I feel a growing temptation to return to EVE but having been away from mmos for quite a while I am not quite ready to resubscribe. Instead I started a disposable character on a free trial to test my resolve. Knowing that this character will be thrown in the bin in a couple of weeks is actually quite liberating. Freed from the fear of gimping my character I feet no necessity to min max anything. I picked a Gallente because I think they have cool looking spaceships and went from there.
First obvious change since I last played is being able to walk around my Captain's quarters. Its a nice idea but hardly a game changer. Can you decorate your quarters I wonder and if so do these home improvements move around with you wherever you go?
The second obvious change is the much improved tutorial. I managed to make it through the first steps introduction without having to resort to on-line help or the chat channel which is a first for me in EVE. Even better once you have finished the general introduction you are pointed to an array of possible career tutorials each of which teach you useful skills and provide money and equipment. Trying a selection of these starter careers should certainly give new players a much greater flavour for the possibilities of the game as well as putting them on a reasonable financial footing.
I did the Exploration career tutorial for no better reason than never having done exploration before. It turns out to be a kind of scanning mini game where you use sensor probes scattered about the galaxy to try and triangulate the position of "anomalies". Even with the tutorial advice I found it quite tricky to narrow things down to the point where I could actually warp to them. However by the time I had completed the four different types of site in the tutorial I was comfortable enough for it to be a mildly interesting mini game. I could see it getting old quite quickly however and I couldn't imagine it becoming my actual EVE career. Indeed the rewards for scanning an anomaly often require you to do something else anyway like mining an asteroid belt or fighting a combat encounter.
Thinking about this brings me the the crux of whether or not I actually want to return to EVE. EVE is full of an extraordinary amount of activities that are fun to do the first few times. It also allows you enormous freedom to set your own goals and challenges. Unfortunately achieving almost any goal requires a huge amount of time and a huge amount of repetition of activities that become very boring after the nth time. I generally don't have the patience to hang around long enough to achieve substantial in game goals.
Sitting there in space in my disposable newbie character I had a strange realisation. Almost all the things that I personally love about EVE can be enjoyed right there by a brand new character in a starter Frigate: The incredible feeling of flying through beautifully depicted space full of unknown possibilities and unknown dangers, the experience of being in a universe full of teeming humanity all working towards their own goals and all helping to create an incredible diverse organic environment, even the nerd porn of having a staggering number of options to analyse and play around with are all there right from day one sitting in a newbie frigate.
When last I played EVE I had a goal of getting to level 4 missions but I got bored half way through grinding rep from level 3's and got sidetracked with my trading experiment and then sidetracked again with my noob in 0.0 experiment. If I return to the game I will need a goal. Earning isk is not a goal in itself because isk is worthless unless you have something to spend it on.
One thought I am experimenting with is to become a Space Tourist. My newb in 0.0 experiment has already given me a taste for sneaking around supposedly dangerous regions. A newbie frigate can get surprisingly far in 0.0 but once you hit a warp bubble you are dead. I am thinking of training up a stealthy ship like a Cheetah (frigate size ship with a cloak). I believed these can escape warp bubbles while cloaked. If this is true then I should be able to roam a lot further. EVE Gate is an obvious target but I wonder if it might also be possible to stealthily observe some of these epic fleet battles I read about. A stealthed loner in 0.0 has a hard time earning money so I would need some way to cover my expenses. Probably a high sec character making trades or running missions. Its a thought.
Guilty Confession Time: My rekindled interest in EVE was sparked off from reading Greedy Goblin's posts on his forays into New Eden. I feel kind of bad about reading his blog because he is routinely rude and arrogant and he insultingly dismisses other players (and most of humanity it appears) as "Moron's and Slackers". Nevertheless I do think Gevlon is a smart guy and I also think he has a particular type of single minded personality that allows him to achieve what he sets out to achieve. Gevlon's adventures in New Eden are too good to miss including such gems as his week old character writing an insulting in game mail to an older player pointing out their mistakes. Almost as interesting is the line up of EVE veterans, insulted no doubt by Gevlon's arrogance, who are falling over them selves to predict his impending failure in their treasured game.
First obvious change since I last played is being able to walk around my Captain's quarters. Its a nice idea but hardly a game changer. Can you decorate your quarters I wonder and if so do these home improvements move around with you wherever you go?
The second obvious change is the much improved tutorial. I managed to make it through the first steps introduction without having to resort to on-line help or the chat channel which is a first for me in EVE. Even better once you have finished the general introduction you are pointed to an array of possible career tutorials each of which teach you useful skills and provide money and equipment. Trying a selection of these starter careers should certainly give new players a much greater flavour for the possibilities of the game as well as putting them on a reasonable financial footing.
I did the Exploration career tutorial for no better reason than never having done exploration before. It turns out to be a kind of scanning mini game where you use sensor probes scattered about the galaxy to try and triangulate the position of "anomalies". Even with the tutorial advice I found it quite tricky to narrow things down to the point where I could actually warp to them. However by the time I had completed the four different types of site in the tutorial I was comfortable enough for it to be a mildly interesting mini game. I could see it getting old quite quickly however and I couldn't imagine it becoming my actual EVE career. Indeed the rewards for scanning an anomaly often require you to do something else anyway like mining an asteroid belt or fighting a combat encounter.
