Welcome to the 26th edition of Reloading…



“A Gentleman is a man who can play the accordion, but doesn’t.” – Author Unknown



Everyone can use a feel good moment to start the day.   Let’s go with this…

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Though I don’t play EVE Online, it continues to dominate the subject line of most of the emails that I receive.    With that in mind, here is my take on the current EVE debacle.



First up, the now-retracted $99 annual fee for third-party developers was a nuisance, but really was it that big a deal?  What it does is separate the wheat from the chaff.   Serious developers will pay the $99 and develop for a year.    The less serious types will not pay and will not eat up any support or community brain-space with projects that weren’t taken seriously in the first place. 



There are many complaints that CCP should absorb the costs of supporting developers.   Some have merit, but most are just amateur devs, running in circles like schoolgirls with bats in their hair, screaming that life is unfair.  If the product you are developing is any good at all then you’ll recoup the $99.  Stop wasting everyone’s time.



The EVE community is perhaps the most vocal and antagonistic MMO community on the planet.  Good on them.  They love their game and they make sure that their voices are heard when they don’t like something.    On the other hand, many of the vocal yokels don’t really understand how CCP thinks things need to work.   A percentage of players, way at the top of the spectrum get it, but many, perhaps most, like most human beings only care about the immediate effect on their own experience.  The long-term effect is just something that somebody else worries about.   In this case, that is CCP. 



Next up, as I mentioned in a previous column, the prices on the Noble Exchange (microtransaction service) were nothing short of crazy.   Virtual shirts, skirts and the like were going at prices that were the equivalent or higher of their real world counterparts.   An internal email, leaked to the public validates my stance from above and gives players the reality check that they are dealing with a company that requires profit and not a dear old friend.

“Naturally, we have caught the attention of the world. Only a few weeks ago we revealed more information about DUST 514 and now we have done it again by committing to our core purpose as a company by redefining assumptions. After 40 hours we have already sold 52 monocles, generating more revenue than any of the other items in the store.



This we have done after months of research by a group of highly competent professionals, soliciting input and perspective from thought leaders and experts in and around our industry. We have communicated our intention here internally in very wide circles through the Virtual Economy Summit presentation at the GSM, our Fearless newsletter, sprint reviews, email lists and multiple other channels. This should not come as a surprise to anyone.



Currently we are seeing very predictable feedback on what we are doing. Having the perspective of having done this for a decade, I can tell you that this is one of the moments where we look at what our players do and less of what they say. Innovation takes time to set in and the predictable reaction is always to resist change.”

Could this have been handled better?  Without a doubt; and I’m sure CCP would agree that this was not an optimal way to conduct business.   Is EVE Online going to die and fade away?  Not a chance.   EVE Online players need to continue to voice their concerns and CCP needs to show that they are actually listening.    Crazy blog writers on sites I won’t name need to stop writing, preferably about anything and if that can’t come to fruition then they need to refrain from titles like “The Day That EVE Online Died”.   Their sensationalism is only making things worse. 



In other news, Patch 4.2 hits World of Warcraft tomorrow.  I’d written about all that I can write on that subject.  Enjoy the ride and let me know what you think once the new content hits the public servers.   A Getting Ready for Patch 4.2 guide is posted here if you need some help.   



As always, you can contact me a number of ways:

• Email
• Twitter
• Telepathy (Just make sure it’s during business hours.  I hate to be woken by this stuff)

Until we meet again,



John “Boomjack” Hoskin