Maken Tosch
Planetary Response Organisation
Test Friends Please Ignore
1591
   |
Posted - 2012.11.07 14:40:00 -
[31] - Quote
Baal Roo wrote:KingBabar wrote:I
Why make it so complicated? Why can't all gear be AUR and ISK purchaseable? I want 50 Duvolle ARs, if I've been a good boy, saving much of my isk, I can simply buy them with isk, if I don't have isk I'll have to dig into my AUR reserves. Its quite simple. This will make "tayloring" my setups easier and I'll be able to field all I have unlocked with skills as long as I have AUR.
It is a bit odd to make some items ISK only, while the "AUR items" will be purchasable with AUR or ISK. I suppose it's just a byproduct of how the player market operates since you can't buy AUR with ISK, but can buy "AUR items" with ISK. Still, it does look odd on paper.
No, it's not odd at all. It makes sense in order to help avoid or mitigate a pay-to-win situation which is what CCP is trying to avoid. CCP, unlike some other companies, don't want the pay-to-win scenario in any of their products because of the stigma it brings and how it may hurt their subscriber base.
Eve Online follows a balanced PLEX system which originally was thought to be pay-to-win by those new to the concept but it later turned out to be fair and balanced. This is how PLEX functions.
For those who don't play Eve Online and don't know what I'm talking about, here is a nice explanation.
Terminology
PLEX = Pilot License Extension - Used to extend game time per account by either 30 or 90 days and can be bought and sold with ISK in the player-driven market. Those who have squirled away enough ISK (about 580million - 600million ISK/unit in Jita at the moment) will have effectively maintained their subscriptions without so much as paying a single real-world currency other than the starting cost of setting up an account. Many players hoard dozens (if not hundreds) of such commodities in their hangars for the sake of just constantly trading while only using one per month to extend their game time.
GTC = Game Time Codes - Acquired via real-world currency to add game time to Eve Online. It is first bought from any CCP-endorsed third party website with money and then the player converts the time code into PLEX after entering the number in Eve Online. The PLEX then shows up in the hangar of the player where he last logged off.
AUR = Aurum - A secondary currency that is acquired by converting PLEX into AUR via the Noble Exchange (NeX) store. The AUR is then spent buying vanity items such a shirts, pants, boots, and monocles. Currently there is no way to trade or transfer AUR from one capsuleer to another in Eve Online.
NeX Store Vanity Items = Purchasable with AUR if acquired directly from the NeX store. But the player can turn around and sell those same vanity items to other players for ISK in the open market or through the contract system just like PLEX.
The Point
The point of this is to prevent a pay-to-win scenario because it allows players who may not be rich in the real world to catch up by being rich in the Eve universe. Items in the Eve Online that are only bought with ISK (modules, ships, ammo, etc.) cannot be purchased with AUR at all because it makes no sense to pay CASH for an item that you can already acquire with just ISK that you can grind for or acquire via a GTC. However, the availability of these AUR-based items for ISK in the player-driven market affects their overall ISK price and thus affects the players' choices as to whether or not to spend ISK for PLEX or NeX items or to simply spend CASH for the same things.
For example:
If the PLEX market shows low supply and high demand, the ISK/unit price of PLEX will shoot up like a skyfire battery. ISK price would be too expensive for the average player. As a result, players can simply purchase PLEX by purchasing a GTC that is later converted to PLEX and redeemed for extra game time. At the same time, PLEX traders will take advantage of the price hike by selling what little stash of PLEX they squirled away or converted from GTCs. The market for PLEX will then be replenished due to player greed and ultimately the ISK/unit price of PLEX will drop to more manageable levels. Rinse and repeat.
Summary
This is the setup that Eve Online has going on and it has worked well so far since 2009 for CCP because it has brought them a lot of money and has helped the avoid the pay-to-win stamp. Dust 514 will also have it's own open market where players can simply trade commodities and earn massive profits through the margins which they can later use to fund their ground wars. I am curious to see how a PLEX system can work in Dust 514, but since PLEX is mainly used for extending game time to Eve Online players, it's difficult to see how that would ever work. |