Training To Fly A Stratios

I admit I'm a bit strange. When I mined in low sec, I did so in a Procurer and with neutrals in system. I fly in fleets hunting down war targets armed only with festival launchers and ECM.  I like the hacking mini-game. So when I say I want to train to fly a Stratios, I'm referring to what skills to inject into the queue.

I'm not saying that I am not lacking skills. Currently I'm training for tech 2 heavy and sentry drones. As more proof I'm a strange EVE player, I've never used sentry drones. Never. I've always flown either shield-tanked Minmatar or shield-tanked ORE ships. While Procurers rely on drones, the drone bandwidth pretty much limits the ship to using light drones.

Now, see my problem? The Stratios is an armor-tanked drone boat that ideally uses lasers. I, on the other hand, have always flown shield-tanked, Minmatar ships fitting either projectile weapons or missiles. Drones were something I used to handle NPC frigates and cruisers while I concentrated my main weapons on bigger ships. I may have the skills to fly a Stratios effectively against NPCs, but I don't have the experience I'd really like when flying such an expensive ship.

So, if I want to spend a few days getting used to armor tanking in a cruiser, what should I use? I came up with three possibilities: Vexor, Omen, or Arbitrator.

The Vexor seems like a good ship to learn how to use drones. The drone bandwidth is a bit smaller than the Stratios', but like the Sisters cruiser has 4 turrent hardpoints. Both ships also have 10% per level drone bonuses. One other factor in favor of using the Vexor is that the SoE ships share the same armor resist profiles as Gallente ships. I could probably learn a lot about using different types of drones, but I also want to learn about cap use.

The Omen, on the other hand, looks like a nice, sturdy ship. Capable of fitting 5 turret slots, the Amarr cruiser lacks the drone bonuses of the Vexor. But, I would learn armor tanking in a laser ship, something I possibly did running an Amarr character through the old tutorial. Maybe. I probably need to practice that.

The most intriguing possibility is the Arbitrator. Yes, I know, the ship is an electronics warfare cruiser, but that never stopped me from running low sec sites in a Bellicose.  The ship receives the same drone bonuses as the Stratios, but with 2 less turrets. The Arbitrator doesn't receive armor bonuses like the Sisters cruiser, but doesn't have that huge Gallente explosive armor resistance hole either. One big disadvantage that the Arbitrator has is that its drone bandwidth is half that of the Stratios.

What to choose? The Vexor seems like the strongest choice, especially if I decide to take a hit to my cargo capacity and fit autocannons or artillery to the Stratios instead of lasers. That seems to cut against the design of the ship as a self-sufficient long rage exploration ship, however. The other choice is the Arbitrator. The Arbitrator may seem sub-optimal, but if I can handle running level 2 missions and sites in an Arbitrator, I shouldn't have a problem flying a Stratios, right?

A Sleepy Patch Day

Yesterday CCP released the Mosaic patch for EVE Online. As is usually the case, I didn't really have an eventful time as I spent my time playing in the desolate reaches of Great Wildlands. But I do have to say I noticed some of the features.

The first thing I did after downloading the patch, as regular readers may have guessed, is put two-factor authentication on all my accounts. For me, after my experience both Wildstar and Guild Wars 2, sticking Google Authenticator onto the accounts is a no-brainer. In Wildstar, Carbine didn't institute two-factor authentication until the actual launch date, not at the beginning of early access. When I discovered that 2FA was an option, I just played that day and planned to download and use Google Authenticator the next day. Big mistake, because before I could log on again, my account was hacked.

In GW2, I used email as a second layer of protection for my account. But the last time I tried to log into that game to take a quick screenshot, I discovered botters/RMTers had hacked my account and my account was banned. Oh well, wasn't playing that game anyway, so I didn't even bother to try to retrieve my account. Just another example of how the illicit RMT trade costs game publishers customers and possibly money, because I'm pretty sure I would have purchased the expansion. Now? Why bother?

