Omnis Arcanum of EVE: EVE Blog Banter #21: Is CCP indifferent to developing Low Sec??

Welcome to the twenty-first installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

“This month topic comes to us from @ZoneGhost who a few month ago asked "Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?" Is it? I'd like us to explore this even further. Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is? Can one successfully make a living in these unsecured systems where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws? What's needed? Or is everything fine as it is?”

This being my 1^st blog banter,I may need advice on how to write and etc,so please bear with me.

Coming from someone who has yet to even get his paid subscription,but has spent nearly two good years reading about EVE Online,my perspectives here can be likened to that of a random person you meet on the street.

With no personal experiences in Low Sec myself,I have based this post on information I have gathered and pure statistics from CCP.

Over the years,since 2003 when EVE Online was first released,the in-game population has been seeing tremendous growth.

This is for the first quarter of 2010.

This is for the second quarter of 2010.

As seen above, there has been tremendous growth in th population of EVE since it’s inception, the thing now, is where do they reside in? Empire Space, Low Sec or Null Sec (Zero-Zero)??

I know that there has been many campaigns to encourage players to move to 0-0 space.In fact,0-0 space is where almost all the good stuff will be found.PVP ,juicy rats,not to mention the ABC ores.

So what about Low Sec ?

Population development by system security status. This graph shows how the population is developing within each security

area. The index is set to 100 in March 2009. The graph shows that compared to January 2009 the population in high security space

has been growing slowly, the population in low security space has been declining, the population in null security space has been growing,

and the biggest growth has been in the population of w-space.

The share of high security space is 55% in the beginning of the period, declining towards 53% in June 2010. Low security

space declines by 1 percentage point, from 9% to 8%, and the share for null security space remains stable at 32%. Wormhole space

started with 6% of the total population (initially), dropped down to 4% in the first few months thereafter, but then started increasing

again and currently stands at 7%.

So what do you notice in the above statistics? Development in Low Sec is DECLINING !!!

With players claiming that Empire Space is the least profitable and Null Sec being most profitable, Low Sec should be sandwiched in between, being more profitable the Empire Space but not as risky/lawless as Null Sec. In theory, most players who want to get the best of both worlds should be found in Low Sec. Yet statistics show otherwise.

Low Sec, being a place where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws is actually on the decline.When was the last time you saw CCP add new game mechanics to Low Sec?

This has made Empire Space resemble a DC(Developed Country) ,Null Sec and Wormhole Space resemble NIEs(Newly Industrialized Economies) and Low Sec resemble an LDC(Less Developed Country).

Hence, there could very well be an issue of uneven development in EVE.

“Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is?”

In my opinion, Low Sec is not treated differently by CCP Games, CCP is just indifferent to Low Sec, that is, till the november expansion Incursion of course.CCP must also have noticed this issues, which may have resulted in the return of Live Events, mostly occurring in Low Sec Space, perhaps to encourage more people to move in to Low Sec. Maybe to change the mindset players have, from “Low Sec is just a place I pass by on my way to Null Sec/Empire Space” to “Low Sec is where the next Live Event will be located, lets go there and blow stuff up, etc”

Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?? Well CCP has forgotten about Low Sec, but at least their doing something about it in the next expansion and now it’s just a matter of changing the mindset of the players in EVE and getting them to give Low Sec a shot.

Here's something from Mynxee

Thank you and Fly Safe!

Credits to EVE QEN Q2 2010 :

http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=542

8 comments:

Kirith KodachiSep 29, 2010 06:04 AM
Good post, but I strongly feel the biggest thing holding low sec back at the moment is teh sec status penalty. Take that away, people can defend themselves and build security zones to develop resources. Without that, it will be the pirate's playground.
KenzaSep 29, 2010 06:15 AM
Very true indeed...
r7av7en7Sep 29, 2010 07:17 AM
I agree with Kirith. I myself reside in null sec but when I build up a high enough security status I enjoy low sec or even empire pirating to blow it all away. It dissipates much quicker than I gain it though when I spend a lot of time there and I don't care much for being a full time pirate. If there was no sec penalty I could definitely see myself spending more time there. Arrrr!
3REVSep 29, 2010 09:40 AM
Look This is not Rocket Science, Nobody except Criminals want to live in the Hood, The people there aren't friendly and only want to rip you off. Duh!.
Low Sec is a Ghetto, There is no Security (Concord) outside the auto-guns or any way to enforce Security unless you have large presence willng to stay there. There is nothing REALLy worth the Security Risks you take going in there to do business. (just like the Real world)
If you make it more attractive with Phat lewts and big Rocks the null-Sec allance will make it worth their while to Crush anyone in their way to get the resources. If you make it easy to recover your losses then Eve becaomes a carebear land. in Eve You can have Profitability, Security, Convenience. Now pick pick two.
Cozmik R5Sep 29, 2010 11:30 AM
Nice first post :)

@3REV: These days Low-sec isn't even "Ghetto"; it's more like "Contaminated Land-fill".
AnonymousSep 29, 2010 03:08 PM
Kirith is exactly right, loose the stupid sec status decrease and more would be there in a heart beat. I live in lo-sec and the biggest iritation I have is sec status and gate/station guns.

Cheers,
Trixie
KenzaSep 30, 2010 02:52 AM
Maybe we can bring the sec status penalty issue up with the people in CSM5??

@Cozmilk R5 Radioactive dumping ground???
ArvashSep 30, 2010 07:45 PM
Great analysis of the actual data around low-sec, I think it tells a clear story. I also absolutely agree with Kirith that one of the major drivers of this is the security status issue.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

EVE Blog Banter #21: Is CCP indifferent to developing Low Sec??

8 comments: