Argenton Sayvers
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Posted - 2006.08.16 22:56:00 -
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Since i dont have time to write any essays right now (not that i can back it up with expertise anyway), just a short sidetrack:
What is the purpose of a economy in the first place?
The entire HAC debate shows one major problem of economical discussion in online games - the main function of an virtual economy - is it fun or "fair" distribution of goods? The designers could fix all supply issues (the amount of aviable oil depends on nature, the amount of aviable veldspar depends on the devs), so there is actually no need for "earth-style" economy at all.:
HACs are clearly superior to t1 cruisers in every single way except
1. skill requirements (time investment, but most skills are actually usefull for other ships as well)
2. cost (relevant because of risk of loss)
Because the supply is limited (thats obvious), it is the price that has to rise to a level where demand meets supply. The price of a HAC shows its desirability to the EVE community!
Proof: Muninn - around 100m, Vagabond, above 220m.
The same thing applies to officer modules and deadspace loot. Because you cannot just create more of it, the stuff that is good (or is perceived as good) sells for a lot more then the stuff that is unpopular.
For a industry like t1 (or t2 with infinite BPOs), this is not the case - increased popularity will be balanced out by increased production. The price of the typhoon before the fix was probably still higher then(or at least very similar to) the price of a armageddon (back in the damage mod era) or a dominix (in the current NOS / ECM era). This is actually NOT entirely realistic. In Real life, oil fields dont respawn. Some resources are finite, thats why the economy exists in the first place - to govern the distribution.
The situation of cov-ops cloaks is actually very simple: the module provides something totally unquie, and there is only one other item in the game that does something similar, a COSMOS cloak.
If i had a monopol, i would be selling them for 500m per piece - you dont really have much of a choice - buy it, or stay visible during warp. The price yet again reflects the nature of the item.
This is very important - the current t2 economy has a function that the t1 market does not: it prices goods based on their functionality. By doing so, it provides another dimension to ship and item balance - grind. Wether this is desirable - well you decide.
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