I'll just add one more thing about Google Authenticator. Make sure you print out the backup codes. Especially for those going to EVE Vegas and may wind up going to a pool party. The instructions are pretty clear on how to move the app from one phone to the next, but if your phone decides to go swimming, the backup codes will come in handy.

Once I logged in, I received a pleasant surprise. Aura said hello. However, Aura is a bloodthirsty AI and wanted me to start shooting things. Even if I wanted to hunt down some Circadian Seekers for some of that material needed to produce Entosis links, I was exploring in a Cheetah. No guns. So I closed the window and Aura went away. As I probed and hacked sites, I would receive notifications that I had completed certain opportunities. But no voice notification from Aura. Was she sulking?¹

A last look around a completed relic site

One thing I didn't try was probing with the new map. Quite frankly, I didn't even think to do so. When probing, I just pressed the button that brings up the map. I logged back in later to see if I was using the old or new map for probing and now have the new map stuck in the probing window. While my corpmates are reporting issues when a site shows up as split signatures and are moving back to the old map, I probably should use the new map a few times just to see what the issues are for myself. That is, if the issues weren't fixed with the updates I noticed load when I fired up the client after downtime.

Hey, I don't fly Gallente

I probably should add something about the new ship skins, named, approximately enough, Super Kerr-Induced Nanocoatings (SKIN). I have a bunch of giveaway ships that I never bothered to redeem. Looks like I don't have to worry, as they appear to have transformed into the appropriate SKINs.

Overall, a pretty uneventful night. But uneventful is okay. Sometimes I just want to spend some time scanning and play the hacking mini-game. I'm getting pretty good at the game too, not losing any cans and failing a hacking attempt only once. So, let's call Mosaic a tentative win as we look forward to the big release featuring the null sec sovereignty capture revamp in June.


NOTES

1. I don't actually expect CCP to put voice notifications for opportunities into the game. Voice acting is expensive.

Not The Target Audience

Today, Mosaic launched and with it came Super Kerr-Induced Nanocoatings. I know a lot of people are chomping at the bit to purchase SKINs for their ships, but I'm not one of them.  A surprising admission to make given that I normally fly with the camera zoomed in on my ship. But why wouldn't I want paint my ship something new?

Well, I looked at the list in the latest dev blog and nothing shouted out to me, "You must buy this NOW!" CCP is starting out by offering SKINs for tech 1 ships, with the exceptions of new SKINs for Skiffs and Hulks to go along with the existing skin for the Mackinaw. If I buy a SKIN, I want to buy one for a ship I fly a lot. Those, unfortunately, are the Cheetah, Prowler, Hound, Prospect, and Procurer. None of those currently have SKINs available in the cash shop.

Notice a trend among the ships I fly? They almost all fit covert ops cloaks. And when I'm uncloaked, I'm usually too busy doing other things, like playing the hacking mini-game, to pay attention to how nice my ship looks. I do admit, however, that if I ever do get around to getting a Stratios, the Stratios Sanctuary Issue SKIN would look amazing.

Just because I wouldn't purchase anything from the current selection doesn't mean I think that SKINs and the cash shop are horrible and need to die in a fire. I may not like the current selection, but that doesn't mean I won't like some of the tech 2 selections in the future. A Quafe Prowler would look pretty awesome.

Part of the reason for having a cash shop is to pull in money over time, not as a single one time influx of cash. Even without the prospect of player-designed corporation and alliance SKINs, the art department has a lot of material to play with. With the new release cadence, players can probably expect to see a few more SKINs added every five weeks or so. Even though I may only buy a few if I buy any at all, I'm still look forward to seeing all the new look ships as I travel around EVE.

Is EVE Twitch Streamers And Illicit RMT A Thing?

Apparently, the next controversy-to-be in EVE Online is Twitch streamers conducting real money trading. What?! Since watching illicit RMT activity in EVE is a staple of the blog, I thought I'd take a quick look at the subject.

First, what is real money trading? I define the term as the exchange of the exchange of virtual goods, including in-game currency, and services for real world currency. My definition is all-inclusive, which is why I'll often use the terms "secondary RMT market" or "illicit RMT" when referring to real money trading that violates the rules of a game publisher. Most people who use the acronym without such qualifiers are referring to illicit RMT.

