Spiral Knights - Clockworks Confidential III: Cronus, Lead GM

Clockworks Confidential III: Cronus, Lead GM

142 replies [Last post]

Fri, 08/03/2012 - 13:56

Eurydice

Community Manager

Greetings, Knights!

I'm excited to bring you the third installment of Clockworks Confidential, a series of mini-interviews with members of the Spiral Knights team!

It's GM Cronus' turn this time. Cronus is the Lead Game Master for Spiral Knights. If you have questions about anything Game Master-y, now would be a good time to ask!

The usual Clockworks Confidential ground rules apply:

If there’s a large volume of questions, we’ll pick 5-8 for the interviewee to answer. If the interviewee wants to answer more than that, though, they may do so!
You may submit multiple questions, but please note that we’re looking for quality over quantity here.
You may ask questions unrelated to Spiral Knights. “What’s your favorite pizza topping” or “What other games have you been playing lately?” sorts of questions are fine.
Inappropriate questions (overly personal, rude, etc.) will be disregarded and/or deleted.

The deadline for submitting questions for this round of Clockworks Confidential is Sunday, August 12th at 11:59 p.m. game time (Pacific timezone).

Clockworks Confidential translations for French, German, and Spanish will be forthcoming.

Previous Clockworks Confidentials can be found here:

Boswick AKA Cory Sponseller, SK artist
Harry Mack, SK audio designer and composer

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:23

Little-Juances

So... lead GM?
Who gives you more trouble at work?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:34

Prevailer

do you get an itchy finger

do you get an itchy finger near the ban button?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:36

Metalcase

Are there any plans of having

Are there any plans of having Spiral Knights on Android phones? I'd want something like that. o.o

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:37

Krakob

What is the most common issue

What is the most common issue you help knights with?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:42

Pokenuevo

1) What's your funniest experience with a knight in Spiral Knights?
2) Why didn't you answer my whisper yesterday? I know it said you were idle for a 3 minutes, but it's lying.
3) Does this job ever provide you much stress? If so, what part did?
4) Vanilla or Chocolate?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:49

Treizeknight

How many types of accessories

How many types of armors, weapons and/or accessories do you have access to that normal players do not and are their any you'd like to see be released to the general population?

I ask because I remember seeing you and your GM armor was sporting Indigo Dragon Wings, a color that you cannot obtain in the game at this point.

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 09:52

Tersakaff

What does it mean to be a "lead" Game Master, how did you become so and what do you do in quality of the Lead Game Master?
How have you discovered Spiral Knights?
Why do you always log in from a different location, as Hyperion once stated? :o

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 10:06

Asukalan

How did you feel when you

How did you feel when you banned someone for first time?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 10:15

Undercorper

Hmmm...

How do you view your co-workers? How many times do you feel angry enough to throw swivel chairs at them? Does it make you feel like a Devilite?

What is your view of this video game?

How do you view your boss? Does he mistreat, torture, humiliate, banish, utterly destroy, become furiously and hellishly angry, or gives donuts with no frosting to you guys like our boss? What is your opinion on our boss?

Do you play alongside Knights once in a while?

Is it true that Nick uses Impostocubes to see what Knights do every day?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 10:15

#10

Egokiller

survival

I am curious as to ask:

Are you guys are planning to make "survival" arenas or whatever. Basically an arena series similar to the one at the end of "the gauntlet" mission where there is an infinite number of rooms (obviously with heal pads etc between each room) and a "mini boss" every 5 or 10 rooms. and have this provide special "survival points" that cna be exchanged at a "vendor" for new recipes or other misc items. cause if you guysare working on somethign like this or if the idea has crossed your minds I would like to know:D

Also is there a chance we can see the face(s) of you (or your fellow GMs)? myself and many others have been wondering as to who the peeps are behind those epic purple paladins of pwnage who save our lives on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis :D

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 19:27

#11

Iyashi

Quite a few questions I'd

Quite a few questions I'd love to ask GM Cronus! So here they are!

What sort of tasks do you usually accomplish as a Game Master?

What is the difference between being a 'lead Game Master' and just a regular Game Master?

How do you usually go about answering a problem you cannot solve?

Do you play Spiral Knights much as a standard player?

Have you completed much of the game content (such as shadow lairs) without the aid of GM Tools?

