“Golden Ammo” has its definition (a boost for cash and only obtainable via cash, not obtainable by normal gameplay).
Yours is a philosophical question (I like that angle)
Does a Lamborghini make a good driver ?
Does a gun make the owner a sharpshooter ?
Does money make smart ?
“They” may think so. That’s why “we” have so much fun, when we come across them. The “we”, that’s some of the more adept eve players, and of course the guys and dolls from marketing.
The whole point about any “golden ammo” discussion is not to level the playfield for all players (it was never level, given the sp deals and the multiboxing), but about how much “inequality” is acceptable to keep the game playable for most people (omegas, of course). At least, that’s my take on it.
Gold Ammo does not change a single thing for the better in this regard. Quite the opposite, it widens the inequality gap because more knowledgeable players have an even greater advantage over gullible noobs, who think that sinking thousands into a game for advantage ammo is a good thing.
The problem with gold ammo is not about inequality or level playing fields. It’s about advantages that you can only purchase for cash and that have no relation to ingame mechanics to get items. It’s about cash grabs of the developers against the players.
It is not because you don’t get anything that anyone else couldn’t get within the game as well. All you get is a lot of SP. Everybody can get that, either by time or buying injectors. You also don’t get the knowledge needed to use the bought character properly, at least if you are a new char and think that a lot of SP is equal to a lot of advantage. As an older player, you skip the time to train up a char yourself, but someone else had to do it for you in the past and thus you still don’t gain anything that someone else couldn’t gain.
I’m sorry if it wasn’t 100% clear. Let me rephrase as “how much “inequality” on top of normal, natural differences (skill, time invested, intelligence, etc) is acceptable”.
And that’s the “golden ammo” discussion in its essence: how much cash grabbing is still okay before any sane person doesn’t see and feel the ripoff and the game is indeed reduced to a whaling expedition, where only cash, not skill/time/intelligence/etc gets someone the advantage. The need of ccp to make revenue vs. the overall feeling of “fairness” (I know, very vague term with lots of coping), that’s the twilight zone of “golden ammo”.
On the good side, and fortunate for most of us, EvE is a game where losses are real, and any cash advantages would be felt far sharper than in most other games. So, we tend to be on our toes 110% of the time, if not more
So we try to stimulate ccp to develop their business without “golden ammo”, but focus instead on “cosmetics” (unless these are golden monocles cough), which don’t allow to “shoot better” but “enjoy more”. Of course, sometimes the water looks very deep between marketing and design departments…
They could just change the game mechanics so every PvP engagement is decided by a coin flip, fifty percent chance of win or less, fair and even for everyone!
Isn’t that already a late stage “gold ammo”-adoption discussion?
As long as there are not items in the cash shop that give exclusive bonuses you can’t acquire in the game, the consensus of what is considered “gold ammo” of the player community of that game is probably pretty strong. Sure there are some who already prep the copium canisters, we have seen such defensive comments already in this thread regarding the implants.
Once the developer starts to add this things the coping and nuanced discussion starts as everyone searches for excuses to justify what just happened and that it isn’t such a bad thing. It will probably be the exact same process we saw with pay2win, where the definition of the majority is ever changing so it doesn’t fit the current reality of the game.
I’m absolutely sure, if you would go back two decades and ask the EVE community what pay2win means (given the term already existed back then) I’m pretty sure they would all have a very clear picture of what that is.
I think that few years ago it was said that selling raw SPs is a big nono. Now CCP is doing it and nobody even bats an eye and some are even defending it.
Yeah, based on the weather it’s either an important catch up mechanic absolutely required for new players to compete with 20 year veterans, or it doesn’t matter that SP is sold because it has no impact on the game.
In other words if I may, one could… including the OP… be happy and coexist in a P2W environment…
It’s just that funny feeling, that they took absolute zero care for something called SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT! and it’s relevance when it’s balanced.
I look at it like this. I mean, of course, I can swipe my credit card and benefit. No doubt about it. I can pay some Highsec miner to build me Catalysts, and they will literally grind for me like they are in a third world sweatshop. No doubt.
However, let’s consider the analogy of NASCAR. I can swipe my credit card, hire a better pit crew, and build a better faster car. Does that make NASCAR pay to win? I don’t think so. I think it’s mostly a matter of definition, and I think it’s important to recognize that there is a concept of “pay to win” which exceeds anything in EvE Online. What if a NASCAR driver could pay, not merely for a better car, but for bonus time and a closer finish line for themselves. What if they could pay for modifications which are normally illegal, unless they pay an extra fee? What if they could swipe a credit card, and for the right price they win automatically, without racing? That’s what pay to win means.
I really see no issue with a game which merely offers benefit for money. You can call that pay to win, I call it a subscription. I just don’t see the problem with an Omega character having an advantage over an Alpha. Of course, I don’t think CCP should be selling gold ammo, but they really aren’t. It’s not like I can swipe my card and buy a Catalyst Gank Issue with Super Nullvoid Megablasters. It’s just not a thing.
So sure, someone can swipe their card and undock in an ORE strip miner Hulk. I don’t really think that gives them any advantage, and frankly I hope they do.
Lets pretend for minute that win means lose and that eve is indeed pay to win.
What alternatives would you suggest to CCP for the following issues?
People have put skill points in something they no longer want or use and would like to reallocate them.
People know players want skill points so want to be able to extract theirs and sell them to make money in game.
People want to buy skill points but they don’t want to fund players that run skill farms or dislike the extractor/injector system.
People have a lot of time to play computer games grind in game content for in game currency and don’t have much money in real life but want to sub for the full game.
People don’t have much time to play computer games but have lots of disposable income and want to buy in game money.
