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Walking on By

I just had a personal mile marker and I was so busy in game that, to my amusement, I missed it. I hit fifty million skill points and I only noticed when I took a screen shot to show someone how sec status gains and losses looked in low sec. Mixed in with my writing yesterday about low sec and my early concepts of Eve, I get all reflective about things.

Skill points are both a blessing and a curse in Eve. They train over time and sometimes that is amazing. During my campaign I plugged in a lot of long skills and let them cook. At the same time, without something to distract you the relentless ticking of days can become painful. It may sound silly for me to agree with waiting at this point in my game but whenever I stare at skill point milestones I remember waiting for that first 100k point to be past and the can on the gate that let me know how far I had to go.

The can on the gate was a corporate advertisement in high sec somewhere on the path from Gallente space to Derelik. It had a five million skill point minimum and black ops was a plus. It is one of the random Eve moments burned into my mind. I had under 100k skill points at the time and five million was an unfathomable place. It was the land of awesome sauce and badassery.

Five million was when I would be useful. 

Of course, I was wrong. Use is much broader than skill points. I hit five million skill points and I was still at terrible pilot because of my situation. I was a raw newbie amid players heading for a hundred million skill points. Five million was nothing. Yet, that can stuck in my mind and I would later stare at my skill points as they ticked up and wish that I was in a different place.

There is a thread on the forums (I'm trying to spend more time there) about abolishing most of the skills needed to get started in Eve. I've commented before that frigates, the easiest ships are the most demanding to fly. I don't think that getting rid of skills would make it better. I'm one of those people that believes learning to play the game carries as much weight as the technical bonuses of skills and when training up you gain both. My view is focused on how I learned as well.

No amount of given skill points or abilities will ever fix the gulf. Some of it is perceptual. I feel as if I am always chasing the boys trying to catch up and drag myself to their level on the battlefield. I keep trying but the skill points pile on and the gulf is still there. Some is real and some is imagined but most of it has nothing to do with skill points.

While I was having a pity part for myself I got messaged by a returning player. He played for a month in 2011 and left. He has returned and he had a few basic questions about the game. He is in that romantic phase where he does not want to be a villain. I told him that he doesn't have to be but that he also has to remember that each group defines a villain in a different way.

He asked me: "So what would you say to a new capsuleer who wanted to take over the galaxy?"
Sugar Kyle > heh start one bit at a time :)
Sugar Kyle > the successful people find their niche
Sugar Kyle > so find yours and grow from there
Sugar Kyle > it also doesn't happen overnight
He commented: "Put it this way I'd like to stomp on Bullies and make a nullsec safe haven. Ya know? Somehow I feel a little idealistic"
Sugar Kyle > proviblock is the idealistic community of nullsec
Sugar Kyle > but ideals tend to get stomped quickly
Sugar Kyle > you can have whatever beliefs you want
Sugar Kyle > simply be prepared to fight for them
Sugar Kyle > so really believe in them
Sugar Kyle > it is very intimidating to many and its hard to get settled into
Sugar Kyle > but while you can do anything nothing is guarantied to you ether
Sugar Kyle > so you can fail and fail hard
Sugar Kyle > but it makes accomplishment taste good
I need to stop chasing after what I have already gained. Perhaps, look at my own advice instead of just giving it.

Comments

  1. "He is in that romantic phase where he does not want to be a villain."
    Four years later and I still don't want to be a villain. That's where I'm fucking up, I guess. lol.

    "I told him that he doesn't have to be but that he also has to remember that each group defines a villain in a different way."
    But you're right...there are some people who hate cops and military personnel simply because they use controlled violence to achieve their means at times. The difference is that in EVE there is no "legal" violence, excepting via wardecs (yes, including the militia wars) or against those criminally/suspect flagged.
    The mechanics for what it sounds like he wants, just simply aren't there.

    If you would, tell him to watchlist me and chat me up when he gets a chance. He might be the sort of person I'm looking for. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, when i say romantic I more mean the good vs evil fight that is so often the foundation for games.

      Delete
  2. LOL... I still don't want to be a villain. That's where I'm fucking up, I guess. me too, me too. I had my WTF moment back when we, were in SYJ Alliance, and we took a merc job to take down a wormhole... 2 POSes, many many Carriers and 517 Billion ISK stolen or destroyed... and I was there and I took part.

    My WTF moment was the realization that I was not breaking my morals/rules/beliefs... I was keeping faith with my people and I always would. But like I said in my post on that very interesting night... "I’m just doing a job. You did something to cause me to be here, look to yourself for the reasons why.”

    As for the game not supporting Good Guy playstyle... War Decs assists, Bounty hunting... there are a few methods... and TBH, fight fire with fire... work with the tools the gankers and scammers use and gank the gankers... It's not an easy playstyle, but it is one they use quite too good effect, and it can be turned against them... not easily, but they work for their kills too.

    It's EVE, you wanna fight the good fight? Rally friends, gather together people who feel the same way you do and go out there and get emergent... That's the hardest hurdle... getting people to work and play together for common goals that are not 'easy' goals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aye, and for others they'd never be able to.

      Delete
  3. I wrote a pair of posts on this topic back in January that you might want to review:

    http://jestertrek.blogspot.com/2014/01/alts-in-eve-thesis.html

    http://jestertrek.blogspot.com/2014/01/core-implosion.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. As a newbie to eve myself (just 17 days at this point) I love reading posts like this one. A lot of what I've read on your blog tends to put things into perspective for me. Keep up the good work.
    Oh and congrats on the whole CSM9 thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.

      In a way, it is very hard to keep your independence in Eve. Corporations have cultures as do various 'careers' and those cultures can seep in if you don't watch them. Suddenly you hate falcons, believe in e-honor, or decide that X part of space is Y because everyone says so.

      Maintain your independence. It is harder than it should be but you will always play Eve because you want to play Eve if you do.

      Delete
  5. Congratulations!

    I too just hit 50 million skill points. It's a milestone I've been looking forward to for quite a while and it was a relief to finally attain it.

    ReplyDelete

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