I Can Predict Tranquility Crashes

They seem to occur approximately 15-30 minutes before one of my skills completes training. 

The Revelations II roll out seems to be going a bit less smoothly than anybody would like.

There was another database related issue early this afternoon (Pacific time) just as I was waiting for a skill to wrap up training.

The current message from CCP is:

We are having some database issues that are being addressed at this very moment. Server will be up again as fast as humanly possible.

Ouch.  I feel sorry for the crew at CCP.  Having problems at peak hour in front of a live studio audience is a very painful experience.

As for my own planning, I think I will either go for some longer duration skills or start trying to time them so that they don’t wrap up at prime time, GMT, which corresponds to early afternoon here on the left coast of the US.

(I have also come to appreciate the server status alerts that are built into EVEMon!)

PotBS Interview: The SOE Angle

Over at Firing Squad there is a short interview up with Russel Williams of Flying Lab Software, creators of Pirates of the Burning Sea.

A good chunk of the interview covers the relationship with Sony Online Entertainment and how the two companies got together.

They also cover a bit about the current state of development and when the game will launch.

Find the interview here.

Game Update 37 and Scarcity

Scarcity.  It is one of the things that drives any economy, even a virtual economy. 

Scarcity comes in many forms.  One form of scarcity that any EverQuest II player that sells on the broker shares with most retail establishments is scarcity of sales space.  You can only have so many salesman’s crates, each of which has a limited number of slots. There is an absolute upper limit on the number of items you can have for sale in EQ2.

That limit is going to get a big boost soon.

Game Update 37 is going to lift the current restriction that only allows sales to occur through a single character per account.  After GU37 is deployed, all characters on a given account will be able to sell on the broker simultaneously. 

According to Ogrebears, the potential number of sales slots will go from 480 per account to 3360 per standard account and 5760 per Station Access account.

That will eliminate a whole bunch of scarcity.

I have no idea how this will affect the market, nor how many people will even bother to take advantage of it.  I do know that some of the more dedicated sellers will jump right on this.

With a lot more slots, people may be more patient with slower selling items.  You might be able to find the items you want at the broker.

It will also create a big demand for salesman’s crates.  Buy yours today, they won’t be getting cheaper any time soon.

How else will the economy change with this update?