C IO1011
Nanoware Labs
0
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Posted - 2014.09.27 16:31:00 -
[1] - Quote
There is a problem with ships, drones, BPOs and modules just accumulating and it needs to be addressed.
This trashing of meta modules is not a solution. The huge inventory of modules will still exist keeping prices at scrap value but the modules are nerfed to where only a player with < a year experience or some lightly trained alts would use them. T1 meta 0 modules are still useless except for invention.
Perhaps adding the year of manufacturing to each module, ship, drone, BPO and some advance components could help. If 10 years are allowed that would multiply the number of items by 10 in the market and eventually more than 10 in inventories as obsolete items accumulated. Manufacturing could only make the current year's model.
Also older items and more heavily used items require maintenance. The older and more heavily used the more maintenance. It would probably be very difficult to keep track of maintenance fees so how about items taking random damage everytime it is assembled, docked in a station, entering a force field, fitted. I prefer not to have random damage taken while using an item or traveling. It would be realistic but incredibly annoying. The frequency and severity of the random damage would increase with the age of an item.
Items >10 years old cannot be used or traded in the market (per some Concord safety regulation?). They may be scrapped, kept or sold (via contract or trade) as collectors items. Consider a small expense for maintaining obsolete items or random damage (rats or insects in the upholstery?). Keeping a vintage 1960 Corvette Stingray or a classic Mercedes Benz does have some expenses.
Ten years is just a suggestion and exceptions could be made for tournament prizes (which don't accumulate) and other specials.
I think a similar schedule could be applied to BPOs. Blueprints and manufacturing documents for a 1975 Ford Maverick may be a collectors item but have no commercial value. Even with durable goods, a 1984 Whirlpool clothes washer design has little value. Environmental compliance, new features, cost reductions, reliability, material and efficiency improvements would render it obsolete. This would eventually solve the T2 BPO problem. BPOs that take a long time to improve (capitals) should have a longer life expectancy.
The big corps and alliances are well represented on the CSM and influential. They may object to their capital fleet being scrap metal in 10 years and paying for repairs over those 10 years. They are also the most invested in keeping Eve a viable game so their input SHOULD be considered.
It gives entry level players a chance to buy a less inexpensive old beater battleship (perhaps even with older faction/deadspace modules) to play with rather than an expensive new battleship. I could see Brave Newbies, Red and Blue members being good customers of older items.
Intended consequences and limitations
1. This would take years to have any significant impact on oversupply.
A. New NPC drops could be for older items. A 2008 meta 2 TP, a 2007 220mm Vulcan AC, a 2009 Pith A Large Shield Booster
B. Items with the most oversupply could be converted randomly into 0-5 year old items during the update. May be player rage with this but you could ask them first?
C. If this were applied to all BPOs, the date of the last T2 BPO awarded is well known and could be appended to all T2 BPOs.
2. Manufacturing would go down drastically near the end of the year. No one wants to make an item that will be a year old next month.
A. Perhaps the year and month could be added to the item? This seems far too complex.
B. Let manufacturing be seasonal. Make dated items in the beginning of the year, ammo at the end.
3. Heavily used items would have to be new to avoid the random damage. Lightly used or likely to be destroyed items could be older models.
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