Ok so I finally did it. I finally crumbled and gave in to what PC gaming has demanded off me for the last 5 years.... thats right... iv subscribed to a MMORPG, a massively multiplayer online role playing game. Im now in the same league as them World of Warcraft kids you see on the news, getting sent off to counciling because they have played so much there now intrepreting the real world as if it were still fantasy, jibbering spell translations over breakfast before trying to dejuice a frog into there A level science project. Or much like the ones that turn so pasty that they become allergic to the sun and.... uhmm.... life.
However, the same league does not mean the same game. Thankfully iv fallen for a MMORPG that is so ridiculously complicated there are no kids, because quite frankly, most kids wouldnt be able to understand the point of EVE online. The learning curve is in fact a cliff, and thats great for keeping immaturity out of the formula.... And lets not be fooled, this is a hard game, alot of adults would simply turn down the effort it takes to realise the mechanical genuis behind this massive sandbox of a game.
So the game itself is set in the distant future. Space travel is in its golden age... Average humans can now become a space pilot with ease, which means exploring the heavens, fighting distant aliens or conquering the universe corporately is open to almost anyone.
Then, for some crazy reason the games story twists, depicting a blackhole sucking alot of human civilastion up to a distant part of space they now call eve. Your avatar starts from here, with the universe of eve at their feet. Now i dont really see the point in this twist in narrative, but i can only assume it was the only way they could create a believable plot that gives specific reasons why you cant visit earth and walk about on planets.
As for the general gameplay its all about you and your ship. Sorry but there is no walking about currently in the game (CCP is developing a walking in stations system, which will be described later in my miniblog). The bulk of the game is made up with various careers, which can be mixed, developed and partaken in any way you see fit. Careers involve mining, trading, mission running, couriering, manufacturing, inventing, piracy, pirate hunting, pvping and MANY MANY more.
These careers will require certains things to be successful. Ships and equiptment will make your career easier and more profitable, such as expanders for your cargo or upgrades for your mining lasers. Now buying this equiptment isnt the be all to end all however. Skills are required to use certain equiptment and act as 'levels'. Eve doesnt use a normal level up system to dictate how good your character is. Instead skills are trained in real time (ie: Refining skill takes 2 hours to train to level 2, 8 hours to train to level 3 ect) and these skills train even when your offline.
Skills are the most the important thing and because there are so many, careful planning must be taken in order to boost your chances at success within your chose practice. Industry skills need to trained for traders and miners, while combat and mechanic skills need to be learnt for a.... well... combat profession.
Now the sandbox part of eve kicks in... as what you do with these professions/skills/ect is completely up to you. Missions are given by agents around Eve's many stations that are usually directed towards combat. These agents come in levels, the higher ones paying big enough bucks to make many eve players what i said earlier as: 'mission runners'. People who gear themselves towards the industry however are completely on there own, having to utilise the player driven economy to buy and sell there way into profit. OR they could mine away the many asteroid belts, refine the ore and either sell it on. Ore can also be used to manufacture in game items or ships to sell on. Basically, what im trying to say is... The choice is really yours.
Whatever you do, make sure its making you ISK!
Look out for my continued posting for a more detailed explanation of Eve.... I cant begin to describe the many features in this post, so look out if space ships interest you as much as me.
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