EVE Online impressions sought

Ive had a go at the EVE online trial recently.

Ive got some thoughts on it, and Id like to hear some feedback from those who play the game.

I used to play Elite and Wing Commander: Privateer back in the day, enjoyed those games immensely so was looking forward to having a go at EVE.

Its not quite what I expected.

I Like the large amount of ships and equipment available. I dont like the UI and the uninvolving gameplay. Unless, Im doing something wrong, you setup your ship with weapons that have an optimum range, keep your ship at that range between you and your target, set your weapons to attack, and let the RNG do the rest?

I appreciate you can use shield boosters etc, which seem cool; but my overall impression is that so far Ive been underwhelmed by the sytem.

From what I can tell the game has a very loyal fanbase, are there more redeeming qualities this game has that I havent seen yet?

I do appreciate that to "get anywhere" with this game Id be required to make a large time investment, but I figure if I dont enjoy the gameplay that much the time investment wont be worth it.

Thoughts?

 

Not quite. If you look over your weapons there are a lot more stats, and they all matter. (In addition, it's not always as simple as "keep your ship at that range" )

If you're playing the trial, I assume you're flying a frigate. Those have a couple of very useful traits that actually make them useful against much bigger ships.

First, there's a ton of different electronic warfare items that can completely change the outcome of a battle. Second, your speed has a huge impact.

When you fire at another ship, the following factors are taken into account:
-Your weapons optimum range and falloff range, versus the actual range to your opponent (I think you do 100% damage at optimum, and lose 50% at optimum + falloff, doing 0% at optimum + 2*falloff)
- The "perceived speed of your target (that is, if they're flying alongside you in a parallel trajectory, they're standing still for targeting purposes. If they're flying perpendicular to you, they'll zoom across your screen in no time). This is compared against the weapon's tracking speed.
- Your gun's size (signature resolution) versus the enemy ship's size (small ships take less damage from huge guns, because they'll only get partial hits)
- A bunch of other factors I'm omitting for brevity

What this adds up to is that a small fast ship, orbiting a bigger one, is almost impossible to hit. Fit an afterburner (or microwarpdrive) on your ship, find a cruiser-sized target, and select orbit from the right click menu. You'll get a perfect shot almost every time (because the target hardly moves from your guns point of view, an it's *huge* compared to your guns), but they'll be unable to get a hit in, because you're zooming past their guns faster than they can track you. And *if* they hit, they'll do vastly reduced damage because your ship is smaller than their guns' signature resolution.
In addition to this, there are target jammers, ECM systems, cloaking fields, webifiers (to slow down enemy ships) and a ton of other utility items that can turn a fight to your advantage.

The combat system is amazingly complex, actually, and it takes a while before you really figure out how to use it to your advantage.. But it has plenty of depth.

But that's just the combat (and I assume you've just been fighting NPC pirates so far)

To name a few:
- near unlimited PvP: If you look on your map, you're in a small blob at the center of the galaxy. That's Empire space, and it's (mostly) safe. Outside that? 0.0 space. Which is completely player-run. There are player corporations fighting large-scale wars for control of those solar systems, and the (player-built) starbases in them.
- Player-run economy: Checked the market recently? How many of those items do you think are player-made? Try "just about every single one". And every one of them are sold at the price the player set. And all you see is stuff for sale in *your* region. What do you think they sell in other regions? And at which prices?
That's right, you can trade. I've made quite a lot of money on that. Buy stuff cheaply in one area (where players who specialize in manufacturing of those items) are based, ship them to another region, and put them up for sale at a fat premium.
There are people who have started in-game banks, and there's a (huge and filthy rich, and of course player-run) corporation that specializes in building starbases for smaller corps.
And because it provides such an essential service, it's managed to uphold almost total neutrality.
There are player-run (and quite successful) corporations providing another important service: Assasinations.

You'll want to join a corporation (or start one with your friends), so you have people to play with. But other than that, there are virtually no limits to what you can do. However, it does take a while before you really realize the possibilities that exist in the game.

 

I find this funny...
If there is a Death Star in EVE, does it mean that it wouldnt damage the smallest ship even if it got a direct hit?

 

just wondering, is this free to play online?

 

Thanks Jalf for the very detailed answer =)

I think Ill have another go at it over Easter weekend.

Does combat mainly consist of orbitting your opponent? Its what I have been doing against the NPC pirates, and it seems to work well, but its quite uninvolving.