Next, does making real life money from streaming EVE Online on Twitch violate any prohibitions on conducting RMT? The answer is no. CCP's "Monetization Of Videos Policy" page states:

"We are pleased to formally announce that YES, you are welcome to upload your game-related videos so long as the videos are freely available to everyone (i.e., there is no charge, subscription, or 'premium access' fee required to view them). Additionally, you may monetize your videos by way of YouTube’s 'partner program', Google’s Adsense program, or any similar advertising revenue sharing model, provided the third-party advertisements do not interfere with a viewer’s access to the video. You may not, however, use any EVE or DUST 514 videos to advertise products you are selling unless you are an authorized CCP distributor (and even then, you may only sell authorized CCP products)."

As Twitch's subscription feature qualifies as a "similar advertising revenue sharing model" to YouTube's, it qualifies.  But, if I read the Twitch policy correctly, Twitch is a little more restrictive as to who can monetize their content than YouTube. The standards for Twitch partners to qualify to put the subscription button on their channel are:

• 500+ average concurrent viewers (sustained viewership, not a one-time peak)
• 5 million non-promotional viewer minutes per month
• Regular schedule of at least 3 broadcasts per week on average
• Content that closely follows our Terms of Service and DMCA Guidelines -- community standing is of paramount importance to our Partnership Team when conducting candidate evaluations

Okay, so an incentive exists for a form of RMT to occur. A streamer who charges $4.99/month can earn nearly $5000/month or $60,000/year with 1000 subscriptions. A streamer can conduct givaways in order to attract enough viewers to meet the Twitch guidelines and qualify to become a Twitch partner. While a direct quid pro quo (i.e. giving out 200 million ISK for each subscription) clearly violates the EVE Online EULA, what about subscriber-only drawings?

Since the EVE community doesn't have that many Twitch streamers who are Twitch partners, let's look at TMC. None of TMC's streaming content on either Twitch or YouTube is behind a paywall, so they clearly follow CCP's stated video monetization policy. The only time they come close to the edge is when they give out in-game items (i.e. ships) in subscriber-only giveaways. But even then, non-subscribers are not shut out of winning ships as, at least on the Meta show, they also have giveaways that do not require paying money to TMC during the same stream.

I am not going to pretend I know all of the ins-and-outs of CCP's policy concerning Twitch streaming. Considering that the policy page directs streamers to contact CCP's legal department directly with questions suggests that a lot of policies exist that the general public do not know about. However, I will suggest that people streaming EVE on Twitch is good for CCP. Why? Because that's free advertising for the game.

During the uproar about Nintendo's partner program at the beginning of 2015, YouTuber boogie2988 explained the benefits that content creators such as Twitch streamers and YouTubers bring to game publishers.


One of the reasons that I endorsed Chance Ravinne's candidacy for CSM 10 was that I was unsure of CCP's policy concerning YouTube and Twitch and wanted someone with some experience in that field available to provide input into any policies CCP may put into place over the coming year. However, I do not endorse CCP paying YouTubers to play their games.

So, I do not think that players are using Twitch as a medium to conduct illicit RMT. Since, to my knowledge, the closest any have come is giving away in-game items in contests or drawings, Twitch streamers are possibly engaged in using virtual goods and currency to create real life money through means other than direct trading. But, at least in the case of EVE, CCP doesn't seem to have a problem with that, which removes the tag "illicit RMT" from that activity.

The Weekly Scope Video Turns Into A Live Event

So once again CCP published a new The Scope news video today. This time, they threw in a twist. A live broadcast, ending with the Drifters attacking the station seeking to stop an autopsy on a captured Drifter.


The Drifters lost multiple (4-5?) battleships while only killing 10 capsuleer ships (1 Malediction, 1 Claw, 2 Crusaders, 2 Imperial Slicers, 1 Cormorant, 1 Thrasher, 1 Atron, and 2 Veletors).

