Trade
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Quarterly Economic Newsletter for EVE Online released
EVE Online is unique among MMOs in that its economy is so complex and dynamic that CCP Games hired an economist, Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, to keep track of how the market evolves. One would imagine this is no easy task, with an overall trade value of all EVE markets ranging between 2 and 2.5 trillion isk per day. Lead Economist CCP Dr. EyjoG released a Quarterly Economic Newsletter (QEN) for EVE Online today, which is 18 pages full of data which should keep EVE's market and industry-oriented players happy (and hopefully make up for the delayed QEN, which Dr. EyjoG addresses in his announcement). The Q1 2008 QEN kicks off with an editorial, and here are some brief highlights of what follows: Demographics (number of accounts, most and least populated regions) Price Level Changes (Mineral prices, Primary Producer Price Index, Secondary Producer Price Index, and Consumer Price Index) Mining ship production and losses (with the venerable "Hulk" exhumer losses accounting for a staggering 6 trillion isk in destroyed property in Q1 2008) Market Snapshots Five years of EVE Market history If you're interested in reading the Q1 2008 economic newsletter, you'll find the download link to the PDF in Dr. EyjoG's dev blog. A discussion of his findings is already underway on the EVE forums.
A brief overview of EVE Online's trade and industry
Every time a player in EVE Online loses a ship in a fiery explosion, along with its modules and cargo, they turn to the market or look through contracts to replace what they've lost and stock up for the next time. EVE Online's sandbox and the inevitable PvP conflict that results when players can do what they choose in that sandbox provides economic opportunities for some. Combat burns up ships, and players heavily into the manufacturing side of the game are happy to supply the endless demand for new equipment, be it an unassuming frigate or a massive dreadnaught. In EVE, items aren't supplied by NPCs, they're created by other players (or bought in quantity and resold at a markup by traders). Aside from certain items like skillbooks and blueprint originals, most of the items a player can possess in the game have been produced by other players. Thus, EVE's setting of New Eden has a true economy, providing a great amount of depth for those who are willing to learn its complexities.
A trader's mindset in EVE Online
In EVE Online, it's usually the harsher side of the game that gets the most attention and has the greatest allure. Piracy, large-scale alliance warfare, and in general the dark side of EVE are what most players find interesting. But still, there are many players who engage in non-violent gameplay and find it rewarding. While hardcore PvP-ers lambast them as carebears, some corporations and individuals have attained considerable wealth and influence in the game through their own form of PvP applied to finance -- market warfare. Among the player-created corporations and alliances in EVE Online that are devoted to helping newer players attain their goals in an often complex system, EVE University and Agony Unleashed are the most prominent. However, there are other corporations in the game that help their members along the way, which are more focused in their pursuits. One such corporation is Trader's Academy, corp ticker: [TRACE], formed in 2005 and devoted to helping pilots maximize profits from trading, mining, and mission running.
CCP dev blog addresses lag issues, new features
The latest EVE Online dev blog comes to use from CCP Atlas, and deals with some sweeping changes to that most problematic of systems in the game: Jita. In "A Tale of Two Cities," CCP Atlas makes an analogy between the conveniences of city life and the similar situation of pilots seeking convenience in EVE, often needing to cross through the busy system to reach a destination. CCP's solution is to decentralize Jita from routes between solar systems. In effect, limiting the non-commerce presence in the Jita system, so it can -- hopefully -- continue in its established role as a market hub in New Eden without being a detriment to the players in terms of lag. Once the changes go into effect, players will no longer need to navigate through Jita to reach their destination (namely the Ruomo constellation), nor run agent missions in Jita. That is to say, Jita, as previously announced, will be a dead zone for mission agents; mission runners given missions from agents outside of Jita will not be sent into or through Jita as part of their mission completion.
Forum post of the day: A monetary slap in the face
Every once in a while we do nice things for other players out of the goodness of our hearts. More often we do things in game in exchange for gold or other necessary services. Feevah of Shattered Hand is unhappy that he was given a two silver tip for a portal. He feels that the acronym "WTB" implies that the tip for the service will be at least enough to cover the cost of materials. Thus defining the distinction between a purchase and a gratuity, which is usually given to members of the service sector above the advertised price. Some suggested that the tip was mistyped in either the wrong coin slot or missing a digit. Others suggested that Feevah should have immediately disbanded his group so that the penny pincher could simply stare at the portal without being able to use it. Perhaps the poster was unaware of the material cost of the spell, or maybe he was just a jerk.
Poll: How much would you pay for an Amani War Bear?
