EVE Online: Back in Space

On the heels of a horrible week at work, every week seems worst than the one before, I’m just hanging in there trying to maintain a shred of sanity and integrity.  The general effect is that I am very grouchy, distant and need considerably more alone time.  I got my writing workshop assignments done but not nearly as much as I’d hoped.  I spent some time gaming to relax.  Feeling considerably less sociable, which is a stretch, since I’m not highly social in the first place, there was no better place to be than in the darkness of deep space.

I was alone, yet not, in a way that is only achievable in multi-player virtual worlds.  As an aside, I believe the “alone but not” is one reason for players who solo MMOs.  We’re not trying to pee in your cornflakes.  We just want to be among you while doing our own thing.   EVE Online is a wonderful place to be when I’m feeling this way.  It’s dark and thematically superb at delivering on the fantasy that you’re part of a civilization making its home in the cosmos.  Popping into a brightly colored over animated environment with flashy pixilated entities bobbing everywhere would have been sensory overload and could have pushed me over the edge.  *Smile*

I ran into Letrange both evenings that I played EVE.  He was generous and helpful as always.  He had a huge present waiting for me that he personally delivered to my new home base in Arnon.  Ten Tristans with all the equipment and ammunition needed for my foray into Faction Warfare, as a gift!  It was Christmas in May.

I spent the first evening chatting with Tipa and Sister Julie.  We also grouped up for a few missions.  They were all Level 1 Missions.  Having three pilots was complete overkill.  However, it let us start working with the fleet command and voice chat features used for conducting group encounters.  I find the “together but not” part of EVE soothing.  We each selected missions from our stations.  After deciding what order to do them in, we flew to each location.  The person with the mission used the bookmark provided to get to the appropriate location. Afterward, the other two used "warp to member" or Tipa, the fleet leader, warped us to her when it was her mission.  We killed.  We looted.  We moved on.

In between combat, you’re alone in your ship and free to be doing whatever you want.  If you’re in high security, which we were, you can AFK-fly on autopilot.  This works for me, especially when I’m having a horrid week.  The fun banter – chat and voice, minor pew-pew-and-go-boom combat, AFK travel and tinkering as I pleased in the stations was just what the doctor ordered.  Sister Julie and Tipa were perfect company.

The second night, Tipa wasn’t feeling well.  We only chatted a tiny bit.  I talked with Letrange off and on.  My primary objective was moving half of my PVE and PVP inventory from Agogille to Arnon, where I’m setting up shop at the Sisters of EVE station with Tipa.  This area is less secure than where I’ve been hanging out doing Missions – but not by much.  I couldn’t move the manufacturing and salvage resources I’ve been hording for over a year.  I might look into purchasing a hauler in the future.  For now, I’m leaving myself capable of doing PVE and PVP out of both locations.  If life ever heats up in Arnon, as it did the last time I played EVE, I will have a high security home base as an escape hatch.

Tipa is doing PVE, working to establish a mining operation and is interested in exploration.  I’m doing PVE, starting manufacturing – initially just for my own consumables and want to join FW.  Sister Julie is doing PVE and is already heavily entrenched in mining and manufacturing.  We’ve formed a casual PVE trio that will be fun company for running Missions.  In between, we’re each pursuing our own goals at our own pace, which is the beauty that is EVE Online.

Comments

[mbp]

I know exactly what you mean when you explain that you are playing solo because you want to be "alone but not". I certainly feel like that myself at times. Group play can be fun too but life has different moods and we can't all be cheery socialites all of the time.