EVE General Discussion

Today is my 10th EVE birthday. I have been within this game for just a few less than 3653 days (there were a few days when I let the sub lapse while I was on holiday and such). Much has changed within the game - I have changed a lot since them - but more has stayed the same.

New ships, new mechanics, and much more importantly, new social models and organisational methods. There were no public NPSI fleets in 2006, there were no large, well-run, well funded "newbro" alliances like Brave Newbies, Horde, Karmafleet back then. Not only was the game dominated by veteran organisations perhaps even more then than now, but there was basically no place for the new player in most activities. The tiercide project was years away, and there was very little that a new player could contribute to a "serious" fleet other than fly a rifter or a blackbird, and quickly die as soon as they were noticed.

T2 items were produced soley from BPOs, and were unthinkably expensive. At a time when you could buy a 30-day GTC for ~90m ISK, a Cerberus cost ~300m ISK. Imagine a HAC costing the price of 3 PLEX today - that will give you an idea of how out of reach such ships seemed then. And that was just the hull; the T2 launchers would be 20m each, and so on.

Since then we've seen the EVE economy and society evolve almost beyond recognition. Many of the names are the same, but most of the methods are different. The level of organisation and infrastructure that even a mediocre 0.0 group is routinely expected to have now was simply unthinkable back then. Likewise the abundance of, well, everything is overwhelming. Everyone in the game expects to be able to buy pretty much anything they want in whatever quantity they need for a fairly stable- and low- price.

I think it would be pretty foolish to say whether all these changes have made EVE "better" or "worse". One of the few tings we can say with certainty is that EVE absolutely needs continuous change, not necessarily in every factor all the time, but there should always be significant changes occuring in some significant aspect of the game. The greatest threat EVE could face would be being sold to EA; after that, stagnation and predictability. Every major change - and there have been too many in 10 years for me to even start to try and list them - has winners and losers. And every time, the winers have crowed and the losers have cried.

The original Forum was the the seat of Athenian democracy, and I feel pretty safe in saying that the debates there were probably not all that different in type and form to the debates seen right here; self-interest, ideology, fear, and pride, generally mixed in with incohate patriotism and seasoned with as much rhetoric as the recipe would stand.

Yet even though it was distilled from such unpromising ingredients, the democracy of Athens was something new to the world, and it offered the inhabitants world something it may have never seen before: the idea that there could be a society where more than just will of the tyrant, the monarch could affect the course of events.

EVE still makes that offer to the gaming world. EVE might be violent, unforgiving, hypocritical, oppressive, obsessed with money, selfish, treachrous and cruel. Athens was all of those things when the Forum was at the height of its power. EVE, like Athens, also writes incredible stories, and offers unique glories to those she calls her own. Who would live in any other city? Why would one live any other way? Where else would one nevigate but to such a port? What other game sustains such pride?

'Appy burfday matey! I, too, remember T2 cap rechargers and covert cloaks etc. being monopolised. Good riddance to that.

I do miss images in the forum sometimes. The Bob / ASCN propaganda was pretty good at times (I'm an ex-hobbit, but the Bob poster with Jules from Pulp Fiction titled "CTRL-Q ain't no system I ever heard of!" image made me giggle).

Also: This...is...SPARTA!

That's a lot of words for "I have funny hair where I used not to".
It's OK buddy, your voice will get deeper too and it's completely natural at your age.

Memes were still pretty good back then. I wonder where Liz Kali is now?

ME TOO!


At least you made it 10 years!

I'm at...3!

The Athenians had a word for a man who did not participate in the politics of the city. But I have served my term, and I'm happy to let others serve theirs now. 1 year was definitely enough.

I've always been a bit kind, I'm kind of a softie at heart really. Mostly what's changed is that I've got older and tireder and less enthusiatic about making contact with people outside my EVE monkeysphere.

By a happy coincidence, being nice to people is also one of the best and most uncounterable ways of trolling the everliving **** out of them so I barely have to switch mental gears when I want to upset somebody.

Happy 10th anniversary! Feels good doesn't it? I am getting close too...

This summer my toon turned 8. I told my colleagues I have a birthday, they were like where are all the treats? I told them its my EVE char's birthday, but if they come to EVE I'll buy them whatever they want...

They told me I am crazy if I remember my character's birth date, but then they knew how am I with numbers (I remember over hundred tel. numbers)

I am using every possible occasion to recruit!