Knug LiDi
N00bFleeT
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Posted - 2011.09.02 13:01:00 -
[1]
Posting the values of four indicies without a complete technical description of the "basket of goods" making up each index is pointless.
Our dear Dr. E has also posted in the past of having to rework the basket of goods in one or more index. I must then ask, which basket of goods are included in which index, valued how, how is the basket proportioned between the items, and for what time periods has that basket of goods remained unchanged?
Good statistical service delivery includes disclosure on the makeup of their indicies.
So long as the methodology of the establishment of the index value is applied consistently across a time sequence, we can therefore evaluate the relative value of the index in that time. However, relating that index value to absolute values of goods is not possible without the complete disclosure of the index makeup.
We show that overall inflation is down. There is a shortage of ISK being spent by players, i.e. money is going into savings and not back into overall economy. Players are earning ISK and not spending it. What EVE's statisticians should be telling us is, while the price of goods are falling, are the volumes being consumed falling as well? Is demand falling or supply increasing ? WHICH is it?
Unlike RL, CCP has access to not just market information, but complete 100% access to all inventories held anywhere in the game. If the supply is increasing, is it because inventories are being reduced, or is creation increasing? These indicies cannot tell us that, but raw data can. If demand is increasing, is it because items are being destroyed or are they moving into inventory ?
These indicies only tell us when items move in and out of the market. They do not tell us anything about the volumes of items (and isk) outside the market. In a game with virtually no storage costs, the size of out of market assets could dwarf the size of the market volumes.
The non-market information, trivially available for CCP to present (in aggregate, of course, to protect the guilty) would provide consumers and producers alike key information that is available for many important goods in RL. Why, in a completely closed model, this information is not being provided is beyond me.
I would like (delayed for a month, if necessary) the ability to request the total number of any in-game item. Not just the number on the market, but everywhere in the game at one moment in time.
This is trivial to provide.
If CCP cannot stomach releasing (or allowing access to) the simple data, then fine, create an index for the total game numbers. An index, similarly disclosed for content and weighing, for major groups of items, like minerals, t2 ships, PLEX, and ISK.
I believe that raw data access is far easier to do, from an effort point of view, but I can imagine that CCP would prefer the index
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If only we could fall into another's arms,
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