Eve Online

[hallsofvallhalla]

Anyone played? Steam has a special on it so was thinking of trying it.

[Jackolantern]

It is a little slow for me, and I was never able to get into it. I will say it is one of the most complex and deep graphical MMOs out there, and considering the trend of MMOs, probably the most complex there will ever be. It is crushingly detail-oriented, though, with some parts almost playing like a spreadsheet.

[OldRod]

I have a friend who plays and loves it, but he told me it's not real easy for a new player to get started nowadays. I didn't push for details, but from what little I know about the game, that makes sense.

[hallsofvallhalla]

Thanks, that seems to be the concensus. I also hear it takes massive amounts of time which I do not have.

[Gunner]

and subscription based game which I do not have the $$

[Callan S.]

I've no idea what 'getting started' in it means - there's no real fixed goal or anything and you can be mining asteroids in about five minutes. Figuring out how to sell them is fiddley as I recall, but doable.

After that what are you supposed to get into? I don't think there's a problem getting into it, because there's nothing really to get into (apart from flying around in cool looking space and getting pissy with other players/self destructive PVP)

[tourmaline]

I enjoy the ambiance of the game, but it does eat your life away. Also the thrill of never being safe makes it fun. I could do without the large alliance territory game though. I enjoy the game. If I was unemployed I'd play it all the time.

[Jackolantern]

I've no idea what 'getting started' in it means - there's no real fixed goal or anything and you can be mining asteroids in about five minutes. Figuring out how to sell them is fiddley as I recall, but doable.

After that what are you supposed to get into? I don't think there's a problem getting into it, because there's nothing really to get into (apart from flying around in cool looking space and getting pissy with other players/self destructive PVP)

"Getting started" in this context would mean starting the game, learning the mechanics and strategies and climbing both the social and power structure ladder. It is a fact that some games become more difficult to start as time goes on. The bonds between the power players formed long ago, the vast majority of the community knows the game quite well which makes them less tolerant of a complete beginner tripping over their shoelaces, and there are fewer players at your level who will have a lot to gain from playing with you.

This problem plagued forced grouping MMORPGs such as EQ1, DAoC, and FFXI. There was essentially a window of 2 - 3 years to join, and after that new players would find they would hit a wall as they tried to migrate to the mid-game. This is the reason why design decisions such as Mercs in EQ1 and Minions in FFXI were made (both are essentially NPCs that can take the place of teammates at the mid-level ranges).

And the fact that EVE is even more complicated than these games could make some of these problems even worse. Of course a player can take their ship out and mine rocks, but that isn't the aim of most people joining the game. They want to become important, get in on the intense ship fights, become pirates, be a hero, etc. And the game's age may be an impediment to new players achieving that.

I can't say for sure since I am not an EVE player, but I am somewhat familiar with how the game works from playing it a while back and tons of case studies on its mechanics. It feels like it could be an issue.

[tourmaline]

All of that is true, and starting as a solo player is tough unless you bypass some of the "working phase" and buy some plex to get a financial leg up. And of course find a "good corp". But so many corps get pulled into alliances, or they become evil ganking corps since there is no other end game aside from ganking or territory control. It's a shame really, as it is a well developed and complex game, and the economy is unrivaled.

I don't play right now, as I'd rather write code; but when I get the itch to play a game, I will get back in.

[Callan S.]

They want to become important, get in on the intense ship fights, become pirates, be a hero, etc. And the game's age may be an impediment to new players achieving that.

The thing is none of those are game statistics. Intense, pirate, hero - these all come from the social level of the game.

And it's the social level that closes the doors on newbies becoming any of this, not the game.

Granted I think these games could do more to match make people into groups (based on other things they like, not just liking this game). Otherwise the game just lets social groups naturally form and then become naturally exclusive. So I'd agree the game could do something more than just 'people will just find people and we don't do an iota more towards that'.

I've mentioned match making on various other sites and you get the 'this isn't a dating site' reaction, which is kind of stupid IMO. To me the protest comes from the people who like to be the ones to gather up groups (who latter go exclusive) and they don't like their little power trip being undermined (not taken away from them, just undermined even a bit). I suspect them of being the secret bane of mmorpgs.