tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post1569782770802764708..comments2024-02-25T23:01:07.257-05:00Comments on Target Caller: The CCP DichotomyTalvorian Dexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-67255983798775395282016-02-17T07:58:26.923-05:002016-02-17T07:58:26.923-05:00Point of order... The issue I have is the way auru...Point of order... The issue I have is the way aurum pricing compared to skill extractors. The pricing model was insulting because of that factor. I do believe the cost of extractors is high, but ultimately the impact of that limited only to potential profit.Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-50979802410213153152016-02-17T07:57:58.855-05:002016-02-17T07:57:58.855-05:00Point of order... The issue I have is the way auru...Point of order... The issue I have is the way aurum pricing compared to skill extractors. The pricing model was insulting because of that factor. I do believe the cost of extractors is high, but ultimately the impact of that limited only to potential profit.Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-80360885660970394622016-02-17T03:44:31.288-05:002016-02-17T03:44:31.288-05:00As we are making guesses, mine is that skill tradi...As we are making guesses, mine is that skill trading is a necessary step toward evolving the game toward new possibilities. In the future any game design decision leading a skill tree to a dead end can be alleviated somewhat with the possibility of trading skills, and getting rid of the dead weight. In a game that is geared toward longevity (talking decades here), this is a smart feature.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15273751173628043890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-43100871193208525212016-02-17T03:40:31.804-05:002016-02-17T03:40:31.804-05:00"I'm more worried about the pay2win peopl..."I'm more worried about the pay2win people finding new ways to make the place worse. Because they will do that over time."<br /><br />I am more worried about those plex2play people, as they are *already* making the place worse. The blue donut and lack of engagement to maintain their risk aversion so as to maximise their plex2play style is what is hurting the game.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15273751173628043890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-73879154862283531882016-02-16T20:41:51.241-05:002016-02-16T20:41:51.241-05:00You're really full of it. 300+ pages of playe...You're really full of it. 300+ pages of players vehemently rejecting the idea of sp trading and the example you bring up is the pricing which most people don't care about as they are against the whole idea in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-82114398396487278192016-02-15T20:47:17.809-05:002016-02-15T20:47:17.809-05:00Hmmm... I am not convinced.
I have only anecdot...Hmmm... I am not convinced. <br /><br />I have only anecdotal evidence, but login counts seem to be higher when I log in - why I even got traffic controlled at Jita a couple of nights in a row (moving to null, logistics). <br /><br />Where does the subscription numbers are down come from? Your own gut feel? Truly curious/interested to know because we can both be mistaken with this sparse data...<br /><br />As far as the extractor/injectors pricing is concerned... I am not sure that it is too much or too little... I do know an incursion group I am involved with recently fielded two full fleets (normally have to send lots of pings to even fill one at times). Lots of people clamouring for ISK, playing the game. That part of it I view as positive...?<br /><br />These guys have been big buyers of skills (T2 fits make a world of difference!) and are happy spenders at this price point...?Absence of Substancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15123170586817254667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-4930902555096969762016-02-15T16:49:41.141-05:002016-02-15T16:49:41.141-05:00Yes that. 100%, at least for me personally. I woul...Yes that. 100%, at least for me personally. I would spend more then just my subs if that were true. Think they are missing out on so much profit :(Nissaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00826597673247874055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-90833859310783332002016-02-15T11:25:38.972-05:002016-02-15T11:25:38.972-05:00There is a dichotomy. No Devs or Players were clam...There is a dichotomy. No Devs or Players were clamouring for Skills Trading before it was announced and yet it was given a priority. This goes higher up than marketing because on their own I doubt marketing would have the clout to get the priority this has been given.<br />CCP only has one consistent revenue stream at present. Eve Online. Valkyrie might add to it but it is in an immature market and hard to guarantee in the short term. Eve Online is a mature game but with an ageing and static demographic. CCP needs to fund new projects to be sustainable and that requires additional revenue to invest. Where is that coming from? Eve Online. It has to be milked at the same time as being improved to encourage new players and retain existing ones. That's the dichotomy. Skills Trading and the (late) implementation decisions are a symptom of that. There will be other symptoms to come I am sure.Luobote Konghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420498842183734357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-24092577742425421922016-02-15T11:13:40.542-05:002016-02-15T11:13:40.542-05:00Great article. I'd add the continuing inabilit...Great article. I'd add the continuing inability to revive the EVE store to the list of marketing failures.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01088902803812337777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-64855403759504243832016-02-15T10:45:14.647-05:002016-02-15T10:45:14.647-05:00I'm not in the "this is all pay2win!"...I'm not in the "this is all pay2win!" crowd, specifically because the things CCP is selling are cosmetic, luxury, and don't provide unique benefits to let people compete. If you could only buy geckos via aurum, for instance, I'd have a problem with that. Skill injectors are a service.<br /><br />And it's fine for CCP to make money off their game by selling additional optional "style" features. It took resources to develop, it isn't essential... that's fine.Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-62871470460181026192016-02-15T10:42:29.173-05:002016-02-15T10:42:29.173-05:00Speculation ahead... I think what happened here wa...Speculation ahead... I think what happened here was CCP executives saw an opportunity to increase the monetization in a way that didn't affect gameplay balance and offered players something they wanted. They pushed through with it, but overshot too much in the way they promoted and structured the pricing vs. aurum packages. They forgot to consider the voice of the customer here, which caused all the frustration. Adding the direct cash option for extractors helped, but by that point, they had tipped their hand by forcing people to buy extra aurum with the initial pricing structure, which was an over-reach.<br /><br />95% reasonable, but that 5% was aresnic in the soup.Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-64653396524967175962016-02-15T10:39:22.776-05:002016-02-15T10:39:22.776-05:00A fair point.A fair point.Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-79813272903283533622016-02-15T10:39:05.200-05:002016-02-15T10:39:05.200-05:00A lot of players are certainly taking advantage of...A lot of players are certainly taking advantage of it. The question is whether enough transactions were crowded out of the market (buying less than they would have at a lower price point) to overcome a lower price point. I believe they were; but that's up for debate.<br /><br />ie. if you have 10,000 transactions at $5 cost each, but could get 15,000 transactions at $4 each, you're pricing model has effectively left $10,000 on the table and satisfied potentially 5,000 fewer customers.<br /><br />The debatable part is whether the increase in volume would outweigh the loss in per-transaction cost. I think it would have, based on my own experience and the reaction to the pricing from the player base.Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-22820874542124063392016-02-15T10:34:58.852-05:002016-02-15T10:34:58.852-05:00Then again... is it waste if it draws someone else...Then again... is it waste if it draws someone else to the game?Talvorian Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01349917611382684205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-61553807281105594252016-02-15T08:57:27.908-05:002016-02-15T08:57:27.908-05:00You have paid. The development time spent on the s...You have paid. The development time spent on the ship you didn't buy has been wasted, meaning you did not get something you could have used.<br />A portion of your subscription paid into that waste.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-33249264427391446862016-02-15T08:17:42.885-05:002016-02-15T08:17:42.885-05:00Can I haz yur stuff?Can I haz yur stuff?Sarah Waldockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06207340065059670792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-28749337106928572292016-02-15T07:32:30.990-05:002016-02-15T07:32:30.990-05:00The concept of SP extraction and injection flies a...The concept of SP extraction and injection flies against all rational and constant science we were told to believe in during the decade+ this game has been around. SP, or time subbed was a sacred cow of religion in this game, whether useful to a newb or not is unrelated.<br /><br />That illusion of the basis of this games religion is gone. Couple that with Camera from hell and drastic changes to modules and ship basics and we get a lot of disenfranchised and confused players. Screw it, im going back to Rocket League now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-69083209378169914302016-02-15T05:58:42.609-05:002016-02-15T05:58:42.609-05:00Still not as bad as the new camera.Still not as bad as the new camera.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-61566644588513197072016-02-15T05:08:22.396-05:002016-02-15T05:08:22.396-05:00Very well said. CCP, please pay attention.Very well said. CCP, please pay attention.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-65706415493531619002016-02-15T04:36:57.628-05:002016-02-15T04:36:57.628-05:00While I agree with pretty much every point you mad...While I agree with pretty much every point you made, there is one thing you didn't consider:<br />Supers and Titans die since phoebe, but not because of they were used in action. Pretty much every super that died in the last year (with single exceptions of course) died because they were moving from A to B and the changes that came with Phoebe made moving extremely dangerous.<br />Look at how many kills supers and titans do and then look from which groups those kills are. It's almost exclusive Goons and PL, with some Lowsec groups also using them then and now. Most nullsec entities don't use them anymore, primarily because of their only value right now is to kill dreads (something subcaps do much more cost-efficient), and regular caps also get far less use than before.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-2475171429262736442016-02-15T04:07:54.777-05:002016-02-15T04:07:54.777-05:00That is a very good, and in my opinion true, post....That is a very good, and in my opinion true, post.Lorelei Ierendihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01551678688685976800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-3290322772063564522016-02-15T03:33:04.896-05:002016-02-15T03:33:04.896-05:003 accounts? Mate, I flew 16 accounts manually rig...3 accounts? Mate, I flew 16 accounts manually right up until a few months ago when game releases for the PS4 took over my life. People underestimate how easy it is to multibox. ISBoxer just made you slightly less efficient for less effort, and made 50+ fleets feasible.<br /><br />Considering how many extractors have been sold, their price point seems to be fine. I mean if they were priced to high, people wouldn't buy them, right?Lucas Kellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03969897349629783605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-44148940012236549752016-02-15T03:30:03.306-05:002016-02-15T03:30:03.306-05:00Fozzie is a "game designer" (and not eve...Fozzie is a "game designer" (and not even a trained one) and not a developer. <br /><br />Prizes are usually made by monetization, not marketing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-67273010945002155652016-02-15T02:54:40.132-05:002016-02-15T02:54:40.132-05:00CCP have had many opportunities to adjust to the b...CCP have had many opportunities to adjust to the backlash on their pricing over the last few years, but they don't.<br /><br />That suggests enough people are paying the exorbitant prices - leaving marketing and the accountants to think their decisions were fine.<br /><br />I personally think these items are too expensive, that CCP lose goodwill with many in their player base, and that if priced better they would make more profit through volume than they do now. EveHermithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03048453707080173438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159840807393856856.post-75618469482730598602016-02-15T02:24:10.467-05:002016-02-15T02:24:10.467-05:00Neither extractors, nor skins or clothing is manda...Neither extractors, nor skins or clothing is mandatory or even significantly beneficial to remain competitive. I don't care if they charge $10000 for a frig skin as I'll never buy a single one. If you want to play space barbie instead of spaceship competition, they SHOULD rip you since you'll leave anyway.Gevlonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072766785893313616noreply@blogger.com