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The Only, ONLY

I'm almost done with the round tables. Almost. I've been reading a lot of discussions this evening and I wonder... what if I were to learn back in my chair and stretch out from a few hours worth of typing. Then, I leaned over to you and said, "Blogging. Blogging is the only way to play Eve. Writing about everything you do. Pondering the market in text. Taking that perfect screen shot to tell your story. Blogging is what drives a person to better themselves in Eve, to have a narrative in Eve. Nothing beats putting your fingers to a mechanical keyboard (because they are the best) and typing away at a furious rate as you recount the day or ponder thoughts. That's the heart and soul of playing Eve. That is why it all works."

I'd expect you to wonder what the hell was wrong with me after making faces and shaking your head frantically. A few might nod in agreement but I think people would go, "What?" It is such an outrageous statement. Who would believe it. It makes little sense. Blogging is something some do, some read, and other's do not participate in. I don;'t think that many would disagree.

Yet, I've been watching enough discussions to make me pull out my hair. People who say that no one PvEs or laugh when PvE is discussed as game-play people can like. I find that I am terrible disappointed when someone that I respected smirks at an entire game play style. Sometimes I misread people or never come across the topic.

The hardest thing about explaining Eve to someone is explaining what it is. It isn't a single thing. Not even the complexities of player interactions explains what Eve is because for some there are few player interactions. Yet, today, I watched Eve crammed into the smallest, most narrow glass I have seen in quite a while.

I muttered to myself and decided that I'd rage out a little through the wheezing and coughing.

If you find yourself saying things like, "The only way or reason to play Eve is..." remember that the only reason to play Eve is for writing extensive blog posts every day.

Comments

  1. Hmm… *shifts uncomfortably* … there is a grain of truth as for why I'm still playing.

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    1. Don't be uncomfortable if that's your thing. Be uncomfortable if you insist the same for everyone.

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  2. You know, I watched the keynote and was amused to see how CCP defined the actual stereotypes of players, based on what do they do, and came with the precious little data that 30% of players are "professionals", followed by 8% of "agressors" and 12% of "social" and 25% + 25% of "entrepreneurs" and "traditionals".

    Which means that the absolute worst part of EVE is what keeps subcribed 50% of the players (entrepreneurs and traditionals who just love to PvE and avoid PvP).

    I guess that explains why Angry Onions, whose career was between traditional and entrepreneur (industry/crafting has never been my thing anywhere), has been complaining for years as CCP implemented more bloody PvP and let PvE rot in a state that would ashame any third grader posing for a MMO designer.

    And they still are doing it. I just received a return offer (haw, haw!) and they're selling that "...join the struggle for control of the universe. Join your fellow capsuleers in challenging the Empires, fight back the Drifters, and secure your position as the true ruler of New Eden." Well, too bad. I'd rather FUCK capsuleers than HELP them to keep jerking each other; as for the Empires, I would LOVE to assist them to get rid of nullsec scum (wormholers would be next). And Drifters... well, how about "being the vilain" for once and BE a Drifter? (Well, skip that. We're talking CCP after all... they've got simpler things horribly wrong).

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    1. Fuck the nullsec scum. Fuck the wormholers. Fuck the jerking capsuleers. Fuck CCP... How adorable of you Onions. Absolutely brilliant. Truly, your only, only is *the* only, only. You have convinced me.

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    2. Can't we just find some remote corner of space, join hands in space friendship and live in peace? *smirk*

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    3. It is just silly how CCP sells a narrative (Empires = bad, Drifters= very bad, our players = good) and pretends it's the players who make the story. Come on! CCP won't allow anyone to assist the Empires because that would be NPC interaction and CCP never bothered with that...

      PvE has been regarded as merely a mean to earn ISK to do the "real" game, aka PvP. Surely CCP hopes that whatever they do with the Drifters, will end with more players dead to the hands of players "for the lulz". More PvP! Just PvP! Same as whatever they do with the gates to "different" nosec space.

      50% of players are not in it for the PvP, but does CCP care? Everything they do is just more chances to PvP. New exploration? Only in lowesec! PvP for it! New structures? Fight for them! Destroy them! Defend them! More PvP, it's all about PvP! If there's no PvP, it's useless (and there goes Incarna).

