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Separate the four empires with low security space.

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Commander Ted
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#901 - 2013-09-05 14:07:53 UTC  |  Edited by: Commander Ted
Janna Sway wrote:

Again...

- What ore is scarce in Amarr thus forcing me to import it from another empire? - none.
- What ice I desperately have to import to Amarr otherwise I could not use my own Amarr technology? - none.
- What Deadspace item I have to absolutely import, that local pirate NPC's do not drop, otherwise I would be in any kind of disadvantage? - none.
- What faction item I have to import otherwise I would be severely in a disadvantage? - none.
- As an Amarr pilot, what LP store items I absolutely have to import from for example the Federation, otherwise I could not run my own Amarr ships? - none.

Next question, how does taking the four empires who are not separated already and putting them into four seperated islands make them more free, what logic is behind that, please explain this to us.
What "mechanical" limitation is there that restricts freedom when all four empires are already unseparated? I really do not understand what you mean.
Since when does separation set me free and unity put in in any form of bondage?
Since when the faction Navy and CONCORD restrict a capsuleer's freedom?

And about the facts why this empire separation would not work, read my previous posts and think about them.

-Ores are in different distributions everywhere, if you are constructing a ship that requires more of the non locally abundant minerals you will loose efficiency http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/w/images/0/03/Glow_roid_grid.jpg

-Amarr poses are less effective at certain things than many other poses, people will not want to give up using there preferred pos to make less isk. Have you noticed that the goonswarm ice interdiction hasn't made everyone swap pos and capital types? Capital ship pilots also need a centralized place to buy ice, preferably one close by.
-Any deadspace item other than the locally abundant one? I'd be pretty pissed if I couldn't get the modules i need for my mission ship. People who spend billions on these things just don't decide they don't want them anymore.

Every single point you make is dead WRONG. All the things you listed are clearly needed and desired everywhere, and going without those things are major pains for many many many people.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong!
"Pfft! I don't need deadspace modules so everyone else will just decide they don't want them either!" Ridiculous!

Which is ridiculous, many deadspace items in certain categories are clearly inferior, your also ignoring the fact that price speculation and increased demand for certain items (Burn Jita and the ice interdiction)

https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=174097 Separate all 4 empires in eve with lowsec.
Mr Barbeque
Mayhem and Ruin
#902 - 2013-09-05 20:30:40 UTC
Janna Sway wrote:
Last thing I need to mention. Mr Barbeque, may I ask you to keep it civilized and disciplined in your posts, please.
In the last post you quoted my contribution in post #886, changing it into "Everything you (Janna Sway) said that I wont waste character space responding..."
Your contribution to my post #854 was "don't feed the troll".
I merely base my argumentations on facts and you are absolutely free to check the things I mention for yourself in evelopedia and other sources. Not one argument I present is based on my personal feelings.
You are free to contribute to the discussion, and please add to your posts on what sources you base your arguments, so that I can read those and learn more about the game Eve Online, the game we all love so much.
Immature expressions of anger and frustration, by calling me a troll or discrediting my posts, calling them a waste, do not contribute anything to the discussion and may I suggest that these were your last two disresepectful comments in the forums from now on.


My not-a-quote was not intended to be a personal attack. I did not want to quote your post in bulk because of character limitations, neither cherry pick lines to quote as thats a pain to format well.

I did contribute to the discussion by arguing against your reasoning as to the "fundamental problems" of CCP's previous empire separation. The proposition is more than a change in system security Its a change in map cartography: new stargates, new systems, new routes. You say you wouldn't move around in spite of price discrepancy. That's fine, those willing to try harder will have a competitive edge. Eve has always rewarded those that innovate to overcome their obstacles. I also argued that the lore is irrelevant when considering the mechanics of gameplay, and cited examples of why I think so.

My "Don't feed the troll." comment was in response to the apparent nature of your posts at the time that I perceived. After rereading your history on this thread, (notably #848 and #805) my troll theory isn't baseless.
Spacemover
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#903 - 2013-09-25 22:00:23 UTC
to be honest... i wouldn´t have come with that idea myself because i never thought about it although i played a lot of games where i liked beeing pirate and marauder :D

i just like your idea. would make hauling more efficient highsec not the afk-autopilot-thing it is now and reduce the isk ingame in a great amount :D

/signup for this and for beeing a real pirate not that poor lowsec-missionrunner-killing version xD
supernova ranger
The End of Eternity
#904 - 2013-09-25 23:15:15 UTC
The courier business is hurting pretty bad these days and this would put it ahead of all the other industries.

