Would you, the players who already play, start the game at its current state, and keep on?

I don’t play EVE for the sake of the game, I play it because of the people I met in EVE that I chat and play with together. Without those people, I’d have quit the game a decade ago.

But seeing the current state of the game, I don’t think I’d ever start it again anew. But then I’d also never meet these people I so enjoy engaging with… It’s a tough question…

I guess it would always inevitably result in the bittervet limbo I’ve been in for the last 8 years, no matter if the game is EVE or something else. But I do give EVE that it’s the only game that kept me hooked for 14 years, whereas every other MMO I usually quit after 6 to 12 months at the longest.

So, would I start playing EVE again in its current state? I honestly don’t know. Probably would, because the people I met and experiences I had in EVE are so much greater and more unique than any other game out there could ever offer.

So, the bare-bone game? Hell no. Go ■■■■ yourself. How dare you even asking that question.
But with the community in the mix? Hell ■■■■■■■ yeah. Every. God. Damn. Time.

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Thats just semi-correct. The lack of moderation would make myself wonder, and that language channels were closed - less, that this leads to shittalk.

I didnt compare them. I said easiest games have the most shittalkers, and that it has nothing do to with “hardcore”. And in my opinion its easy, just as everything it can get hard when played against each other. Non-artificial challenges always can get hard.

Actually… thats half the truth. First of all, i think the NPE has nothing to do with what to expect in the game. But second: I myself hate forced tutorials of that kind. You know, i like when i get thrown into a game and have to find out stuff. Just as in many sandbox games, like minecraft, ark, subnautica… i dont know, im just trying to find examples. They all throw you kinda into the game and part of it is to find out stuff.
So yes, a tutorial actually turns me off. atleast this artificial stuff you wont see in the game later, career agents where a fine addition.

Sure. EVE-Offline :: EVE-Online Status monitor
Set it to 5 years, its imho an easy to evaluate time window. See 2014-2016 (PCU each). It was going down and in 2016 it had a sudden increase in active players - that was the “alpha account” patch. But since then, we´re back where we started - so either most alphas and a few vets stopped playing, or a ton of vets stopped but new alphas came. Either way, were one ~ 2008 player levels, and while i would play this game with an average on 5k, it does seem that im not totally off with my assumptions.

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More like back to 2006 levels. 19,000 PCU average…its worse than summer of 15

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Well, maybe some people share the feeling that i got. Im no analyst. Thats why i didnt include such statement in my original post, and i always hate it when people make silliest assumptions.

However, i know quite a few people who quit the game… because of the way ccp handles things. Things like talking around without finishing stuff. Things like drifters, like captainsquarters, like dust514/nova. Things like somer back then, things like introducing 50$ monocles and, as consequence of the protests, stop working on walking in stations entirely.

This list could go on. Too much people i know left. And those who are still there, are all disappointed. And as i said - just the people around me arent a statistic relevant group, but if i look the player numbers - i think quite a lot share this feeling.

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I think attitudes can be contagious. CCP is long overdue for a trailer that gets everyone super pumped again :smile: I know what you’re saying though

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I see your points.

I can’t say for sure, but probably not.

Definitely.

I played for about 5 years between 2005 and 2010 and had to quit, due to being unable to put enough time into the game, to my own satisfaction.
I recently returned and think the sheer amount of content and new things to do and get involved in, is excellent.
I tried the NPE for a new character and thought it introduced the mechanics of the game well, but agree that it doesn’t prepare a new player for the game itself. I don’t think anything could, so I think it serves its purpose well.
I’m certainly glad I returned and, especially since I’m carebearing a fair amount at the minute (dabbling in industry, the “new” anomalies, WH etc.) I don’t think there is an inordinate amount of “griefing” in the game. You learn quickly in EVE, even us “older” players! :wink:

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The game is in a much better place when I started playing back in the day. Back then the only PvP ships were Rifters, Hurricanes, and Drakes, cuz everything else was trash, unless you could fly Tech3 ships and then it was all 100mn Tengus.

The game is much more balanced now, with many more options for players to get involved in. But there are some unhealthy aspects right now (skill injectors, etc)

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Sure, I would. Everything what attracted me four years ago is still there, among many new things not yet there in 2013 I like: NPSI, the new exploration, industry mini games, Thera, infinite skills queue, and many more.

The only thing I’m not sure about are the skill injectors … those are too attractive to ignore. They can change everything because you skip valuable newbie time.

When the injectors were introduced I bumped Tipa to 80M SP and was suddenly able to fly most sub caps with T2 weapons … and now what? There was no sense of accomplishment. Not sure how enjoyable my EvE life would have been with injectors around 2013 …

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I started playing back when Apocrypha was out, took a hiatus at Incarna, then recently got back into it a few weeks ago. Sure, lots has changed in New Eden, but at its core the game that captured my imagination and attention many many years ago is still present today. There are a lot of different bells & whistles and a whole variety of things that are new, sure, but for the loyal, albeit casual player those things hardly add value, nor do they subtract value. For someone like me that enjoys interacting with new players, but also enjoys plenty of solo PvE, this game is still the same game that I know and love. I don’t operate on an intense level like so many thousands of EVE players do so while my experiences may be rather simple and less complex than others, I still have a strong opinion in the matter and I still love EVE.

