Hello Gamers - I am Shivon and I am running to represent all of you on CSM 21.
My journey with EVE Online started in fall of 2020, so a bit junior to a lot of the player base for sure, but the trajectory I took was quite unorthodox. My sole focus within EVE Online became small gang PvP. I was pulled into a small 3-4 man corp in the Amarr/Min WZ and invited into Thera 3 months later. 5 months into the birth of Shivon I had been schooled by a handful of extremely skilled small gang vets in both LS and now NS via Thera. When the Alliance Tournament came back in 2021, I was invited to join a team and I have since been on a team in every single one, most notably Meta Reloaded taking second place last year. I have since lived in all different sized WH’s from c2-c5 with a few different groups, initially rage rolling for NS in low class, then high class c5 and a c4 rage rolling and hunting the chains, and now…back to low class.
So what interests me to want to join the CSM??
- Continuing to balance and iterate between the larger expansions
Something I got to see when I first arrived in New Eden was the team that CCP Rise was put in charge of, I believe it was called “Team Talos.” He was effectively given a small team able to rebalance and make small tweaks in ship balance and game balance in between the larger expansions. I feel this type of quick iteration for balancing has begun to happen again over the past year and if this is again on the table for FC to be looking at, I welcome the chance to be able to brain storm ideas on ship balancing and game balancing that would encourage more players to undock and be fighting in space. Along with general ship and game balance, I think it’s the little QOL ideas that are worth trying to implement wherever possible. Small Gang has always been a niche play style but it demands an FC level of game mechanic understanding, ship knowledge, and overall grid awareness. Sitting in pyfa for hours crunching numbers, 4x scrims a week on thunderdome year over year, and sitting on grids outnumbered taking fights has been a great way to learn a lot about this game in a short period of time.
- Prospective discussions with FC around ways to promote more growth among small and midscale groups
While we all can see the massive bloc’s taking over the bulk of NS, the newest Cradle of War expansion seems to be aimed at bringing geography back into the forefront of consideration for NS. From my perspective the bloc’s are great sources of content for small gangs, however I believe that the best version of EVE would be a version where we aren’t just building crescendo’s to some massive move op and alliance battle, but rather - the day to day small scale skirmishes and engagements that hopefully can become more common with some of the newest updates. I think more people undocking and fighting over smaller territories would make NS a much more dynamic landscape for everyone and it seems that we may be continuing discussions about how to balance the larger groups and smaller groups being able to exist alongside each other. I also believe this extends into low class WH space which has largely gone dead comparted to the stories I hear from just before my time. While it is simple human nature that EVE devolves into an N+1 game in a lot of engagements, I believe ways to help smaller groups thrive will lead to a stronger overall eco system within New Eden.
What you can expect from me on the CSM
- An attitude of service to the player base
I have been fortunate enough to chat at length with some past CSM member’s about their experience and what the role of the CSM really is. From what I have gathered, the CSM is not a place to “bring your big ideas” but, moreover, it is an active opportunity to be a voice for the player base itself; to be able to engage in conversations with all of you and bring that back to the game developers so that FC is able to have your voice as part of the decision making process. I see the CSM as an opportunity to be of service to the game as a whole. I found EVE in a strange year for most of us (2020) and EVE has given me an immense amount of joy, friendships, community and so much more. The opportunity to be able to engage with the community and to be part of your active voice in discussions with FC is something that I would cherish. I don’t see this as a means to “do anything” as much as a chance to give back to a community that has given me a lot. What this means for you is that I will be available to the player base at large…I want to engage with anyone who has ideas and/or feedback about what’s going on in their corner of the galaxy. If there is potentially an actionable item, I will happily champion that to FC and do my best to represent all of you in those discussions. The only goal I have would be to make sure EVE continues to grow and continues to be a game we all want to sit down and enjoy.
If you read all this, thanks for your time and consideration. I have worked a lot on committee’s IRL and I understand that the most important thing you can do is listen. That would be the attitude i bring to CSM 21 if elected. First I will listen to FC and the plans they have, then I will listen to the other members of the CSM and get to learn from them, and most important I will listen to all of you and do my best to have an open mind to try and work towards making the best version of EVE Online we can so we can all enjoy this one of a kind game for years to come.
o7 Nerds
For some transparency here is a link zkill and some raw unedited videos of some game play. If you wish to watch some mediocre double-clicking in space and dual boxing solo fights - have at it…I am not claiming to be “elite,” but felt it may be helpful for people to see