EVE Online - Its WoW, with Spaceboats

[Blackcompany]

So I joined EVE because I thought it would be something different. A living world, constantly shifting and evolving based on the actions of players, who essentially run the world.

All of which is true. More or less.

More importantly, if you've been playing for years and have loads of Isk and skills trained, you might actually get to see some of the ways in which player actions change the world of EVE. Which doubtless would be cool.

For us new folks, though...we get to fly around and get beaten up by people whose skills, ships and armaments we cannot hope to match. Outclassed and outgunned, we remain safely in "high sec" space, with its police guards and violent consequences for PVP.

And we run missions. If you have played WoW, or any other MMO EVER MADE, you know what these are. Kill the pirates/deliver the document/mine 90 ore/retrieve item. Over. And over. And over. In less than one month I have seen every single mission EVE creates. Multiple times.

I have also tried my hand at more risky stuff, such as Faction Warfare and PVP, in low and null sec space. And never once did I even come close to being "in the fight" more less winning.

EVE is a fascinating game to read about, or watch on Youtube. For entrenched veteran players it is doubtless an intriguing world to live in.

For new players, just go play WoW. Its what you'll be doing here, too - except that in WoW you might actually have some variety in your missions.

[mickygor]

That's the experience you'll have if you play alone and don't get any guidance. Frigate class ships can hold their own against Battleships if you know what you're doing, and there's action out there if you seek it.

[Blackcompany]

Fair enough point. I understand that low level Frigates can hold their own - in some circumstances. But the one on one fights against Battleships don't happen. Most people fly Frigates now, including a ton of Tech Level II boats. Which means anyone in a basic Frigate is shark chow the moment they find you. Every time.

I appreciate EVE's depth. I would in no way insinuate that it is a bad game, per se. There is a lot to like here.

Unfortunately, it is the least new-player-friendly game I have ever encountered. Which is unfortunate, because I want badly to like it.

[CuriousOrange]

Join the goons!

[jnx]

At one point I spent 2 months mining and selling ore while watching korean starcraft2 league. That was fun.

[Inverselaw]

Its true that in Eve everyone is a character in a grand story. However at one point I realized that my character was the victim that gets killed early on to show how evil the antagonist is.

[Blackcompany]

Its true that in Eve everyone is a character in a grand story. However at one point I realized that my character was the victim that gets killed early on to show how evil the antagonist is.

It seems we shared a similar role, you and I. Gosh I hate being an Extra on the set!

[Ravelle]

I tried several times but coudn't get in to it and when ore was stolen by a pirate after hours of mining, I was done with it.

but hey at least it has the best character creation ever.

[djbriandamage]

I've used a trial account 4 or 5 times and I've bought it twice but I've never subscribed. There is nothing about this game I WOULDN'T like, but I don't like it! I want to like it so bad but it's just insurmountable.

The 6-hour ambient techno soundtrack was worth twice what I paid for the game, though, and it's easily accessible in OGG format in the game folder.

[Blackcompany]

I've used a trial account 4 or 5 times and I've bought it twice but I've never subscribed. There is nothing about this game I WOULDN'T like, but I don't like it! I want to like it so bad but it's just insurmountable.

The 6-hour ambient techno soundtrack was worth twice what I paid for the game, though, and it's easily accessible in OGG format in the game folder.

If this game did not have a gigantic spreadsheet sitting between me and the game proper, I think I would love it. If the only barriers were the earning of isk and buying and outfitting of ships, I would never play anything else.

Missile skill? Why do I need that in this age? Here's my missile skill: I click the mouse over the missile launched and fire a missile. There. That's my skill.

Except I can't. I need to wait months to get these "skills" to "unlock" in order to, I don't know, keep paying a subscription fee in the meantime.

[Namdrol]

If this game did not have a gigantic spreadsheet sitting between me and the game proper, I think I would love it. If the only barriers were the earning of isk and buying and outfitting of ships, I would never play anything else.

Missile skill? Why do I need that in this age? Here's my missile skill: I click the mouse over the missile launched and fire a missile. There. That's my skill.

Except I can't. I need to wait months to get these "skills" to "unlock" in order to, I don't know, keep paying a subscription fee in the meantime.

pretty much. I have a very high tolerance for grinding, but with eve there was just no end point in sight. And that is fine. They have a good solid community of established players who pay their $$$. They really don't need new players.

It'd would be cool if they started a second eve universe. It would be exactly the same game as eve, but with only new players starting. That way a new generation of eve players could start in their own universe. I don't know if that would be possible though.

[Spider Jerusalem]

If this game did not have a gigantic spreadsheet sitting between me and the game proper, I think I would love it.

well you see the spreadsheet /is/ the game.

[DarkFenix]

The only barrier between you and being able to truly enjoy Eve is a social one. Join a corp, they can give you the guidance and help you need to get set up properly (maybe look up the RPS one). It doesn't take months to be able to enjoy the game, maybe 30 days or so and you can be in a tech 2 frigate that never stops being competitive however many skill points you amass. Granted this is still a large time investment, but there's plenty to do in those first weeks anyway. It sounds like you more or less tried to go it alone, Eve is an MMO in the truest sense, you won't get anywhere without your fellow players alongside you.

Eve is the most newbie-unfriendly game out there, but it's worth keeping at it. Got 4 good years out of it personally, though it's dead to me now.

[djbriandamage]

The only barrier between you and being able to truly enjoy Eve is a social one. Join a corp, they can give you the guidance and help you need to get set up properly (maybe look up the RPS one).

