So I installed the EVE online steam trial last night
(Please note this is just my initial experience after playing for about an HOUR)
For those who don’t know, EVE online is a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) set in space with the players controlling and upgrading space ships. It is one of the highest rated games on MMORPG.com and I have heard a great deal about it as an amazing but fairly hardcore game. Upon loading up the game and tooling around in the character creation for WAY too long I finally got into the game and this is basically what I saw
Well sort of…
More accurately
The game seems so dense and complex at first glance, anyone not willing to sit through lengthy tutorials and read pages of instructions is going to be pretty lost. The interface is so daunting and complex that I had to read a tutorial to find out where my items were. I knew it was a hardcore complex game but I wasn’t ready to be expected to operate a REAL SPACESHIP. Look I don’t doubt its an amazing game, if I sat down and really learnt all this stuff and got involved I’m sure it would be one of the most amazing experiences ever. BUT SWEET SPACE JESUS! This thing is like a roller coaster where instead of having to be a certain height to ride you have to have at least been to space once.
The graphics are awesome though, with great lighting and atmospheric effects but my only issue is the fact that it is SPACE and everything is so huge and open set on a black backdrop that I often don’t know what I’m looking at and find myself craving TREES AND DIRT. The fact you also don’t have direct control over the ship (it uses a kinda waypoint system and you control it using drop down menus) and low level combat is targeting something, pressing fire and going and getting yourself a delicious space food stick. Also that you don’t really have control over a character, it’s very hard to connect with a spaceship and a little portrait. The now shutdown Auto Assault had this same issue.
I wouldn’t trust that caramel
This is just my initial reaction and I did know what I was getting into. There is a real niche for this kind of hardcore game and it’s perfectly valid in our game space (not pun), hell even welcomed!
I think the fact that the interface is straight out the gate at such a complex level it is going to push away a lot of curious people who don’t have the patience to get through it. I think that one of the reasons World of Warcraft has been so successful in the casual player market is because the initially simple interface grows with you throughout the game.
At level 1 it’s going to look something like this
and at lvl 70 something like this
(Well if you are hardcore enough…)
Basically we can say I’m not the right market for EVE Online, and I wouldn’t say its a bad game in anyway. So go check out the free 21 day trial on steam by all means. BUT BE PREPARED.
Because in space… nobody can hear you read
I had the same feelings while playing the game and I like the review.
1 | p3lb0x March 23rd, 2008 at 5:26 amNice review, as a fairly long-term player of EvE, I’d say what you describe fits it perfectly. The learning curve is nothing short of a cliff face, but if you have the patience for this game, you’ll probably really enjoy it.
2 | Seraph March 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 amIs there any monthly costs for both MMORPGs?
3 | rebirth12345 March 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 amthese might be my first ones!
I take it your referring to WoW and EvE. Yeah they both have ongoing monthly costs.
There’s like over 10 million people playing World of Warcraft, so if youre looking for a good one to start with, 10 mil can’t be wrong.
4 | Simon March 23rd, 2008 at 9:03 amA good first MMORPG. (I was on it for like a year)
Mumorpergers will eat your soul.
5 | Czar Leopold, Trakov and Liltimmy March 24th, 2008 at 4:47 pmThey sure as hell ate mine.
I just signed back up with eve again (used to play it a lot for about a year) only problem is i forgot how time consuming it can be. Sure I could go and do other stuff while I’m waiting for a 10+ systems journey but I’m always paranoid about pirates setting up right outside the gates.
I didn’t find it that hard to learn when I first started, but then it looks like there’s heaps more that’s been added since (i first joined up 2 years ago)
Like the site so far simon, good job :)
6 | Elise March 24th, 2008 at 5:03 pmYaaaay EVE! I recently grabbed the demo too, and I have to say, I loved it. And part of what I loved is the super crazy UI. Yes, it took me a few hours to really get the hang of it, but once I did, it seems to make sense. However, I didn’t feel like the learning curve was quite as bad as I’ve heard people make it out to be. I dunno, perhaps I picked up on some things quickly because I play SO MANY GAMES and am somewhat used to how they work, in general. Playing WoW for a year helps too.
I’m liking the blog more and more. And you have me laughing my ass of with your art. Keep up the good work.
7 | MstrNetHead March 31st, 2008 at 5:48 pmI’m an on-again off-again Eve player. There’s alot to be said for Eve being the “intelligent MMO”. It has a greater risk/reward factor than any other MMO, in my opinion. It can be richly rewarding (once you actually figure out how to play)
8 | Wormbrain April 2nd, 2008 at 12:07 pm