Kraynor

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Download the free 2-week trial (I think it's 2 weeks...), then if you like it continue paying via credit card. It's a subscription based game so you're going to have to pay via c/card either way in the end, might as well get some free trial time beforehand.
 

Kraynor

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Most of the best ones are subscription based, and that's how the can continue being good without degrading over time.

You might want to try Guild Wars if you're looking for a fantasy MMORPG (although the MM part fades away outside cities where you only see your party members), it's free to play after you buy the game.
 

pr2thej

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From what i know of Eve, you need to be prepared to put in a whole lotta hours to get anywhere. I spose that could be said for any MMO but Eve is said to be the pinancle of lonely saturday nights in.
 
EVE is not a game you can play for a few months and be done with, period. Theres too much to do and too far to go.

The thing i like about EVE is the fact you will never max out. I also like the fact you actually get punished for "dieing" (the rule of EVE: Don't take out what you can't afford to replace").


Example: I spent my first 9 months gathering everything i needed for a supertanked Drake (Caldari battlecruiser). I had shields better than any battleship class ship (20k), all resists above 75%, and a shield recharge time under 150 seconds (Tech II Shield Recharge fittings; and no one sells them on the open market :D).

I was blown up on my test run; ran into 2 arrmageddons (battleship class). I lasted 15 seconds, and was dead broke, and without a ship.
 

MrSiko

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Sounds like a troll to me...

All this just as the new Eve package is about to be released.

I mean, who registers and creates a thread like this without even having googled the game or found out the pricing info for their territory?

A Sneaky Troll indeed.
 

pr2thej

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Doubt it, with a comment like this. Consider the other explanation - Eve is releasing a new package and this chap came across some advertising for such. And hasnt heard of google :D
 

bhowell

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I play Eve myself. It does have a steep learning curve but the graphics are very nice and there is a lot you can do. I also learned the hard lesson of don't fly what you can't afford to lose. I had a nicely equipped Maelstrom (minimator battleship) that I was doing missions with. I was jumped by a bunch of smaller ships that had warp disrupters. I couldn't get them destroyed fast enough before my ship was blown up....I was depressed for awhile. I still don't have that ship back yet. Almost there though.

I also had a nicely equipped Hurricane (minimator battlecruiser) that was destroyed by a prick that was bored one night. He attacked me without provocation. I don't do PVP and when I asked him why he felt the need to destroy me, he simply said he was bored.
 
Great game, huge with immense scope to play however you want.

Best thing is as it is so complicated (the economy is frightening to start with) and death really means something, the WoW kiddies are mostly absent as they can't find a big red I R TEH WIN button.

Long may Eve remain for the intelligent gamer - and keep the great in-game music :D If only EQ had stayed that way too.
 

bhowell

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I agree. EQ was great until it started getting some competition. After that they started pumping out crap just to try and keep people interested. I start losing interest after that. I played from Mar 2000 up to about 2 weeks ago (with an occasional break now and then for a few months). I have canceled my accounts now and playing Eve more.
 

Kraynor

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I used to play EVE but never got all that far in it, and while I did enjoy it and was really impressed by the huge amount of things you could do, something was missing for me - I never felt like I had full control in combat situations, and the control system doesn't lend itself to evasive maneauvers and the like.

That said, I'm a big Freelancer and X3 fan, so the new X3 game (Terran Conflict) is keeping me nice and happy. Will probably give EVE another blast in the near future though.
 

bhowell

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For me, I have always been a huge fan of the Wing Commander series...especially Privateer 1 and 2. I love the idea of grabbing missions and then flying them. In Privateer you could be a mercenary or a merchant. You were pretty free to choose what you wanted to do. I like that about Eve. I always said that if I could find a game like Wing Commander Privateer, that would take me away from Everquest....Eve was just that. The only thing I would like to change about Eve is the ability to grab a joystick and fly myself. Minor thing, but would be nice.
 


My Missus is still an EQ addict, so I'm pretty well stuck on it at the moment.

Once she's weaned off, I'm hoping to move back to Eve but until she does I don't have the play time that Eve deserves...
 

bhowell

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My wife also plays EQ...though she is nearly at the point of quitting herself. Pretty much all the people we hung out with have stopped playing. She has been playing Stronghold Crusader lately. Shouldn't be long before I cancel her EQ account too.
 

I feel your pain. If missions actually gave a decent amount of cash, you would see a lot less turnover as well.

Seriously, you know how long it takes to make my Super Drake (well over 1 Million ISP) running level 1 missions?!? And for what? Stupid Armageddons...the one decent weapon in the entire Armarr empire...
 
One thing that does deserve a mention: You continue to level up even when not playing, which while some hate, is a necessity considering the amount of skills you need to train. And because your account is not deleted for a year after you stop paying, you can (theoritically) start training a skill that takes 9 months, quit the game, and come back after a year and find your skill leveled up!

The downside, is that those who were in first always have the best skill set.


The one thing I HATED were the stupid learning skills. These 5 skills govern how quickly you learn all the other skills in the game, and by themselves, take close to 6 months to train (longer if you go for the secondary ones). I get the concept of making certain stats better, but it kills the game for noobs who have to take 6 months just to get decent stat gains...(hence, the reason why your play EVE for a LONG time, or not at all).

If you are interested, you could take a look at their quarterly economic reports (seriously, they have economists on staff to moniter the in-game economy)
 

bhowell

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Yes, I reallly like the skills continueing to go up even though I am not online. I also like the fact you can set up some sales of items you have salvaged and then go offline while they stay on the market. I hated that about EQ. In order to sell your stuff, you had to leave your account logged in and a toon in the bazaar.
 

Morton

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I was one of the first beta-testers of Eve but I didn't continue to play it. It feels like it's too late to join Eve now because of the skill system. Maybe I'll try Jumpgate Evolution instead when it's ready.

For now, I'm happy with a naval combat MMO game called Navy Field. It's easy to learn but difficult to master. It's free but many people continue to spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on it. The best part is that players who spend 0$ can be equally competitive or even better than people who use real money on the game. Probably the strangest part is that after 1-2 years of active playing you can be easily 100-600$ US dollars richer PayPal-wise (with 0$ total investment in the game). I've seen something similar in MMORPGs with monthly subscriptions but never anything like it in completely free games.
 

bhowell

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I was also on the original beta test team long ago. When I had some issues with getting it running, I emailed their support team, as instructed, but never got a response back from them. After 2 weeks of trying I just said Screw it. I never thought about it again until about 4 months ago when I saw an ad on a game site for a free 14 day trial. I figured I had a better machine then and would give it one more shot....makes me regret not trying again back in the day.