Hellos and Goodbyes

Yaldin · Feb 22, 2014

Good luck - every time I have a problem with Piestro's Day Off I'll think of you KIDDING - best to you and your family - you were a great CM.

Given that this community never agrees on ANYTHING but we all agree that you were great (and these boards are known for brutal honesty with SOE employees) - you've earned this fond send off.

Azdaar · Feb 22, 2014

Going to miss ya man! Good Luck with the family.. its always important!

Utdaan · Feb 22, 2014

Take care Piestro. Don't you dare be a stranger!

Nordwoad · Feb 22, 2014

Piestro ! I will always remember you from way back. Thanks for all you have done for the Everquest Family.

Cazmac · Feb 23, 2014

Piestro said: ↑

“Hail fellow Norrathians.

It doesn’t seem so long ago, but I can still clearly remember a day in 1997 or so when a girl I was dating told me about this article she read in a gaming magazine about this new type of game that Sony was working on called EverQuest. My interest was piqued, I read the article, and told her I thought it sounded awesome but couldn’t imagine they could ever get something so complicated to work. Of course as the game progressed through Beta I got more and more interested, and by launch day I was rabidly consuming any information I could get my hands on.

My computer couldn’t really run EQ, but that wasn’t going to stop me. A couple months later and I had a brand new computer that would handle EQ just fine. The girlfriend eventually fell by the wayside, but I stuck with EQ and made all sorts of amazing friendships that I still carry with me to this day. Eventually I ended up working in gaming, and was drawn away from Norrath. I still had all the memories, and nostalgia for those days often had me thinking about what it would be like to come back to EQ.

Fast forward to late 2010. Having decided to leave my then current position, I was doing a quick scan of possible opportunities when a posting on EverQuest’s Facebook page caught my eye. SOE was hiring a Community Manager for EQ, and was putting out a call for qualified candidates. This wasn’t an opportunity I was going to miss, and I quickly submitted my resume. With a bit of luck and a bit of work, I somehow managed to convince the folks at SOE to give me a chance.

I packed the family up, moved them 500 miles, and settled down in sunny San Diego for the experience of a lifetime. EverQuest is the reason I decided to work in gaming; it is a game that has quite literally changed my life. I have never regretted this choice, and it has been an amazing run for me to be able to be involved with my first love in online gaming. The people on the EverQuest Team, and everyone I have worked with here at SOE, are absolutely amazing and I feel privileged to have been able to work with them. The folks here are absolutely committed to making great games, and I’m excited about both current developments and things the future will bring.

Unfortunately, no matter how great a job is, there are things in life that are more important than a career. In this case it is about family. Both my family and my wife’s family are getting on in years, and the older they get the more help and support they will need in day to day life. I’m sure many in the EQ community can understand this, and being an only child this responsibility falls primarily on me. As a result my family and I have decided to move back to the area where our families reside so that we can be close to provide the needed assistance.

I’ve been working with a number of folks here to hand off my responsibilities, as well as to apprise them of all the different things that are relevant to the EverQuest community. This isn’t a small amount of information, but I know that I’m leaving you in good hands. Ry “Roshen” Schueller will be taking over the Community role in EverQuest, and he’s got tons of experience with EQ as a player on top of his experience working in Community. I’ll let him tell you more shortly.

I’d also like to thank all of you for making this time in my life absolutely incredible. What makes EQ so amazing isn’t just the game, but the community of gamers who plays it. This goes both for my official position as Community Manager and as a regular player of the game. You are a wonderful group of people and I’ll miss you more than you all know. I’ll still be playing in game, and lurking on the forums, so you’ll still see me around. You just might not know it. I might even make it to SOE Live this year, schedule permitting. I know I’ll want to find out about all the latest developments that will have occurred in the time between!

With the warmest affection and respect,
Eric “Piestro” Cleaver”

Thank you, Piestro, for all your hard work and may I wish you and your family a kind and peaceful future.

Ishtass · Feb 23, 2014

I'll miss you around here Piestro. When we talked about Ultima I knew you'd be fun around here. Don't be a stranger.

Roshen has some big, hairy shoes to fill.

I hate to see you go, but love watching you leave /wink

Ronak · Feb 23, 2014

Best of luck, Piestro. You'll be sorely missed.

ctnecro · Feb 23, 2014

Atmit it you did not like the last patch. I joke but honestly you were the best I hope the next one atleast plays as much as you did

Drakkenheart · Feb 23, 2014

Just wanted to say it was good to see you in the chat the other morning. Here is hoping the best for you and your family while you take care of your family <toast>. May your work here be a shining example for your future employment and thank you for a job well done.

Louhi · Feb 23, 2014

Farewell Piestro. I bet you wont be leaving us for long. Life and EQ are different parts of the same equation

Haloek · Feb 24, 2014

Goodbye you will be missed

VERYupset · Feb 24, 2014

All, I can say is Ditto to all of the previous replies! Good luck, and may the Gods bless you!

Bloodmoons · Feb 24, 2014

Thank you and best wishes to both you and your family Piestro

Bloodmoons

Xianzu_Monk_Tunare · Feb 24, 2014

Thanks for tolerating us these year's; you've been great.

CrazyLarth · Feb 24, 2014

Thank you for the love of the game you have shown us.

RedJohn · Feb 24, 2014

Thank you for all your work Mr Piestro.
You will surely be missed around here.

All the best wishes for you and your family!

Velnarin · Feb 24, 2014

Dex! So mean.

Good luck in all you do in the future, Pie-man. I hope you find just as much happiness in your new location.

DirtyGurtie · Feb 24, 2014

I wish you all the best my friend, you will be missed. You always were one of, if not THE first "red name" to respond to anything on these boards, when an official response was needed, and you could clearly tell that you love this game as much as we all do. Thank you for all your hard work throughout the years, you really made this a better game.

Rembinu · Feb 24, 2014

I am so happy to have played while you were CM. Please know you have made a big difference to many people's lives. Sometimes we need the escape EQ provides and you made it better. Thank you.

Rumplestilskin · Feb 24, 2014

Be safe P, I will miss you !

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