It All Hinges on DUST 514

Again, at EVE Vegas, CCP Soundwave repeated his new mantra with respect to EVE Online's future.

He acknowledged the rough few months CCP has had this summer and that they have to grow up as a company. He compared CCP to Radiohead, in the sense that both groups have evolved and not everybody can stay on board with the changes. EVE isn’t the game from 2003 anymore, and the game we’ll see five years from now will be different still.
-- CCP Soundwave as paraphrased by Ecliptic Rift

Again, this smells suspiciously like microtransactions that go beyond the scope of vanity-only.

The gaming industry has been moving towards microtransactional gameplay for the last few years. Baby steps. First it was vanity only. Then convenience for real money was sold (things like bigger backpacks, more character slots, etc.) Finally, a few games are now experimenting successfully with play-to-win items being sold. It's no real surprise that CCP would want in on some of this action.

The problem, though, is that CCP's current demographic is at least a decade older than the average console and STEAM subscriber (where most microtransactional gameplay exists.) Thus, there is a very strong resistance to such a model (beyond vanity-only) being introduced into EVE Online. And to do so, might take the company down.

CCP wants a robust microtransactional system. They also want to minimise the risk of losing a majority of their playerbase. CCP needs to attract a younger audience. An audience familiar with the model. An audience not quite so resistant to the idea that some items are better than others, and those better items need to be purchased with real money.

This is where DUST 514 comes in. It has all the ingredients to attract that coveted younger demographic. It's a console game. It's a first-person shooter. It is an MMO.

If DUST 514 is a success, and if it can attract a good proportion of those new and younger players into EVE Online, then this will be the impetus for change. This will give CCP the license to go full-on Radiohead. Exchange older, resistant players for younger, accepting players.

A good part of me hopes DUST 514 fails abysmally. That CCP goes back to doing what it does best. Internet Spaceships. That they can be content at being that small, but well-respected, company. That they can be content earning a good living, but not an extravagant living.

Being bigger does not mean being better.

Tidbits from EVE Vegas

• This August should see some more captain's quarters.
• Hopefully by Winter Expansion we'll see Establishments.
• The Dust 514 beta will be starting around December 2011.
• CCP would like to give all station services to players -- relegate fewer and fewer services to NPCs over time.
• New nebulae are coming. Space backgrounds that are region specific.
• Capital and Super-Capital changes are coming in the Winter Expansion.
• There should be tweaks to logistics ships by winter.
• As well as the anticipated speed nerf to Dramiels.
• Gallente weapons will be looked at in first half of 2012.
• Most of EVE development in 2012 will be focused on a complete revamp of low security space.
• New forums on the way.

You can catch the liveblog at Google Docs.

Experimenting with the E-Uni WSOP

How long has the University been implementing their current Wartime Standard Operating Procedures (WSOP)? At least since February 2010, according to the history on the WSOP Wiki page. Since at least 2007 in some modified form via the forums.

I have been giving the WSOP some thought, in terms of educational value for students. Especially in the area of what it means to be conducting normal activities while under a war declaration, and with respect to how most other corporations act while under a war declaration (which is to say that most corporations don't have many, if any, restrictions while under a wardec).

EVE University has the most restrictive WSOP of any corporation in EVE Online (not an all-inclusive survey, but based on much hearsay). It is specifically designed to protect the University from war declarations. It does not make the University a juicy target for wardeccers. If an alliance or corporation wants to wardec the University, they do it by University rules. Little in the way of easy targets are offered to the deccing corporation. They want to fight the Uni, they pretty much are going to face the UniBlob™ and only the UniBlob™. Not an enjoyable experience for corporations looking for some easy ganks. These are all very valid reasons for the WSOP, since wars disrupt normal University operations.

(Now, I'm not advocating the removal of the WSOP, nor complaining that it is far too restrictive. It does its job, and it does its job well. But from time to time, perhaps experimenting with our WSOP is in order, if only for some additional educational value.)

