GPCGMR - 'EVE Online' virtual war costing hundreds of thousands of real dollars
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Darth Sidious
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Los Angeles - James Carl was asleep when the first shot was fired.
As he slumbered away in Costa Mesa, the 29-year-old banker's virtual space fleet was under siege early Monday morning in what's become the most destructive and expensive battle in the 10-year history of "EVE Online," the gargantuan online sci-fi video game.
"EVE Online" -- with more than 500,000 players from around the world piloting starships, trading goods and engaging in galactic espionage -- utilizes its own in-game currency, and Carl expects the damage from Monday's conflict to be the game equivalent of about $500,000 in real-world cash, based on data compiled from within the game.
The skirmish first erupted after a member of Carl's coalition missed a payment to protect an area that's been used as a staging ground for a war raging between Carl's Pandemic and N3 coalition versus CFC and Russian forces.
"Supposedly, it was set up for auto-pay, just like any other bill in real life, but either that didn't happen or the money wasn't in the wallet, and then everything just escalated out of control from there," said Carl. "The dust is still settling on that issue. Everyone is just focused right now on fighting to try to regain control of the system."
During Monday's encounter, more than 100 Titan vessels were destroyed. The megaships, which are akin to the Death Star from "Star Wars," are the largest ships in the game and are worth about $3,000 each in real-world money. The Titans also take months for gamers to build. That's months in real time: a lot of nights, weekends and days-off actually spent constructing the virtual warships.
Carl was awakened by a messaging app on his phone used by alliance members alerting him that their system B-R5RB was under attack by rivals. He wasn't scheduled to work in real life Monday, so he spent the entire day sending virtual ships into the fray. He said dozens of his alliance members took off work to join the fight, which is being waged by more than 4,000 players -- and spectated by thousands more on the game streaming service Twitch.
It's an unprecedented battle unique to "EVE," which simulates a universe of more than 7,000 stars and whose virtual economy is linked to real-world money, unlike many other online role-playing games, such as "World of Warcraft" and "Lord of the Rings Online."
"I'd be lying if I said our servers weren't sweating a bit," said "EVE Online" spokesman Ned Coker of CCP Games, the Reykjavik, Iceland-based video game developer who created the online universe. "Allowing players free movement wherever they want in a game with over half a million players means for some pretty tricky technological requirements."
To compensate for thousands of starship captains battling each other online, Coker said CCP Games instituted what it calls "time dilation," which slows down the game's servers to about 10 percent of normal time, so players aren't dropped and their commands are issued in the order in which they were received. Carl said it has made for a massive but slow battle.
"In many ways it's a quintessential sci-fi experience, where thousands of people from all around the globe are waging a huge conflict that will have real repercussions on the politics, economy and social structures of a virtual universe," said Coker.
The real-world value of "EVE" currency is based on an actual exchange rate set within the game, but the primary basis for value in the game's virtual economy is the time and skill that gamers put into such concepts as the mining of minerals, the selling of goods and services, or the stealing of goods and money -- just don't get caught.
However, if players want a shortcut, they can put real-world money into the game to buy "EVE" currency and equipment, as determined by the exchange rate, but the money can only be exchanged from real to virtual.
Meanwhile, Carl is optimistic his coalition will recover from the latest "EVE" upheaval.
"It looks like CFC is winning, but we're hoping now that all of our U.S. players are online, we'll turn the tide," said Carl. "Whatever happens, we'll keep going. 'EVE' is a universe full of grudges and constantly changing politics. If we were to lose, we'll rebuild. Then, we'll go back and start another war."
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25009481/eve-online-virtual-war-costing-hundreds-thousands-real?source=rss
As he slumbered away in Costa Mesa, the 29-year-old banker's virtual space fleet was under siege early Monday morning in what's become the most destructive and expensive battle in the 10-year history of "EVE Online," the gargantuan online sci-fi video game.
"EVE Online" -- with more than 500,000 players from around the world piloting starships, trading goods and engaging in galactic espionage -- utilizes its own in-game currency, and Carl expects the damage from Monday's conflict to be the game equivalent of about $500,000 in real-world cash, based on data compiled from within the game.
