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Change on the Solar Wind

Vadeim Rizen > I've killed 6,000 ships in my day, fought one against few, few against many, and many against... well many more. I've seen just about every tactic in eve used, seen prominent alliances, fc's, and figureheads come and go. But the Drifter BS, is finally what's going to keep me docked forever.
Vadeim made me chuckle but he also gave me a beautiful entry for my thoughts about Tiamat's release and the subtle changes that it brings to Eve Online. Tiamat will probably be my favorite patch name and that is simply because every-time I see it I get a huge wave of nostalgia for my first MUD. Beyond that, I am interested in see how the growth of Eve's story is met. I also wonder if it will take NPCs of this strength and potential to get people to notice the video game side of Eve.

I watched someone rage quit from Eve back in September because CCP refused to pay attention to Eve's world and story. They quit weeks before the Carolina's Star event started and the new advancement of the Eve Online story line which has led to the introduction of Drifters. I think that they would have enjoyed it but perhaps they had become bitter in the year that they played because Eve was not what they felt it needed to be.

The advancement of Eve's story is important to its health. Many of us are drawn to the game due to it being a science fiction space simulator. It puzzles me that the story has been so often swamped and shiny features but then the stories the players make are appealing and fascinating. The game world however, needs attention to.

I won't pretend I'm a lore type or a role player. I'm not. I do like watching it play out. I do like writing about the game world. I have written quite a bit of Eve Fiction because I like the world so much. I've off and on debated trying to start a steady series of fiction but I don't know if it'd fall into true to lore or silly stuff like my Origin of a Spaceship stuff (I will pick that back up, I haven't forgotten. Creative energy is just being absorbed by the CSM. Sadly, that's the type of thing that has had to give.) I've always created my own world and Eve is the first world that I have tried to enter into a story someone else has built. Its an odd experience and I do not think I am very good at it. But I've enjoyed the fiction writing contests and the energy that they produce.

At the summit, I pointed at more random events. I think the NPCs should be existing with us. They should go to customs offices, dock and undock, jump gates, and use wormholes. Faction warfare should have boarder fights between the factions. The world should live and breath and be alive. And maybe if we get used to the world no longer being static people will not log in on patch days in horror to discover that there are new, dangerous NPCs roaming around. It is why I want improvements to PvE. The videogame part of Eve is also important and when unhealthy the entire game feels it.

One of my first conversations on patch day was a second hand notice that some players had no idea the drifters were coming. There was no in game notice. Sure dev blogs, launcher, videos, news announcements, forums, player blogs, podcasts, and such had all obsessed over it but inside of the game itself the story has been unfolding with no hint to those who ignore exterior information. And I thought on it after my somewhat irritated response of all of the information released and decided that I think the entrance into the game is fantastic. It causes the game world's heart to beat.

Now it would be better if the bulletin boards showed the videos and news announcements and if the Captains Quarter's TV screens showed that information as well. Those are long term wishes of mine. But beyond that, I think that having new things happen will be a shock to the player bases system. One that they can recover from once they grow use to it.

And maybe we can have some change. A decade may not be a long time for an immortal but it is long enough for the world around them to change. For people to die and others to be born. Wars are fought and won and lost. Alliances change. New threats unfold. New technology is discovered.

I'm looking forward to this living Eve. Considering that Tiamat is a chaos monster, I am fascinated to see what is in store.

Comments

  1. This has been called for a lot in the past. That EVE needs more life aside from players.

    When I first joined EVE in 2010, one of my first questions was, where's the war? I thought the Gallente/Caldari war was being fought by players and NPCs, with a frontline. I wanted to go fight in it.

    Then I found out what FW was and almost quit the game all together. That was just 1 week into EVE.

    I want to see Serpentis fighting Gallente at the gates, and stations. Or Angel Cartel doing raids into Hek to attack the Minmatar. Let players take part and choose a side to shoot at.

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    1. I would love to see far more non-combat elements as well. Today I tried to make peaceful contact with the drifters and everything seemed fine for a few minutes of me orbitting them at around 15km. I warped off to check out their unidentified wormhole stuff, then came back to visit with them more only to get scanned and shot at a second later. All the clues point to them being humans, so why can't we talk about things as well as do the war game thing? Why can't we help SoE deliver aid to starving colonists in a disaster area? If the drifters are homeless, why can't we build them a station and live in peace? If they're just going to fly around and randomly shoot everything, I can think of better ways to spend $14.95 a month. Butternut Squash for one....

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    2. Come on Anonymous, they (CCP) can't think of their players as anything else than targets for other players, and yet you want them to think of NPCs as anything else than red crosses to shoot at?

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    3. Without disagreeing with Anonymous, I would point out that such intriguing desires are easier to enthusiastically support than they are to incorporate. One difficulty is clutter. Eve teams with NPC convoys and we capsuleers can prey on them (http://www.eve-wiki.net/index.php?title=Attacking_Convoys) but they are white cross untidiness most of the time like the Concord, Faction Police and Gate Guns surrounding Hi-Sec jump gates so we tend to eliminate them from our UIs.