What would you do should a snipe invasion occur?

Do you have many hobbies outside of Spiral Knights?

How did you originally join onto the Three Rings team?

Edited - Added question: Are GMs permitted to play on their access accounts at any time? Or only when on official duty?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 14:08

#12

Yanos-Aldrin

A bit specific...

Hello,

My question may seem a bit specific but it has very close relevance to game mechanics-

Regarding the Shadow Realms: I have heard from a number of players that this section of the game is in need of some adjusting for the following reason - given both the energy cost of a Shadow Key, enhanced difficulty and therefore high stakes, I have been told that many shy away from running the shadow realms more than once, given the very low return on investment relative to the key's price. For prospective players that do wish to go through the shadow realms, the price of the key alone is enough to cause many to shy away from it. Have you or your team made any considerations toward adjusting or reconsidering the baseline price of a Shadow Key? What defines the energy price of most of the Shadow Key, or for any item for that matter?

Thanks.

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 14:15

#13

Tantarian

Lol

How do you feel about players confusing you with a developer and asking you development issues?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 14:21

#14

Doctorspacebar

Yeah, Cronus. I got a question.

1: Did you have any say in the Sun Shards change?

2: If so, WHY DID YOU SAY YES? Every party I've been in has had someone who doesn't like the RSS nerf. I say nerf, because the change is a nerf, moreso to bombers, who already suffer from a lack of a standard attack (meaning Greavers=instalose in SO many cases), weak "charge attacks" that aren't nearly as effective as what DA and Blitz can pump out, and overall don't need. Seriously, you're releasing Heart of Ice (chock full of Greavers) and you weaken Sun Shards (so it can't kill Greavers). What's wrong with you?! (Keep in mind, this is only if you agree with Nick's assessment of the situation. Nick, if you're looking at this, please at least post something acknowledging you saw this post, or at least the stuff in the test server.)

EDIT: Okay, I guess you didn't have a say. Doesn't mean I'll remove this question.

KEEP OUR RSS!

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 15:18

#15

Dukeplatypus

What does the name have to do

What does the name have to do with your position, what with Cronus being leader of the titans and all. Is it coincidence or intentional?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 19:08

#16

Venomousbiohazard

As a GM, what powers do you have? We have seen gms as Snipes going to parts of the haven that people do not normally go to. Someone saw Atalanta sitting with strangers in the auction house. Can you make any weapon or armour, even it is phased out?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 19:54

#17

Canozo

I <3 Paradoxes

1) Why did you choose Cronus over Zeus as your name? (King of titans Vs King of gods)
2) Is the answer to this question no?

Sat, 08/11/2012 - 18:44

#18

Njthug

Questions from Njthug

1. Are you scared Helios will take over your job?

2. Are you paranoid that Helios or Aphrodite will poison your ban stick thus killing you off and leaving your thrown empty for Helios to claim?

3. How do I get a game master in trouble for sexually harassing me?

4. Why won't Eurydice move in with me or let me move in with her? (I really want to take this relationship to the next level)

5. Out of the many players you stalked who has been the funniest and who is the scariest?

6. Do you drink on the job?

7. If you were an olympic competitor which competition would you compete in?

8. Why has this poor spiral knights player given no technical help: http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/24278 ?

9. What is the best way to bait a game master to hit on me?

10. Do you gossip about me (Me being Njthug) when I am not around??

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 22:02

#19

Retequizzle

Going off of NJ's second

Going off of NJ's second question:

Cronus, can you teach us how to throw some empties?

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 22:40

#20

Shoebox

This game didn't need GMs before I signed up.

What is the best way to bait a game master to hit on me?

Tell them you're Boswick.

Tue, 08/07/2012 - 22:45

#21

Bigfootm

Cronussss

1) Why did you let Atalanta turn you into a snipe and then ban you?

2) You were my bestest snipe hat ever. How does that feel?

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 06:46

#22

Eltia

Only one question

Are the GMs watching us?? SOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo many of us have this feeling we were being watched! D:

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 07:58

#23

Fallconn

FALCON PUNCH!

@Little-Juances Me, Of course.

