EVE New Citizens Q&A

My perception of EVE since it's launch has been full of misconceptions driven by reviews and fans. So much of what I heard about EVE over the years involved a more "wild west" akin to what we get in Null Sec and WH space. People told me that newbies get eaten alive and the game is one non-stop PVP ship battle. The pieces covered by the media involved people being scammed and major bank heists. Granted these are integral elements in EVE, the game also has so much more to offer.

I grew up playing board games like Civilization and Outpost (not related to computer games of the same name) where trading is central to game play. When the 90s arrived I was drawn into the political elements of the computer games Civilization and Masters of Orion. A decade later my interests shifted in the routines and career/attribute building elements in The Sims. Little did I realize at around this time EVE had all of this and more to offer.

In the early MMO days I gave Everquest (through Ruins of Kunark and a bit of Shadows of Luclin) a try. I thought it would be great to be part of an online society, but soon realized the game was purely combat based. You couldn't get anywhere or gain levels without fighting monsters. Player based crafting skills were really easy to max out and gave minimal rewards. I decided to swear of MMOs and in general played very few video games for the time being.

Fast forward to SWTOR several months ago. Having really enjoyed the Bioware RPG games and a Star Wars fan since 1977 I decided to give this game a try. The game felt like a single player Bioware game with an occasional group to fight alongside with against/for NPCs nstead of playing in a world populated with other players.

Since I had upgraded my PC I decided to give EVE a try (almost didn't but the Incarna elements had me curious) and found the game that I have been looking for all these years. As my trial period was about to end I decided to get a one year subscription, all 27 issues of EON /ISK volume1/ maps, a bunch of stuff from the EVE store, and a stack of PLEX for ISK. In game I started a small trading business, and have started building up some really good faction standings. While the majority of players are more interested in PvP (recent poles might prove otherwise) and wormholes, I think it is important for EVE's growth to promote the game as so much more. This might be one of the few games where you can actually play a non-combatant diplomat and hauler, and you really do feel as though all those other players are directly affecting the world. If anything EVE trends on Second Life's territory without the stigma,

I realize that the ship based gameplay takes priority over the WiS elements, but am glad that Team Avatar is still working in some capacity. I think there is a large player base that would be interested in station interactions which might (but not necessarily) overlap in the rest of the EVE universe, so perhaps WiS should be treated more like DUST 514 which I think is brilliant. I hope to someday see WiS to compete with Playstation Home or The Sims but will enjoy the game until that distant day arrives .

I wonder how many other people have avoid EVE due to the popular misconceptions and awful G4 reviews?

Mmm... don't make me hungry.

Fair points. Most of the people who have posted awful stuff about EVE are exactly those rage quiters who find the game is too difficult despite the multiple warnings. Perhaps the game shouldn't try to appeal to those who are not expecting a harsh environment since EVE does live up to it's dangerous reputation. Yesterday I just squeaked by a 0.4 ambush in a matter in fact. I also joined the week of the burning of Jita.

I think what I should say is that EVE is the game people say it is, yet there is also so much more to it. I would not have imagined entities like EVE University would exist and be ran by players in an MMO. Other things like EVE radio, the handful of cartographers and player offered jump clone services are really neat. Reading the recent Dev Blog on Chribba and CSM meeting notes are also inspiring. It never ceases to amaze me what players have built in regards to communities in this game. Despite all the scammers and embezzlers out there there are also some people that have really built something here.

It is great that the big bank scandals have made the news, I just think that there are some amazing players out there doing great things which came to me as a surprise when I went through my trial weeks.

Most Hilariously AWESOME review ive ever heard:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/208-Eve-Online



though unfortunetely, he loses all credibility when he states he REFUSED to get involved with ANYTHING involving othe rplaywers (and then proceeds to bash the game and base the ENTIRE game around the pve he plays)

Love to hear from happy players :)
Enjoy your stay!!!

To OP: You actually as a trader / manufacturer are also doing PvP.

Market is player driven so you are competing with other players.

PvP is more then just shooting spaceships with your spaceship.

