This EVE Online Space Battle Cost $15,000

[John Funk]

This EVE Online Space Battle Cost $15,000

​

Fortunes are won and lost in EVE Online all the time. Sometimes, you lose $15,000 in real-world money in a single battle.

Ever since CCP started its Pilots License Extensions program (PLEX) in EVE Online, measuring destruction and theft in-game has been significantly more entertaining. PLEX allows players to trade the game's currency, ISK, into paid game time - essentially, turning the in-game currency into the equivalent of real-world cash. So whether the ISK is being stolen [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102719-EVE-Online-Geniuses-Blow-Up-Six-Years-of-Game-Time], we can roughly work out how much real-life money has been thrown away.

The video seen here to the right depicts a mammoth space battle in EVE as an alliance of corporations attempted to destroy three Titan-class battleships under construction. If we told you that the battle resulted in widespread destruction estimated to cost about 300 billion ISK, that probably wouldn't mean much, would it?

On the other hand, if we told you that the 300 billion ISK had been worth $15,000, that starts to put it in perspective. That is a lot of money to blow on one single space battle. Yeah, it's certainly pretty (though you'd think there'd be a huge explosive payoff for that much cash), but you have to imagine that some of the players in question might have to reconsider what they're doing with their time - and money.

(PC Gamer [http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/])

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[Mechsoap]

that is....extreme, to say the least, these ships could make a excellent way of getting money if you kept making new and sell them somewhere.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

dammit everything I hear about EVE makes me want to play, I wish I had discovered it a few years ago when I was single....

 

[dududf]

Hmmm...

Anyone know where they're getting the isk price for those plexes? I'm assuming they're going by the Jita average or something.

Anyways that's not all surprising amount of damage. I find it more entertaining however, when it's a gank on a big expensive ships launched by 600 or so people in cheap ass little 30k Velators. Pop a blaster on it, a drone in the drone bay, maybe a a afterburner if you're cap stable with it, just so they can't track on you (unless they have hob goblins, or hammer heads)

Interesting stuff! I need to refresh my subscription.

 

[Eruanno]

Not a lot of impressive space battles in that video. Mostly just blinking blobs far away. For all I know, it could be aliens discovering how to build flashlights!

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Not even PLEX this time? Sorry, you can't trade in game currency for cash, so it's not $15,000. It is however a sad example of humanity.

 

[Dogstile]

anc[is]Not even PLEX this time? Sorry, you can't trade in game currency for cash, so it's not $15,000. It is however a sad example of humanity.

True, but it really puts into perspective how much damage is being done.

 

[Fensfield]

... but you have to imagine that some of the players in question might have to reconsider what they're doing with their time - and money.

Maybe, but then all of that money was probably made in-game. It's pretty important to remember that PLEX does not generate ISK. PLEX is bought with ISK, yes, but that ISK has to actually be generated within the game to be spent first, and cannot be taken out of the game for real money. That's why the PLEX program has never unbalanced EVE Online's economy.

Atop that, given the exchange rates involved, most players don't use ISK for funding - especially because of the risk-factor in EVE. Yes, there are some that do, but players on that scale, like the Evoke alliance? Yeah, right, as if. Most, if not all of their players were probably using ISK accrued in-game through selling off the produce of those moons they were mining until they were lost, as per that video, to buy and use PLEX themselves.

In other words, there's something like a 70% chance those players were actually paying absolutely nothing to play EVE Online at all.

So no, I've a feeling most of the players in question are not reconsidering what they're doing with their time - and money. At least not because they feel they've lost $15,000. Maybe a few out of frustration, but most of them? Probably not. If anything, they might be feeling put off by the prospect of having to actually pay real money to play EVE, for the first time in years.

 

[Pandalisk]

Alot of EvE news reports as of late, and im loving every single report, methinks i should dust off my old account, adopting my old Pirate Persona once more!

 

[Tibike77]

Anyone know where they're getting the isk price for those plexes? I'm assuming they're going by the Jita average or something.

I suppose they're using very rough approximations of recent prices.
If anything precise would be used "The Forge" averages indeed, since that's where the vast majority is traded, the value would move all over the place on a daily basis.
http://www.eve-metrics.com/market/1108/items/29668
Here you can see the recent (30-day) stats across most EVE regions even if you don't play the game.
All the data is automatically submitted to this 3rd party site by people using a market history cache scrapper program acting as volunteer data collectors... so data is seldom 100% complete and sometimes not very reliable.
But it's a good enough indicator.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Mr. Lucas? Oh, Mr. Lucas.

Watch. Remember. We're waiting.

 

[dududf]

In other words, there's something like a 70% chance those players were actually paying absolutely nothing to play EVE Online at all.

Just wanna point out, my friend has 4 accounts, and he pays for plexes for all 4 every month, and still has a whack ton in the bank. Last I checked, about 76b.

 

[imnot]

I love reading about that game, sounds scary as hell to play though.

 

[Fensfield]

In other words, there's something like a 70% chance those players were actually paying absolutely nothing to play EVE Online at all.

Just wanna point out, my friend has 4 accounts, and he pays for plexes for all 4 every month, and still has a whack ton in the bank. Last I checked, about 76b.

Wow x.x And to think I still pay to play... XD *semi-casual*

It's probably a much higher chance than 70%, though, quite frankly.

 

[Ruairi iliffe]

aaahh, so thats the War i heard about of late, was wondering who was causing such a ripple, we are getting lots of refuges floating down the Curse, Cache and Detriod reigons.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

Another good EVE story, which I love reading about. I have to get this game when I have the money.

 

[dududf]

In other words, there's something like a 70% chance those players were actually paying absolutely nothing to play EVE Online at all.

Just wanna point out, my friend has 4 accounts, and he pays for plexes for all 4 every month, and still has a whack ton in the bank. Last I checked, about 76b.

Wow x.x And to think I still pay to play... XD *semi-casual*

It's probably a much higher chance than 70%, though, quite frankly.

I was able to plex for my first 5 months, then I eased off, and now my account is "closed" just gotta pay to get it up. I may just pay for a year, take it easy, level up my skills.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

All the data is automatically submitted to this 3rd party site by people using a market history cache scrapper program...

AAAHHH too much eve speak! Even reading about it is giving me a headache!

(nothing personal mate, just making a joke)

 

[Andalusa]

Dammit. Making me want to restart my account. I'm putting if off until after my exams next year, but you're just making it harder!

 

[Fensfield]

I was able to plex for my first 5 months, then I eased off, and now my account is "closed" just gotta pay to get it up. I may just pay for a year, take it easy, level up my skills.

Pretty much what I've been doing, especially now that I'm back at university >.>