Review of a longer time played

Suplyndmnd

Okay, so i'm about a week into the game and thought i'd give a more informed review.  Fully informed? Not even close lol. 

First, a disclaimer.  My original post seemed to gather a lot of flames for what i viewed was simply my opinion of what i said was a short time played.  If you disagree with me, that's fine. If i misstate fact, correct me. But if you disagree with me and feel the need to flame, please take it elsewhere.

The Mechanics - I stand by my statement before that the mechanics in this game, what to click and when is complex (don't take this as a negative please) and has a sharp learning curve but once you get it down, it's very easy.  You know where to look to get the information you need.  It's not as refined as one would hope but it's still nice to say the least and in a way it's good that it's not hand holding easy.  I figured out the Corporation aspect finally and i look back like "Duh, that was pretty easy".  I was mostly confused by what i was told by someone else so I'd like to think that played a part in it too.

The Graphics - Still very sexy

The Point Of The Game - I finally, after having played it for a week now, am starting to get to the nuts and bolts of the game. The Horror posted a good comment in my other post hat really sums up the game. The acquisition of power.  No matter the field you get into, the point of it is to be the biggest, baddest, and richest mother on the block.  Normally, in games this is a turn-off for me but it doesn't seem like you must have the epic ship with the epic stuff to be worth a damn.  However, the desire to have it is there (eyeballing the Exequror right now) and soon, i want to have a fleet to take over the known universe!!! *cough* Sorry.

The Community - Having gotten to know the community better i've found there are some grade A assholes in this game.  Unlike other games you dont have 500 assholes spread across 50 servers, they're ALL right there.  However, the good thing is, i've only met a handful of them and they're outweighed by those that are a lot nicer and even carry on conversations during the mind numbing stuff like sitting there waiting for your ship to fill up with ore.  As competitive as the game is, it seems like (to me) that it's not so much with the mining.  Hell, there's always asteroids to mine some where and ore sells so damn quickly you cant really have a "price war" with anyone.  I'm sure this changes with other roles such as salvage and pirating and such where there are probably far more people and far less resources but i've not run across it yet.

Overall, the game is completely fun.  I hate i waited as long as i did to play and would reccommend anyone contemplating this game to go get it.  If you like your MMORPG to be sophisticated and you don't want experience points for walking across a bridge, then this is the game for you.  If MMORPG's are alcoholic beverages, WoW being the cheap 99 cent a gallon "beer", this is a fine aged brandy that you sip and enjoy with a relaxing book and a fine cigar.  It's an acquired taste but you'll love it when you notice the subtle undertones of it all.

Drakolus

If EVE was an alchoholic beverage...it would be a fotie you're holding as you run by some grandma and hit her with a crowbar while you steal her purse.

 

Just kidding .  I'm glad you're finding EVE to your liking and I'm glad you're taking the time to explore the facets that interest you. 

Much of what you have said rings pretty true.  The community is an odd creature.  With so many gamers of different styles crammed together in one big happy (who am I kidding) server/world it can get a bit hostile at times.

I noticed a few things though.  You have taken the pretty "standard" route of go buy ship, fit mining laser, mine till your eyes bleed.  This can work if you find that you enjoy it.  But do not be afraid to try other things.  If you are anything like a large portion of the playerbase, mining will get boring very fast. 

A few things you can choose to try

Industry (production of items) - A bit on the spendy side to get into usually but as long as you have the right skills you can make some iskies

Trading - A thinking mans game.  If you take the time to learn how to do this well you can make huge profits.  Again though where there is reward, there is risk.

PVP - EVE is probably the only game that STILL gets my adrenaline going when in a PVP situation.  Risk, the risk of losing that big spendy ship, of getting podded and losing your implants and just general risk of losing the fight makes PVP in EVE feel meaningful.

Mission Running - When done well/right it can be a good money maker.  You can also take the time to read some of the backstory and see how the missions fit in.  It can get a bit grindy though after a while.

Exploration - Skills heavy again but it can pay off big time not only in isk but also in entertainment/fun. 

There are lots more but thats a few that I could think of right off the bat.  Oh, and if you really want to see the depth that EVE can provide.  Take a look at the 0.0 politics and history.  It's going to be a bit tough at times to find a semi-unbiased account of much of it (CAOD is a steaming pile) but the complexity, depth, drama and scope of it is truly mind boggling at times.

