Reasons why CCP should open the door.
A cute video from back in the age of Incarna.
We have been looking at that door for a long time now. Occasionally jiggling the handle in hopes the maintenance man has finally gotten around to fixing it. Alas, it remains firmly sealed. The advent of CCP’s new rapid release model has given me renewed hope that this door may one day open up to a new world of possibilities. Greater station access would no doubt require a significant investment from CCP. I don’t pretend to actually understand exactly what would be involved but I have been thinking of some possible reasons CCP could find incentives to opening that damn door.
The Social Player: There is a subset of the MMORPG community that doesn’t want to build, kill, or explore. They just want to gather together and . . . well, to be honest, I have no damn idea what they hell they are doing but I know they are doing it. The fact is, EVE is missing out on these players which means CCP is missing out on their money month after month. Before you get all bent out of shape and rage on about how EVE does not need nor want these elf dancing, flower sniffing hippies, just remember you would not have to ever see them if you didn’t want to. In my mind, areas of a station would have their own ‘local’ so if you stayed out of the social areas you would not have to even acknowledge they existed. Meanwhile CCP is bringing in more revenue which helps the game as a whole.
Cosmetic Implants: Oh no! It’s monocle-gate all over again. Setting aside the issues that caused all the fuss back in 2011, there is opportunity here for new revenue. Certainly, CCP would need to take a hard look at how to manage this and avoid setting off another firestorm, but I think it could be done. If players had the ability to walk around the station and see and be seen by other players, they might be more inclined to drop the cash on some Aurum. This will never be a draw for some players but I have seen enough fancy skinned ships to know there are prancing peacocks out there. Tie this in with the first reason and you have an even greater sales potential. The Social Players love to decorate themselves. CCP could even go so far as to create a new form of industry for players to build these pretties. Raw materials could be derived from planetary interactions and then fabricated into cosmetic implants and clothing which players could sell to the stores for ISK. The stores then sell to other players for Aurum.
Casinos: It seems pretty clear that EVE players like to gamble. Nothing says ISK sink quite like a sparkling casino. Bugsy built a city in the desert on just this concept and I see no reason CCP could not benefit from a similar scheme. A house take of 10% would drain a significant amount of ISK from the economy over time while giving players new and exciting game play.
Strippers: OK, we are already in Vegas, why not throw in some strippers for good measure. For legal reasons these would likely have to be more ‘Showgirl’ and less ‘show all the girl’ but I know in the core of my black, twisted heart, there would be a market. In the interest of diversity, I would think both male, female, and Gallente dancers would need to be offered.
Bars: The EVE Alliance Tournaments are a blast to watch. They could be even more fun if I was able to watch them in a virtual sports bar along with my degenerate friends and enemies. Ordering up a big basket of Caldari style chicken wings along with some good ol’ Minmatar whiskey would complete the perfect evening out on the town.
Bar Fights: Station management would likely ban all weapons from their premises but that should not stop two consenting or maybe one consenting and one non-consenting pilot from throwing ‘dem bones in a good old fashion fist fight. Each fighter could come away from the fracas with some nice facial bruising which would show on their in game portrait for the next week or so. Maybe fighting carries with it certain fines and penalties which could add an additional ISK sink people would be glad to pay.
Corporation / Alliance Meetings: Stations could rent out meeting and convention style facilities for player groups to host meetings large and small. It could add to the overall player experience be able to see their leaders standing before them at the podium while discussing the latest developments with the alliance. The added visual element helps increase the sense of immersion into the game universe and who knows, some players may actually listen rather than just fapping to a donkey show while their leaders drone on in the background.
Those are just some of the possible reasons CCP might want to open the door and let us out. Each idea could be expanded to being a station upgrade for player owned stations. Additionally, once the technical issues are workout out for station access, the same code could likely be adapted for starship travel. This would enable players, especially the Social Player type to join eve as a non-capsuleer but still travel between stations. This could provide the rest of us the pure unadulterated joy of ganking a passenger liner full of dress weaving pacifists into a cloud of blood colored mist. Concord be damned, that would be fun!
Your Drinking Buddy, Rupert
