Klivve Cussler
S.e.V.e.N.
General Tso's Alliance
235
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Posted - 2014.04.11 19:01:00 -
[1] - Quote
They're obviously thinking of them as two games on two servers. I've been trying to get more low risk conntections (like fixing Local Chat) between the games for six months now with no luck.
The problem with industry and cross-game economics is that there are in fact three economies, or at least the potential for three. Right now only one of them is "real".
Eve Only: This is the existing economy of New Eden.
Dust Only: This is the current method of buying equipment in Dust. It is simple and static, but it exists.
Eve-Dust/Dust-Eve: This is the potential for Dust players to make/mine something of use to Eve Pilots, and for Eve Pilots to make/mine something of use to Dust players. This currently exists on the back of virtual napkins in a hundred threads in this forum and exists only in very limited, out of game, contexts (such as the Dust-Eve Isk transfer services offered on the General Discussion channel)
The Eve economy is complex and healthy. Enough Said
The Dust economy is handicapped by no item trade. With that, we can build an economy with our own tools. It will be full of theft and graft and scams and fraud, without a real trade mechanic, but it could at least grow.
Eve-Dust/Dust-Eve is the clincher. That's what makes it "One Universe" And it begs the most simple of economic questions: What do they have that we want? And What do we have that they want? At the moment, the answer to both questions is "Nothing" That's the first thing that needs to be addressed. We'll need to be able to produce something they want. Whether it's ownership of a district, research capabilities, terrestrial minerals, or whatever, without that, there will be no trade.
In addition, the Eve economy is a geographic economy. Value is added to an item by moving it from where it is created to where it is needed. Eve is all about movement: The players are pilots. The challenge to becoming relevant to that economy is that Dust Players are immobile. We do not have ships. According to Local Chat, we never leave our MQ. If we say that our goods/services are created at our districts, then there are possibilities: Eve pilots can come to us.
In orbit around every planet is a Customs House. It is used by Eve Players to pickup and drop off minerals mined in their planet-side facilities. If we can sell our goods there, we can at least get our goods to market. Eve players will add value to our products and they will profit as well. We can engage in trade without mobility, if we are manufacturers of some valuable good or service.
Is there a good or service that Eve can provide Dust? It is imperative that Eve not hold Dust Hostage, nor vice versa, so whatever it is must be a "Value-added" rather than an essential service. So, Dust players must be able to get the same or similar product without an Eve Player. Maybe Eve players could provide clone transport at a lower death-rate, or move SI structures into place at less cost than building them from scratch. I'm sure there's something that they could do for Dust that would profit both sides.
Any economy must start small and simple, but it must also contain risk and instability. I'm cautiously hopeful that the gameplay is good enough that we start looking hard at the eve-dust metagame. Until that's in place, we're not playing in the same sandbox.
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