I have always hated statistics, or rather the mechanics of working with numbers in statistics. It just has no flavor and never did to appeal to me. One of my favorite sayings is “There are three types of lies: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics.” The human element of statistics, on the other hand, interests me greatly. What exactly does it mean? Can we just ignore numbers and rely “On our gut” as Colbert would put it? No. It simply means we need to be aware of people’s tendencies and how exactly statistics are gathered, manipulated and interpreted.
For example let’s say CCP Games came out with some collector’s model of your dearest Eve ship. The product comes in, you open the box and there it is, your sexy new ship (Garmur for me). Inside there’s a little art booklet, some certificate and a feedback card to fill out. You set up your ship beside your computer and you go back to Eve stuff. On the other hand, if your ship was somehow damaged or just doesn’t live up to your expectations, you probably would have filled out the feedback card and mailed it back to CCP. You had some motivation to speak out. In the previous scenario there was none because you were satisfied.
The point is people have more incentive to complain than to praise. If things are going well… “well I pay 15 dollars a month everything in Eve should be as I say!” If you go to reddit you’ll see so many comments about how “Fozziesov has ruined this game.”
But many of these complaints are from people that had been benefiting from the old system, or people that just have no knowledge about the mechanics. They read like an infomercial when the mother accidentally impales her children serving them meatball hoagies because they have the wrong type of plate or whatever they’re trying to sell. Humans are a creature of habit and any changes seem unpleasant and scary to most people. A fellow writer makes some great points about the “negative hype” concerning the new sov.
Perhaps I can help demystify the new sov from a mechanical stand point.
Major complaints usually stem from the notion that either the attacker or the defender has it “too easy.” But one thing that people need to realize is that the current territories alliances hold have unnatural borders and interaction with the new sov system should be understood within that context. Although no new systems have been added to Eve, the fact that on an individual basis each system has become more valuable, coupled with the previous jump changes, means that Eve has become relatively bigger. Until some time passes, sov is going to feel a little awkward, like it has yet to fit in the system. This is natural and expected.
Peoples’ notions will likewise have to adapt. A friend of mine told me a story about how his 0.0 alliance formed a fleet to “go entosis all the things.” They formed a big 100 + man fleet along with a 20 man frig fleet which included an Entosis ship. They were disappointed when their intended goal was “taking too long.” They’re still operating under the “one fleet” mindset that was dominant in Dominion sov. I’ve been saying this for months now: Eve warfare is NOT ONLY about two big sumo wrestlers beating each other until the other falls apart but ALSO about multiple small and medium sized fleets maneuvering and coordinating together under several FCs. The group that realizes that first will have the most to gain.
2. Sov will be a little awkward for the time being but is in no way unmanageable.
3. Adapt! Don’t fall behind, don’t keep to an old method just because “it’s always been done this way.” The sooner you evolve the sooner you’ll benefit from the new opportunities afforded by this landmark expansion.
– Seraph IX Basarab
