FoH guide to EVE Online

[Celebrindal]

Originally Posted by arkael

Is there still a week free trial for this somewhere? I started one a while back but didn't have time to play and never really got into the game.

Yes, PM me your e-mail (not one you already used for your first trial) and I will send you an invite. All paying customers can give as many free invites to people as they want.

Also, I will post a more specific breakdown on all skills, just give me a little time. Please keep the posts to rare tidbits of info and such like that. I will incorporate it into one of my posts, and yes, credit will be given eventually. Not like that fuckin' matters.

[Soygen]

Nice thread. Thanks, Celebrindal.

[frott]

My biggest issue with EVE and all of the guides is that there is no real "step by step this is what all this shit is, in the order that you encounter it, and what it means for NOW and in the future" guide that I've found. This doesn't have to be a walkthrough or spoiler or tutorial, but it isn't even in the game. The tutorial shows you how to do a few things but not what doing them matters in the long run or why you'd choose one route over the other.

I've seen tons of guides that say "DO THIS ITS COOL" and I'm making dozens of decisions with no real resource that explains the short and long term ramifications... I'm talking something as simple as in game feedback or any sort of confirmation that I'm coming correct, nahmean?


On the flipside there are guides about each little component but not how they all work together and what you need to start off doing.

I killed some NPCs (dots on the screen with boxes?) and didn't know why I won.
I got killed and didn't know why I lost.



I realize that part of the pecking order is keeping people in the dark while others gain power and whatnot, but jesus shit there are so many things to consider -- I quit after doing the tutorial because I had about zero concept of what anything I was doing meant, even while reading through the tomes of information about all the crap that's flung at you from the getgo.

Every time I thought I understood the scope I would find some information that increased it 1000x and basically made me think that what I had done up to that point was wrong.

[Tirinal]

Originally Posted by Wodin

I've seen a decent number of people with the IVY allliance ticker wandering around, so I suspect Eve University is probably still running.

EvEU is still alive and kicking, and has open enrollment for all characters under three weeks old. There should be a thread in the EvEO recruitment channel someplace. This should probably be emphasized, since EvE University is really incredible for what they do. It's probably the only truly altruistic corp in the game. Drop by the public channel if you're a newbie and see if it's to your taste.

[Xequecal]

Do skills in EVE train only when you're offline, or do they also train while you're online doing missions or whatever the EVE equivalent of grinding is?

[Wodin]

Originally Posted by frott

My biggest issue with EVE and all of the guides is that there is no real "step by step this is what all this shit is, in the order that you encounter it, and what it means for NOW and in the future" guide that I've found. This doesn't have to be a walkthrough or spoiler or tutorial, but it isn't even in the game. The tutorial shows you how to do a few things but not what doing them matters in the long run or why you'd choose one route over the other.

I've seen tons of guides that say "DO THIS ITS COOL" and I'm making dozens of decisions with no real resource that explains the short and long term ramifications... I'm talking something as simple as in game feedback or any sort of confirmation that I'm coming correct, nahmean?


On the flipside there are guides about each little component but not how they all work together and what you need to start off doing.

I killed some NPCs (dots on the screen with boxes?) and didn't know why I won.
I got killed and didn't know why I lost.



I realize that part of the pecking order is keeping people in the dark while others gain power and whatnot, but jesus shit there are so many things to consider -- I quit after doing the tutorial because I had about zero concept of what anything I was doing meant, even while reading through the tomes of information about all the crap that's flung at you from the getgo.

Every time I thought I understood the scope I would find some information that increased it 1000x and basically made me think that what I had done up to that point was wrong.

The problem is that there's enough stuff that's built up over time that I honestly can't communicate all of it, and if I tried to you'd have pretty much the reaction you're having now and say "fuck that shit I'm out of here." We sell the game by saying "hop in a free ship with 30 friends and go ruin the day of somene who's been playing for months." None of the economics, none of the politics, none of the dreadnaughts or piracy or anything like that. That's gradually introduced and self-explored as you decide whether or not you like the game.

Lots of people play the game, find they don't like it or it's cold or boring or too annoying and quit. No shame in that - different strokes for different folks.

Do skills in EVE train only when you're offline, or do they also train while you're online doing missions or whatever the EVE equivalent of grinding is?