There are only two options for a student when a war declaration happens. One, to leave the University for the duration of the war. And two, to sit docked for the war, getting outside station in the many fleets that occur (there are few instances where getting into a ship and flying about are allowed, other than in fleets.) Whereas the WSOP protects the University as an organization, does it really help the individual student?

When a student leaves the University (and 90% of them eventually do), how prepared will they be for operating in a corporation with far more lax wartime operating procedures? What will they know of operating safely while war targets are out and about? My guess is that they won't be particularly well-prepared to handle their normal routine while an enemy is out there somewhere, looking to pop them. They likely won't be making good use of local chat and d-scan. Won't have effective watchlists. Won't know much of anything about locator agents. Won't seek help from friends for missions, mining and hauling (e.g., perhaps asking for a willing scout to help on a haul). They likely won't be as attentive as a player who is familiar with operating under a wardec.

Perhaps a couple or few times per year, it might be valuable for the University to drop the WSOP altogether for some wardecs. Run classes and tutorials on how to play safe under a wardec. Teach players how to make good use of the local channel, build effective watchlists, use locator agents, effective use of d-scan, fighting mission rats while aligned, effective cross-PvP/PvE-fits, etc. This is all stuff that is taught in specific classes or as segments of other classes, but perhaps one all-inclusive class specific to playing under a wardec would be invaluable to the new player. Basically, a few times per year, drop the WSOP, allow Uni members to do whatever they want while the enemy is out there somewhere, hunting them. Allow students to learn from experience. Let them lose ships in stupid ways. Let them evade hunters. Let them stalk. Let them be prey.

Will dropping our WSOP (from time to time) result in increased wardecs from corporations looking for easy ganks? Maybe. But I doubt it would be a substantial increase, if any increase at all. Besides, the WSOP wouldn't be dropped randomly. A determination would be made by the directorship and the Ivy League Navy (ILN) admiralty on a per wardec basis. Keep the WSOP for wardecs from corps that are only looking for easy ganks (e.g., The God Squad). Drop the WSOP against skilled and classy corps looking for actual fights (e.g., Icefire Warriors). Why the latter? Because skilled corps that bring a fight offer better educational value with respect to learning how to operate under a wardec.

An idea at any rate. Do I believe this is something the University higher-ups would consider? Maybe. The University is a big bureaucracy, though, and any change like this would take months before it would see any type of implementation. I do think that dropping the WSOP occasionally does have good value in preparing students for the larger wider universe out there.

Carbon UI - When Does the Consistency Happen?

I take it CCP redesigned their UI framework so that it would be easier to add in consistency across the board. To add in new features, relatively painlessly.

One area of consistency I'd like to see applied as soon as possible would be in the area of shortcut keys. Specifically the ASDQWE keys (which are the shortcuts for aligning, warping too, docking, approaching, etc.)

These keys work wonderfully with the Overview. They should work in any other window where an applicable object (i.e., row) is selected.

A selected row in the Overview is simply a link to an object. When a shortcut key is pressed, an event is fired, and passed off to the window that currently has focus, and then the window examines the currently selected object. If the selected object supports the shortcut key's functionality, then the command is processed.

This same functionality should work in all windows. If I have an object selected in my bookmarks window, then the shortcut keys should function the same. If the object supports being warped to, then the S key should activate that warp. I shouldn't have to go through the right-click context menu rigmarole in some windows, but not others.

This seems to me why CCP spent time and money redesigning their old UI to the new Carbon UI. To create this sort of consistency in the user-interface. Yet, since they rolled out Carbon UI, we've seen nothing new added to create further richness in the UI experience.

So, CCP, when are we going to start seeing the power of the new UI applied to create a better game experience?

Wardecs - A Possible Solution

Whereas I voted to fix wardecs in the latest round of CSM prioritization, I didn't really agree with any of the solutions put forward by the CSM. The solutions seemed overly complicated to implement, and possibly exploitable (especially the victory conditions solution.)

