No promises, but…

I am back in net-friendly parts of the world, presumably for a while, with a reasonably roaring computer at hand, and presumably a bit of time and inclination to look at games again.

What does it mean for EVEisBroken, then ?

Although my interest  in EVE as a player is not exactly peaking, it remains a one-of-a-kind animal in the MMO* market to date, and worth some time and attention, if only to learn from the spectacle of CCP's fumbling around.

Of note, the recent boon of very much worth reading DevBlogs, a tad on the technical side, which are encouraging.

Now if only they'd figure how to put the same energy in game design proper, I may have to rename this blog, but I don't see any tells of that happening anytime soon.

Still…

Err…

[I was drunk earlier, and now I'm at a Takeshi Kitano expo, don't wait on me.]

***

Wish granted !

…almost.

Just two days ago, I posted about what changes I thought the insurance system could benefit from, and here's what CCP released yesterday.

I, for once, can't complain: most of the changes outlined there seem healthy and sound, and largely match what I had in mind after a bit of pondering on the ISK and minerals in, outs and distribution relative to insurance and loot reprocessing.

The changes on loot reprocessability and distribution as well as the drone alloys recipes balancing, I  can certainly endorse. Increasing the mineral self-sufficiency of drone regions especially is in tune with this part of the map intended design and will not adversely affect the empire-bourne mineral market, although making the other 0.0 regions more self-sufficient on low-end minerals may be more of a mixed bag, yet not a bad move overall.

To be entirely fair, CCP is apparently committed to reach way beyond my expectations by including market value of materials even for T2 and T3 ships, which supposes they actually intend to write a new, all-encompassing insurance system — as opposed to merely tweak and hack onto the existing mechanics.

If they do it and don't get sidetracked: kudos.

A bit of a mystery to me is why CCP seems so shy to approach the issue of self-destruction and suicide ganks/Concordokkage… although I'm fine with suicide attacks remaining a viable tactic, I wouldn't expect my insurance to ever cover me ramming on purpose into a schoolbus with my moped.

Rest insured, dear players…

…wow, that was a nasty one ! Let's move on, quick.

There has been a bit of excitement lately about a possible insurance tweak/nerf to come (maybe), and while I didn't bother go and check for myself on SiSi, it's not hard to believe and agree with this guy when he claims to be appalled.

"I ran the numbers on this, and I must say I am appalled. Instead of refining the insurance formula, they simply reduced the base price of the ships by 31.7%. The net insurance rates are identical."

…told you he was — appalled.

Insurance has been a bone of contention for a while, and more so since CCP went out of its way to progressively phase out the sale of reprocess-able goods by NPC corporations.

Like almost everybody in EVE, I have an opinion on the matter, and you won't be surprised to find out I think insurance is broken.

Back

-ish.

I'm finally back in broadband-friendly parts of the world, with some spare time on my hands, and I hear rumors that could get me to care a wee bit about EVE again, notably:

• CCP is slowly realizing how fucked up Dominion sovereignty system is, 
  
• Mark/Abathur/Seleene is no longer in charge of making things worse in 0.0,
  
• a do-over of sovereignty, roles and other niceties is a not-so-distant possibility,
  
• CSM seems to be growing in influence, at least in the "get your head out of your arse alert" department.

…expect new ramblings sooner than SOON™.