The CONCORD Bureau and the Yulai Graveyard

Despite some initial reports indicating that the Drifters had heavily damaged a station, the only visible damage to any infrastructure remains the still unrepaired CONCORD Bureau station.

Stories appearing in the videos new scroll included:

• CFC declares loyalty to Maximilian Singularity VI and renames coalition to "The Imperium" while setting sights on Providence.
• Propel Dynamics confirm three Rhea-class jump freighters missing after Angel Cartel attacks resupply convoy on route to Thera.
• Emperor Family and Theology Council refuse to comment on Imperium declaration of Empress Jamyl I as false heir to imperial throne.
• Debate into reclassification of Drifter DED threat level reaches Inner Circle Chamber in Yulai.
• Absolute Defiance declares war on Goonswarm Federation.

Just a couple of comments about the stories. Glad to see CFC's, er, I mean, The Imperium's foray into roleplaying is recognized in a video. Also, that the silence from Empress Jamyl is intentional and not because CCP is ignoring the storyline. However, don't lump the Absolute Defiance wardec into the roleplay category (unless I missed something). They didn't seem that type of alliance when we reached out and hugged them a few weeks ago.

The story of Propel Dynamics losing three jump freighters to the Angel Cartel could go a couple of ways. Is it a simple theft of the super kerr-induced nanocoating (SKIN) technology and the Angel Cartel will begin selling the technology in the very near future? Or does the theft have something to do with The Sanctuary? After all, Propel Dynamics is one of the corporations that helped build the Astero-, Stratios-, and Nestor-class Sisters of EVE ships.

Finally, after watching the video, does anyone doubt that the Inner Circle will soon up the DED threat level for the Drifters?

Correction: The original version of this post stated that the Drifters managed to severely damage the CONCORD Bureau station. This is incorrect. The station was originally damaged in an attack by the Thukker Elders in YC110.

The WoW Token And EVE Online's New Players

I've written a few posts about the WoW Token, Blizzard's version of PLEX. But why should people who play EVE care about what happens in World of Warcraft? One obvious reason is new players. Ever since the influx following the release of the This is EVE trailer, players have worked to welcome new players into EVE. As events over the past few months have shown, many think "weaponized newbros" could play a huge part in the new sovereignty capture mechanics coming to null sec in June.

But what does the ability of WoW players to purchase game time with in-game gold have to do with new players in EVE and possibly null sec warfare? This:

Accounts banned for buying illicit ISK on the black market

A high percentage of accounts banned for purchasing ISK are new accounts up to 3 months old. Many of these players come from other games where purchasing in-game currency, while not condoned, doesn't come with the penalties such offenses carry in EVE. Worse, some players figure out that they can purchase PLEX to sell for ISK, but then go to shady websites instead of going to their EVE account management page or to an authorized PLEX reseller to purchase their PLEX.

Yes, Team Security is aware they have an awareness problem which is why the final portion of the security presentation at Fanfest focused on awareness. But I'm not sure how effective an awareness campaign will work for new players. Gamers are kind of famous for not reading things, which is why CCP is moving away from the walls of text in the new opportunity system they are designing to introduce new players to New Eden.

That's why World of Warcraft moving to a PLEX-style system is so important. Although the majority of WoW players are just WoW players and not MMORPG fans, WoW is still the biggest western MMORPG on the market today. Once the WoW Token circulates in WoW for a few months, then players who then choose to try EVE will have a greater grasp on the concept. Even better, because the mechanics surrounding the use of the WoW Token are more restrictive than around PLEX, those new players' first instincts will lead them to the account management page to purchase PLEX from CCP and not to go searching out some shady website offering a steep discount.

In effect, the WoW Token will help in new player awareness of the option of buying ISK through the use of PLEX. Sure, in an indirect way, but then again, EVE has always had a reliance on the butterfly effect.

The WoW Token Two Weeks Later

Two weeks ago Blizzard introduced the WoW Token for sale on World of Warcraft's North American realms. A lot of people were surprised at the initial price point of $20 or 30,000 gold. I don't understand why, as the figure fell into line with the price that gold sellers were charging. But what about now? How has the WoW Token market price for gold fared against the prices charged by the sellers of WoW gold?

