brandon could you put this link to these forums front page with CAPS!

http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/

I think that this will save many STO Subscribers whinings towards new community manager:p

DUDE! First I have seen of this particular skill planer and it is genius! Thank you so much for linking that I will definitely use it today when I get home and respec one of my 14 toons. Very intuative and if you have an idea of what BO skills you like and where they go, as well as what skills come with your ground kit, it totally highlights what you actually need to invest in to get the most from both. Really freaking awesome. Whoever made this should get an award. I plan to donate too. Work like that deserves a pat on the back. :D

[Archived Post]

Brandon could you put this link to these forums front page with CAPS!

http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/

I think that this will save many STO Subscribers whinings towards new community manager:p

I approve, STICK a link to it on the launcher instead though, it will ease the pain of every player who asks "Where's my quantum slipstream gone?"

[Archived Post]

Congrats Brandon! :)

Good luck with your new position!

[Archived Post]

Thank you, Captains, for the overwhelming amount of support and "welcomes" in this thread :D I am extremely excited to be here so it means a lot. Also, I have to give a HUGE "thank you" to StormShade for all of his support this week as I learn the ropes.

Just a quick note, going forward, you will see many posts from me that say this:
Added to my list of feedback.

This means that I've passed along the feedback in the particular thread to the devs so that they can consider what you all think about certain aspects. I will try and get as many threads over to them as possible. :)

Hope you are all enjoying Season 5!

Cheers,

Brandon =/\=

[Archived Post]

Star Trek: Voyager being my favorite series (although, DS9 may be pulling ahead).
Brandon =/\=

I wrestled with this a few years back. DS9 won out in the end, hince my avatar. My favorite ship is the Defiant. Nothing like an overpowered flying cannon!

I also like DS9 for it's indepth interactions with the main canonical species. I.E Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians.

[Archived Post]

Whoa! This is so awesome! Brandon it was really great getting to know you and Mark in the early days of Priority One in the channel. Now while the podcast has changed, it has definitely remained my favorite. I can't say how happy I am for you, if anyone deserves this it's you!

Congrats man!

P.S. Just remember... crackers don't matter! :p

[Archived Post]

Thank you, Captains, for the overwhelming amount of support and "welcomes" in this thread :D I am extremely excited to be here so it means a lot. Also, I have to give a HUGE "thank you" to StormShade for all of his support this week as I learn the ropes.

Just a quick note, going forward, you will see many posts from me that say this:


This means that I've passed along the feedback in the particular thread to the devs so that they can consider what you all think about certain aspects. I will try and get as many threads over to them as possible. :)

Hope you are all enjoying Season 5!

Cheers,

Brandon =/\=

Hey Brandon, any chance you are going to keep doing the dine with devs that you did earlier this year now that you are a part of the team?

[Archived Post]

This means that I've passed along the feedback in the particular thread to the devs so that they can consider what you all think about certain aspects. I will try and get as many threads over to them as possible. :)

You've got a long list of feedback going, then ;)

Can we hope to get a follow-up thread from you or a developer giving us official responses to the things on that list?

[Archived Post]

Nice. Congrats Brandon!

[Archived Post]

Hey Brandon, any chance you are going to keep doing the dine with devs that you did earlier this year now that you are a part of the team?

I would love to see this happen again in the future :)

You've got a long list of feedback going, then ;)

Can we hope to get a follow-up thread from you or a developer giving us official responses to the things on that list?

I will pass along what information I can :)

[Archived Post]

Nice to meet you. One thing I might suggest for the forums here; If we are starting a thread or posting a reply to a thread, we should automatically be subscribed to it so we don't have to remember to do so. I've forgotten a few times and it takes a while to remember what the thread title was (or in other cases I can't remember and the information I was looking for is lost).

[Archived Post]

Here's hoping you don't blind ban people and actually listen, like a community representative should do.

[Archived Post]

Here's hoping you don't blind ban people and actually listen, like a community representative should do.

I would love if someone from Cryptic would show somekind of appreciation towards community and tell straight what is there in future of STO, so we could do everything our power to help.

I think its time to put cat on the table and examine it, put votes on new stuff coming and see how people will react on those and say that we are listening.

This current implementation of putting stuff to tribble is not working for whole STO community, we want to help
but tieing our hands or mouths is not the right way to make this game for everyone.

I suspect that Cryptic employees are doing everything they can withing certain limits and we should know those limits also, so we would not expect too much and know where this ship is heading.

btw:
Those dev blogs are not serving anyone, we need to resurrect those engineer reports with votes.

[Archived Post]

I suspect that Cryptic employees are doing everything they can withing certain limits and we should know those limits also, so we would not expect too much and know where this ship is heading.


Well put.

/10 char

[Archived Post]

Nice to meet you. One thing I might suggest for the forums here; If we are starting a thread or posting a reply to a thread, we should automatically be subscribed to it so we don't have to remember to do so. I've forgotten a few times and it takes a while to remember what the thread title was (or in other cases I can't remember and the information I was looking for is lost).

If you click on "My Account" at the upper-left there, then "Edit Options" on the left-hand side, you can set your default subcription and email notification level for any thread you create or post in.

