EVE General Discussion

Most gamers do not like PVP without rules and safe zones.

Why do you ask stupid questions?

"most" ppl dont in this game either if the number of ppl in high sec and the number of null seccers qqing how empty it is are any sign

It doesn't have appeal to the general public because of its unique skill/leveling system and the fact that death/loss means something.

There were games like it, but youre right most came and went but this was usually because of changes in ownership more than anything else. When a giant company like EA buys a game, chances are they are going to **** it up.

For example, probably my still all time favorite MMO, Ultima Online. That was about as close to a "medieval" version of EVE as you'd ever find and there is still a decent player base dedicated to player-run servers, but once EA bought Origin they added robots and released the crappy UO: 3d and killed the game.

Back before the MMO exodus that was WoW, MMOs were a fairly niche genre and because of that the games were a lot more "hardcore" hell even the very linear Everquest required hours upon hours of spawn camping and reaching the highest level was actually an accomplishment rather than a 2 week grind-fest. There was also an xp penalty for death as I can recall (didnt play EQ for long) I actually dont remember an MMO from that era that DIDN'T have some kind of permanent death penalty (either losing items/xp/etc)

Truthfully I can see why the games waned in popularity, newbie life in EVE is hard and anyone that says otherwise either joined as part of an established corp, or doesn't remember what being a newbie is like . But those of us that DO love these games might be more "hardcore" players or maybe we are just used to similar games which may also be why the WoW hate is so strong among EVEers

Perhaps catch up on all of the retractions and revisions in the press before you ride that bandwagon too much further.

A mistake happened, a reasonable punishment was determined. If you aren't happy with it still, you really need to get over it.

Since summers have traditionally been periods where the number of online players increase in EVE, interpreting it as being caused by it being summer would indeed be incorrect.

Normally, summers show a bump as a summer patch is released, numbers increasing or (at worst) plateauing, as the various summer vacation periods kick in across the globe and people have more free time to play, and then they dip in the autumn as people have to go back to work/school.

Last summer, none of that happened. There was a build-up to the summer patch, but as soon as the patch was released, the numbers immediately crashed to levels that hadn't been seen for two years, and then they kept going down. It wasn't until the apology for the bungled patch was released, along with the promises for the next patch that EVE would go back to its roots, that the numbers started to recover. The downward curve that had started just after Incursions was made worse by the summer patch, when the normal pattern is the exact opposite. The dip that normally happens in the autumn as people have less free time was hardly noticeable as it blended into that overall slide downwards. The bump that normally happens as a result of a winter patch being released happened at the mere hint of CCP realising their mistake and correcting their course.

So no, there was no plateau, summer was not the cause, and recovery was not due to the normal cycle of RL commitments and availability of free time.

Glad you realize that you are incorrect in thinking that EVE's population has ever been stagnant.

CCP listened to popular demand to get back to the core gameplay EVE was designed around. Core gameplay that seems to be exactly what you DON'T like about EVE by the way.

So which is it?

CCP are jerks because they don't listen?
or
CCP are jerks because they do listen?

You've said both so far. Pick a train of thought and try to stick with it please.... you are in danger of amusing the rest of us.

EVE wins all the awards and has done nothing but grow for the past decade. I'd call that success.

hmm... actually I think we have enough players for good game play... it's just been kinda lax since there's really no reason to hold sov and no reason to wardec. ...but I'm optimistic the Inferno expansion is going to deliver. I think once the wardecs start rolling out I am going to be having a literal and figurative blast! Maybe when people watch me having fun more will join in.

Yes that 2% more rof on my guns is going to make all the difference.

Heres the thing, people get bored in EVE because they make themselves bored. While training a skill rather than sitting in a station doing nothing they could be out doing things. The reason why people say HTFU is because every single one of us have started out from nothing (a lot of use started out with much less than a new nubbins) so its not like they are being asked to undertake an impossible task.