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EVE Evolved: Should CCP interfere in the sandbox?
When it comes to player outrage, EVE Online seems to make the headlines more than any other MMO. The game has endured several high-profile scandals in its 10-year history, from the T20 developer corruption incident in 2007 to 2011's famous Monoclegate scandal. As EVE is a true sandbox game with a focus on PvP and player competition, developers have historically limited their direct influence on the universe. The importance of limiting interference became abundantly clear during the T20 incident when it was discovered that a developer had given tech 2 blueprints and preferential treatment to the Band of Brothers alliance. This interference in the sandbox had a profound and lasting impact on EVE's political endgame and undermined the legitimate accomplishments of other alliances. Some of the same issues that were raised in the wake of that scandal have now resurfaced amidst controversy over CCP's community team and its involvement with third-party fansites. Gambling website SOMER Blink was selected to host a huge giveaway event with rare prizes provided by CCP, and the contest organisers were then given rare battleships worth billions of ISK to keep as thank-you presents. In this week's EVE Evolved, I run down the details of the latest EVE Online controversy and ask whether CCP should directly interfere in the sandbox at all.
EVE player run lottery offers some of game's rarest ships
One of the things we really like about EVE Online is how the sandbox encourages all manner of player-run services and ventures. Sure, some of them can be risky, but others have been quite successful. A few of these projects are starting to become a mainstay of the game and some players have really made a name for themselves by establishing such ventures. A good example of this is EVE Online player T'Amber who is known for running lotteries. Big lotteries. The current (and fourth) "Ships of EVE" lottery that T'Amber is running is no exception and has tons of prizes, including some very rare ships in the game. Ticket prices are reasonable at 10 million ISK each, particularly in light of what can be won. 1st place is a whopping 228 ship collector's fleet, featuring one of virtually every Tech I, Tech II, and Tech III ship across the game's four races, along with their faction variants (including the pirate faction ships). The collective value of this prize fleet is many billions of ISK. Just as appealing to some players as winning first prize in this lottery is coming in second -- and getting a "Mimir". Blueprints for these rare cruisers were only given to members of Pandemic Legion for winning EVE Alliance Tournament VII this past September. Indeed, the "VII" is emblazoned on the ship's hull, commemorating the tournament victory. There are very few Mimirs in the game and Ships of EVE 4 might be the only chance most players will have of obtaining one.
