Putting aside the cost and the 'big fleet vs. small fleet' argument for the moment...
There's no rush. I mean, small fleet, big fleet, fleet fleet fleet...how many fleets, can you meet?
...*awkward cough*...
Anyways, yeah. It's not like it HAS to get done the moment it's slotted. Once slotted, it's there for good until finished. And on the Embassy, the only other special project is that stupid Embassy Provision mission one, so no real loss there.
So big or small, high cost or low cost...patience folks. I mean, just because it has a big cost doesn't mean you need to get it done instantly.
I remain empathetic to the concerns of my community, but do me a favor and lay off the god damn name calling and petty remarks. It will get you nowhere.
I must admit, respect points to Trendy for laying down the law like that.
There's no rush. I mean, small fleet, big fleet, fleet fleet fleet...how many fleets, can you meet?
I think people want to rush things because like or not that's the only "content additions" we've had in a very long while. Its gotten so bad adding some cosmetic upgrades for a base most aren't particularly fond of to begin with is the only new thing to do. The end result being that any little thing feels far more important and pressing than it has any right to be.
Folks just need to realize STO just doesn't have enough things to do it that are worthwhile to do to be someone's "main" game. It makes for a great side game though.
Op dont even try. The rich with deep pockets, how be it RL money, or ingame money are so unaware of reality that they mock posts like this all the time. When I first started playing pc games, there was never this push for rich only, however things have change. So like I said dont even try. They will not understand.
A good example was I just picked up the second heart of swarm and wings of liberty. I posted that 40bucks was too much for each. The response I got was well sense they sold a million copies I think the price is just fine. I was able to fit that expenditure into my budget, under normal circumstances I would not have been able to. My brother is a big starcraft fan like me, but with three kids he will never be able to afford that game. To the rich 40 bucks is a dime. The rest of us the normal person, its a ouch. So like I said they will not understand or give a damn.
For the record dilithium was the worse thing that ever happened to sto, as its built around people buying zen to sell for dilithium when someone needs large quanitys of dilithium.
If you have a roof over your head and food in your belly you are part of the top 2% of the worlds richest people. Some one in Sub Saraha Africa would think you quite the out of touch with reality rich person fr crying about a computer game when they don't even have food, running water, or electricity.
The price for games hasn't gone up as quickly as other costs, making games now cheaper then they were even ten years ago when compared to the value of a dollar. These are companies that want to pay their employees a living wage so they can feed their kids and have something left over to feed their kids as well.
I'm sorry money is tight for you and your brother, but that won't change the luxury items market, if you want real change you need to advocate for living wages for everyone and get companies to support that. Contact your government officials and demand changes to wage laws, refuse to buy products form companies that don't pay fair wages. Wages have stagnated in America because everyone wants VIP service and Third World prices.
This game has two currencies, Time and Money. If you are willing to spend one you don't have to spend the other. If you aren't willing or able to spend either, then maybe its not the right kind of game for you.
Op dont even try. The rich with deep pockets, how be it RL money, or ingame money are so unaware of reality that they mock posts like this all the time. When I first started playing pc games, there was never this push for rich only, however things have change. So like I said dont even try. They will not understand.
A good example was I just picked up the second heart of swarm and wings of liberty. I posted that 40bucks was too much for each. The response I got was well sense they sold a million copies I think the price is just fine. I was able to fit that expenditure into my budget, under normal circumstances I would not have been able to. My brother is a big starcraft fan like me, but with three kids he will never be able to afford that game. To the rich 40 bucks is a dime. The rest of us the normal person, its a ouch. So like I said they will not understand or give a damn.
For the record dilithium was the worse thing that ever happened to sto, as its built around people buying zen to sell for dilithium when someone needs large quanitys of dilithium.
If I could not afford $40.00 to buy a game I certainly would not be paying for internet to play MMOs, or cable TV, or a cellphone, or everything else we entirely take for granted these days. I wouldn't even be playing game. I'd be looking for a second part-time job at McDonalds or a gas station.
You don't need to be rich to consider $40 to be a pittance. $40 is less then I spend on my cellphone every month. It's less then I spend on my internet every month. It's about what I spend on lunch every week at work. And that doesn't even include what I spend each month on dating, going to bars, movies, and so on. I'm fresh out of college and only make $33k and I don't consider $40 to be any major hardship. The average American family makes $50k, and they consider $40 to be even less of a financial burden.
I'm sorry if your poor, but as far as I'm concerned the cure for people poor is to not spend your free time playing games. It's to get out and work, even if it's just cutting grass for the elderly in your neighborhood at $10.00 each, so that you can stop being poor.
I don't think it fair or accurate to say no company cares about their customers.
They care about providing the customer a service or good that they want. They care about providing the best good or service they can generally. They care if their customers are happy.
But they don't care if people are rich or not, which was the point I was making. They will reduce their prices to sell more wigits, but they don't do it out of some sense of fairness to people who can't afford their products.
I think people want to rush things because like or not that's the only "content additions" we've had in a very long while. Its gotten so bad adding some cosmetic upgrades for a base most aren't particularly fond of to begin with is the only new thing to do. The end result being that any little thing feels far more important and pressing than it has any right to be.
Folks just need to realize STO just doesn't have enough things to do it that are worthwhile to do to be someone's "main" game. It makes for a great side game though.
The reason people want to rush is simple - Power creep.
Lets say you are in a t5 fleet - you have the elite fleet gear, the ships and all the other delicious items a high level fleet gets
Now imagine fighting them in pvp/kerrat/any 'dps=1st place' mode as a t1 fleet member - unless by a miracle your opponent has more dilithium than sense and couldn't build a boat if their life depended on it, you are already severely on the back foot
In sto, if you want to be 'the best' you need 'the best' - ie, you need to rush to the top tier - not for vanity but for the sheer fact if you do not, you lose. This I feel is the crux of the rush - by not doing so, you lose out
Rush=advantage=more 'fun' for those who have to win at all costs - the fleet is nothing but a time gated advantage farm, one that you have to participate in (or buy you way to) in order to do well
I don't think it fair or accurate to say no company cares about their customers. Those that are stupid don't. Those that are genuinely interested in serving their customers are the successful ones. Quite a large portion of the products made where I work are a direct result of customer interaction.
Considering that a customer is someone who pays for a good (or a service), how many STO players are actually customers? Can a freeloader be considered a customer too?
I'm in a really small fleet. And although I don't enjoy grinding, I've decided that I would not give Cryptic any real money until they offer me something that's worth real money to me. So all I do in game is grind. Am I a customer or a freeloader?
The reason people want to rush is simple - Power creep.
Lets say you are in a t5 fleet - you have the elite fleet gear, the ships and all the other delicious items a high level fleet gets
Now imagine fighting them in pvp/kerrat/any 'dps=1st place' mode as a t1 fleet member - unless by a miracle your opponent has more dilithium than sense and couldn't build a boat if their life depended on it, you are already severely on the back foot
And what percentage of the supposed 2 million people playing STO do so for PvP? I seriously doubt that it is even 25%. It's not as though the queues are overflowing with PvPers. I'm not seeing the queues filled with 10k people wanting to PvP every day.
So clearly power creep isn't an excuse for the 75% who do not PvP. I can be more than efficient in a free RA escort with mission-dropped blue gear while doing an Elite STF or other end-game daily. I don't need Mk XII super-purple triple-bonded gear or a 10-console ship.
People shouldn't pretend that "I want" is really "I need." The vast majority of STO players are rushing because they want it, not because they need it to play the game.
Yes, the PvPers are concerned about power creep, but they can just as easily all join in a few large 500-person Fleets and in a few short month burn their way into a T5 Starbase to have all that cool gear too. They don't need to do it in a 1 to 5 person Fleet - where it will take them a year or more to achieve their goal, and then leave them spending their time complaining about how hard it is to do.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
Not sure how you see this fitting into the post I was replying to.
You were talking about customer care and so forth. If Cryptic cared for their customers (which I don't think they do), would they also have to care about the majority of players who don't pay real money to play the game on top of that?
All that to say that the free to play model has a perverse effect on the game. Devs only feel compelled to produce TRIBBLE to sell and not polish the game and players feel like customers even though they're not (for the majority of them).
Edit: Not contradicting your post. Just quoted it for the "customer care" expression and asking the question at large.
i'm Sorry If Your Poor, But As Far As I'm Concerned The Cure For People Poor Is To Not Spend Your Free Time Playing Games. It's To Get Out And Work, Even If It's Just Cutting Grass For The Elderly In Your Neighborhood At $10.00 Each, So That You Can Stop Being Poor.
