Uh....
Oh I remember. Earlier this year I got my choice of a single Pirate Rookie ship. CCP gave these out at Fanfest and, since I am poor and can't jet off to Iceland, they gave me one. I believe they did this to all the registered Fan-sites. I picked the Immolator because I liked the way it looked. I have it fitted in my hanger and I try to kill Ventures with it.
And once, about three years ago, CCP gave me a Zealot. This was in response to the one and only Petition I have ever won. My own Zealot was killed due to a freaky station incident down in Syndicate and it was returned to me shortly afterwards. I'm really not sure this counts, but I want to come clean.
And, just like everyone else, I get those year-end freebie ships and whatnots. I really appreciate those, so I hope this new round of rage doesn't ruin that tradition.
I was on the road yesterday tweeting and I may have mistakingly stated that CCP had given me free ships in support or response to the many live player events I've hosted over the years. I apologize if I was misconstrued or if I stated that fact in error. CCP has not done so. I have received many, many wonderful player gifts over the years in support of the events and CCP has certainly done a lot to support those events ( thank you! ) but handing out FREE ships hasn't been part of it.
Just to reiterate, when it comes to events everything I get in - goes back out. 100% in, 100% out. That has always been my policy and will continue to be as long as I am running events in-game. I have never once profited from an event. I know, I kick myself sometimes, but that's the way I do things.
Players do sometimes gift me ships by the way. And I appreciate all of the wonderful gifts that I have gotten over the years. Those that give know that I will fit them up, undock and fight with them. I am a ship collector that explodes his collection.
I will admit that I liked getting the Pirate Rookie ship from CCP. I also enjoy the free gifts at the end of every year. The non-combat ships I usually sell to buy more combat ships, but the idea is a great one. If I was fortunate enough to receive a free ship from CCP I would fit it up and undock it. If it was super special then I'd most likely create an event out of it and let you people shoot it in some creative way.
The other day I saw a Chremoas on scan! I announced it in Corp chat and everyone came running into the system. I figured out who the pilot was and started talking to him in local. And while it would've been nice to trap the ship and kill it, the most important thing to me was having the chance to see it. So I finally convinced the pilot to de-cloak and let us have a look at it. Which he did. And for a moment, Eve wasn't about death and destruction, it was simply about Spaceship porn.
I love spaceships. It's what keeps me coming back to Eve. It is why I have over 100 fully fitted ships in my hanger ready to go at a moment's notice. It is why I must have the newest thing, why I bought a Tornado/Naga/Talos/Oracle the very first day and the same with every other new ship introduced. Even though the first day is the worstest day to buy new ships. I don't care, I gotta have one. To spin while I figured out how to fit it and then undock and see it in the glory of space.
If, somewhere along the line, someone at CCP had thought enough of me and my efforts in support of Eve to gift me a special ship - I would be honored. I would not expect them to announced the gift to the world and would expect them to allow me the opportunity to decide for myself how to proceed. Of course I would blog about it immediately. That is my nature.
I wouldn't be ashamed of getting such a gift. I would be proud of it. If it was a non-combat ship then I'd probably sell it, but more than likely I'd be fitting it up right now to undock and play with. That is also my nature.
I'm as quick to give CCP a hard time as anyone. Goodness knows. But I'm really struggling to find a wrong here. I freely admit that I don't get it. I'd much rather CCP give out special ships than ISK, or special favors, or gold ammo, or any of a dozen other horribly imagined possibilities. Wouldn't you?
I imagine every scandal in light of a simple litmus test - If you didn't know about it, would it still affect your game?
Nope.
I just hope this hasn't ruined the free gift giving at the end of the year, for the rest of us. Cause I enjoyed that.
Comments
I have friends in some of these other "community" thingies, they happen to make a lot of isk off of their efforts. Most of them that raged did so for a bit then *CCP* and went back to their work, which by the way, do not let anyone fool you, they do it for themselves. Even my good friend Rixx, he does what he does for himself, because he likes supporting his interests, it makes him feel good. It also benefits the rest of us and most of us appreciate that.
To the rest of you, CCP is giving away free stuff occasionally, this stuff is worth a LOT of ISK, feel free to create a site,service, happy fun time for EVE, sink a massive amount of your personal time, and in some cases a lot of money, and get rewarded. Until then, in a cold harsh game, any press, even bad press, is good advertising.
