EVE Online (micro-review)

Genre: MMORPG;

Release date: 06-May-2003 ;

Overview:

How is EVE Online Different?

EVE Online is an open-ended Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG). Most other contemporary games in this genre focus on linear progression through leveling and the acquisition of gear. EVE Online contains no character levels to grind and all ships and equipment can be bought, sold or lost. Skill is gained over time through non-linear progression of which you are in full control. Whether you want to be the best frigate pilot or pilot a mighty armored battleship, the choice is yours.

This unmatched freedom of choice is why EVE Online is so different from almost all other online massively multiplayer titles. This is not only the freedom to develop your character as you see fit, but the freedom to impact the course of history in the EVE universe.

One of the most unique aspects of EVE is that all of its players share a single server. You can find tens of thousands of players online at any given time interacting in the same persistent universe. When your friends join EVE Online they will always join the same persistent universe that you joined.
The bottom line is that EVE Online is a rich and immersive persistent universe focused on human interaction. You have the choice to play the game as a simple space trader or endeavor to control the largest, most powerful corporation in the universe. We provide the rules and tools, but it is the players who write the story and create the history of New Eden.

'Hint: Guilds in EVE Online are called corporations and serve many of the same purposes as they do in other games.

What and Where You Are

You are a capsuleer, an elite member of society capable of piloting an entire starship from the protective cocoon of his capsule. A capsuleer has the training and freedom to take part in any activity they desire, be it cold-hearted mercenary work or dominating the market in one of the 7,000 solar systems of known space.
The EVE universe is home to thousands of star systems. Many star systems form a constellation, a group of constellations form a region and several regions can constitute an Empire.

You start your career affiliated with one the four great empires, Caldari, Minmatar, Amarr or Gallente, and placed in the heart of your Empire's controlled space. In the regions falling under the four Empires, laws are enforced through a cross-Empire law-enforcement agency called CONCORD.

In addition to those large empires, though, there are also alliances of capsuleer corporations who endeavor to control the untamed systems on the outskirts of known space. There they wage endless wars against each other for the right to harvest the lucrative resources available in those systems.

'Hint: CONCORD is the city guard of EVE Online, deterring capsuleers from breaking the laws of Empire space. Solar systems are graded according to the security offered, from 1.0 down to 0.0. Systems with high security rating have mobile CONCORD presence while systems with low security rating offer only minimal stationary protection. 0.0 security systems have no laws or protection other than what you take with you.

The Goal

The ultimate goal in EVE Online is power. It can be power over the market, military dominance, financial power, or political power. These are all achievable at degrees varying from local system, regional level, or even universe-wide. EVE caters to many different play styles, ranging from the hard core combat commander to the patient miner, and there are corporations that have very different goals. Most corporations require all types of players to function in all aspects of EVE Online, so no matter what type of player you are, there is a place for you, even if you decide to carve it out yourself.

Acquiring Wealth

Interstellar Kredits (or ISK) is the currency of the EVE universe. There are many ways to earn ISK, and the list below is just a sample of the more common ones. Resourceful and creative players have found many other ingenious ways that are beyond the scope of this article. Most players elect to use a combination of some or all of these tactics to keep things fresh and fun.

-Mining
-NPC Hunting ("ratting")
-Agent Missions
-Research Agents
-Production
-Trading
-Pirating
-Deadspace Complexes

Ships You Can Fly

You start off in EVE Online flying frigate-class starships; small and agile vessels, some with specialized bonuses for specific uses. There are many types of starships, with each race possessing their own unique designs and varied abilities. You will find that, over time, you will amass a sizable fleet of ships; each one customized to accommodate the task or role that you choose to use it for, be it a lumbering freighter or a lightning fast interceptor.

Never Too Late

New players have joined EVE Online each day since its release, so you won't be alone as you enter the galaxy for the first time. Even players who have been playing since the beginning still experiment with new characters, so not everyone will actually be a brand-new player.
Though there are certainly some players who have already amassed a great deal of wealth and equipment, this will not affect your ability to competitively advance in the game. The high security areas are the safer places at which to start, until you are ready to venture into the more aggressive areas of the game.

Please note: We strongly suggest that you remain in your Empire's higher security space until you are willing to risk what you can afford to lose in the more aggressive areas of space. Use the map, to find the aggressive and lucrative areas to explore.

Effects of Massively Multiplayer on Game Play

The basic role-playing and space simulation aspects of EVE Online are really just the tip of the iceberg. When players band together to form corporations and alliances, the game becomes a grand-scale strategic drama. Political intrigue, corporate espionage, and Machiavellian machinations bring dimension and depth to the game as the struggle for fame and fortune ebbs and flows with each new day in EVE Online.

However, the level at which each player decides to participate is a matter of personal choice. The game leaves ample room for continual progress and variety in all its solo playing aspects. For those who opt to do so, becoming the best lone-wolf pirate or bounty hunter is a never-ending task as the competitors are other human players who will employ every method at their disposal to gain an edge over the rest.

EVE Online it's not just a ships-in-space MMO, it's much, much more. The game really strives to give you as much freedom as possible, and it’s close to a sandbox. This makes player interactions the main focus of the game and not the "ships-pew-pew" as you might believe. Things that are considered grieving in other games are fair game here (including scamming). All players are part of a persistent world, from the day 1 players to the 10 year+ veterans and all this happens on a single server. There are systems in place to provide safe zones for players, but they are not meant to make things 100% safe. You can be a target even if you're docked, you can fall to scams that are in the chat window, if you're greedy or naive, or get preyed upon by the market prices that are set by the players. Except for a few things, everything on the market, including the prices, are set by the players. Not sure why, maybe it's the steep learning curve, or is its harsh nature, but the player base is more mature than in other games.

EVE is also an RPG game, here you train skills passively, you can put a bunch of skills in the queue and return weeks later if you want. Out of the gate you won't be able to do much but you'll still have a place in PvP fleets. If you're space rich you can buy your monthly subscription with in game currency, or you can use real money to get in game money by buying these subscriptions in the form of a game item called PLEX, and sell them on the player driven market. If it sounds pay-to-win, it's not, at least in my opinion, you're just skipping some grind. This is how people convert the prices of some ships in $ when they say what they lost, it has an interesting ring to it hearing how somebody lost a $3000 ship in a game, or that there were $25.000+ lost in a battle.

The ships are grouped by classes and roles. There are modules that only go in specific slots that your ship has in limited amount. The way these modules "fit" is in my opinion a bit too arbitrary for my taste, and their requirements also. Ships have maximum speeds and projectiles have limited range. You move your ship in a way a captain gives orders, so to speak, and you have an outside view only. A lot of the stuff that has to do with flying in space, I find a bit clunky and lacking. It's not bad, but I don't think it's good either. The developers keep perfecting this flawed system but at least all expansions are free and you just need to take care of your pilot license (PLEX or subscription).

In the picture you can see the possibilities that the game offer. For many players the game becomes as a second job due to its complex nature and the vast possibilities it offers. But no matter what "career" path you choose, it's probably better if you'll join a player run corporation. There are corporations that take new people and teach them the game (EVE University), there are corporation that are purposely at war all the time just for fun and they accept anybody that wants to deep their toes in PvP (Red vs Blue), and many, many other. In EVE Online, when you lose a ship, you really lose it, so there is always the chance of a real loss. Couple that with hunting somebody, or you being the hunted one, and you can really get some adrenaline going, which few games can deliver.