Still around, and growing
ok....so....I had Eve Online about 2 1/2 years ago...
I remember liking the game, but other games came out and well, I just got distracted and just kinda stopped playing. I think it was Star Wars Galaxies, maybe, that took me away from Eve.
I also remember different people on the message boards and different magazines saying that Eve would fall apart and not last a year. I recently reinstalled Star Wars Galaxies to check out the New Game Enhancement...Bad, bad mistake. So, I figured I was really wanting to play a decent MMORPG, but with a sci-fi aspect to it (getting tired of dungeons and dragons and magic and might), so I remembered that I used to play Eve Online. So, I went to check it out (and to see if they were even around anymore).
The strange thing here is, nobody seems to have been publishing anything about this game...BUT...the game has been expanding, and growing, and evolving, and changing. All the while, nobody is saying anything about it anywhere (or so it seemed). There have been some expansions released in the form of very large content patches. They have yet to charge extra for an expansion, and from what I have read, they will not charge in the future. They have added quite a bit of content already to a huge universe. New ships, new technology, and in the future, new bloodlines (1 each for each race).
The game play (for those of you who have never heard of Eve), is VERY wide open. No, that is an understatement….the game has no level cap, no "end-game" so to speak. You, as a player, are not locked in a class, or a profession. Instead, you pick the skills you want to utilize, and as long as you have the Inter Stellar Kredits (isk, the game’s term for money), you can learn them. You can be a trader that also specializes in Electronic Warfare in gang (read: group) battles. You can be a bounty hunter that hunts player pirates that does scientific research and Battleship building on the side. You can virtually pretty much do anything you want. If a player blows up your ship and kills you, you can put a bounty on him…and somewhere, somehow, someone will collect.
Skill learning is also a very interesting concept in this game. You do not "level up" as you do in most other MMORPG’s, as in, fight, gain xp, level up, place points in various areas of your character. In fact, you do not level up at all in this game through fighting. Instead, what you do is "learn" a skill. Each skill is based on 2 of your attributes…and the level of those attributes dictate how long it will take to "learn" a skill (or a higher understanding of that skill). BUT, it is also important to note that you can raise your attributes to higher levels also through the "learning" process. As you learn a skill, it takes time. It may take 27 minutes (or less)….it may take 2 weeks (or more), or any amount of time in between. The key thing here is, though: Even while logged off, your character is still learning the skill.
There is just so much in this game….BUT…the game is NOT for everyone. The game is pretty slow paced. It is not "in your face urgent", although, combat can be intense (as it is in real-time). You will spend a lot of time traveling throughout the game universe….but I usually will be browsing the market for more ammo, or looking at the price of different weapons, or even planning what I want to "learn" next. So while there is much down-time, you can utilize that down-time to "plan ahead". I am really enjoying the experience from the game….Since the game is much slower-paced, it seems to take more patience to really play. And that, I think, leads to more…mature….players.
I have said all of that…to say this: if anyone is interested…I can get them in with a 14-day free trial. All you have to do is download the client (500MB). The game is 15 bucks a month, but for your trial, you do not even need to put in any credit card info (from what I was told). If you do like the game, and want to continue playing, I believe it will only cost 20 bucks to license the client, which includes the full game, plus your first month.
So, if anyone is interested, just let me know, and I will get you the trial….
Chris