EVE General Discussion

I play EVE to have fun and because its beautiful to look at. I keep one simple rule for myself:

"if this isnt fun, stop"

so naturally I rarely play missions, solo mine, haul in high sec, etc. If i need ISK to fund an activity that isnt self-supporting, ill choose one of the many many ways to have fun while still making money. How does a person justify, or make sense of, the time they spend not having fun? Do we behave similarly when engaging with other forms of entertainment?

Im wondering all this because, until recently, I assumed that everyone behaved like me. That solo-miners must genuinely be having a good time, that freighters were being piloted by happy EVE players! Now over the few weeks ive spent on these forums ive heard so many folks say they are going to start/stop a particular activity based on the rewards given for it. This to me, means that people are actually out there, spending time IN-GAME not having fun...so they can save up enough ISK to have fun later. Is this a design flaw, or is it delusional behavior on the part of the player?

another thought:

why do EVE forum members constantly request increased rewards for doing things? Is it just a misunderstanding of how fake (aka controlled) economies work? Or is it a broader misunderstanding of the concept of inflation?

I enjoy mining all alone in hi-sec..... *twitches*

That's the ideal, problem is, there is a growing group of players on which the latter does no longer apply... that's when the concept starts to fall flat on it's face... but that's the same in every capitalist society, so it is expected.


A big truth, written casually.

A lot or people don't realise that it's a better use of their time to buy and sell a plex than it is for them to sit any mine at 20mil an hour.

Others actually enjoy it, so, egh, whatever floats their boat.

Fun is subjective.

people who complain about not having fun are likely having fun complaining about it

keep in mind, the fact that losses have meaning is not necessarily tied to hefty ISK losses. Say you lose a PvP ship, and your loss is fully covered by SRP, so in the end, you personally dont lose much ISK, however your loss is still meaningful. Simply because you now miss out on the rest of the fun..and wont be able to simply rejoin the fight. Or you were solo roaming and had to travel 20 systems to find your targets.. annoying. So its not just an ISK loss its also a loss of time and opportunity.

Well, you kinda went through some tedium to get something. By the sweat of your brow etcetera. Ever played Bioshock? Anyway, I'm drifing off. But yes, since Eve is a knowledge game and not a twitch game, it entices you to come up with plans to convert effort into PVP assets as efficiently as possible. As your experience grows it becomes easier to accumulate a given amount of ISK, at least to the intelligent, observant player. Maybe even more important is the ability to not lose it in a dumb way. This does include risk, however. You don't get to live an easier life unless you shape those conditions yourself, by force if necessary. And by yourself I mean you and your corp- and alliance mates, as teaming up is mandatory to achieve larger objectives that ultimately translate in easier, safer income generation.


I'd guess a bit of both, but also the inability to tap into more convenient income streams. Say you are in a large alliance. People have POS, need fuel, and that one dude keeps losing the same type of ship. You can strike some deals here. Sure, you could make more ISK if you sold your stuff at a competative price. But in my experience the effort and wait time involved in trade is not worth giving up the market velocity you can achieve filling actual demand. Balance is key off course but you get the idea.

Example. I buy fuel from this dude. It gets jetted at the POS on request and I just fork over ISK because we have a history of fair deals. I don't have to haul and it's even cheaper! Meanwhile the solo-corp-tax-haven-CEO is toiling to fuel his hungry POS. Such a player runs increased risks on top, as the more organized corps have more free time and fast ISK to PVP.

switch it up is my advice. mining is a background activity if you do it in backwater systems but it's not good ISK/hr. missions are repetitive and boring. low sec/null/wh activities require concentration and patience.

maybe this game is really for people who want to scam and steal because the PvE is quickly boring. that said, i don't need much for my occasional pubbie fleet ups and if eve ever annoys or depresses me i just checkmy skill queues and log out.

I would quite enjoy 20M an hour right now

Ok, you all fell for it, everyone in this thread must donate 20m ISK to the bounty on me for posting.
That is my reward, do it if you dare....or are you all too scared?
I might wardec you, or destroy you alliance from the inside....