Relic send another survey about campaign

Hey as long as we dont have the Japanese in shermans fighting Russians in africa, I'll be happy.

I too, kinda wish the eastern front had been better developed/explored with coh2.

But all in all, the coh franchise's greatest achievements (and shortcomings) have nothing to do with the settings' theatre.

I honestly wish I had gotten it too. Last survey was fun.

Yh filled it in and added my thoughts.

Some questions CoH/DoW fans should be asking themselves;
Why has SEGA Europe hired a professional market research agency (http://harris-interactive.com/about/) to gather and analyze community feedback from DoW3 (confirmed) and possible CoH3? Why don't SEGA Europe trust Relic own market research? FYI, harris-interactive is a European research agency.
https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/15264/have-you-been-selected-for-the-survey

http://harris-interactive.com/about/
Harris Interactive is a full-service, digital consultative custom market research agency that combines sector expertise with award-winning research design.

We go above and beyond to make complex decisions easy and provide simple, actionable insights. And now, our industry-leading technology delivers those insights faster than anyone else. And with in-house expertise covering all areas of research, design, implementation, analysis, and reporting – with particular strengths in loyalty, brand and new product development – we’re with our clients every step of the way.

At Harris Interactive our legacy, expertise and relationships made us who we are but technology drives our future and speed of delivery allows us to anticipate challenges.

Fans deserve a better game and talented Relic devs deserve a better leadership. It's simple as that. Mediocre leadership lead to mediocre results.
Yes, moving forward more Relic leaders are going to get fired and/or replaced. No amount of Relic's wishful thinking and singing kumbaya are gonna change that.
DoW3/CoH2 dissent voting with their wallet made that happen. Without that, do you really think SEGA would demand these surveys as independent (unbiased) from previous "Relic biased research"?
If you understand a bit what's going on its pretty hilarious to watch.

From DoW3 was first announced, Relic leaders desperately tried to paint a "rosy picture" about Relic's future and that they had a positive relationship with fans. All the CoH/DoW dissent was "just a fluke" and had nothing to do with Relic's leadership capabilities.
Why would SEGA give up on CoH2/CoH3 for DoW3 and AoE4?
Were they misinformed by Relic? Imagine this; Relic goes to SEGA and says they made some huge mistakes with CoH2. To get more CoH2/CoH3 money, how many Relic leaders would take personal responsibility and risk their career over this? Apparently, not a whole lot.
I KNEW from Relic leaders body language that there was some kind of internal conflict going on.
Not very courageous, some Relic leaders choose the easy way out. Focus on DoW3 and AoE4, forget about CoH like an orphan.
All Relic leaders should be forced to watch this clip from There Will Be Blood (2007)
at least 10 times;
I've abandoned my child!


So you want good answers? then start by asking better questions to yourself. What is critical thinking? Why is this relevant? Why are Relic leaders not good at critical thinking compared to other competitive studios? Why can't some Relic leaders handle personal criticism?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking

Critical thinking is the objective analysis of facts to form a judgment.[1] The subject is complex, and there are several different definitions which generally include the rational, skeptical, unbiased analysis or evaluation of factual evidence.

Do these failing leaders suffer from cognitive dissonance?

Look at Relic leaders that are behind all this virtue signaling and completely not related to any Relic IP. Coming next, a charity event for endangered unicorns and bigfoot?

A lot of CoH fans still don't seem to grasp that SEGA has been on a collision course with Relic's leadership for at least a year now.
The DoW3 executive producer, brand manager, game director. Now all gone or has been replaced.

FYI; neither the DoW3 brand manager (Danielle Robinson) that worked on this game PR/marketing for years and the executive producer (Stephen MacDonald) was not even included in DoW3 end credits.
‘A Surreal Lucid Nightmare’: The Making Of ‘Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III’ Trailer
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/videogames/surreal-lucid-nightmare-making-warhammer-40000-dawn-war-iii-trailer-140474.html

Look at Axis Animation http://www.axisanimation.com/ that made the awesome DoW3 announcement trailer and vastly outclass anything Relic could have done. With no community interactions, Axis Animation (not Relic) captured the essence and art style of DoW perfectly.
From the first in-game footage was released this was pretty much the end of DoW3. Just by getting the immersion right they could have easily made a lot of money.