I would think that a person trying to seem high in morality and ethics on a Star Trek person wouldn't thinly veil slandering (or is it libel since it was cast in writing?). There's nothing wrong with desiring to belong to a smaller community than a larger community. The complaint is valid, though as has been pointed out, there are ways to easily game the system. Having a lot of alts that do the quick and easy dil farming (such as contraband, doffing, etc) will fund a small fleet (or a large fleet with people who don't like giving up dil).
You want to get bit in the wallet just for logging on, try TOR.
TOR's an odd example. They give you access to all of their story content, which is deeper and more complex than STO, for free. But charge for weird things like ...
You want to hide your helmet? Well by all means, but first you'll need to give them a modest hiding-your-helmet tax.
Hiding your helmet. Granted this game charges for weird things too, like more BOFF space, more bag space, etc. So it's not exactly all that different from TOR. Then there's this example you cite ...
Armor doesn't match? Well there's a handy mechanic to color code the armor, but not for free!
TOR does indeed do that. But this game charges you a lot of cash just for more customization options. At least in TOR's case, they give you free end-game starter armor.
You'd like it to not take a million years to level? Break out a few bucks for the gaining-xp-at-a-normal-rate tax.
Levelling in TOR is fast. Very fast. It's a waste of money to purchase the levelling boosts. The "tax" on XP is a joke. Don't bother buying that extra as it's just throwing your money away. You'll level super speedy no matter what.
In STO you get charged for extras, a basic playable game is intact and free.
TOR's just not that great a comparison. It's model is different. But the game is extremely different too. In STO you get charged Dilithium for everything from crafting a hypospray to purchasing a fleet ship. TOR doesn't quite function like that. It charges for quite a lot of things, but it's just not a very congruent comparison. Your ship, for example, is absolutely free. Just have to level to get it. And then the best ship weapons and armor in the game are bought through their cash shop.
I would think that a person trying to seem high in morality and ethics on a Star Trek person wouldn't thinly veil slandering (or is it libel since it was cast in writing?). There's nothing wrong with desiring to belong to a smaller community than a larger community. The complaint is valid, though as has been pointed out, there are ways to easily game the system. Having a lot of alts that do the quick and easy dil farming (such as contraband, doffing, etc) will fund a small fleet (or a large fleet with people who don't like giving up dil).
I am not trying to be high in morality, nor have I ever said I was. I'm simply tired of people constantly asking to nerf something in this game just because THEY do not want to use it as it was intended to be used.
As I have said 3 or 4 times now, STO is an MMO, not a SPG. It is not designed to cater to the individual. There's a reason why the end-game events generally require teaming. Anyone can join a large Fleet and get the benefits from that Fleet without having to team with anyone in that Fleet - you don't even need to socialize with anyone in the Fleet. Simply contribute where you can to earn FCs and then buy the things you want from the Fleet. The only thing you're giving up by doing so is the "I'm so cool I can do it by myself" image someone might like to believe - as they then post on the forum to nerf something because they really can't do it by themselves.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
It is NOT that the game is geared twards larger fleets...I get it.
It is NOT that Dilth is hard to get...it is NOT. The reasoning for 8/10k a day refining may need another look, I think it is outdated.
What bothers me is the dilth prices in the exchange. Yes, it is player driven. But, maybe there should be a minium and maxium cap put on the pricing.
I used to buy dilth to make up for my fleets lack of mining resources...now, I do not, I just grind it out. I have a family entertainment budget every month and spending all my familys entertainment dollars in the dilth exchange is not...logical.
I am not sure how much revenue that the player driven dilth exchange is costing PWE/Cryptic, but my guess is, it is probably enough to make the Bonus level each month.
Maybe somebody should take another look at the dilth exchange and fix/tweek it.
"Sips her PWE Koolaide and looks at alllll the goodies in the Z store"
Badname Betty (PvP...PvE...STF...Trophy Hunter...Latnium Collector...Federation)
Commander Morgana (PvP...PvE...STF...KDF)
1000 day vet and LTS
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] STO Join date: 7 Feb 2010
But, maybe there should be a minium and maxium cap put on the pricing.
There is a minimum, I think it's 25 or 50. But price caps never, ever, ever work. History has proven this time and time again. You put real caps on things and the markets stop working.
I am not sure how much revenue that the player driven dilth exchange is costing PWE/Cryptic, but my guess is, it is probably enough to make the Bonus level each month.
You have this completely backwards. Cryptic/PWE is making more money this way then they were. The fact that it costs more zen to buy dil then it did, means more not less money for Cryptic. Because people are still buying it, but now they have to spend $10 to get the same amount of Dil that they used to get for $7.5.
If this wasn't true, if people weren't buying Dil at the current rates, then the cost of Dil would go up, because people couldn't find anyone to buy at the current rate. But clearly they are finding people who are willing to pay their price, so that means more money going Cryptics way then back when the rate was 175/zen.
Now you may not be spending as much as you once did, but that doesn't mean Cryptic is losing money. If they were, then they'd do something about it, like increasing the supply of Dilithium, which would drive the price back up again.
It's more then just a direct dilithium toss it's also the other things one needs to push in order to finish, including officers, embassy items, EC are needed for some of the things to research, it's just not manageable with so few. My officers list is about 6 people a night and only 5 of us really post anything to these projects and it's been months now we still haven't reached max.
My officers list is about 6 people a night and only 5 of us really post anything to these projects and it's been months now we still haven't reached max.
If by max you mean T5 then you have a very, very, very large misunderstanding of how quickly this was supposed to go.
As it is, there's maybe a dozen T5 star bases in the game period, and those were built by fleets with hundreds of people. It was stated from the start that with the project countdown timer, it would take at an absolute minimum 7 months to reach T5. That means if each project is filled within moments of being made active and projects running 24x7.
So with only 5 people you had no reason what so ever to expect to hit max in a few months.
What bothers me is the dilth prices in the exchange. Yes, it is player driven. But, maybe there should be a minium and maxium cap put on the pricing.
Three words: Supply and Demand. Putting price caps in place has one of two effects depending on where the caps fall relative to the natural price.
If the caps are above the natural price (for a max cap) or below the natural price (for a min cap) then the cap has absolutely no effect. This can be seen with the current minimum cap of 25, it's so far below the natural market price that it doesn't have any impact since the price never gets there.
Now if the caps are below the natural price (for a max cap) or above the natural price (for a min cap) then the market does start to get affected and the supply gets out of whack. Depending on which cap was hit (min or max) people will start to drop out of the market and stop supplying it with zen or dilithium as appropriate (a max cap will decrease the supply of zen, while a min cap will decrease the supply of dilithium). Now obviously not everyone will drop out of it but the net result will be that there is a much higher supply of one item available at the capped market price than the other.
We don't want what the Feds have. We want the equivalent. We want fairer treatment. Concern, desire, greed to some extent, and passionate belief that the enough people would buy KDF items to make it worth Cryptic's while.
Comments
Tell me how many fleets exist in game, then tell me how many are in them.
The cost complaints are the fault of the players AND the devs.
200k is a LOT for a cosmetic upgrade no matter how many are chipping in.
Players wanting their own fleets rather than joining up with an existing one because they "don't want to be told what to do." lends to the issue.
There are so many small fleets that they only see the problems.
There's no rush. I mean, small fleet, big fleet, fleet fleet fleet...how many fleets, can you meet?
...*awkward cough*...
Anyways, yeah. It's not like it HAS to get done the moment it's slotted. Once slotted, it's there for good until finished. And on the Embassy, the only other special project is that stupid Embassy Provision mission one, so no real loss there.
So big or small, high cost or low cost...patience folks. I mean, just because it has a big cost doesn't mean you need to get it done instantly.
I think people want to rush things because like or not that's the only "content additions" we've had in a very long while. Its gotten so bad adding some cosmetic upgrades for a base most aren't particularly fond of to begin with is the only new thing to do. The end result being that any little thing feels far more important and pressing than it has any right to be.
Folks just need to realize STO just doesn't have enough things to do it that are worthwhile to do to be someone's "main" game. It makes for a great side game though.
If you have a roof over your head and food in your belly you are part of the top 2% of the worlds richest people. Some one in Sub Saraha Africa would think you quite the out of touch with reality rich person fr crying about a computer game when they don't even have food, running water, or electricity.