I do like outfitting my Frigate with bits and bobs though =)

Another question, is there an easy way of seeing what damage you are taking? Its hard to tell whats going on when Im getting hammered, as the combat text seems to disappear in about 0.5 seconds every time something happens.

Thanks again!

 

Here's a very nice guide explaining the combat system:
http://www.eve-online.com/guide/en/g61_5.asp

See the above guide for an explanation.
But consider a weapon that fires multiple smaller projectiles (a shotgun, perhaps, or an autocannon thing. Or for that matter, a laser that's fired for a while)
The individual projectiles will spread out a bit (or in the lasers case, the beam will move around a bit), so if your target is small enough, some of the projectiles will miss, meaning you'll take reduced damage.

Of course, that depends on the Death Star's weapon too, but yeah, it would do reduced damage. it has one huge-ass beam weapon as I recall. One with a radius far bigger than most ships, right?
Which means that a ship sitting inside that beam will only get hit by a fraction of the beam's full power.
Of course, that might still be enough to wipe it out, but it's still less than, say, a Death Star-sized ship would receive.

Well, orbiting only really works if you have a small fast ship. In a battleship, you're just wasting time (and because it's so slow, you'll want it aligned so it's ready to warp out with a minimal delay if you get overwhelmed)
Combat consists of what you want it to consist of though. You should probably experiment with different damage types (some ammo types have better range, others may do more damage, or use damage type your opponent is weak against).
And as I said, almost each ship has its own preferred tactic. if you're flying a small fast ship, you need to get in close and orbit. If you're a big slow ship, you want to prevent your opponent from orbiting, so equip something to slow him down. If you use long range guns, you may want stuff to improve your tracking speed for better accuracy. And of course, if you just want to be a pest, equip a target jammer to make them lose their lock on you entirely.
There are plenty of different strategies for combat.
Another question is how to deal with damage. Some people use shield boosters, others use armor repairers (where they may be able to get higher resistances, so they end up basically ignoring their shields), and if you can get high enough resistances, you may not need a shield booster at all, but can rely on the passive shield regeneration.

But as I said, join a corp and get into some group fights (whether against NPC's or players). It does get dull if you're alone.

Open the combat log.
It's under the misc group (can't remember its precise name) in the sidebar

Thanks again![/QUOTE]
You're welcome. Eve isn't for everyone, but it has an amazing depth, if you're willing to put a bit of time into it. The learning curve can be brutal.

 

So, in conclusion... *reads above*

What Jalf said.

I think he and I are the only active Eve players on this forum.

I always sucked royally at all forms of combat, I always think I understand the mechanics, but in the end the system always works in a way I don't expect. Luckily I have had other people deal with the bodyguard aspects in the past while I focus on mining of the hell out of everything within 20 parsecs.

Jalf, any good Corps (that you know of) for players who have been "out of it" for a few months? I'm getting tired of being a "The Scope" member.

 

Lol!!

Love the cartoon!

 

I played Eve for a couple of days and gave up..

1) The training system is real time based (not game time); so you create your char, and it will grow at a certain rate. Everyone whose played before you is infinite and untouchably far ahead of you.;. nomatter your player skill or time investment, they will be ahead of you.

2) You have to really really really (really!) enjoy mining, which is the least fun thing you can ever do.

bleh :/

jeff

 

I enjoy playing EvE, and am now looking at buying a laptop.

Would a PowerPro J 10:14 be able to handle the new graphic content, or will I be disappointed?

 

I can see why most would find mining boring but I actually found it to be the most enjoyable and relaxing thing to do in EVE. The most boring part for me was the gate jumps. They could literally go on for an hour or more depending on destinations. I sometimes found myself dozing off in front of the computer waiting for the jumps to end.

The worst, or the most challenging, thing about EVE is getting to where the real action and opportunities lie in the game and that's 0.0 (extreme PvP)space. This usually means the requirement of joining a corporation (guild in mmo speak) which could be a good thing or bad. There are so many established players and corps that it is really hard to get a leg up in EVE. I gave up on Eve after about a year of playing. I'm waiting for EVE 2 where hopefully everyone will be starting on even ground. I also think EVE needs a planetary/terrestrial element where players can really roleplay and get into characters more rather than living things out inside a ship. Currently when you look at EVE at it's core it's really just micromanaging in an Excel spreadsheet hiding behind pretty graphics.