I am a proponent of implementing quick and simple solutions. My solution is to price wardecs based on the the membership difference between the corporations/alliances, and then to increase those costs every week by the initial cost. Further, after the first week, the wardecced corp can stop the war by bribing Concord with a matching offer (whatever it would cost the wardeccing corp to continue the war.)

The algorithm to calculate the cost to wardec a corporation/alliance is as follows:

cuberoot(Larger Membership / Smaller Membership) * 60M ISK

Examples:

cuberoot(2000 / 1) * 60M ISK = 756M ISK
cuberoot(2000 / 3) * 60M ISK = 524M ISK
cuberoot(100 / 10) * 60M ISK = 129M ISK
cuberoot(40 / 25) * 60M ISK = 70M ISK
cuberoot(50 / 50) * 60M ISK = 60M ISK

These costs are doubled in week two for the war to continue, tripled in week three for the war to continue, etc.

In week two, if the wardecced corporation/alliance matches the doubled cost, then the war ends. Effectively a bribe to Concord.

These costs do not change if a corporation/alliance is already at war, eliminating the need for decshields.

Thoughts?

I Voted

So, I guess one of the jobs of the CSM is to prioritize the issues the playerbase feels most important, and to present that list to CCP in the hopes that they too will prioritize those issues. CCP is under no obligation to do so, but it is in their best interests to at least make an effort at fixing problems the playerbase feels are most important to them. It is about the goodwill.

I have no idea how this effort has gone with previous CSMs and CCP -- whether prioritized issues were fixed, or if they still sit on the backburner.

Nonetheless, I took the time to vote at the July 2011 Prioritization Crowdsourcing -- Vote Here! thread. And I took the time to read over more than half the issues of concern (I read all the numbered issue titles, then dug deeper into the interesting topics.)

I decided that the important 10 issues, out of the 172 issues listed, were the following:

8. Assault Frigates 4th Bonus
34. Docking Games Fix
59. In-Game Account Expiration Countdown
93. Remove pause for JC and implants
94. Rename jumpclones
123. T3 Refitting inside Wspace
134. UI import/UI hotkeys
141. User Interface - Big Wins, Fan Favorites and Low Hanging Fruit
143. War-dec mechanics
172. Wild 0.0

It's Been 51 Days Since Your Last Workplace Injury

I need to learn how to read EVE Survival properly. Walked away from the computer, because I thought I was on the last spawn, with only three rats left. Came back a couple minutes later, with a delicious sandwich, to see myself in structure, and ten or so rats banging on me. Unaligned, and not enough time to do so, I was 'sploded.

My first PvE ship loss in 51 days.

Sixty million, my second Myrmidon, and taught that mission a lesson. (Okay, I didn't.)

The (Not-) Every Fortnight Update

So, a post to describe what I've been up to. Just hit four million skillpoints the other day. And yesterday, just did my first level three mission. Probably could have been doing them a couple weeks ago, but had other things to do, like skill for covert ops frigates, move ships and supplies out to the border of Great Wildlands, and wait for a three-week University war to end.

Yep, only four million skillpoints. A couple people seem to think Poetic is an alt of some hidden main, and that I've been playing the game far longer than my birthdate of April 28, 2011. I've been told I seem to have good knowledge of the game, from general mechanics to nullsec politics. Far more than my four million skillpoints would suggest. That I tend to speak with some authority on the subjects. My only defense? I read, I learn, I retain knowledge. The politics in this game are endlessly interesting.

Considering the levels of paranoia in EVE Online, there's little point arguing otherwise. Everyone is a potential spy. Not really sure the end-game in spying on the University, but people will think what they want to think.

What a difference, though, in ISK return between level three and level two missions. In three missions, netted close to 20 million ISK, including the mission rewards, the time bonus rewards, the bounties, and the loot and salvage. Shouldn't be too many missions before I can recoup my Somer Blink and EOH Poker losses.

