Biomassed: Who are you? Who do you play DUST 514 with, and what style of play do you enjoy?
SirManBoy: I’m SirManBoy, director at Molon Labe and a member of CPM1. I have been a highly active member of Molon Labe for over two years and before that I was a director for Planetary Response Organization, a corp that came to DUST 514 directly from MAG. As far as my play style is concerned, I’m a logi through and through; I most enjoy supporting squads with reps, uplinks, scans and cover fire with my beloved mass driver.
Biomassed: Tell us a bit about the “real you”. Who is the man (or woman) behind the merc?
SirManBoy: In real life, I am a high school social studies instructor currently teaching Advanced Placement Macroeconomics and Global Studies. I am also an avid practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a martial art and sport that focuses mostly on ground fighting techniques like chokeholds, armlocks, and leglocks. My other interests include traveling, reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching television and film.
Biomassed: Why did you decide to run for the CPM this year?
SirManBoy: Because I have greatly enjoyed my involvement on the current council and I hope to continue that work for as long as the community will allow it.
Biomassed: What are the strengths you think you can bring to the CPM? What is your biggest weakness you’ll need to contend with?
SirManBoy: This may sound a bit simplistic, but I’m a rational person and a sensible communicator who has a vast amount of personal and professional experience as a member of a team. I also bring the actual experience of being on the CPM to the table as well.
My biggest weakness would be my real life time constraints; they certainly impact how much time I can regularly spend on the DUST forums. As a result, I don’t post nearly as much as I would like, but I do read the forums daily.
Biomassed: What do you feel is the role of the CPM?
SirManBoy: The primary role of the CPM is community advocacy. Secondary roles include consuming absurd amounts of Brennivin and beer with devs, if you make it to Fanfest.
Biomassed: How do you feel about the previous CPM? What was done well, and what could have been done better?
SirManBoy: CPM1 is a great group of guys who have the players’ interests at heart and who definitely want to see DUST 514 rise to great heights. All things considered, I think we’ve done a good job throughout our term together. However, I think it’s important to acknowledge the council’s limitations. Some people place far too much credit or blame on council members for whatever happens to the game, but we’re simply not developers. We certainly offer our own consultation and voice the concerns of the players, but ultimately the development team manages the game and puts it on whatever course it sees fit.
One negative mark against the current body is that it lost one of its members fairly early in its term. There’s no need to revisit the details of that situation, as doing so says nothing about the remaining members of the council, but hopefully CPM2 can avoid experiencing a similar problem.
Biomassed: What are your thoughts on communication between the players and CCP? The CPM and CCP? The CPM and the players?
SirManBoy: In my view, the communication between the dev team and the community has been extraordinary—the forum communication, the Trello board, etc. Moreover, the communication between the council and the likes of CCP Rattati and CCP Frame has been fantastic. We have almost daily access to them through Skype, and the frequency of our official meetings is more than adequate. As far as communication between the CPM and the players is concerned, I think reviews and perceptions will vary depending on who you ask and what kinds of communication they value most. My opinion is that communication between the CPM and the community is quite good in general. The council communicates extensively on the forums, in game, on Skype, and many of us make regular appearances on podcasts like Biomassed and produce DUST 514 YouTube content.
Biomassed: Where do you hope to see the game by the end of your term?
SirManBoy: This council’s term is rapidly coming to a close, but I would love for it to end on a high note—full 16-player team deploy in FacWar.
Biomassed: If DUST is able to be ported to another platform, which platform would you prefer, and why?
SirManBoy: My personal preference would be to see DUST ported to PS4 because I enjoy the simplicity and comfort of console gaming with a controller. Preference aside, it would still be a tremendous step for the game if it were to be ported to PC.
Biomassed: How can players reach out to you if they have further questions for you?
SirManBoy: You can always send me a line in-game or on PSN at SirManBoy—the same exact tag for both methods. Additionally, you can contact me in all the following ways:
Gmail: SirManBoy@
Twitter: @SirManBoy
Skype: jessegrinstead
