EVE-Online: How I am back on the crack-cocaine...

I have been looking for a game to play during "idle time". I don't have much of it, and the only time that you girls are available to play has been after 9PM. That's not optimal for me.

The Hunt For An Addiction
Well, I am not looking for an addiction per-se, but follow me on this. The only games that I have kept playing for any length of time have been MMPORGs (and Assassin's Creed, but I blame Stormblade for that). The biggest problem that I had with MMPORGs have been the cost. I have played WoW and EVE-Online. Both ask for about $15US per month. Not a huge sum for most of the readers of this site, but still hard to justify to myself. Considering that I have about 1 to 2 hours per week of available time for this, that makes the cost about $2 per hour of play (what's *your* cost-per-hour ?).

Then I realized that I have a substantial sum in my Paypal account because of the fact that I sell Virtual Machines templates on the web, and I get sporadic sells, but after 3 years, it really adds up.

So, only one thing to decide: WoW or EVE-Online ?

Well, EVE has a free 14 day trial with no CC number necessary, and it accepts Paypal payments for the monthly costs if I do decide to stay. I've played EVE-Online before, so let's try it.

The History
As I said, I have played EVE-Online before. What attracted me was the incredible graphics of the game and the possibility of getting into epic battles that actually get reported on CNN :-)

When I joined the first time, I found that the main criticism of non-EVE players ("Spreadsheets in space") was actually mostly true. There is a fully-functional Market with pricing history, Demand and Offer, geographical scarcity, trade routes, etc... Things that would mostly bore the hell of 14-year olds.

It was perfect. I could become a day-trader and not lose any real money :-)

I started with a small ship and started moving resources around. Purchasing crystals from one region and selling it in another region. This took time. Lots of time. You actually have to move the stuff from point A to point B. You must have the money to purchase the stuff, since buying on margin is a Skill that takes 2 months to Learn. So, to get a big ship and to get some startup money, I started mining.

Mining is mind-boggingly boring. You park next to an asteroid, let your mining lasers do their job, bring the rocks back to the station, and sell them. It got so boring that I asked Revek to join in. He did.

So went a whole month of this.

Well, eventually, I didn't renew my EVE subscription. For all I know, Revek probably is still paying his $15 per month without realizing it...

The Beginning
Why get back into it now ?

A few reasons: They simplified the n00b experience. It is simpler to get a character going. They also have improved the graphics even more. And they now have a Mac Intel client. That means I can play on my Macbook without having to reboot into Windows all of the time. There are now many apps that permit you to plan your Skill training. There is an iPhone app that can show you your Skills learning queue and Industry queues.

There are *many* things that I can do to make sure my experience is not the same as last time. For one, Revek won't be there :-) Second, I was quite the loner and never chatted with other players. This time, I won't hesitate to ask for help, and I may even join a Corporation. Third, there are 20,000 or so agents that will give you missions (just like WoW), and I can focus on those for a while. Fourth, no more mining and no more transporting stuff around. Fifth, I will focus on getting ships that can get into skirmishes, because those don't last long, and I can easily fit one or two of those in a session of play. Sixth, Revek won't be there.

So, I started a new account Wednesday night.

I have now played for about 4 hours (I was sick on Thursday, so played a bit) and I have mostly followed my points. My experience is totally different than last time I played. I have followed PvE missions, gotten into skirmishes, already lost one ship, and accumulated a good sum of online money.

The Continuing Story
Where will I go from here ?

Many doors are open. Some are of interest to me.

I could focus on Industry and become an artisan. I could focus my Skills on trading and become the day-trader I have always wanted to be. I could join a Corporation and see what they need. I could interest some of the clan and bring you down with me ...

Why am I writing this instead of playing ? EVE-Online shut down their servers for 1 hour everyday. From 11am to noon, GMT. For EDT, that comes out to 7am to 8am. Guess what time I wrote this ? :-)