Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I say no. You cite the reason as highsec space being dominated by capsuleers would somehow make empires default to their own currencies. In reality, it would be the opposite. Capsuleers has vast amounts of wealth. An empire would be foolish to back away from ISK. It's a universal currency. Rejecting it would be economically going backwards. The Minmatar and the Amarr hate each others guts and they still both use ISK. The same can be said for the Gallente and Caldari. So there is no lore reason for something like this to happen.

That said, I'm also saying no because I don't think we should just crash the economy all willy-nilly by having a whole bunch of players log in one day and not be able to trade efficiently with each other. Not to mention all the difficulties around valuing a currency. What is the exchange rate? The amount of ISK that changes hands in Jita is much higher then any of the other trade hubs, does this mean that Caldari currency would have a proportionally higher value? Wouldn't it then behoove players to simply do missions in Caldari space, further devaluing other currencies and their regions?

Yeah, let's not touch this with a 50 AU pole.

How will the values of different currencies be calculated?

In the real world it is based on the economic output of a country relative to another country. Without certain stabilizing forces (like the IMF, Federal Reserve, Central Banks, etc) to make near constant "course corrections" to keep things relatively stable values can wildly fluctuate... which can result in economic chaos and and poverty through no fault of any one person.


Quite simply, it would over complicate an already complex market system (for a video game) and require constant scrutiny and upkeep that I don't think any one DEV wants to take up.

Read my signature.

"Change isn't bad, but it isn't always good. Sometimes, the oldest and most simple of things can be the most elegant and effective."


Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Because that works so well in the real world too.

NOTE: I like the free market... it's dynamic and rewards those with brains. But there comes a point where it begins to morph into something decidedly "not dynamic" and rewards those who simply have more capital and assets than the rest. Read up on the "Robber Baron" period.


Complexity for the sake of complexity is bad regardless of how you present it. While it will add some depth I can't help but be concerned about the bad effects it WILL create (it's not a matter of "if").


fake edit: Wait... why am I arguing with Erotica1??? Aren't you one of the bigger trolls around here? Damn... I got suckered.

Heh, I remember that from a certain incident in the real world ... such coincidence, isn' it? You know that too, don't you? Banks had these awesome papers, derivatives and options that would give you unlimited and awesome returns. It paid out so well for the banks that entire nations crumbled. Or do you remember the well.nigh war between China and the USA over the currency manipulation ... *cough* mutually criticized currency stabilization mechanisms of both the US and China? No, oh well, too bad. Such comment and idea can only come from a CODE member, proving clichés wonderfully.

Your arguments for national currencies in a universe where you trespass ... *cough* cross borders in the blink of an eye, where you fly through nations in minutes, national currencies are the least fun experience and game mechanic that we need. It is backward oriented, antiquated, over complicating things that are already complicated. Judging by your mentioning of "dollar", I suppose you are US-american? Even if not, your mindset is equally backward oriented for thinking about returning to ancient times, where error-prone, easily tamperable mechanisms such as currency exchange rates where necessary to do business. Also, even suggesting that player owned empires in 00-sec, which rise and crumble and disappear in a matter of days in some cases, should be entitled to give out their own currency is preposterous to reason. We'd end up with a lot of paper money similar to during the great depression in the 1920s, which can buy you a BS on one day and the next not even a Carbon.

Moreover, how can you expect normal players, who can barely grasp the meaning of their own currency in real life, to understand and properly evaluate the then many different currencies in EVE and gather which item is where the cheapest, when bankers in real life and even supercomputers fail to do that accurately? The only thing this is going to do is to open gigantic floodgates for scams and to make the game for everyone a whole lot less enjoyable experience.

Even the most isolationist entities in EVE use ISK, so get rid of your antiquated way of thinking and don't suggest such outrage ever again.

-1

Gallente would be crippling poor...

That's what I'm saying. You don't need to calculate an artificial exchange rate beyond what the buy and sell orders are buying and selling at.

I agree that more chaos would not in itself be bad. But I'm not sure I agree that you can't cause more chaos with the tools you already have.

Yes, but you could still just grind out a few missions somewhere else and get back on track. You're never going to lose the ability to fill your wallet the way a poor person in real-life is prohibited from living on the street and rummaging in bins for empty bottles. There would not be poverty, as such. You would not become insolvent (unless by dubious means that would make your wallet negative, which isn't possible within the rules, the "game mechanics", of the game).

The only things you must do, mechanically, in eve, is pay your alliance and office bills. I guess if you're renting an office in Minmatar space, then you would pay your bill in Minibucks, and the game would still accept the Minibucks as payment for your office bill even if players stopped accepting them as currency in trading, or how would that work?

That's part of what I'm saying; if you want to play bank and take an active part in values moving up and down, you can do that already, there's no need to implement a system in the game for doing what you can already do by for example turning all of your ISK into Tristans, or paying your employees in PLEX (which is quite common now anyway) or making an internal currency for your alliance.

They are valued by their value. How is a Moros supposed to be valued compared to ISK? It just is.

I think this wouldn't work mainly because it would be too easy for the large in game groups to crash the economy of an area. Stick with a centralized currency which is exactly what the empires would do anyway for stability I think. you can't fight faction wars with a vastly unstable market supporting your efforts...

Way too complex for a game.

Indeed, I have been in favor of an Eve stock exchange for corp shares and other things, as I have posted in market discussions. Long term, I intend to start an Eve investment firm that will offer mutual funds, options, and futures, etc. These are all good things. People who would choose to participate will have more tools at their disposal to make or lose isk, and more hedging opportunities to protect what they have. I would also offer people the opportunity to short sell. Fund managers, lenders, borrowers, etc would have a centralized safe place in which to do business with all of these people through my Eve organization.

I also strongly believe that CCP should make an expansion that purely focuses on the market. I'd like to see trading choices in Eve look more like a Tradestation or Interactive Brokers platform for the players who wish to use it.

Of course there would be market crashes and tulip frenzies, but hey, that's part of the fun!

Wouldn't this just result in one of the Empire currencies (most likely the Caldari) becoming the de facto universal currency? If I'm selling a PLEX, I'm not taking -SOLAR- rubles or Goonbux or even Imperial dinars for it; I'm taking the one thing I know I can always spend in Jita.