EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hey,

I'm a perma docked up newbro doing the SOE arc but and all of a sudden, my laptop couldn't handle the graphics so I am stuck whilst buying bits for a decent PC, i'm enjoying youtube vids and reading the forums.

I'm itching to get back into New Eden as cannon fodder but I'm starting to wonder just how much time the game may consume. I know EvE isn't your ordinary run of the mill MMO but is it possible to do well and learn good skills at perhaps 2-3 hours a day? My main pastime is astronomy but my main time is family and shift work etc.. Anyone else doing it and doing well?

Not too bothered about doing well, just the "enjoying it" is all I want...I loved beating the Serpentis and Dagan etc and getting gate camped was fun!

Anyone else on small EvE time per day? What are your experiences?

(45 year old train driver in NZ!)

Average playerbase age is 30-35, so most of us have families etc.

Solo activities, esp. in high sec, are certainly doable in small chunks of time. For the group activities, esp. the more involved wars, wormhole living, etc., find a group / corp that operates in your time zone and caters to "casual" play, there should be plenty.

I guessed that having a corp or "EvE family" was the way to go and it's so good to see that i'm not alone!

Thanks for the tips. I guess at the end of the day "you pays yer money" and can do whatever you please, something many capsuleers seem to have forgotten according to the forums!

Understood Ralph. A superbly loaded answer sir!
After putting my daughter to bed, I will one day promise you to fry their cap off, and then die a horrid death into my hi-sec bolthole lol!

It's easily enough time mate.

You can do whatever you want in 2-3 hours a day (it can add up to a lot)

Don't be too hasty trying to join a corp either, you have plenty of time to find one. As someone just said, try to avoid one's with mandatory cta's, try to find one that doesn't demand team speak as well, because trust me, as a shift worker your family WON'T be impressed with you screaming down a mic at 3 in the morning, and i'll tll you why.....


A 57 year old train driver, UK :)

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If EVE "grabs" you, you'll probably find the main problem is not your corp, but your own immersion in the game. "EVE the Widow Maker, the Great Thief of Time."

Seriously, find yourself a corp where you can relax and enjoy, put in the hours you want, do the things in New Eden you like. Every corp that's worth being part of will adopt the maxim "real life comes first."

In EVE-University, we make an intensive use of the in game calendar to advertise our activities within the corpo (fleets, classes, events...).
It makes really easier to plan your game time, especially when you have a busy real life.

During the span of my EVE career, I did national service, went through a period in life where I was juggling multiple jobs every day (9-6 job, evening part time job, freelance job), got married, had a baby, got full time employment, quit and freelanced, got re-employed, got promoted, all sorts of life changing stuff happened.

And through out all these years and changes, I've always enjoyed EVE, although my log-in time varied greatly, I never unsubbed, at least on this Toobo account.

So yes, you can enjoy EVE in many many ways. The best description I heard is that EVE is a 'life style'. There's so much EVE related stuff you can do even when you are not logged on (e.g. spreadsheets!).

It's awesome. Stay subbed and I wish you will enjoy a decade long adventure. o7


NOTE: I have pretty serious gaming addiction history though. I've been playing every Football Manager (Championship Manager back then) since 1999 and still addicted to Civilization 4, while also having had serious Sims 2 phase where I owned entire expansion packs collection and downloaded almost all contents from Mod The Sims site (because I like hoarding...).

These are really really evil games that often result in broken families and divorce (especially Football Manager in UK lol).

No pissing contest intended, but my longest gaming session was over 36 hours straight without eating or sleeping. Only getting up to go grab a Coke from the fridge and bio breaks.

EVE is not like that. You can enjoy at your own pace and you can plan and do things over the period of weeks and months and even years. You don't need to 'grind' non-stop to 'progress' in the game. It is a special game indeed.

FWIW, I spend my in-game time with a null-sec group of mostly fairly casual players who primarily do PVP with a side-line in PVE to fund that terrible habit. I don't play every day, when I do it is rarely for more than 2-3 hours. Not an issue with this group, kind of fits the play-style of most of the regular members actually.

We do try to do some more structured things (like field a team for the AT every year) but that is admittedly something that takes more commitment in-game - but even players not able to invest that amount of time in-game can still participate and help out (by participating in practice sessions, donating some ISK, etc.)

I am still enjoying the game 3 and a bit years into it, I think the key is find the right balance so it doesn't start to feel to "grindy" while you still feel you are learning new elements and keeping it fresh. Don't be afraid to put family and work and real life first, if you find yourself in a group that is pressuring you to put more of your time into the game than you are comfortable with, rest assured there are plenty of other groups that will be more amenable to your preferred style and pace of play.