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Why do eve players act like shareholders

First post
Author
Digital Messiah
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#1 - 2012-11-29 20:46:20 UTC
I have been playing off and on since about 2006, hey I'm not an 03 veteran. But six years is enough to peak my curiosity. Why do people talk on the forums about wasted development time, dead lines, have such hard criticism about CCP's company policies, and activity? This is the only game where I have seen players rant in such a form. Maybe it is because you feel like they listen to your opinions, which they do. Or your investment means you hold an imaginary share in the company. All in all though it is just weird, stalker'ish at some points, and obsessive. Sure I care to what they do but it is just a game developer. It isn't like they are testing eve products out on animals or pushing religious dogma.

I just want someone to explain to me why people are such hard critics to a game developer who does more for their community than any other in the business?

Something clever

Auric Veldfinger
Doomheim
#2 - 2012-11-29 20:50:16 UTC
It works both ways though. How many free resources, in game and out of game, have been made by players to retain paying customers for CCP? More than I can count.
Vaal Erit
Science and Trade Institute
Caldari State
#3 - 2012-11-29 20:51:35 UTC
Because we're customers and CCP is literally using our money. If you don't think a business should answer to its customers then I don't think I can help you.

EVE is a unique product, it's not like if Pepsi starts to taste bad we can switch to Coke, if EVE starts to suck we have to go play some other MMORPG and I have tried them and they are no where near the same as EVE and are all godawful compared to EVE.
Petrus Blackshell
Rifterlings
#4 - 2012-11-29 20:54:54 UTC  |  Edited by: Petrus Blackshell
It's not just Eve. Check the forums of Starcraft, LoL, WoW, or other large, continually-updated, multiplayer games and you'll find a similar situation. When a game continually consumes money in order to be continually updated, the customers expect to get "their money's worth". This manifests either in constructive feedback, senseless ranting, or anything in between.

In other words, it makes no sense to complain at Nintendo to "buff Mario" in Super Smash or something, because you're not paying for continued development, and they're not committed to continually improving the game experience. Nintendo already has your money, whether you like the product or not, and that's how things are. In Eve (or other similar games), your continued investment depends on your happiness -- therefore giving the semi-illusion of holding "stock" and having a say. To some degree, that counts. To another, people take themselves far too seriously.

In closing, buff the Rifter or I am unsubbing my 29 accounts.

Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)

Skorpynekomimi
#5 - 2012-11-29 20:58:46 UTC
Because we're subscribed to it, and invested in the company heavily. Time AND money.

We're paying them, so we deserve a say. Much like how democracy works; you pay your taxes, you get a vote and the right to write to your MP/congressman/whoever to demand answers.

Economic PVP

Unsuccessful At Everything
The Troll Bridge
#6 - 2012-11-29 21:00:32 UTC
Gotta complain about something.

Since the cessation of their usefulness is imminent, may I appropriate your belongings?

Altrue
Exploration Frontier inc
Tactical-Retreat
#7 - 2012-11-29 21:04:11 UTC  |  Edited by: Altrue
I used terms like "wasted dev time" a few times recently.

The meaning behind, for me, is frustration.
Not about my money, but about the fact to have a "better" game instead of an "amazing game" when I look at the features of retribution.

And also the fear that, considering the time needed to "simply" add new icons, change the UI, and so on, any change occuring now will stay for a long, long time, even if it's more or less "broken" (current hp bars on tranquility for example).

Signature Tanking Best Tanking

[Ex-F] CEO - Eve-guides.fr

Ultimate Citadel Guide - 2016 EVE Career Chart

Meryl SinGarda
Belligerent Underpaid Tactical Team
#8 - 2012-11-29 21:09:20 UTC
Vaal Erit wrote:
Because we're customers and CCP is literally using our money. If you don't think a business should answer to its customers then I don't think I can help you.

EVE is a unique product, it's not like if Pepsi starts to taste bad we can switch to Coke, if EVE starts to suck we have to go play some other MMORPG and I have tried them and they are no where near the same as EVE and are all godawful compared to EVE.


Once the money leaves your account it is no longer yours.
Ashterothi
The Order of Thelemic Ascension
The Invited
#9 - 2012-11-29 21:11:25 UTC  |  Edited by: Ashterothi
Because a long time ago, the player base and the company forged an unspoken agreement that EVE was different then most other games. While most games makers BUILD content for players to CONSUME, in EVE developers create tools for the players to create the content. In this way there is a type of partnership.

In the long history of EVE, time after time this has been reinforced. From past missteps of trust leading to the CSM and their growing power, to Moniclegate where the player base demonstrated that a) It would not allow anyone to ruin their game, event the developers and b) they feel so passionately about the game they could organize a massive campaign to get their point across.

While it is true that a lot on this forums pushes the envelope of exactly how entitled one can be before becoming insufferable. For better or worse much of the games future is forged in the collective foundry of the player base. Implemented by the developers, defended by the CSM, and played out in our nightly opera of destruction.