The price for games hasn't gone up as quickly as other costs, making games now cheaper then they were even ten years ago when compared to the value of a dollar. These are companies that want to pay their employees a living wage so they can feed their kids and have something left over to feed their kids as well.
I'm sorry money is tight for you and your brother, but that won't change the luxury items market, if you want real change you need to advocate for living wages for everyone and get companies to support that. Contact your government officials and demand changes to wage laws, refuse to buy products form companies that don't pay fair wages. Wages have stagnated in America because everyone wants VIP service and Third World prices.
This game has two currencies, Time and Money. If you are willing to spend one you don't have to spend the other. If you aren't willing or able to spend either, then maybe its not the right kind of game for you.
You don't need to be rich to consider $40 to be a pittance. $40 is less then I spend on my cellphone every month. It's less then I spend on my internet every month. It's about what I spend on lunch every week at work. And that doesn't even include what I spend each month on dating, going to bars, movies, and so on. I'm fresh out of college and only make $33k and I don't consider $40 to be any major hardship. The average American family makes $50k, and they consider $40 to be even less of a financial burden.
I'm sorry if your poor, but as far as I'm concerned the cure for people poor is to not spend your free time playing games. It's to get out and work, even if it's just cutting grass for the elderly in your neighborhood at $10.00 each, so that you can stop being poor.
They care about providing the customer a service or good that they want. They care about providing the best good or service they can generally. They care if their customers are happy.
But they don't care if people are rich or not, which was the point I was making. They will reduce their prices to sell more wigits, but they don't do it out of some sense of fairness to people who can't afford their products.
The reason people want to rush is simple - Power creep.
Lets say you are in a t5 fleet - you have the elite fleet gear, the ships and all the other delicious items a high level fleet gets
Now imagine fighting them in pvp/kerrat/any 'dps=1st place' mode as a t1 fleet member - unless by a miracle your opponent has more dilithium than sense and couldn't build a boat if their life depended on it, you are already severely on the back foot
In sto, if you want to be 'the best' you need 'the best' - ie, you need to rush to the top tier - not for vanity but for the sheer fact if you do not, you lose. This I feel is the crux of the rush - by not doing so, you lose out
Rush=advantage=more 'fun' for those who have to win at all costs - the fleet is nothing but a time gated advantage farm, one that you have to participate in (or buy you way to) in order to do well
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Considering that a customer is someone who pays for a good (or a service), how many STO players are actually customers? Can a freeloader be considered a customer too?
I'm in a really small fleet. And although I don't enjoy grinding, I've decided that I would not give Cryptic any real money until they offer me something that's worth real money to me. So all I do in game is grind. Am I a customer or a freeloader?
So clearly power creep isn't an excuse for the 75% who do not PvP. I can be more than efficient in a free RA escort with mission-dropped blue gear while doing an Elite STF or other end-game daily. I don't need Mk XII super-purple triple-bonded gear or a 10-console ship.
People shouldn't pretend that "I want" is really "I need." The vast majority of STO players are rushing because they want it, not because they need it to play the game.
Yes, the PvPers are concerned about power creep, but they can just as easily all join in a few large 500-person Fleets and in a few short month burn their way into a T5 Starbase to have all that cool gear too. They don't need to do it in a 1 to 5 person Fleet - where it will take them a year or more to achieve their goal, and then leave them spending their time complaining about how hard it is to do.
You were talking about customer care and so forth. If Cryptic cared for their customers (which I don't think they do), would they also have to care about the majority of players who don't pay real money to play the game on top of that?
All that to say that the free to play model has a perverse effect on the game. Devs only feel compelled to produce TRIBBLE to sell and not polish the game and players feel like customers even though they're not (for the majority of them).
Edit: Not contradicting your post. Just quoted it for the "customer care" expression and asking the question at large.
Triple Agree With This !!!
Hiding your helmet. Granted this game charges for weird things too, like more BOFF space, more bag space, etc. So it's not exactly all that different from TOR. Then there's this example you cite ...
TOR does indeed do that. But this game charges you a lot of cash just for more customization options. At least in TOR's case, they give you free end-game starter armor.
