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CCP directly and secretly gifted SOMER Blink 30 Ishukone Scorpions (~450 billion ISK value)

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Scatim Helicon
State War Academy
Caldari State
#201 - 2013-10-05 11:23:30 UTC
Kate stark wrote:
Scatim Helicon wrote:
Grey Stormshadow wrote:
Transparency in decision making keeps community aware about the reasons and justifications behind the end result. Secrecy doesn't.

Funnily enough we've had open and public favouritism towards Somer Blink (the gifting of the unique hulls and Fanfest trips as lottery prizes) and now it seems also the covert secret favouritism in granting their staff free limited edition Ishukone Scorps.

It seems the one constant in all of this is CCP repeatedly spawning profitable items for one specific player organisation at the expense of the others.


i don't really see an issue with ccp giving blink prizes to raffle off or whatever; i think it's an interesting way to get things out to the community.

however from what i can tell these scorpions weren't given to them as raffle prizes but rather as a "hey buddy, have something nobody else has because you're our favourites" and that is, in my opinion, wrong.

unless i'm missing something here.


1. The lottery prizes were given out with no oversight whatsoever and accompanied by CCP staff posting vouches for Somer's trustworthiness that they had no way of verifying or enforcing.

2. Somer is a business, not a charity. 'Giving Somer prizes to raffle off' still resulted in a massive upsurge of revenue to Somer from increased player interest. Some of that traffic will inevitably have been taken from other competing lottery providers. For CCP to be picking winners and losers for player driven events and businesses ("We're going to make Somer more money this week at the expense of their competitors, just because we can!") is an unacceptable intrusion into the sandbox.

3. We now see that Somer has apparently been chosen as CCP's favourites for valuable giveaways on two occasions in quick succession. Once was bad enough but could conceivably be explained away as a genuine lapse in judgement. But for them to be singled out for special treatment twice? That stinks.

Every time you post a WiS thread, Hilmar strangles a kitten.
Turelus
Utassi Security
The Curatores Veritatis Auxiliary
#202 - 2013-10-05 11:24:47 UTC
RIP what's left of the Jita 4-4 Monument.

Turelus CEO Utassi Security
Pak Narhoo
Splinter Foundation
#203 - 2013-10-05 11:25:37 UTC  |  Edited by: Pak Narhoo
Sebastien Starstrider wrote:
Am I one of the few people who doesn't mind this at all D:


Maybe because you're like this guy: http://imgur.com/gallery/9MV4Yl7

Getting close there myself.

Also: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BNHdUclCMAAGcB_.jpg
Jove Death
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#204 - 2013-10-05 11:26:57 UTC
A while back you accidently dropped a 50 bpo container in BoB Space

With that in mind this was ages ago but recently CCP have you actually gone mad?

Firstly you drop your guard and 2 chars kill a ship that has an enigma in it. Because you actually screwed up you took it back by only offering 1 plex to each of the chars involved. In other words they could not keep the item and something must have been threatened as if it was me i would not have let you have it for less than 300 bill.

Secondly you hire mintchip

Thirdly you hire some EA nub

Then one of your best staff leave and now this?.

What da heck is going on.


If were going down that road can you drop a jove bs in my hangar please Big smile.

ta

Quoting "you will die" in EvE is fail Chars dont die in EvE. Unless you have a heart attack eek.
E6o5
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#205 - 2013-10-05 11:29:39 UTC
Trebor Daehdoow wrote:
This is my personal, initial reaction to this news. I want to emphasize that I do not have any significant non-public information about this, nor has the CSM had time to get any information from CCP.

1) CCP has the right to give away Ishukone Scorpions to anyone they want to, for any reason. They are a promotional item.

2) The choice of who they give them to (or don't give them to) has consequences in the community.

3) The recent SOMER-gate uproar means the consequences of this earlier interaction have magnified significance.

My initial impression is that the problem here is not that SOMER got the ships, but that the reward (and any others that CCP may have given out) were not made public.

"Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman." -- Louis D. Brandeis, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court


While CCP can give anyone anything they like in the game, this doesn't mean its good for the game. Giving every account something is OK (as long is it happens rarely - otherwise it affects the economy of the sandbox) as no one is favored. Handig valuable items to a group of individuals is not OK. Neither publically nor privately.
Kuni Oichi
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#206 - 2013-10-05 11:30:13 UTC
Abditus Cularius wrote:

Re-read both CSM posts. The Scorps have been given away a lot before. That's their purpose now - a community giveaway thing. Blink isn't the only one to get them. Not by a lot. Mittens is just jealous of blink, so he's instructed his minions to be morally outraged at blink, and published an article that makes it sound as if blink were the only ones that were given scorps.


Wow, you're totally right, in no way did Sun Win clearly state in the article:

Sun Win wrote:

The special edition battleships are not available to manufacture and are rarely given out by CCP. Eighty-one were given away at FanFest as part of the Charity Poker Tournament and PvP Tournament and added to the game as part of the Odyssey expansion. Another was given out as part of a role-playing event and SOMER Blink was given ten to use as rewards. To date, there have been no other public giveaways of the ship, meaning that SOMER Blink employees' private rewards may account for a quarter of the Scorpions Ishukone Watch in the game. The ships tend to sell for 10-20 billion ISK meaning that the gift was worth 300-600 billion ISK.


Ohh, wait, it almost looks as if the author clearly stated how many had been given away in the past.
OldWolf69
EVE-RO
Goonswarm Federation
#207 - 2013-10-05 11:31:52 UTC
Lugalbandak wrote:
i hope ppl will stop support somer, this is just plain stupid

First time i say on forums about ccp in 7 years but:

CCP THIS IS A MONGOLOID MOVE!

Or just a offensive move?Lol
Le Petite More
Doomheim
#208 - 2013-10-05 11:33:16 UTC
Here are the problems for me as a new players:

1: Favoring Somer with prizes that people who didn't blink couldn't win therefore cutting out most of the player base.

2: Favoring Somer with rare prizes while ignoring all the many groups that actually create fun and content. More people would be angry if they gave these ships to James315 because at least he gives me enjoyable tears to read for no payment.

3: Favoring Somer with more rare prizes for starting an ingame business that makes them billions of isk. Should the most successful scammer also get his isk doubled?

4: CCP giving players stuff in secret because they know it is wrong.

5: CCP starting their "community outreach" with an old friend that some of them used to work for. That just looks bad.

6: CSM for being mushrooms; kept in the dark and fed on bull****. I have heard of the T20 scandal that gave rise to them and they are supposed to stop this. I even took time to vote without having to be ordered by my nulsec block. More fool me.
Dalmont Delantee
Gecko Corp
#209 - 2013-10-05 11:33:27 UTC
Who gives a flying ****, its not like its something that unique, they are just some pretty ships for a bunch of guys that provide a fantastic service.

Do you think other people haven't got stuff for service the community?

Jesus you are all drama llamas!

Get over it.
Infinity Ziona
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#210 - 2013-10-05 11:34:50 UTC  |  Edited by: Infinity Ziona
I don't think CCP has a right to be giving out rewards to players for out of game or in game stuff, at least not without consequences to their subscriptions and player satisfaction.

So far this month, they gave in game items to Somer Blink, worth trillions, to generate a massive profit, they dropped half a trillion isk worth of items to one specific alliance (sure it was advertised as an event) but any one that actually turned up to PL's home system would have been vaporized, only have to watch the vid of it to see that. Now they're spawning otherwise rare and unobtainable ships for Somer again (well prior to the gifting of the unique ships).

People might say who cares, but just like PL's loot, which was converted into isk, since it was all sold to one person, these ships likely will be converted into isk too and then used for what? Half a trillion isk buys a lot of ships, so anyone fighting PL will now have to pit their properly earned assets against some assets that were spawned by the developers and gifted.

Who knows what alliance Somer is connected with, but the odds are those trillions of iskies will be used to kill someone who actually earned their isk. How do you win wars against magically spawned trillions when you have to actually earn your own isk the proper way?

Its bullshite.

