EVE General Discussion

Before I graduated I had quite some time to play EVE so I was in E-Uni and RvB for short time. But now I travel a lot and sometimes cannot log in for months. So naturally its easier for me to be solo player in NPC corp and I only have one character. I simply play this game to relax and just have fun when I dont have anything else to do. I dont see any problem with players do the same. Its not as fun being solo player in this game, I know I had much more fun in big corp but when you really dont have time to invest into game then going solo is one option.

But I dont like to see EVE going more WoW way where playing solo / casual way is encouraged and game content is slowly being tailored towards this casual crowd as I think that kinda killed WoW hardcore side. CCP can offer some tools and tricks for solo players but never should it create content that starts encouraging solo play, that I think would hurt EVE quite a lot. Other than that, play way you like and just ignore ranting people who think only way to play EVE is their way.

LOL, I swear I heard banjo music in my mind while reading that last snetence. Thanks .

Because moderation on this forum is so terrible, it's easy for very benign positions to be quickly turned into false confrontations between us and them, black and white, etc. I am confident that the vast majority of players have or do "play solo" quite often, in that they are doing an activity in game that doesn't require the direct back and forth input of teamwork at that very moment.

The two areas of contention form around those that think they should not be interfered with and those that desire there to be more and better content and rewards for solo play.

The former will always get a harsh response as they are essentially missing the whole point of the game. People pull out "sandbox" to infer that they can do whatever they want, when it is clear from numerous statements from CCP that this is an interactive MMO where you are never immune to the actions of others. Essentially these people want Eve to be a different game than it is, and they will be met with corresponding scorn and dismissal.

The latter area of contention is far more problematic. Eve is fundamentally an odd game in that it is an acquired taste, you have to learn to like it, whether through playing it despite your initial reaction to its difference or through growing tired of the common structure of the vast majority of other games, thereby driving you to look for something new.

I at first played Eve like any other game: build my skills, get better gear, fight better mobs, and it was a pretty awful game in that respect because it's not designed to be satisfying in that sense. Eve is designed around getting you in space, and then letting the interactions between players in space pursuing their own ends form the content of the game.

Now, if "solo" to you means going out on your own and interacting with others to pursue your own ends as your own individual pilot, then nobody has any problem with that. However, if you think solo means going out and not interacting with other players, then you are missing the point of the game. CCP is moving further and further away from content that is not "interactive" with other players, whether you are interacting as an individual or as part of a larger group, and will continue to do so. If you are playing in the hopes of more non-interactive content, then you might as well quit now. The game will continue to push people into the same space and reward those who can control the encounters through whatever means (force, diplomacy, guile, etc).

Edit: that said, there is definitely an awareness of the time constraints of casual players and the often inherent additional commitment of interactive play, so we can expect that features will be designed with the more casual players in mind that allow for interaction with the minimal commitment of time.

Ya, people like you are screwed. Your paranoid delusions aside, non-interactive content is on the out.

I am looking forward to how they design content that is both interactive and casual, while not feeling too "instancey", as it will be a pioneering effort in video games.

If you hate sandbox mmo-rpg's, why do you play them? Why don't you go play a game that suites your needs, either single player game or a themepark mmo-rpg would fit like a glove on you.

Sure, as long as you accept that your sand castle will be comparatively crappy and others can come kick it over, then more power to you. If not, then no, you're wrong.

Except people can try to destroy anything you try to build no matter where you are. Beyond that, more power to you.

There is definitely a segment of the player base that generates their own emergent content in high sec corps co-oping missions, anoms, and plexes in high sec--with some dabbling in low sec--along with all their other corp activities. Corpies in low sec and 0.0 also co-op PVE together, though less probably since that's not their focus. And of course lots of people focus on solo PVE, but not all of those are cut off from the sandbox.

The important questions are not "is it ok to play solo?" or "is it ok for our corp to focus on PVE?". Nobody's going to stop you. Do whatever you want to do. The big question is if CCP has any plans to improve the part of the game that all these masses of people choose to focus on. We need answers to these questions:

How and when is PVE going to be iterated? (It's like American public education. Everything else seems to come before it.)

Should more dynamic and varied choices in PVE be introduced into the game? If so, how can it be geared towards groups of all skill levels? (Making solo play more financially rewarding is not what CCP wants.)

Should we be given more opportunities to experience the lore of New Eden through an enrichment of the environment and the addition of more storyline elements?

Even those who focus on PVP like--and need to--PVE sometimes, and they often do it solo, due to convenience and maximizing ISK. Others choose that style of play as default. And then there are the newer players who are still getting to know the world and don't feel near ready to go out and blow stuff up and get blown up.

If you play solo, this should be important to you.
If you co-op PVE, this should be important to you.

All you quiet solo guys and high sec PVEers need to let your voice be heard on this!

PVE will be iterated by making it more cooperative and/or competitive. The point is that the enjoyment derived will be from the interactions with other players needed to engage the environmental content.

What does that mean in simple terms? More things like enhanced AI and less things like mission iteration.

There is an obvious push for more story based content, but it is coming in the form of changes that affect everyone, or at least huge swathes of people, like Caldari Prime as opposed to more epic arc stories meant for individuals interacting with agents NPCs.

Well said. And this is the exact direction CCP should be going in.