EVE General Discussion

On a serious note, yes. There's a geek & tech market you can (and should) dig into. People have been asking for that since '03, we've seen plenty of player created content over the years as well, from renders in the blender communities via fan fiction to technical background / element content in roleplaying groups.

Question isn't so much whether to market it, but how. Particularly since such user and community types tend to be rather high maintenance - it's not an eve thing, go fishing with franchises like Perry Rhodan or BattleTech for hints.

A major caveat you should however keep in mind is that the marketable value of immersive content is nill without added mythos. Simply put: hull history may sell a bit, but not for long, and not by much. Hull history tied in with storyline / dynamic content + extra's (things to do / share) is the proven better approach.

Funny thing, aside of that mishap with user designed ships once upon a time (remember the chaos and long aftermath), that was something which could have yielded a lot of useful adopt/share type of exposure. I'm surprised CCP hasn't hooked up with space agencies (private and public) considering some ships of recent years are right out of tech experiments from there :P Synergy folks .. explore it.

Incidentally, ever considered taking a page out of Jesuit notes? Get 'em young - paper model kits, cardboard cutouts, foldout postcards from outer space, explore the angles to give free & freely. Build up an experience base, then try commercial avenues. No matter the number of accounts subscribed, Torfi should not (again) forget that you're dealing with a niche market model. CCP is not a retail company. Again: remember the store drama over the years. You're not retail. Stay digital, enable players to make things real. It's the foundation right there either way.

On a less serious note, I don't doubt there's enough people who will buy good material not just for its own value, if it keeps the man away from game design and venture development. Too much damage was done.

OK....
So you've discussed this idea internally to death now?
So the lore players love it. The PVP players see it as a waist of developer time (ignore please!)
Sounds like to me you need to get this on a release schedule target if it is ever going to happen.

Many plus one's for this. It's real geek candy.

I've given this issue of commercial demand for extra media some thought. Here is the thing:

If players buy media content of any kind separately from the contract to play the game (subscription payment), how can that separation be maintained with respect to the in game media?

You can sell a physical model separately to the digital media. You can sell glossy posters, beer coolers, hats and other physical manifestations of media and yet keep them separate from in game media.

But lore and back story? I don't think so. It seems inherently doomed to undermine the in game media, and so corrupt the subscription deal that has already been made.

I'd counsel to avoid any discussion of trying to sell IP (images, lore etc) beyond the subscription deal. The deal is that you pay and you get, and what you get is ALL the lore, all the digital media. You get Eve, plain and simple, and that means all the IP to enjoy.

Having said that, there are many ways to leverage popular IP and to use it to generate margins in separate business streams. This is not a new thing, some publishers are better at it than others.

Much as I love you CCP guys, if we brutally honest, you suck at leveraging your IP. You are professional developers but amateur publishers.

You will know when you don't suck at publishing because you will start talking about leveraging IP instead of selling it.

Good luck, and god's speed. I have every faith you will get there in the end.

Quoting for posterity.

+ 1 i would buy it, not because need but for the support of EVE developement :) so one day we can open the door from our CQ

Only if it actually makes its way into the game at some point.

I'd buy that book.

As long as we get a lot more like that Algos cutaway, and you guys TAKE YOUR TIME and MAKE IT LOOK ******* GORGEOUS, I would gladly wait and pay all the money for a nice hardcover.

But if you guys were to do this, and it was rushed, and it looked like it was rushed, youd **** off ALOT of people.

Im patient and am willing to wait for quality.

Does this kind of thing exist? WIS is one thing, but this sort of technical lore would add many layers to EVE's "realness".

Nah, would not buy. I already got the collectors edition. We were supposed to get more stuff for free. Still waiting.