CCP Fozzie “We can see how much money people are making in nullsec and it is, a gigantic amount, a shit-ton… in null sec anomalies. “*

Kaalrus pwned..... :)
OldWolf69
EVE-RO
Goonswarm Federation
#211 - 2013-10-05 11:36:04 UTC  |  Edited by: OldWolf69
Dalmont Delantee wrote:
Who gives a flying ****, its not like its something that unique, they are just some pretty ships for a bunch of guys that provide a fantastic service.

Do you think other people haven't got stuff for service the community?

Jesus you are all drama llamas!

Get over it.

Name at least a single guy wich did FREE services to comunity and got rewarded.
Meh, kind sir. Meh.
***
And i find it pretty stupid that people fail to understand that it's not about the people who recieved the goodies. It's about the tendentious way those were given. Lol
Ra Jackson
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#212 - 2013-10-05 11:43:18 UTC
Who is in charge of those messups? WHO DID THAT?
Zen Guerrilla
CTRL-Q
Ushra'Khan
#213 - 2013-10-05 11:46:38 UTC
It wasn't only Blink who got them ships.

The only problem i see is CCP being rather secretive about the whole thing. Communicate it properly and all is well.

Watching the goons freak out over Blink is pretty funny tho. What happened there, did the Mittani have his blink account banned? Did he apply for a job at Blink and got declined?

pew pew
Ra Jackson
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#214 - 2013-10-05 11:46:54 UTC
Dalmont Delantee wrote:
Who gives a flying ****, its not like its something that unique, they are just some pretty ships for a bunch of guys that provide a fantastic service.

Do you think other people haven't got stuff for service the community?

Jesus you are all drama llamas!

Get over it.


Please just shut up if you know jack.
E6o5
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#215 - 2013-10-05 11:48:55 UTC
hey CCP, if I'd pretend to be a somer guy as well and you forgot to give me my scorpion, would this be against the eula?
Kali Mezuko
Artificial Stupidity
#216 - 2013-10-05 11:49:02 UTC
Easy fix.

If you have nothing to hide, publish the complete list of recipients.

Presumably the list contains more than one entry...
Innominate
KarmaFleet
Goonswarm Federation
#217 - 2013-10-05 11:49:05 UTC
It's already been established that CCP can give whatever the hell they want to Somer.

https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=281298

We've already been through this with a public gift at least an order of magnitude greater. I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by this, or expects anything to be done. The first time around nobody relevant cared, I fail to see why this is any different except in being far lower in value.
Kate stark
#218 - 2013-10-05 11:49:17 UTC  |  Edited by: Kate stark
Zen Guerrilla wrote:
It wasn't only Blink who got them ships.

The only problem i see is CCP being rather secretive about the whole thing. Communicate it properly and all is well.

Watching the goons freak out over Blink is pretty funny tho. What happened there, did the Mittani have his blink account banned? Did he apply for a job at Blink and got declined?


yeah but as far as i'm aware, blink are the only ones who got it for essentially doing nothing more than making isk.

there are so many distinguishing features between blink and the other recipients of the scorpions.

either way i've said my bit and i'm bored of the discussion. you guys carry on without me.

Yay, this account hasn't had its signature banned. or its account, if you're reading this.
Ra Jackson
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#219 - 2013-10-05 11:49:18 UTC
Zen Guerrilla wrote:
Watching the goons freak out over Blink is pretty funny tho. What happened there, did the Mittani have his blink account banned? Did he apply for a job at Blink and got declined?


It seems that Goons are the only ones understanding a sandbox nowadays which is rather scary.
Roxwar
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#220 - 2013-10-05 11:55:42 UTC
CCP are you ******* kidding me?

Giving 20b ships out to corp members of somer as a thanks for providing content? Seriously?

You guys have totally lost the plot and ****** up big time if this is true, Ive been waiting for a reason to quit this game and you've given me one if this is true.
The ****** in charge of this decision needs demoting until he learns how eve (should) work. When the devs start favoring one entity over another and gifting unique ships worth 20b for free, its time to call it a day.

You guys know what you were doing is questionable, otherwise it would have been made completely transparent for the whole community to know, BUT IT WASNT AND YOU KEPT IT CLANDENSTINE because you knew what a **** storm it would cause.

******* idiots.