EVE Online Industrialists will get their expansion too!

I've been saying it for so long I can't remember when I first brought it up. Well, it seems that CCP were either listening to what I was saying (very unlikely) or they were already working on this very issue (much more likely).

As reported by EVE Network News, and mentioned to me by two reliable sources, CCP will release a new expansion, codename MIDAS, that will see Industrialist finally get the attention they deserve and the goodies they need! This follows an earlier article at Gamasutra which briefly discussed the economic implications in a game like EVE. The "news bomb" was released during an interview with EVE Associate Producer Arend Stuhrmann, which can be seen in a video over at MMORG.com.

Suffice to say that I am ecstatic to learn such great news. We know little so far. But knowing that something is brewing is excitement enough for one night!

EVE Online Speedlinking for April 6th, 2008

• Put your money where your mouth is - On EVE's economy and trade
• The Drone Bay Episode #5 - The guys pull one off without me and catch of few fishes!
• EVE Linkage - Thanks to my mate GodlessWanderer, a few good links
• Eve Online Creator Reynir Harðarson - World of Darkness fans, rejoice!
• The CSM Candidate Infozone - Blinky brilliantly puts together a list, all by himself!
• CCP’s Torfi Frans Olafsson On The Future Of Eve - Another great article from Jim
• Mammoth Explosion - When Wilhelm loses, he loses big!
• EVE Online Touch Screen video - running EVE on a Touch Screen PC

Quiet week! Enjoy!

EVE Online Speedlinking for April 1st, 2008

I know I'm a few days late for last week's speedlinking, but eh, no ones perfect! So here goes...

• Sins of a Solar Empire - Tipa pushed me over the edge and got me to play the demo
• Eve-Online: An incredible parody of the real world - an interesting perspective on EVE
• The music in Eve is mostly space music you know - Senyek on the background of EVE
• Getting into EVE Online - Jim Rossignol on starting up in EVE Online
• The Wholesale of Ravens... - Van Hemlock explains his EVE finances
• Put your money where your mouth is - Speaking of money...
• The Drone Bay #4 is now out! - Enjoy and let us know what you think!
• EVE Linkage - My buddy Godlesswanderer is back in EVE with some crazy screenshots!
• Eve Online Creator Reynir Harðarson - An interview on White Wolf CCP, based in Atlanta

That's it for now!

EVE Online Speedlinking for March 22nd, 2008

Well as I start to put together this week's list of links, I've just docked into Phoenix Labs Home station in Khanid Prime. Seems that our ops in Nuken is coming to a close. During my absence on the other side of the pond, the orders were given to move back to KP. Khanid Kingdom has been home to PPL for so long it's hard to imagine leaving for too long.

Anyways, back to this week's news and links. It's a long one this week, so grab yourself a coffee and start reading!

• Post your interstellar résumé at EVE Careers - Massively.com on EVE-Careers site
• Beastoria strikes again? - EVE runs skin deep for this dedicated gamers!
• Probing - Votrian comes across a great probing guides and shares his thoughts on it
• Caldari Navy Ibis: Noob Adventures in New Eden - a new EVE Online newby blog
• Mahogany Finish - Very opinonated, yet so entertaining (Warning! WoW content present)
• Goonswarm wants you! - James from Kill Ten Rats comes across an interesting corp ad
• Warp Drive Active Podcast #31 and #32 are now available at the VW Podcast Collective
• Try Catch in Eve Online - Proof that the EVE Devs have a sense of humour
• EVE Online: Frickin Huge, Frickin Difficult, But Kinda Frickin Cool. - Even Halo players get hooked
• Return of the Drake - Meaderings of Wihelm2451 on Caldari NPC missions
• The Drone Bay Episode #3 - This time, without yours truly
• The Council of Stellar Management, new blog by Xhagen - the title says it all
• The Council of Stellar Management - Call for Candidates officially began on March 18th
• Eve Avatars - Animated Forum Avatars - as mentioned below, get yours quickly!
• Your favourite ship in Eve - So what's your pick?
• Elections for EVE's player council begin in May - The CSM becomes a reality, well almost.
• Player governance in EVE - James, yes the same James from above, on the CSM
• What Can Virtual-World Economists Tell Us about Real-World Economies? - Scientific American covers EVE Economics!
• Maugrim McFiriba's Eve Online Journal - A well done in-Character EVE blog
• The Daily Grind: In-game cash for subscriptions? - CCP's (partial) answer to Real-Money-Trade
• Probing part 2: Tools of the Trade - Votrian continues his essay on Probing
• EVE Online Holds Democratic Elections - More coverage of the CSM
• The Seven Month Itch - Keeping your EVE Mojo up!
• The Amalgamated CSM Thread - Omber Zombie's list of all CSM EVE Forum threads!
• EVE's Council of Stellar Management: Making E-Democracy Work - Crovan on the CSM
• The architects of EVE society talk player elections - An interview with CCP on the CSM
• Speaking of the CSM, WDA Podcast #32 has a great segment on it - Make sure you listen to it
• Agony Unleashed - Copter's EVE Online Corp website
• The Stoned Hippies - An EVE Corp website; don't let the name fool you though

As I said before, a busy week. Losts of news on the Council of Stellar Management this week, a result of CCP making the annoucement that the Call for Candidates was now open. MMO history in the making folks. We live in interesting times I tell ya!