Levelling in TOR is fast. Very fast. It's a waste of money to purchase the levelling boosts. The "tax" on XP is a joke. Don't bother buying that extra as it's just throwing your money away. You'll level super speedy no matter what.
TOR's just not that great a comparison. It's model is different. But the game is extremely different too. In STO you get charged Dilithium for everything from crafting a hypospray to purchasing a fleet ship. TOR doesn't quite function like that. It charges for quite a lot of things, but it's just not a very congruent comparison. Your ship, for example, is absolutely free. Just have to level to get it. And then the best ship weapons and armor in the game are bought through their cash shop.
http://www.blastr.com/2013-3-27/gamer-spends-6-years-internet-cafe-shows-no-sign-stopping
As I have said 3 or 4 times now, STO is an MMO, not a SPG. It is not designed to cater to the individual. There's a reason why the end-game events generally require teaming. Anyone can join a large Fleet and get the benefits from that Fleet without having to team with anyone in that Fleet - you don't even need to socialize with anyone in the Fleet. Simply contribute where you can to earn FCs and then buy the things you want from the Fleet. The only thing you're giving up by doing so is the "I'm so cool I can do it by myself" image someone might like to believe - as they then post on the forum to nerf something because they really can't do it by themselves.
It is NOT that the game is geared twards larger fleets...I get it.
It is NOT that Dilth is hard to get...it is NOT. The reasoning for 8/10k a day refining may need another look, I think it is outdated.
What bothers me is the dilth prices in the exchange. Yes, it is player driven. But, maybe there should be a minium and maxium cap put on the pricing.
I used to buy dilth to make up for my fleets lack of mining resources...now, I do not, I just grind it out. I have a family entertainment budget every month and spending all my familys entertainment dollars in the dilth exchange is not...logical.
I am not sure how much revenue that the player driven dilth exchange is costing PWE/Cryptic, but my guess is, it is probably enough to make the Bonus level each month.
Maybe somebody should take another look at the dilth exchange and fix/tweek it.
Badname Betty (PvP...PvE...STF...Trophy Hunter...Latnium Collector...Federation)
Commander Morgana (PvP...PvE...STF...KDF)
1000 day vet and LTS
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] STO Join date: 7 Feb 2010
There is a minimum, I think it's 25 or 50. But price caps never, ever, ever work. History has proven this time and time again. You put real caps on things and the markets stop working.
You have this completely backwards. Cryptic/PWE is making more money this way then they were. The fact that it costs more zen to buy dil then it did, means more not less money for Cryptic. Because people are still buying it, but now they have to spend $10 to get the same amount of Dil that they used to get for $7.5.
If this wasn't true, if people weren't buying Dil at the current rates, then the cost of Dil would go up, because people couldn't find anyone to buy at the current rate. But clearly they are finding people who are willing to pay their price, so that means more money going Cryptics way then back when the rate was 175/zen.
Now you may not be spending as much as you once did, but that doesn't mean Cryptic is losing money. If they were, then they'd do something about it, like increasing the supply of Dilithium, which would drive the price back up again.
If by max you mean T5 then you have a very, very, very large misunderstanding of how quickly this was supposed to go.
As it is, there's maybe a dozen T5 star bases in the game period, and those were built by fleets with hundreds of people. It was stated from the start that with the project countdown timer, it would take at an absolute minimum 7 months to reach T5. That means if each project is filled within moments of being made active and projects running 24x7.
So with only 5 people you had no reason what so ever to expect to hit max in a few months.
If the caps are above the natural price (for a max cap) or below the natural price (for a min cap) then the cap has absolutely no effect. This can be seen with the current minimum cap of 25, it's so far below the natural market price that it doesn't have any impact since the price never gets there.
Now if the caps are below the natural price (for a max cap) or above the natural price (for a min cap) then the market does start to get affected and the supply gets out of whack. Depending on which cap was hit (min or max) people will start to drop out of the market and stop supplying it with zen or dilithium as appropriate (a max cap will decrease the supply of zen, while a min cap will decrease the supply of dilithium). Now obviously not everyone will drop out of it but the net result will be that there is a much higher supply of one item available at the capped market price than the other.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_caps
Sitting playing a computer game all day long because you don't have to work for a living is the opposite of industrious.
It's a sad fact that most of the best players in MMOs got there because they don't have any RL obligations and practice makes perfect.