Dear Capsuleers, I come to you having re-written this piece twice now due to CCP, yet again, taking one step forward and then deciding to take a significant backflip backward.
Firstly, let’s give CCP some well-deserved acknowledgment for implementing some great changes. They listened and reverted changes in order to make specific ships actually feel like they are worth the price tag we are paying for them.
The Good Changes
The NPE has been expanded with a story introduction to mining, and while most bitter vets may make the face that your yearly prostate exam may produce, after having done it myself (the NPE, not the prostate exam), it is actually very well made and implemented. This is the Eve I want to be part of, something where story matters and that story is, usually, player-driven.
Secondly, Gantry EHP has been reduced considerably, as promised by CCP in a prior blog, this is a great change for additional content over POCOs. A great step forward.
Graphic changes? Yes, please! And here they are.
Compression? Absolutely! Compression is now an AOE effect that allows players to compress their own ore. Compression has no loss mechanic attached to it either! So far so good right? You are probably wondering, what is he going on about backflips for?
And finally, with the patch, battleship buffs have been implemented. Battleships are now the thic ships they deserve to be, with a reduction to the resistance nerf previously implemented, plates and extenders having a substantial buff, and bulkheads being far more effective than previously. All in all, great changes!
Let’s ignore the CRAB beacons right now since you can make more isk doing T5s and T6s in ‘relative’ safety.
Finally, the blog states
“The road to Fanfest is long and filled with excitement, so there’s, even more, to look forward to on the horizon including a blog that will discuss revisions to structure combat power and more. Be sure to check out the patch notes for full details on the above updates.The Road to Fanfest – First round of updates blog.
The gate has never been greener.
The Treachery Begins
I would like to suggest that CCP should have waited with this comment. Less than twenty-four hours after the release of this blog, CCP releases the prospector’s path. The aforementioned gargantuan backflip backward.
For years now, CCP has been edging ever closer to the monetization of ships, having gone back on their word a number of times. Lest we forget “We will not allow any skill points to be sold that are not player generated”.
Beyond this, CCP started to sell low-level ships, T1 destroyers to be exact, not something that matters all too much since there are avenues to get them in-game without building them for new players. Now, CCP has decided to sell fully fitted (minus rigs, PGL style) mining barges. This is a step too far for anyone that wishes to maintain the sanctity of Eve’s sandbox, but not only this, it shows an utter arrogance, ineptitude, or anger towards the player base. Let me explain.
The number of avenues open to CCP with regards to monetization is substantial. CCP has so much untapped potential to gain revenue from, yet they consistently ignore it. There are very few reasons for this.
- Incompetence – this is something I would hope CCP are not, but if they are unable to see these substantial options then sadly this may stick.
- Anti-player – this is something I know that some people at CCP suffer from, the idea that “this is our game and we will make it the way we want to”. As such, ideas that are lauded by the player base are often overlooked or outright ignored.
- Stubborn – Similar to the above, but with less of a hostility towards the player base.
These are the ONLY options with regards to CCP marketing and management. Let’s not forget that implementation of new systems costs money, it costs people-power and takes away from other potential avenues of content. But let’s be honest here, CCP’s recent track record of providing new areas for “content” for players has been utterly abysmal (Get it? Abys… no? I tried!).
If CCP were to implement alliance-style skins for ships, alliance skins for structures and modifications for ships (Cat-ears anyone?) the ability to increase revenues would be substantial, I dare say far greater than almost anything CCP has sold previously. The best part of this? CCP can simply balance ships to increase revenue, thus providing players additional content and cycle flavor of the month ships – and with a new ship that doesn’t have your alliances logo on it? Potential buyers of said skin for the said ship.
Instead, CCP attempt to push the line into the realm of selling ships, a very dangerous precedent to set in an economy that is meant to be entirely player-run.
In Conclusion…
CCP, please, rethink this pack. Rethink the idea of selling ships for real money. This is obviously part of the plan you have had for quite some time now, in terms of reducing the number of isk people can make, increasing the time required to gather the same amount of isk generated previously for far less time. This is not what your players want. We want a vibrant, bustling sandbox that is full of content, wars, and potential future stories for us to grapple with. Instead, we see a development company that is starting to look like it hates the game under its care.
