EVE General Discussion

Think about it. If you get mad when your ship blows up, then that means you value your space ships more than the person who doesn't care when they have a loss. That must mean that you have a greater emotional attachment to the game that you take seriously which means you have a greater emotional high when you succeed at the game.

This is all relative too. Say a player who gets mad after he lost a 10 million isk cruiser versus a guy who lost a 16 billion isk faction fit pirate ship. If you just yawn and say no big deal then you are actually cheating yourself out of actually enjoying player created content.

See the risk of loss makes the game enjoyable. When your heart is beating and your palms are sweating then it means you are enjoying the game more than a guy who is just bored with pressing F1. In order to fear loss you must get mad or upset when you have a loss. If you are just apathetic to loss then there is no fear or risk of loss. Its like being bored on a roller coaster ride. You are supposed to get scared to enjoy the ride. If its boring then you aren't getting the most out of the game. If EVE wasn't risky, then it wouldn't be EVE and if you pretend or actually negate the risk by saying you don't care about your ship blowing up then you are simply missing the most enjoyable feature of EVE.

Therby the people who get mad and rage more are enjoying the game more than you.

QED

Internet spaceships is a serious addiction.

I would say I take EVE pretty seriously. But I also know that every ship from frigates to capitals is expendable and replaceable. When I lose a ship I am not mad because of the loss, but because I did something stupid to deserve it. In some situations (died to alpha before I could react) I don't feel mad at all. Ship losses are normal and expected, better focus on saving the pod and potentially reshipping.

In other MMOs, you spend all your wealth to get the best possible set of armor and weapons for your character. Losing that would mean dozens of hours of time lost. Some people play EVE this way (see 50b mission running boats), and they are understandably mad when the inevitable occurs. For me, ships are just tools, consumables to be used in a fight. I keep a stash of maybe a dozen hulls wherever I'm staging, so whenever I lose a ship I can just pick another one and rejoin the fight. If the stash starts running low, it's time to order more from Jita.

I kinda get what OP is driving at, yet I'm not so sure I agree. If I end up cackling like a lunatic as I die in a fire in some creative and perhaps extremely derpy fashion, am I having less fun than someone who is going to have a fit when their ship gets toasted? How you derive enjoyment from the sandbox varies from person to person really. Some people really really enjoy shooting little red plus signs... others claim to enjoy inappropriately touching asteroids for hours on end (tho as a former miner I know they lie). I guess it boils down to where your priorities lie within the game. I've personally never considered ISK/hr to be important, but I know there are vast cadres of players for whom this is an obsession for. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Risking more = more enjoying.

Going to the casino and play blackjack risking 2 percent each hand using basic strategy all night is boring.

I feel this way when in a free welfare ship. It feels less real and 2 dimensional. If it gets blown up I don't care, so I go gate to gate, forget putting hardeners on, whatever, who cares, plenty more where that came from. When in my own ship I had to grind for I do everything right as possible, it's a bigger rush.

Excitement is an unsatisfied state.
It is a form of stimulation that is a poisonous consolation prize for those who can't find happiness, or more commonly, those who seek happiness in ways that guarantee they will never find it.
Which is not to say that i haven't enjoyed the highs of destroying other dude's shinies, finding valuables, solving problems and taking part in le big battlez. Also the lows of losing billions worth, getting duped, getting defeated, missing out.
I recommend eve as a way for people to taste the sweet potato of triumph and the bitter turnip of despair without actually paying any real life price. With this caveat however, no spaecships achievement is a substitute for real life accomplishment or experience.
Really pity those few who log on to eve as the only place they have what it takes.

TL;DR: Perspective, yep.

"Enjoy" is the key word here.

Also, there are several interpretations of what playing EVE 'seriously' actually means.

We need a better phrased OP question.

Not really, no, and fear is not a necessary condition for enjoyment either.

So no.

I've lost to many shiny ships to really care anymore

Isn't it so that the enjoyment of adrenaline is entirely personal? Some people hate it and experience it as negative stress. Others enjoy it, they experience positive stress. There's also a significant difference as to how your loss is percieved by others, don't disregard social pressure. Lose a T1 Cruiser in lowsec and nobody cares. Lose a T2 Marauder in hisec during war and everybody loses their minds.

But yeah, I agree with the sentiment, I like to get worked up about PVP wins and losses a little bit myself. But to call it 'rage' would be a bit much, it's a game after all and throwing a tantrum because you lost something isn't healthy or productive. It's enjoyable to fly something bigger then a Frigate, I definately enjoy the game more when I take more significant risk. Plus if you can afford a cool ship why the hell not fly it? It makes more sense then sitting on a mountain of ISK and doing nothing with it.