Thinking about this brings me the the crux of whether or not I actually want to return to EVE. EVE is full of an extraordinary amount of activities that are fun to do the first few times. It also allows you enormous freedom to set your own goals and challenges. Unfortunately achieving almost any goal requires a huge amount of time and a huge amount of repetition of activities that become very boring after the nth time. I generally don't have the patience to hang around long enough to achieve substantial in game goals.
Sitting there in space in my disposable newbie character I had a strange realisation. Almost all the things that I personally love about EVE can be enjoyed right there by a brand new character in a starter Frigate: The incredible feeling of flying through beautifully depicted space full of unknown possibilities and unknown dangers, the experience of being in a universe full of teeming humanity all working towards their own goals and all helping to create an incredible diverse organic environment, even the nerd porn of having a staggering number of options to analyse and play around with are all there right from day one sitting in a newbie frigate.
When last I played EVE I had a goal of getting to level 4 missions but I got bored half way through grinding rep from level 3's and got sidetracked with my trading experiment and then sidetracked again with my noob in 0.0 experiment. If I return to the game I will need a goal. Earning isk is not a goal in itself because isk is worthless unless you have something to spend it on.
One thought I am experimenting with is to become a Space Tourist. My newb in 0.0 experiment has already given me a taste for sneaking around supposedly dangerous regions. A newbie frigate can get surprisingly far in 0.0 but once you hit a warp bubble you are dead. I am thinking of training up a stealthy ship like a Cheetah (frigate size ship with a cloak). I believed these can escape warp bubbles while cloaked. If this is true then I should be able to roam a lot further. EVE Gate is an obvious target but I wonder if it might also be possible to stealthily observe some of these epic fleet battles I read about. A stealthed loner in 0.0 has a hard time earning money so I would need some way to cover my expenses. Probably a high sec character making trades or running missions. Its a thought.
Guilty Confession Time: My rekindled interest in EVE was sparked off from reading Greedy Goblin's posts on his forays into New Eden. I feel kind of bad about reading his blog because he is routinely rude and arrogant and he insultingly dismisses other players (and most of humanity it appears) as "Moron's and Slackers". Nevertheless I do think Gevlon is a smart guy and I also think he has a particular type of single minded personality that allows him to achieve what he sets out to achieve. Gevlon's adventures in New Eden are too good to miss including such gems as his week old character writing an insulting in game mail to an older player pointing out their mistakes. Almost as interesting is the line up of EVE veterans, insulted no doubt by Gevlon's arrogance, who are falling over them selves to predict his impending failure in their treasured game.
Comments
To play and enjoy EVE to me is to live the life as the capsular going about things as normal even though you may have a ultimate goal. It's not the daily focus on some goal just so you have to keep repeating it to get there. It's to find ways to enjoy the journey getting there.
EVE is a journey in the life of a Capsuleer who has the ultimate choice and decisions in every way to craft his or her legacy as they see fit in the universe.
I played WoW for 5 years before EVE so also quite aware of Gevlons blog as well. I've read his EVE adventures so far. Interesting I'll say. I've never endorsed Gevlons saying ever. As a full time Trader in EVE I don't endorse calling players morons or slackers even if I think the person is one. People in EVE that can seem like a moron has the ability to really ruin you day and efforts in so many ways, especially drawing attention to one self and efforts like Gevlon does.
Only written a email to a player one in 2 years playing and only once ever did which was in the earlier part if my first year as a Trader. That mail was nit positively received and that person did not care for what I thought. As well going further they ruined my business profitability on that item for a good amount if time in regional market. So I find it amusing that Gevlon is trying to use much of same tactics in EVE attempting to call and email players as morons. That ultimately may not end well and can likely get him marked for camping and constant grieving in game.
Unlike allot of games with lots of servers EVE is one universe and people can and will find you if your publicly known and been an ass about things and they know of it.
As a Trader and Industrialist in EVE I like and prefer to stay off the radar as well as nit email anyone to call them moron or slacker. I once not long ago got 3 Tornados on market for less than 500K. It cost about 50 M at least. I didn't email any those players in game to indicate anything or if u thought they were morons to sell them to me at that price. It's best to say absolutely nothing at that point EVE and just accept some people in a hurry make mistakes and sell the item to buyorder click screen before they have thought about it. That's why buyorders ate often very very low if possible as someone will click to sell before they think often and it goes to the cheap buyorder.
However long you decide to play EVE do try thing out and not make thing a grind. Try to enjoy the journey in EVE on your way to whatever the goal ultimately is. EVE requires thinking and going about playing and living life in game much different to playing other games. Afterall no one is holding your hands in EVE telling anyone to do this that or anything. You craft your own existence in the universe as well your own purpose.
Ardent Defender
As for myself, most of the time I couldn't be bothered min maxing. I tend to wander through New EDEN with my mouth open in awe at all the cool stuff and things to do.
What I want to see or find interesting is how his Moron & Slacker antics calling and email players and calling them as such work out for him in EVE. That to me is what I will find interesting and looking fwd to. Living in one universe in EVE has interesting dynamics and effect as well when your blogging about it with a public profile. And Gevlon loves his public profile attempting to blast others. That may just not work like it did for him in WoW and trying to redicule others.