Jonny Pew: Why I choose to support the EVE Universe

Wow, give this video a watch. Whether you play Eve Online or Dust 514 or some other game Jonny Pew nails it right on the head as to why so many people play CCP games. The continuation of a game the legacy of game is what drives one as a player to be better and have a lasting affect on the outcome of his in-game actions as well as the community.

Keep it up Jonny Pew we love the videos.

PLEX: Intervention

Watching through the EVE Economy lecture at Fanfest I found it interesting that the invisible hand wasn't so invisible. So first lets take a look at what was happening and then piece together what CCP did to intervene on the PLEX market.

The Problem:
The PLEX market took a huge jump back in early fall last year. This not only concerned the player base but also CCP as you look closer at the graph you see volume started to drop. So as Dr. Eyjo, Eve's Chief Economist, was concerned and decided to take action. I would like to point out here CCP took action because volume dropped not because of the price increase. What if the volume stayed the same or rose and prices continued to rise would CCP take action then?

The Reason:
A change late in the summer to factional warfare created an increase in isk and LP. Not isk being created but isk you were able to earn.

The Fix:

EVE Central Bank may, or may not, take actions to intervene with the PLEX market if its stability is severely threatened.
- Important to note that it does not mean that there is a specific target for PLEX prices or money supply in the future

CCP by Dr. Eyjo request decided to take action. The facet from faction warfare was fixed but the markets still had problems.

The How:
CCP took 2000 PLEXs and injected it into the market. Where did these PLEXs come from? From permanently banned accounts. So in effect they didn't just create PLEXs out of thin air. Dr. Eyjo stated that CCP tries to keep a stock pile on hand just in case a situation like this occurs.

The Result:
The PLEX market stabilized and as the faction warfare fix went in to effect the price slowly dropped back down to previous levels from the summer before and volume rose back to previous levels.

Conclusion:
The market was not inflated. It was a problem with the game mechanics. Interesting turn of events if I do say so myself.

Operation: Obelisk

What do you do if you have 1.9 billion in isk laying around? You build a freighter of course. My goals for the year was to get flying in a freighter. Trading and hauling(ships especial) is hard in Eve Online without a freighter. I was board last Friday so I started running some numbers on the Obelisk.

May 17, 2013 Obelisk Pricing Points:

Market Price was 1.423 Billion

ME5 BPC Pack plus Minerals Est. 1.393 Billion
ME8 BPC and Part BPCs through contracts plus Minerals 1.373 Billion
Only catch I still need Capital Construction Skill 75,000,000 Million

So at the cheapest option plus skills 1.448 Billion. Why not, I have nothing else to do. I really wanted to get rolling with a freighter. Buying one just seemed like I was playing along with the market and I hate padding other peoples wallets.

I thought why not try and build it, I have my little Iteron 5 to haul all the minerals, I have the production skills and even though it will cost a little bit more dropping for the Capital Construction Skill its a one time sunk cost. Hey now I can build freighters all I want and if the skill change goes through during Odyssey I will be able to fly all 4 racial freighters within hours. Yeah I hope you skilled up for that one on your new indy character.

All said and done I shopped around for minerals instead of going for the market hub prices. It took a little bit longer to fly back and forth through low sec systems but I managed to drop the price another 23 million. As my first few BPCs were installed my current expense was sitting at 1.350 Billion. Now I would not only get my freighter but the Capital Construction Skill paid for itself. Not to bad if I do say so myself.

Cost Comparisons as of May 17, 2013:
My Costs: 1.425 Billion
Market Costs: 1.423 Billion

Much thanks to Eve-fail and the sweet guides and spreadsheets for capital ship construction over there.

Fanfest Cinematic Trailer 2013

At first I was disappointed by this trailer. I was hoping for some new cool things for Odyssey but no go. This trailer is an excellent way to explain this game to other people. I have showed the Origins trailer to several people who have never played the game and an ah ha moment came after watching the trailer. It simple connects this far flung universe back to earth. Well watch for yourself its Eve Online Origins Trailer.

New Odyssey Exploration features on Test Server

The new scanning features are on the test server so swing on over and try them out yourself. Jonny Pew has made a quick walk through with the new exploration features and showcases some of the new modules that are live on the Singularity test server right now.