I have now realised that EVE is for hardcore gamers, I have spent pretty much 3 hours trying to go through the tutorial and just can't get my head around this game. 

Trying to scan with 3 probes for pretty much 2 hours and getting to 99.9% then losing it time after time is just not fun.  I understand that scanning is pretty easy once you get your head around it (and I clearly have not) but the alarm bells have gone off for me.

I can tell after playing for a few hours that this game is going to be a frigging nightmare, more frustration than fun, it's a shame really as I would like a good space MMO to play.

I now know why this game does not have millions of subscribers, the learning curve is far too steep for many (not all) of us casuals.

I've tried this game at least six different times and failed to get sucked in, but it's not the game's fault.  My biggest hangup has always been that my character is essentially a ship.  If I was able to walk around inside my ships, get out of them and explore on foot and do other things like that, I'd be playing.  Essentially, I prefer the ships were a vehicle and combat tool, rather than the whole experience.

That's personal preference though, and I'm a huge fan of EVE and CCP for what they have done and represent.  I don't blame anyone for me not getting sucked into EVE.  It is what it is.  Hopefully someday I will have access to an EVE-like sandbox in a more traditional format.  I had hoped ambulation would come and evolve the game in additional directions for people like me, but if that's going to break the game EVE players love now, then I prefer they don't change it.

Originally posted by Mackeh

I have now realised that EVE is for hardcore gamers, I have spent pretty much 3 hours trying to go through the tutorial and just can't get my head around this game. 

Trying to scan with 3 probes for pretty much 2 hours and getting to 99.9% then losing it time after time is just not fun.  I understand that scanning is pretty easy once you get your head around it (and I clearly have not) but the alarm bells have gone off for me.

I can tell after playing for a few hours that this game is going to be a frigging nightmare, more frustration than fun, it's a shame really as I would like a good space MMO to play.

I now know why this game does not have millions of subscribers, the learning curve is far too steep for many (not all) of us casuals.

It really isn't very hard.  You gave up too quick I think.  EVE has a number of issues but difficulty really isn't one of them in my opinion.

I think the biggest issue traditional MMOers have is the PVE aspects of the game are pretty boring, and the travel times can be annoying.  I also think the experience point system is a bit unfair to newer players, but in terms of difficulty, it is pretty straightforward once you get into it.

Maybe this helps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EWFBQtwy1s

Originally posted by Mackeh

I have now realised that EVE is for hardcore gamers, I have spent pretty much 3 hours trying to go through the tutorial and just can't get my head around this game. 

Trying to scan with 3 probes for pretty much 2 hours and getting to 99.9% then losing it time after time is just not fun.  I understand that scanning is pretty easy once you get your head around it (and I clearly have not) but the alarm bells have gone off for me.

I can tell after playing for a few hours that this game is going to be a frigging nightmare, more frustration than fun, it's a shame really as I would like a good space MMO to play.

I now know why this game does not have millions of subscribers, the learning curve is far too steep for many (not all) of us casuals.

Damn it, and I don't have a link to that learning curve picture...

Eve's learning curve is more of a cliff, and there is a rather funny picture that describes this kicking around somewhere. But yeah, it can be quite hard.

Oh, by the way, taking note of what you said that I highlighted in red: You were doing it wrong. For any of the difficult sites, you have to do what is called "quadrangulation" to find it, which requires 4 probes. Reason for this is the following:

Probes in Eve cannot pinpoint anything but the most basic sites by themselves; for everything else, all that any particular probe can do is tell you how far away the site is from itself, and the estimated accuracy of that value.

-With one single probe in range of the site, when the probe returns the distance reading that will mean that the site could be anywhere on a spherical shell with the radius of that given distance, i.e. it is every single point in space that is that precise distance away from the probe, in every known direction.

-With two probes in range of the site and giving their own unique distance measurements, each probe calculates that "distance sphere" as it were; where the two spheres intersect is all of the possible locations that site could be that matches the readings from both probes. This turns out to be a circle.

-With three probes in range of the site, giving off their own unique distance measurements via their "distance sphere", the system will calculate which points in space will properly satisfy the distance readings of all three probes. This ends up being two separate points in space on the circle defined by the first two probes, and you can define those two points to very high accuracy, but you still don't know which of the two points it is. Using only three probes, this is as far as you got.

