Relativism. It already begun. “There is nothing wrong with “golden ammo” because we already have SP trading, and it is P2W already (or as some claim P2A advance)”. “Mutaplasmids based on RNG is nothing new, almost all mechanics in EvE are based on some sort of RNG”. PA is the masters of milking. Wanna bigger bag? Pay, Wanna faster horse? Pay? Wanna be better than others in pvp? Pay and if you do, you’ll be truly better otherwise nobody would pay a dime.
I’ll take your bet, 2 years tops, and this game will something very different. I presume EvE will go true F2P with paying option for everything (which would be not bad option imo).
Next title release, like NOVA for example, will be an example where PA want take us.
F2P models almost always allow for you to generate/access through grinding/ingame currency what you otherwise could buy from P2W/P2A store.
So the “choice”, is either spend an hour grinding ingame, or spend an hour working IRL job and buying with cash.
See what I mean?
As others have pointed out, this is already the case in EVE, as you can work and buy PLEX for cash, sell it for isk, and buy whatever you want/need ingame with that.
To be really cynical, this is ideal for EVE with an aging/older playerbase than many other games. Most players here have jobs /income/expendable cash and can afford to pay cash, AND have less time to grind due to IRL requirements on time, such as family and career.
I seriously don’t care what people project because oft that. The only thing I’m intetested in is the actual changes. I’m with this game for 11 years and that means I will give CCP the benefit of the doubt.
If they ■■■■ it up I will be the first to voice my opinion and I hope many will do this as well. Maybe this whole thing even primed people to jump even faster on new BS they may perceive as P2W than in the past.
If ■■■■ hits the fan just remember that we managed to punsh them back into the right direction in the past, we may be able to do it again.
And if not… It’s just a game and if EVE dies there will be others to replace it.
Once you make it not fun to play to progress, which apparently is what they did in BDO, and the larger irl wallet wins, then the purpose of playing evaporates.
You can never be better in any aspect than the richest person playing.
So there’s no point playing and you might as well stay in work than play a game at home.
At least you can have someone claim you are being fairly rewarded for your effort there.
Which is particularly problematic with EVE as “grinding ingame” puts you into space, where you can get engaged and destroyed by other users, while “buying with cash” does not put you into space to achieve a thing and thus removes you from space and thus removes interaction potential.
While that is possible, someone still had to build a ship or module first, which means there was still some interaction. As soon as full ships with fittings are available for RL cash, it starts to seriously erode core principles or EVE. We already have a precedent for that with the Alpha Injectors, which are a pure cash-to-create item.
Funny how no one ever moaned that trading characters for ISK was P2W. Yet all of a sudden there ain’t enough tissues in the world to whipe the tears of all the babies who cry over some SP trading. As if there’s much difference between the two.
Skill injectors you buy with PLEX only work on Alpha characters.
Skill injectors you buy with ISK have diminishing returns since the higher your SP, the less you add with a skill injector up to the point where you might as well not bother with them anymore.
Secondly, your amount of skillpoints only dictate what ships you can fly, but you’re not using all your skill poitns all of the time. Provided both are flying frigates, a 100mil SP and a 20mil SP character may well be on a level playing field since the since only a section of the 100mil SP charaters skills will be relevant to the ship he/she is flying and the modules fitted.
Thirdly, the 100mil SP character can well be such an idiot that he/she has fail-fitted their ship making then easy to kill by a character with far less skill points.
As for SP trading being P2A, the only thing I can respond to that is “so what…?” How many ships, modules and associated skills has CCP added to the game over the years? For those of us who have been playing Eve for a long time, it’s been relatively easy to keep up with all those additions at least to a certain extend. But for new players entering the game, with the amount of skills to train, it can take them quite some time before they end up feeling that they are actually able to fly something worth wile. So what’s soo wrong with givving them a little boost at the start of their Eve career?
As if the lack of randomness in abysmal sites or exploration loot drops would make for interesting gameplay? Want a steady ISK income with no randomness? Please point some lasers at a rock and mine.
Oh wait a sec…! Ore and miniral prices fluctuate as well do they? Next you;re going to try and make us believe that a player driven economy is also RNG.
It is a really big incentive to change game to meet PA’s financial goals. But of course when these goals are unachievable in current shape of a game/games.
The incentive/pressure is huge.
Its all hands on deck and balls to the wall for CCP to get this bonus.
Paradoxically, staff at CCP will probably be working harder than ever before now to ensure they get this payoff.
This is no longer about just game development, its about very serious cash.
It is obvious that you are a proactive competitive type and you have some odd expectations from the game. Your main problem is that you think all other people like you and have the same wishes and expectations. Surprise, not all people like you and do not want all the same things, therefore the basic premise of your post is wrong.
Even today in EVE, right now, you dont have to grind for anything if you instead buy PLEX from CCP, sell it for isk, and buy what you need off the market.
Whether you grind or pay cash, is up to you, and is a real choice.
It is not. Right now someone has to grind so that you can buy stuff on the market for RL cash. If that need for ingame grinding was to be removed because the PAS offers ships and fitting for RL cash, the choice would then be a farce.
