Let's Raise a Glass for Alex, Heather, Glen, and Yannick
in The Bridge
As was previously posted and sourced, a number of DB staff were let go yesterday as part of a right-sizing and refocusing measure by management. I'd love to take a minute to recognize and thank some awesome people who made a big difference in the community (albeit on the other side of the table) who are no longer with the company.
Alex, or Nod as he was known to most of us, always went above and beyond to explain statistics and metrics and to check on game details for us. Heather stepped in to help with CM duties after Becca left, which is a truly difficult and oftentimes thankless job (shoutout to Shan). Glen, as head of CS, often personally responded to tickets and helped players above and beyond the call of duty while working to ensure that people were treated fairly and policies and procedures were put in place to help standardize tickets. Finally, Yannick's passion for the game and its players was always reflected in his support tickets as well as his interactions with the community.
Still... thanks guys for all the ways you helped players and helped shape the community - you'll be very missed.
Alex, or Nod as he was known to most of us, always went above and beyond to explain statistics and metrics and to check on game details for us. Heather stepped in to help with CM duties after Becca left, which is a truly difficult and oftentimes thankless job (shoutout to Shan). Glen, as head of CS, often personally responded to tickets and helped players above and beyond the call of duty while working to ensure that people were treated fairly and policies and procedures were put in place to help standardize tickets. Finally, Yannick's passion for the game and its players was always reflected in his support tickets as well as his interactions with the community.
Still... thanks guys for all the ways you helped players and helped shape the community - you'll be very missed.
Proud Former Admiral of eXodus
Proud Former Officer of The Gluten Empire
Retired 12-14-20. So long, and thanks for all the cat pics!
Proud Former Officer of The Gluten Empire
Retired 12-14-20. So long, and thanks for all the cat pics!
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Join the eXo|plosion today!
thanks for everything you guys have done!
Immortalized: 140 x 5*, 221 x 4*, 74 x 3*, 47 x 2*, 27 x 1*
I hope they find new jobs asap.
All the best for the future.
Live long and prosper all of you and keep up providing DB with all the feedback, suggestions and joy that made working for you all as a Player Support member such a pleasure.
It was an honour to be able to serve you all!
At your service, my pleasure and my duty!
Yannic, aka Test.
Thank you.
Lebe lang und in Frieden.
When Jon first said we were going after the Star Trek license, I was excited. Ask anyone and they'll tell you I'm a huge Star Wars fan, but I've always had a special place in my heart for Trek. I watched TNG, DS9, and VOY as they aired, but it wasn't until I was introduced to TOS that I really fell in love with it. The campiness, the characters, and the obvious optimism drew me in immediately. For a show in the 60s, it was before its time.
When I joined the STT team, I began to gradually learn ever more and more about the show. Who couldn't, when everyone around me was immersed in it from the beginning? I can't tell you how many hours I spent just reading through Memory Alpha and re-watching episodes on Netflix, usually triggered by a new character coming into the game. Now I know so much minutiae that most of my family has convinced themselves that I have always been a die-hard trekkie
I know the relationship between player and developer is difficult; it's easy to forget that we're human on both sides of the keyboard. But I can say that the STT community and players (the whole community as well, not just the forums!) has been incredible. So much passion, so much love for the IP, and when we meet in person, everyone is great. Just as recently as ST Las Vegas we were meeting people everywhere who played our game, and couldn't wait to see what else we would do with it.
Thanks for being part of a great chapter of my professional and personal career. If you're ever in Boston, look me up! I'm usually at talks or local game development events. And if not, know that you've been great.
Cheers,
Alex "Nod" Engel
Second Star to the Right - Join Today!
Live Long and Prosper
Thanks for your part of shaping STT into what it is Alex: Fan service and character collection oc, but at core a quite smart resource management game. Which rewards planning ahead and patience in many ways.
All the best for your next "adventures"...
I have a very personal soft spot and connection to many of the people at DB who work tirelessly to develop fantastic properties for fans of three major titles. Of course, I’m most partial to Timelines.
I had the distinct pleasure of flying out to Boston back at the beginning of the year when PAX East was going on. DB held a meet & greet and party for staff and players alike and debuted the Walking Dead game. I didn’t have any interest in PAC itself, I just flew in to meet the people I do often harass on the forums.
I got to meet and make some really excellent friends, like Captain Sisko from AA. He and his wife are two of the nicest and genuine people and to think that they had only been names on a leaderboard.
The true highlight of that trip was meeting Nod, Heather and Sean. I got to meet lots of the staff, like Pete, Michael, Paul, Paul and Elicia. But three people I want to focus on.
Understand I knew no one when I walked in from the snow to that upstairs reception haul. The first person I met was Sean. I recognized him immediately because, well, how can you not? He stuck out his hand and introduced himself and I did the same. He asked what game I play and what my name was.
“Frank”
He rolled his eyes and said, and I quote:
“Oh Jesus”.
That alone made my trip.
But it got better.
Heather was running around like a crazy person making sure everyone was taken care of and all the players and guests had stocked up on free swag. We got to talk and I was amazed how a person that nice could sit in a chair and put up with jerks like me all day asking for the moon. She seriously was too nice for this community. She was gracious and even presented me, at the end of the night, with something that I really, really treasure - a book.
We’ll come back to the book in a minute. I’ll gush instead about the real highlight. The person that made every penny of that plane ticket worth it - Nod.
I’m the first guilty party on taking staff for granted in this game, but we as a player base don’t know what we had in Nod. I could type paragraphs about how he legitimately and sincerely cared how we, the player base, felt and what could he do to make the game and the community better. I’ll just leave you with two examples.
When the Timelines Wiki first died, we scrambled to get a new one up and then as a community did one of the best things we have done in two years and that’s established the current wiki. If we could put down our bickering from time to time and work together like we did there, we could really do some great things. Nod didn’t let the wiki story go unnoticed - no - he went behind the scenes after work and on his own time and own dime and updated countless tables, pages and artwork. The URL redirect from the old expired address to the new one? Nod. The guy when I said “I’ll buy you any beer you want” and he ordered a water? Nod. The guy that then wanted to talk about me and what I thought about the game and what was important to the community instead of eating his dinner? Nod. The guy with the glorious long hair that, by the way, is kept in healthy condition thanks to Apricot Herbal Essence shampoo - you guessed it, Nod.
Back to that book - I keep it at my office on the coffee table but I brought it home tonight. You see, DB had made a very limited amount of 225 page hardbound books - The Art of Star Trek Timelines. It was a gift to the staff after the game launched and kept private as the license with CBS won’t permit the sale or distribution of the book.
Heather gave me hers. She and Nod and Sean and Pete and the rest of the staff signed it. Didn’t just sign names but wrote messages. Took time on a cold snowy and long night to make one person smile.
I’ll leave you with what Nod wrote to me -
Jon, Thank you for being part of why we make games - Nod.
No - Alex, thank YOU. Thank you for being part of why we PLAY games, specifically this one. Thank you for all you have done for this community. Thank you to Heather. To Sean. To Yannic. To Max. To Glen. To Dan. To Elicia. To Kristen. To James. You may have new journies ahead, but your part of our journey and time together will never be forgotten.
To all of you,
Live Long and Prosper.
I've gotta say that DisruptorBeam was the greatest experience of my life. This company offered me something that is hard to imagine. An opportunity to not only be myself, but to pioneer. What I was supported in doing hadn't been done before - automating the testing of features in a video game, by developing a framework that could be used across multiple video games. This company broke ground in that regard, and they allowed me to be a vanguard for that technology.
I spend countless hours playing Star Trek Timelines. I will continue to spend countless hours playing it. It is the best mobile game I've ever played, in my personal opinion. I spent a bit of time on the forums trying to address concerns in the game. I appreciate the time our support spent making things as fun as possible.
Whatever you might believe about Star Trek; DB, and its employees lived, breathed, and dreamed about the IP, and all games that we work on.
We truly care about your experience. And I have no doubt in my mind that will always be the case. I really enjoyed hearing all of the suggestions and the opinions that you have on a daily basis.
I am going to miss having a voice in the direction of the game, but it is only going to get better! I'm excited for the future, and I hope you are too!
PS. We love you guys. You have been so supportive. Regardless of whether it is criticism, or direct support. we appreciate the heck out of everyone, no matter your position. You all have had such a positive impact. Thank you so much for being fans. Thank you for being who you are.
Squadron Leader - [TFA] Bateson’s Bulldogs
Thanks for everything you all have put into this game, hopefully you'll find somewhere that's the right size to utilize your considerable talents.
-Lord Wizzlestix I
Sad to see them go. They were good people and helpful. I wish them the best of luck and say thanks.
To you guys, we raise our glasses, our true fallen heroes! Your names will never be forgotten, your heroic deeds will always be remembered. May you live on forever in the heart of Sto-Vo-Kor, as you surely will, in all our hearts.
Live long, and prosper,
Captain Q [SFC]
"Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning..."
I just hope this does not mean a bad downward spiral internally with DB. I would hate to see the game take a nasty turn south and undo all of their hard work in the name of pure greed.
DB: Do Better.
Member of Starship Trista.