With the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) Elections coming up soon we at EVE NT have contacted all the running candidates who have announced their intentions to run and provided them with a standardised interview template. The goal of this is to give each candidate a set of standard questions for them to respond to with the aim of helping you, the voter, to choose a candidate who best represents you and your play style to CCP. The same questions have been asked of every candidate as to allow easier comparison. The responses posted are unedited and will be published in the run up to the opening of the voting period on February the 29th in the order that they have been received.
Today's candidate is Mr Hyde113.
 
1. Please start by giving us a short introduction to who you are and your history within EVE Online. Include how long you have been playing and the groups you have been involved with.
My name is Mr Hyde113, but most people just call me Mr Hyde or Hyde. I have been playing EVE for the better part of 10 years now and have grown up with the game. Over this time i've been involved with a myriad of groups; from ASCN and INFOD in the old days to FW lowsec groups like SOTF and Wolfsbrigade, then finally to Suddenly Spaceships and Black Legion more recently. I am currently in Pandemic Legion, and joined following the dissolution of Black Legion this past year, but have functioned more or less as a solo player for the last 2 years.
 
2. Who would you consider to be your key constituents? Who you would best represent within the playerbase?
I consider myself an independent candidate, and aim to appeal to players across New Eden, regardless of corp/alliance allegiance. My key constituents are those who value and enjoy PvP above all else, and those that have a passion for self-improvement and individual driven content. I feel that I would best represent active players that wish to see a healthy and engaging PvP ecosystem. Although my area of greatest interest is PvP, I have touched on almost every aspect of the game over my 10 years of experience and approach, and can serve as well-rounded council member.
 
3. Please summarise your platform. (Preferably using key bullet points)
I find that traditional platforms are generally full of illusory campaign promises and do not really serve to inform voters about a candidate's experience or plans. Instead I would prefer to stand on my merits and reputation as an experienced and active player, whose opinion on game balance and design always strive to create a fun, healthy, and engaging game experience for players.
 
4. Why have you decided to run for CSM this year?
Although I have played for many years, I was not really engaged with the community at large at the level I currently am until I became involved with Solo PvP and video-making about two years ago. Through that experience, I went from just being a player in a corp, or a pilot in a fleet, to standing on my own, and the community reception to my work has been amazing. I have learned a lot through this process and have thoroughly enjoyed working with players and discussing the game. I believe that I can further serve the community by participating on the CSM and hope to contribute my game knowledge and ideas to CCP's development efforts.
 
5. Have you run for or been a member of CSM in the past? If so please list each year and if you were elected.
N/A
 
6. What makes you a unique representative when you compare yourself to other candidates?
As a Solo PvPer, I have had the opportunity to experience the game from one of the most interesting and difficult perspectives possible. This has rounded out my previous experiences with fleet and small gang warfare, and I believe I can now approach game balance from a holistic and informed point of view. This experience has also let me relate and interact with thousands of players who enjoy the process of individual achievement and improvement; a common goal which crosses the boundaries of in-game rivalries and politics.
 
7. Do you have any out of game experience and skills that make you a good candidate?
I am currently a Law student and would like to think that the skills of this profession like persuasive writing, logical argument, and balancing efficiency with fairness are valuable in a CSM candidate. I also have had experience through my Youtube/Twitch channels with video editing and interacting with the community through video, which I think can be an important platform in strengthening the relationship between CCP, CSM, and the community.
 
8. What areas of EVE are you weakest at knowledge wise?
Although my in-game experience is wide ranging, I must admit that wormhole life and high-end industry are areas of the game in which my experience is only surface level. However I feel that a diverse CSM can overcome this by rounding out each other's weak points.
 
9. If you were offered unlimited development time - what's the biggest change you would lobby for in EVE?
An in-depth and fully fleshed out Tutorial/NPE, complete with in-game video guides, PvP and fitting lessons, aimed to overcome the ?learning cliff? that inhibits EVE from appealing to a broader market. EVE will only continue to flourish with new blood, and I think that dedicating this hypothetical infinite dev team to the task of making the NPE amazing would be the best case for all.
 
