So for over a year now I have been playing a game online. I haven't been consistent with playing it, but I have played it a fair bit, and have become a pretty high level character. That game is EVE Online, a space based massively multiplayer online game. I won't say it is a role-playing game, but I suppose it would fall under that banner as well.
This game is not World of Warcraft! And Eve actually breaks some of the normal conventions set by other MMO's. I could write about this game all day, but I will try to give you the bread and butter of what Eve Online is, and some of its better points.
Overview
Eve Online's appeal is simple. You have a space ship, you train skills to allow you to get better ships and better guns. There are so many different roles you can take in the grand scheme of things, and the more you train, the more avenues open up to you in directions you can take your character.
You can shoot other players, shoot computer controlled players, mine ore, mine ice, haul goods, manage corporations, trade items, support other ships, perform stealth recon, and dozens of other things. You can make your character as specialized or generalized as you see fit.
If you train to be a miner, and get bored with it, you can switch gears, put some time into becoming a fighter, or the other way around. It is totally freeform.
Another difference is the way that the universe is handled. Unlike World of Warcraft, where if your buddy is on one server, and you are on another, you will never meet up, Eve Online uses a cluster of servers that creates one universe. If we are in two different places, all we need to do is come to the same place, and we will meet up. No worrying about "which server" nonsense.
Training
Another area that Eve is different in is its training system. Training is real time. If you decide to train a skill, and it say it will take an hour, then in an hour it will be finished. If it says it will take four days, then it will take four days.
You don't have to be logged in for the skill to continue to train because even when you are offline doing other things, that skill is still running.
Some people really enjoy this, while others find it a hinderance. I think it works well for the game, though of course I hate to wait long periods of time to develop a new skill.
Unlike other games, where you can max out your level, and have to wait for another expansion pack, it would take you years to go through the whole skill tree for Eve.
This doesn't mean that the game is boring, or incredibly hard though, as with a few weeks of training, some tactics, and some friends, you could be enjoying some great combat, or mining some high priced ores with the best of them.
Of course if you want to speed up your training time, you can invest time into training learning skills, to make your character smarter, and if that doesn't give you enough of a boost, you can spend your hard earned in game ISK on implants which will further boost your abilities.
Ships
One of the more interesting things in Eve is that there are hundreds of ships, and you can't pilot them until you have the skills. It makes it interesting, and gives you a long list of goals. The first ship you get is a piece of junk, but quickly you can get to ships that are versatile and hold up in combat situations well.
And the scale changes of the ships is one of my favourite things. When you first start, your ship is not much bigger than the average human. It is like a small shuttle, with only a few weapon/mining placements. Then you get to cruisers, destroyers, battle cruisers, battleships, dreadnoughts, and eventually, Titans. With each class of ships being a magnitude of scale bigger than the last.
Corporations
Corporations are like guilds or groups. Some of the larger ones are Goonswarm, Red Alliance, Triumvirate, and many others. There are thousands of corporations. Some large, others small, and even some one man ones.
Corporations are just a built in system to allow groups of players to work together and organize themselves. Some are specialized, only doing transportation of goods for other corporations, while some are more general, trying to have some members that can do a little of everything.
Windows, Mac and Linux Clients
Another thing I love about Eve, and this is something fairly new is that they have released clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux, something I haven't really seen in any other top tier game.
I haven't tried the Mac and Linux clients, but I am very excited about the possibility. They made this a priority, and it is something I hope other game makers will do in the future.
Trinity
This December, a new update is being added to Eve. The developers have gone back and revamped all the models, from the jumpgates to move from one area to another, to the myriad of ships.
This will bring a graphical edge to the game, though I think it is already much prettier than any other massively multiplayer game.
Me?
If you want to talk to me, join me in mining, or need a hand getting into Eve, feel free to contact me. My in game name is Daray II, and I currently am part of the Ihatalo Heavy Industries corporation. Oddly enough the corporation is named after an area of space it no longer operates in. Go figure...
Cost
The game will cost you, but only the subscription. You don't have to go into a store and buy a boxed version of the game. You don't have to purchase any expansions, your monthly fee takes care of all of that. Currently, 30 days of game time costs $14.95 USD.
I consider this to be fairly reasonable, and if you do get to the point where you make a fair bit of the game's own currency, you can trade the in game currency for game time cards, allowing you to continue to play, without the need to play.
Want to know more? Just ask. There is so much content in Eve Online, I could write numerous posts about it, including details on how I am doing in the game.
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