I REALLY love the idea of EVE, I have attempted to play it about 3 times in the past, but I seem to lose interest in the game after the tutorial. I play a few missions but then just walk away.

I know there has got to be way more to this game that I am missing. What am I doing wrong? What could I do different?

I am not opposed to the fact that skills take time to train, I am happy to listen to EVE Radio and mine or run transport missions. Heck I am happy to read or learn on the main site or any number of other sites while I am doing something that does not require me to sit and watch the screen.

Still I want to get into this game but I feel like there is a huge portion of the game I am not seeing and I am not getting turned onto that would cause me to stick with it.

Any suggestions, pointers?

 Well your main problem is mining,first 2 times I tryed eve I started mining ... wich turned me away quick.I suggest try to do something that is you like to do,like pvp for exemple,if pvp isnt for you I can only suggest to join a corp and do missions togheter.

 It's realy hard being a first timer in EVE,the tutorial barerly scratches the basics,feel free to ask questions to anyone aslong as they arent answered in the tutorial,you will usualy get a decent response.

 My suggestion is join a noob friendly corp,PVE or PVP or both and ask around what you can do ,group with people etc.Tho you can work your way up solo in EVE,you will never be able to soar to great heights alone,socialize etc.

P.S Does EVE radio still play crap songs ? ... havent tuned in for almost 2 years ... when they were still playing Go Go ...

Not sure about the music on the channel, I just know it is out there.

I am just giving it some thought that I should try again, maybe see what I am missing. I like Vendetta and Jumpgate but they are a bit to cartoon in appearance for me. Not to mention that Jumpgate praticly requires a joystick to play properly IMHO.

EVE is an incredibly boring game. You have to grind endlessly to earn money so you can buy the ships you want. Most MMO's you log on and you get instant gratification. EVE instant gratification comes when you actually log off after a day of ratting, mining, missioning, making 55643 jumps in a freighter to sell your goods. But when the shooting starts adrenaline starts flowing through you veigns and that's what the game is all about. It all depends on style of play.

I know people who only play EVE to role play, nothing more. For example I know this guy who is an Amarr slave trader and he actually flies around with slaves in his cargo around Amarr. That's what he likes and as there are no slaves in any other game he plays EVE. Then I know a guy who likes to repair ships, so players give him their ships, he 'repairs' them, charges them money and hands them over. Role playing never interested me but some people have really found a home in EVE.

I mine endlessly, buy ships, get them blown up and go back to mining. That is EVE to me. Mining, fortunately, isn't for everyone (though I am addicted to it). It's just a case of finding things you like. And if you really dislike EVE then not a problem. EVE isn't for everyone, that's why some games are huge while there're only a maximum of 35 thousand people online in EVE.

yeah i tried it twice on the combat side. The missions are the same thing over and over, and that is the only way to get money when your still weak (so i was told). Its also hard to get into a corp for me because i just feel like im in a chat room, and i never see any of my corp mates anywhere. But alot of other people enjoy it, and i respect that.

Hi,

the best thing you can do if you want to realy play EVE as a fighter is to join a corporation - low sec/0.0 corporation. You could most likely read some low sec guide regarding scanner usage, safespots and flagging system before joining. Read the guides, go to low sec and practice your skills. What keeps you alive in hostile space is not your ship nor skill points but your focused mind.

There are a few things you should now. Things that works different under EVE mechanic and are often not understood, especialy by newcomers.
There is no end-game ships or equippment. The game is designed to provide you different ships to serve different roles. Larger ship does not mean it is better, it means exactly what it is - larger. Larger boats have their pros and cons exactly like small ones. The skill system allows you to compete with much older players if you train your skills smart. Larger ship you fly more skill intensive it is. Flying a battleship properly takes you about a year of training while you can fly an interceptor at the same efficiency in 3-4 months. Take an advantage of skill system and focus your skilling towards 1 ship of your choice. Older players might have 10x more SP but when they fly a ship at a time, they only use small part of their total skill points. Also, huge part of those high SP are lvl 5 skills that brings only little benefit for their very long training times.
Many pilots are way too much focused on ISK(in-game currency) earning. As a combat pilot, you can't expect to be very efficient in earning ISK, however it should not be a problem for you earning enough to replace your loses . Tech 1 ships are very cheap and easy to replace since you can insure them for almost full price. Don't be affraid to lose them. You can make make +1M per hour in a frigate if you know what you are doing. That way, only little 'grind' is needed to be done. What you actualy have to 'grind' for is Tech 2 ships and better equippment. Still it is not big deal since better you fly the ship, more ISK you can make and you can always fly cheaper fitted ships or just use Tech 1 ships.

Once you learn how to survive in low sec and get over the fear of losing your ship. Nothing is holding you back from having fun flying in fleet with your corpmates -> go to recruitment channel or look up forums for low sec/0.0 corps.

Enjoy.

Want to have the MOST fun in EVE? Join a pirate corporation that accepts newer players and learn how to kill, steal, loot, and otherwise cause mayhem. It's a blast.

If piracy is anathema to you, then perhaps playing the market might be a more interesting way of making ISK. Buying low and selling high --even in small amounts, given what a new player may have to invest (and you might consider grinding through a few dozen boring missions for the purpose of funding such an endeavor)--can be profitable if you can jump on some opportunities. Buy low in Jita or Dodixie and try to get it into a busy low sec system such as Old Man Star (where Faction Warfare means a lot of people lose ships and need replacement stuff RIGHT NOW...or else have sec statuses that don't allow them to go into high security space and may be willing to pay a premium for convenience of finding stuff in low security space's stations).

There are a lot of ways of making ISK in EVE that don't involve mining.

Check out my advice in this thread here, will get you started on your way.

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/203304

You have to join a corp in Eve as a new player its really important for learning and you will play the game a lot more. The social aspect of Eve is one of its strongest parts and it will draw you in. Id advise you to do some more courier and kill missions for a little bit after the tutorial but to go straight onto the recruiting channel and message any corps you like the look of.

Many corps like fresh blood and will take you in show you the ropes, most have group events like complexes, mining ops, most industrial corps like PvPers since they can defend their assets better. Corps will also help you along, as a new player you'll probably be given stuff up to a cruiser class when you can fly it  since credits come really easy to most vets. Also you can ask advice on skills and things and that helps give some direction with the huge number of skills available.

Check this one out.

http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=333665

What I did I checked out a couple of ships that I was interesting to have, from what I had earlier and made that my first goal to have. And during that road you will learn more and more about the game, and I also think that you will find what you want to do in this game.

But don't aim to high initially. It could be just a simple thing to get a cruiser for a few SP's and then being shot down because you used autopilot...

Making money by missions and get all cargo. Then refine it and sell. That's also a simple thing.

don't know why reading this thread reminds me of the good old days of eve...

the first thing i did was to mine for couple of hours...sell the ores...go buy skills....mine....sell ores....skills....upgrade ship...mine etc etc than buy blueprints...build items and sell it....

i have to agree with the previous posts...eve these days you really need to join a corp unless you want to do it the hard way.