Since when do SEGA Europe EVER release AAA games without an Executive producer? The DoW3 team when in full production was without an Executive producer for one year. Normally, when a top leader leaves there is a smooth transition.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamstephenmac/?authType=name&authToken=Al7T&trk=prof-sb-browse_map-photo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-littman-52668b27/
The new Executive producer is practically a de facto chief operating officer with the official title;
"Production Leader Creating AAA Games at Relic Entertainment".
I suspect SEGA is now reviewing Relic's top job applications. Do Relic has a problem with favoritism/nepotism? If true, do you think SEGA would tolerate that? Favoritism if not dealt with can cost SEGA millions of dollars.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Relic-Entertainment-RVW4161332.htm
I worked at Relic Entertainment full-time (More than a year)
Pros
-most of the colleagues are friendly and awesome to work with
-new GM seems to know the problems with this company and is trying to fix them
Cons
-favoritism is key to survive in this place if you want to keep your job
-old timers are only good at little of what they know and most are not updated to the current technology and skill sets
-poor management over all
-might be time to let go some of the top decision makers, some of them might be stubborn and ignorant when looking at the current market
Advice to Management
Don't just listen to what the leads/managers says. Listen to the little guys. Some of them are afraid to speak their mind because of their managers.Look at your game sales and you shall know that some of the decision maker shall be let go

https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Relic-Entertainment-RVW5962386.htm
I worked at Relic Entertainment full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
Some incredibly talented people to work with, office location, full-time position benefits are good.
Cons
Too many managers, but no one seems to take actual responsibilities for anything. Often people are treated unfair, management is reluctant to criticism. The career progress is all about traditional hierarchical career path, based on technical proficiency and past performance, not employee potential and/or talent.

Do you really think SEGA is not going to step in after DoW3 fail and protect their investment?
What have Arch Warhammer said about SEGA's plan for Relic?


Looking at some leaders body language in past interviews/streams, it's obvious if they mess up with AoE4 and/or CoH3 a lot more leaders are gonna get fired. Personally, thats the primary reason im relative optimistic about the future.
From a customer perspective, you want more competition in Relic, not less. You want Relic leaders to fear they might lose their jobs. When leaders fall into the trap of complacency, they tend to get sloppy and not caring about retaining loyal customers. Sound familiar?.
SEGA is not perfect, but believe it or not. They are several steps ahead of Relic incompetent leadership, which on several occasions has been pretty delusional.

Five Signs Your Boss Is Incompetent
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2015/12/12/five-signs-your-boss-is-incompetent/#f3fc97d35148

He or She is Out of Touch

Your manager will show his or her failure to grasp the role by losing touch with the activity in your department. Everyone else will know the top three or five most pressing issues and priorities, but your boss can't keep track.

He or she will ask people about unrelated issues and when they try to say "But look, this issue is critical and we have to address it today!" the boss will get agitated or say "Yes, I knew that!" when it's obvious s/he didn't.

We know what's up when our boss mouths the right words but doesn't understand what they mean. We can tell when he or she asks a question that makes it clear he or she has no understanding of the topic.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/high-impact-leaders-inspire-people-low-manage-mack/
High impact leaders inspire people. Low impact leaders manage people.
When it comes to inspiring people, this includes inspiring ourselves, high impact leaders are the only ones who can make it happen. Who is inspiring you to develop yourself to a higher level? If it's not the person you see in the mirror, you're already in trouble. If someone else wants to help you, that's great. That's a bonus! But, if it doesn't start with you, your life is going to be filled with blaming others for your own circumstances and lack of options.

SEGA should listen to dissent from the "little guys" in Relic. They know whats going. In general, there are two types of leaders. Those that learn from their mistakes and those that dont. There is no shame to admit that you're on a learning curve and ask for help.
We (as a community) are all in this together to help each other right? Or perhaps your part of the problem not part of the solution?

