EVE Online recently revealed a long term option for free-to-play characters that doesn't severely limit the potential for fun and meaningful experiences. And while there's not much similar as far as mechanics go between Star Citizen and EVE Online, I think there are some valuable lessons to be learned. EVE is a no-holds barred sandbox MMO and Star Citizen will have free-for-all PVP zones with a gradual permadeath mechanic. If there's any MMO out there that can help players prepare their outlook and attitudes for such possibilities, it's EVE Online!
For a look at my Top 10 list of what I think EVE has to offer Star Citizen players check out my article on Redacted.TV.
I'm very careful about not playing a lot of Star Citizen. I'm heavily invested in that being a future home and don't want to burn out on it before it even releases. I play the new content for a few days when it's released to get a feel for it and then I stop. In between I'm writing about it, working on my vidcast or Alysianah's World of Star Citizen. This strategy leaves me open to play other games when I have time.
Having recently released the last update to Aly's World for 2016, I'm in the mood to wander around in a MMO. I decided to return to EVE Online expecting to see a bump in activity from the new free-to-play model CCP has just released. And I wasn't disappointed. Chatter is jumping. Lots of Twitch streamers. Even a couple of Star Citizen content creators I work with are going to take a spin in EVE Online.
The Return
There’s no way to return from a long hiatus without re-evaluating your immediate plans and taking stock of your inventory. This often necessitates a session or two of inventory management and logistics work.
The last time I played, I’d exited a Faction Warfare corporation operating out of Heydieles. I’d already moved a majority of my assets to a new home base in Arnon IX, having decided to also retreat from Hek IV being my personal base of operations. Not sure what I wanted to do next, I’d opted for a higher security location. Unfortunately, I still had a Helios, two Vexors and couple stashes of supplies to move out of harm’s way. I spent my first evening in the game gathering those assets and transporting them home.
Before re-subscribing, I reviewed what people were using now as ship fits for Vexor PVE, Vexor PVP and a Viator for courier runs. I hold no illusions that PVE content has become more interesting or significantly more robust since my last departure. For me however, I find running missions and salvaging the wrecks a low effort relaxing activity. The bump in EVE Twitch streams gives me something related to watch while I’m playing. It's also been great for picking up tips as new players flock to these channels with questions.
Not nearly as worried about losing my Viator, I’m going to dig into courier missions to get the hang of things again before taking contracts. I’m well aware of the dangers of scams and gate camps. I’ve been watching a Twitch streamer who illustrates suicide-ganking couriers in high sec. I’m using it as counter intelligence, picking up some defensive tips by watching how they go about it.
By letting my subscription lapse last time via training skills, I can adequately fit my Helios. I’m going to look into doing exploration in it. Depending on the difficulty and cost, I might bump this activity ahead of doing courier work. I’ve never done any exploration, so I’m starting at ground zero. I’m not convinced I’d enjoy what I see people doing to hack sites if that’s part of exploration. We shall see.
New Good Stuff
There have been nice changes while I was away. I can see the enhancements to the New Player Experience although I haven’t particularly availed myself of it. If I can easily find exploration in the tutorial I’ll start there.
Other things I liked immediately were:
Next Time
Now that I’ve become accustomed to reducing keystrokes while playing Star Citizen via Voice Attack and am savvy at creating my own profiles, I’m going to create a simple one for EVE Online. Mostly I have in mind using it to control my drones and simple navigation commands. If you’re unfamiliar with Voice Attack here’s an article I wrote about it.
I recently re-subscribed to EVE Online. It’s that time again. The need for my flavor of sensory deprivation, that floating around in deep space provides. I am once again without a corporation because I wanted out of FW. I’ll be playing much too casually to be a flashing target.
Returning with the idea of continuing the grind toward level 4 missions, repairing my standing with the Caldari and dabbling in exploration meant vacating the low security FW home I’d moved to with my former corporation. I was definitely not looking forward to the 19 jumps back to Hek, which is where I like to setup shop when I’m going solo. To make things easier on myself I sold all of the ships I’d purchased and fitted locally for FW. I obviously kept the Viator to transport the rest of my goods. Followed by flying 2 Navy Vexors and the Aries out of the area one at a time.
New Tricks
Before the holiday I’d already wormed my way back to being “Good” with Caldari and was running a few missions per night – just before bedtime. I might not have been good at FW PVP but certainly learned a thing or two! The first time I had difficulty with the “boss” ship in an encounter and used things I’d been exposed to during FW, I was like “Cool, that experience paid off after all!” Before joining Aideron Robotics for FW I didn’t even know what web, scram or neut meant, let alone used the tactics in combat. The increased skill training queue and certificates also helped to define a more directed approach to training. It feels good to setup a ship to match a recommended fitting and be CAP STABLE. Sweet words indeed.
