A Quick Note On Input Broadcasting

Internet spaceships are serious business.  So are pixelated elves and orcs.  Perhaps that's why I spend so much time writing about the business side of the MMORPG genre of games.  Well, the dark underside of the business, anyway.

The latest kerfluffle in EVE Online concerns CCP's efforts to curtail the black market economy and the effects on those who don't engage in activities associated with the secondary RMT markets.  CCP decided to clarify the meaning of part of the EULA, specifically the part that covers botting, macroing, hacking, and other types of conduct CCP does not want to see in its game, Section 6, paragraph A, subsection 3:

"You may not use your own or any third-party software, macros or other stored rapid keystrokes or other patterns of play that facilitate acquisition of items, currency, objects, character attributes, rank or status at an accelerated rate when compared with ordinary Game play. You may not rewrite or modify the user interface or otherwise manipulate data in any way to acquire items, currency, objects, character attributes or beneficial actions not actually acquired or achieved in the Game."

Some players don't like the fact that CCP finds some of their current activity harmful to the game.  Basically, they believe that CCP should balance EVE around the software and hardware they use to play the game.  Personally, I'd like to see CCP work towards making the game itself very unfriendly to bots.  But EVE was published in 2003 and development began at the end of the 20th century.  Such a transformation will take years.  But I see CCP making the effort.  The CREST APIs and the upcoming removal of the file cache are positive steps in that direction.  Death to all market bots.

At this point, I don't think that anyone can really argue that input broadcasting is good for EVE Online.  Dirk MacGirk's devastating performance on the PraiseBob PodCast answering the best arguments that ShadowandLight and host Angrod Losshelin could muster for two hours I believe ended that debate forever.  All that's required now is the mopping up portion of explaining in detail why CCP is clarifying the EULA.

Hopefully I'll have a post or two coming out soon on the subject.  Writing on the subject is hard as I really need to organize my thoughts and stop chasing squirrels.  Trying to get everything stated correctly is pretty important and one of the reasons I try to stick to using the written word.  Besides, if anyone wants to hear the arguments I'd make, just turn into EVE Radio and listen to either Dirk MacGirk or DJ Wiggles.  They both have the arguments down and, given the braces and rubber bands currently in my mouth, are a lot easier to understand as well.