Ok, now it's time to undock and pay a visit to a couple of pirates! Fly safe folks!

Drone Bay Podcast: EVE Economic Segment Notes

For those who are about, or who just have listened to the Drone Bay Podcast #1, here are my notes for the EVE Economy segment which I covered during the show. All this information was taken mostly from the first Econ Dev Blog. I highly encourage you to read up on the QEN and other Dev Blog, they are very captivating.

Enjoy!

Econ Dev Blogs and the QENs

Published so far:
Introduction - Move over Greenspan
Econ Dev Blog #1 on Market Overview For Mineral Markets
Econ Dev Bog #2 on Production of space ships
Quarterly Economic Newsletter #1 - 3rd Quarter 2007
Econ Dev Blog #3 on Statistics on Corporation
Quarterly Economic Newsletter #2 - 4th Quarter 2007

Market Overview For Mineral Markets

• Minerals basis of the EVE economy
• The market economy is huge with thousands of transactions a day
• EVE population has increased 0.9% per week since launch, but its trade volume has increased by 1.29%
• Trade volume increases at a higher rate then population
• June 2007 1.6 trillion ISKs in minerals traded on a weekly basis - that's 100% year over year from June 2006
• 2 types of Minerals
• Low-end: Tritanium, Isogen, mexallon and pyrite
• High-end: megacyte, morphite, mocxium and zydrine

• High-end can only be mined in low sec and 0.0 space, whereas low-end minerals can be mined everywhere, including Empire
• Over the past year low-end volume increased by 180%, versus 250% for high-end. This because of the demand for Tech II production, which requires more high-end minerals
• Trade – where minerals change hands
• Over 5000 systems in EVE universe, spread out over 64 regions
• Empire space is where most of the mineral trade happens
• The top 10 regions have 80% of total quantity traded, with the 5 holding 50% (as of June 2007)
• Forge (Jita) has 12%, Heimatar follows closely with 11%
• The rest are:
• Verge Vendor
• Lonetrek
• Metropolis
• Sing Liason
• Tash-Murkon
• The Citadel
• Essence and Domain
  

• Traders – Great articles by Kaaii, on Trade Part 1, 2 and 3 in the first 3 issues of EON

EVE Online Economist video interview at GDC

Thanks to the guys at IncGamers PC, here's a video of the good Doctor.

[UPDATE October 2008: Seems the video was removed. If you find it, please let me know so that I may embed it again.]

Hey Doc, where's my Quarterly Economic Newsletter

On the way home tonight I was listening to the Shut Up We're Talking / VirginWorlds podcast and as Brent was going over his upcoming schedule for his week at GDC, he mentioned that he would attend a session with the good doctor, Dr. EyjoG that is, CCP's Lead Economist for EVE.

That brought up some questions for me. When was the last time we got one of his reports? Last year? Late last year? Well once home, I checked the last one I had bookmarked. The date, December 2007 - with his last Quarterly Economic Newsletter dating back the month before. Which means that Doc is somewhat overdue. Hopefully, GDC will coincide with the next newsletter or report, and that by Wednesday of this week. I'll have printed the second QEN and will be reading it during my commute home.

Now as most of you know, I'm a carebear. That's my nature as an EVE player, one which allows me to explore and seek understanding in EVE's inner workings - different than those a PvP player would seek. It's different from the whole PvP aspect of this virtual world, but somehow, there's this intrigue about it.

You may not know this, but in college I studied to become an Historian, and though I don't practice the profession, that curiosity is still there. This means that, as you may understand, I've thoroughly enjoyed these economic reports so far. As such, I'm really looking forward to the next one.

For those not too familiar with the economic reports from EVE economist, here are links to what's been published so far. Now get your pocket calculators out, and start adding those columns!

• Econ Dev Blog no.1 - Market Overview For Mineral Markets
• Econ Dev Blog no. 2 - Production of space ships
• Quarterly Economic Newsletter, 3rd Quarter 2007
• Econ Dev Blog No. 3 - Some statistics on corporations

Enjoy!

[20/02/2008 UPDATE: I was just two days ahead of the good Dr. The 2nd QEN is now available.]