-With a fourth probe in range of the site and properly positioned, if that fourth probe does get the reading you will isolate which of the two points found with three probes is the correct one, and if the resolution of your probes is good enough you will be able to nail down that position with 100% accuracy and get a set of coordinates that can be warped to.

This is quadrangulation with distance-only measurements. Sorry that you had to find this out here instead of in the scanning tutorials/player manuals/Youtube videos, but that's it.

I just started EVE about 3 days ago, and yes it is not a simple game. It is sometimes frustrating but on the other hand, when you can solve the problem the pleasure and the reward is so much greater.

As my grandma use to tell me:"No pain no gain"

So just hang in there. It helped me a lot to watch all the game paly guides on youtube.

I have never played Eve,but I have had lots of friends that do and have read about it for years. From what I can tell it is a thinking mans game and an acquired taste. Like Cognac and foreign movies.  The gamers that play it are fiercely loyal to it, at least they used to be,and some friends of mine wouldn't even play other games if they couldn't play that. It almost has a cult following. I think if may be the "Chess" of MMO's.

Originally posted by Anthur

Maybe this helps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EWFBQtwy1s

Would like to add a +1 to the vid

Also leave the exploration career agent until last if possible.

edit: I prefer this vid  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heYfTA00Idg

Eve isn't really hard to learn, especially with battleclinic, it's the time it takes your character to learn stuff. Most of it is handled by dice rolls in the background, while you click all over the screen. For probing I always used 4 probes when i did it and had fairly good results. I think i saw a guide on youtube a while back. I haven't played in a long time though. Last thing i remember doing was putting lasers on my hurricane and doing missions just for the hell of it.

@ kiljaedenas

This one? http://www.flickr.com/photos/23579228@N04/2335016192/

Originally posted by Mackeh

I have now realised that EVE is for hardcore gamers, I have spent pretty much 3 hours trying to go through the tutorial and just can't get my head around this game. 

Trying to scan with 3 probes for pretty much 2 hours and getting to 99.9% then losing it time after time is just not fun.  I understand that scanning is pretty easy once you get your head around it (and I clearly have not) but the alarm bells have gone off for me.

I can tell after playing for a few hours that this game is going to be a frigging nightmare, more frustration than fun, it's a shame really as I would like a good space MMO to play.

I now know why this game does not have millions of subscribers, the learning curve is far too steep for many (not all) of us casuals.

Hey.

 

I know most people will tell you the opposite but, fuck the tutorial. Cancel it. You spent 2 hours trying to scan something down? Well, that's because scanning in Eve sucks. A simulated hologram interface on a flatscreen? Alright, CCP. What could possibly go wrong?

 

And there's only a slim chance that you'll even need to know how to scan anytime soon. So just fuck the tutorial, and learn scanning as soon as you have to. Nobody can remember everything that's taught there.

 

Pick what you want to do, learn by doing, and switch profession when you find something better.

    It has been my experience that Eve, like most sandboxes, take a very specific kind of person to like and play it.  People who like Eve tend to like games that require a lot of attention to detail.  For them, that is fun.  For me it makes the game drag on.  I also agree with a previous poster that my character basically being a ship is about as lousy as can be.  I just could not get invested in a ship.  Even though I hated WoW every time I tried it, I still managed to get invested in a couple of toons I had.  Not so with Eve.

    Anyways, if you figured out you don't like it, good for you.  I would encourage you to take some of the other posters advice though and look at some of the tutorial videos before making a final decision.  They bore the bejeebers out of me, but they may be just what you need to find a game you really like.

Meh, people talk about EVE having this learning "cliff" where it's straight up vertical. Honestly, I often wonder if the people who say these things are just trying to stroke their own ego by showing off how "hard" the game they play is. EVE is actually easy. It's a very basic sort of game. For instance, Industry. All you do is research how much it takes to build a product (material costs, manufacturing line cost, etc) and then compare that to how much you can sell it for, and then research how in demand the item is. Done. Easy and simple.

EVE is not hard once you figure out the interface. It really isn't. It just takes patience and a little research. As long as you have the most basic understanding of how a market functions and you have some social skills, EVE isn't hard.

