I don't play Eve Online, nor do I play any MMORPG's, but this account of an online economic scam based on the defunct financial system of a popular game was one of the most interesting articles I've read in a while.

It may seem daunting to you at first - it's extremely long and detailed, but I hope, just as I did, that when you begin to read the first few paragraphs you'll find that you're going to continue reading until your eyes hurt from staring at that white background for so long.

The Big Scam

About that white backround - it really sucks and you won't realize it until you're done reading. Don't forget that you can change the default background colors on your browser to a nice, dark gray...you'll need it.

OW my freaking eyes i looked away from the monitor after i wad done arghhh!

i rather enjoyed that story it reminded me alot of my adventures on games like those :P plus you have also sparked my interest in this game it sounds like alot of fun like this 2d game i use to play called space pirates :)
Anyway it was pretty good reminds me of some of my good ol days of mmorpgs :D hacking stealing scamming good times... now bid on my auction for an account :D
-=edit
link 4 t3h auction
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8185251929

I can't decide which is more pathetic...the thought of these guys dedcating so much of themselves and actually cried over a game like this (which, unless I'm mistaken...didn't win them anything but fake money?), or the fact that I just read that article.

that was cool.. .... lol he shouldnt have ended his scamming spree

The only thing that I felt was weird was how they're actually proud of taking away fake money in virtual space, while losing friends (on a larger scale, of course) in real life.

I'm still hung up on the fact that people spend their entire lives invested into these games...

The saddest part was that Thoggins actually called him and tried to deal with him like it was a real business. hahaha.

LOL!!!! that was the funniest thing I ever read

quote:Me: Hi. What would you say if I were to offer you 300 million isk?

Frosttt: id say it was pretty kool lol

Wow that was amazing. Capitalists are so amusing.

It's sad, but the story was interesting, I read it all.

This story deserves a little bump, just for the sheer educational value it teaches, and how I happened to remember it just now and searched for it. Now I'm going to print it out and use it as a bedtime story for my future children.

quote:Originally posted by AerialAssaultWow that was amazing. Capitalists are so amusing.

Commies are funnier >:(

<Thoggins> Hmm? okay. That doesn?t change the fact though that his name is gayer than Christopher Lowell, lol.

I gritted my teeth as I felt my blood pressure starting to rise.

<Fake Investor> Hehe, yeah.

---

<Thoggins> You?d better be on, or I?m not investing a dime. Understood?

If Thoggins were an ant colony, I would kick him over, flood him, burn him, then crucify his eggs right after they hatched.

<Me> Yup.


Haha.

Heh. I remember reading that. My eyes were bleeding by the end of it.

Mine too, but because I was laughing so damn hard :D

I've played eve online for a year and a half, unfortunately i was a stupid (Please refrain from swearing) and needed some money so i sold of my account fast and very, very cheap. I now regret it as i'm out of money again, and i miss eve a bit on times ;(

Now, even after the first few paragraphs i see this guy has no idea.

"The entire concept of mining in Eve consists of pressing Ctrl + F, finding an asteroid, then auto piloting your ship over to it and watching little pebbles of rock float into your ship from the asteroid; you would then wait 5-10 minutes for the asteroid to dissolve, and do the same thing, over and over, for hours on end, until your ship was full of space pebbles. You would then sell these pebbles for approximately the same price that an illiterate slave would have received for an ounce of cotton. In case you haven't deduced by now, mining in Eve Online is about as fun as (Please refrain from swearing)ing a fat chick's festering corpse."

That MIGHT be true in HIGH security space, which is intented for noobs, the asteroids there SUCK, but are still needed for every piece of item out there, that's why the NPC's are worth about ~60k max and even that in 0.5 space, in 1.0 you have 5k of rats max. However, in 0.0 space, which basically means, no mans land, it presents the outskirts of the whole eve online universe, it's where the big bucks are made, and it's where all the alliances and pirate corporations make their money and their life. The profit with an organised group of 10 miners, each playing his part can range from about, ~80-150 million ISK. While in empire space(where this guy had experience)you are lucky if it's 1/10. Offcourse in 0.0 you need to be smart, since the NPC spawns can be up a few million in total worth, which means several NPC battleships. That's why you need ~2 people in battleship protecting the mining ships. And if something goes wrong the battleship can EASILLY pop due to some bugs, which unfortunately can still happen, but less and less often thanks to the great Eve Online crew that actually cares and works with/for the community.

"Running trade routes, unlike mining, actually involved a degree of intelligence and acumen. The basic premise of a trade route was to bring low priced materials from one sector of the galaxy to another sector where they would sell for a high price. Buy low, sell high. With a big ship, the right kinds of goods, and the knowledge of which routes were profitable and which were dry, a person could make tens of millions of credits in a night's work. For a short while, I was one of those people."

I've never heard anyone actually DOING this in eve, the price fluctuations and differences are offcourse there, whereas in empire space and key system's everything is mostly cheapest and it's what you call a mainsteam price. These systems usually have about a hundred people on average throughout the day. Other systems don't have even near as much people there, and the prices MAY be lower on places, may be lower by a lot, but only for a few products since someone wanted to earn some fast money. Mass transporting items to sell them at a different location can make you some more profit, but only 30% more at max. And i doubt the guy HAD enough money to buy 50 mill of items, transport it to another location in one night and sell all off it again for like...80 million in the same night, and do it again next day. It's full of crap.

