A Barrel Roll: A Day In The Life Of EVE Online

CrazyKinux posted a challenge to the EVE blogosphere this week. With that (and the hope of a free PLEX dancing in my head) I thought I'd take an opportunity to give my outlook on the impact that planetary interaction may have on the universe of EVE. The challenge was issued on the grounds of explaining an industrial impact - and as such, I'll make my primary point with regards to this. Shortly after, I'll go off-topic and ramble on as I always do, while trying to keep my swearing to a minimum.

The impact of planetary interaction probably will not be felt immediately. Everyone will wrap their head around it, and without a doubt, you will see planets bloom into production at an explosive rate. For those of you who've watched the EVE University introduction video or played around with the concept a bit on SiSi, you may have a slight head start over the average bear, but make no mistake - everyone will be in a mad rush to secure valuable sites in the most populated areas.

Over time, as the luster wears off and as people realize that this is truly intended to be a whole new branch of industry, the half-hearted industrialists will slowly go back to doing what they do best (read: cross-training everything) and the PvP pilots/mission runners will realize that perfecting this path would take too much training time away from their four-hundred day skill plans. Once this point is reached, I truly believe we will see a whole new class of industrialist born into EVE. The Planetary Industrialist.

Expanding industry can only bode well for EVE, as it's a subclass which has primarily been delegated to three major paths: the miner, the production specialist, and the researcher. The fact that this "newcomer" to the classes will be responsible for bringing important products that were previously "seeded" to the market should allow it to bolster it's position for the long haul of EVE time, thereby breathing new life into the industrial aspect of EVE itself.

Now, onto the promised ramblings and whatnots. Think of the ramifications that this whole new industrial career will have upon you, the player of EVE. Enjoy the piratings, as so many do? Can-flipping just got a massive upgrade. Enjoy the massive war aspect of EVE? Whole wars will be fought over planets, and the resources they provide. Even the casual player (who may think that planetary interaction will not affect them) may find themselves wondering why they cannot find a particular needed item in a region, due to increased pirate activity - or war.

If this expansion truly lives up to it's potential; if players really can replace the things that "seeding" provided prior, I believe that planetary interaction may truly bring a new and exciting future to EVE: Online.

Poopin' In Your Sandbox,
Alathus Christensen