This is an EvE-Online related blog. In case you don't know, EvE Online is the runaway hit Icelandic sci-fi Massively Multiplayer Online game. Click the link if you want to read more about it. It is, without a doubt, the most addictive game I've ever played.
So, why "Inventions of a Small Corp CEO"? Glad you asked. My main character (Adhar) has specialized in damn near every aspect of the game, but recently I've been most interested in the game play opportunities presented by "Invention". Combined with the fact that I have been a small corporation CEO for very nearly my entire experience in EvE, and there you go.
EvE has been called the most beautiful spreadsheet in the world, and to some degree, it's true. The level of detail behind even the most mundane of transactions is enough to qualify for a minor in Economics. That complexity is a major factor in what attracts me so strongly to the game. Invention is the process of manufacturing the most advanced items in the game. Prior to the release of the Invention at the end of 2006, the only way to acquire Tech 2 items (the advanced stuff) was to buy it on the market. Only the most fortunate players had access to the T2 blueprints, and the prices reflected a very clear cartel approach to pricing.
Recognizing this imbalance, CCP released a way for players to control their own destinies, by providing the tools to "invent" blueprints for the manufacture of many (most) T2 items. It is this complex and time-consuming set of skills and activities that comprise the Inventor profession.
It's been about 9 months since the release of the invention skills and tools, and the design is paying off, I think. Prices for most T2 items are reaching some level of equilibrium, indicating that the cartel pricing is being greatly affected by the many inventors. More about that later, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment