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EVE Online's Next Frontier
If you look at the graphs over at MMOGChart.com, most of the lines that aren't WoW seem to be heading downwards. The little engine that could, though, is personified by the Icelandic dynamo EVE Online. FiringSquad has an interview with CCP Senior Producer Nathan Richardsson. He discusses the popularity of EVE right now, and goes into some of the company's plans for making sure the game stays that way in the future. From the article: "This iterative process is based largely on our crazy future views of how EVE should be and a lot on player feedback. We then want to do some revolutionary stuff to the EVE universe and then evolution comes and bites us in the ass, reminding us that it's not cool to always throw new stuff in, the current game needs to be constantly maintained and evolved. In the end, we're never happy and I guess this is part of what is fuelling our continued passion for EVE."
...are all of random ships floating around in space. There to show off the "beautiful graphics" with absolutely no indication as to what a screen of actual gameplay looks like. Too many games out there rely on these cherry-picked screenshots as selling points.
Great. Now how about a Mac version!
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When the MMO chart was posted, I downloaded the demo for EVE online for the very same reason...
I havn't installed or set up a trial account yet because
A: I can't afford WoW and EVE
B: I don't have time to properly "abuse" a trial account right now.
But their website is very informative, and the game seems interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if this game continues to gather new players.
I might play Eve. In fact, I think it may be what the MMORPG genre was meant to be in its fullest form. I downloaded the free trial and after a few hours of gameplay, I hadn't finished with the tutorial. The game is huge. It's not all about killing or casual violence, it's about a life. You can buy, sell, trade, build companies, overthrow other companies in bidding wars, all sorts of things. You never have to fire a shot.
Yes, you can dance to Radiohead.
The entire reason I started playing Eve was because the lack of shards. During my time on WoW, I would run into friends IRL who would say they would be playing WoW, but unless I wanted to do the entire level grind again, I would never be able to hang out with them in game. So, if any of my friends started playing Eve, I could hook up with them and fly. It was good times. The economy, though spread across so many regions, really makes it interesting to trade.
My corp currently holds an outpost, and it's really interesting to see the idea of player run stations, where it's not any different than a normal station that people dock at. I am really looking forward to the Kali upgrades which should really expand the world.
For those who havn't tried it, remember you can try it for 14 days free, though it will only get you hooked. heh A couple people I know are now playing for 'free' by trading in game isk for time cards, which buys you time in the game.
Anyway, it's a fun game, I'm glad to see it getting the attention it deserves on slashdot. Even though I've only been playing 7ish months, I've already got the two accounts going, and I suspect i'm going to keep them going. And even though I'm head down in work currently, my characters are still leveling skills in game, so when I get done with this project, I'll finally be able to fly that hauler that can fit everything. heh
-Kismeteer in game
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
Yes.
*Goes back to playing WoW*
-gjr
As someone who's played a bunch of MMOs, I find EVE to be an anomaly. The ridiculous attention to detail and depth hooked me more than any other game I've played, and has been the only game which has inspired me to create an online comic for the community. In fact the community of players in EVE is unlike anything I've seen before, willing to create streating audio and video sites to cover events (EVE Radio), create special sites for hosting pictures and videos for other players (EVE Files), and planning large scale gatherings on other continents for folks who can't make the yearly fanfest in Iceland (EVE Gathering). It's really quite something. For the curious, my comic is called Warp Drive Active. The humor is fairly contextual, but I try to make it general enough that folks not having played the game might still be able to get the jokes.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
I wish more games would get the 'you actually put something you value on the line' idea right. Eve does, and that's what makes it brilliant. I never cared a whit about dying in WoW, but every battle in Eve practically flips me out. CCP missed a bunch of polish, but they got this one detail right and I love it.
is competition good, or is duplication of effort bad?
I'm playing EVE right now.
EVE I consider somewhat like Shadowbane-in-space, without the sb.exe and with a far better engine.
EVE graphics are great. Far better than anything else on the market that is an MMO.
I love the depth of EVE - you can trade, mine, pirate (PK), pvp, run NPC missions, or kill NPC pirates.
The huge amount of players online at any given time is great too - it isn't like standard MMOs with everything being on seperate servers.
EVE has a different levelling system also - basically time based. You set a skill up, it finishes after a set amount of time. No need to kill a mob over and over again, then move on to tougher mobs. Just time, based on the attributes of your character.
EVE requires a high performance system in order fully experience it in all its glory. I am using a p4 2.8 C, 1 GB ram, gf fx 5900 ultra typically at 100hz @1024x768 and my framerate is somewhat substandard. Going to build a new system specifically for this.
Also, alt usage is rampant in EVE. Because you can only train up one character at a time, a significant % of people run alts. I know of people that have as many as 5 accounts!
EVE's territorial, and risk vs. reward system is far superior to most other modern MMOs. In most other MMOs, there is no risk really, because of the watered down pvp. You die in WOW, you basically lose nothing. Not so in EVE. Dying in EVE can be seriously painful because of the massive expense of well fitted ships.
My only gripes with EVE is the time based levelling has some of the oldest players nearly at 55 million skill points (SP) so newer players cannot dream of competing with them, not for years. There is significant amount of time to be spent in your initial learning tree, and follow on into chosen skills based on your professions.
For anyone remotely curious about Eve Online, this story is a must read:
http://static.circa1984.com/the-big-scam.html
From the intro:
This is a story of deception, intrigue, and doublecrossing. It is a story of liars, bandits, and greed. It is a story of the worst of the human condition, and how the motive for profit will drive a normally nice guy to the deepest depths of evil and betrayal.
This is the story of my life in Eve Online.
Education is the silver bullet.
For a few months now. I think the biggest thing keeping people playing it is the complexity. On eve-online there are programs to help you choose the right types of weapons for range, speed, ship size, ammo type, and so on. There are about five different types of each turrent, going from really cheap to really expensive...and there is a definate difference in game play. Hundreds, if not thousands, of different combinations of different ship moduals that can change various attributes of the ships such as CPU usage, power output, sheilding (against four different types of damage like explosive, thermo, emp) all combine to make a complex game just to start out with.
.4 or lower (on a scale of .0 to 1, with 0 being mad-max land) anything goes pretty much. A few times I've come through a gate to be immediatly attacked. If I have a mission into low-sec space I'll put 2-3 warp coil stabilizers on the ship just so I can escape if I'm jumped.
Throw in corporations, pirates, wars...it really is like a different world. What I find most interesting in it is the fact I can start my character training on something, and then don't really need to go back and mess with the game until the training is done if I don't want to. The biggest problem is the amount of ISK (in-game money) that things cost. It takes weeks to get enough ISK together to build a decent battleship, and you can loose it in less than a minute. You sit in your escape pod...hopefully you bought some insurance, and even that isn't enough to get a ship like you had. There are pirates everywhere in low security space, and once you've dropped to
EVE is definetly not a game for the casual player. To get a really good character is usually takes at least 6mo to a year to build up one character. But, if you enjoy space combat and corporate subterfuge, it is a very fun game. Also, even though it have great graphics, it's not overly-taxing on the system like WOW and COV.
Maybe we DID take the blue pill. You wouldn't remember anyway.
Guild Wars isn't on the list because 1. It's not a MMOG, according to its own developers, and 2. It doesn't charge a monthly fee, so it's impossible to compare it to subscription MMOGs. Counting the 2 million registered accounts is irrelevant, because only a fraction of those are actually playing the game regularly. By that standard, EQ and RuneScape would have millions of players, since everyone who ever played would get counted.
Now, you could, conceivable, count only the number of Guild Wars players who log in every month. Even though it's a free game, it would give you an idea of how many are actively playing. But NCSoft doesn't give out that data, and you'd have to get it for all the other games as well to make a fair comparison.
Bruce
Most Americans won't play EVE because most Americans don't play MMORPGs in general. Speaking strictly about the Americans who play MMORPGs, though, most won't be playing EVE because of the huge time investment. Most of these gamers play for a diversion... they are playing a game, not trying to work a second virtual job.
You say that Americans like games simple and dumbed down, and say that is why Americans don't like Soccer, but instead play games like (American) Football, Basketball and Baseball. I'm guessing you have never played Soccer, then. It's simplicity is part of what makes it a great sport... at the core, you just need a ball to play it. No fancy rules, no complex strategies, no infield fly rule, no complex screen pass patterns. Once you've mastered the offsides rule, which any 6 year old can do, it's a simple game.
Regarding your comments on music as a reflection on American society - you realize that this applies to the entire world, don't you? And why are you including the Beatles as an example of American music?
Look, I may just be falling into the trap laid by yet another Troll, but the way I see it, you are extremely confused on... well, almost every subject you broached in your brief explanation...
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I played EVE for a long time. One of the biggest things to me was how Open ended it was. You could kill the police, be the police, raid your home station, or go make your own. There was SO MUCH you could do it was amazing.
Allot of players do say the game is slow to move. As in you have to work for a long time in order to get anywhere. For instance skills are based on a Real Time clock. When you want to train a skill it has a timer for how long it takes before it is complete. You can log off and the timer is still going. The downside to this is skills take a long time to level. Some taking months. This is what I think draws allot of players away. With simple games that you can be uber in less than a month such as WoW, most of the younger folks and less patient will migrate there. But for a hardcore, work your arse off, do whatever you want gaming experience, EVE is the winner hands down.
You will also hear that players who have been in the game longer will always be ahead of you. To an extent this is true. There player skills will be higher but that does not mean they will have advanced as much. You can be much lower in skill and still outwit another player. Where as WoW if you are down by 3 levels just start running now. The battle system in EVE allows the player to use his natural playing skills and strategy to overcome the odds. Other games it's a simple click...special here....mega bomb there....and it's over. There is so much strategy involved with EVE it is insane.
To put it short, EVE is the only game I know that is player Driven. What you do affects the world as a whole. You can do what you want be who you want, and really put your skills to the test. It's great to see games like these with such a mature community prevailing against the odds.
The greatest revenge in life is massive success.
Um, Mythic has basically ALWAYS been on board - It was a Mythic project long before the EA acquisition.
EA, on the other hand, has a long track record of killing MMOGs and running previously excellent studios into the ground.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
EVE had a great concept. A complex, diverse, player driven economy. A player could focus on a wide variety of professions - Mining, research and development, manufacturing, combat, NPC hunting, or more.
Unfortunately, the implementation was horrible. Within 1-2 months the economy was in the crapper. There was virtually no profit in manufacturing, research never proved to be useful as there was almost no benefit whatsoever to putting a blueprint in for more than 3-4 cycles of research. Mining was insanely profitable only if you could get into one of the corporations that dominated insecure space. Combat was boring as hell - 2-3 hours of flying, 2-3 hours of gate camping, only to finally reach 30 seconds of intense combat.
I made it as far as having a Thorax blueprint of my own, along with owning my first battleship. Then I got BORED. Even as a member of one of the largest corps in the game, there was nothing that actually interested me.
Then Tech 2 came along. It was supposed to be the savior of the economy, finally guaranteeing manufacturers unique items that might actually make a profit. Nope, one corporation who had managed to stay in the lead with mining and one of only 3-4 that managed to get in on the manufacturing boom before it crapped out bought out all the Tech 2 blueprints and made the market even more FUBAR. While I happened to be in that corporation, it was sad seeing how lopsided the game was becoming.
Throughout this, let's not forget the bugs. Frequently major functions would get broken with a patch and not get fixed for 2-3 more patches. CCP NEVER revamped their precaching system to properly avoid gatecamping load lag exploits.
Last but not least, I can't point to any one single aspect of the game mechanics to cause it, but in general they were very conducive and if anything encouraged internal corporate strife. I was horrified what was happening to my corp, which consisted almost entirely of comrades of mine from a previous game, Planetarion. As the months went on, there was more and more internal arguing and strife, in many cases by people who used to be great friends.
I got tired of seeing what was happening and quit the game. A month and a half later, Xanadu practically split in two. I wasn't surprised at all, as it had been brewing for ages, but it was horrible to see former friends so angry at each other. EVE basically destroyed one of the best groups of gaming comrades I had ever been in.
I'm back in DAoC, and while I'm in general annoyed with Mythic, at least the game mechanics don't encourage guilds tearing themselves apart.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?