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I think EVE has the potential to really push the limits of blockchain gaming. The ability for users to develop and leverage their own smart contracts in game co

I think EVE has the potential to really push the limits of blockchain gaming. The ability for users to develop and leverage their own smart contracts in game could allow for some really innovative ideas. While it might ruin the game I think the experiment will benefit the industry overall.

solardev 2y ago
I don't see how this is different from games like Screeps or Second Life or Roblox, which had user-contributed code and functionality long before (and after) blockchains were a thing. There is nothing about user-contributed programming that inherently requires smart contracts, especially when the game is still run on traditional server models.
- kennu 2y ago
  To my understanding, Second Life has always centrally controlled the currency (Linden dollar) and the purchase transactions of land and objects. So it hasn't been possible for players to create their own marketplaces, exchanges, tokens, etc. where trading would happen independently and peer-to-peer.
  - solardev 2y ago
    ...isn't that a good thing? Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would I want to play a game in which my in-game assets can be arbitrarily manipulated by out-of-game actors? It doesn't even sound like a game anymore then, just another crypto market. Or is that the point? Lol, I was drawn to EVE by the customizable ship loadouts and group combat and such. But maybe that's not really the core audience and it's finance types who really play the game as it was envisioned...? Probably why I prefered Elite Dangerous to EVE...
    - kennu 2y ago
      I was just stating what the difference is to a closed market environment like Second Life. Whether it's good or bad is another matter. In my view experimentation is good. I would assume that nobody can control your in-game assets arbitrarily unless you grant them permission via some contract.
      - solardev 2y ago
        > I would assume that nobody can control your in-game assets arbitrarily unless you grant them permission via some contract. Sorry, I don't mean that somebody is going to just hijack my spaceship, but that having a totally decentralized marketplace of assets might mean that an API bot army that doesn't even bother playing the game could just buy up all the space stations around me, hire a fleet of pirates, and destroy everything I earned in human playtime. It's like the Borg meets aimbots. A closed market environment like most MMOs have allows the game devs to at least try to balance the economy for fun vs absolute liberty, such as marking some items as notrade or controlling inflation by adjusting money sinks (repair costs) and currency production (coin drops) as well as introducing new ships and weaponry on a human timescale. Fleets also require human coordination and real-time communications, at least in the current EVE. And exploits (dupes, infinite gold glitches, etc.) are frowned upon and can be retroactively removed from the economy by altering the central DB state. If all of that is externally transactable and decentralized, it sounds like an automation hellscape that'll very quickly trend towards a megamonopoly or oligarchy of bots that can analyze everything and instantly respond 24/7... what gameplay will be left for the mere humans?

solardev 2y ago

I don't see how this is different from games like Screeps or Second Life or Roblox, which had user-contributed code and functionality long before (and after) blockchains were a thing. There is nothing about user-contributed programming that inherently requires smart contracts, especially when the game is still run on traditional server models.

kennu 2y ago
To my understanding, Second Life has always centrally controlled the currency (Linden dollar) and the purchase transactions of land and objects. So it hasn't been possible for players to create their own marketplaces, exchanges, tokens, etc. where trading would happen independently and peer-to-peer.
- solardev 2y ago
  ...isn't that a good thing? Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would I want to play a game in which my in-game assets can be arbitrarily manipulated by out-of-game actors? It doesn't even sound like a game anymore then, just another crypto market. Or is that the point? Lol, I was drawn to EVE by the customizable ship loadouts and group combat and such. But maybe that's not really the core audience and it's finance types who really play the game as it was envisioned...? Probably why I prefered Elite Dangerous to EVE...
  - kennu 2y ago
    I was just stating what the difference is to a closed market environment like Second Life. Whether it's good or bad is another matter. In my view experimentation is good. I would assume that nobody can control your in-game assets arbitrarily unless you grant them permission via some contract.
    - solardev 2y ago
      > I would assume that nobody can control your in-game assets arbitrarily unless you grant them permission via some contract. Sorry, I don't mean that somebody is going to just hijack my spaceship, but that having a totally decentralized marketplace of assets might mean that an API bot army that doesn't even bother playing the game could just buy up all the space stations around me, hire a fleet of pirates, and destroy everything I earned in human playtime. It's like the Borg meets aimbots. A closed market environment like most MMOs have allows the game devs to at least try to balance the economy for fun vs absolute liberty, such as marking some items as notrade or controlling inflation by adjusting money sinks (repair costs) and currency production (coin drops) as well as introducing new ships and weaponry on a human timescale. Fleets also require human coordination and real-time communications, at least in the current EVE. And exploits (dupes, infinite gold glitches, etc.) are frowned upon and can be retroactively removed from the economy by altering the central DB state. If all of that is externally transactable and decentralized, it sounds like an automation hellscape that'll very quickly trend towards a megamonopoly or oligarchy of bots that can analyze everything and instantly respond 24/7... what gameplay will be left for the mere humans?