First, the WoW Token, after a brief climb to 31,218 gold on the first day, settled into a range between 20,000 and 24,500 gold starting on 10 April. That range put the Blizzard-approved price of WoW gold between $24.50-$30.00 USD for 30,000 gold.

When I've discussed CCP's approach in its War on Illicit RMT, I've described the price of PLEX as part of the "top down" element of its strategy to make illicit ISK and PLEX sales as unprofitable as possible. With the introduction of the WoW Token, gold sellers now have to compete directly with Blizzard when selling gold. Worse, from the gold sellers' point of view, they have to offer a substantial discount due to the possiblity of Blizzard catching buyers and taking action against them, such as seizing all of the purchased gold. I call the difference between the official price and the price gold sellers offer the "hazard discount".

WoW gold prices on Earthen Ring (Horde)

So what is the hazard discount needed to entice WoW players to buy illicit gold? In an effort to determine that figure, I surveyed 12 websites that sell WoW gold that I found either through Google Ads or listed on Google. I know that each website is actively competing for gold sales, as each has posted at least 4 price changes over the past two weeks. The graph above displays the lowest, median, and highest prices for 30,000 pieces of WoW gold found on the twelve websites. As a point of comparison, I also graphed the lowest daily sell price for WoW gold purchased using WoW Tokens, converting the U.S. dollar value to the amount required to buy 30,000 gold in order to make the comparison clear.

After looking at two weeks' worth of data, I still can't determine the answer. The price of illicit ISK has fallen the last 12 days. The only price pressure that the WoW Token has put on the gold sellers is existing. But that's enough, because the gold sellers are still attempting to find the sweet spot. Or are they? I get the sense that the gold sellers are losing a considerable amount of business to Blizzard. But are the gold sellers still competing with Blizzard, or are they competing with each other over winning market share of a reduced clientele?

One thing enabling illicit gold prices to continue to decline is that the gold farmers/botters have not decreased their activity. In a thread on the Honorbuddy forums, one gold farmer was complaining that prices offered by wholesalers had declined to $0.12-$0.14 / 1000 gold. From what I gather, that is an extremely low price. The prices are getting low enough that some farmers are getting frustrated.

A disgruntled gold farmer

So far, the WoW gold selling sites have benefitted from a compliant farming/botting community. Even so, the gold sellers will eventually hit the limit to what gold farmers/botters are willing to accept. I believe at that point we will see the price finally stabilize. At that point Blizzard can then ratchet up the pressure on the botters and farmers and convince them that the small amount they are earning isn't worth the hassle and see a lot of them leave the field.

At this point, Blizzard appears well-positioned to knock a lot of RMTers out of the business. But even then, that is only a first step. With less competition, those remaining can sort matters out and create a new price and supply equilibrium.  Remember, the WoW Token, just like PLEX, is not a quick fix to the problem of illicit RMT. But with enough time, Blizzard can hurt the wallets of the gold sellers.

A Different View Of New Players

One of the more interesting features of EVE Online is the time-based skill learning system. But in terms of attracting new players, the system does have some drawbacks. Some players believe they can never become competitive with experienced players because they can never obtain the same number of skill points.

The usual counter-argument that EVE players use is that not all the skill points are relevant in any PvP encounter. In my case, Wandering Rose's 17.9 million skill points in resource management, 16.2 million SP in science, 4.8 million SP in gunnery, and 3.3 million SP in missiles will do no good if a new player jumps her while she's mining in a Procurer in lowsec. Then again, with my actual experience of mining in lowsec combined with the skill points I've devoted to escapability, I have an excellent chance of warping off before the new player can tackle the mining barge. But the key, for coming out of the encounter with my ship intact, is my experience behind the keyboard. Mining while aligned really doesn't require a lot of skill points, especially since the introduction of the Higgs Anchor rig.

