[geeks] EVE: the new addition...

[Mark]

On 17 Jun 2008, at 19:01, Shannon Hendrix wrote:

> On Jun 16, 2008, at 19:34 , Phil Stracchino wrote:
>>
>> I've looked at it with curiosity in the past.  The major thing that
>> dissuades me from trying it is that I understand once you leave the
>> beginner areas, it's ALL PvP.
>
> That's not true.
>
> It's only mostly PVP in security level 0.4 or lower.
>
> In 0.5 or higher Concord police come after griefers and/or you can  
> run to them.
>
> Makes it pretty realistic IMHO.

Yep, Space with security rating 0.5, known as Empre Space, and above  
is relatively safe (at the moment). Only the brave or stupid (usually  
the latter) agro people in Empire, as it usually ends up with Concord  
all over your beeehind, and that's a guaranteed ship loss unless you  
are flying something VERY big and VERY hard (and people who are most  
often don't have the time or lack of alacrity to sit around picking  
fights in Empire).

>> And frankly, I *hate* PvP.  There's always some asshat hanging  
>> around in the low-level areas picking off the low-hanging fruit,  
>> and then vanishing before high-level friendlies can get there.
>
> You mean there are characters in EVE that do the same thing in EVE  
> that people do in the real world?
>
> There are always losers.

As a well-worn mining Foreman, I know all about the 'asshats'. They  
are the sort who come into a belt and steal your ore from your tins  
while you are working, hoping you'll try and get it back and agress  
them, resulting on them ganking you. I just laugh and tell them they  
are idiots if they think I'm gonna get upset over a few tins of ore.

> I see this as a realism thing, but I can see how some people don't  
> like it.  EVE does not try to artificially create a "scalable"  
> experience like most MMOs.

> It creates what I believe is far more realistic and recognizable  
> world where the security of an area determines risk and reward, much  
> like the real world.

That's one of the charms of EVE, you get every breed of human being  
from the neanderthal idiots to the brilliant minds, to the cut throat  
malitias, to the kind and generous care-bear types (I fit in the  
latter category).

> You simply avoid the risky areas until you have the skills for it.

Those who don't don't last long, I can assure you :)

> This seems to automatically weed out the people without the patience  
> to play sanely, and it also seems to create a friendly and more  
> honorable players than what I've seen in games where ramping up your  
> skills happens faster and the game enforces more "friendly"  
> adventures.
>
> It's not perfect, but more in terms of them deciding to make  
> tradeoffs.
>
> I think EVE has survived precisely because it is unfriendly.

It's survived this long because it's realistic, and feels human. Most  
MMOGs feel like you are running around killing things in the scenery  
from Star Trek 1, fighting for a 'just cause', a concept that frankly  
bores most people to tears after a while. Then the designers end up  
trying to to work some potted PvP BS into the game to relieve the  
boredom and 99/100 times it doesn't work well.

EVE on the other had feels like a real universe, where people can be  
good or bad, or indifferent. You get to choose what you do and how you  
do it. No-one says you must fight against the evil XYZ or join our  
army to fight for justice against these alien hordes. They give you a  
ship, the ability to master the universe in time, and say 'do what you  
like'. That kind of freedom makes it a vastly more compelling  
environment.

> Oops, given actually.
>
> However, you bring up an interesting point: in EVE you can load  
> money too, and you can either be a pretty standard bank type loaner,  
> or a loan shark, depending on the role you play.

I just lend people cash and ask the to give it back when they can  
afford to :)

One thing I cannot wait for in EVE is the Ambulation add-on. This is  
not only going to look stunning, but also add an even more human  
aspect to the game. For the first time you will be able to dock at a  
starbase and meet your fellow players face-to-face (as it were) in  
gloriously detailed 3D. Nice :) Well I think so at least...


-- 
Mark Benson

My Blog:
<http://markbenson.org/blog>
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"Never send a human to do a machine's job..."