EVE is great for me to have gaming alone time in an MMO. I enjoy the quiet and open spaces in between encounters. The dark and muted tones put me into a chill mood. But I also know that doing PVE solo, even if I incorporate learning exploration, will get boring after a time. Not sure what if anything I’ll do about that. Guild mates from AA are now in EVE and they’re people I enjoyed immensely but it’s the same issue as before – they’re all Aussies. They’re coming online to play just as I’m signing off for the evening.
You're a Winner
Perhaps it’s fine that EVE fills this niche for me which happens couple of times a year. Maybe it doesn’t need to be or do anything beyond providing what it does when I’m in that mood. I’ve been watching a lot of Twitch lately as a distraction when I can’t focus enough to play anything and as luck would have it, I won a prize! I almost never bother participating in Twitch channel giveaways as I usually already own the game I’m watching. I did it on a lark and BAM!
I’ve said it many times. I’m more in love with the idea of EVE Online than the actual game play I experience. When I’m in “that” particular mood, drifting among the stars is relaxing and inspiring. For me it's undefinable but there’s some sexy about EVE. Before I played the game, I'd read a good bit of EVE fiction and lore. In preparation for the 9th expansion, Empyrean Age, I purchased and read the companion novel.
The first time I played Star Trek Online I recall wishing that EVE were a combination of what I liked in STO and the best of EVE. I wanted an avatar in EVE. I wanted space stations with players scurrying around. I wanted to walk up to a player or corporation owned kiosk to purchase goods. Maybe even see fights break out amongst rivals. I wanted to fly my ship, not point and click to navigate. More than any of that, I wanted the PVE missions amped up +100 - more story driven and representative of the amazing wealth of lore and player history. But that’s not EVE Online and STO had too many things I disliked to be its replacement.
Maybe this Time
Based on what I’ve read and seen, I believe Star Citizen might be the combination of features that will suit me better in a massive space sim title. On the surface, it’s promising to have the things I liked in STO and wished were in EVE instead. At the very least, it will have a single player campaign to deliver a solo “leveling” experience that is story driven and will have some impact on my character out in the persistent world. For that piece alone, I’d pay the box price. There’s also a ton of lore and serialized fiction being pumped out to read, something I enjoy greatly. It’s the kind of content that can keep me interested for quite some time, as long as the quality holds.
Continue reading "Star Citizen - This is my hanger. This is my ship." »
EVE Faction Warfare
I definitely should have considered that I play EVE in spurts before joining Faction Warfare. I have more moments where I’m not looking for an adrenalin rush, than moments where I am. I haven’t played in a couple of weeks. Work and getting my shop ready for spring and summer having commandeered much of my free time, I don’t have the availability needed to get involved with pre-planned activities in EVE. My free time, mood and temperament seem to be counterproductive to participating in long term gaming commitments.
I must be doing it wrong! Before disappearing, I was still struggling with knowing for sure when it was safe to make the first hit in FW. Several times I had the advantage, having seen the ship on the scanner as I was nearing the area. However, they were not in my overview because they were cloaked and by the time I checked the pilot info to see their status, they’d started the engagement. Once I was saved when another friendly arrived. Another time, I just barely escaped.
EQN Landmark Beta
Across several mini sessions I’ve completed my first build – exterior and interior. It was fun. I enjoyed creating custom props much more than building structures. I think the template tool is great but I’d prefer if it, and all of the tools, handled micro voxels versus the manual way I have now discovered people are making them. My issue is that your ability to manipulate custom props is limited - rotate (some) and scale (not at all). So once I create an object comprised of micro voxels it's difficult to turn that into something else or re-use it beyond the base micro voxel. I dont have the patience for it.
My current assessment is that while I enjoyed constructing my claim, I had zero desire to knock it all down and start over – make something else. The world feels too dead, barren and lacking in visible player life to inspire me to “hang around”. Most of the time I played EQNL, I felt like I was in an offline building sim not a sandbox that supported other players. I saw what others had created when I passed by but VERY RARELY did I see actual signs of life. Sure it’s alpha but I’ve done many and this is the first one where it feels empty. And yet, all the claims are taken. :-\
Without the usual MMO PVE traps and tropes, I think players will be online in spurts to farm and build. Cooperative building and new biomes will bring people back in numbers for a bit but I don’t expect to see constant hordes of players online in these zones. Consequently, I don’t know if it will give me what I need to sustain an interest. I will certainly build a “home”, maybe small town or street when it goes live and put my favorite templates on the market. But at this point, I’m not seeing what’s going to make me stick around for a long period of time other than checking in every so often to tinker with new templates. Good thing it's free to play. I won't need to make that stay subscribed or unsubscribe decision.
Continue reading "EVE FW, EQN Landmark, Hearthstone, Star Citizen" »
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