Im a 2005 player who enjoyed the game until pretty much the time you could buy skillpoints. I know the most apparent ones in the scene, but they are so much different to EVE that im just not interested in them. And im not interested in EVE spinoffs either.
Theres just nothing out there?
There is no āEVE Classicā. All other competitors are quite a bit different.
In itās entirety, EVE is truly unique. nothing comes even remotely close in complexity plus omnipresent player interaction.
There is no alternative. Ive tried so many space games and i can never stick with themā¦.maybe no mans skyā¦but that one isnt close either.
The atmosphere just isnt there with all the other internet ship games available. The only space sim i havent played is Star Citizenā¦.and thats because i aint buying a game, then have to turn around and spend more money on a particular ship i may crave.
EvE is it for me. Somebody would have to come up with a hell of a grand space game to pull me from this one.
And btw. if you donāt like the general path EVE is going, you can always look for a small bunch of close friends and go dwell in your own wormhole with them. Do stuff with them, make good money, build your own little empire. POCOs, POSes, Upwell Citadelsā¦ Make diplomatic relations to have people that can come to your aid if some bigger group attacks you.
Just keep out of HS, of LS, of NS and of Pochven. 
Why does buying skillpoints bother you?
If you donāt want them, donāt buy them.
Real life?
Honestly, Iām more or less with Meridan on this. Call a few friends or head to the local hobby store, spin up a tabletop Traveller game and tell your own dark sci-fi story. As the meme goes, you can die during chargen! Canāt get much darker than that.
The only remotely similar thing to EVE in terms of openworld, unsharded single universe is Albion Online. Not scifi space, but fantasy setting. PVP, full loot, exploration, grinding mats and ep are very similar though.
Star Citizen was supposed to be the main EVE competitor, but they are still floundering. Although recent developments look promising that it one day could usurp EVE.
choosing not to play EVE is an alternative , ha ha
Depends on what you want to get out of an āalternative to EVEā.
Some people play EVE for the space flight experience, there are other games that do it too. I like it in EVE but this was never what drew me in, but I hear plenty of other spaceship games exist.
Some people play EVE for itās market and industry, which also exists in other games.
Then there are people who enjoy the full loot PvP combat, which also exists in other games but not necessarily spaceship games. Albion online has copied many of the aspects of EVE in a completely different medieval fantasy top down MOBA-like combat setting which I enjoyed until they split away from the single-shard idea.
Some people see EVE as a fun game with deep complexity, something you can also find in other games. I get a similar enjoyment out of character builds in path of exile or optimizing my warframe characters for example.
And for some EVE is a hobby. Good alternatives would be to spend your time on another hobby you like. Reading, play an instrument. Sports, gardening.
What is it you are looking for in an āalternative to EVEā?
Hello @Morajsakom_Sr I havenāt found another game remotely resembling EVE Online. I love sci-fi games but too many of them are mediocre or have trouble running on my PC.
When I donāt play EVE I play No Manās Sky or Starwolves for sci-fi.
Looks like EVE is unique.
TTRPGās in general are a good idea. I really do not see a game like Eve get made anymore. I feel the same by the way, but I also know not to agitate the people who look at pay to win mechanics and think people that decide not to use it are then ānot interacting with itā.
I used to play Eve because it lacked such features. I get decent dopamine hits from Arc Raiders these days, which is also a PVPVE game but for people with jobs.
The closest thing in look and structure to EVE is probably Homeworldā¦.though that is now an ancient game. In terms of exploration and building stuff and combat, No Manās Sky is goodā¦.and can also be played with up to 32 playersā¦or solo.
The third entry in the series came out not too long ago but it received quite unfavorable ratings so unfortunately probably not a good one. 
2007 player here, when not in EvE I usually play Guild Wars 2 for an MMO (itās free) or Fallout 4 and Hearthstone.
Thereās not really any other game like EvE.
Is that thing still going? I know it was a big thing when it started but havenāt read about it since many years. I guess it is similar to TF2 in this regard then, people still tend to play that one too.
Yeah, itās still going strong.
Give a look to Angels Fall First or Infinity: Battlescape. Theyāre indie games and look quite promising, even if the head count is low (but then I:B always has had hundreds of AI bots as a part of the environment, players are always just a part in large fleet battles).