I'm finally weaned off Somer Blink. Haven't played in five days. Still have 40 million in my EOH Poker account, so will let that run-down to zero (unless I get lucky and actually win.) I, as well, have 10 million invested in Phaser Inc. Financial Services as an experiment. They paid my first week of interest, only 19 more weeks until I double my investment. Yeah, it's probably a ponzi scheme, but I figure I got in early enough to make a return, on the backs of those that invest after me. That is the EVE way, earn ISK on the backs of others.

An incursion popped up in the constellation right next to my planetary interaction system. Decided to bookmark the systems leading out the pipe back to highsec. Never done this before. But, man, the beacons act as excellent bookmarks. Not bookmarks unto themselves (because every capsuleer and his dog will have them bookmarked,) but for mid-warp safes between them, and then safes between those mid-warps. The majority of the incursion beacons lie outside the orbit of the outermost planet in each system. Now to hope that an incursion pops up in Great Wildlands sometime soon. Hopefully along the B-VIP9 to M-MD3B pipe.

For those smart cookies out there, you've probably narrowed down the location of the system in which I base my small operation. If you want to stalk me, try to kill me, more fun for all of us.

So, after my few level three missions, I jumpcloned out to lowsec to deal with my planetary interaction. Making about 12 million every three days. Not a huge income, but it's passive, and it's something. After dealing with setting up new programs, and hauling P2s back to station, hopped in my stealth bomber and headed into Great Wildlands.

Still have not fired a single bomb yet. So my goal was to find some people to shoot at. Doubt I'd be popping any ships, but to annoy some people, that would be fun too. In M-MD3B came across a group of twelve people sitting outside the Trust Partners Warehouse. Unfortunately they were all +5 to the University, so was unable to have some fun with them. Though, to decloak, bomb, and warp, that would have been a nice tasty surprise.

Eventually found a bunch of The Unthinkables outside a gate on my way back out of Great Wildlands, but by the time I got into position for a bombing run, they all jumped through. They were sitting there for a good four minutes. Oh, if my stealth bomber had only been a little faster.

That is what I've been up to lately. Nothing terribly exciting, I confess.

Why you so risk averse, bro?

So many people I deal with on a daily basis seem to think that even stepping into lowsec means instant death. Of the couple hundred forays I've made into lowsec, to setup my planetary interactions (P.I.), to haul it out, people seem to not believe me when I say I've only ever lost two haulers.

One hauler, an Iteron Mark I, was lost at a gate camp, before I was doing P.I., before I really knew that cloak-warping in a Mark I was impossible (I was still learning.) My second hauler was lost much later in one of my P.I. systems at a customs office. Popped by a cloaked Loki, sitting and waiting for its prey.

I'm not using a blockade runner, or any such fancy piece of industrial ship type. Nope. Just a regular Iteron Mark III. Only ever had one popped, at the aforementioned customs office. Never been caught at a gate camp or at an undock. Hell, my P.I. was in a system that was home to a pirate corporation, their POS and all. Never talked to them, never arranged any sort of free passage. Just did my stuff and was careful.

I enjoy risk. That's why I play EVE. If I didn't enjoy risk, I could go play Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, or some Korean MMO. But enjoying risk doesn't mean being stupid about it. I set my bookmarks, my gate observation points, my safe undocks. I d-scan like crazy. I keep a tight eye on local chat. I have my cloaking device. Nothing, though, is a certainty. I can do all I can to limit risk, but the risk is still there. Just because I limit it, does not mean I cannot get popped. Maybe I've been a tad lucky so far, having been shot at and killed only a couple times. Maybe it has to do with the effort I take to limit risk. Probably equal parts both. But having the risk there is what makes the game exciting.

So, now I'm out playing around in nullsec. Great Wildlands to be exact. Have some P.I. set up in a nearby lowsec system. Pretty much a new base of operations for my forays into the Wildlands. Have my Helios and Nemesis parked there for recon and tying-to-blow-shit-up action. Haulers for the P.I. Spare Command Centers. And a jumpclone. Pop back and forth every few days, have some fun. Might even set-up some P.I. in Great Wildlands in a couple weeks, after I get done with the groundwork. I set far more bookmarks in nullsec than I do lowsec. Main reason for that are bubbles. You just don't need as many observation points in lowsec when warp disruption bubbles are of no concern.