Finally in closing, I'm not on all that often (working like a dog right now) but feel free to contact me if you're bored.  I'm Drakolus in game as well.

Plasuma!!!

Originally posted by Drakolus

where there is reward, there is risk.

 

ISK and risk go hand-in-hand, after all.

damian7

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd


Okay, so i'm about a week into the game and thought i'd give a more informed review.  Fully informed? Not even close lol. 

 

good post.

Voronwe

Glad to hear of another new pilot enjoying the skies!  I joined Eve's legion of pod pilots only a short while ago myself, and have since wished that I did so sooner.   Even after over six months of solid play, I still feel like i've not even scratched the surface of the galaxy, and I love it

Suplyndmnd

@Drakolus

Yeah, right now i am mining till my eyes bleed but it is something that i enjoy doing right now.  However, it is only a means to an end.  It will be my main money making for a while but i'm certainly going to branch out.  I think it would be ludicrous to not at least explore other areas.  The Corp i'm in now is really small and it's mining but there are a couple people who are into salvaging too.  This was something else i was looking to so i think mining is just a jumping off point for me.

However, i probably won't get into PvP as i don't care for it.  I may give it at least a shot though as most PvP is just who has the epic gear and who can press buttons faster.  This game has defied what all other MMO's are (to me) so far and looks like it actually requires skill.  Which, may preclude me from ever doing it lol. 

I have also done some of the missions as well (the noob ones) and will definately be doing more of that.  I'm really excited about what lies ahead in this game.  Been a while since i've been able to say that about any game especially an MMO.

Finwolven

Hi, nice to see you've warmed up to the community a little, and are enjoying the game!

For missions, after doing the 'can't fail' noob mission path, try some lvl1 missions from a corp agent to see if you like them a little better. You'll need a mission(combat)-fitted frigate at least, but that shouldn't be a problem since you're already eyeing cruisers...

Doing missions is important for two reasons: Money (incl. loyalty points) and Faction Standing. Even if you are a 'pure' miner and industrialist, you'll find that you need good standings to at least one NPC corp entity. Having standings helps in refining, industry and buying/selling, by lowering the taxation from the faction. Also, to use R&D agents that are actually worth something, a fairly high faction standing is required.

It's relatively easy to pump faction standings to around 8.0 or so, provided you work at it regularly. Higher level missions give better rewards in both faction standing and filthy lucre, not to mention better loot and salvage. You should be able to do level 3 missions when you hit the 'can use battleship competently' mark, as most of them are almost no challenge to a well-fitted BS. Doing them in a poorly-fitted battlecruiser, on the other hand, can be interesting, if a bit dangerous.

Of course, if you 'hock' your wares through a professional trader/refiner in your corp, having personal high standings isn't really a must. But every mission you do benefits both your and your corps standings.

TheHorror

 

Mining can be quite intense if you go into low sec.  Unfortunately, right now the mineral value balance is screwed up in EVE with Veldspar and Scordite being the most valuable ores in empire, so there is no reason to go to low sec.  This unfortunately happened because some new features were introduced that collapsed the price of some of the most valuable low sec derived minerals.  Hopefully CCP will address that issue in the near future.

You might want to take a look at Haladas mining guide: http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=434899

The value estimates are completely wrong now due to the mineral price imbalance, but its still an invaluable guide to help you boost your mining efficiency.

I also suggest taking a good look at some of the stickied threads in the market part of the EVE forums.  Remote trading is a nice effective way to spend time while mining...

Also, if you want to experience some pvp I would suggest signing up with your factional warfare militia.  Just take any cheap frigate you can buy, join a fleet and go for it.  Shouldnt cost you more than 400k a go, and you get most of it back from insurance anyhow.  Just make sure your clone is up to date...

 

Suplyndmnd

But every mission you do benefits both your and your corps standings.

 

Wow, i had no idea that the missions i do affected my corps standings with them as well. Thanks for that kernel of information.  Do my corp mates standings with other corps (NPC or PC)  reflect upon me or is it just the corporation?  Just in case for future reference if i joined another Corp or something i don't want to get in the middle of wars and not know why i was shot down.

TheHorror

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd


But every mission you do benefits both your and your corps standings.

 

Wow, i had no idea that the missions i do affected my corps standings with them as well. Thanks for that kernel of information.  Do my corp mates standings with other corps (NPC or PC)  reflect upon me or is it just the corporation?  Just in case for future reference if i joined another Corp or something i don't want to get in the middle of wars and not know why i was shot down.