The skirmish first erupted after a member of Carl's coalition missed a payment to protect an area that's been used as a staging ground for a war raging between Carl's Pandemic and N3 coalition versus CFC and Russian forces.
"Supposedly, it was set up for auto-pay, just like any other bill in real life, but either that didn't happen or the money wasn't in the wallet, and then everything just escalated out of control from there," said Carl. "The dust is still settling on that issue. Everyone is just focused right now on fighting to try to regain control of the system."
During Monday's encounter, more than 100 Titan vessels were destroyed. The megaships, which are akin to the Death Star from "Star Wars," are the largest ships in the game and are worth about $3,000 each in real-world money. The Titans also take months for gamers to build. That's months in real time: a lot of nights, weekends and days-off actually spent constructing the virtual warships.
Carl was awakened by a messaging app on his phone used by alliance members alerting him that their system B-R5RB was under attack by rivals. He wasn't scheduled to work in real life Monday, so he spent the entire day sending virtual ships into the fray. He said dozens of his alliance members took off work to join the fight, which is being waged by more than 4,000 players -- and spectated by thousands more on the game streaming service Twitch.
It's an unprecedented battle unique to "EVE," which simulates a universe of more than 7,000 stars and whose virtual economy is linked to real-world money, unlike many other online role-playing games, such as "World of Warcraft" and "Lord of the Rings Online."
"I'd be lying if I said our servers weren't sweating a bit," said "EVE Online" spokesman Ned Coker of CCP Games, the Reykjavik, Iceland-based video game developer who created the online universe. "Allowing players free movement wherever they want in a game with over half a million players means for some pretty tricky technological requirements."
To compensate for thousands of starship captains battling each other online, Coker said CCP Games instituted what it calls "time dilation," which slows down the game's servers to about 10 percent of normal time, so players aren't dropped and their commands are issued in the order in which they were received. Carl said it has made for a massive but slow battle.
"In many ways it's a quintessential sci-fi experience, where thousands of people from all around the globe are waging a huge conflict that will have real repercussions on the politics, economy and social structures of a virtual universe," said Coker.
The real-world value of "EVE" currency is based on an actual exchange rate set within the game, but the primary basis for value in the game's virtual economy is the time and skill that gamers put into such concepts as the mining of minerals, the selling of goods and services, or the stealing of goods and money -- just don't get caught.
However, if players want a shortcut, they can put real-world money into the game to buy "EVE" currency and equipment, as determined by the exchange rate, but the money can only be exchanged from real to virtual.
Meanwhile, Carl is optimistic his coalition will recover from the latest "EVE" upheaval.
"It looks like CFC is winning, but we're hoping now that all of our U.S. players are online, we'll turn the tide," said Carl. "Whatever happens, we'll keep going. 'EVE' is a universe full of grudges and constantly changing politics. If we were to lose, we'll rebuild. Then, we'll go back and start another war."
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25009481/eve-online-virtual-war-costing-hundreds-thousands-real?source=rss
Comments
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That sounds beyond epic. However I do not know how these people keep their jobs.
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Yeah, yeah, that's cool for them.
Where's WOD, though? -
That sounds beyond epic. However I do not know how these people keep their jobs.
I don't know, I haven't played any mmorpg because of the time suck but if I were younger with less responsibilities, Eve is the one I would play.
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With most mmo's you just gotta manage your time and know when to stop. Something like this though I wouldn't see the sun for months on end.
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That sounds beyond epic. However I do not know how these people keep their jobs.
mmorpg's aren't as time consuming as they use to be. In most games you can pretty much be considered a top player just from averaging 3 hours a day. Unless you're playing a game that's all about grinding, like maplestory.
In the old days, it would take like 6months to a year to reach max level, nowadays it's more like 2 weeks - 1 month depending on how much you play. -
That sounds beyond epic. However I do not know how these people keep their jobs.
mmorpg's aren't as time consuming as they use to be. In most games you can pretty much be considered a top player just from averaging 3 hours a day. Unless you're playing a game that's all about grinding, like maplestory.
In the old days, it would take like 6months to a year to reach max level, nowadays it's more like 2 weeks - 1 month depending on how much you play.
