EVE General Discussion

The unique thing about Eve is that friends are required for any real success or security. The result of that is that you also tend to form some very close and trusting friendships. You can't have one without the other, the reason why large betrayals are news in Eve is because that trust they broke is actually important.

A lone miner without any friends lost eve way before they lost that mining ship. Go join a corp, train some weapons, matter to someone, build friendships. Eve is a horrible "game", but its the best social sandbox in existence.

I'm a lone miner. Will you be my friend?

For some reason I laugh out loud whenever I read those exact words. Not meant as an insult! I just imagine someone literally eating tears and finding them delicious and its a little comedic! I tend to read them about once a day which is more than I usually laugh so EVE forums are pretty good!

I'd still like to know why people started saying it in the first place though. Its a prettttty abstract way of saying you enjoy when someone is miserable (for silly reasons or not). :O

Do we really want to discuss morality in a computer game? Ah what the heck. I'll give it a crack.

Sadly, morality is seen by most people as being tied to consequences. And I submit this thread as 'Exhibit A', Your Honour.

But how can your actions be moral if you're only doing something out of a fear of consequences? Your actions can only have moral worth when you do the right thing because you know it is the right thing to do - and you do it for no other reason.

It makes me wonder how much morality there is in mainstream religions when they go on about the reward of Heaven and the punishment of Hell and the fear of God. I suspect mainstream religion is more about controlling the masses rather than creating better human beings.

Personally, I think there is nothing more noble than an atheist who chooses to live a moral life despite no hope of reward and no fear of punishment. This is about as high up the moral food chain as a human being can get. Of course, if that's your thinking in choosing that path - wanting to be 'morally better' than everyone else - then the moral worth of your chosen path becomes invalidated. Morality is all about intentions, not actions.

When I started playing EVE, I imagined it would be a realistic simulation of what a space-faring life might be like in the future. It took me a little while to adjust.

I now like the fact that EVE is a primitive, lawless universe with more than its fair share of immature, toxic individuals. EVE gives every player the opportunity to make choices which are free of consequences. This is a freedom you don't get in the real world.

The game mechanics do not provide any real consequences for behaviour that would be considered 'evil' in the real world.

So given there are no real consequences for your actions, what kind of player do you choose to be?

I look at EVE as one big moral experiment. It's fascinating to see how people behave in this moral vacuum. I'm also fascinated by my own behaviour.

Good post. +1

As an atheist in Eve, (really, I don't need spectres, I've got G**ns to guide me) I fully endorse being good for goodness sake.

But seriously, with so much death, war, destruction, immorality, mayhem and crime - in RL - I play Eve because it mimics RL so well.

The thing is, whether or not it's "part of the game" or "not against the rules"... the fact is your actions are still 100% your choice.

Players who try to hide behind lines like "nowhere in EVE is safe" or "the GMs allow it" or "it's just part of the game" are moral and intellectual cowards trying to pass off blame for their own actions (and guilt) onto an innocent third party.

You don't have morals incase there's consequences. If you were immortal (not game) that would not mean you should abandon your morals.


Some people use morals like a code to live by (usually not very flexible) but keeps them from doing things they could regret later. Some people talk about morals but when it comes down to it they use them to suit their purposes.


But this is a game, so if you consider just the character then morals need not apply, if you consider the person behind the character then morals come into play.

But not everyone can play a game without considering other players.

This is the derpiest thread.

2 things.

1) the point of role playing is the very act of taking on a different personality, and hence morality that your normal every day one. This is acceptable, even expect behavior in an RPG.

2) Its not that its a part of the game, its that its an INTENDED part of the game. Why else would Guiding Hand Social Club have been rewarded for the scams by CCP?

I don't hesitate to steal cans, loot or salvage. If the fools decide to try and punish me, I have no problem with blowing them to smithereens. That's called playing the game; stealing from others for your own profit and defending yourself (And acquiring loot) from those who would punish you for it, and if I can get a ransom from them I do, then kill them anyway. As far as that goes, my morality is left at the door; I won't lie and say I wouldn't be tempted to take things that don't belong to me in real life, but eventually I always decide not to when confronted with such situations. In a couple of them, consequences weren't an issue, because there was effectively zero chance of getting caught doing so.

This I put down to both a strong sense of morality that my parents raised me with and to a sense of consideration for the other person. That's right, a mean old pirate has a sense of empathy, who would have thought it? The main difference between the way I act in EVE and the way I act in real life is indeed a matter of "It's just a game". If I lose a nice expensive ship, I wind up cussing like a sailor, and get over it in a matter of seconds (Though I could stay irritable for an hour or so afterwards). My collection of "tears" is less a matter of enjoyment than sheer fascination that people would actually emit them, while all someone who finds me in a similar situation can expect is a "Bugger. Should have seen that coming.", because in ALL of the cases where I did find myself in that situation, I actually SHOULD have seen it coming.

That said, I usually reimburse noobs who think it's a good idea to shoot at me for at least some of the cost of their ship; I'm fairly soft as pirates go. I spare no sympathy, however, for those who have been in the game for more than a few months and should know better.