But reading the latest Gentlemen's Club Alliance update on TMC struck home the idea that the view of new players in EVE is different that in other games. One of GClub's basic strategies and principles is to "Remain new bro friendly, and a place where a new bro can learn and thrive." For people looking from the outside of EVE, that has to look weird. GClub is engaged in "end game" null sec conflict. Why would they want the equivalent of a level 1 character in their space guild? After all, they cannot fly space coffins, er, I mean, titans and super carriers. Gentlemen's Club is an aberration, right?

@EndiePosts Bat Country always has more room for Heroes of the Swarm. Dear Leader wills it, and it is so. pic.twitter.com/EnNFHJByjt
— Mrw33dS (@Mister_w33dS) April 21, 2015

Not really. EVE Online's most successful null sec alliance, Goonswarm Federation, has always recruited and nurtured new players. But, some may argue, the Goons come from the Something Awful forums, so they have a natural incentive to help the people from their community learn EVE. True. But then explain the creation of Karmafleet and opening up membership to all new players in EVE. Markonius Porkbutte, co-founder of Karmafleet, in the TMC interview touched upon the subject of new players in null sec:

"I think on the grand scheme of things, Brave [Collective] awakened a lot of the null blocs and has forced them to realize the power of newbies in their fleets, so I feel much of this is Brave's fault. GSF is merely 'catching up' to the new meta that is slowly unfolding in null."
...
"In fact, the entire 'pseudo-war' brave had with PL [Pandemic Legion] was really proving that newbies are essential and can serve a well deserved place in nullsec sov warfare."

The aforementioned Pandemic Legion, another of the top powers in EVE, looked to harness the power of "weaponized newbros" by creating their own new player alliance, Pandemic Horde, earlier this month.

What makes the new player so powerful? Electronic warfare. As the Brave Collective and HERO Coalition showed for months against Pandemic Legion, players with fewer than 2 million skill points can neutralize players with over 100 million. But the effective use of electronic warfare doesn't require massed fleets of Mauluses like Brave deployed in Catch. In my own alliance, EvE-Scout Enclave, we employ the "Hugs" doctrine: Griffins equipped with electronic counter-measure modules and festival launchers against the highsec wardeccers who see the alliance as easy prey due to the 1% ISK efficiency listed on our killboard. Our doctrine Griffin is not only fun to fly, but very new player friendly, requiring only minutes to skill into. While we don't want to hurt anyone, if someone wants to pay CONCORD so we have an excuse to shoot snowballs and fireworks, we won't say no.

The same mechanics that make the Griffin ideal in EvE-Scout Enclave's Hugs fleets should make the Griffin, and thus new players, valuable once FozzieSov is released on 2 June. In FozzieSov, sovereignty turns into a game of capture the node, much like the battlegrounds in World of Warcraft. But in WoW, does anyone imagine that a level 11 character, even twinked out, could defend a node from a level 100 character? The idea is so preposterous that Blizzard does not even allow for the situation to occur, gating battlegrounds based on level.

In EVE, with the new sovereignty mechanics however, a two-day old player with less than 1 million skill points in a ship that costs less than 1 million ISK has a good chance of frustrating a five-year veteran with 100 million skill points flying a ship which, when fitted with an Entosis mod, will probably cost close to 100 million ISK, if not more. The new player's chances of success go up based on the index levels in the system. And new players can also contribute to raising these indexes, although from my vantage point outside of null sec, the only method appears to consist of mining. Ugh!

Hopefully, when CCP is revamping the index system, they consider ways that new players can contribute to raising and maintaining the index levels. I also hope that new players will have other ways of making ISK than mining or following older players and salvaging the wrecks. They shouldn't make tons of ISK, but they should have the ability to make a little extra cash to keep them in ships so they don't have to depend on the availability of other corp/alliance members to provide them with content either.

I don't really expect EVE's skill point system to appeal to everyone. Some people just have to have the top "end game" gear, and have to have it fairly quickly. EVE is not that type of game. But for those who want to participate in some of the null sec warfare that hits the media, CCP is making the game more new player friendly. More importantly, important players in the game are taking note.