Anyone that's interested in playing around in lowsec or NPC nullsec, I encourage them completely, and admonish anyone who instantly poo-poos the idea. I give them what advice has worked for me so far, and tell them the best way to experience it is to do it. You'll probably lose some ships, but no big deal. EVE is about losing ships (as well as blowing them up.)

EVE is a game about managing risk, and experiencing risk. I see little point playing this game full-time in highsec. Some people avoid risk at all costs, and that's fine, New Eden needs more tritanium and rat salvage, but don't convince people that's the best way to play the game.

---

For lowskill people, like me (only a tad over 4 million skillpoints), here is the hauler build that works apples for me in lowsec.

[Iteron Mark III, Cloak Warp]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Expanded Cargohold II

10MN MicroWarpdrive I
[empty med slot]
[empty med slot]

Improved Cloaking Device II
[empty high slot]

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I

Why are POS fuel prices crashing? Will they recover?

I do planetary interaction and sell on the markets, that is the extent of my experiences with POS fuels, enriched uranium to be specific. But it is my understanding that all POS fuels have seen rapid price declines over the last weeks.

Up until the current decline, prices had remained reasonably stable for most of the year, seeing only a very slight decline over the November 2010 to May 2011 period. Then Northern Coalition fell.

I cannot say for certainty, but my theory on why POS fuels are seeing rapid price declines has to do with the defeat of the Northern Coalition by Russian forces in the Tribute, Vale of the Silent and Geminate regions of nullsec. This defeat occurred approximately six weeks ago, about the same time that prices started to decrease.

I can only imagine that Northern Coalition maintained a large number of POSes in their region of sovereignty. With their defeat, that was suddenly a large number of POSes destroyed and abandoned. Thus the need for fuel suddenly decreased, while the supply remained constant. Prices began dropping.

Now the Russians control those three nullsec regions, but they've probably yet to establish enough POSes to replace those that were lost. As they bring more stations online, the demand for fuel will increase.

I suppose the question is, do the Russians hit the highsec markets for their supplies, or do they rely on themselves, internally, for everything they need? If the former, then prices will eventually rise to previous levels. If the latter, then prices will eventually level out, but at a price point far below what they were previous to the Northern Coalition defeat.

So, at the moment, deciding if I should stockpile my enriched uranium and wait for prices to rise again, guessing that the Russians partake in the markets as often and regularly as everyone else. Or if I should dump it all now and hope for the best possible price, since they are likely to continue to fall further, that the Russians rely upon themselves for their supply needs.


Edit: Another potential reason prices are crashing is because more people are doing planetary interaction. Possible. A little coincidental, what with the prices crashing at the same time as Northern Coalition. Plus, not quite as fun speculation-wise. If more people are doing P.I., then please get bored of it and stop. You're affecting my bottom-line.

EVE University: One Student's Opinion

EVE University. Certainly glad I found them. My time in game, as a newbie, would have been a lot more difficult without them. EVE University saves many new players from frustrations that lead to giving up. Would I have given up had I not found EVE University? Maybe. Maybe not. What I do know is that E-Uni eased my transition into the game, made the learning process a lot less frustrating.

The Pros

There is so much to absorb in EVE Online, and you have to do it so quickly, that it can be extremely overwhelming. EVE University helped to lower the signal-to-noise ratio, gave me some direction, such that I was no longer frantically trying to train every skill I possibly could, not really knowing what each of them did. Armour tanking? Shield tanking? Passive? Active? What?

Sure, you can learn all this stuff on your own, pouring over every possible website and wiki you can find. But doing that, it is difficult to find focus for your character and its training. It's like flailing around in the dark. EVE University offers some illumination.

