Erik

I played LoTRO for a while and found that I was not competing with anyone else but myself and the game. "Pay to win" is a really philosophical stance for such an environment -- win against me ?! Finish the game ?!

For a theme park game without competition among players, cash shops are a non-issue in my opinion; not an issue on a game mechanical or balancing level anyway.

Such a heart-warming bow to the community this is ! Kudos. And thanks to all, who were there. This recent charm offensive of CCP certainly feels very, very good.

@LifeStylePink

You may want to picture this : what to do in EVE -- http://swiftandbitter.com/eve/wtd/

After the tutorials you need to get into a player-run corporation. Nyphur has also written good columns about that aspect. And the Corp Finder introduced in Incarna makes it easier than ever. It is essential, because the heart of EVE you'll find in the interaction with other players.

It is true : EVE does not serve history to you on a plate. Tube-level games do that. Yet still, history is happening around you all along.

What a lovely experiment. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

There is a good game featuring robots out there. Called Perpetuum. How can a game's IP be more important than game mechanics ? Well, I say, good luck.

@StClair
I would say, that is where DUST comes into sight handily when EVE players are looking for more short-winded excitement in game-play.

One shard ! One game universe !

The amount of insolence in the comments blows my mind. To a point that I don't know if its even worth fighting back against these pitchforks and torches. :(

Folks, it is the chief executive officer of a multi-million-dollar company, provider of hundrets of jobs, writing. How many of you have spoken to the chief of your local business unit lately ? He is not leading the business unit. He is the überboss. And instead of sending someone else in to take the blame, he himself pours his heart out. When he is addressing the public, his words at the same time are reaching investors, his employees, the media. Put it into context, guys !

If you have been following Mr. Pétursson on twitter, you know that he cooked a lot of lamb in earth holes in the open this summer -- he had time for introspection. That and the above mentioned position and the insight coming from the CSM make it clear that this letter does not come too late; the changes kicked off required this time.

The changes mean nothing less than admitting that his personally backed strategy, persued by the company in the past two years, has failed. He is not saying his goal was wrong -- and enough customers and stakeholders share the vision -- but the way of reaching it was not. Now by admitting the fault and explaining the reasons behind the initial attempt, this letter does not become less of an honest apology just because a sizeable part of the player community was proven right now and had said so all along.

Everyone will be watching now, how CCP can turn the tanker around, adjust the course, and reach the goal in a less disruptive way. Of course, everyone will watch ! And this address the CEO sent was exactly the right first step.

As far as I am concerned, I am fine with supporting the "idea" of EVE Online : "A better game in future" with my subscription, and following everything around it via browser.

With Incarna, as limited as it still is, you must admit EVE does make for a much bigger and appealing selection of screenshots for articles and all...

0.0 in theory should also appeal to the non end-game player. Check out e. g. the "how to make 0.0 a capsuleer's home" discussions triggered by the FIS development team : https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=44194#post44194

@EndDream
No other game is so massive. You need 600.000 characters on the same server for scales like this.