      Return offers, haw haw. It's the same game, CCP. The same bloody game as when I started in 2007. Changed a thousand stats, added a hundred new opportunities for PvP, but at the end of day, wha't selft for Onions it's the same useless, aimless, unconsequential PvE. Bring the drifters, hoozah, new red crosses to shoot. In case they don't spawn only in systems under 0.5 security, of course. PvP first...

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    4. Angry Onions, I challenge you to identify a system of PvE that isn't "usless, aimless, and unconsequential". Moreover, I question which position is more accurate for a MMO (a massively multiplayer game in which players interact with each other)... one based around any form of play vs. a computer (PvE) or one that forces players to interact with each other in space (PvP).

      Let me kick a few more questions over to you. Translate those players into "account-months" of subscription. I'd wager that a single null-sec player is more likely to translate into more account-months (most null players have at least two or three accounts) over a longer period of time than several high-sec mission runners who earn isk but face no significant isk sinks.

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    5. I guess you still don't get that EVE is primarily a PVP-focussed game, Angry. If you can't handle that it's primarily a PVP game and that the PVE aspects will be developed just enough to provide an economic base, then move on.

      Talvorian is mostly correct in his assessment of almost all PVE content everywhere. And yet, even given that, I still have fun running missions and mining in EVE from time to time. I still enjoy playing SWTOR and LOTRO, even though the PVE in those games is, like EVE, pretty much the same as elsewhere; not particularly fun in and of itself, but good enough for a couple hours diversion in a day.

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    6. I don't agree that "then move on" is an adequate second option. If someone wants to play Eve as a PvE game, they should be able to. If CCP spent the resources to create the greatest PvE game in the world it would benefit all of us. Some might move to PvP, but those who don't want to have as much right to a great game as the PvPers.

      I've been PvPing full time since 2010, and although compared to some, it's not an eternity, I am willing to say that I am bored to tears with it. I play Eve for the people, not the killboard stats. Count me among those who think that PvE content deserves a thorough refresher. Inviting people to move on if they're not satisfied will accelerate the race to the date when the server shuts down.

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    7. @Wex Manchester

      While I agree with your observation that, “then move on” isn't satisfactory reply, it doesn't quite get at the deep conundrum Angry Onions paints himself into. Onions, you see, demands something called “consequential PvE” without, as best as I can tell, thinking through what it will be. Most specifically, what it will be when some other player “consequentially PvEs” him. I’d wager at that point we’d witness another round of Angry rant that the “Consequential PvEers” too should be fucked, just like the nullsec scum, wormholers, jerk capsuleers and CCP.

      If the term ‘consequential’ is to have any meaning in an MMOG, it’s probably going to be something like ‘significant to other human beings’ and sadly, that’s where poor Onions falls short. I’ve seen no evidence, ever, that he plays well with others. It’s certainly possible that this wasn’t always so. Perhaps, once upon a time, he was able to partake in pleasurable social activities but that past is distant and faded. All that remains is bile. Bile to be spit, repeatedly, at those around him.

      That CCP chooses not to design a game around one vegetable’s bile does not disturb me. Others may disagree.

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    8. >>Angry Onions, I challenge you to identify a system of PvE that isn't "usless, aimless, and unconsequential".>>

      One that gives advantages over players who didn't choose to engage into PvE, much as now shooting player stuff gives advantages on players who don't go around shooting player stuff.

      I've said quite a few times (in these same comments) that PvE should be a viable way to "PvP" without actively shooting player assets. There's more to "PvP" than just "shooting player stuff" as CCP does.

      PvE should provide means to "fight" other players without actually shooting them. The same as, say, collectible card games allow to "fight" players and "defeat" them (taking their cards) without actually hitting them to steal their deck.

      Moreso, the best PvE should be generated and driven by players, rather than be a free-for-all endless faucet. Keep the money faucet as needed but also expand the system to allow conflict by other rmeans than a rack of neutron blasters on a expendable Catalyst fit.

      EVE is totally missing the "feather" side of conflict. It's all "my sword is mightier than your sword" (which leads to a certain toxic alpha-maleism that lies behind things like the rarity of female players).

      In my vision, top level PvE should be driven by players and become "war by other means", same as war is "politics by other means".