Originally posted by GMan3

    It has been my experience that Eve, like most sandboxes, take a very specific kind of person to like and play it.  People who like Eve tend to like games that require a lot of attention to detail.  For them, that is fun.  For me it makes the game drag on.  I also agree with a previous poster that my character basically being a ship is about as lousy as can be.  I just could not get invested in a ship.  Even though I hated WoW every time I tried it, I still managed to get invested in a couple of toons I had.  Not so with Eve.

    Anyways, if you figured out you don't like it, good for you.  I would encourage you to take some of the other posters advice though and look at some of the tutorial videos before making a final decision.  They bore the bejeebers out of me, but they may be just what you need to find a game you really like.

In EVE you're not supposed to get invested in your ship, because all ships eventually explode and they never come back.

the other thing to keep in mind in EvE is that there isn't a whole lot you can do by yourself. and what you can do is pretty boring.

 

pvp is mostly a group affair. while you will be able to do some solo ganking (once you get enough pvp skills) the majority of pvp is done in groups.

PvE is also a group affair especially once you have to start going into low sec or nul sec or worm holes. you will need protection against raiders and the only way to do it is in groups.

territory control is definately a group affair. there is simply no way to do it by yourself.

 

 

 

the only thing you can truly do by yourself in EvE is make money and train your skill. of course, making money is much easier in a group.

 

finding a good corp that does what you like to do and includes you and makes you feel part of the group is vital to truly enjoy EvE. trying to solo in EvE is incredibly boring and dificult.

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Originally posted by Jakdstripper
the other thing to keep in mind in EvE is that there isn't a whole lot you can do by yourself. and what you can do is pretty boring.
 

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First part is a blatant lie, second part is subjective.

Originally posted by Gdemami

 

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First part is a blatant lie, second part is subjective.

please do explain....

Originally posted by Mackeh

I have now realised that EVE is for hardcore gamers, I have spent pretty much 3 hours trying to go through the tutorial and just can't get my head around this game. 

Trying to scan with 3 probes for pretty much 2 hours and getting to 99.9% then losing it time after time is just not fun.  I understand that scanning is pretty easy once you get your head around it (and I clearly have not) but the alarm bells have gone off for me.

I can tell after playing for a few hours that this game is going to be a frigging nightmare, more frustration than fun, it's a shame really as I would like a good space MMO to play.

I now know why this game does not have millions of subscribers, the learning curve is far too steep for many (not all) of us casuals.

The problem isn't EVE, its not even -you- as a player, or the learning-curve.

The problem is there is zero quality alternatives for games like these. There just are maybe 3 other qualitatively equal space mmos to play, of which two are games that feel like extended betas and one is an arcadey shooter.

Originally posted by Mackeh

I have now realised that EVE is for hardcore gamers.

The first time I played EVE, the "Tutorial" was pretty slim. You basically had to figure the game out for yourself. (Or ask a million questions) Needless to say I didn't end up playing.

I came back a couple years later and there was a better tutorial. I ended up playing for a couple years.

I just came back for a 14 day trial to see if I might want to start back up my old account and I have spent most my time in the Rookie Help Channel answering questions instead of really playing the game. I probably won't be sticking around, but it did remind me of how much trouble (and fun to s certain degree) it was to figure out that game.

EVE is much easier than it used to be, but that isn't saying much.

Originally posted by Jakdstripper

Originally posted by Gdemami

 

---

 

First part is a blatant lie, second part is subjective.

please do explain....

 

There is quite a bit to do solo.  Sure some of it may not seem fun to you, it doesn't mean it's not fun for other people.  I would pvp solo when I could.  It was fun as hell, as long as you knew where to look.  Sure you are going to get blown up quite a bit, but if getting blown up bothers you a lot then don't bother pvping in Eve.  I also spent a lot of time doing exploration, wormholes, plexes and what not solo.  They were challenging sometimes, fun for me. 

 

It is afterall an MMO.  Works best if you are playing with other people.

 

EDIT:  As far as the OP.  Join the E-UNI public channel.  Along with rookie help you should have no trouble finding some help.  For scanning and probing, there are plenty of nice youtube videos that give excellent directions on it.  The game may have a learning curve, but there is tons of information avaible to help you along the way.  It helps if you like the game of course, trying to play something you think you should like but don't wont work.