EVE General Discussion

OP,

I agree with you in so much as game mechanics need to be made clearer. And while people will yell "it's called Google, *******" and yes you can find answers to most EVE related questions on Google, why should I have to go to Google to find the answer to basic questions? I didn't buy Google Online, I bought EVE Online. And again, while the answers can be found on Google, how is spending hours in the in game browser searching the web for information that may or may not be outdated fun exactly? If this were any other game, failing to teach basic game mechanics would be considered a flaw yet EVE somehow gets a pass.


However, I do agree that it should not be "dumbed" down. Part of the fun in EVE, for me and perhaps many other people are the "hey I didnt know you could do that" moments. It's like playing Adobe Creative Suite Online where half the fun is figuring out all that you can do.

Put more simply, the game is a sandbox where you are given tools and then it is up to you what to do with the tools. We can't tell you how to do everything with the tools because most of us don't know everything there is to do with those tools. Again though, I wish CCP would create a better tutorial on how to use those tools because the tutorial does a horrible job at that.

Using another analogy(I love analogies can you tell?), imagine someone dropped you off on a lonely desert road and told "go". You would probably ask "where" and they just shrug. Then you ask "how" again they just shrug at you. "Well is someone going to come by and show me where I can go and how to get there." Again, shrug. I dont know about yall but I would probably just sit down in the middle of the road and wait for someone to come by. Now imagine someone does come by and when you ask where to go and how to get there they respond "Google it" or slightly more helpful they provide a link to some website with information that may or may not be outdated.


That's pretty much a new players experience right now. And again, if you really think about it, in pretty much any other game if the game did not teach you how to play the game, that would be considered a justifiable negative of the game. Yet in EVE it somehow is supposed to get a pass in that regard.

In light of the upcoming possible changes for newcomers, here's my two cents.

As a fairly new player to EVE (I've had a subscription for a short while (~8.5m SP), but only been actively playing for a month or two now), here would be my suggestion to help reduce the learning curve for new players. When creating a new character, there should be an option on first-login or character creation where you can select your skill level - "I've never played", "I'm learning with an experienced friend" or "I'm a veteran / I know how to play EVE". The game could take you through tutorials based on your experience selection. "I'm new to eve" could take you on a more individual, solo-based tutorial. "I'm learning with a friend" Could instead let you roam free with a friend, but still give you plenty of useful hints/tips, as well as a slightly-guided tutorial. Something you can do with your friend, allowing your friend to explain the more in-depth mechanics of eve, while the game itself introduces you to the basic concepts. Optionally, there could even be some team objectives in the tutorials to allow you to play with your friend while learning. Selecting "I'm a veteran" or "I know how to play EVE" would disable tutorials, as you would select it when creating an alt, or a second, third, etc, toon. You would already know how to play the game if it's not your first account, generally speaking.
The tutorials could cover the following things (from a new player perspective, this is where I feel we could use the most help)

[list]

Movement: We don't need to be spoon-fed here, we're not fools. We just don't know the options. Double-clicking moves your through space, or click on something -> align to, approach, etc. In a quick, basic way go over the movement and basic interaction.

The Map: What is a system? How do you get between them? How does Autopilot work, and what are the drawbacks? How/when should I use it?

Security systems: Hi-Sec, Low-Sec, Null-Sec - what are they?

Security, Continued: What's the difference .5 and 1.0? what about .1 and .4? 0.0 and -1.0?

The in-game market, and it's unique properties. How do buy/sell orders work?

Common ways of earning ISK: Exploration, P.I., Mining, PvE, PvP, etc. Basically - *What do I DO in EVE?*

Factions: Which faction do I pick to start with? Each ones' strengths/weaknesses in an easier-to-read and understand fashion than Lore. Why should I pick Caldari over Minmatar?

Fitting a ship: What modules are common, what modules do, the advantages/disadvantages to certain weapons/tools. (MWD vs webifier vs Aux. Power core, etc)

Fitting, Continued: When certain modules, guns, damage types are useful in what situations. (Knowing about them is nice, but what damage types are most useful against Gursitas? Blood Raiders? Basically, how do I indentify what modules I'll need.

[*] Skill queue: recommended skills to train (based on what method you plan on making ISK). This could be presented as you play. Also, how does the skill queue and SP work?

Are you out of your mind?

Using another analogy(I love analogies can you tell?), imagine someone dropped you off on a lonely desert road and told "go". You would probably ask "where" and they just shrug. Then you ask "how" again they just shrug at you. "Well is someone going to come by and show me where I can go and how to get there." Again, shrug. I dont know about yall but I would probably just sit down in the middle of the road and wait for someone to come by. Now imagine someone does come by and when you ask where to go and how to get there they respond "Google it" or slightly more helpful they provide a link to some website with information that may or may not be outdated.

So I have to be a Boy Scout to play EVE? That seems very discriminatory.

to modernize something to just to try to fix something that is not broke...make little or no sense.

Really? So we should all be riding horses still? That system worked just fine.

It would be interesting to know how many newbies actually find the new player faq during their trial and how many of them manage to read section 7.