Now let's imagine that CCP gifted you a 15 billion isk ship... the IW Scorp is kind of a bad ship, but you could sell it to a collector for quite a bit. How much could you affect the games of others with 15 billion direct from CCP? If those players didn't know CCP gave that to you would it still affect their gameplay?
AND, even knowing about it, put your feelings for the act aside, how has it effected your game? Probably 0, just like it has effected my game 0. It has reduced my productivity at work though.... :P
Just imaging you are sat at your desk/workstation/workbench or where ever you work in real life.
Suit: Mr /yourname?
You: Yes?
Suit: I am from the government. We see you are doing this job and earning a decent wage.
You: Erm.... well I think I should be paid a bit more, but who doesn't. Why are you here?
Suit: We'd like to give you this brand new Mercedes Benz.
You: Huh? What? Why?
Suit: For doing a job that you get paid for.
You: Erm.... OK..... erm..... thanks?
Yes Somer sponsors events, but that is for advertising to increase brand awareness, increase the customer base and increase profit. Its a commercial enterprise. So why are CCP 'doubly rewarding' these people with 15bn ISK ships. I can think of a lot more people who do masses for the community (The guys who make Aura and EFT apps, Mark726, Sindel, Chribba, Eve Uni, RvB) for nothing.
That's before the very underhanded way its been done.
@Min It's 15 billion you have as a direct result of a gift from CCP, and I tell you from experience when I say I can fuck up a lot of people's days with 15 billion. Send it to me and I will show you. :)
But that is a different issue than the practice of giving gifts to someone because CCP decides they believe their efforts are worthy of special recognition. Like someone being giving free play time for example.
I don't want a CCP cut off from the community. And you don't either. The giving out of special recognition and the decision to give SOMER ships are two different issues. Trying to wrap them all up together is a mistake imo.
If you are a leader in your industry, or work for a leader in your industry and you use a lot of product X from vendor X and you recommend product X and vendor X every chance you get.... Then vendor X shows up every month and buys you hunting licenses, buys your shells and takes you hunting on private hunting reserves, and lets you take up to 4 people to the reserve whenever you want... That is just business, you are not supposed to tell everyone about it, you are supposed to keep it quiet. I do understand this eve thing is slightly different. But, end of the day Somer increases CCP's bottom line by giving people a reason to buy plex and gamble, (others do too) and CCP rewards them for doing so. I guess I still do not see the problem in any of this.
Disclaimer: "I do not get to hunt for free on free hunting licenses with free ammo and free bows, arrows and bolts, or use the "free" clubhouse where there is free food and drink. nor do I get to sell my friends hunting trips that I get for free."
I still wish these handouts were public, myself, but I'm coming around to the "not a big deal" side of things.
And I can assure I'm not jealous of you - I gave you a (small, in comparison) gift in the past and I'm happy to hear that CCP values your contribution to EVE as well. But directly handing out ISK is just not the way to go here. The difference between me or CCP giving you a gift is that there's a consequence for me - I don't have that ISK anymore which puts a handicap on me.
Same for Somer Blink - I never cared much for the players winning huge prizes, because for every such winner there was a loser shouldering all of that debt. It's a miserable concept of life IMHO but it is balanced.
People contributing to the community (yes, even Somer Blink) should be rewarded in some way - but never, NEVER EVER with ISK.
Personally, I'd say to give them spotlights, medals or badges next to their name in game. Next time I meet them in game I can be sure to recognize, greet and "treat them accordingly".
And yes - it does affect everyone else in some way, because blowing up someone else's ship comes partly with the appreciation that this person might feel the ISK loss of that ship. But who knows if your next target isn't just another dude who - pardon the crudeness - got a 10-20 bil battleship shoved up his ass for free lately and doesn't give a rat's ass about the fight you just had with him?
I'm beginning to think that even World of Warcraft has a more pure sandbox than EVE has, if this is really how CCP handled things in the past and is going to continue doing so. It's good for them that they make community contributors happy because they're going to need it if they lose the trust of their "normal" customers in return.
I do however strongly support the involvement of CCP in their game and with their community. I support that because it is good for Eve and it is good for the community. While I agree CCP is most likely in error on this incident, the entire story has not been revealed and the facts are not in. Starting a witch hunt based on the available facts, over a singular incident is not wise. Especially when the result could easily be the further withdrawing of CCP from the community.