We've covered the topic of an insane amount of money being paid for an Amani War Bear before, namely about 20,000g. Gold is much easier to come by now-a-days, and most people are finding it easier to amass a small fortune. This number of 20,000g for a bear mount isn't seeming all that far off.My guild is running two bear groups through Zul'Aman a few times a week, and many of us have our bear mounts now. Those that don't are going to get it quite soon. When this is done we have some different options. We can either run some of our alts and what not through and have a character in greens-galore with a bear mount, or we can sell one of the spots on our run.This selling thing has got me thinking. While our guild doesn't need any more money for repairs and such (we have plenty in the coffers), we can definitely all go to have a few thousand more gold individually. If we ran one person through on a run for 20,000g we'd each make 2,000g for doing 45 minutes of farm content. That's not too bad. %Poll-16453%
Making/Money: Virtual Red Paperclips
A few years ago now, I heard a news story about a man who traded one red paperclip for a house. There were several intermediate trades, but the basic gist of it was that he started with a paperclip and traded up from there until, eventually, he was offered a house in Saskatchewan in exchange for a movie role. I remember thinking then what an interesting concept it was (and wishing I had thought of it first). He really did not need any particular skills except maybe negotiation. He did not need any money. In the early stages, he probably didn't even need a lot of buzz. Just some connections and a dream. In more recent times, I have seen similar things done in games. Using the auction house and connections with guildies, friends, or just willing participants in the streets, it is entirely possible to trade your way to fame and fortune without ever picking up a trade or completing a quest.
The Main Man
EVE Online is a game where collective action trumps individual action. It's certainly a game that can be played solo although nowhere near as effectively as when your main's activities are supported or enabled by an alt. CCP provides 3 character slots per account, but skillpoint training can only progress on one character at a time. So where the real alt-play comes in is with dual boxing -- running two accounts at once to facilitate an activity. The main/alt duo can take a number of forms, by no means limited to the following basic examples:
Gamers on the Street: Proud of Proudmoore
This was the scene this morning on Proudmoore, as they were the first server around to open up the Heroic Badge vendor on the Isle of Quel'danas. So for this week's Gamers on the Street interviews, I decided to go there and see the sights myself. Unfortunately, just as on the PTR, it's not quite that easy to get a level one Blood Elf to the Isle -- I figured I could just fly from Silvermoon like normal, but no -- apparently I had to run all the way to Tranquilien to even get the Silvermoon flight point. So I did.Fortunately, when I got there, the flight master gave me the flight point to Silvermoon, which would then take me to the Sunwell Plateau. Unfortunately, I was completely and totally broke -- I didn't even have enough cash to fly. I sold everything I had, but it wasn't nearly enough, and instead of begging for gold, I did the next less annoying thing on the list -- I spammed the Trade channel. And I was able to find two nice residents of Proudmoore to tell me about opening up the world event content on Sunwell Plateau.
Circuit City triples return time window for HD DVD player purchases
Hot on the heels of news that Circuit City may in fact be offering up a hush-hush trade-in program for HD DVD purchasers comes official word that said retailer is tripling its standard return window in order to appease early adopters. According to company spokesman Jim Babb, it's looking to "take care of [its] customers" by lengthening the return window from 30 to 90 days for all HD DVD player purchases. When returning the unit, users are given store credit, and while we are told that HD DVD movies are omitted from the policy, we've no idea if combo players are included. We're guessing no, but then again, it's not like those purchasers have nearly as much to worry about.[Thanks, Killer]
Future Shop offers trade-in credit for HD DVD players, will donate old decks to charity
Slowly but surely, we're seeing retailer after retailer conjure up its own trade-in / exchange program to deal with the finality of the format war. Canada's Future Shop, however, has certainly put an interesting twist on things. First off, it'll accept standalone HD DVD players purchased from anywhere until April 3rd. In exchange, you'll receive $100 off the purchase of an LG or Samsung Blu-ray / HD DVD combo player, but not a standalone Blu-ray player of any kind. Unfortunately, that means your options are pretty limited, but we can certainly understand the retailer's desire to wash its hands of anything with an HD DVD logo on it. Better still, Future Shop will be donating all of the returned HD DVD players to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada "for use in their after-school and evening programs." Now if that's not a reason to trade-up, we don't know what is. [Thanks, Josh]
German retailer discounting Sony BDP-S300 for HD DVD player trade-in
We're not exactly sure what German retailer Saturn plans to do with any HD DVD players that are surrendered as folks waltz in to take advantage of its latest offer, but we suppose the refurbished section could receive a boost in inventory if nothing else. Judging by a recent flier from the store, it's offering consumers a €150 ($221) discount on Sony's BDP-S300 -- which is overpriced at €499 ($734) -- if they trade their HD DVD player in at the time of purchase. Also of note, we can't seem to find if there's any fine print about what HD DVD players are acceptable, but it is certain that this deal is only available overseas at the moment. Not a bad idea to get customers to jump ship, though.[Via Blu-ray, thanks Bhargav N.]
Someone just blew Chunks
Clean up on isle 5! That's the same kind of irreverent humor laced throughout the extraordinarily fun (and free to play) Dungeon Runners. Last night more of this same type of hilarity was let loose onto the DR world with the release of Chunk 2. "Chunk" is the term NCsoft uses for their blocks of new DR content. Veeeeeery cute.Chunk 2 drops a whole lot of stuffing and sweet potatoes onto players plates, including more bank space for paying members (a meager monthly fee of $4.95 gives players unlimited access), easier trade system, increased access to the prime loot, and balance refinements for both Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP). According to Stephen Nichols, the producer and lead programmer for Dungeon Runners, Chunk 2 opens a more content for non-members that they didn't have access to previously because of in-game advertising."Whaaaaat? In-game advertising? Before you toss your cookies, remember this is a free to play game. And while a pittance of a monthly fee will open up the world, not everyone can or wants to fork out an extra Lincoln. The in-game adverts, which are visible only to non-members on loading screens and in a banner above the game window, help fund future development of this game and keeps it free for players. Free is good.I'm a big fan of this game and gave the new content a brief whirl last night. Aside from access to new content like dungeons and more valuable bling, additional bank slots have been added. Non-members get one full page, while members get three. A new trade system has been implemented allowing players to trade stuff (except gold) through a much simpler interface. Rare item drops have been increased and stackable potions have been added for both members and non-members alike. The in-game adverts aren't a big deal, and as long as it keeps Dungeon Runners free... I can live with an ad here and there. I think you will too.
More item changes incoming
Earlier today I posted regarding a change coming to the Chaotic Skyfire Diamond in a future patch. Not long after that, I noticed a couple of other posts on the WoW forums regarding more changes to two other new items that will help make them easier to sell on the auction house.First off, Drysc let us know that one of the new ammo pouches will be changed. While its functionality will remain the same, the Knothide Quiver will no longer be tagged as a "unique" item. This will make it easier for leatherworkers to craft multiple copies of the bag for other players.Secondly, in another thread, Drysc mentioned that the new engineering-created ammo machines will be easier to sell and purchase on the auction house. Currently they are not listed under "Projectiles", unlike all the other ammunition. This was making them difficult to find for some players and will be changed in a future patch as well.
Check Mii Out (sorta) borks Mii sharing
Users who've downloaded Miis from the Check Mii Out Channel will likely run into the same bug detailed in the video embedded above -- any attempts to send a Mii out to one of your friends will be stymied by the system's insistence in listing Nintendo as the receiver. We're pretty sure that Nintendo doesn't want all those Star Wars-themed Miis you've accumulated!We tried this out ourselves, and we found that while Nintendo is listed as the recipient, your friend should still receive your Mii package. Also, exiting and reentering the Mii Channel fixes the glitch, blocking Nintendo out of the transfer. Looks like there's no need to draft any angry letters or petitions about how Nintendo is taking away your God-given right to harass your friends with Greedo Miis! Expect Nintendo to fix this minor bug up with a future firmware update. [Via Go Nintendo]
Preparing for 2.3: Pre-patch farming, part 1
Although your time to farm before the release of the patch is quickly dwindling, hopefully everyone will be able to spend some quality time over the weekend preparing for next Tuesday. It's always difficult to accurately predict what will be big sellers, especially since the economy on one server may be radically different than another. With this in mind, I've decided to simply provide a list of all the items that will be used in new trade recipes or for obtaining the new reputation rewards.
LotRO's official forums just got more efficient
You asked, they delivered; it's nice when that happens once in a while. Turbine has opened up server-specific Kinship and Trade forums for The Lord of the Rings Online on their official community site. Up to this point the general topic forums for the different servers have been filled to the brim with posts by people recruiting into or looking for kinships. Many servers attempted to clean up the clutter by sticky-ing threads dedicated to kinship recruiting, but it didn't solve the problem completely.Now you can advertise your outrageously priced Tolkien-ganja on the forums while also looking for a hobbit-only RP guild dedicated completely to farming and smoking said pipe weed. No, really, that sort of stuff actually exists in LotRO.
Get an extra $20 for trading in your PSP
Click image for full-resolution image. (Required for coupon redemption.) For those of you that have wanted to jump on the PSP-2000 bandwagon, this might be your best chance. EB Games/GameStop are offering an extra $20 of trade-in value when you give them your PSP. The deal expires 9/13, so you'd best get a move on now.[Via CAG]
European Commission issues antitrust charges against Intel
Well they've been sniffing around the chip giant for quite some time now, but the European Commission has finally issued "formal charges against Intel for allegedly using illegal tactics against smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices," and according to a spokesperson for the EC, "the statement of objections has been sent." Supposedly, the EU's top antitrust regulator "has spent years investigating Intel's tactics to determine whether it acted unfairly to preserve its dominance over AMD," and now the time has finally come for the hammer to drop. Sadly, further details about the grievances have yet to be divulged, but we doubt Intel, who declined to comment on the situation, will be brushing this off its shoulders anytime soon.
Trade in your old ports for a new port
If you're lucky enough to have a Hastings store nearby, the entertainment retailer is offering to exchange your moth-eaten copies of Super Paper Mario or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for a waggle-fied edition of Resident Evil 4. They'll also accept Rainbow Six Vegas (360) and God of War II (PS2), but not without scowling at you first.According to the rest of Hastings's weekly ad, there's a buy-1-get-2nd-for-free sale on body jewelry, so be on the look out for that deal too! Put away the other two RE4 games you've already bought for previous platforms, throw on a shirt that shows off your belly-button-ringed midriff, and check past the post break for the full flyer.
