Keeping A Space Game Alive - 20 Years Later - EVE Online In 2024

EVE Online devs talk about the future of the game heading into 2024 and reflect upon the releases in 2023. Now 20 years old, EVE is showing no signs of slowing down, and in fact appears to be doing very well in terms of player numbers and revenue.
Director's Letter: www.eveonline....
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[@hansolo-mx4xt]

Less of a game, more of a personal relationship simulator.

[@sahhull]

I was a beta tester for eve online. I remember when it was a huge deal to get 200 concurrent players on the server. I played for around 10 years without a break. Good times and I made a few new RL friends that Im still in contact with. There is nothing like Eve... Eve is a massive time sink and now a days I dont have the time for a 2nd job.

[@stiimuli]

The problem with Eve is that its actively hostile towards solo players. If you don't have immediate plans to join a player corporation (guild) be fully ready to be griefed and even stolen from at almost any time. It is full time pvp that cannot be turned off.

[@Mr.Riojas]

I tend to play solo in EVE, mostly due to scheduling making planned Alliance "events" neigh impossible, so I would say PvP in EVE ranges from "My face just got curb stomped on my back porch" from to "Crazy guy with bat in front yard". Love the game, been playing it off and on for 20 years, but it earns the title: "best played with friends? You better play with friends".

[@Danko05]

I would not say it is a problem, I played it for more than 10 years and did a lot of its content, solo play took most of the time I played.

[@James-mu8rp]

Yea. I used to just run a bunch of security missions and run supply missions whenever I would need to restock outside of my primary mission zones. Then I started manufacturing and tradiing between systems while transporting as well

[@sidneygray51]

None of those pirates makes any serious ISK from it. They're actually the ones paying for the game. :)

[@CitarNosis506]

I'm in a corp that doesn't mind solo players, you just have to look for them. It's not really that bad like some players wants you to believe. And still, I did so far everything solo.

[@lorumerthgaming]

EVE is in the best place it's ever been 🎉

[@robertschan8650]

I really hope they add more triglavian ships, drones and other trig related things eventually i absolutely love the trig ships and have almost all of them fully trained with almost every other side skill to maximize their utility output but it would be nice to have like light, medium, heavy and stationary drones to go with their sleek and unique style

[@swampcastle8142]

I can't bring myself to go back. It was like having a second full time job where my co-workers would call at 3am because we were under attack by the Russians. We had a West Coast and East Coast Crew (US), UK crew, and finally, a German crew. (We needed zee Germans due to the before mentioned Russians.) I played on the West coast and UK crew since I was stationed in both time zones. I ran 4 accounts. Every time a friend bailed, I took over their account. Two combat accounts, one logistics/trading account, and one scout.

[@BanControl]

too real, its always the russians too, can't trust them lol

[@ericeclifford]

I just got back into eve and love it. It’s a game for hardcore or casual players and you can do a bunch of stuff in it!

[@ferjo3192]

Eve is the best game for whales, they get a lot of content for their money. I suspect that 28,000 concurrent is actually just 2800 whales multiboxing at least 10 accounts each cz thats the meta right now. Of course theres the occassional sucker like me who wants to play solo and pays the monthly sub price even tho I cant affford it.

[@this.is.a.username]

There was nothing better than cracking a cold one, munching some snacks, listening to DJ Funky Bacon on EVE Radio and sitting on a gate camp with buddies waiting for some poor schmuck you wardec'd to come through without a proper scout.

[@Calypso993]

5:38 thats amount of accounts. some people heavily multibox this game, some play with more than 10 accounts at once. its hard to say, but probably eve online has around 10-15k actual users at any given moment.

[@dadisbadatgaming1097]

I tried to play this a good few years ago. Didn't have a very good experience. I managed to find a clan to join in the beginning, but very shortly afterwards, I was kicked out because..........wait for it.........they said I was a spy! Never went back to it after that

[@27actanonverba]

Always wanted to try this game but I dont know where to start and no one I know plays.

[@stiimuli]

It is Fee-to-Play so trying it costs nothing but time and hard drive space.

[@sahhull]

Why do you have to know other people to play a game?

[@mellogo1d191]

Eve university run a great starter corp where you can learn the ropes and probably make some good friends too..!

[@BrunoMoozika]

Been playing EVE Online since 2004 (with many years interruption in the middle) and have to admit they are still able to keep this community going and thriving. We've seen increasingly greater numbers in the concurrent players, lots of people returning or trying it out for the first time. While I personally don't engage in most of the new stuff, I still benefit from all the changes and increasing player numbers. Can't wait to see what will come after Vanguard!

[@Howl-Runner]

What Increaseimg player numbers? It's just more bot accounts/alts and macro commands. Three light have went 30 new players all year.

[@BrunoMoozika]

@@Howl-Runner if you played the game you would see it. Our PVP fleets have never been so active. And I do alot of trade and also noticed the increase in demand.

[@GDUBMX]

Bot/alt inflates

[@kearseymorton2078]

i have 6000 hours in the game over 20 years, started in 2003. Best game ever made, most unique game ever made, there is NOTHING like Eve out there.

[@stephen8132]

I've been playing Eve since 2005. Nothing comes close to Eve. It's a single progressive server. It can be very unforgiving but also very rewarding. One issue i have found is that it can be time-consuming. The omega subscription can sting people in different countries have to exchange currency. I have rolled my account back to Alpha (free account) and i still find im able to do a lot and enjoy the game. You can play for free. Don't underestimate then free alpha account , Give it a try.

[@dannyn6762]

Such a good game.

[@nostro1940]

I left when they introduced SP farming

[@RC3117]

EVE was a great game when I was younger. Likely still has all the same thrill that I loved. But it's way too hard to balance work, life, and EVE. To really get into it you have to be dedicated. It does not favor the life of a working professional. If I had zero contact with my friends and no family, I'd pick it back up.

[@xSKOOBSx]

Such a good idea to make players able to earn "rep" with player corps.

[@Response1980]

It's still the best game I have ever played 🖤

[@Minoseth]

Do you aim at Frontier? Wouldn't bet that they learn from this xD

[@Salubrious388]

I tried EVE a few times. I joined a corp called EVE University in order to learn the game. I was teamed up with a Welsh guy (judging by the accent) and he was an absolute idiot. He tried to explain it was like the military and people weren’t able to speak unless requested to on the voice comms etc etc…. Yeah, I didn’t last long and left. I can’t be arsed to play with juvenile idiots that have no idea about social skills or military practices. I served for 15yrs in the British military and I’ve never witnessed someone so thick in all my days and I can assure your I’ve met some idiots!! 😂 My overall impression of the game though wasn’t great either. Didn’t feel anything like a spaceship game. I think most people stay in EVE because it’s what they know, they’ve probably spent to much IRL money on things, the training system is addictive (real time) and they have FOMO if they leave, they have built real friends within the game and they play it casually.

[@burtturdison4445]

It is WAY too expensive now

[@jasonpierce4518]

back when they started allowing ganking of huge expensive ships in guarded space by inexpensive throw away ships that get destroyed but they dont care, is when a lot of us quit. we havent went back. i wouldnt say they typically listen to the playerbase because even when they lost a lot of players they refused to change it. if you want to say they just got rid of the care bears, then you miss the point due to your bad attitude. I didnt stay always in safe areas and was mostly in dangerous sectors with a group but it doesnt mean we weren't effected by it. it was still past and beyond annoying and more of a glitch they chose to allow. at this point eve is highly unlikely to ever get all of us back. i consider them assholes and dont want to fund them. hats off to ant tho. im here because i watch ants videos of other games.

[@TheAngrySaxon1]

EVE isn't a game. It's a job.

[@shitmandood]

I tried it in the early 00s and boy did it suck! It felt like I was always grinding for some crap and it was extremely slow moving. Someday months away, I’d have something playable. Instead I went to play something else lol

[@CruentusV]

focusing on null corps is NOT focusing on players...

[@sahhull]

Did you ever play Vendetta online? I had a dabble.. Back then it was pretty good. Not sure how good it is now. I believe it was dumbed down for the phone generation of gamers.

[@mightylink65]

I don't think the game is really that popular anymore, the developers just never shut it down, unlike other big publishers who shut down live services all the time, CCP just doesn't seem to care and Eve always hovers around 5k players on steam.

[@wesleytoone9479]

Eve online is primarily run off of steam from it sown launcher. The launcher shows the current number of online players. As of this post it has just over 28500 players online on a Tuesday afternoon US pacific time.

[@awfwal]

@@wesleytoone9479 This is EVE. 28500 players means maybe 10000 actual players multi-boxing.

[@TheHuffur]

@@awfwal Honestly wouldnt surprise me if the average real player count is more around 6-7k because already like 10 years ago I saw people flying around with their own large scale mining fleets AND security fleets to somewhat keep them safe in WH space. 10 years later it would be odd if that has not gotten more mainstream/Meta... so 6-7k real players might be really generous!

[@albertpietrosanu2667]

They was a litlle pervers... go down reward for escalation , so down.

[@timothypricesr5953]

You mean the fact about 75 percent of its players are alternate accounts and bots

[@ZeNex74]

I love it but still cant get far. Just hit a wall of what next

[@braveheart1985]

EVE's golden years were 2004 - 2012

[@lee9503]

Yes. Started 2006. Back with the cool login screens and cool art style. After 2010 or so it just wasn't the same.