Nice one Cobra.

Dafuq is morale? Some TotalWar-ish pudding? Is there anyone who wants a bit of self-appllying propaganda arty concealed in every unit?

I think of morale mechanic as more general of a term. Total war style of morale is surely a morale mechanic, but so are coh style supression and leaflet drops.

Update to my previous post - Coming top Relic leadership “restructuring/change”;
My prediction about SEGA Europe searching for a new Relic COO/chief operating officer (second in studio command) was spot on and new COO job description posted a few days later;
https://ca.indeed.com/Chief-Operating-Officer-jobs-in-Vancouver,-BC

The new Executive producer (David Littman) is practically a de facto chief operating officer with the official title;
"Production Leader Creating AAA Games at Relic Entertainment".

Former ice hockey goaltender

Confirmed; Relic top leadership “restructuring” (again)
Turning the Titanic?


Relic seek CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (second in Relic command/"GM babysitter")
For future reference;

https://boards.greenhouse.io/relic/jobs/939606
Relic Entertainment, a wholly owned studio of SEGA, is the award winning RTS developer of Homeworld, Dawn of War and Company of Heroes, and we’re on the hunt for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join our leadership team. As a studio leader, you will play a huge part in creating a workplace where people are energized and empowered to not only do their best work but to continually surpass their best. You will have ownership and creative freedom to solve our most challenging problems.

As an integral (and new!) part of our leadership team, you will be challenged to solve complex problems, drive change, and challenge our thinking. We are looking for a positive, humble, and highly-motivated leader who can teach us a thing or two. [read alot]. Running a high-performing studio is a collective effort, and you will play a critical role in that effort – shaping and guiding the future growth of the studio. [hey look SEGA need "babysitter" for Relic GM]

As our COO, you will…
Partner with our General Manager to build a high-performing studio that supports great talent in doing their best work
Design and drive the strategic vision and roadmap for our operational teams
Build and lead a high-performing operational team (Talent, Marketing & Communications, Space Planning, IT, Legal, Finance & BI) that is aligned with supporting our developers in doing their best work
Oversee the day-to-day operations of the studio, and keep the GM appraised of significant events
Support our GM in developing and overseeing the long-term business strategies of the studio
Collaborate with our GM to ensure that our values, people and operational teams are continuously in alignment with our product goals
Support the execution and quality of our games by driving the continuous improvement of our people and processes to enable talent and innovation at all levels of the studio
Create focus for your teams and operational leaders – cut the noise, guide them through priority setting, and hold them accountable to constantly executing on meaningful work
Partner with our Executive Producers to ensure they have the support needed to deliver on our studio roadmap
Partner with our GM and Finance Director to lead our annual budgeting and operational plans that support our long-term financial strategy
Assess and manage risks to the studio – whether it be projects, people or resourcing
Build a positive work environment focused on accountability, results and having a ton of fun

Ideally, you are...
Experienced – 7+ years of senior leadership experience in operations in a comparable industry; ideally you’ve worked in games, entertainment or tech
Strong understanding of business operations (HR, Finance, IT, etc) and experience leading cross-functional teams
Substantial experience working in companies that have gone through high-change or growth
Post-secondary education in business, leadership, marketing and/or game development
Results driven – you have an impressive track record of building teams, rallying people, and consistently achieving results
Service minded – you are laser focused on providing best-in-class experiences to our candidates, employees and players
Player focused – you understand how the work our operational teams do impacts the quality of projects we deliver to our players
A clear communicator – you understand the impact of your words and actions in encouraging and activating those around you
A change agent – you lead change, explain ‘the why’ behind change and pursue improvement relentlessly

And believe in...
Relationships matter – you listen, care deeply, ask questions, and understand the role that people play in our studio success
Managerial courage – you are transparent, practice direct feedback, make decisions, and deal head-on with problems when they come up!
Leading by example – you create accountability, apologize when you’ve made a mistake, and practice what you preach

IIRC, Relic hasn't had an “official” COO since Ron Moravek 1998-2004 and Alex Garden (CEO & founder) left Relic in 2004. After Alex left to join Nexon NA, Ron Moravek step up in THQ/Relic leadership as GM + THQ VP (2004-2006 and later 2012-2013). So big Relic leadership change and prove SEGA/Tim Heaton is not happy with the current Relic leadership.