      Today, playershooters can force everybody to playershoot. I wonder why that is better than being able to force them to NPC shoot. Playershooters can push everybody to play their way (fit a tank that hurts your PvE or shoot back and stop PvE), but half of the game is deprived from pushing them back by playing their way (shoot NPCs, or mine stuff). Don't want to playershoot? Then you must playershoot! It's the only game in the """sandbox"""!

      Make it a better deal. Don't want to playershoot? Then NPCshoot to gain rewards FROM players and AGAINST players.

      As I've said in the past, and for an instance, ganking around without a good "lawyer" should be as dangerous as flying a untanked Hulk. Refusing to interact to NPCs acting as agents for players (like collectible cards in a deck) should have consequences.

      As Mike Azariah kidded, why there are no "peacedecs" to force players to play in PvEr's way as much as "wardecs" intend to force players to play in PvPr's way?

      There is no answer to that. And EVE is only a tiny fraction of the game it could be by making viable ALL playstyles and not just pander to the precious 30% who "get it right" and become "professional" players.

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    9. I’m not really sure what you consider as PVE and I have absolutely no idea what the ‘consequential PVE’ means…
      You are talking about “waging wars by other means” and how there are no options in that way. Really? Right now I can think of several possibilities you have: you can go and try get a control over (regional) market or its parts, you can put spy into an enemy corp and steal their assets or you can go and hire a mercenary group to fight for you. And before you even start – yes I realize that all these options requires on one or more levels at least some contact with other players. And yes I fully realize that the mercenary option is exactly the option you complains about but you can deal with it without firing a single shot (or at least with no need for you personally fire a single shot) > you can pay them more, you can go and hire some of the other groups or you can go and use some third party service like Red Frog for moving you assets into some remote quiet area. It may not be what YOU want but don’t tell me that you don’t have other options then ‘playershooting’. This is MMO game so there should be an interaction with other players. If some doesn’t like it well, there are other great games like Skyrim or Mass Effect…
      Or you want to be able do all of those to NPC corps? Well, that would be great! But I’m afraid that (I believe) it’s not as much about ‘CCP doesn’t want’ as ‘CCP can’t do because nobody else can’t’. I’m not an IT guy and I know exactly nothing about coding but don’t think you can do something like this right and economically. Not now and probably not in a near future.
      And the ‘consequential’ PVE of yours… Two paragraphs later and I still have no idea what you mean… Should it be some kind of PVE FW? Or, given you dislike for the ugly capsuleers, should it be something like ‘shoot 1000 rats and one capsule will explode, shoot 5000 rats and you can chose whose capsule it will be’? Or you imagine some system which will allow you expand Hisec at the expense of Lowsec and Nullsec? That would be fun! Especially considering your whole post is mostly about how one group of players pushes the other into something they doesn’t like. And even funnier would be watch Lowsec residents to deal with the threat to their homes and live style! Do you think they would try counter it by rating of their own? Or do you think they would go and shoot all these evil carebaers? You can guess what would happen ;-)
      How you probably already realized I firmly stands on the ‘playershooters’ side. It’s not because I dislike PVE. On the contrary. What I doesn’t like is the vision of EVE I sense from your posts. I could have misread your intention and I’m sorry if it’s so.
      Also, I’m not sure how big problems really are wardecs and ganking. I spent in Hisec what? 8 months? 90 % of the time I was in small corp with 10 players top and we never got wardeced. I got ganked exactly once while flying Ity V full of Ishtars with my indy alt but I didn’t see it as fail of the game system which should prevent it entirely but as my own fail because I chose the worst possible route I could. But I mined I did missions in faction BS I did cosmos and amarr epic arc and never had a slightest problem with other players…
      I know many players speaks about this kind of harassing but how big portion of HS residents really experienced it? And how many of them were just ‘harassed’? Before you start redesigning whole game I would like to see those numbers first;-)

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  3. I'm now thinking about some kind of machiavellian uber-blog, a blog aimed at taking the sand away from other kids in the sandbox. An oppressive propaganda machine rubbishing and diminishing its rivals while continually and narcissistically admiring itself.

    One blog to rule them all,
    One blog to find them,
    One blog to bring them all,
    And in the darkness bind them.

    Now that would be aworthy Eve Online project.

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