It seems that CCP could not have picked a better time to re-launch a retail box version of the game EVE online to store shelves.
With the current in game events making the rounds of gaming sites, podcasts and cobbled together youtube videos (how many more times do we need to listen to Lux Aeterna from Requiem for a Dream , or numb from linkin park people!) and an expansion due march 10th with a revamped newbie experience ..EVE stands to add some decent numbers to it's crop of would be galactic emperors.
The question is though, and always has been how does a new player fresh into the pod fit in to a game that uses a real time skill training system to advance..and more importantly how can they be a part of content quite literally years apart from them?
A perfect example is the current war between the now disbanded Band Of Brothers (BOB) alliance and the invasion forces of their sworn enemies Goonswarm. Like everyone else that has the slightest interest in space MMO's I have read the articles about this conflict, it's history .....and was eventually impressed to the point of subscribing to EVE just under a year ago.
The reality is that as a new player in EVE you won't be involved with any of the major events you read about anytime soon, in fact if you try to go to the Delve system to see the carnage, epic fleet battles and exploding stations you see on youtube.. your experience will be a fairly short warping to a camped gate, watching your ship disintegrate under a rain of hellfire, pod explode and waking up back in the safety of your starting area.
There are things a new player needs to face when signing up for EVE it isn't a standard MMO, you can't power up to max level, raid for a month and compete with the established player base. Instead you have to accept that EVE is an investment as much as a game, it has no endgame, it rises and falls, expands and contracts and evolves with a steady and carefull pace.
EVE will always be a niche game, players will either love it, and soak up the challenges, complexity and depth it offers, or play for a 14 day period once a year when they get curious, and log off either bored or frustrated. Does this mean a new player can't do anything in EVE? of course not... just don't expect to fly a massive warship into the flank of an enemy fleet while your guns pound and Lux Aeterna blares from your speakers within a month of playtime.
Start small, learn the game and enjoy it one skill upgrade at a time, before you know it you will find your first corp, get your first real ship, and eventually if your stars align, your first kill, and you will never look back.
In my opinion Eve is like chess, most other MMO's come off as checkers, fun for a brief time, but reallly folks a drooling hobo in the park can win at checkers.
While EVE starts out slow...once you get into it, learn the ropes and begin piloting in 0.0 space, the utter lawless, ruthless and violent defense and capture of territory becomes much more engaging than spending 5 hours in a raid killing NPC's for a random piece of loot that you will replace in the next 5 hour raid coming down the pipe.
With the new retail box ,expansion and new player experience tacked on it will be interesting to see if CCP can rope in a new generations of pilots...as with all things in EVE only time will tell.
well to be honest with you, I've plans to pick it up as soon as it became available in my region (mid-east).
well I've played a bit with trial version but with the lil time I put into it and confusing game echanics Iliterally haven't done anything at all. though I liked the game's setting and vast universe plus all the things I've heard and read on the net I think this game is hard, but I can enjoy it. because it has factors that impresses me.
I've quit GuildWars and WoW for a while, tbh, I am tired of swords and spells, besides the concept of doing some set of actions over and over again has bored me to death. I'm definately going to pick up EVE and JGE.
EVE very soon, JGE the moment it comes out. then I can forget about spending so much money on games for a while.
You have written a helpful article friend. thank you. I think EVE is just a game for someone like me who is tired of traditional MMORPGs, and since there aren't many scifi games out there in the market, EVE will be a perfect game.
PS: I wish I wasn't a journalist, then I'd had more time spending on MMOs.
Wed Mar 04 2009 3:48PMEve - A submarine simulator in space.
The only game I know that takes 6 months to a year to start thinking about being competative. Where the correct way is to spend the first 2 months training your learning skills.
It's so full of jerks and elitist pricks its sad. You don't ever group with anyone for fear that they will shoot you. It takes around 30 min to travel 20 systems. Which is common when you want to rat in low-sec away from pirates and then sell your goods in a reasonable market hub. Except travel is gate jump, align, wormhole type acceleration, gate jump repeat.
The recent ferrogel exploits brings question to the entire top level tier. Your options for money include mining. Ratting for hours and hours. Bringing a legal pad to the gaming table just so you can keep track of your exspense and profit margins. Missions for hours and hours and then putting up with ninja salvagers.
The community will tell you to bring a scout / second account to travel in 0.0 - low security space.
Yeah your first kill is great. Then your fist loss reminds you that it takes 10 + hours to pay for that Battleship, cruiser or assualt frigate you had.
Eve is for the hardcore criminaly insane people that will pay 14.95 a month for a year just to stand a chance. Because you said it yourself, don't expect to do much in the first few months.
The game is small when you consider that you don't pvp on gates, you either gank or be ganked. Asteriods are for mining or getting ganked while ratting. Planets are for hiding or getting ganked. Moons are for boring hour long sessions of shooting stations that have 25 million hp and a days' timer in reinforced mode before final destruction. Station fights consist of station hugging so the loser can board the station if things go wrong. Then you move to 0.0 where it's gank or be ganked and blob warfare.
Bah, give me Jumpgate.
Wed Mar 04 2009 4:00PMfor sure the pace is slow, and many of the complaints you have are the same complaints any long term player will echo in turn. I haven't hit that plateau with EVE yet, and given the system they employ won't likely for at least another year.
While Jumpgate looks to be an amazing title, I can't help but wonder if it will include territory control as eve does, and some of the more sanbox type elements.
From what I have read, it seems it will mirror classics like freelancer, vendetta online, eltite and of course jumpgate. Also the official word on capitol ships hasn't been dropped, but from what I have read they won't be a part of a player controlled experience, merely raid type bosses to fight.
I could be wrong on most of this, I haven't checked up on jumpgate in a while, but it drives me to frustration that deveolpers seem to have problems realizing that if they just game us eve, minus the skill training system and twitch type combat they would make money hand over fist.
Currently the only game I have found remotley close to this is Taikodom, a brazilian game currently beta/f2p.
I hope Jumpgate EVO gets it right, but my fear is it will just be a giant dogfight/trading lite game with some mining thrown in and no real epic space capture and contol outside of its npc factions.
please prove me wrong jumpgate.
Wed Mar 04 2009 7:07PMMMORPG.com writes:
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