I like gaming, obviously. I tend to stick to my ‘usual’ games (EQ/EQ2/VG) but every so often I like to play something new. Well, actually I enjoy playing new games a lot of the time. They don’t typically have something that keeps me in the game, but it’s still fun. I enjoy the ‘first time’ experience, and I love comparing it to adventures I’ve already had. In some small way, it widens my views of games in general (I personally feel) plus, well, it’s just fun. Playing video games is still relatively ‘new’ to me as I’ve mentioned a few times.
So as a complete change of pace (and I do mean complete) I decided to try out a 21-day trial of EVE Online. This game is not new, but I’ve never played it before – and it is 100% out of my ‘typical’ realm as far as games go. So why bother trying it at all? Well, honestly. Why not?
I make no secret to the fact that I am not a fan of sci-fi (or Syfy, heh) and I never have been. That doesn’t mean that I’m not open to the idea that perhaps one day my interests will veer down that path, but as of yet it hasn’t happened. I haven’t watched any Star Wars and I can’t name space ships they tend to put me to sleep – and yet I still decided to try EVE and despite all of that I don’t think I started playing with a negative attitude at all, in fact quite the opposite.
Keep in mind that these are very much my first impressions with EVE, and they’re pretty cryptic. You may think I’m a ‘happy fluffy bunny’ type of female gamer and there for I may already hate the game before I’ve even started – but you’d be wrong. I’ve been known to enjoy a great amount of PvP which a lot of people find surprising, and while it’s true I spend more time in my games of choice decorating and talking with a wonderful community, there are lots of things that keep me playing.
I patched (and it went smoothly) and logged in, met with a bunch of choices as far as ‘character’ creation goes. I’ve seen a plethora of guides on everything EVE related over the last little while – especially with the relaunch taking place, but I haven’t delved into them too much. I enjoy picking up a game and being able to “go from there” when playing. Once I’ve found a niche, or settled into a game, I may look into guides further to decide what I should play and to figure out if my character is in fact a horrible creation that I should immediately start over.
Once you’ve created your character (and what a calm soothing voice to go along with character creation I must add) you’re plunked down in the beginner tutorial.
The tutorial was fairly easy to understand. You go through inventory (cargo) and maneuvering the ship around. It was absolutely beautiful if not only slightly confusing to me because I’ve never given much thought to the inner workings of a space ship. There was a lot of people talking in some channels that I mostly ignored because I had no idea what they were talking about. I got all excited when it came time to learning how to orbit other ships, and then how to attack them. Granted, this was all done in the safety of the tutorial, and I didn’t have too much to worry about because the practise ship wasn’t really hurting me. I spent far more time ogling the skies around me then anything else. You learn how to move things onto your ships, and then before you know it you’re off to a station to pick up your first mission and unload some skills.
You learn how to cue skills (training and what not), and to arrange the order of them. Having skills work up while you’re out of game is great, and something I’m not used to. I was still trying to let the mass amount of buttons and ‘things’ sink in while following the tutorial. The very first mission I was given had me fly out some place and pick up a package, and then bring it back to the agent who gave me the task to begin with. It got me settled with the beginner commands, docking and warping – which I promptly forgot once I spent a couple of days away from the game. My own fault though, I know how I pick up on things (or don’t).
Once I’d completed the mission I became a little lost on what to do next. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to head any where, and none of the agents seemed to want to talk to me. That was apparently the end of the tutorial and I thought perhaps I had missed something or skipped over something or was just not looking at something obvious.
My first exploration into the game wasn’t too bad, and I didn’t hate every second of it like some may have thought I would. Do I think it will grab me enough to want to keep playing? It’s honestly too soon to tell yet. I do plan on trying out the rest of the 21-day trial, and I’ve also decided to pick up Age of Conan from Steam ‘just because’. Another game I’ve never tried before.
The only down side to having such a HUGE option of games out there, is of course the limited time in which to play (and write) about them all. Just because you may not hear about it here on my web site doesn’t mean I feel negatively about a game either. I simply only have so much time and I still (always) use this blog for my personal adventures. Anyhow, looking forward to more exploration!
Or maybe head towards research and development. You can do a fair bit on that. :) It is a lucrative career option, and is usually a persons “secondary” career. Research agents give you missions that give you data cores, and those data cores can be worth tons of money, especially if you get to level 3+ agents for any given race.
There is too much to do in the game for sure, and it doesn’t really hold your hand, but the forum community is very strong, and I suggest taking advantage of it.
I’ve had and cancelled my Eve Online account twice now, and I’m currently in my third incarnation — something just keeps pulling me back — and I’ve found that the key to enjoying Eve is to decide what you want to do very early and stick with it. (In fact character creation tends to drive this too. The attributes you select influence the whole fighter pilot, industrialist, trader scene.)
I found that in my first couple of attempts, I really didn’t know what to do or to focus on, and ended up spreading myself too thin and losing interest. This latest time around (I’m still very very casual) I’ve decided to focus on a kill mission running career, leading into low-sec space and then maybe into null-sec. This has given me the focus I need. (Still hasn’t fixed my GADD though ;-) )
I suggest, that in spite of your SciFi leanings, to give some time over to thinking about what you’d find more fun in a SF game. In the few movies you’ve seen, what appealed to you the most?
In fact, just a thought, you do tend to enjoy the crafting side of things in your games. Perhaps the Industrialist/Trader career path might be more suited to your taste.
Don’t know if this will help, but http://www.eveonline.com/careerguide/ is a handy starting point for deciding which way to go once you’ve mastered the basics.