Freighters would travel too and from the boarders and industrial would take it across lowsec...

Problem is the gate camps, there needs to be at least 20 different short routes or otherwise they will be perma-camped and the courier industry will go the other way with them having far too much in the loses category trying to break through.

Additionally with different roids on either side, they will not be able to neglect each others trade.
Sera Kor-Azor
Amarrian Mission of the Sacred Word
#905 - 2013-09-26 03:56:43 UTC
I like this idea, I have suggested it before myself as a way to 'fix low sec'.

The reason I like it is because it reflects the mythology of the unexplored, the frontier regions, which every good story (and history) revolves around. The story of the Odyssey is about leaving the safety of Greece and moving into dangerous unknown waters. The Roman Catholic church maintained the early highways of Europe because they were camped by brigands. Marco Polo had to traverse dangerous trade routes to get to and trade with China. Explorers such as John Cabot discovered North America only when they were looking for new trade routes, because the known 'silk roads' were too dangerous. We know the name 'Jack Sparrow' and 'Blackbeard' because the pirates of the Caribbean are a story of intrigue and excitement.

This is the way things are in real life. There are areas of 'Empire', or high security, which are surrounded by low security or even null security space. Yes, it's true that we can ship products from China to America relatively safely nowadays, but these are never the sorts of stories which make for interesting reading.

During the age of exploration, about the 1400s, England, France, Spain and Portugal could be considered the four empires. The high seas were low-sec, not an area where you could live....but an area you HAD to cross to trade or do business. It was pretty well understood that when you crossed the Ocean, you were taking your life into your own hands.

By separating the four empires, you really do make EVE seem bigger, and the four factions seem more exotic. If crossing the ocean is a dangerous thing to do, it becomes a great adventure. If it is a simple matter of taking a 12 hour flight six times a year, it becomes dull and routine.

Also, no one is FORCING anyone to jump into low-sec, or FORCING anyone to travel between factions. You can stay within your own factional space and still do well. I'm a high sec carebear in Amarr myself, and there are plenty of regions in Amarr to trade between. Also, if you run Level 4 missions it takes you months to grind standings. You could easily learn to fly a cloaky hauler within that time. Mind you, unless there is a low-sec buffer zone between the four factions, what is the point of flying a cloaky hauler, really?

As it has been pointed out, everything that a player needs can be easily made within the region where it is used and sold. It's not as though the market will crash because there is no more easy route to Jita. It might happen that some ships and modules from other factions will become more expensive, but that's only because the adventurous 'Marco Polo' type has realized he/ she can sell it for more profit. Why shouldn't the Amarrians fly mostly Amarrian ships, and the Caldari fly mostly Caldari ships?

If you want to get into PVP, you can train to be a tackler in 3 days, but it will take you months or even years to be able to fly and fight proficiently. If you want to get into mining, you can fly a Venture in a few days, but it will take you years to get into a Hulk or an Orca. These are highly developed professions with an extensive skill-tree. Shouldn't hauling and trading be the same? High sec hauling is easy, but shouldn't hauling to other Factions be more difficult/ adventurous/ exotic/ profitable?

It would make the profession of hauling and trading in EVE seem a lot more like the Marco Polo adventurers, or the early traders with caravans or Galleons, rather than the Wall Street executives that sit in glass towers and arrange trades by telephone, or shipping goods by rail.

Also, low-sec is not as dangerous as it sounds. It is not 'Insta-death'. I have travelled through many low sec systems with ten or so pirates in local and was never engaged. Most of low sec (99%) is empty. With a little planning, you can check the map for 'jumps in the last hour' and 'ships destroyed in the last hour' and avoid those systems to map out a safe route. If low sec was expanded so that it separated the factional empires, there still wouldn't be enough pirates to cover all the possible routes from one Empire to the next.

Since faction warfare takes place in low-sec, it is likely that most of the people in that system would be the Factional militia on your side. A little cooperation with them might ensure safe passage through that system, as well as a potential contract for ships and modules. Yes, the enemy could be there too, or pirates, but that is the risk you take.

One of the things people are forgetting is that it is COMBAT which drives the EVE economy. Take a look at the market list, practically everything is a war ship, or a combat module. When ships blow up, there is a need for new ships to be built. That means more minerals need to be mined, and hauled, and sold, and so on.

It's also possible to travel through wormholes, completely bypassing the low-sec areas and the possible gate camps.