" His real name was Vinnie, and he was one of those uber-nerds with 4 computers running the same game at once; he told me about how he set up mining macros on his other 3 computers and made about 250,000 credits of pure profit each night by simply leaving his computers running. "

How is he so amazed at a 250k profit overnight(which is nothing, btw, to give you an example that's the average cost of one large projectile gun to fit on a BS). Yet before he claimed to make 10s of millions? Because he's full of crap.

"By the end of this period, I was worth close to 85 million credits, and Trazir was near 30 million. I felt like a (Please refrain from swearing)ing space tycoon, a financial juggernaut, ready to expand my realm of influence from the monetary to the military."

Wow, you spent a few hours everyday for 2 weeks, waking up every morning like a nut job addicted (Please refrain from swearing) to make enough money for a tier 1 battleship with crappy equipment.

"I did my research, and decided that the best ship for combat would be the Caldari Moa"
This is begging to intrigue me, either this text is REALLY REALLY old, like, 2 years, or this is written by a stupid (Please refrain from swearing). If this is 2 years old i take back most of what i said.

Yup it's like 2 years old, but i'll still let my words stand, as i took a lot of time writing them :P

The story begins in April of 2003.

Yes yes i never saw that but i realised it was 2 years old anyway, i know back then battleship were rare, just as dreadnaughts will be now. ACtually even rarer since people now actually have the ISK to buy dreadnaughts.

i'd have so much fun with that fat (Please refrain from swearing).. .. . . .. . ..... . .. .

I'd imagine Thoggins as a really fat kid with ADD problems, and I'd imagine that Freeze guy to be like some generic white dude with long hair.

fun story.. MAKE MORE

...Psycho, are you actually serious?

quote:Originally posted by OutcastStuff
...wha?

quote:Originally posted by Outcast
That MIGHT be true in HIGH security space, which is intented for noobs, the asteroids there SUCK, but are still needed for every piece of item out there, that's why the NPC's are worth about ~60k max and even that in 0.5 space, in 1.0 you have 5k of rats max. However, in 0.0 space, which basically means, no mans land, it presents the outskirts of the whole eve online universe, it's where the big bucks are made, and it's where all the alliances and pirate corporations make their money and their life. The profit with an organised group of 10 miners, each playing his part can range from about, ~80-150 million ISK. While in empire space(where this guy had experience)you are lucky if it's 1/10. Offcourse in 0.0 you need to be smart, since the NPC spawns can be up a few million in total worth, which means several NPC battleships. That's why you need ~2 people in battleship protecting the mining ships. And if something goes wrong the battleship can EASILLY pop due to some bugs, which unfortunately can still happen, but less and less often thanks to the great Eve Online crew that actually cares and works with/for the community.



what the (Please refrain from swearing) did you just say ?

exuse the offtopicness, but-

i hate mammorpuguhs.

Hahaha, karmazon, I got through the first line of that and then skipped to the next paragraph.

And it took me quite some time to write Q_Q

quote:Originally posted by Vijchtidoodah...Psycho, are you actually serious?


are you?

I've read it, and in short, it'd be like this:

"He wrote bullcrap bullcrap bullcrap bullcrap [reason reason reason]
<different reasons>
...oh this was 2 years ago? nvm then"

Yes well it took me time to write and you guys can learn something about eve online if you want to, so i didn't delete :p

eve online actually sounds like cute game.
anyone's got any opinions about it?

Ask and i shall answer :)

quote:Originally posted by OutcastAsk and i shall answer in long, drawn-out, and confusing sentences. :)


Oh my... :D

quote:Originally posted by OutcastAsk and i shall answer :)

is it like.. straight out fun?
is it a lvl-based game?
if it is, is it a "kill-enemies-to-gain-exp-and-powerlevel" type of game? or is it abit more complexed? (eg. skills)
is it a strategy (top view) rpg? or more like an fps kind of rpg?
is it free? if not, is it worth buying?

feel free to add anything else ;P

That was annoying, because my curiosity forced me to read it.

quote:Originally posted by SuperKillquote:Originally posted by OutcastAsk and i shall answer :)

is it like.. straight out fun?

Not at the beggining, it's kind of hard work, to get some money and a good corporation.


is it a lvl-based game?
In a way it is, but you don't gain normal levels, you have skills which advance with time, you choose which one advances. So it's a time based game. The good thing is skill trains while your not online too, the bad thing is the longer you play the better skills :o


if it is, is it a "kill-enemies-to-gain-exp-and-powerlevel" type of game? or is it abit more complexed? (eg. skills)

You can do litterally anything you wan't. Kill NPC for good items and money, mine for good money and buy the items of the market. Pirate and you be the one selling the items which you retrieve of blown up ships. When you get some money you can produce ships and sell them at a bigger price. It has a lot of things to do. But you need certain skills for everything, and it takes some time for you to become what you want.


is it a strategy (top view) rpg? or more like an fps kind of rpg?
is it free? if not, is it worth buying?