[@ShevaiAsan]

Exactly this. My group played and dominated Class 4 wormhole space(even got recognition from the devs, written into lore with those who dominated the other class of wormholes), we lived in wormhole space for years; and then it all went downhiill when the devs started selling skill points. We played for about a year or two after that, then we quit; we could see the MTX and pay to win writing on the wall. We did everything we wanted to do and had an amazing time; now we've moved on to other games and still play together and do meetups.

[@dogdogdog9035]

W Elite Dangerous the best space game in the galaxy!

[@realtimbotube]

I spent years playing this one, too. Got the 3 main ships fully engineered blah blah blah, then they promised "mega-ships", and delivered the most idiotic system with the carrier ships that nobody wanted. It was once a great game, then woke assholes ruined it.

[@christierowley4731]

I played it for 12yrs got to L5 in nearly every skill and was building capital ships. Got bored in the end so finished with it. Now play Star Citizen and Starfield

[@YouLikeBosch]

I really hate Eve Online. I've tried several hundred+ hour stints and the game is an exercise in futility. Endless, relentless grind, and a constant feeling of time wasted = money lost. Not to mention the subscription is exorbitant, and grinding out the plex to keep subscribed feels impossible. Billions of ISK needed to do anything worthwhile, and it can all be ripped away unceremoniously by friend or foe, because if you don't backstab someone in the game, you will be backstabbed yourself. I'll leave it to the spreadsheeters.

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

Yeah...because psychopaths are on the rise in the world, and this game rewards their shitty behavior with actual money.

[@JRS3540]

Eve is a beautiful game and every couple years I try it again, hoping the community will have mellowed out, but within a week some rando will shoot me just to watch me bleed. I really wish it wasn't so murderous. I guess it clearly works for others but not for me.

[@coloradodrives7784]

CCP game devs wrote and performed an entire song called "Harden the Fuck Up". :P

[@JRS3540]

@@coloradodrives7784 That's cool. To each their own. I just like minding my own business without bothering other players and I like not being bothered by other players. Eve just isn't for me. If there was an Eve without the griefing (and I do consider shooting a player with nothing in their ship to loot and then blowing their pod to destroy implants griefing) it would probably be the only game I'd play. I just wouldn't need anything else.

[@wavetrex]

Have they fixed griefing ? Doubtful. I'll never return to this game, it's just not fun to the casual player who just wants to travel the universe and do his own things...

[@coloradodrives7784]

The CCP game devs wrote and performed a song called "Harden the Fuck up".

[@JSRJS]

Eve sucks now. Used to love it. But there's always a player type that likes something.

[@hazenkorakagaming]

Gotta say, I was a bigtime EVE player but I gave up and stopped. I won EVE. I kind of disagree with your video and it's portraying a lot of what it is not. Don't expect big flashy battles with "ACTUAL GAMEPLAY" note on videos. Expect Time dilated yawnfests. A lot of that stuff is highly edited. I wasted more than 20K hours on EVE. I'm not going back o7

[@Lennji]

The playerbase would be oh so much bigger if it catered more towards solo players and high sec being actually secure with 0 griefing. If you want that shit go to low sec. Null sec pvp is fun but impossible solo long-term, wormhole space aswel unless you have multiple accounts. This game is for group circle-jerking and sweaty neckbeards with lots of disposable income.

[@Ph33NIXx]

been playing eve sinc 2008... But since 2018 I hav had to drastically reduce how much i play due to becoming a father. still check in once and a while.. and I am still part of my alliance community on discord

[@noxwarlord4909]

I was an ice miner for years, had 15 accounts, and never paid a dime 😊 Tons left over for what ever i wanted to do on my mains

[@TheHuffur]

This is one of the reasons I stopped playing, not because of ice miners ofc but the frequent use of alt accounts making griefing a 100% unbeatable and untraceable playstyle. Game kinda lost most of its pull on me when I realized a lot of people run their own little swarms of gank ships that are completely separated from their main accounts and thus impossible to fight against. Risk vs Reward.. I wish.

[@noxwarlord4909]

@TheHuffur yes I did not do that but had friends in system who did and it was just for fun (on their end) my risk was my freighter, I had to use the webbing trick to insta warp her to avoid such gangs I used my $ to play in worm holes ect I only stopped because it was like a job , I had to mine every 4h or lose out The ice must flow.

