Header Art By Major Sniper
Hello again everyone, once again I am SatedOne! I like talking to people about odd things, if you are an interesting person with a story to tell I am willing to have a without prejudice conversation and write a bias free interview. Reach out on INN if you have a story to tell!
Today I am sitting down with Fraternity.’s Arrowspeeed Bounty to talk about the totally non-controversial topic of renting in space!
S1 – Can you please tell me a bit about yourself?
Arrowspeeed – I starting playing Eve in 2014, with a couple of friends, wondering when I’d get bored just flying around space looking at pretend stars. I have not become bored yet. I am one of a minority of women who play the game, which I find fun, especially when somebody thinks I’m a guy for a while and I get to watch the double take when they realize I am not.
S1 – So what made Fraternity. a good fit for you and how long have you been with them?
Arrowspeeed – I’ve been with Fraternity for almost 5 years. The fit for me is the interest and challenge involved in working with the variety of people, game play, and meta game activities I get in FRT. From fleets of any size to solving diplomatic issues to selecting just the right outfit for each of my characters, there is never a dull moment. I am treated well and respectfully and enjoy working with Noraus and his leadership team.
S1 – So what space jobs do you hold in Fraternity.?
Arrowspeeed – I manage the rental program, am a diplomat, run a logistics group, am a CEO.
S1 – how did you pick up the role of running the rental program and does it have any tie-ins with your other roles?
Arrowspeeed – The first null bloc I joined (FCON – Fidelas Constans), I got really upset at another player and rashly quit my corp, alliance, and coalition all in one message. The next day I logged in and found to my surprise that FCON wanted me to come back. I asked for a role and they offered me a job setting up a new rental program for them. I loved that idea and so came back and set up the program. That then became a skill I had to offer to future groups I joined after FCON fell. The tie-in to my other space jobs is that a rental program tends to involve pieces of several other roles like diplo or logistics programs. This made it easier to get into some additional roles that I enjoy in Fraternity.
S1 – Would I be able to get you to explain the concept of ‘renting’ in eve to me?
Arrowspeeed – The idea of renting stems largely from the fact that there are people wanting to play in null sec but don’t like PvP. A coalition needs ISK which comes from PvE activity to finance wars and they need PvP to win wars. So the thinking goes: why not let people who love PvP do that, and, the people who love to PVE do that. The PvPers defend the PvEers. The PvEers fund the PvP. A rental program is a way to realize that idea by giving the PvE players defence in return for rent payments. A little over-simplified in practice (e.g. people are generally not exclusively one or the other) but that is the general idea.
S1 – Looking to understand the concept here, a group might pay to rent a system, do they then get everything in said system?
Arrowspeeed – I have tried various renting models and I believe the best model is one that allows as much flexibility as I can give the renters. Like any business the aim is to provide what the customers want, and they are willing to pay for at a price they consider to be good value for their money. Renters can rent the number systems they want and have exclusive rights to those systems (except for the moons), plus there are several systems that are shared among all the renters so that they all have access to things like ice mining. Moons are rented separately because systems vary so much in what moons are there, plus some don’t want moons at all. So I keep prices down for the system rental and then rent the moons separately for those who want them.
S1 – What happens when they are attacked by enemy groups?
Arrowspeeed – Fraternity provides defence for sov and structures, including jump bridges, and clearing any hostile structures.
S1 – What do you see the negatives of renting as being?
Arrowspeeed – From the perspective of the renters, of course renting would not be a good option for them if they like PvP, especially the variety of PvP that a big coalition has available. If they like being a member of a big coalition, or a leader in a big coalition, then renting can be too isolating. Some become renters with the express purpose of pausing in the more frantic or pressure-filled gameplay, to make ISK, and grow their internal dynamics and membership. When they have accomplished their goals, they are done with this chapter of their Eve live and want new adventures. If and when this happens, they do so with our blessing and encouragement.
S1 – Would it not be better for people to join the corp (or alliance) over renting?
Arrowspeeed – The choice of renting or joining a corp/allianace/coalition are both good options, depending on objectives and preferences. The idea of a sandbox game is that people can build their own path. Renting offers one of those paths.
S1 – I want to touch on some of the common criticism’s of renting next, the first one is that renting encourages larger groups to takeover and occupy space to rent it out to smaller groups so that they can get the income stream. The unspoken view on this is that these groups may have been displaced by larger groups before being offered space back.
Arrowspeeed – Ah, so I pick a fight with you, steal your stuff, then offer it back to you at a price — something like that?
S1 – Yes that’s the one. Or alternately your case to grow as a corp/alliance is to eat smaller fish to keep the isk coming in and fuel expansion.
Arrowspeeed – To review what I described above, I see renting as an offer of one particular playstyle that benefits both parties. I do not let anyone in WinterCo talk down to our renters or berate them. Renters are contributing to the coalition in the playstyle that they choose. We both appreciate and benefit from this.
You can think of renting like the real life situation of renting a hotel room. Somebody else is maintaining that space, but you get to use it for your vacation. You are perfectly happy to pay for this service as it gives you enjoyment. The hotel owners are very happy to be paid for their work maintaining the hotel. Win-win.
There can also be negative RL renting scenarios by bad guys. For example, stealing my home and then offering it back to me to rent. That is not a win-win. The issue there is not the concept or act of renting itself. The issue is bad guys stealing things and extorting people.
Eve is a war game. Lots of wars start for various reasons. I don’t think that “gaining renter space” is the default reason a war starts. In the case of Fraternity, it is relevant to note that we are not expanding our renter space. Branch, Tenal, and one constellation in Geminate was our renter space before the war and will continue to be our only renter space after the war. The only new renters that come into my program are those that come to me because they want to rent and like what we offer, or people who respond to an ad and like what we offer.
S1 – Another example is that renting can be used to stop people getting ahead, because they are always siphoning off some of their growth to another party and rent can grow proportionally or be used to keep them off resources to stifle long term growth.
Arrowspeeed – Isk-making is primarily a matter of time. If I take 2 hours to join a fleet, that is 2 hours I’m not mining, ratting, or otherwise making ISK. As a renter you have the 2 hours to make ISK while I’m forming a fleet to come and defend your space and your structures and then paying for the ships I lost in the fight. Neither of us is being forced to do anything, it is a fair and agreed-to trade.
Long term growth is not stifled any more than growth is stifled for corps within an alliance who pay taxes for the alliance infrastructure provided for them to use. Renters pay for defence and space in which they can grow as they would like. I do not see this as stifling growth, it is simply one choice of many for how to grow, as can be seen by the growth of many of our renting corps (and in one case, a renting alliance) either in size or number of systems or both.
S1 – There is an interesting unsaid part of this which is about assumed motivations, do you have a perspective on this?
Arrowspeeed – I think a lot of these things do come from assumed motivations that I would like to challenge, if you look at all actions that Fraternity. takes, verify your motivation assumptions. We like content just like everyone else.
S1 – What is your favourite part of the game? That one magic thing that keeps you coming back for more?
Arrowspeeed – Always a new challenge when I log in. I sit down at my computer and say to myself, “I’ll just figure out this one thing today and then go and do something else for a while.” Five or six or seven hours later I’m still figuring things out.
S1 – Do you have anyone that you would like to give a shout out to?
Arrowspeeed – Yes, Noraus. He gave me a chance to join his team and participate in the fun challenges that I enjoy so much. He is a very good leader, respects his people, and cares about the game.
S1 – Well that’s all folks, thank you very much to Arrowspeed Bounty, for her time. If you would like to offer feedback please send a message via the INN discord!
