Did a forum search, but I couldn't find any topics regarding EVE Online, so I guess I'll make one.
What is EVE Online?
EVE is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMORPG) that takes place approximately 20.000 years after our times in a galaxy on the far end of the universe. When you join EVE you assume the role of a freshly graduated „Capsuleer“, a relatively small group of elite spaceship pilots capable of controlling powerful spaceships on their own from within their capsules. Capsuleers are often referred to as "The immortals" due to the fact that the highly advanced capsules they are connected to from the inside, are capable of instantly dowloading their consciousness to a clone of themselves in the case of physical destruction.
A few things make EVE special amongst other MMORPGs...
* EVE is a single "shard" virtual world. What that means is that everyone who joins EVE becomes a part of the same world and the same community. The industry standard for MMORPGs is to run the game on multiple smaller servers, so called shards, so that each player only has the opportunity of interaction with a few thousand other players even if the number of subscribers can be in the millions. In EVE you have the opportunity to affect more than 250.000 other players in one way or another as all our players are a part of the same persistent universe, hosted on the world‘s most powerful gaming server yet.
* In EVE you are free to choose your own destiny. You start out as a character from one of four races that inhabit the EVE universe but apart from slightly different starting skills you are free to take your character in any direction you want. You are not restricted by predefined character classes or professions. You can trade to make a living, conduct mining operations, market your fighting skills as a mercenary, camp the spacelanes for profit as a pirate, conduct espionage and infiltration, focus on research and manufacturing, or perform increasingly profitable missions for NPC (non player controlled, run by the EVE system) agents. What you choose to do day by day is up to you. You can play alone, form a corporation (equivalent of clan or guild) with a close group of friends or seek entrance to any of the large player run corporations and alliances already established. The EVE Unviverse and its 5000 unique solar systems are yours to explore and conquer.
* In EVE you don‘t level up like in most games. You purchase skills which then train in real time until finished. The skills train even while you are offline. Skills give you a myriad of different abilities. Some allow you to fly specific types of ships or use a particular weapon while others focus more on general things. Each skill has five levels which all give the same percentage bonus to whatever field of your gameplay they affect. Each level however takes increasingly longer to train so that players are always faced with the choice of specializing in one field, or spend the skill training time equally on many different fields.
How do I make money in EVE?
* There is an infinite number of ways to ways to make ISK (Eve‘s currency, Interstellar Kredits) in EVE. Some of them evolve around performing various tasks provided to you by the game. For example you can always make money by mining asteroids for materials to sell. You can also run all kinds of missions for NPC (Non Player Controlled, run by the EVE system) agents. You can hunt NPC pirates in some parts of space and you can explore unknown parts of space for hidden treasure.
* Then you have the option of using your creativity, your social skills and your business skills to make money from your interactions with all the other people playing EVE online. Around 95% of every item or ship in EVE is made by the players from scratch and sold through EVE‘s central market system. You can start your own corporation to build items that are in demand and sell them to other people. You can also buy things when the price is low and sell them when the price is high or exploit other people‘s lack of time or patience by moving things around for them. In essence you are free to invent any service valuable to other players and market it for your own profit. Wherever you see an opportunity there is probably ISK to be made.
EVE sounds complex – how will I learn all I need to know?
* Most importantly you should keep in mind that you don‘t have to learn everything at once and that some things you won‘t ever need to learn. EVE is a very intricate, deep world with a lot of content and most only experience part of what‘s out there.
* For the essentials of what you need to know we offer in-game tutorials, an online Wiki and bustling forums where players can discuss all things EVE related or get answers to questions. We also run an in-game help channel and a special "rookie help channel" for our new players. The Rookie help channel is manned at all times by volunteers who are there to answer any question you might have.
* Despite all our efforts to help players learn, most still gain the majority of their knowledge from other players which is the natural way of things in an MMORPG. To learn from others, a good idea would be to join a player run corporation relatively soon after you start to play. Player run corporations are usually welcoming towards new players and the number of corporations actively seeking new recruits usually outnumbers the number of players looking for a place in a corporation. Once you are in a corporation the more experienced players will typically help you get started. Note however that this is general advice and that we cannot guarantee any standard of behaviour towards you.
I think I've been playing for well over 2 months now. I must say that this is one of the most advanced MMO's I've ever played. And so far I really like it. Sadly, as with most great MMO's, EVE is pay to play. There's a $ 14.95 subscription fee per month. However... You can buy PLEX (CONCHORD Pilot License Extension) in-game to add 30 days subscription time to your account, paying with the in-game currency, ISK. This is one of the many things that really makes this thing great. Of course, you may not be able to do this the first months, unless you get into thieving and piracy, which is actually part of the gameplay mechanics should you ever desire to do so. Of course this does not come without consequences...
There is a 14 day trial period if you wish to try the game. By that time you should be able to figure out if this is the game for you. Be warned though, PVP is a very central part of the game. Though if you hang around in High Security space, you should be fine for the most of the time. You will sooner or later loose your ship, whether it be to NPC's, Pirates or Suicide Gankers. There's a saying in-game that goes: "Do not fly what you cannot afford to loose."
So, anyone else playing EVE, or have played it at some point?