Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Fellow capsulers, Dear CCP.

If you don't find this introduction intresting, please just skip to Summary.

I would like to point out and discuss few aspects of PLEX behavior in free market economy that are bothering me. I'm not veteran capsuler, nor skilled or infuencional one - just one of many living in EVE universe background. But maybe this point of view will come in handy now.

Lets start with PLEX itself, only item existing in game that can be legaly bought via real world currency. Creation and implementation of PLEX is one of greatest ideas - giving players much more posibilities then in any other MMO. You are good enought? You can play in cost of hours spend in game working to get one. Do you want to kickstart your project? No problem if you have spare money, just put some PLEX'es on the table.

But in this world, sadly, nothing is perfect. Even the best of ideas can and will be misused. Free market and laws guilding its behavior are inevitable - if there is way to get profit people will find it.

The Reasoning

Supply and Demand. It should explain everything, it should be simple. But it isn't.

PLEX are bought for two reason - you want to get service yourself (Game time, AUR, etc), or you want to sell them for ISK. Only second part is intresting for us here, so lets focus on it.

If you sell you want that ISK in moment you put PLEX into gameworld, after all it was the only reason you did it in given time. Supply is generated by people able to give real money to support and sustain CCP.

But what about Demand?

One source is obvious, people that worked in game to get one. For game time, AUR or whatever they need or want. It is only natural, the reason why such system was implemented in first place.

Second source of Demand is nightmare of our great system. People that have enought ISK to intercept part of currently added PLEXes as an future market play. It is more then OK from Supply perspective - they get what they want. But those PLEXes aren't used. They disapear from market until they hoarders can make profit selling them. Ugly speculation.

Can CCP do something about it? Or rather do laws of free market allow to do anything?

Well... Any intervention will bring only short term change, often followed by reverse, Yo-yo like effect. There is no way to directly control or influence price of items in free market in way we want.


An Idea

CCP is binded by universal rules applying to they creation that they can't change. That is true.

But what if we switch perspective?

Why item that have real money value atteched to it need to work on that same rules as items generated in gameworld?

CCP can't change universal laws but they are game Archgods, every local rule will easly bend to they will.

There is my proposition how to separate PLEX from market speculation leaving it inside free market at that same time:

We don't need second demand generating group, so we shall restrict ability to resell PLEX in market. Person who bring PLEX in game should be unrestricted in way he want to manage it (Sell, move, use etc). But once it change hands PLEX should be locked in state that allow only use - no moving, selling, contracting etc. Due to donate option you can extend game time at your alts or friends acc without any problems. That option could be expand by activating other PLEX option for someone else (There is no way to trade for such thing, no guarantee that gifted person will pay).

Summary

PLEX price is significantly influenced by market plays and speculations that are inseparable part of free market. There is no way CCP can influence PLEX price due to simple laws of economy.

Due to it we should change PLEX status as an item. It should no longer be treated as every other that is 100% in-game generated.

PLEX when it come to game should be 100% unrestricted, as it is today. But once it somehow change owner, from this point it should be impossible to do anything but use it. That would force people to buy only that amount of PLEXes they and they alts/friends directly need.

Example of Implementation

Every PLEX already in game should be associated with current owner. We could for example change it name to G-PLEX what stands for General Player Licence EXtension. Every new PLEX should be a G-PLEX as well.

Once G-PLEX is sold, contracted, traded, droped in jetcan and picked - in other words it is own by someone else it is no longer G-PLEX. Game will change it to P-PLEX. Personal Player Licence EXtension. When person trade for G-PLEX it should get notification that upon end of transaction she/he will not be able to resell it in any way.

P-PLEX can't be moved from station hangar and is automaticaly moved to it if capsuler is docked to station owned by NPC an have one in hold. You can't sell, contract or trade P-PLEX but in any time from any place you can activate and use any of its function you like.

Final Thoughts

This post is writen in rather confident style. I'm not saying that whole universe work exacly like I belive it does. It is my attempt to present way of my thoughts that lead to presented idea. If I'm wrong please feel free to correct me. If my idea have obvious flaw, please point it out.

I believe that it may help. That is why I sacrificed my sleep time to write it down (Idea poped out from nowhere just before I fall asleep)

Thanks for your patience and attention if your read whole message. I hope that it wasn't waste of your time and together on this basic we will be able to create working solution.

o7

Uh, no where in that Baby's First Economic Analysis nonsense did you ever actually persuasively establish that there was a problem. You just skipped right ahead to a ****** solution.

This is a "solution" to a non-existent problem.

Isnt this like WoW Token works in Warcraft? Anyway, I do not see any problem with current PLEX, thus not see any point to change the system that works.

I thought plex was too expensive when I last stopped playing. It was like 450m at the time.

Now plex could be a bubble and collapse, which would be hilarious, but I don't see that happening until the isk faucet is fixed. Until then it seems sort of like a hedge against ingame inflation. There's also the other side of the coin which says maybe plex is expensive because the supply is limited by the new wowkiddies coming in and WoW is losing subs to FF14 because catgirls>dark elves.

I think the short of it is, bleep it, I'm not worrying about getting "free" game time. I did that once and burnt myself out in the process running L4s. Didn't even get to enjoy the extra time after I put all that effort into it.

-1

I do not believe we need a WoW implentation here, because unlike CCP Blizzard controls its market with an iron fist.
Secondly, it is very easy to earn the current price of a single plex in at most a matter of days...a working corp(meaning active and not dysfunctional) can earn enough for several plex in a week (at least a dozen) at current prices.

💩thread

First of all I'm realy grateful for your response Lucas Kell. Not sure if anyone noticed but you are first person that quoted me. I hope that not a first one that actualy read any of my posts... But I can't be sure on that. But I will need to check few more things:



I would like to point out that one and the only thing my idea will change is elimination of false demand. So PLEX price would be there where it belong without unpredictable market speculations. You are saying that most part of current demand is created by those hoarders? Then it should be even better idea, cancer is wider spread then I was afraid.

People Republic of China... I trust that you understand how different they mentality and economy is. They are more likely to spend few times that many time grinding in game then they would spend in job and get it via real world currency. That have nothing to do with european/american/rest-of-world way of playing games.

If problem is connected to massive stockpile of PLEXes (Change in market would most likely create panic and everyone would want to get rid of the stockpile) already in game we could just change them into P-PLEX. That would make all those who was trying to f*** PLEX market for the own personal gain rage... But as well restarted supply making PLEX even rise in price at start. By the way, are you one of those? How many PLEX that you will never use do you have?





Isn't it much more complicated? For example low PLEX price make peoples create more alts which is making additional demand? Higher PLEX price force some people out of game but if they would stay they could buy PLEX in future increasing supply? etc... I believe that kind of complicated system can't be described in such an simple way. PLEX price is hight = cool.



But as long as CCP is fine with it I'm too.

When I was writting down this idea at 3AM to didn't forget about it I knowed it me be completly rubish but I still hope it isn't. Thanks for everyone who answered an shame on all spammers who wasted time and bits unnecesary.

If it may help it will, if not it wont. I will no longer comment under this topic untill CCP response. What isn't very likely, right?

o7

Arthur, my old friend, why are you arguing with GD trolls? Nobody has ever accomplished anything by doing that.