I've tried many times to combine my previous month's of gameplay(Alpha and Omega) and planning within Eve Online to one post. A harder task than trying to do it piecemeal. This isn't the first time that's happened. This is a post like many before it on the same overall subject that has become too hefty and complex to be a meaningful read(yes way worse than this one). I've also noticed that my vitriolic rage over certain game/development/company decisions or lack of decisions(commitment?) has a tenancy to boiled over; turning the draft into a raging vat of magma. Also not a good read. Even if it is 'therapeutic' for me to waffle.
I've redone and restarted this draft one too many times, this is happening, waffle and all.
I've also blabbed before that Eve is a game I do love and CCP as a company not so much; both sides of the same coin. "It's complicated".
So with that out of the way, what have I been doing in the game.
With all the changes, balance updates, alterations and tweaks to the game over the last year or so I decided in the last month to use the plex I had on each of my main accounts. That is I had 1 old plex which was converted with the changes(ages ago) and turned into 500 'new' plex. 500 in turn used on each account for 30 days of game time. Turning the characters from free to play Alpha's to the all singing/dancing full use Omega's.
I've been updated skills in a balancing act only an anal micromanager can find pleasurable. Which I did. Both accounts have the max number of characters, 3 each. That's 6 characters worth of micromanagement of skills, ships, ship fits, asset and industrial management to work through across the galaxy. Did I mention asset management, so so much asset management.
So so soooo much micromanagement of my own doing. Because in my mind X, Y and Z need to be ordered in a certain way on each character so that they can use and do X, Y, Z if and when I go to do it with them; Regardless of the fact that I probably wont and never will since the last time I did was 4+ years ago.
I really don't make this any easier on myself do I.
Getting the mains back up as Omega's really shows the limits of the Alpha's. Like the character in the Bourne Legacy film, without the brain enhancement drug his IQ drops. Leaving a return to a shell of what he was. That's what happens to the Omega's, a brain cell drain to Alpha status.
Omega to Alpha and back again is another micromanagement consideration. Keep their Omega fit ships clear of them in Alpha status otherwise modules get turned off and cause problems. That's a whole other story which went back and forth, setting up ships to use as Alpha's alongside their Omega ships..... Set those up, change mind, clear the ships and then change mind again and re-setup..... etc. A story that thankfully I stopped, reasoning I already have a ""main"" alpha to use for PvE rather than the old mains and older alts.
Complexity for the sake of complexity. Maybe. Can I fully explain why, no. It's my own quirky gameplay. The sandbox is for all to do with as they please. I don't let go of characters. Each has a use and a purpose even if I don't log on and use them. That's the way I'll be leaving all my characters/accounts (perfectly setup/tweaked). Only the newer PvE alpha to use for alpha "gameplay".
My old old alts (x4), I gifted a fitted Battleship with some other ships and gear to create a level 4 mission hub. Then worked on level 3 missions for the rep to be able to get those level 4 missions. I was surprised at having all 4 done got done in about 2 weeks without needing to rush. So they are tweaked, updated, refitted and skilled up here and there to be "better" with Alpha daily injectors. I think I may have blogged about that before. And like the mains they are 'completed' and mothballed.
Maybe the gameplay is all about the journey and not the destination. Maybe that's putting it kindly.
With everything micromanaged to oblivion my longterm Eve online play was/is to be used with my newer (collectors edition promotion) Alpha characters. One for PvE and another for PvP.
The PvP character fell by the wayside quickly. PvP solo is not worth it. The PvP alpha has remained unused and in a bid to see what assets he had I ended up taking a joyride in a T1 fit rifter doing a basic level 1 mission. It was fun. Basic of the basic space combat fun. But he has no assets and no future. At least not in PvP that I can see. The heart of my gameplay is PvE and solo PvE at that. A true casual carebear.
I have thee characters on the PvE account. All based on noob/beginner corps that have today either folded or been beaten up by constant war declarations. This leaves me with capable PvE characters, currently set as a level 4 mission runner and 2 hauler's (skilled but no real assets). All with no home.
All I see in the active recruitment channel is PvP corp's looking for cannon fodder. The passive advertisements listed looking for players are not enthusiastic for even basic members when contacted. The paranoia is more than real.
It's a bleak outlook for the long-term carebears in the game. I wonder how many corporations are out there with long member lists of non logging characters. I'd say it's a very long list.