PS: Combine all this with the fact that a very large portion of the player base are coders, developers, managers, etc. Many of the average "players" have a much deeper ability to give to the production of the game then the average community members. (see: Aura, DOTLAN, EVE-Kill, Chribba, the list goes on)/
Petrus Blackshell
Rifterlings
#10 - 2012-11-29 21:11:53 UTC
Altrue wrote:
And also the fear that, considering the time needed to "simply" add new icons, change the UI, and so on, any change occuring now will stay for a long, long time, even if it's more or less "broken" (current hp bars on tranquility for example).

Many "simple" tasks in software development are actually extremely technically complex. Icons/UI have to go through the creative design process on top of the technical complexity of revamping what is a very old Eve interface (my guess is they just started most of it from scratch).

Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)

Pohbis
Neo T.E.C.H.
#11 - 2012-11-29 21:27:55 UTC  |  Edited by: Pohbis
Meryl SinGarda wrote:
Vaal Erit wrote:
Because we're customers and CCP is literally using our money. If you don't think a business should answer to its customers then I don't think I can help you.

EVE is a unique product, it's not like if Pepsi starts to taste bad we can switch to Coke, if EVE starts to suck we have to go play some other MMORPG and I have tried them and they are no where near the same as EVE and are all godawful compared to EVE.


Once the money leaves your account it is no longer yours.
That's quite a naive statement when talking about a subscription service.

Now if I buy a TV and take it home, the money is no longer mine and all I'm entitled to, is the warranty by the manufacturer.

But when I pay a monthly subscription to a content provider, I DO have a say in their service.

We act as shareholders because in an MMO, the subscribers are the biggest, if not only, asset that the provider has. There is no emergent gameplay, no butterfly effect and no EVE, without us logging in.

I doubt the Tranquility hardware can pay the bills for CCP Lol

... and we talk about "wasted Dev time" because CCP alone owns EVE. There is no publisher, no 2nd product or anything else to muddy the flow of where our money goes.
Altessa Post
Midnight special super sexy
#12 - 2012-11-29 21:33:02 UTC  |  Edited by: Altessa Post
EVE players are often like little girls wishing for a pony.

Clueless about the price, clueless about the effort involved to get one, clueless about the cost for upkeep.
As a software developer I have learnt not to cringe anymore when another girly comes up with a cool proposal on the forum. Feel free, keep your "contributions" coming.

On the internet, you can be whatever you want to be. It is amazing that so many people chose to be stupid.

Frying Doom
#13 - 2012-11-29 21:56:51 UTC
Meryl SinGarda wrote:
Vaal Erit wrote:
Because we're customers and CCP is literally using our money. If you don't think a business should answer to its customers then I don't think I can help you.

EVE is a unique product, it's not like if Pepsi starts to taste bad we can switch to Coke, if EVE starts to suck we have to go play some other MMORPG and I have tried them and they are no where near the same as EVE and are all godawful compared to EVE.


Once the money leaves your account it is no longer yours.

Correct.

But nor is it mandatory for any player to pay again next time.

EvE is actually lucky to have a community that cares enough to ***** moan and complain.

If the players didn't it would mean they did not care about EvE and that EvE was just another game we had.

Everyone just walks away from most games without saying a thing.

Any spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors are because frankly, I don't care!!

KIller Wabbit
MEME Thoughts
#14 - 2012-11-29 22:18:23 UTC
Meryl SinGarda wrote:
Vaal Erit wrote:
Because we're customers and CCP is literally using our money. If you don't think a business should answer to its customers then I don't think I can help you.

EVE is a unique product, it's not like if Pepsi starts to taste bad we can switch to Coke, if EVE starts to suck we have to go play some other MMORPG and I have tried them and they are no where near the same as EVE and are all godawful compared to EVE.


Once the money leaves your account it is no longer yours.


We have to decide every month if we want to part with more of our money. So yeah - this month's money is gone, trapped, spent by CCP. Next month - we can walk away.

Bump Truck
Doomheim
#15 - 2012-11-29 23:20:58 UTC
I'm willing to admit there's some fear involved. EVE is just so awesome and loads of people want to ruin it with their stupid ideas.

And that's probably what other people think about me.

(And forum PVP is one of the most fun things about EVE).
Borascus
#16 - 2012-11-29 23:47:42 UTC  |  Edited by: Borascus
Pohbis wrote:
Meryl SinGarda wrote:
Vaal Erit wrote:
Because we're customers and CCP is literally using our money. If you don't think a business should answer to its customers then I don't think I can help you.

EVE is a unique product, it's not like if Pepsi starts to taste bad we can switch to Coke, if EVE starts to suck we have to go play some other MMORPG and I have tried them and they are no where near the same as EVE and are all godawful compared to EVE.


Once the money leaves your account it is no longer yours.
That's quite a naive statement when talking about a subscription service.

Now if I buy a TV and take it home, the money is no longer mine and all I'm entitled to, is the warranty by the manufacturer.

