Eve Online screenshots
This bloke crazykinux over on Flickr has posted a whole series of jawdropping screenies from Eve Online. I always wanted to try EO, but it sounded so complicated... although, how much trickier is this to understand than the average lovelife saga in any episode of EastEnders?
Beautiful, hey?
The basic play-mechanics of EVE Online are fairly easy to master. It is not, however, for the casual gamer. Becoming successful in EVE requires a significant time commitment.
Posted by: Duane | November 15, 2005 at 20:41
That's partially true. I'm not sure it requires much more time than most of us have given to Quake or WoW over the years...
Posted by: Rossignol | November 16, 2005 at 09:08
Wow... very impressive... I could be tempted!
Posted by: WandringSoul | November 16, 2005 at 09:32
It is complicated, and kind of boring. Game play can be uneven and random (mostly it's boring, but then there are moments of intense excitement). Playing often involves waiting (e.g. mining and traveling).
Dying sucks a lot (you lose your ship and implant upgrades), though insurance helps you recover. If you take a little risk (travel through a dangerous area), you can be killed in seconds by gangs of other players. Also, the quest system is repetitive.
You develop skills even while you're not playing. So, you end up lining up chains of skill upgrades and waiting (days, as you get to higher levels) so you can use a new weapon or ship. I found myself signing on briefly at odd times just to switch my skill training for maximum efficiency.
It's a "sandbox" MMOG where groups of players (guilds are "corporations") create the fun. That fun being stuff like grouping to kill random people, grouping to do a large mining operation that leads to manufacturing some rare component. You can put a bounty on other players, which is kind of fun. There can be a lot of player-made drama.
It is pretty. Also, the market for buying and selling everything in the game is the best I've ever seen (way way better than AH). EVE did draw me in, I played it quite a bit over the 2 months I was subscribed. Though, I think I often felt like I was wasting my time.
It's also inexpensive. You can download it for free, so you just pay the affordable monthly. It's cheap enough, that you should just give it a go, then you'll know what it's like.
But, in my opinion, the game is nowhere near as good as WoW. Sadly, it seems that nothing is.
Posted by: Bill Marrs | November 16, 2005 at 12:05
"But, in my opinion, the game is nowhere near as good as WoW. Sadly, it seems that nothing is."
Funny, I say the same thing about Eve.
Posted by: Rossignol | November 16, 2005 at 18:35
As do I. To steal a quote from elsewhere, the EVE designers thought so far out of the MMO box they don't even know where it is anymore.
It can require a fair time investment to get the biggest ships but in the right corporation (and being in an active and well run corp is admitedly key to enjoying things) you can still have a lot of fun in a Cruiser or even Frigage. Fabulously unique game.
Posted by: Pixel Kill | November 16, 2005 at 20:02
Glad you guys enjoyed the pictures! More will be posted soon.
Thanx for the post Alice; that explains the high number of views over on flickr! =)
Let me know if there's anything special you'd like to see!
As for the comments on EVE; I'll admit it's not for everyone. But if it fits your style of MMO, then you're in paradise! Long live EVE!! Long live Coreli!
/CrazyKinux
Posted by: CrazyKinux | November 21, 2005 at 14:30
Eve is pretty good and a lot more mature than Wow. I played Wow and SL a lot and I must admit I am hooked to MMO's for life.
As a comparison, I found WoW to be rather cliche and "disney" kinda toon/animatronic. I found SL to be very promissing but sucks to hell with an awkward interface.
Eve could do with the good elements of both SL and WoW: If the makers of EVE would include (GOOD) player generated/licenced content as in SL, allow for way better social interactivity, incorporate more recognizeable and personalized monsters and dangers and quest lines as in WoW, then it would be a whole lot better.
However it don't think Eve will catch on with bigger audiences. It is mature, intelligent and most MMO players gravitate towards heinous american style superficiality. Most potential customers will "not get it" and discard it off hand.
If Eve would allow characters to leave their vessels - even if only to socialize in stations with no combat element whatsoever a la SL, the game would be a lot more appealing to a lot more people.
Personally I would also love it if eve would incorporate drone-based missions conducted from vessels, using a Descent-likme interface. It could add a whole new layer to the game. Imagine a vessel sneaking up on another vessel, spitting out a load of drones who are played by other players, who then enter an asteroid and slug it out in a 3D maze of tunnels.
...and now that I am on a roll, why now allow players to literally create stations, structures in space, industrial facilities, etc. using a leg-like system? Imagine all sorts of pretty standard components being slung together to form in inpromptu-station? This would allow zero-gravity boarding actions, shout-outs etc.
However that IS the future in my guess. Imagine like a handful of those games knotted together coherently. One players would build and fly vessels. Other players would built bases. A third set of players would be roleplaying or socializing on stations and bases. And the last group would be doing strategy style planet/aasteroid/robot/infantry style missions.
To conclude: the missing aspects of EVE is social, face to face, "personal" up close action. It is too abstract for many potential customers.
Posted by: dagon | June 03, 2006 at 21:48
Eve V WoW
no comparison. Wayyy to different game play
In Eve you have about 22 thousand players on the same server and you can chat to any of them.
In Eve you have great Graphics Versus toons
In Eve you dont have kids playing silly games on you..
The leaning curve to Eve is quite Large.
Guilds are called corporations and good versus bad is less simple. Corperations can be part of Alliances and they can have soventy over some sectors of space. Choose your corperation carfully as some only want pirate types and some want ant-pirate types. And the Alliance also are either on one side or another. A corporation can be pulled into war by their alliance and others can wage war on your corp or alliance. Its huge... this also makes PvP a very possible thing even in SAFE SPACE.
WoW is faster to play to get to "A Level" versus "skilling" for a ship or gun type or knowledge or trade ability.
Skilling level one can take 22 minutes and skilling level 5 can take a month. It depends on your breed type and its sub traits. some are gun heads while others are commerce heads
There is Safe Space and Unsafe (low security) Space (high security). PvP is in all unsafe areas...
Dying can be a loss of all your experience if yo do not have a clone.. always have a clone.ALWAYS.
Eve can be slow but there is always something to study or learn as the game is huge.. As in the Eve Universe...Versus WoW where only the graphics change but the game stays the same. Kill get stuff level up.... this is not the case in Eve. In eve you learn skills over time no matter whom or what you kill.
I recommend Eve to those who like MMOs as a time over matter not a quick fix.
If u likes the X2 and X3 and freelancer and Privateer and other space sims you will like Eve. The tutorial is VERY GOOD and a fine example to other games in general. There is no First person shooter / sim here ist all externally based ship flight and fights
Kids in Eve do not last long... as its to slow for them.. Community is built over time. You can add friends to your address book (in game). and play With them, groups can be formed.
Recommended for long haul MMO players. Not recomended for kids or thise with short attention spans or low IQ folks.
Posted by: yogi | May 08, 2008 at 03:20