A couple of weeks ago, as I mentioned, I started playing EVE. It is a very different sort of MMO, but I think I’ll save the game analysis for when I’m feeling a bit more intelligent. Still, I thought you might be somewhat curious as to how I’m getting on.
Quite well, as it turns out. EVE’s learning curve is famously steep, and it is very easy to find yourself wondering what the heck you should do next. Fortunately I have enough experience with previous true sandboxes, mostly old school Ultima Online, to not be too disorientated by that.
I signed up for the 14 day trial, but that did not last terribly long. Trial accounts can’t take the Industrial ship skills, even though you receive a couple of ships needing that skill during the tutorial. Well, a wannabe tycoon like me wasn’t having that, so clearly the thing to do was to subscribe! As there is no charge for the game itself, it was just a matter of 20 Euros, including a one-off signup charge. Within my current funds, just about! Impressively, unlike most trials, the remaining trial time you have is added to your subscription, so you don’t miss out on gametime by subscribing before the end.
I started off as a Gallente citizen in the Verge Vendor region of space, and completed all the advanced tutorials at the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Clellinon system. The advanced tutorials are extremely generous with gifts of skillbooks and ships, not to mention wisdom, and this gave me an excellent start. On finishing up there, I decided to base myself in the nearby Luse system, setting up shop in a starbase belonging to the Federation Customs corporation. In retrospect, they weren’t necessarily the best Corporation to concentrate on, but they were local, and have looked after me quite nicely. I ran missions for the local corps for a few days, before deciding I wanted to explore a little more of the universe.
So off I sped to the the Amarr and Minmatar tutorial zones. I had discovered that you can go through the advanced tutorials at every system that offers them. Completing each series gives a decent chunk of standing, so it seemed worthwhile from that alone. What I do is simply leave all my gear where it is, get in my Gallente Shuttle, and buy the cheapest frigate available when I get there. It has been extremely useful in learning how the other races ships and weaponry work, which I am sure will be useful in the future.
I’m still in two minds whether or not to go do the tutorials in Caldari space, as they are the sworn foes of the Gallente, my primary faction, and my Gallente standings would take a serious knock. I’ll probably save them for if the Caldari start looking like they really hate me. Doing the odd bit of work for their allies, the Amarr, should keep that from happening any time soon.
So far as I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be any limit on how much stuff I can have. This is a major boon to a pack rat like me, but I can see that I will have an epic time of it trying to keep track of where everything is, even with the useful Assets window. I have a base of operations in each of the three Empires I have so far visited, each with its own pile of ships, loot, and general junk.
The other reason for me visiting the Amarr is that different areas offer different loot and salvage, and the capacitor related salvage I seek is most easily gained from Amarr’s local pirates; the Blood Raiders, and Sansha’s Nation.
My relationship with the Federation Customs is standing me in good stead as I prepare to move my Gallente operations to the Luminaire system in the Essence region. They have a couple of starbases there, so I arrive already having access to level 2 missions, and a good tax rate. I’m mostly moving to be a little more central, as it is a lot quicker to get into the other Empire areas from here. There are a heap of drawbacks to being in a busier area, but travel is far from trivial in Eve, and it’ll save me a lot of time in the long run.
Currently, I’m poking about the Luminaire area, seeing what’s on offer, and building up my standings with the local Corporations. Some are the same as over near Luse, but there are quite a few that are new to me here. Slowly building up my resources, skills, and standings. Patience is key.
For anyone interested in my current build, it’s coming up after the leap.
