So there's this article, discussing the problem on getting new players--
to invest their time in EVE, the long-running sci-fi MMORPG. One of
the issue the game has is that many of its current players have been
playing the game for literal decades, and -as such- newcomers are at a distinct disadvantage when starting up their virtual empires. There's
just much less room for newbies to manuever.
CCP Games is suggesting that the solution is to give the players
themselves the ability to create new missions. Right now the game has
its own starter missions to get you into the game, and then some
procedurally generated stuff, but none of those take into account the
actual politics and state of affairs in the virtual universe, so -once
they leave the safe 'tutorial zone', new players are often dropped
into deep end, surrounded by a lot of very large, very hungry sharks.
With user-created missions, those missions would be under the aegis of
some of the larger empires, offering some protection against the other
sharks and allowing new players a chance to level up some more before
taking off on their own.
Will it work? I've no idea. It might, but that's not really -as I see
it- the problem anyway. Because I think EVE has a bigger issue, and
it's obvious in how CCP Games frames this new advance. They describe
it as "freelance jobs" designed to create a "player-driven,
player-created gig economy." And that's the biggest issue right there.
EVE isn't suffering from a lack of new users because they can't level
up fast enough. It's got a problem attracting new users because the
game isn't seen by outsiders as something that would be particularly
fun. It's been described as a sci-fi spreadsheet, and too much of the discussion about the game -by its creators and its players- revolves
around the BUSINESS aspects of the franchise.
So describing your Big New Idea as a way to create a "gig economy"
isn't, I think, the best move.
Again, it's not that I have an objection to EVE, its gameplay, or this
new idea. But EVE is struggling in how its /perceived/ and if your annoucement makes it sound like this game is going to be WORK then I
think marketing has missed the point entirely.
So there's this article, discussing the problem on getting new players
to invest their time in EVE, the long-running sci-fi MMORPG. One of
the issue the game has is that many of its current players have been
playing the game for literal decades, and -as such- newcomers are at a distinct disadvantage when starting up their virtual empires. There's
just much less room for newbies to manuever.
So there's this article, discussing the problem on getting new players
to invest their time in EVE, the long-running sci-fi MMORPG. One of
the issue the game has is that many of its current players have been
playing the game for literal decades, and -as such- newcomers are at a distinct disadvantage when starting up their virtual empires. There's
just much less room for newbies to manuever.
CCP Games is suggesting that the solution is to give the players
themselves the ability to create new missions. Right now the game has
its own starter missions to get you into the game, and then some
procedurally generated stuff, but none of those take into account the
actual politics and state of affairs in the virtual universe, so -once
they leave the safe 'tutorial zone', new players are often dropped
into deep end, surrounded by a lot of very large, very hungry sharks.
With user-created missions, those missions would be under the aegis of
some of the larger empires, offering some protection against the other
sharks and allowing new players a chance to level up some more before
taking off on their own.
Will it work? I've no idea. It might, but that's not really -as I see
it- the problem anyway. Because I think EVE has a bigger issue, and
it's obvious in how CCP Games frames this new advance. They describe
it as "freelance jobs" designed to create a "player-driven,
player-created gig economy." And that's the biggest issue right there.
EVE isn't suffering from a lack of new users because they can't level
up fast enough. It's got a problem attracting new users because the
game isn't seen by outsiders as something that would be particularly
fun. It's been described as a sci-fi spreadsheet, and too much of the discussion about the game -by its creators and its players- revolves
around the BUSINESS aspects of the franchise.
So describing your Big New Idea as a way to create a "gig economy"
isn't, I think, the best move.
Again, it's not that I have an objection to EVE, its gameplay, or this
new idea. But EVE is struggling in how its /perceived/ and if your annoucement makes it sound like this game is going to be WORK then I
think marketing has missed the point entirely.
On 10/05/2025 14:20, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
So there's this article, discussing the problem on getting new players
to invest their time in EVE, the long-running sci-fi MMORPG. One of
the issue the game has is that many of its current players have been playing the game for literal decades, and -as such- newcomers are at a distinct disadvantage when starting up their virtual empires. There's
just much less room for newbies to manuever.