I want to say again its less about the game itself but rather the experience you make as a new player. We all here are playing because we think its fun, well most of us probably. While its an discussion on its own if the game got better or worse for you, the actual question is if the current experience you got when starting the game would get you hooked - or quitting before you actually notice what is fun for you.

I know its difficult to explain, thats why i made such a long post. I want to share i why i still play the game, but probably would uninstall it before noticing what makes it great (for me). Its just difficult to not get to offtopic about the state as a vet by looking at this, and i tend to get drawn to a bit of bittervetting when thinking about it.

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oh I’ve a good one for you buddy
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6944040#post6944040

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Im not quite sure what you mean.

that wasn’t aimed at you, but in answer to your op

yes , yes i would ,
because of the ridiculous drama that goes on here of corse i would.

That was a lot of text to ask 1 question so I’ll try to use a lot of text to answer it.

Think you’re making the mistake of seeing the game in retrospect, where a new player will always see the game in prospect.

You have seen the game change and don’t see the same game you so fondly remember.
A new player see a new game with boundless opportunities and in many years he too will remember back to when he started, and say to himself; the game was much better back then.

This is called the “the past was better than the present” syndrome.
I think that goes for every game you start playing. Not just EvE.

Another key element you’re forgetting and the key element that made me start playing and probably everybody else, despite what they say, is STARSHIPS.

And because of that, I would still start playing.

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This is why I just stick to lowsec now. No drama, just blast whatever moves, a little smacktalk in local, rinse and repeat. Also, better value DEDs, ratting, and sites in general. Not gonna lie though, kinda sad you guys wouldn’t let me join just cuz I don’t have a second account. I think my KB and my corp’s current war record speaks for itself. But you know, you guys do you, and I’m going to avoid having a reason to go back to high sec.

My money’s on DWA coming out on top btw. PIRAT, Marmite, VMG, they’re all trash. Me and five friends of mine went to war with TRUE VINE near the end of last year and scored almost 4 bil worth of damage against them with Marmite and VMG assisting them. That was, at the time, the most damage any corp had done to TRUE VINE to date, despite the assistance, to which I think we lost maybe two ships, because in both instances it was because my guys just didn’t care, were bored out of their brains, and flew into gate camps to see if they could get through. You can look up the war report in game for more accurate details. TRUE VINE actually arranged a destroyer fleet to come after us in Amarr at one stage, and we were just sniping them off the field, three of us vs like 20-30 of them. It was kinda funny. One of their guys were streaming, and we got a message from someone saying, “hey, you guys just podded their live-streamer”. No docking games btw. We were flying around in sniper ships that they could have caught with interceptors, but didn’t. It was a good war.

But VMG and Marmite, assisting them, never actually gave them any active assistance. It was TRUE VINE who came looking for us in lowsec. It was TRUE VINE that killed the most of our ships. I said to their leadership at the time, and so did my mate Brutal Wyrm, maybe TRUE VINE should think about going into mercenary work. They’d clean up. They have the numbers, the attitude, and in some cases, the skill for it.

Nah, i know what you´re referring to but i tried to make my text as long as possible to actually exclude this. These days, many factors would just prevent me from actually trying it much - i know it from other MMO´s. Im not in for even trying things that do the things eve does at the start with a new player.

If a new game would start with an quite cinematic tutorial, register with facebook, and very fast referring to buyable items - i would just walk away.

Remember, this thread is not if eve is worse than back then even. that was not my statement, just because it could fill a whole new thread. Im trying to imagine what i would feel as a new player.

And to make it clear, if i grabbed the stick ill surely started playing eve again. I just highly doubt i would, because the current experience as a new player seems so… underwhelmingly not what eve is.

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Maybe you should get some first hand experience with new players before trying to divine their intentions, motivations, aspirations, and understandings, with guesswork. I’ve encountered plenty of new players who aren’t having the experience you suggest that you might. They are, in fact, doing great. One of them almost killed my Jackdaw in an RLML Caracal. Newbies are doing just fine if they have the right attitude for the game. If they don’t, the game doesn’t want them anyway, because those players just wind up cynical and bitter believing high sec should be safe and being in a mining ship grants them special rights to protection that no one else gets.

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That is exactly the problem im seeing, those who stay are that way. Not the way i think the start experience suggests. If the player numbers would just rise or stay the same, id think my thoughts are just subjective and wrong, but what me made this thread is… they actually go down. Thats why i asked in forums. i want to know what others think. No question that still people start playing and enjoying eve, which is still a enjoyable game overall.

But i think those staying in eve wont give much about things like the NPE for example. They would´ve been fine even if they just have been thrown into the game. Maybe im kinda weird on that, though.

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