My gameplay hasn't changed all that much with Eve Online. For the most part I've been doing the "daily grind", which stands apart from the expected norm or at least so most of the internet "says". Or more precisely the perceived expected normal way.
I get what I get from the game and I do it my way. Even when I question what I get from it (in and out of the game) and drift off to spend time on other games.
That daily grind can be whittled down to Planetary interaction, R&D/BPO refinement and copying, skill queue in space and asset micromanagement with some PVE in level 4's.
For a solo carebear in space I get what I get from it. The human interaction regarding fleeting up, getting on comms, doing roaming or even small scale or solo pvp is either too time consuming, isk wasting or more than not both of those things.
I would really love to be able to take on the burner missions in a single frigate fit, but I guess that's against the point of the burner missions. Until there is a middle ground I know I won't be doing them. If they push that AI/mission form onto the greater level 4 PVE I'll be quiting it altogether. Maybe I'll be brave and try to do that worm fit.
I'd like to get into Incursions but I have no contacts to "get me in", from that I've seen and experienced it takes so long to queue in a player made queueing/ web waiting system (*may not be fair) and the community is so elitist they don't take or consider people that even have their starter or "mid" range fits, it's not a practical go to activity. Maybe I should change tactics.
Even moving the other players of Eve to the customer category and if I were to be a station trader there is so much competition. I don't see how the top traders "only" do 30 minutes of game time a day to update orders. I really don't see how that makes them get multiple plex a month. Even with a captive audience in Null my marketing never broke the bank that way.
Maybe I just dont' get Eve Online. Maybe that's why I find so much of it as frustrating as well as enticing (good story). Like stumbling through a thorny rose bush to get to the perfect rose that doesnt' really exist, but still leaving you with all the "cuts" that are considered character building but just as isk poor as you started. It's all about the gamplay and experience..... right........right....
Some players detail how they do active isk generation, but even the advice in both those links is on a grander scale than most players are willing to commit to.
I just don't get how a lot of players online say that they do very little to gain isk but spend so much in their preferred activities like loosing faction ships with expensive modules in pvp.
Maybe I need to throw a monument shooting tantrum for CCP to notice.
CCP needs to notice a lot more from players, we know what we want in the game. CCP hears a lot of shouting form a lot of players but I think they do have selective hearing. I wonder what stats they look at, what advice they take behind closed doors and what reasoning they use to justify their actions.
I've felt the pvp rush and I've been part of big and small fleets but the experience is not one I'm constantly drawn toward. Maybe it's part risk aversion or maybe it's the need to have a lot of isk in a ship/gear to be competitive in the pvp, same thing really in the end.
On a more practical level I am still spending a good bit of time when in Eve on my Gallente themed character. Besides the "normal" stuff I've been mainly running a few missions for SOE loyalty points.
As well as some resource mining/processing, not as an isk generator but for making my own ships and items.
Although that character has no isk to burn I might get to grinding away at some SOE level 4's until I can sell off about 6 Astero frigate bpc's. I might then have enough isk to splurge and test out a T3 cruiser I've never flown before. The Proteus. With a setup something like this:
I also on this character got to really get my hands actively dirty with the new map and probe scanning and I have to say it sucks compared to the old version. The old one may have not looked as nice but at least it worked. This new version and the changes they have made are making scanning a lot harder then us used to be. I used to have no problem finding what I wanted and scanning it down to a precise point. Now the scanning is all u.i. fluff and clutter and no scanned content. Annoying. It is the system in place and I'll have to use it again but I'm not looking forward to it.
The last patch didn't really have much in it. Not like a big themed patch. Quality of life improvements, needed but fly under the radar very easily.
I'm not a fan of the new client launcher but that's mainly because it doent' do anything the current launcher does for me so no need to change it until forced to do so.
I do like that CCP Seagull is doing video's that are explaining at least in an outline manner the roadmap of Eve.
There looks to be an new event for the setup of the first Citadels. I thought that it would have been a more industrial based event but it looks to be a kill npc's and loot the needed materials rather than having an industrial corp get their name on a citadel's dedication plaque due to giving so much trit for it's construction. More details of the event here.
The new crowd sourcing project (Discovery) is now on the test server.
But the biggest news about Eve is the Skill the SP for isk "thing".
When I read the latest dev blog entry I was both concerned that it was going ahead and relieved that there was more detailed information that eased some of my concern. Yet I was really hit by the tone of the actual devblog. I think the best way to describe my interpretation of it's tone would be as "defencive". I go the feeling that CCP were going to go ahead with this idea/implementation regardless of what anyone said in feedback.
I can foresee a lot of hi-end alliances and wealthy entities running the markets on both of those items (extractor/injector).
There has always been a rule of thumb that if you can fly a ship in Eve you need the full set of supporting skills to back it up. A lot of newer players in space flying what they shouldn't be flying yet will be a waste but instead of time it will be at the expense of the players isk or more likely PLEX. A lot of newer players will get these new injections of SP and expect to kick a lot of áss. I just see a lot of (expensive for younger players) shít fit ships are going to be filling up the kill boards both on the pvp side and the pve losses.
I'm sure I'm overreacting and that some new players will use them and a good few vets will top up their alts or mains with sp to great effect.
Time will tell.
I just think it will do more hurt for new player retention. I really think that this form of isk to SP valuation in real terms (real money/plex) will devalue the longer term players in the game. That is something CCP does well on multiple fronts, time has told that much. CCP is looking for quick cashin's and they are going to get it at the expense of squeezing new players for more cash before they leave.
I think that it does change the games dynamic. After it's implemented you will no longer be able to estimate a players SP and combat ability via their creation date.That is neither good nor bad but a side effect.
Less my ranting and opinions, overall I'm still conflicted with this change and only time will truly tell how it all pans out. It is going ahead and nothing can stop it. I'm sure things will be updated/modified/adjusted over time as CCP see's fit.
There is a good article here from Sugar Kyle that is worth a read on the subject and says more in a better way than I could ever waffle about here.
I wonder who will run in the next election.
No comments:
Post a Comment