Klutz, my guess is that PowerPro (although I'm not familiar with that brand) will handle EVE without issue.

 

I started playing EVE last year, around the summer and soon got fed up with it, as I started with a mate, that took of for military duty, and began to feel alone. Did a little time investment in skill training, but that was just that.

Later last year, after almost 3 months, I gave it a go again, researching a bit more about the game, and doing some more ratting (Pirate killing) and missions in my destroyer. And the fun really began after joining a corp, getting a few mates to fly around with and they have been very helpful

 

Indeed a EVE is a Team Game not for a One Man Show .... Yes You Can do that too but you'll get bored soon

Playing EVE for almost 3yrs now

 

*or* it means that even if you can't play more than 1 hour a day, on average, you won't fall behind someone who's playing 8 hours a day. At least not on skill points.
In any case, these skills don't make that big a difference. After a month or two, you can easily have most of the skills you *need* for what you do.
Someone who's played for 4 years will have a ton of skills they don't really use, or which provide only marginal benefit (they'll probably have spent quite a few months on skills whose only benefit are to slightly speed up training speed of other skills, or which raise the number of active orders you can have on the market, or your ore refining efficiency, none of which matter in combat)

Eve is unusual in that character skill isn't such a huge deal. It helps, but it doesn't make or break the game. It's not like in other MMO's, where an army of level 5 characters can't even touch a single level 50.

No. You have to either enjoy mining (I find it quite relaxing to do from time to time), or you have to do something else.
There's plenty to do, and plenty of characters who have never mined a single unit of ore since they were created.

 

At the moment im sitting in with 2 battlecruisers, 2 cruisers, some frigates and a destroyer and so far ive not been mining more, than the missions ive had, has "forced" me to So you dont have to be mining, just get the salvage skill and begin ratting

And as Jalf states, skills aren't all in EVE, your ships equipment is what matters Tho the nice equipment needs some specific skills, to be able to fit it, but you will have time enough for training thoes, as the good parts tends to cost more, than you can afford anyway

 

I have been playing EVE for just short of 2 years now. I have done just about everything there is to do in the game, well except mining and production as they do not interest me at all.

As already stated it is a team game and finding the right group of people will either make or break you in this game.

The skill training, well you will either love it or hate it. I personally like it as it means that someone who does not get on much can still have some decent skills. Plus just because you have good skills does not automatically mean they are good, I have killed more pirates than i care to remember who at the time should have had far more SP than me.

PVP is its driving force, it is what it was designed for, and for the most part does well, as long as the carebears dont get involved!

Something else to look at will be Jumpgate Evolution, I believe it is like EVE but you can actually fly your own ships!!

t1c

 

A zombie coming-back-to-life thread

I didn't play Eve much.. I quit very quickly, so my experience is limited; my observation at the time was simply that it would take a non-trivial amount of tme to get up to speed, regardless of skill. I was pushe dinto some mining by long-time Eve real life friends,m nd that was disgusting, so I took a pass; getting ready for PVP (as I'm a big fan of PVP games) seemed a lot of work.. which is fine, but people shoudl be aware that they will nee dto skill up (taking a well defined time), and gear up (right class of ships, implants, upgrades and so on).

Thats all fine.. but its not like you're going to be effectiv ein PVP within a month or two.. you're going to be 6mo into the game before you're really on a winning side, regardless of your skill level.

Now, if you team up or have a strong corp willing to help out with your gear costs, that could big a huge help, and I didn't even brush into such things.

(For me, I used to have a fair amont of time but only in short bursts; now I've got a small daughter, so my time is generally restricted, but still also in short bursts. So I cannot 'raid' in WoW-stye games say, and in EVE I found it too much time-sink to mess with Corps .. ie: maintinaing your Corporation rank and working with people and all the warping aornd to meet up.. it just se4eme dlike a lot of wasted tme to 'get started'.)

(Akin to in EQ/WoW type games where you spend 45mins or an hour locating peopel to group with, and getting together, and finally into the action .. o wai but if you haev only an hour or 90 mins at a time, its not really useful.)

I am quite probably entirely wrong, but it was my impression at the time

If there is an Eve2, that could be cool.. I got the _feeling_ that lone wolfing would be much better at th eonset, instead of being after the game is already many years of mature.