"A manu dei e tet rimon" - I am the devoted hand of the divine God.
Maldiro Selkurk
Radiation Sickness
#906 - 2013-09-26 04:19:59 UTC
Another "you can only agree with me post"

yeah for those not confident enough in their idea for counter arguments.

btw, if you make the game frustrating enough for we highsec carebears this game is likely to go belly up, so be careful what you ask CCP to do that might get large numbers of carebears to rage quit for keeps.

Yawn,  I'm right as usual. The predictability kinda gets boring really.
kidkoma
Hedion University
Amarr Empire
#907 - 2013-09-26 05:59:47 UTC
Just read OP and nothing else. I like it, this might be fun. Everything will get hella-expensive. But blockade runners still exist and are a great option.

This would be a huge-ish disruption to Jita/market stuff, prices would almost certainly go up, which is actually good if you are an enterprising Capsuleer.

This is a game, and risky adventure would be the name of it, if it wasn't already called EvE.

Perhaps that could be the name of the expansion? I mean, prediction, winter expansion is going to be called Risky Adventure, You heard it first here.

EvE: Risky Adventure.
Mr Barbeque
Mayhem and Ruin
#908 - 2013-09-26 06:57:56 UTC
Maldiro Selkurk wrote:
Another "you can only agree with me post"

yeah for those not confident enough in their idea for counter arguments.

btw, if you make the game frustrating enough for we highsec carebears this game is likely to go belly up, so be careful what you ask CCP to do that might get large numbers of carebears to rage quit for keeps.

Plenty have tried, and I fail to see a counter argument not defeated. Funny how confident you try to portray yourself without one yourself.

The only frustrating part would be an unwillingness to adapt. (lack of effort, stupidity, ignorance, ect...) Eve is meant to be challenging, and this would add challenging aspects to courier trips. As they stand now, its one of the most boring gameplay aspects in game. The root of the AFK disease is its so dull you don't want to sit through it, so click auto-pilot and do other things. The OP would make being a courier a much more legitimate and interesting career.

But wait, don't make eve more interesting. It might make people have to try harder and rage quit!
Lukas Rox
Aideron Technologies
#909 - 2013-09-26 10:06:21 UTC  |  Edited by: Lukas Rox
First I wanted to say that this change will cause a massive inflation. All that "Yang" (PVPers) and Yin (Manufacturers) blah blah.

But after careful consideration, dividing empires with low sec borders will only cause one big change: Jita will loose it's "primary trade hub" status in favour of local hubs in each empire.

* T1 prices are unlike to experience any inflation at all, because:
- local mineral suppliers will handle the demand
- nullsec minerals will flow from neighboring nullsecs to local trade hubs

* T2 prices will see a minor inflation
- currently Jita is the best market for t2 components
- ships will be moving those across borders, some of them will be lost
- manufacturers will add these losses to their cost

* Jump Freighters will become more common, a price spike will happen initially, then the supply is going to flood the market, thus prices will come back to (or below) their current level

* There will be more Jump Freighters in game
- thus, there will be more Jump Freighter kills = FUN for PVPers. More work for Manufacturers. More ISK to change hands (which is good).

* Transport ships able to use cloaking device will see a similar price spike to Jump Freighters, but most likely less pronounced.

* Red Frog freight will be divided into 4 racial divisions

* Black Frog freight will earn much more money

* PVPers will have more targets to shoot = FUN for them. More ships lost = more work for manufacturers. More ISK to move around.

* It will be a bit harder for missioners to change faction they run missions for. Most likely ppl will be buying one PVE ship for every racial region, andthen use jump clones to move between them

* Less inter-racial migration means some parts of high-sec space might become crowded (Caldari Online anyone?)

* "Foreign" ice prices will go up

* People will switch to racial towers based on the empire they reside in.

* Uedama will loose it's "gank central" status - no one will be flying through that anymore.

I realize that above analysis of the impact is not very deep, but it seems that the 150% inflation or 50% players rage quitting is unlikely to happen.

Proud developer of LMeve: Industry Contribution and Mass Production Tracker: https://github.com/roxlukas/lmeve | Blogging about EVE on http://pozniak.pl/wp/
Maldiro Selkurk
Radiation Sickness
#910 - 2013-09-26 10:22:17 UTC  |  Edited by: Maldiro Selkurk
Mr Barbeque wrote:
Maldiro Selkurk wrote:
Another "you can only agree with me post"

yeah for those not confident enough in their idea for counter arguments.

btw, if you make the game frustrating enough for we highsec carebears this game is likely to go belly up, so be careful what you ask CCP to do that might get large numbers of carebears to rage quit for keeps.

