EVE Online just went free to play yesterday. So if you're into those sci-fi sandbox's I'd highly recommend it.
Might as well make this a positive thread... I think I tried playing EVE a decade ago. Anyone care to do a compare/contrast with EVE and EGS?
EVE is the game that Defines the term PvP...... That would be, Player versus PEOPLE, Lots of them. I had Four, yes 4 accounts going at one point - it's like having a second job! If they went FREE how do they keep the lights on and servers up? Selling ISK? Based on my present experience I compare like this: EGS, fun, and first person realistic simulation, with lots of potential and devs that Care what players say. EVE, no physics (smallest ship in the game can bump the biggest and keep it from warping (yes really), and if you get a magnifying glass you might be able to look in one of your 3rd person view ship windows. You can go look at yourself in the mirror of your cabin, but you may never leave, just like Hotel California.
I tried EVE so long ago, I deemed it was a "Sightly Interactive Screen Saver". I wonder how much has changed since then... but I really don't want to install it to find out. I'd rather stick to one time-sucking-life-away game at a time
I played Eve in the final beta and for about 5-6 years of release. At the end of it, I had to give up because Fatherhood, Job, Wife and all those grown up things got in the way. I was Vicarrah - Tahiri Matriarch - Council Member of the Ushra-Khan and Co-Director of the Peoples Front of Minmatar. back then it was all about the RP, as you can probably gather from the above title but that's all just how you play it. Essentially Eve is a graphical frontend to a spreadsheet, nothing ever really moves, it just goes from cell-a to cell-b and presents some nice graphics while it does it There is scope for customisation, but not for creation. If you want the thrill of losing everything you've got, it's awesome, if you want to take it easy, then you'll probably never see half the content. I prefer something a little less... vicious these days
I have always called EVE Spreadsheet the MMO. Trying to compare Eve to Empyrion would be comparing apples to tomatoes. They are both a fruit and they are both red, but that is about the end of the comparison. As stated above, EVE defines PVP, which is probably why I dont play it. I dont have time to get ganked day in and out. Now I will admit, it has been a few years. I did try again when they offered the play for free for 15 days. But he interface had changed so much, my head felt like it was going to explode. Playing EVE is like having a 2nd Job, and if I am going to do that, I might as well get paid for it!
My avatar is one of my old EVE characters. I played it quite actively for about two years. Strange to hear it went free to play. Not sure if that would be a good sign or a bad sign. Last I heard, they retained their level of customers, but perhaps now they sell ISK enough that they don't need to charge for accounts. However, if that IS the case, that is a bad sign as it means the game is even more "pay to win" than it used to be. Some points about EVE. 1. For whatever reasons, the ethos within that gaming community is by far the least friendly, most backstabbing, machivellian you will find on any MMORPG. That quite about "Wretched hive of scum and villainy . . ." from Star Wars = that describes the EVE galaxy perfectly. Many, MANY people who play that game thrive on one of three things: A. blowing other people up for LALZ, B. trolling/griefing/just generally figuring out ways to piss people off which do not get them banned, C. Ripping off other players with scams. I was a member of a Wormhole Alliance ("Wormhole Space" is the most lawless, dangerous, piratical part of the game) and the dude who was my Alliance leader had literally been playing the game continuously (as many hours per day as he could manage, and this was a lot . . . his wife and kids were often heard in the background chastising and complaining about his failure to participate in their lives) literally since the game began. 2. The "movers and shakers" in the game apparently are generally of this ilk: they literally LIVE on EVE Online. In some, there is an "aristocracy" of sorts within the game, and there are also fascinating "court intrigues," too many to name, but if you are curious I can try to think of a couple search strings. Literally, there were years long mole operations by people, who gained the trust of half-dozen or more other people (who were authorities within a large alliance) and then ripped them off for Trillions of ISK. Because ISK can be purchased, this can be translated into real world money and it was on the order of Tens of Thousands of dollars. 3. "Space" in EVE Online is the consistency of chocalate pudding (a bit like in Empyrion). There are no orbits and objects which do not continue to apply thrust come to a stop. While this little feature is fine initially, as one plays it more and more you realize how much it shapes the way space battles are fought and for me, it became too much to bear (e.g., the bumping tactic mentioned above). 4. In terms of white-knuckle PVP . . . might not be anything better from a space standpoint. However, getting to the point of being able to pew-pew with the big boys takes time and/or money, or friends in the right places. ADDIT: If I had infinite time and money . . . I'm still not sure I'd go back to playing it. I had a lot of fun learning about the game and its communities. But overall, MMORPGs are I think . . . 'toxic' and EVE Online has got to be the most toxic of them all. Without playing in a MMORPG based on "My Little Pony" there is really no way around it. However, with that said . . . if I HAD to play an MMORPG or I'd be taken out and shot . . . EVE Online would definitely be the one I'd play!
I think it's all coming back to me now... over the course of several months, I managed to do enough mind numbing things to earn enough money to buy enough resources to build a coffee table or something for my pitiful ship, and when I queued it up, it said it was going to take 17 real time days or something ridiculous to finish construction. Pretty sure that's when I lost interest.
Yep a whole lot of THIS - I agree with all these comments - spot on. I ran a "corporation" of just over 50 players at it's peak, which was a royal PITA in itself. We owned a "starbase" in a wormhole and made lots of game cash selling off the fancy rare minerals. There was so much drama in a game with crap physics and nasty players it was not a rewarding experience, certainly not worth paying for, and now, not worth my time which my family finds valuable. The thing that probably sealed the deal on me being done, was when the devs got busted Helping destroy one of the biggest game alliances. Are you Sure? I had to read your comment several times to make my choice, and that really does say something!!
I thought it was. It's newer than mine though, I stopped playing earlier. I hated all the 0.0 malarky, being the terrorist and freedom fighter was fun, and I had a hand in building a community that still exists in the game today (I think. lol). That was what drew me, having been a big Pen and Paper roleplayer. When the freedom fighters started holding their own 0.0 that was basically the end for me, which was a damn shame, but that's life, and I couldn't afford to use it on Eve.
I tried really hard playing it once. Was scared to go into space with security level below 5 afraid that my expensive ship would get blown up by pirates(Real people pirates). I heard people spending 1000s of real life money on a ship only to get blasted to pieces in seconds. I will never spend irl money on a disposable ship with a bullseye painted on the back for pirates to shoot at. I got bored trying to mine asteroids for a week with one mining laser to make ingame money.
Cool. How long until they start to pay players? Because that it what it would take for me. Piss on MMOs.
I was a long time player too, I still have 4 of my 6 accounts subscribed. I agree with all the points above about that game. Eve is now free to play, but with a lot of constraints and limites. You have now 2 kind of clones (players): - Omega clones are the players with monthly subscription. As they were before the "free" move. No limites at all in the game. - Alpha clones are the players that don't pay subscription. They are free to do whatever they want and go whereever they want, BUT they have a (very) limited and fix amount of skills. So they can't pilot the higher tiers of ships, can't train what they want. This is why CCP say Eve is free. Yes you can play, but within limits... Still, you can acquire all the how-to.