The classes the Uni offers are excellent, taught by knowledgeable, well-spoken individuals. The UniWiki is generally a far better resource than CCP's Evelopedia. Also worth mentioning, the bunches and bunches of helpful volunteers and members, both on the Mumble server and on the in-game channels. The mentor program, where one member takes a newbie under his wing and teaches him what he wants to be taught in a practical manner.

The University blobby fleets (our Ivy League Navy), of which several occur daily, run by patient and understanding fleet commanders. Patient and understanding being key, because it would be crappy learning with someone yelling in your ear and telling you that you suck. Telling people that they suck is most definitely not the Uni method of teaching and nurturing the new EVE player. It's all about being gentle with the membership, but not overprotective (not entirely, more on that later) and motherly.

Should I mention the free skillbook program? The ship replacement program (for those lost during fleets)?

Of the classes, they are mostly run by in-corporation members, but we also have excellent guest lecturers from time to time. The Mittani hosted a lecture once on the importance of intelligence. Was a great listen. A successful Hulk-ganking pirate ran a lesson on how not to get your Hulk ganked, offering tips and fits to steer those nasty pirates onto other easier targets. There was a nullsec sovereignty class on the Singularity server. We even had Ian Chisholm (of Clear Skies fame) come in for a 2 hour question and answer session a week ago. EVE University attracts these guests because EVE University has a very high level of respect among the general EVE Online population.

EVE University provides a valuable service for the game. Anyone that is invested in EVE Online wants to see it grow, wants to see new blood entering the game. And they know that EVE University helps in that regard, especially with the aforementioned player retention rates. A high percentage of EVE University members go on from their trial accounts to become full-fledged subscribers. I've no stats to back it up, but I would guess that player retention is far lower among new players who do not find an organization like EVE University to help them through the first few difficult weeks of the game, where everything seems a confusing morass of numbers, formulas and potential training paths.

The Neutral

For players coming from games that have far less structure in their guilds (and that is most games), the sheer number of rules that Unistas must adhere too can seem a tad daunting, perhaps even unnecessary.

But the rules that EVE University implements have rhyme and reason. Not only are they there to protect Uni members, but more importantly, they are there to protect the mission statement of the University, to provide an environment for learning. The rules are also there to protect our neutrality. We pride ourselves on that.

Our wartime SOP rules are extremely restrictive, but it's to ensure that the University is not a viable war target. Groups looking for easy ganks and killmails don't find them with the University. There are no easy targets. We don't fly alone, we don't do industry, we don't haul during wartime. There's no one to catch on their lonesome. During war, all the prospective ganker/newbie hunter has to look forward to is the UniBlob™. The majority of wars against us, the initiators find themselves on the short end of the killmail stick. That's not something they expect, and they don't come back for seconds.

The Cons

My one small complaint with the Uni is that some of the more dedicated, long-time members of the Uni (the dedicated carebears, as I call them) will go out of their way to place a living fear of lowsec into new members. Hell, it's lowsec. Sure, dangerous, but nothing that can't be navigated successfully with some care.

I recall a few weeks back, some new member found himself in lowsec and was asking how to get out. At that moment, a couple of Unistas stepped up to take charge of the situation. A private Mumble channel was created, forces rallied, and an operation started. The new dude was two jumps out of highsec, yet he was told to stay where he was, and five or six unistas mobilized to get him safely back into highsec territory. The entire operation took about an hour. Complete overkill. The dude could have got out on his own in about five minutes, and even if he did happen to run into a nasty, he would have lost a cheap frigate and learned a lesson. Now the poor guy has this uncalled for idea that lowsec is a place you never want to be. It could be months (or never) before he ventures there again. Hell, most of the dedicated carebears never touch lowsec, if they can help it. And because they don't, they tend to infect (knowingly and unknowingly) their prejudices onto others. That one aspect of the Uni annoys me to no end.

Oh well, it is a minor complaint for all the good the University does in every other area of the game.