Plenty have tried, and I fail to see a counter argument not defeated. Funny how confident you try to portray yourself without one yourself.

The only frustrating part would be an unwillingness to adapt. (lack of effort, stupidity, ignorance, ect...) Eve is meant to be challenging, and this would add challenging aspects to courier trips. As they stand now, its one of the most boring gameplay aspects in game. The root of the AFK disease is its so dull you don't want to sit through it, so click auto-pilot and do other things. The OP would make being a courier a much more legitimate and interesting career.

But wait, don't make eve more interesting. It might make people have to try harder and rage quit!


So, let me get this straight it should be challenging to do things in EVE, do I have that part right?

Then out of the deepest concern for your game playing experience I absolutely prohibit CCP from even considering this proposal. I would hate for freighters to be forced into easy-mode gate camps, giving you basically 'auto-pilot' ganking and take all your fun away.

I know you pew, pew types are too proud to say thanks, so I'll just say, "You're welcome!".

Yawn,  I'm right as usual. The predictability kinda gets boring really.
Lukas Rox
Aideron Technologies
#911 - 2013-09-26 10:32:06 UTC
Maldiro Selkurk wrote:


So, let me get this straight it should be challenging to do things in EVE, do I have that part right?

Then out of the deepest concern for your game playing experience I absolutely prohibit CCP from even considering this proposal. I would hate for freighters to be forced into easy-mode gate camps, giving you basically 'auto-pilot' ganking and take all your fun away.

I know you pew, pew types are too proud to say thanks, so I'll just say, "You're welcome!".


I don't know about you, but if this goes through, I simply WON'T be flying my freighter cross-empires, period. Why risk the ship you don't want to loose? If this change goes live, all we have to do is forget about Jita (unless one is in Caldari space). You won't have to go there, because new markets will emerge for each empire (emerge or grow? because they already exist anyway).

Proud developer of LMeve: Industry Contribution and Mass Production Tracker: https://github.com/roxlukas/lmeve | Blogging about EVE on http://pozniak.pl/wp/
Sosiame
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#912 - 2013-09-26 12:15:49 UTC
+1 for the thread
+1 for the effort
Oswald Bolke
Pator Tech School
Minmatar Republic
#913 - 2013-09-26 14:58:43 UTC
I feel like this isn't a good idea. why? it's another attempt at buffing pirates, which I feel if anything needs a nerf.
if this happens so much for cross empire trade. every pirate and his sister will be sitting at gates between major trade hubs, forcing people to go around for miles

also, not once have I ever seen a pirate not shoot a ship, even if it was empty
"oh you iteron is empty? well go on then"....said no pirate ever


all we will see if this happens is prices going up, less stuff being available in markets and pirates padding their killboards instead of "making more money" off of people. we add on even MORE risk for haulers and associated players while nothing of the sort for pirates is given. I would be open to this if pirates had some sort of nerf, like not being able to dock or faction police patrols randomly happening...but as this suggestion stands...unless some magic wormhole appears to jita, players would be forced to travel through magic pirate frollic space land to get their stuff sold...while Pirates can just sit in space and rack up the dough and kills.

It's about risk reward, and it's not fair to give more risk to one play style just so another can get a bigger reward off of haulers hard earned cash.
Joe Risalo
State War Academy
Caldari State
#914 - 2013-09-26 17:53:49 UTC
no... just .... no

All this would cause it grouping of high sec players into smaller areas.

Jita would become the main gaming hub completely...

No point in leaving Caldari space when Jita is the major trade hub of the game.

If you break high sec up, you break the game, and it dies.


Good to see you think your ganks at low sec gate camps are more important than Eve as a whole...
Delhaven
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#915 - 2013-09-26 18:25:37 UTC
Read the first page, skipped most of the rest.

I really like this idea. Having high-sec "enclaves" with higher risk areas in between would make things a lot more interesting. Industrialists would end up thinking a lot more about what to do with their goods, which beats the "build in place, AFK to Jita, AFK back, rinse and repeat" way that it's done now.

It also won't force anyone to do anything: other people will always be willing to haul things if you aren't, it'll just cut into profitability. This will leave people with a choice: either play it safe by buying and selling in a local market with worse prices, or gambling for a higher reward by getting better prices elsewhere at the risk of getting blown up on route. And to me, that kind of risk/reward choice is the best part of what Eve is about.

Conflict is always a driver of innovation and industry, and this would work well to that end.

Random thought: I'm not sure how exactly, but I could see Deep Space Transports being modified to have a real role if this happened.
Mr Barbeque
Mayhem and Ruin
#916 - 2013-09-26 18:30:32 UTC
Maldiro Selkurk wrote:
So, let me get this straight it should be challenging to do things in EVE, do I have that part right?

Then out of the deepest concern for your game playing experience I absolutely prohibit CCP from even considering this proposal. I would hate for freighters to be forced into easy-mode gate camps, giving you basically 'auto-pilot' ganking and take all your fun away.

I know you pew, pew types are too proud to say thanks, so I'll just say, "You're welcome!".

I still have yet to see a reasoned counter argument...

Read the OP, then some of the thread. It has been repeatedly made clear that this is not a change to funnel traffic through specific choke points. In fact, in the cartography discussed should have many different route possibilities and combinations as to avoid predictable insta-lock camps and such.

Freighters would not be forced into lowsec, nor does anyone expect them to be. They should not be flown there. There's a class for this called transport ships. Cloaky haulers can move your shinies, with reliable success. JF's can move large volume if you know how to cyno.

Pirates do not sit on gates all day. Not every jump in low is camped by a gang of pirates. A gate camp is also a large static target for other 'pirates' (aka NBSI players in low) to attack. The only more static camps are at the predictable entry and choke points, see cartography above.
Joe Risalo wrote:
no... just .... no

All this would cause it grouping of high sec players into smaller areas.

Jita would become the main gaming hub completely...

No point in leaving Caldari space when Jita is the major trade hub of the game.

If you break high sec up, you break the game, and it dies.


Good to see you think your ganks at low sec gate camps are more important than Eve as a whole...

I know its a threadnaught, but do read it. Every one of your points has been raised and addressed. It would not break eve, that's a fact.
Joe Risalo
State War Academy
Caldari State
#917 - 2013-09-26 18:58:08 UTC
Mr Barbeque wrote:
Maldiro Selkurk wrote:
So, let me get this straight it should be challenging to do things in EVE, do I have that part right?

Then out of the deepest concern for your game playing experience I absolutely prohibit CCP from even considering this proposal. I would hate for freighters to be forced into easy-mode gate camps, giving you basically 'auto-pilot' ganking and take all your fun away.

I know you pew, pew types are too proud to say thanks, so I'll just say, "You're welcome!".

I still have yet to see a reasoned counter argument...

Read the OP, then some of the thread. It has been repeatedly made clear that this is not a change to funnel traffic through specific choke points. In fact, in the cartography discussed should have many different route possibilities and combinations as to avoid predictable insta-lock camps and such.

Freighters would not be forced into lowsec, nor does anyone expect them to be. They should not be flown there. There's a class for this called transport ships. Cloaky haulers can move your shinies, with reliable success. JF's can move large volume if you know how to cyno.

Pirates do not sit on gates all day. Not every jump in low is camped by a gang of pirates. A gate camp is also a large static target for other 'pirates' (aka NBSI players in low) to attack. The only more static camps are at the predictable entry and choke points, see cartography above.
Joe Risalo wrote:
no... just .... no

All this would cause it grouping of high sec players into smaller areas.

Jita would become the main gaming hub completely...

No point in leaving Caldari space when Jita is the major trade hub of the game.

If you break high sec up, you break the game, and it dies.


Good to see you think your ganks at low sec gate camps are more important than Eve as a whole...

I know its a threadnaught, but do read it. Every one of your points has been raised and addressed. It would not break eve, that's a fact.


It may not "break" the game in your understanding of the word, but it would break the game.
The best market in game is in Jita. Everyone would flock to this region.

All new characters would be created as caldari.
What's the point of creating an Amarrian if you're just gonna move to caldari space and can cross train for anything?

There would be no point in having a high sec other than Caldari space..

IE... Game breaking
CorsairV
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#918 - 2013-09-26 18:59:03 UTC
I think when faction warfare systems are contested they should have reduced security. Would create new market fluctuations, ganking opportunities for neutrals, etc.
Ordellus
Doomheim
#919 - 2013-09-26 21:28:21 UTC
This is just as silly as dividing low sec up into regions and intra spacing it with high sec space.

Forcing playstyles is a bad thing.
Sera Kor-Azor
Amarrian Mission of the Sacred Word
#920 - 2013-09-26 21:53:28 UTC
Quote:
It may not "break" the game in your understanding of the word, but it would break the game.
The best market in game is in Jita. Everyone would flock to this region.

All new characters would be created as caldari.
What's the point of creating an Amarrian if you're just gonna move to caldari space and can cross train for anything?

