Though the truth is likely buried somewhere beneath the plethora of rumors, sci-fi MMO EVE Online is once again gripped by controversy.
According to the official report, game masters responding to a player's petition to address a glitch uncovered a network of player-run corporations engaged in exploiting a bug for unimaginable profits. Over 70 player accounts were banned, but the ultimate effects of the exploit are still being investigated.
The "bug" in question caused expensive raw materials used by crafters to be generated effortlessly, with the banned players selling these ill-gotten materials and reaping the benefits.
But the rabbit hole goes much deeper.
At a third-party discussion forum, an anonymous poster – supposedly one of the banned players – claims to have alerted game masters to the existence of the exploit as far back as 2004. His petitions ignored, the poster claims to have spent the last 4 years essentially printing vast fortunes of in-game currency, and alleges that many major player-run alliances in the EVE universe were also in on the ploy.
The response from the EVE community has been lively, to say the least. The player base hasn't forgotten about the last time unfair advantages went "unnoticed" by the game developers, and are pointing accusatory fingers based on the net worth of the largest alliances.
Of course, the profound impact that the discovery and correction of this exploit is having on EVE's player-run economy is staggering. While the actual depth of the conspiracy will likely remain a mystery even after official investigations are completed, the materials being amassed were a vital component in a fairly large part of EVE's market infrastructure. With the entire universe being hosted on a single server, most players will be affected by the sudden lack of supply for their incredible demand, and speculators and profiteers are scrambling to make their fortunes.
To be completely honest, incidents like these are among the many reasons I find EVE so fascinating – roughly 70 players engaging in clandestine operations have managed to alter the experiences of the more than 250,000 subscribers who share the EVE universe – and there is no option to simply join another server. Whether you like the MMO or not, there's simply isn't another game where players can have a genuine affect on the world that surrounds them.
Image courtesy CCP
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