OT: Eve On Line

[Escaflowne]

I started Eve Online about 6 months ago. A former roommate emailed be a trial account code and told me to DL the client. After a few hurdles I was able to log in and play. I got hooked and quit EQ2, retiring a 53rd level Paladin with the best gear he could use (without constant raiding), maxed out spell power, and about 30th or so on the server 'quests completed' leader board.

It has incredible graphics, it can be an insane amount of fun, and it can leave you awe-struck if you do a little exploring.

It's not level based, you gain skills whether you're in game or not so long as you remember to set a skill to train. People you meet can become incredible friends, just like here.

It also has a fairly steep learning curve, it's very much a 'dog-eat-dog, take no prisoners, trust no one' kind of universe. A lot of the time social interaction is always played out with both parties thinking 'how is/could the other guy screw me over?' and the designers have repeatly stated that as long as they use in game mechanics, scams ambushed, traps, etc are perfectly legit.

It's very much like being outside the city and away from the guards in UO. You have to watch your back constantly.

That being said, it is fun. You can build things that persist long after you leave the game. Or long after your corp or alliance dies and is blown away.

You can be griefed, you can be attacked and killed pretty much everywhere. But there are also lots of ways to mitigate or even eliminate that risk. Once you know what to look for you can be reasonably confident in your ability to survive.

Yes a 3 year veteran can go around and slaughter you in 10 seconds because he wants to. But he pays some steep penalties himself. You can also ask people in your 'corp' which is this game's 'guild' or 'clan' for assistance.

It attracts a lot of people but unless you're willing to accept that this isn't a happy fun world you're not going to be enjoying your stay very long. The forums tend to reinforce this mentality. Like Klingons and thier pain-sticks, the general player base considers themselves the toughest and the best and if someone complains that something is to 'hard' the general rejoiner is "Go back to WoW".

Just a heads up.