I have seen long essays on both sides.. ie: That the skill system hurts new players, or supports new players. Seems like it is wildly debated, so I'm not the only one worried about it being a trap

(ie: I do rather like the idea of it being a great equalizer.. ie: that if you play here or there, but log in to set up your learns, that doens't let the 9 year old with 20 hours free time race ahead of you in skills...)

Ahh, the days of focusing on anythign for more than 30 mins at a time.. those days are long gone and sometimes missed

jeff

 

I am willing to be convinced otherwise and give Eve another shot, as long as someone can point out things other to do than mining (bleh!).. ie: it would be fun to get into PVP piracy, but whats a good path to get there and be halfway effective, without spending 6mo to gear up and build relatoinships and join a piracy corp that takes 4 hours a day to get you into a good hunt group etc

jeff

 

I didnt read through the thread so I dont know what anyone else said, so I apologize if Im repeating anyone.

First of all...there is a lot more stats to think about then just your laser range and power. You also have to factor in speed. Shortly after I joined the game I joined a corp called SynTech. We were primarily miners and traders but a pirate gang decided to declare war on us. Our first fights were messy. A couple of my corp mates were flying high end cruisers and such but the pirates were flying VERY fast interceptors.

SPEED is important. The faster a ship is the harder it is for you to get a lock on them and vice versa. It was rather enjoyable and immersing to have the whole war going on. There are so many ways you can set up your ship with different weapons, armor, boosters, and equipment>each designed for different aspects of battle. Sometimes its good to have a big battleship blasting away with mega heavy hitting cannons...sometimes its much better to have a small, fast, and agile ship.

Yes, to travel you do need to invest time, this game has, by far, the biggest world of any MMO. There are so many systems and they add more every once in a while. Ive spent HOURS traveling from one place to another.

Also, sometimes your trips are extra long because you want to avoid lowsec if your not speced out to fight there. In low sec or 0.0 you have groups that camp the gates and gank you the second you warp in.

Keep in mind that the game isnt JUST about fighting. Miners, traders, manufacturers are all over. Myself, I was a trader. I had a badger with cargo extenders that I would load up with as much of a certain cargo as I could and then I would ship it to a destination that would buy for more then when I bought it for. I made good money doing that and had a very good time.

I think the best feature of eve is that everything is on ONE server. So no matter what, if your friend plays EVE, then you can meet up with him/her in game. I suppose thats all I got to say for now, but one thing I highly recommend is joining a corp...it makes the game a lot more enjoyable.

 

I reactivated my EVE account a few days ago after about a year hiatus. I decided to get back into EVE because I haven't been too satisfied with some of the newer 'pvp' mmos to be released lately. After a couple of various gaming podcasts that mentioned EVE's new expansion Empyreum my interest was rekindled.

I'm having more fun with EVE now than I did year ago. The graphics alone are worth the revisit. CCP really improved the game visually, performance-wise, and it's user interface. EVE has become more user friendly as well with help screens and the like.

I am now in progress of trying to find a good corp to join so I can venture into deeper space. So if anyone here knows of one for a miner/salvager with a Thorax let me know.

 

Look into New Eden Combine (N.E.C). It's the corporation I'm in and all the members are quite helpful and friendly.

 

This game is hard as hell , period

 

Thanks for the tip. My in-game name is Verlane Succorso and I'll send a chat when I'm on next (probably tonight).

 

Does race have any real impact on the game?

Or is it just 'lore'? (And is Lore relevent to anything?)

ie: The lore talks about this race or that having some preference to this or that (some prefer ranged combat, some prefer drones, and so on).. but you can do whatever you like, right?

jeff

 

Race does have a real effect as to what attributes you start out with.

 

Cool, hope to see you in the EVE Universe sometime!

 

So is this game X3: reunion hard? I always like space stuff and play x3 all the time. And freelancer to. But I don't know if I want to invest time in learning a bunch of stuff to be able to play well. Because anarchy is already confusing at the beginning and it took me a couple weeks to get used to it.

 

I wouldn't call EVE "hard". There is a bit of a learning curve to get over first but the tutorials help. If you're after PvP it'll be a bit of a wait to get to it unless you want to be griefed and die (podded) a lot. I would describe EVE as being a bit more overwhelming than hard as it is a large universe that is extremely open-ended. You make your own game out of it, sandbox mode so to speak. Kind of like Sins of the Solar Empire on a massive scale.

 

That's exactly what I thought. The Caldari remind me a lot of the TEC from Sins.