I hope I didn’t come across as alarmist in my recent post about the industry changes and the possible Nerf to Empire space. I thought I was just calling myself out for missing key information in the DEV Blog, calling Jester out for thinking the average Empire Industrialist would consider the solution was to forge their way into Null, and just remarking on the need to wait for more details.
Personally I had assumed this was going to follow a somewhat well-trodden path with CCP. They would announce partial details of changes that could have far reaching impact; people would get upset, rant and rave, then CCP would clarify a situation that wasn’t nearly as bad as was being imagined. That way they implement a Nerf that people are almost thankful for.
(Who would have thought I get called cynical at times.)
However – if this does end up being a major Nerf for Hi-Sec Industry, I am not actually that concerned. I don’t see such a change making any real difference to the population spread in game, and I can’t imagine the volumes of goods produced in Null suddenly flooding the Hi-Sec markets. Instead I see people re-adjusting their spreadsheets, finding the next best methods to transport ingredients, and charging higher prices. The manufacturers in Null – even if they are able to produce volumes that have a market impact, won’t drive down prices. They will just continue to play the 0.01ISK games and take higher profits.
There will be individual areas where this won’t be accurate – but overall, I think people will continue to play this game the way they want to.
I am actually more focused on the UI and process changes to manufacturing and refining – and hoping the end result is more new players finding careers in Industry, and hanging around for longer.
Evehermit 