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 14:13

#24

Pauling

There have been a lot of

There have been a lot of questions about the support and issue tracking process lately- can you describe how the different roles fit together? For example, how does a GM/lead GM/community manager handle reports of issues that affect gameplay? Is there a system that automatically flags old bugs, or is there a benefit to reporting the same issue again? (like our inability to say "broc*!@#")

You've also worked in other OOO games, like Y!PP. Have you noticed any differences in the number or type of support requests in the two games?

As for more general questions about the job... How many GMs are on at any given time? If you find things getting quiet, what's your favorite way to liven things up? (invisibly sneak up behind players and yell "boo", dress up as scenery and see how long it takes people to notice, etc)

Then there are the personal questions:
- In mythology, Zeus is your son. Do you ever regret missing his boyhood soccer games?

- Did you pick your own GM name, or did someone pick it for you? If you could have chosen your own name from mythology, what would it be?

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 19:31

#25

Nechrome

Who's your favorite coworker?

Who's your favorite coworker? Least favorite? How'd you become the lead GM? What do you do as lead GM? What's the favorite part of your job? Is your job work different than the other Gms or is the only difference being you having a higher rank than them? What's your favorite SK music that Henry Mack composed? Is there any really cool info you can tell us about your secret GM powers? Is there any top-secret confidential information you'd like to share with us? :) Am I asking too many questions? Is this wall of text hard/annoying to read? Should I stop asking you questions now?

OW... Reading that myself makes my eyes hurt. >.<

Let me try that again...

Who's your favorite coworker? Least favorite?

What's the difference between the job of a lead GM and a normal Gm, or is there no difference?

Do you have a favorite piece of music that Henry Mack composed? If so, what?

Is there any really cool info you can tell us about your super GM powers? I already know you can skip depths, super speed (I'm guessing that's the equivalent of having speed movement max. No wonders you guys won't add more movement speed increase things.), that monster spawn trick box usable vial belt thingy, and power buff vial belt thingies. I saw all of this stuff in a video. :P

When will you guys add sleep status back into the game? Any hope for the Tortodrone's reappearance as well?

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 20:26

#26

Small-Irish-Eyes

Hai from Platipie?

Three questions :)
When will you add platipuses/ platipi to the game?

If you could be one monster from spiral knights, which one will you be?

Are you afraid of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-step-brother Zeus of overthrowing you of the throne of ruling the Cradle, since he already took your throne of earth?

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 21:48

#27

Zaderules

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

If you were stuck on Cradle, what would you do first?

What did it take for you to become the leader of ALL GMs?

Do you ever plan on retiring from your job?

What's your favorite Spiral Knights boss? (Can be boss from any mission or clockworks)

If you didn't have the opportunity to work for Spiral Knights, what would you have done?

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 21:53

#28

Horizonknight

Lemme Think

Game master, eh?
Okay then. What inspired the many game aspects of Spiral Knights? These include, but are not limited to, mission, Arcade, Bosses, etc.

Thu, 08/09/2012 - 04:53

#29

Metaalpha

Hiya GM

I've got a Some questions I've been wanting to ask a GM....

Can you explain the process of banning a player?

As a game master, what is the weirdest situation you have ever had to fix?

What is your Favourite Weapon in SK?

There you go! Hope you choose one of my questions!
Will be Greatly appreciated! :)

Thu, 08/09/2012 - 10:05

#30

Forumchat

comment on the current issue

comment on the current issue about shards and uv variant tickets.

Thu, 08/09/2012 - 11:03

#31

Trying

What was your most memorable experience in SK?
Which player do you remember the most?

Fri, 08/10/2012 - 01:02

#32

Lightyourfire

Best question I have

What is your favorite style of confetti in Spiral Knights?

Fri, 08/10/2012 - 03:25

#33

Shoebox

Hey I have a question now. Do

Hey I have a question now.

Do you guys ever browse the forums for interesting topics then forward them to the Dev Team?

Fri, 08/10/2012 - 04:25

#34

Paweu

Why did you undo Shoebox's

Why did you undo Shoebox's forum ban?

Fri, 08/10/2012 - 05:49

#35

Gunnerific

First time asking in Clockwork Confientials!

So, many typoes migth occour due to shake-y and/or sweaty finger (ew)

1.)How is like to one hit kill with those GM weapons?

2.)What your fav non-GM weapong?

3.)Which levels do u get bug reports about most often?

4.)Have u ever not play as a GM?

That would be all, hopefull i didn't stole some of you guys question and hope some get answer :D!

