Barashi Nugan
Gallente
Zero Point Group
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Posted - 2011.06.25 16:06:00 -
[1]
As of yesterday, I had 7 paying accounts. That count is now 0. I'll be heading over to a friends in order to set long skills on each in the hope that, eventually, there will be reason to return. As of right now I'm unable to play due to the latest patch fubar'ing any attempt at installation.
I've been playing nearly without break since I started in 2006. I have tried several other MMO's, but none of them come close to holding a candle to what EVE offers. I've cultured great real life friendships through this game, and it has become by far one of my most enjoying hobbies. I'll likely lose some friends in the absence of EVE as we take different gaming paths and slowly drift apart. Every year I hoped that situations would permit me to go to Fanfest and hang out with a huge group of EVE players, and shake the hands of the amazing people who worked to build this fantastic world to enjoy.
Over the past several weeks, I saw a worrying cloud forming. I was slightly concerned, but there are always the crackpots claiming "The End Is Near / Eve Is Dying." I've seen it since I started, and never once did I give their claims a second thought. This is honestly the first time I am legitimately frightened that EVE might be faltering. I don't work there -- I don't know the internal pressures/requirements/obligations. Perhaps, as I've seen it postulated in another post, CCP is currently at the mercy of investors or financial troubles. Maybe there is some force unknown to the player population that is pushing CCP into this incredibly offensive and (in my eyes) off-character money grab.
Now to be honest, I've grown used to the all-to-common CCP method of "throw it at the players and we'll see how loud the backlash is" of testing new ideas. It's an infuriating way to introduce changes, but at least CCP in the past has usually been pretty good with accepting criticism from it's customers and nixing or modifying changes in relation to large amounts of negative response. Those times seem to be over. Something has fundamentally changed with my favorite game developer, and it has quite the bitter taste.
Promise that you are working on improving the current forums.
Forced new forums (Security issues, horrible layout and feel)
Promise that Incarna would be optional.
Forced Incarna (and a very buggy release, despite your claims to the contrary.)
Promise that no micro-transactions would come to EVE.
Introduce micro-transactions.
Promise that strictly vanity items would be available through MT.
Attempt to roll out Ships for MT. Dodging answering if it is still on the horizon.
Introduce new "micro-transaction" items at insane prices.
Respond to player backlash with 'Well if this were real life it would be expensive designer items.'
Introduce $99 yearly "commercial license" to tack on the third party developers which have labored tirelessly to greatly improve the playability of your game.
Partially retract some of the offending parts of the issue, but again leave it in this vague "we'll work on it" state.
And on top of all of the issues above, there has been the incredibly smug/self righteous/shut up and pay up attitude coming from CCP through DEV forum posts, CEO twitter accounts, leaked internal documents, and now this DEV blog.
You guys have always been my hero to point to in the gaming world. Whenever Blizzard/EA/Bioware/etc. would pull some stupid move and the gaming public would point and yell/laugh, I would be the one sitting smug in the corner, knowing that my favorite developer would never do something so stupid. There are mistakes of course, or simply decisions that the player base doesn't fully agree with, but there was always corrections and explanations for these, and a genuine feeling of an apology that came through. Not this time.
I say these words not with anger, but with sadness. I fully expected to be playing EVE 10+ years from now, not shaking my head and pulling the plug on a friend.
-Barashi
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