PvP is Player vs Player, ship PvP is using assets, you are doing Economical PvP.

Thread delivers, +1

I know, and I agree.

But people saying they are not doing PvP by building stuff and selling it are wrong.

Yes, this is true and certainly a good example of what the 'sandbox' of EVE is all about. It's not ONLY about pirates being able to gank your mining ship or hauler, or corporate thieves emptying your corporate hangar. It's also about players getting into careers and finding economic niches that weren't 'pre-determined' for them, like a 'Hunter class' in World of Warcraft of something.

Certainly, EVE does have a 'wild west' quality about it. This is especially true for wormhole space and NPC null sec. Spaceship combat is what drives the economic engine of EVE, and the minerals from mining fuel it.


Combat is a popular and 'photogenic' profession in EVE. When the EVE developers and promoters want to entice people to try their game, they usually show the graphic special effects of a spaceship battle. The industrial side such as mining, manufacturing, research and trade are just as complex and intricate, but it's a lot harder to impress and entice people to play EVE by showing them market trading or a spreadsheet of potential profits from a mining operation.

It's like someone setting you up on a blind date with a selection of twenty girls (or boys), and all you have to go on are photographs. Naturally you would pick the best looking person from the photos. Later though, when you meet all of them, you might find that the best looking person is also the most shallow, and you get along better with a plainer-looking, but funny and/or smart person. It's just not something that can be easily demonstrated.

I think the developers really wanted to push 'the dark side' of EVE as an attractive element, a world of looming intrigue and danger. Again, because that sounds exciting, but only if there is a chance of you surviving and thriving in it.

The thing about EVE which is hard to explain, or perhaps even comprehend especially for new players, is just how deep it really is on every level. Skills in everything from mining to combat can never really be 'mastered', there is always another facet of every career to explore and discover.

On the issue of trade and transport alone, the economy and trade in EVE is apparently so complex that CCP has hired a real-world economics expert to monitor it. Apparently the EVE market is more complex than any other MMO.

Conceivably, you could be the CEO of a trade corporation and never leave the station, owning no ships other than a shuttle, having little skills other than trade skills, yet make and lose billions of ISK in a day, hiring mercenary corporations to 'take care' of competitors, hiring couriers to move and ship your goods, affecting the outcome of wars that will make EVE history simply by controlling the supply and distribution of goods to one side or the other.

It's never really explained how your corp-mates will help out new recruits either. EVE can be a very lonely game for those just starting out. The tutorials give you the basics, then toss you out into a very large and confusing world where you have to fend for yourself. It's pretty hard to get accepted into a lot of corporations, since they have a skill point minimum and new characters are distrusted as potential corporate spies. Once you get into a corporation though, or at least friends to give you advice and back up then EVE becomes a whole lot easier.

You're missing my point.

I'm talking about understanding and accepting what is meant when someone uses the term "PvP". It has nothing to do with what is or is not technically correct, or whether or not any particular form of competition is relevant.

It doesn't matter that there are other forms of contest between players. What matters is that we all know that when someone says "PvP" without further clarification what they mean is "PvP combat". All you have to do is imagine the "combat" bit and take it as read.

Just like in RL when someone says they've bought a "microwave". We all know that they mean a microwave oven, but do we constantly correct them on that inaccuracy?

Further back in history, when the transistor revolutionised portable radio electronics, people used to talk about listening to a "transistor". Everyone knew that what they really meant was transistor radio but only complete nerds insisted on correcting them once the practice became commonplace.

Just use a bit of common sense is all I'm saying.

You are correct when EvE players say they are PvP'ing, pewpewing, and the like... they are typically refering to ship on ship combat.

The reason for the constant correction, however, is that many players feel that since they don't actively seek ship on ship combat, they should be "saved" from it. Many players segregate the different types of ingame competition, and don't see how they are linked. It is this segregation that encourages the, "I'm entitled to have a gank-proof max-yield-fit hulk in highsec!" mentality, as they belittle their contribution to the global econimic competion and, more importantly, they don't understand how/why suicide ganking fits into that economic competition.