But when I pay a monthly subscription to a content provider, I DO have a say in their service.

We act as shareholders because in an MMO, the subscribers are the biggest, if not only, asset that the provider has. There is no emergent gameplay, no butterfly effect and no EVE, without us logging in.

I doubt the Tranquility hardware can pay the bills for CCP Lol

... and we talk about "wasted Dev time" because CCP alone owns EVE. There is no publisher, no 2nd product or anything else to muddy the flow of where our money goes.



Just to show a different light on the investiture point you make about subscription services: you can have newspapers and magazines on subscription, as well as books, CD's, DVD's Audiobooks etc.... those subscriptions are the binding agreement. Most give you NO say in what happens.


Every player should be grateful that CCP interact with the playerbase as much as they do, but some of the posts in General Discussion like to portray the "high-hand of player" managing the CCP Games employee's life when they aren't coding, it's pretty detached really.

Can anyone step forward and be able to produce a document where they specifically and categorically changed a criteria within a mass-subscription model via participation as a single subscription holder in anything other than EVE?

It rarely happens.

*Subscriber driven content* takes magazines and turns them into The Enquirer.
TV turns to reality music shows where the winner gets a contract, hardly any voters buy it, loads of people vote.


Or worse, reality TV shows where a load of people in a room / several rooms are watched under the premise of a psychological study, after which no results ever materialise in the public domain and the original viewers found that they were soo alike or disimilar to the contestants on that show they might as well watch again as it is free pub-ammo.

Personally I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all CCP Games staff and wish them a Happy New Year, successful expansion launch, successful Dust launch and good memories in their lives outside of work.... too early?



EDIT: Closest I got was sending an e-mail to blizzard way back when showing them the MMO-glider website, read later that blizzard *spits* successfully sued mmo-glider for $3million. closest I got to that in EVE? e-mailing eve-miner and tinyminer to Security@ccpgames.com as they claimed to be botting websites.
Metal Icarus
Star Frontiers
Brotherhood of Spacers
#17 - 2012-11-29 23:58:35 UTC
I invest 30 dollars every month to play this game, and CCP has the courtesy to actually participate in the forums. So, they pay attention to the forums, I pay attention to the forums, now they get to hear me whine about the game.

Its not that we act like investors, we act like players. When CCP starts getting threads about something, and they keep coming, then CCP acts on it.

CCP acting on what is happening in the forums is what gives players the look of investors.

CCP treats their customers like investors and you know what, I am fine with that. It may not be as good as real investors but i am content with what they do so far.


Thanks CCP for paying attention to us idiots, even though sometimes we don't know what we're talking about.
Bienator II
madmen of the skies
#18 - 2012-11-30 00:07:10 UTC
because technically we are stakeholders. Like CSM, direct investors and others (even hardware sponsors like Nvidia etc would count).

voicing constructive opinions or concerns is important for stakeholders. Otherwise the only thing you can do is to stop being a stakeholder.... (in our case: stop playing).

how to fix eve: 1) remove ECM 2) rename dampeners to ECM 3) add new anti-drone ewar for caldari 4) give offgrid boosters ongrid combat value

Pohbis
Neo T.E.C.H.
#19 - 2012-11-30 00:17:07 UTC
Borascus wrote:
Can anyone step forward and be able to produce a document where they specifically and categorically changed a criteria within a mass-subscription model via participation as a single subscription holder in anything other than EVE?
I don't think anyone can do that, as a single subscriber. Individuals don't change things in services like these, obviously.

There are however many examples of subscription services making changes, based on subscriber feedback. Retention is afterall, a key in running a subscription service. Best example people here will probably know, is the changes Netflix made to their new streaming/DVD rental business model.

For the record, most of what you mention is traditional single purchase transactions, turned into a subscription model. For books, CDs etc, no, you can't change the individual products as a subscriber. You can however change the products that the service you pay for offers you.
CCP Phantom
C C P
C C P Alliance
#20 - 2012-11-30 00:20:42 UTC
I am very happy that the EVE Online community is so passionate about EVE Online and that the players gladly spend countless hours to work together with our developers to improve the game we all love so much.

Look at mass tests, forum feedback, ISD volunteers or CSM work - this is just fantastic and very awesome! Then we have all the other activity with players providing tools and other helpful things that benefit the EVE Community; EVEMon, EFT, killboards, lotteries, podcasts, blog banters - just to name a few ... without all this the EVE Online ecosphere would be less exciting and thrilling. On top of that you have the actual game where player interaction creates the universe and shapes it over the years into the current shape with immense amount of dedication, drama, epic stories and crazy madness.

I completely understand why the EVE Community is so passionate about EVE Online.

Amongst all this passion we also find sometimes unconstructive ranting, personal attacks and other forum rule violations but this is not the norm and the EVE Community in general shouldn't be judged by these posts.

Of course I encourage everyone to be polite, constructive and fair - this is possible even when you are very passionate about something. Big smile

CCP Phantom - Senior Community Developer

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