It just sounded like a grindy game from the description in the article hence me saying what I said. I personally really wouldn't be able to play that type of mmo because of school work and etc. Something like Age of Conan(which is my top mmo) I can play however. Back in the days BC and pre BC in WoW I would take days off from school (test days mind you)and ? just to play that game lol, thats why I don't think I would be able to play eve though I am interested in it. -
Yeah, I don't have three hours a day, I might go a week or two without playing and then every day for an hour or so. I have friends who play these and I have never synced up with them to try it but I do like reading about it.
Final Report!
http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/01/30/ccp-issue-final-battle-report-on-eve-onlines-most-destructive-battle-will-? -permanent-memorial/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=emp
CCP issue final battle report on EVE Online's most destructive battle
If life does exist in the far reaches of the galaxy, then for all we know they're knocking the hell out of each other with colourful lasers right now. Less unknown are the conflicts of fictional space, which, thanks to APIs, video feeds and the internet in general, can be reported on in all its bewilderingly immense detail. Internet spaceship fights don't get more immense than the battle of B-R5RB. CCP have collected up, totalled and explain what happened, providing a final battle report on the carnage.
The big numbers then. First, 75 of the colossal Titans fell across the 21 hours of fighting. For an idea of how one sided the war was, know that N3/PL lost 59 Titans to CFC/DTF's 16. While they were the biggest and most expensive losses, the battle also saw the destruction of 13 Supercarriers, 370 Dreadnaughts and 123 Carriers. In total, 11 trillion ISK was lost - with more than 8.5 trillion of that coming from N3/PL. CCP note that, according to some PLEX conversions, that's between $300,000-$330,000 of damage. You can see some of this damage in action, thanks to the video footage of one third party pilot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCK-E5AopVI
CCP also bring some historical context to the missed bill payment that triggered the battle:
"Missed bill payments are certainly not new to the human experience nor are they to EVE Online. Human error has caused many a system to lapse. Sometimes it merely means that another Territorial Control Unit (a flag of sorts) has to be anchored in space to regain control of the system. Sometimes it means that an entire region is lost and an Alliance is disbanded.
"This particular system however happened to be the staging system for all Pandemic Legion fleets in one of the largest wars to ever be waged in EVE Online. The Halloween War, having waged for months, had been punctuated by many engagements across the vast EVE universe. This single missed payment sparked off what would become the most expensive battle in EVE Online history. One pilot’s action (or inaction) had repercussions for the entire universe—a butterfly wing causing a massive typhoon of destruction."
Given the scale and size of destruction, a permanent reminder of the battle will be erected in-game. Travel to the seventh planet of the B-R5RB system and you'll find "Titanomachy", dedicated to the graveyard of time, money, and virtual spaceships.
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Well ? ...if I had the money for a sub and the computer I would get this. That video was awesome.
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That sounds beyond epic. However I do not know how these people keep their jobs.
mmorpg's aren't as time consuming as they use to be. In most games you can pretty much be considered a top player just from averaging 3 hours a day. Unless you're playing a game that's all about grinding, like maplestory.
In the old days, it would take like 6months to a year to reach max level, nowadays it's more like 2 weeks - 1 month depending on how much you play.
It just sounded like a grindy game from the description in the article hence me saying what I said. I personally really wouldn't be able to play that type of mmo because of school work and etc. Something like Age of Conan(which is my top mmo) I can play however. Back in the days BC and pre BC in WoW I would take days off from school (test days mind you)and ? just to play that game lol, thats why I don't think I would be able to play eve though I am interested in it.
Nah, you right, EVE is one of those game you have to put in a majority of your free time in, I was just speaking of mmorpg's in general, my bad, I should have worded that better. -
I wish there was a better video, not even close to the Battle of Asakai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLqb-m1ZZUA -
If there were more mmo's where player made events like this were possible, the genre wouldn't be so damn polluted right now. I love ? like this, what got me into mmo's in the first place.
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If there were more mmo's where player made events like this were possible, the genre wouldn't be so damn polluted right now. I love ? like this, what got me into mmo's in the first place.