Fri, 08/10/2012 - 07:53

#36

Little-Juances

Do you hide in bushes and secretly spy on other players?

Fri, 08/10/2012 - 21:40

#37

Gfjmember

Muchos respects

Any interesting stories you care to share about your work?

How many requests would your team get a day?

I understand that your job can be high stress. What can we players do when we need a GM in order to reduce the stress you receive?

Since you guys have teleportation powers and invincibility, why do we knights have to do all the work? Why can't you sort out the monsters single-handedly, rather than us risking our lives?

And, not a question, but a huge thanks. Every time I've submitted a ticket, you've been there in a couple of minutes. Awesome response and work guys :)

Sat, 08/11/2012 - 08:19

#38

Keerra

how come you GMs never show

how come you GMs never show up??? I only saw Aphrodite 1 time when it was Christmas!!! XD

Sun, 08/12/2012 - 13:54

#39

Supermetalmario

Itsa me, Mario!

I have a few questions.

1-What is your favorite armor?

2-Do you have a non-Game Master account that you play under for fun?

That's all I can think of for now.

Thu, 08/30/2012 - 06:16

#40

Oroseira

QUESTION! :D

What was your inspiration to create Spiral Knights?

Sun, 08/12/2012 - 19:46

#41

Obsidious

Right-o

Since I haven't had, or have, the time to go down the questions already asked, I'll just shoot which ones come to mind.

How did you end up with your pantheon name, Cronus? Were you given it or did you choose it, and why?

What kind of gear can you chose when a game master, and what is your gear preference? Aside from the Crowbar, what weapons generally put into SK do you like?

What do you do during your work hours exactly? Do you stay online as an actual character in the game, or do you have some kind of spectate mode?

What's it like responding to a call for players having issues with bugs, and what's the range and severity of these situations? Have you ever been called in for nothing?

It can noted that GM's have invulnerability, killer Crowbars, and no-clipping. Are there any other in-game perks that are a part of your job?

What was it like for you GM's in general to come up with SK's first April Fool's event, such as with the Secret forum and Snipe costumes

Mon, 08/13/2012 - 21:11

#42

Cronus

Game Master

Update!

Thanks for all the questions! I'll be compiling them with the translated questions from the French, German, and Spanish forums, categorizing them, drinking a large amount of caffeine, and attempting to come up with something remotely entertaining. I hope to have answers in a week or two depending on how much caffeine I can find.

Mon, 08/13/2012 - 22:46

#43

Dukeplatypus

Well, looks like the German

Well, looks like the German thread is completely empty, so there's 1/3 languages compiled right off the bat. From what I read, the French questions are mostly concerned with unreleased content (wishbones and zee core, higher levels of/more shields with stat bonuses, more gunner love). The rest is typical Suggestions fare. Also a bit about "why don't you love us as much as the English forums?". They're also quite polite, each one signed off their posts with a little signature at the bottom. I don't know any Spanish, so I have no idea what's going on over there.

/e coughs. Ehem, pardon my cynicism.

Tue, 08/14/2012 - 19:12

#44

Trying

I forgot to ask:

Where are my surgery drinks?

Thu, 08/16/2012 - 10:27

#45

Autofire

Darn I never notice these threads in time. :(

IF questions are still allowed, ummm...

If you were a monster, what would you be?

Meh, ignore me if I'm too late. I just didn't notice this thread till now.

Sun, 08/19/2012 - 21:22

#46

Firewheeler

What weps u got

I would just like too know what awesome weapons u have that we can't get

Tue, 08/28/2012 - 14:15

#47

Doctorspacebar

When are you going to post your answers?

Tue, 08/28/2012 - 15:57

#48

Orangeo

Why is your avatar a yesman,

Why is your avatar a yesman, when you are the head GM?

Tue, 08/28/2012 - 21:36

#49

Lightyourfire

You're a bit late with that question. Besides, lead GM doesn't mean Lead Developer, GM's are mostly for moderation if I'm not mistaken

Wed, 08/29/2012 - 16:53

#50

Grittle

Do you hold an endless supply

Do you hold an endless supply of devilite-ITs to work at SK HQ?

What was the most oddest complaint you ever had?

Do you like Pie, or pi?

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Clockworks Confidential III: Cronus, Lead GM