      The new Sleepers and Drifters are red crosses thereby intruding into our awareness. I suspect that if the already present white crosses began intruding on our awareness in similar manner, capsuleer’s would raise holy hell about the horrible UI that doesn’t enable ignoring them.

      So, referring back one post (http://www.lowseclifestyle.com/2015/02/all-things-said.html), some of this lively background already exists. Ain’t entirely CCP’s fault we don’t partake. That said, there’s vast room for improvement so I merely wish to emphasize remaining cognizant of the difficult balancing act we’re requesting of CCP. It’s not a fool’s errand, just an exacting one.

      Oh, and the new Drifters very possibly befuddling bots tickles me to no end.

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    4. @Angry Onions: Since most people don't really like being targets (even if they can fight back or target others) I think you just pointed out exactly why a lot of players leave. They may see the 'Be the Hero, Be the Villain' advert, but they also need to see 'Be the victim' and 'Be the survivor' ones too.

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    5. "@Angry Onions: Since most people don't really like being targets (even if they can fight back or target others) I think you just pointed out exactly why a lot of players leave. They may see the 'Be the Hero, Be the Villain' advert, but they also need to see 'Be the victim' and 'Be the survivor' ones too."

      It's not just EVE. All PvP games fade when nobody else wants to be the next easy prey padding the killboard of someone who's been mastering the shit for years.

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    6. So, Angry Onion (and any others), in your opinion what choices do non-pvpers have in Eve? (Not including quitting the game, that one is too obvious)

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    7. "So, Angry Onion (and any others), in your opinion what choices do non-pvpers have in Eve? (Not including quitting the game, that one is too obvious)"

      Non-PvPrs eventually quit. Yet in the meanwhile they find a little niche (there's several of them) and stick to it until they find themselves in a dead end. Then they either move onto another niche or quit.

      In my experience, the average non-PvPr stays for about three years. Industrialists last longer if they collect BPOs as that's a forever task. Some non-PvPrs are evicted sooner by CCP's changes or a environmental change caused by PvPrs.

      As a non-PvPr, a EVE player can not play the game in his terms. He can not "generate content" nor "influence" other players, rather this arms are tied to his back by a game where everything revolves around shooting other players. Preferably while outnumbering them.

      When you're being shot at, the game will not allow anything else but run or shoot back. Sometimes not even running is an option. Nothign you can do as a non-PvPr is of any use when PvPrs come after you.

      And even if that doesn't happen, you will just hit a glass ceiling and will wonder why you need or want anything more from your niche.

      So, TL;DR:
      Q: What choices have non-PvPrs in EVE?
      A: Play for a while and go away, or be evicted by CCP, or be kicked by PvPrs. "Play this way or go away": If you're not PvPing, you're playing EVE wrong.

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    8. You seem to be missing all the options that surrounding yourself with other players provides. Just because you are non-pvp oriented doesn't mean you can't successfully integrate into a group of people that does pvp and will value you for what you do. For a solo player trying to not get involved in the conflict of Eve though, that seems a very truthful telling...

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    9. I think Angry Onion is dead-on. I quit at 2.75 years. I tried to find a group that wanted me for industry, PI, hauling, PvE... never found anyone. I dislike PvP, and all any recruiter wants is a trigger finger (or a miner-bot). I had done most areas solo, including WH PI and ratting, PvE and industry in 0.0.
      I just got tired of being hunted like an animal every second, with no allies, and no success at finding a corp that wanted me.
      Got AWOXed trying.
      So now I play Space Enginneers, with a mod that gives me EvE skies. MUCH more fun, less frustration and stress.

      Delete
  2. Maybe something that would be helpful in disseminating new developments would be a World News button on the Neocom. That way you could have that button flash and send out a notification with the new notification system when a new news item pops up.

    Seems like a simple addition that could give a big return in player immersion in the world.

    -Baljos Arnjak

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    1. I have always felt there should be, at he very least, some kind of a 'splash screen' on start up/login that gives a quick over view of recent changes and things to look out for... oh... wait... =P

      Sorry, you don't wanna read the warnings, signs and portents... you deserve a Drifter up the... well, you know.

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  3. See, I'd've thought of that if I ever used the launcher for anything other than updates....lol

    Even still, the launcher ain't the game and it's hard to get immersed in it, my immersion doesn't kick in until I'm looking at my ship. It's also something that's there for only a few seconds while you get logged in and the client is starting up. It doesn't have a chance to show new developments as they happen. The launcher can't ping your notifications to get your attention either so it isn't really a good way to make news widely known.

    We have multitudes of ways to spread news, yet they all fail because they aren't in the game client where any average player can see them at a glance.

    -Baljos Arnjak

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