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| Old graphic, still very true... |
Which makes me more of a sad carebear than a happy one. What does it say about the game that it's seen as a great thing to talk about but not to get into.... What a niche to be in.
My three old school ninja alts were only taken out for a spin maybe twice. It's too difficult to manage 2 pc's and a laptop when roaming and ganking. There were ganks and there was ninja salvage to be had. When on those characters I become the thing I hate the most. But I reverted to being a PvE casual carebear, cursing the ninja's. Yep I'm human and a contradiction for sure or should that be hypocrite. "Content".
During my Omega time I only had one ninja invade a mission. I did take the time and pleasure of destroying my own wrecks as he went to salvage and loot each one. However I enjoyed it moreso because I had already completed the mission and gotten the loot I needed for the handin. So when I took off to do my handin I left the ninja behind with the remaining spawns. He/she/it was a verbal ninja and didn't believe I had finished the mission. I left and did the handin anyway. With the Ninja in the mission area on handin the area wouldn't have despawnesd.... I wonder how long they wasted their time waiting for my return.... That thought makes me happy. With luck it would have saved another mission runner the hassle of dealing with that ninja for a while anyway. Most true ninja's who live that "profession" are organised and capable. Ninja's usually understand their prey and specifically what their prey eats(missions). It's all a learning process I guess... "Content".
More and more the added PvE content is less and less to my liking. Especially when it forces players to interact in less positive ways for the sake of it.
With my accounts/characters, alts and mains considered "done" at the end of the plexed time I park the characters in a shuttle or Epithal (P.I. hauler ship). All set and prepped waiting to be started again. Mothballs all round. More so now than ever. I really think I can forgo the reactivation for a long, long time. Needless to say the longer I leave the game the more changes happen and in turn the more micromanagement is needed on returning(as Omega). It will take a lot to get me back. The Plex I had, I had from legacy. Nothing like that from now on. I have no intention to pay, that would need a massive change to the game in my favour. It's not just the cash outlay. The use of the PLEX has let me see that there is no real reason to reactivate them. I just end up doing the same things with the added bonus of the isk earning daily grindy kind of tasks. Reactivating to Omega allows me to pay for the privilege of shuffling more items and micromanage more. I use the game to micromanage "stuff" that only matters to me in an almost roleplayed way, through a character (times 10 and more). That is MY Eve. It hasn't been worth it in a long time.
It's funny that my real life friend at the end of the Plex time decided to log back into his characters. I was glad to see him back. He was enthusiastic to see the changes to the game himself rather than my e-mail waffle; But with his young kids his time is limited. Time will tell if we can get some gaming happening. It would be nice to get at least one level 4 mission done together again for old times sake.
CCP can't help themselves, the company is what it is and they would kill to have a massive playerbase. Yet they are (Pigheadedly imho) dug into what they think they want Eve to be. Seeing profit more in microtransactions than in gaining longer term players. That's an abuse of the current playerbase in a milking of cash way(SKINS).
Star Trek Online has way more players and way more profit(imo). Not to mention a successful pc to console conversion(xbox and ps4). How easy it would be for CCP to alter Eve just a little to make it a more PvE carebear friendly place. Not totally polarising. But CCP are too scared of any big jump in case they loose the die hard, hardcore PvP players that buy their ship SKINS. Fanfest this year I bet will be a complete pander to them, with nothing but two fingers to the rest of the gameplay styles.
Star Trek Online doesn't do everything perfectly but it does a lot and does it enjoyably well. Walking in stations as well as on planets and ships..... Things Eve players dream of. CCP could only manage a single room and really fupped that up. Eve with more PvE carebears = that much more "content".
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| https://twitter.com/trekonlinegame/status/955917627938914304 |
Eve Online is celebrating 15 years with it's fanfest this coming week (Apr 12th-15). There has been no major hype or leaked information on the coming year for Eve Online. There is supposed to be a lot of information being put out on the first day of the event. I'll be interested to see what that information is but I doubt it will be anything to make me react the way I did when I saw the Sam Fisher Ghost Recon teaser. Even if is was I'd be skeptical "many a slip between cup and lip". CCP has proven that before. At fanfest it's easy for CCP to sneeze and be complimented for it so I won't be holding my breath. We'll have to wait and see what comes from all the self praise backslapping.
Time will well.
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