It's something that World of Tanks also suffers from. As they added more
crew skills and equipment types for tanks in an effort to give long
standing players something to work towards the gulf between them and new players has significantly increased.
I kinda feel sorry for new players who are encouraged to get to the
higher tiers as fast as possible (that's where WG make their money) and
they encounter players with maxed out tanks that will just shred them to pieces before they even know what's happened.
On Sun, 11 May 2025 00:48:12 -0000 (UTC), ant@zimage.comANT (Ant)
wrote:
I tried EVE Online last year, but it was too grinding and confusing so I >gave up.
EVE is a game I've tried to get into (and failed), I think, three
times. It definitely has a learning curve that makes it difficult to
approach (although I read that CCP Games was working on that?), but
the biggest problem I had with it was that the overall goal of the
game just wasn't appealing to me. It was playing for the sake of
playing, and if I'm sitting down to spend a few precious hours to play
video games, I much prefer a game that tells me a story (either
directly through its narrative or through its world-building). EVE's
'plot' (as much as it exists) is told through the other players, and
that's just not what I want to have to deal with. Add to that the
rather grindy and repetitive gameplay and there's very little that EVE
has to offer me.
On 11/05/2025 23:55, Ant wrote:
JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:Nope, as soon as you've researched a tank at any level you can take it
On 10/05/2025 14:20, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
So there's this article, discussing the problem on getting new
players to invest their time in EVE, the long-running sci-fi MMORPG.
One of the issue the game has is that many of its current players
have been playing the game for literal decades, and -as such-
newcomers are at a distinct disadvantage when starting up their
virtual empires. There's just much less room for newbies to manuever.
It's something that World of Tanks also suffers from. As they added
more crew skills and equipment types for tanks in an effort to give
long standing players something to work towards the gulf between them
and new players has significantly increased.
I kinda feel sorry for new players who are encouraged to get to the
higher tiers as fast as possible (that's where WG make their money)
and they encounter players with maxed out tanks that will just shred
them to pieces before they even know what's happened.
Don't they have limits on what levels players can play with? I only
played WoT @ E3 back in 2014 briefly. It wasn't a bad game, but I
prefer playing Battlefield 1942, etc.
out for a spin which is made worse by you have to grind out a tank
through play to get it to its top configuration which depending on the
tank tier could easily take fifty to hundred battles unless you want to
use real money to skip that part.
They did try to partially mitigate this by providing a system that
protects newbies from experienced players until they played a certain
amount of games, have some unknown skill level or researched a certain
tank tier. The problem is one of their big money spinners is tier VIII premium tanks which are available just by opening your wallet and WG
want you to play higher tiers so that's what new players are pushed
towards.
It also doesn't help that WG have a habit of selling what are over
powered premiums and it's just not fun realising that you have an
in-battle disadvantage just because you didn't open your wallet.
JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
On 10/05/2025 14:20, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
So there's this article, discussing the problem on getting new players
to invest their time in EVE, the long-running sci-fi MMORPG. One of
the issue the game has is that many of its current players have been
playing the game for literal decades, and -as such- newcomers are at a
distinct disadvantage when starting up their virtual empires. There's
just much less room for newbies to manuever.
It's something that World of Tanks also suffers from. As they added more
crew skills and equipment types for tanks in an effort to give long
standing players something to work towards the gulf between them and new
players has significantly increased.
I kinda feel sorry for new players who are encouraged to get to the
higher tiers as fast as possible (that's where WG make their money) and
they encounter players with maxed out tanks that will just shred them to
pieces before they even know what's happened.
Don't they have limits on what levels players can play with? I only
played WoT @ E3 back in 2014 briefly. It wasn't a bad game, but I prefer playing Battlefield 1942, etc.
But with World of Tanks (and Ships, and Planes, and whatever other
variation on the theme they've made) it's always been pretty obvious
the game was pay-to-win. It's generally why I avoid the franchise (I
gave it a chance a few years back). In terms of gameplay and polish, I
was actually rather impressed; it/is/ a fun game but boy-oh-boy,
there was a lot of push --both by the developers directly and by the
way the game was designed-- to get you to BUY BUY BUY. And while it
was galling, the obvious intention from the start was for new players
to Git Gud through the power of their wallets.
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