Translation; Relic don't fuck up again OR else!. Should the current GM get fired, the COO will become the interim general manager until they find a replacement.
TBH if Relic leaders continue to mess up, I would not be surprised if Relic merges with Creative Assembly.(see below SEGA/CA promotions for possible hint of this). SEGA trust CA a lot more than Relic and recent SEGA promotions confirm this. Several former CA leaders have moved up within the ranks of SEGA Europe.

This Relic leadership change is relevant to recent SEGA promotions - July 2017.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-07-25-sega-europe-promotes-john-clark-tim-heaton

The other promotion sees Creative Assembly studio director Tim Heaton bumped up to executive vice president of studios. While he will continue to oversee the Total War studio, Heaton will also work with other studio directors within Sega Europe on best practices and studio collaborations.

Sega Europe unveils new president and COO - August 2017

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-08-02-sega-europe-unveils-new-president-and-coo
"I'm delighted to be joining the incredible Sega Europe team at what could be described as a pivotal moment in the company's history," Bergstresser said in a statement.

"With the road to 2020 mapped out by Sega Sammy, all areas of the business must work closely together to drive continued success and innovation/ It will be up to the team and I to ensure that Sega Europe continues to be a leader in the games business around the world. I am very much looking forward to the challenge."
Tatsuyuki Miyazak added: "Sega has outlined a solid plan towards further profitability by 2020 and needs cutting edge leaders to help make this goal a reality. In that respect, Chris joins SEGA Europe at a very exciting time We believe that Chris has all the qualities required to take Sega Europe to the next level and help us achieve these goals. We are looking forward to seeing how the business moves forward under his guidance."
The news follows promotions for John Clark, who is now executive vice president of publishing, and Tim Heaton, who has become executive vice president of studios. Both will support Bergstresser in his new role.

Creative Assembly director running Relic Entertainment on interim basis (2013)

https://www.polygon.com/2013/4/9/4204850/creative-assembly-director-relic-entertainment-general-manager-tim-heaton
Tim Heaton, studio director of Total War developer The Creative Assembly, has been appointed interim general manager of Company of Heroes 2 developer Relic Entertainment, he told CVG.

"My role in this phase is to keep the studio focused on delivering [Company of Heroes 2], to find the necessary staff to take Relic into the future and to ease the transition," said Heaton. "Although there are no plans to tie the two studios together, we're already seeing knowledge feed back from Relic into [The Creative Assembly]."

Heaton will oversee Relic as it approaches the June 25 launch of Company of Heroes 2, and searches for a permanent general manager. Alex Peters, who served as general manager under previous owner THQ, left the company for Activision shortly before THQ's first bankruptcy auction in January, in which Sega acquired Relic for $26.6 million. Sega owns both Relic and The Creative Assembly.

Restoring Relic's leadership - 2013
http://www.develop-online.net/opinions/restoring-relic-s-leadership/0184129

*SNIP*
‘Hey, you know, if you need any help with Relic just let me know’, and the Sega bosses came back with, ‘Yeah, get yourself an apartment there for the year’. So, for the past six months, I’ve been splitting my time between CA and Relic – three weeks here and three weeks back home on average. And you know what? Running two studios is twice as hard as running one. Who knew?

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

On my first visit to Relic two things dawned on me through the mists of jet lag. That there was a game to deliver – Company of Heroes 2 was to launch at the end of June, and that there was very little studio leadership. The previous general manager of Relic had left well before the purchase of Relic by Sega, and although there was an executive producer on CoH 2 that was pretty much it. Nobody was leading the studio in a game-centric way from the front.