Nope, skills are always training regardless of status as long as you have one selected. You have to jump online to change skills, but other than that they just tick away.

[Xequecal]

Are there any requirements to skill training other than the time to train and purchasing skill books? Could someone that acquired a bunch of money to start out with from a friend or just plain buying it off a website basically get to high skill levels without ever really playing the game, just logging in to switch skills occasionally?

[Wodin]

Originally Posted by Xequecal

Are there any requirements to skill training other than the time to train and purchasing skill books? Could someone that acquired a bunch of money to start out with from a friend or just plain buying it off a website basically get to high skill levels without ever really playing the game, just logging in to switch skills occasionally?

Nope, no requirements other than the isk and time. A lot of players actually do that with alts - I know I have a production character that I don't "play" that much, as he just does production, helps out in the occasional corp mining op/ice mining junket, and trains away.

[Tirinal]

Originally Posted by Xequecal

Are there any requirements to skill training other than the time to train and purchasing skill books? Could someone that acquired a bunch of money to start out with from a friend or just plain buying it off a website basically get to high skill levels without ever really playing the game, just logging in to switch skills occasionally?

Sure. Though for all that effort you might as well just buy a character from someone already high in SP. It's sanctioned by CCP. There isn't much point eiter way. SP just lets you fly stuff. Until you become good at flying your ship through pvp experience you're barely worth more to a fleet than a tackler.

Though bought/incubated characters do make for some amusing situations. I saw a Manticore with a MWD fitted the other day.

[Wodin]

I love the people who buy a 40M SP character and then post on Eve-O asking basic fitting questions or asking where to buy (some ridiculously expensive item) for their new Raven. It's actually one of the reasons I've held off purchasing another character - I really don't want to be that guy and I figure that I can still be useful slowly evolving towards a good character on my own. Sure, I'll make mistakes and waste SP, but the alternative could be ruinous.

[Xequecal]

I dunno. I think Eve sounds pretty interesting and then I hear stuff like how there are successful player run piracy operations even in "1.0 space" and get worried that I'll start and three weeks in I'll get to a point where every third "mission" or whatever I try to run gets me ambushed and my ship destroyed.

[Lorrac]

We had a few of these join us when we made a public recruitment drive.

The killmails with their fittings were hilarious - gogogo railgun rax.

[frott]

Originally Posted by Wodin

None of the economics, none of the politics, none of the dreadnaughts or piracy or anything like that. That's gradually introduced and self-explored as you decide whether or not you like the game.

Lots of people play the game, find they don't like it or it's cold or boring or too annoying and quit. No shame in that - different strokes for different folks.

I do think that more people would play if there was some sort of text that encapsulated the big picture. Dummies guide to EVE?

I liked the game but my detachment from the big picture is what kept it safely away, alongside the "this will take you days to learn" countdowns on skills and encyclopedias you had to read to understand what you were doing 5 minutes into the game.

It also seems very "you are a retard if you want to play alone" immediately in the game. Is that true?

[Wodin]

Originally Posted by Xequecal

I dunno. I think Eve sounds pretty interesting and then I hear stuff like how there are successful player run piracy operations even in "1.0 space" and get worried that I'll start and three weeks in I'll get to a point where every third "mission" or whatever I try to run gets me ambushed and my ship destroyed.

Newbies generally get off without problems in highsec because they don't have anything worth taking. That group of three people doing suicide gateganking is looking for 4 billion in high-end minerals or a Navy Raven BPC to go flying by, not your brand new Caracal on the way to a level 2 mission. You might get blown up if you wander into lowsec but that's part of the fun - if you're worried about it make sure you clone is up to date and go sightseeing in a frigate or a shuttle.

[Wodin]

Originally Posted by frott

I do think that more people would play if there was some sort of text that encapsulated the big picture. Dummies guide to EVE?

I liked the game but my detachment from the big picture is what kept it safely away, alongside the "this will take you days to learn" countdowns on skills and encyclopedias you had to read to understand what you were doing 5 minutes into the game.

It also seems very "you are a retard if you want to play alone" immediately in the game. Is that true?

Well, this thread is sort of a general cut at that kind of document.

As far as the playing by yourself, not really. You have to do some extra work you might not otherwise be able to do, but the game is eminently soloable, it'll just be harder and take longer and you have to be a lot more careful.