I think darkFall unholy wars may have something like it, I don't know much about the game, so not sure.Little back story on this: Salvation, the guild who owns Hammerdale, recruited Fearitself into their guild, knowing that this kid stole our clan bank. So we decided to give them some hell for recruiting such a low life player into their guild.
This is a long video, I know. I could speed up parts, but I feel most people who are interested in the game want to watch unedited game play. Cause I know that is what I want to see when I'm researching a game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25zKkIrQDaU -
Just shows you how people will spend money on stupid ? ...
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lol. Fools.
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People are spending 3Gs on video game space ships? FOH
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »People are spending 3Gs on video game space ships? FOH
C/S. No hope for humans at all.
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Nerds!
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So this EVE game has gotten my interest as of late. Might give it a try at some point. But then I came across this video.
A FPS based in the EVE universe in real time.... you gotta click it. I ain't never seen ? like this before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_LlH2c5dyA -
So this EVE game has gotten my interest as of late. Might give it a try at some point. But then I came across this video.
A FPS based in the EVE universe in real time.... you gotta click it. I ain't never seen ? like this before.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_LlH2c5dyA
Yeah, Dust 514. ? is free on PS3 and been out for almost 2 years it seems like (if you count the beta). ? sucks but you can try it out for yourself; You might like it. -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »People are spending 3Gs on video game space ships? FOH
They don't actually spend money on that stuff, that's just how much it would be worth if someone were to sell/buy the equivalent currency amount, and they would probably get banned if they got caught selling their game currency.
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funkdocdamc wrote: »So this EVE game has gotten my interest as of late. Might give it a try at some point. But then I came across this video.
A FPS based in the EVE universe in real time.... you gotta click it. I ain't never seen ? like this before.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_LlH2c5dyA
Yeah, Dust 514. ? is free on PS3 and been out for almost 2 years it seems like (if you count the beta). ? sucks but you can try it out for yourself; You might like it.
Yep, I DLed it and played it for a while. The concept was good but the gameplay was garbage.The Lonious Monk wrote: »People are spending 3Gs on video game space ships? FOH
They don't actually spend money on that stuff, that's just how much it would be worth if someone were to sell/buy the equivalent currency amount, and they would probably get banned if they got caught selling their game currency.
Oh ok, that makes more sense, but I wonder how they even determine what it's real world worth would be.
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »funkdocdamc wrote: »So this EVE game has gotten my interest as of late. Might give it a try at some point. But then I came across this video.
A FPS based in the EVE universe in real time.... you gotta click it. I ain't never seen ? like this before.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_LlH2c5dyA
Yeah, Dust 514. ? is free on PS3 and been out for almost 2 years it seems like (if you count the beta). ? sucks but you can try it out for yourself; You might like it.
Yep, I DLed it and played it for a while. The concept was good but the gameplay was garbage.The Lonious Monk wrote: »People are spending 3Gs on video game space ships? FOH
They don't actually spend money on that stuff, that's just how much it would be worth if someone were to sell/buy the equivalent currency amount, and they would probably get banned if they got caught selling their game currency.
Oh ok, that makes more sense, but I wonder how they even determine what it's real world worth would be.
I don't know much about EVE, but I think they have a form of currency people can purchase for real money, and the price is determined by how much currency one would have to buy in order to buy one of those $3,000 ships in game.
That may not be the case, but I know that's usually how it is in other games I play, that of Chinese gold sellers determine the price.
I know in Guild Wars 2 legendary weapons are valued at $400-600 bucks based on the gem(bought with real money) to gold ratio.
But one can get one without spending a dime in about 3- 6 months of dedicated play if everything they do is working toward getting that legendary. -
Damn, where is the fun in these games. ? sound jobs.
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Dorks!
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »Damn, where is the fun in these games. ? sound jobs.
If someone takes it to seriously, then yeah, it can seem like a job, but other than that, it plays just like your basic rpg, except with more grind, and interactions with other players.
Every game is vastly different, but in Gw2 you generally just go around beating up ? like this, and doing dungeons and stuff, and collect gold and loot, and buy/make stuff, it's pretty casual compared to EVE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7oAPP7opyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hAWZ8l8yhc