[Archived Post]

Congrats on the new job Brandon!

[Archived Post]

So now that you're a soulless minion of orthodoxy ( :p ) how do you feel about the theft of so much of our in-game earnings by the currency conversion (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=241365)? Considering that we (as I'm sure you have too) earned that currency supporting (through paying for and playing) an incredibly content-light game that repeatedly delayed and witheld content from us time and again, effectively telling us that the time we put in is no longer worth as much to Cryptic?

I'm sure he isn't allowed to comment on that on a personal level.

I presume you'll be announcing your resignation as a Massively columnist soon. Wouldn't want there to be a conflict of interest, implied or otherwise.

Although to be fair, the Massively column has been an extension of Cryptic diktat for months. May as well get on the payroll proper.

Nothing on their homepage about that at least.

Wow, 3 players now working for Cryptic. Congrats on the job!

Who are the other 2 former podcast fanbois they recruited?

[Archived Post]

Hey Brandon,

Welcome, congrats, glad to see you.

Would you mind explaining the 'EPIC' changes to the crafting system please?

Any plans to listen to the feedback from tribble, make it in anyway fun to do again?

Like, oh I don't know, ensuring that it doesn't need 10 days of grinding (at least) to gather the dilithium to buy the materials to make an aegis set. Or even 2 days of grinding (at least) to gather the dilithium to buy the materials to make a single Mk XI console?

Thanks - that would be 'EPIC'. :)

Rich

[Archived Post]

Who are the other 2 former podcast fanbois they recruited?

Jeremy from STOked
Thomas from the Forums

[Archived Post]

As a member of the community I would ask that the new Borg STFs have a massive redesign. I have been subscribing for nearly three months now and have managed to get my character up to Rear Admiral one. Alot of my time was spent using the foundry hence the slow progression with my character.

Before the update I finished the `Assimilation` mission Solo and got a nice reward in the form of the `assimilated console`. Now the update has happened however now I have calulated that to get the other 3 parts of the set I will need to play the missions 45 times. This is based on the fact that I completed `Infected` on the space and ground parts and got one EDC as a reward. Having gone to DS9 I find that that one EDC is worth NOTHING at all.

I truly thought the new update was supposed to be about changing for the better. However unless I am prepared to put in an insane amount of grind time those 3 items will effectively be forever beyond my reach.
I have been told that If you play them on `Elite` difficultly (which I assume is the old difficulty?) I may get 2 or 3 EDCs. This still means I would have to play through maybe 15 times to get a set that used to take 3 plays.

This makes no sense to me. If the Borg set was something you could realistically aim for before then why change it? What I want more of is good story lines and realistic worthwhile rewards. I really hoped that the new update would address this but instead it seems to have added an element of tedious repetitive grind.

As community manager I hope that you can pass on this feedback. A quick look on the forums shows that I am not alone in feeling this. Surely as a community we ARE Star Trek Online as without us it would just be a bunch of code with no purpose,

[Archived Post]

*Zeryn gives a formal salute*

Congratulations, Sir!


I miss the Engineering Reports. Last one was from August? Can we please get these back?

I, Vice Admiral, Captain Zeryn Zebulon Zebular - Ambassador of Betazed and Son of the Thirteenth House of Betazed and Fleet Admiral of the Betazed Patrol, hereby formally request that the displaying of the Engineer's Reports are to be reinstated. Thank you for your consideration to this appeal.

Cordially,
Zeryn Zebulon Zebular

[Archived Post]

Jeremy from STOked
Thomas from the Forums

Out of which Thomas is the only one I've seen any good suggestions from on the forums before he was recruited.

[Archived Post]

Brandon, i don't know you, but you sound like a good one to have!

I'll try to behave a bit more from now on :)


Oh and in case you ever want to re-open the German Forums again, i'm available, just saying :)

[Archived Post]

Hey welcome to the community...

not to poop on your "welcome" thread, but Stormy leaving??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Archived Post]

Wlecome Brandom.

*Aside to the community*: Remember to break 'im in slowly boys, we want him to last a bit longer than the last one... its a shame too.. if he had lasted another month he would have been able to gotten a free straight jacket when he "moved on".

[Archived Post]

Note to self

Todo list:
1. get degree in computer software/game/graphics design.
2. became 4th player to becomer dev at cryptic/pwe/STO
3. Help make STO Epic.

now to start.

BTW i know he got stuff we worried about looked at while only playing and writing for Massively and running a podcast.

So i'm sure if we pass our concerns and ideas on he'll present them to the team, J-team or otherwise.

[Archived Post]

Congratulations Brandon! Enjoy your new job :).

@ StomrShade (although not fully leaving): thanks for your work so far!

[Archived Post]

You mean they hired someone who has actually been playing the game?

There might be hope for STO yet.

Congratz Brandon, and yes they've hired an STF junkie :D He's been through the same "stuff" we all have so he knows the strife we go through!

[Archived Post]

Noooo!!! Why Did Stormy Have To Go!?!?!?!!? Why!?!?!?!?!?!?!!

:( :(

[Archived Post]

This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.com/announcement.php?f=20&a=5). ~Stormshade

Were you given a warning AND an infraction for this? Just wondering.