 

Yes they do.  For example, for you to get jump clones you need to have a standing of 8.0 with the corp that owns the station you want to set up a clone in.  If you have standing of 8.0 towards that corp, but another one of your corpmates has a standing of 0 to that corp, then the average standing of your corp will be 4.0, and no member of your corp will be able to get jump clones. 

If someone sets their standings to your corp very low, then all members of your corp will show up red to that person, and they will likely shoot you on sight.  Dont worry about it in high sec space though.  The most important thing in finding a corp is making sure that they are a cool bunch of people, that they do the same kind of activities you are interested in, and that the CEO is not skimming off the top.

Drakolus

Mining can be crazy profitable if done right.  There are some good mining guides on the EVE forums, Science and Industry I think.  I will agree that some of the mineral prices are borked right now though.  That being said Nocxium is on an upward spiral lately and the rest of the mins save for Tritanium, pyerite and maybe Mexalon seem to be trending upwards (much to my chagrin as I need loads and loads of all of them to build stuff.)

As it was mentioned earlier doing missions will raise your standings with Corps and Empires.  I think it's around 6 effective standing that your refine tax becomes 0% although I could be wrong.  If you get your skills up high enough and your standing up high enough you can refine with 0 loss which definately helps your bottom line.  I'm going to stop there otherwise I will be trying to reinvent the wheel as far as the mining guide goes...just take a gander at the EVE forums for a mining guide should you so desire.

In regards to PVP.  I'm not the biggest PVP'er and I am FAAAAR from good at it.  But I do enjoy it from time to time in EVE.  One of the most important lessons I've learned about EVE pvp is you can almost win or lose the fight before you even undock your ship.  The way you fit your ships has a HUGE effect on whether you will win or lose a fight.  There are many different combinations on a myriad of ship types which all combine to form the elegant mess that is EVE pvp. 

I'm almost tempted to start offering some of the newer players who are still mining contracts in here for minerals as I need so many of them.  Again, if anyone is bored I'm Drakolus in game and unless I'm in the process of getting blown up, I'd be glad to answer a question here and there.

Amon_Amarth

Yep, I agree. EVE rocks and there is nothing else like it. I dont think these upcoming sci fi MMO's have a chance of competing against it either. By the way good post OP. I very much enjoyed the read, as I did reading your previous thread on EVE.

WSIMike

"If you like your MMORPG to be sophisticated and you don't want experience points for walking across a bridge, then this is the game for you. "

Best quote of the day so far

The "experience points for walking over a bridge" part especially got me chuckling... because it rings so true of one of my many gripes with newer MMOs that reward you for every little meaningless thing you do.

shamai

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd


But every mission you do benefits both your and your corps standings.

 

Wow, i had no idea that the missions i do affected my corps standings with them as well. Thanks for that kernel of information.  Do my corp mates standings with other corps (NPC or PC)  reflect upon me or is it just the corporation?  Just in case for future reference if i joined another Corp or something i don't want to get in the middle of wars and not know why i was shot down.

 

Corp standings move by 25% of the difference between the current corp average and its current value.

for example

corp has a standing of 0 toward Caldari state, and you join the corp with a standing of 1.0

At the first downtime after you join, the corp rep will jump to 0.25%, next 0.4375 etc etc

 

Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by WSIMike


"If you like your MMORPG to be sophisticated and you don't want experience points for walking across a bridge, then this is the game for you. "
Best quote of the day so far
The "experience points for walking over a bridge" part especially got me chuckling... because it rings so true of one of my many gripes with newer MMOs that reward you for every little meaningless thing you do.

 

www.truveo.com/Earthland-Realms-World-of-Warcraft-also-WoW-in/id/285600915

Just thought i'd share a gem.

cosy

hehe nice to see a second post from you OP
try some trade if u mining, research, exploration

WSIMike

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by WSIMike


"If you like your MMORPG to be sophisticated and you don't want experience points for walking across a bridge, then this is the game for you. "
Best quote of the day so far
The "experience points for walking over a bridge" part especially got me chuckling... because it rings so true of one of my many gripes with newer MMOs that reward you for every little meaningless thing you do.

 

www.truveo.com/Earthland-Realms-World-of-Warcraft-also-WoW-in/id/285600915

Just thought i'd share a gem.

 

LMAO. I about spat my breakfast all over the monitor lol

Warn me next time!

Classic.