Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Enjoyment

The day after Christmas, the family headed down to Ocean City for a quick one-day vacation with some relatives.  It was a nice get-away.  The temperature was a nice 70°, which was a little too cold for surfing (though the waves were awesome), but perfect for just enjoying the environment. In a 24-hour period, we went miniature golfing three times and ate out three times, in addition to having some quiet time away from the kids. Epic day.

But with that singular exception, I had a lot of time on my hands to sit down and just play Eve.  Not write about it, not focus on the drama or opening salvos of the CSM campaign season, but just play.

I try to make a little time each month to go off on my own and have a little solo fun. It’s easy to take Eve in two different directions. On the one hand, you can quickly find yourself inundated by fleets to participate in, and because a great many alliances don’t explain what the mission is for each fleet, you can tend to waste a lot of time on meaningless structure grinding, counter-entosis fleets, or strategic ratting.

But then there are those solo roams and small gang opportunities that are just delightful. The kinds of sessions where you just go back and forth avoiding gangs and killing targets you can find. The pure delight of just playing is reinvigorating, and I strongly recommend that you try it.

And it was glorious fun.

I managed to make exactly one fleet, in which TISHU contested an SMA a hangar clear-out fleet.  We brought fleet canes, they brought whatever they had, and despite a 2:1 disadvantage, we cleared the field with no losses.  But SMA deserves respect, both for this welp fleet (it was their intention to lose that fleet) and for some recent news coming out of their alliance. If any Imperium alliance could flex its muscle and stand on its own feet, I’d have to say it’s SMA and The Initiative. They both demonstrate the spirit essential for viability, and I respect them for it.

But, other than that single fleet, I spent a lot of time just making tracks, both in Venal and in Syndicate.  I’ve been having a lot of fun roaming through Venal, Vale, and Pure Blind recently, snagging a few kills, including a juicy hulk.

The second stint met with a bit more resistance, but that’s to be expected from the Syndicate boys.  First, I traded a heretic for a comparably price Enyo, but I also got his pod, which was worth another 150 million.  That’s why you fly interdictors, folks.

Then, I took my new Bifrost out for a spin and ran smack-dab into its limitations. While it’s able to tank incredibly well, the damage is, in fact, poor, and I was in armor when I finally killed a simple Algos. Too close of a fight for what I’d expect, to be honest…

In all cases, though, I came across pilots who were willing to engage, fighting honorably, and demonstrating exemplary skill.  That’s hardly the “everyone blobs” or “no one’s willing to fight” narrative you might be hearing from the people you talk to.  Eve is – despite reports to the contrary, actually quite alive and well, filled with plenty of pilots willing to engage on equal terms and just have fun.

This morning, I awoke to a reddit post that mirrored this very same sentiment. It included the efforts of a new player to earn enough isk to plex his account during his trial period. It’s a monumental undertaking for a newbie, and he managed to do it with two days left.

It’s a great achievement, not just for the accomplishment, but for the eagerness, energy, and pure enjoyment he demonstrates for this wacky game.  There’s so much joy in this game, and so much to be delighted by, if we’re only willing to stop worrying about the clutter and simply appreciate it.  The Master Blaster gets it.

And that’s a refreshing narrative to read. I’m inspired by his simple delight at this game.  We’re doing something right if new players are experiencing this kind of excitement.  To quote Lex Arson, TISHU’s fearless leader, FC, madman, and CSM candidate: “What a time to be alive.”

9 comments:

  1. And what a time to be part of this great game as well. I see so much enthusiasm among new players, and my own aspirations have been renewed with a return to Nullsec with one of my characters.
    I'm very optimistic about the future.

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  2. huh

    All I have done is
    run some PI I was fatally not interested in running;
    ran some Frostbite sites... for clothing I care nothing at all about...
    finally out of boredom scan Tur out of the hole to Amarr...
    buy and test fit an Endurace;
    buy and test fit a Bifrost... and do nothing at all with either;
    now I log in and...

    That's it.

    I am sure there are many who are having/making as much fun as you... but its sandbox and there are those such as me... who wish they knew what to do next. And it's easy to say "Get off yer ass Tur and go MAKE some fun..." but when ALL those you want to fly with have left or unsubbed or are spending all their time on other games (games you don't care to play)... then it's just not quite all that easy...