You look at your ship from any angle you set your camera to, it is fully 3D, and beautifull. It is in a a way, a RPG.
It is not free, it is ~$12 per month, first month $25.
It's worth it, but not for an adolescent guy like me, that's why i quit, i need the money for other things, like going out with my friends.

For screenshots, refer to [URL] .... also other information.

Yea, I can't believe I just (Please refrain from swearing)ing read that (Please refrain from swearing). OMG look at the sun coming through the windows! I have never seen that (Please refrain from swearing) before. Is there really a world outside!? 0_0

wow, i cant believe i just read all of that. thank god i set my highlight color to a nice dull grey

thats pretty damn funny though, even funnier than psycho

Astonishing story... :P

It would have been much better if it didn't take place in an RPG game.

That HardHead guy needs to get a life. AND OMG SO DO I I JUST READ THAT WHOLE DAMN THING!!@!@134124

damn ... iread the whole thing omg

quote:Originally posted by OutcastI've played eve online for a year and a half, unfortunately i was a stupid (Please refrain from swearing) and needed some money so i sold of my account fast and very, very cheap. I now regret it as i'm out of money again, and i miss eve a bit on times ;(

Now, even after the first few paragraphs i see this guy has no idea.

"The entire concept of mining in Eve consists of pressing Ctrl + F, finding an asteroid, then auto piloting your ship over to it and watching little pebbles of rock float into your ship from the asteroid; you would then wait 5-10 minutes for the asteroid to dissolve, and do the same thing, over and over, for hours on end, until your ship was full of space pebbles. You would then sell these pebbles for approximately the same price that an illiterate slave would have received for an ounce of cotton. In case you haven't deduced by now, mining in Eve Online is about as fun as (Please refrain from swearing)ing a fat chick's festering corpse."

That MIGHT be true in HIGH security space, which is intented for noobs, the asteroids there SUCK, but are still needed for every piece of item out there, that's why the NPC's are worth about ~60k max and even that in 0.5 space, in 1.0 you have 5k of rats max. However, in 0.0 space, which basically means, no mans land, it presents the outskirts of the whole eve online universe, it's where the big bucks are made, and it's where all the alliances and pirate corporations make their money and their life. The profit with an organised group of 10 miners, each playing his part can range from about, ~80-150 million ISK. While in empire space(where this guy had experience)you are lucky if it's 1/10. Offcourse in 0.0 you need to be smart, since the NPC spawns can be up a few million in total worth, which means several NPC battleships. That's why you need ~2 people in battleship protecting the mining ships. And if something goes wrong the battleship can EASILLY pop due to some bugs, which unfortunately can still happen, but less and less often thanks to the great Eve Online crew that actually cares and works with/for the community.

"Running trade routes, unlike mining, actually involved a degree of intelligence and acumen. The basic premise of a trade route was to bring low priced materials from one sector of the galaxy to another sector where they would sell for a high price. Buy low, sell high. With a big ship, the right kinds of goods, and the knowledge of which routes were profitable and which were dry, a person could make tens of millions of credits in a night's work. For a short while, I was one of those people."

I've never heard anyone actually DOING this in eve, the price fluctuations and differences are offcourse there, whereas in empire space and key system's everything is mostly cheapest and it's what you call a mainsteam price. These systems usually have about a hundred people on average throughout the day. Other systems don't have even near as much people there, and the prices MAY be lower on places, may be lower by a lot, but only for a few products since someone wanted to earn some fast money. Mass transporting items to sell them at a different location can make you some more profit, but only 30% more at max. And i doubt the guy HAD enough money to buy 50 mill of items, transport it to another location in one night and sell all off it again for like...80 million in the same night, and do it again next day. It's full of crap.

" His real name was Vinnie, and he was one of those uber-nerds with 4 computers running the same game at once; he told me about how he set up mining macros on his other 3 computers and made about 250,000 credits of pure profit each night by simply leaving his computers running. "

How is he so amazed at a 250k profit overnight(which is nothing, btw, to give you an example that's the average cost of one large projectile gun to fit on a BS). Yet before he claimed to make 10s of millions? Because he's full of crap.

"By the end of this period, I was worth close to 85 million credits, and Trazir was near 30 million. I felt like a (Please refrain from swearing)ing space tycoon, a financial juggernaut, ready to expand my realm of influence from the monetary to the military."

Wow, you spent a few hours everyday for 2 weeks, waking up every morning like a nut job addicted (Please refrain from swearing) to make enough money for a tier 1 battleship with crappy equipment.

"I did my research, and decided that the best ship for combat would be the Caldari Moa"
This is begging to intrigue me, either this text is REALLY REALLY old, like, 2 years, or this is written by a stupid (Please refrain from swearing). If this is 2 years old i take back most of what i said.

Yup it's like 2 years old, but i'll still let my words stand, as i took a lot of time writing them :P


Nerd.

quote:Originally posted by vash763wow, i cant believe i just read all of that. thank god i set my highlight color to a nice dull grey

thats pretty damn funny though, even funnier than Psycho


am I fun?