Another Look At EVE Online Subscription Numbers In 2015

As we approach EVE Online's 12th anniversary, the speculation continues about the game's subscription numbers. Admittedly, I contributed to the guessing game with a post three weeks ago speculating on what the subscription numbers¹ were as of Fanfest based on the CSM election results dev blog. My post was a response to others who were touting divergent subscription numbers. While CSM member Mike Azariah was touting growth in the subscription numbers, ShadowandLight from the Legacy of a Capsuleer podcast was participating in (if not trying to start) a nasty whisper campaign, stating on EVE Radio on 26 March that an "inside source" told him that EVE was down to "146,000 subs."² When I took all of the best information available, I came up with a subscription range of 319,000 to 342,000 on Tranquility.

The topic has also fascinated the writers at Massively Overpowered, the reincarnation of the Massively.com site that closed in February. Brendan Drain wrote the second article on the site looking into the numbers provided by my post. While his numbers fall within the upper range of my estimation, we both come to the conclusion that the number of subscriptions has fallen 18% over the past two years.

While I only attempted to ascertain the basic facts on the subscription numbers, Drain put the numbers into perspective by attempting to compare what I had calculated and comparing the result to the industry as a whole. He pointed to a study done by SuperData, a company that provides "market intelligence covering the market for free-to-play gaming, digital console, mobile, PC downloadable, streaming media and eSports." The study, titled "MMO Market Report 2015", predicts that revenue for pay-to-play (subscription) games will fall to $2.3 billion this year, a 17.9% decline from the $2.8 billion earned by P2P games in 2013.

Comparing revenue and subscriptions is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. For example, dual and multiple character training, both introduced in 2013, had the potential of both reducing the number of subscriptions and increasing revenue. Other changes, like the institution of jump fatigue in the Phoebe release, possibly resulted in subscription losses not related in any way to a player's preference for free-to-play games over P2P games. But Drain's main point is still valid. In a shrinking market for P2P games, seeing a 12-year-old game lose subscriptions due to potential new players preferring F2P games over P2P games is expected. Seeing growth in such a market environment is remarkable.

In my opinion, CCP ended what I call the cult of the growing subscription in June 2013 when dual character training was introduced in Odyssey. In the era in which EVE launched in 2003, most games relied strictly on box sales and subscriptions for revenue, so the subscription number was a useful number for players to see if their game was thriving. After all, why invest in a virtual world that is in danger of closing? But in the modern age, with even subscription games having in-game cash shops and offering other services as micro-transactions, we can no longer judge a game studio's, or even a game's, health based strictly on the number of subscribers. For that, we know need to become accountants and peruse the quarterly, semi-annual, and annual financial statements of game companies, providing we have such access. CCP's financial statement for 2014 is due out soon and I'm anxious to dig into those numbers.


NOTES

1. Some will say that accounts paid for using PLEX are not really subscriptions. For those people, replace the word subscriptions with the term "paid accounts", as paid accounts over 30 days old make up the voter pool in CSM elections.

2. ShadowandLight has since admitted he didn't know what the number he was spreading around actually meant, which leads me to believe he was just throwing mud around and hoping something would stick.

The Lore Behind EVE's New Ship Skins

To say The Scope news video on CCP released on YouTube today was a bit surprising I think is an understatement. We now know the origins of the Super Kerr-Induced Nanocoatings, or SKINS. Would you believe Serpentis technology designed for smuggling operations? The main story of the video tells the story of the Caldari Navy capturing a Serpentis Rhea-class jump freighter, the Seeadler.



Other stories of note in the news scroll:

Imperial Armaments continue to deny research into antikythera element is for the purposes of weaponization.

CONCORD re-opens independant political organization identity registration after one year delay due to Inner Circle debates on interstellar political relevance of capsuleer entities.

Caldari Navy reports significant increase in Guristas pirate activity in Pure Blind and Lonetrek with military experts citing seizure of [SPC] Seeadler as probably cause. Narcotics and combat boosters to the value of 65 billion ISK destroyed by Caldari Navy after seizure from [SPC] Seeadler on April 1st.

Legion of xXDeathXx loses significant ground in Geminate as sovereignty drops in seven systems.