    I am optimistic for the future of EVE, just not as much for the future of Tur...

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    1. Not from Eve-experience, but from similar situations in other games I have learned that sometimes the cure for that is teaching newbies. If you don't have people who you like doing stuff with, find a newbie corp/alliance/group of random strangers and share the experience. Their enthusiasm might just be the thing you need.

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    2. Many times, I've talked about how important engagement is to CCP. Highly engaged players result in resilience against malaise and the boredom that results in first logging out, then unsubbing. I've argued that social play is essential to achieve this, not as a singular event, but as a habit.

      The more limited one's engagement with the game, the more likely that a player will one day leave.

      I've been really bummed by your dimming of engagement
      with Eve because I think you're a really valuable member of the community, and an honest friend. That your experience seems to prove my theory is something I mourn. It sounds like perhaps Signal Cartel might be a good option, based on your interests. Or maybe A Band Apart, as a way to create some new friendships.

      It's hard when your group fades away, but constantly refreshing your group, I hope you can find those connections that really make Eve exciting.

      Please, don't go.

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    3. I agree with Tal here. Sometimes the best thing to do is to move on to something else and make some new friends or trying something new. I did this myself when I found that my current situation had resulted in my not logging in as often. I joined a newbie corp (just as suggested above) with my main and the results were immediate. However, I found myself not logging onto my alt (more like a second main really) at all because the corp she was in at the time was inactive. So I joined the nullsec corp that my main had previously been in, leaving a group of friends I had been with for over 4 years to rejoin another group of friends with the intention of having some pvp fun again and maybe make some new friends as well.

      Hopefully you'll find something that engages you, Tur. Eve wants you to stay :)

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  3. You say the nicest things Tal...

    But in all seriousness: Yes, it's important to get away from your usual routine every once in a while. In Eve just as in Life. Learn something new, hunt a fresh experience, a part of the game you haven't discovered or given much thought to.

    I have recently started building ships. Not only is the income very welcome, the aspect of supply lines and logistics (not the ship repairing kind) are also something I have only focused on disrupting so far. It's a fresh challenge, one that I enjoy putting an hour or two a day into by myself, with some good music and my morning coffee.

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  4. I am touched... really, I am. (and I can show you on the doll just where too...) =P

    I don't want not play on leaving, its just... I am mebbe not as gregarious as I seem. I joined EVE with my sons. Men I KNEW in my bones I could trust. The friends I fly with now are guys I met through them in my 1st 6 months ingame. Guys they trusted, guys I grew to trust. My sons have left the game... and now my oldest friends are not active.

    I have corp hopped only a few times... and HBHI has only Alliance hopped once. The ONLY one of those changes that was not a mistake was me alone in RvB and even that was not nearly as much fun as flying with my boys and our friends. And the worst was... well, I met, and flew with some players who epitomize what it is to be a shitty poor sport asshat player.

    EVE is a social game, but finding the right fit is hard hard hard... I sometimes feel it might be easier to find a compatible, copacetic and supportive wife IRL than a compatible corp in EVE... Sheesh. Plus I am one distrusting SOB... with good reason.

    I used to be a working Private Investigator... and the shit people do to each other IRL, where actual laws and consequences exist taught me that while I love the human race, there are those among us who I simply do not want sharing the same air I or mine breath. They don't deserve it.

    Now in EVE the closest to this in the meta in my time was the Erotica 1 thing... and I am sure there have been worse and I KNOW there are many many better in EVE. The Erotica 1s are thankfully few... but they exist and I want nothing to do with them.

    Plus... I don't know what I WANT to DO anymore... and that's probably munkin up the works as much as anything.

    But... I'm still here, no plans on unsubbing, and no desire to yet. Just workin' through this whatever it is I am workin' through...

    But, thanx guys... thanx a lot. It means a lot to me to be a part of all this. I really does.

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  5. "I don't want and am not planning on leaving, its just..."

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  6. You killed that guy's dog. I am shocked and appalled.

    ;)

    I happen to have a lucky slaver hound in cargo as well.

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