Summing It All Up

I can recommend EVE University to any new player. Wholeheartedly. They do an excellent job of teaching you the game. And in three or four months, you're ready to move on elsewhere and experience far more of the game. Ex-members range far and wide across New Eden, whether in large nullsec alliances, lowsec pirate corps, wormhole space, or into any of the industries. There are ex-Unistas everywhere.

My only advice, if someone tries to put the living fear of lowsec into you, take it with a grain of salt.

Visit EVE University.

The Late-2012/Early-2013 Revisit

Dust 514 is, no doubt, going to offer pay-to-win microtransactions. After Fearless, I don't think anyone would argue that to not be the case. As well, pay-to-win microtransactions are becoming quite lucrative on the console.

If Dust 514 turns out to be popular, and the microtransactions start rolling the coin into CCP coffers, then there'll be investor pressure to apply the same to EVE Online.

Which means, are we going to revisit this mess in 18 or so months?

First, obviously, we'll have to see the plan that was agreed upon today by CSM 6 and CCP.

Nex Store

It seems obvious to me that CCP is not going to be content selling vanity-only items. The monetary potential in them are limited. Other platforms have proven this. So how to define where CCP goes with the Nex Store without destroying the game?

What would satisfy both parties, the players and CCP, when it comes to selling items on the Nex Store?

In my opinion, it would be Blueprint Copies (BPCs). And BPCs only.

Why?

Well, for one, BPCs don't break the economy. The economy and the market in EVE are sacrosanct. It is what makes EVE work. BPCs still require minerals and time on the part of the player. This is a win for the player, as the game remains pretty much unaffected by Aurum payments for stuff.

Selling BPCs allows CCP to sell non-vanity. And it allows them to do so in a relatively non-intrusive way.

Let's say CCP wants to offer a gold-skinned Raven. The Gold Raven. Sell a BPCx1 for $5, or a BPCx5 for $20. The Gold Raven requires all the same materials to create as a regular Raven.

Some might argue,"But this is just a vanity item." Well, yes and no. The skin is vanity, but the item itself actually has use within the game. It's an internet spaceship, used for blowing stuff up. And it can be used to sell, earning ISK for the player. A Gold Raven goes beyond something that is pure vanity

If CCP wants to create a Gold Machariel, same idea, except here the BPC would require an actual Machariel in exchange.

I'd also prefer to see clothing as BPCs, that use materials to create. (Of course, this would require the creation of new materials, but there are already NPC items on the market. It would create an actual market for them, and would act as an ISK sink to some small degree.) The walking-in-stations vanity market will increase once more station content is opened up in Incarna, establishments especially.

So what BPCs would the Nex Store sell? Well, any BPO that is NPC seeded (so basically T1 items) could be sold as a BPC from the Nex Store. As well, any items available only through Loyalty Points. And of course, vanity-only items, such as clothing and monocles.

This seems like the route to go for now, to test the waters. CCP is going to walk this road no matter, so might as well give them a roadmap that protects the game as much as possible.

I've no doubt CCP will see Aurum flowing with these ideas alone. The demand to sell +1 items may not even exist, if players can get their hands on re-skinned, but equivalent, items with Aurum. Get their spaceships and/or the ability to earn ISK from them, while not affecting the market itself.

If CCP feels a need to sell +1 items down the road, they can, within reason. As long as these new Aurum ships require materials to create them. And their stats are only on the order of a percentage point better. I don't think there'll be huge cries of anger (some, of course) for items that are only marginally better. Although, every effort should be made to avoid going down this road. It is certainly a potential slippery slope.


Edit #1: Clarified further. Some disagreement on what is vanity and what it not. Also clarified what the BPCs would require after purchase.

Edit #2: What BPCs would the Nex Store sell?

Obligatory

The obligatory first post, to get the blog rolling.

What do I hope to accomplish here?

1. A place to vent my thoughts.
2. Discuss EVE Online.
3. Discuss my experiences in-game.

My intention is to keep it 100% EVE Online oriented.

P.S. Need to work on a custom template.