Eve Online dev responds to player furore

After a day of player discontent, CCP has responded to player concerns surrounding the launch of the Incarna expansion, the high price of vanity items and the future of micro-transactions in EVE Online.

PR and community team overseer CCP Pann posted on the official forums late last night:

"While most of what I do happens behind the curtains, I am still aware of what's going on front and center. I would be lying if I said that what's happening now didn't make me sad, but I'm not here to ask for your sympathy. To be perfectly honest, I'm here to buy time while we try to sort things out. No sense in lying about it so I'll call a spade a spade.

"It's clear that many of you are <understatement alert> angry </alert>. There's a lot happening, things are changing quickly and we haven't been as forthcoming as you were used to in the past. I'm willing to step out front and take a lot of heat for that since I was the one who made the decision to hold off on responding for a while to see if things cooled down once the new wore off.

"I was wrong to do that and I apologize. We should have said something much sooner. We should have done more to address your concerns and be forthcoming, even if we weren't going to be able to immediately give you all of the answers you were looking for or the answer your questions in ways that will instantly turn those frowns upside down.

"To be even more candid, I cannot answer all of your questions, either, but I am working with the people who can to start getting those answers for you. Again, I know we're doing this past the expiration date of your patience but I hope you'll bear with me.

"I know that, with very few exceptions, most of you don't know me from Adam. I haven't earned your trust or respect; therefore I have no right to ask anything of you – but I am going to try, anyway. Can I please count on at least some of you to help bring the pitchforks and torches down a few notches?

"Like I said, I won't be able to answer all of your questions tonight, but I promise we'll start getting some info out tomorrow. As I see it, the chief complaint is regarding the high cost of goods in the Noble Market. Second, many people are unhappy about the Captain's Quarters. Third, there are some performance issues with Incarna. I would appreciate it if you would confirm my observations or tell me what I'm missing, but I do ask that you do it in a productive way. I will remove posts without prejudice if they are counterproductive to the conversation I hope to have with you.

"If you've read this much, thanks for staying with me. If you have something to say, I'd like very much to hear it."

The appeal for dialogue comes a day after an internal CCP newsletter, titled 'Greed is Good?', surfaced on the internet. Its authenticity was last night confirmed.

The developer had already been broadly criticized for introducing avatar monocles at an eye-watering cost of $70. With the leaked document hinting at a broader use of micro-transactions - including gameplay enhancements - players vented at length on the official forums.