I suspect you are 100% correct, and had I known there was an RPS corp that might have made all the difference. Instead I joined EUNI (Eve University, I think) which was horrendous. I waited in queue for 3 days for an interview, and in the mean time studied literature I would be tested on. That part was fascinating - jetcanning, tackling, podding, it all sounded even more awesome than I even imagined. My enthusiasm and regurgitation of acronyms and jargon got me enthusiastically accepted into the corp and I was well on my way to explore the cosmos. Then I was told some gigantic corp had declared war on EUNI and it was recommended that I stay safely on our home station until the big boys cleared things up. 3 more days of this extinguished the remainder of my enthusiasm and I quit for good.

Well, I think I quit for good. I still want to play! SO BADLY! My only barriers are social and PVP. Nothing ruins my good time faster than PVP, and I have to question the longevity of a game that is so hostile to newcomers specifically because they're new and ignorant! There's duelling and then there's outright trolling.

I've used up every conceivable trial and I have no active subscription. WHY IN THE HELL AM I DOWNLOADING EVE RIGHT NOW?

[PsyComa]

I suspect you are 100% correct, and had I known there was an RPS corp that might have made all the difference. Instead I joined EUNI (Eve University, I think) which was horrendous. I waited in queue for 3 days for an interview, and in the mean time studied literature I would be tested on. That part was fascinating - jetcanning, tackling, podding, it all sounded even more awesome than I even imagined. My enthusiasm and regurgitation of acronyms and jargon got me enthusiastically accepted into the corp and I was well on my way to explore the cosmos. Then I was told some gigantic corp had declared war on EUNI and it was recommended that I stay safely on our home station until the big boys cleared things up. 3 more days of this extinguished the remainder of my enthusiasm and I quit for good.

Well, I think I quit for good. I still want to play! SO BADLY! My only barriers are social and PVP. Nothing ruins my good time faster than PVP, and I have to question the longevity of a game that is so hostile to newcomers specifically because they're new and ignorant! There's duelling and then there's outright trolling.

I've used up every conceivable trial and I have no active subscription. WHY IN THE HELL AM I DOWNLOADING EVE RIGHT NOW?

Well, first about E-Uni.. the "big boys" never solved shit, they just wait till the wardec goes away or pay for it to be lifted. Many dudes complain about that policy.

When RPSH got a wardec, we went after them and pewed them. All in all in the end we inflicted 1/3 more damage on them than they did on us, which was cool. Of course you can't compare size here, but if you would, we'd look even more awesome because we're quite small and crazy.

Regarding the longevity of a game like Eve, dude. It's been around since forever. It's surprising what a sandbox filled with sociopaths can become.

Since you're downloading the client, look us up in the RPS Community in-game chat. You can talk to Hoarr, Bobhound, Tigran, Bahari, Benefacio, Kurp, Gara or his many alts, and many other cool dudes.

Eve is all about community.

[djbriandamage]

Since you're downloading the client, look us up in the RPS Community in-game chat. You can talk to Hoarr, Bobhound, Tigran, Bahari, Benefacio, Kurp, Gara or his many alts, and many other cool dudes.

Eve is all about community.

It's downloaded and I'm signing up for another trial. I will most certainly look you guys up. I hope you have the patience for a 98% noob.

[Hanban]

It's downloaded and I'm signing up for another trial. I will most certainly look you guys up. I hope you have the patience for a 98% noob.

We help anyone willing to learn so no need to worry about that. I would rather advise you to be patient. I have tried EVE a few times myself, much like Hoarr, and always ended up thinking "This game is just too stupid. WHAT IS FALLOFF!?!?!"

In EVE you have a ton of numbers to keep in your head and in the beginning it is going to be confusing and at times frustrating. Knowing, for example, how far your weapon reaches is based on the weapon's optimal range and its falloff range. But even when knowing that you have to take into account things like tracking, signature radius, etc. So there's a lot of information to process and what I would advise any new player to do is to be very engaged and ask a TON of questions. If you're confused as to how tracking mechanics work, have a look at a wiki and then ask in corp chat if you've understood it correctly.

The information threshold to pass is greater than in most other online games, but I find that once you understand what's under the hood it's a more enjoyable game than other MMOs. But I'll stress it again. The mechanics are of course an integral part of the game, but it's in the interaction with other players that the game shines. Particularly when your autocannon interracts with another ship's hull.

[Snakejuice]

TBH you can't really play EVE casually and get the most out of it, the only times in my life when I've had a really good time with it was when I was unemployed and could play 10-12 hours every day. You really can get good fights, you can win fights outnumbered/outaged, problem is you often need to spend lots of hours scouting, planning, communicating which requires you to "turn off" the outside world.

[Hypernetic]

EVE is nothing like WoW at all, it shares more similarities with Microsoft Excel than it does with WoW.

[Blackcompany]

EVE is nothing like WoW at all, it shares more similarities with Microsoft Excel than it does with WoW.

This is, regrettably, very true.

And yet...yet. I still want to like the game. I do. But damn its hard to like. So much going on...but so little of it worthwhile. The missions are horrible wastes. Mining is...well, I could mine and do something else that would be...pointless.

And Faction Warfare. Wow did CCP ever screw that up. Don't even get me going.

Add all of that to being locked out of most of the game's content until some arbitrary point in the future based on a real time ticket skill trainer, and well...its a recipe for a game not growing very quickly to say the least.

And I still want to like it. I just...can't.