There would be no point in having a high sec other than Caldari space..

IE... Game breaking


Saying 'the best market is in Jita' is like saying "I can buy everything at Wal-Mart, so why would anyone need a mom & pop hardware store in their home town?

The super popularity of Jita was once another thread on it's own, since it was causing massive lag on the servers. The discussion was 'How do we solve the Jita problem?'

Sure, Jita is the best market in EVE....for now.....but only because people keep feeding the beast. There is nothing magical about Jita. In fact, Jita developed as a super hub only because the actions of the players, it had nothing to do with any decision by CCP. The original massive super trade hub was once in Yulai, in the Genesis constellation. The trade hub organically drifted to Jita mainly because of it's central location, and the popularity of choosing Caldari at the time, because they got better missions, the 'chosen race' of CCP. Today, Yulai is a ghost town, and the 'chosen race' is Amarr. This change hardly destroyed EVE.

If there was an area of low sec separating the four empires, then Amarr, Dodixie, Rens and Hek would all become the new 'mini-Jitas', regional super markets. It would be like splitting Jita up into five. You wouldn't need to go to Jita to buy or sell, because Amarr/ Rens / Dodixie would have exactly the same thing at a comparable price.

Instead of punishing anyone who didn't choose Caldari, in fact it would be the opposite...it would be a massive boost for local regional trade. Amarr, Gallente and Minmatar would no longer feel penalized for choosing a race so far away from the 'massive super trade hub' of Jita. Ask someone in Gallente Factional warfare how they feel about Jita being so close to their front lines.

Even if Jita still remained the undisputed king of trade hubs, being separated from JIta by a small area of low sec would hardly be a barrier to trade. It would just mean that it would be slightly more challenging to trade between regions, as well as more profitable. It's like the difference between taking a bus to the restaurant, or walking there. It's only a LITTLE more effort.

Can you imagine the first explorers or pioneers being offered a chance to exploit the riches of a new world, only to have someone say "but it's so far to go! We might die in the ocean! Six weeks on a ship is horrible! There's pirates! The food sucks!" Guess what? The people who said those things stayed in England where life was comfortable, and no one ever built statues of them.

The people that first subscribe to EVE don't think to themselves "I will make a fortune in imaginary currency trading imaginary goods in an imaginary market in a computer game." They watch YouTube videos of combat between spaceships and think 'that's cool!'. Making the easy ISK by AFK hauling through high sec is just a tedious activity that they become accustomed to, like a job that just pays the rent. Learning to fly a cloaky hauler through low sec to discover and trade with another nation is a little more like the EVE they envisioned, a dangerous universe separated by vast interstellar distances.

Marco Polo and the other early merchants could have stayed in Europe where it was reasonably safe. It was the potential profit of the spice trade which tempted him to venture to China.....in spite of the dangers. Those things he brought back with him were fascinating and valuable precisely because they were so hard to get. Nowadays, you can drive your gas-guzzling SUV to Wal-Mart and all the shelves are filled with plastic junk mass produced in China. Sure, the people that shop at Wal-Mart have a lot easier of a time getting stuff from China than Marco Polo did, but will we remember any of their names in five hundred years?

A ship is safe while docked in a harbour, but that's not what ships were designed for. For that matter, capsuleers were made immortal by being given clones, but not for the purpose of remaining completely safe in high sec at all times. Instead of being afraid of the water, learn how to swim!

You can remain within your own Faction of high sec space and do quite well for years if you choose. Each faction has several regions, with hundreds of agents, and it takes a long time to grind standings. Amarr, Dodixie, Rens and Hek are all robust markets in themselves, they simply don't have the high volume of trade than an over-hyped Jita does. I think of Jita exactly the same way I think of a Wal-Mart, it's a buyer's market to get things for cheap, not a sellers market to sell what you make at a good price. Stuff made in America might cost more to buy, but that money goes into the wallets of an American worker and not some Chinese prison-labour camp. Sadly, it's hard for people to overlook that they save themselves a few dimes by stabbing local labour in the back.

No one is forcing you to travel between regions, or to buy from Jita instead of a regional market to save a few ISK. In fact, by buying locally you save yourself ISK in the form of opportunity cost. It might be worth it to pay a few extra thousand for a module and get back faster to that million ISK an hour you make missioning or mining, rather than buying that module for a few thousand ISK cheaper price, but spending an hour making an unprofitable trip to Jita and back.

"A manu dei e tet rimon" - I am the devoted hand of the divine God.