10. If you could wind back the clock - what feature or change would you remove from EVE?
There are actually several changes that I would do-away with and alter if given the chance to ?roll back the clock?:
I would have not have instituted the downward warp speed changes for larger sub-capitals and left 3.0 AU/s as the ?floor? warp speed for subcaps. This change did not really add anything meaningful to gameplay and just added an element of tedium to larger ships which in part led to their downfall in the meta.
I would have not introduced drone damage mods, or other new drone mods (tracking, ect). Part of the major balancing factor with drone boats was the hard limit of their drone DPS via bandwidth, which forced them to be slow and steady fighters that leveraged utility and tank through slots to distinguish themselves on the battlefield. The introduction of drone damage-mods turned them into essentially another turret/launcher, but without the fitting/ammo/application limitations that those systems are balanced on. This contributed to months of drone-boat abuse; Assist Domis, Sentry Ishtars, Slowcat Blobs, all of which took months of balancing resources to then repair through series of messy nerfs. Avoiding this from the start would have been the ideal.
T3s as a class not being properly balanced and thought through on release. In short, these ships should have never had rig slots, and should have been built on the premise of being a flexible ?jack-of-all trades, master of none? class, that did not overshadow their specialized t2 cousins. T3Ds should also have had much more of their natural power shifted into the modes, with much more stark pros and cons between the modes and longer switch times.
 
11. If you could pick one candidate to be elected with you who would they be and why?
After some further consideration on this question since my CSM Watch interview, I would say that Apothne is the ?one? candidate I would pick if limited to just a single endorsement. He is a level-headed and easy to work with guy, and he has a solid understanding of the game and its mechanics. I would have a great time serving with him and wholeheartedly hope that he is elected with me to CSM XI. There are several other great candidates running as well that I like a lot, but Apothne takes the top slot for me.
 
12. What is your favorite memory in EVE and why?
I would have to say that the joint operation between DnD & Wolfsbrigade to take down Odda's Erebus in Amamake in early 2012 with a calculated suicide dread drop was one of my favorite memories in my EVE career. Most people including myself were kept in the dark about the operation until we jumped on field, and the rush I got from us killing that titan and me getting the KM in my might Revelation was incredible.
 
13. What platform(s) do you use currently to engage with the wider player base? If someone wanted to contact you what is the best way to do this? (Include Twitter/Emails/Skype/Slack etc.)
I am active on several platforms: Reddit (/u/mcchaverson), Twitter (@MrHyde113), Tweetfleet Slack (@mrhyde), and by EVE Mail (Mr Hyde113). Sending me a reddit PM or tweet/DM is the quickest way to get a hold of me since I have them on my phone, but for PVP help/fittings I prefer EVE Mail since I can link fittings/mods in game for you.
 
14. If people wanted to find out more about your platform - where is the best place to do so? (Include blogs, forums posts and podcasts)
[CSM Related Sites]
CSM Watch Interview
EVE-O Forums Post:
CSM Match
" target="_blank">CSM Campaign Promo Trailer by Zaqq & Fintarue
[To find out more about me and my Solo PvP/Experience]
Youtube Channel
Twitch Channel
 
15. In short - what is your closing statement (no more than 500 words please!)
At the end of the day, I am a active veteran player who is passionate about EVE and active in the community. I hope to be elected on my experience, integrity and reputation rather than anyone telling you to vote for me. I believe the CSM can be an important vehicle for change and feedback between the playerbase and CCP, and I hope that you the voters take the elections as an opportunity to play a part in shaping this institution. I encourage all to participate in the process by researching and talking to the candidates and picking who you think represents you as a player the best (even if I don't earn a spot on your ballot). Please feel free to reach out to be at any of the above-mentioned platforms and I hope to earn your vote for a spot on CSM XI!