EVE General Discussion

Since Code was brought up... I am not defending code but CCP has stated that players that get ganked in their first15 days are LESS likely to quit than those that dont.

The problem with Eve's player retention is:
1) Its unlike any other game people have played. It is harder as a newb than it is after a year, 5 years, 10 years.
2) Unlike other games, their is no direction in eve. You are responsible for your own entertainment instead of the game providing content for you.
3) Lack of rewards when you are new... its a harsh transition from other games.
4) The sub fee puts a lot of people off. For some reason they think its ridiculous to have to pay $15 to have a full access to a game but not ridiculous that in a F2P game that the only way to compete is to spend stupid amounts of money. And if you dont you are just a farm for those that do. Really makes me worry about this newer generation and their logic.

CCP has improved the new player experience from when i was a noob. Its not enough though for the current market. What can players do to help retain players? join the rookie help channel and help new players. I find helping new players in rookie help is like giving a puppy a piece of cheese. You are now best friends from their perspective. You just increased the chances of them staying.

What can CCP do? Well i posted a thread on this actually a while back that addresses both giving them more time to learn eve( because 14 days isnt enough) while also teaching them about all the things you can do in eve...as opposed to enter warp, target a rat, dock, etc.

That thread is here

I don't like adrenaline. It leaves me feeling drained and depressed. What do you propose to keep people who are like me?

My guess is virtually every miner, mission runner, and high sec hugger is like me in not liking adrenaline. Look at their play style: Its all geared to avoid situations that trigger adrenaline, as are their comments on this forum. I stayed because I like space and science fiction, and at the time I joined, there were no other space MMOs out there that ran on a Mac.

What do you propose that we, as a community, do to keep players who do not like adrenaline?

Uh...right. I was going to say this was logic Trump would love.
Then, I saw this....
It's probably wise to leave the US's political dysfunction at the door.

Meanwhile, back to discussing the issue at hand...instead of yucking about those "inferior" to "us"....

Change game mechanics so the EVE community can effectively fight the idiots who suicide gank new players using the autopilot function. When I say idiots, I mean CODE.

A wardec for every new corp?
Oh wait...

Takes one to know one

EVE is a PVP sandbox and I am betting that after a long day of work not everyone wants to be badgered, scammed and generally be harassed to death while trying to relax, also, why pay for someone else's content.

Makes it interesting to YOU. There are others in the world. Surprise!

Oh...this impossible to get stat - whatever% of those ganked within their first whatever days are less likely. Hogwash.

I hope CCP don't revolutionise.

In the last couple of years CCP has devoted significant effort to understanding what motivates new players and to making it easier for them to get started.

It hasn't worked.

Not only hasn't it worked, it's also disenfranchised a lot of veteran players that were dedicated to the game and who've put a lot of money into the game over an extended period.

falling numbers are what we see as a result. Still no ability to raise the retention of new players and older players leaving in greater numbers.

Bring back the difficulties and reward for skill and time in the game. Stop eroding things like the effects of standings, make it so that exploration favours skill rather than skillpoints. Not everything has to be achievable on day 1 in the game.

The way the game is headed, where's the long term goals gone? Why stick around when I can buy and experience everything immediately? It's easy to move on quickly now since the game is losing depth in many areas.

A lot of (most of) these suggestions are reactionary in nature. They come from perceived problems with an eye toward circumventing or heading them off at the pass. The new player doesn't have any prior knowledge or experience, other than general knowledge about how computer games work from past experience.

A tutorial/intro just familiarizes a player with how to operate the game. These are the mechanics. This button shoots. This button ducks. Here's how you load. Here's how you fire. Here's your hands and feet. Here's your head. The game is over there. Get in there and play. It also, to belabor this point, familiarizes new players with how the interaction with NPCs is set up.

Sandbox. Sandbox. Okay. "Here's how you play?" This approach to the game is generally left to the interaction between players process. The linear story-line leads them into the map sequentially; more difficulty with the leveling process, etc. Quite soon the player gets the idea, along with what sort of questions to ask other players...this communication generally occurring in a global chat function.

Then, you have us. The tutorial/intro - here's the elementary mechanics, fine. Where we differ is - a.) trust no one - so no one is considered to be a reliable help. b.) never talk in local - ergo, no "global" chat. Sure, there's the over populated, chaotic help channel...as far as that goes.

Join a corp! Join a corp! I find this amusing whenever I read it, 'cause I've never been so isolated in a computer game communication-wise, as in EVE. People already in corporations they got into 'cause they knew someone, or were invited, just toss this advice around like; "inhale/exhale, join a corp!" New players find this not only less than helpful it also seems a bit on the strange side given the obvious circumstance a new player is sitting in...looking around...huh? Join what? To do it you have to talk to somebody. But, trust no one? Right. This makes sense. The foot is already heading for the door.

You may get shot down. That's one thing. You may be continually victimized? Quite something else. And, anyone saying that's a strong selling point is either mentally disturbed or lying through their teeth. Everyone pays money to have fun, finds themselves victimized habitually, and goes, "Wow. This is thrilling. I'm so glad I found this." Riiiiiight.

Sure, CCP could do a lot more about providing more organized information, and less eye candy conventions in Vegas adverts. Having a lot of the one, and hardly any of the other makes you look a bit...lacking in perspective, but also a bit on the money grubbing side....not only victimized by the players (with impunity and mouthy arrogance) but by the management, too. This looks like the deal of the century.

It very quickly turns from "do I like this game" to "do I really want to deal with people like this" in a way that is unsurpassed by many activities available to the public internet or not. So...your solutions. Your laundry lists...right. It could just be a matter of "so this is how we are...this is what we should expect to get." Want more? Change....yeah...could be.

At least, that's what they're saying about EVE on the internet...shhhh...it's a secret.