[@candoureire3632]

Solo lo sec pilot for 8 years, learned how to manually fly, had the best 1vx fights i've ever had in a game. The adrenaline sometimes was nearly heart stopping, every ship i lost had the walk of shame back to the station if i didnt get podded, something new to learn every single time. The then changed how links functioned.. That was the death of solo pvp, no chance against the blob after that. Took an extended break, tried it again recently. There is literally only scumbag hi sec larpers ganking and terminally unemployed round the clock gate camps left. The money grubbing from ccp is horrible, as soon as i signed into the game i was SPAMMED every single day with "Buy this" or "New offer get these skins". Relentless, it seems most of their energy now is gone into nickle and dimeing whoever is left. Eve WAS the best game i ever played, but it's a totally diferent game now. It's a sociopath simulator with the most aggressive microtransactioning i've ever experienced from a game.

[@doctorb4n3]

Specifically I did not try Eve because the complexity and time investment necessary is intimidating, and I do try to have a social life and a few chores daily besides sitting in front of a computer for both work and entertainment.

[@sovietbear5163]

You don't need to be that much dedicated to enjoy the game you can play it casually too login join a corp participate in fleets shoot some stuffs usually takes 2-3 hrs and most of the corp provide srp too so even if you lose your ship it wont be too much of a pain in the ass to deal with xd

[@MoldyMcdonut]

honestly i cant anymore with eve its too much its just not fun for me its a job if i want to have fun and then its not fun.

[@AndreaMyrick]

This games has the biggest group of trolls I've ever seen.

[@Gamerznation704]

EVE you have the freedom to play how you want, but you also have to be smart about an ever changing climate. Solo play for example is possible in this game, but you have to be smart about it. I love the game, but the player base, especially older style complain too much for me. I've played alot of MMO's in my day, and they all generally have the same social problem, but the older players in EVE who don't want to adapt to new styles of play harm the games culture more than anything else. Also, EVE will really show you how dumb you are. The same person that complains about certain things I can probally show you video's of people doing what you don't think could be done. A solo player visited all of the systems in EVE and was rewarded with a statue ingame and the character was seen in game being given a reward in a video. CCP has been making a push lately to showcase more players and corporations in their (ingame news) video which I love, and is something I hadn't seen other MMO's really do to that level. In regards to the price hike, considering the amount of work that has been put into this game with FREE expansions along with free content, It also really shows how little players understand anything in regards to money when it comes to game development. Well worth the price.

[@Turican76]

EVE Online is p2w trash + 20 dollar sub pvp even in highsec destroyed the game. and the game got 10 years no new content they losed 2/3 of the player base

[@BobroBobrodobro]

EVE has cool CGI movies but in reality its EXEL SPREADSHEETS SIMULATOR. (2012-2014 player)

[@mellogo1d191]

I’ve been playing for over a year and haven’t even seen a single spreadsheet

[@BobroBobrodobro]

@@mellogo1d191 well, you are definitely casual player and never was in serious corporation

[@ugly_Eric]

I played 10 years. Done everything it had to offer. Ratted, pvp, 0.0, wormholes, ran a corp, ran a alliance and all forms of industry. No other game can scratch the same itch eve did.

[@rafaelgoncalvesdias7459]

Unfortunately the content i like Wich is single account solo pvp is Dead after the development and allowance of multibox. Now solo pvp is 1 person controlling 3~5 accounts vs another doing the same. Still by far the best hardcore/strategy/inteligence rewarding space game out there.

[@ugly_Eric]

@@rafaelgoncalvesdias7459 yes. The game is dead for me too. Many other of the contet types have equally been offered to the altars of blob.

[@stdub6715]

never say never, I may go back to it, but yeah... I think loosing the crew due to different real life circumstances, loosing one of the buddies for real among them, was really the end, not just for me, but for few other guys from the group. The best game ever though...

[@dudaz_music]

Ultima online can still scratch the itch

[@ugly_Eric]

@@dudaz_music It never did for me.

[@TheALEXiSounds]

I absolutely fucking love this game. For those that say there's no solo play, that's just flat out wrong.

[@refineme]

I’ve been playing since 2006, pretty much 99.9% solo including right now. I live in low sec, slipping in and out of null and WH space. Made billions solo. I go to Hi Sec like once or twice a month. It feels so crowded when I’m in jita.

[@jonathanj.3695]

You CAN play this game solo! It's just not in the same sense as a game like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars. It's much harsher to fly solo in EVE since it's a PVP centric game (as opposed to PVE like in most other MMOs), but it's not impossible. I play as a freelance mercenary who takes on small, single man operations and espionage for any cooperation willing to pay me for serving them.

[@sidneygray51]

It's more of a mini economy than a "space game", but it's entirely unique.

[@stiimuli]

Excel spread sheet simulator

[@Dark0Storm]

It's more like a very complex sandbox imo. It's not just the economy, but pretty much everything that is driven by players. I think what most people don't get on with is that because of this, just like real life, you only really get anything out of it by working together. I suspect if most people had to "solo" life they'd complain the endless tedium of having to do everything themselves and just grinding away purely to exist. Some people really enjoy this, others play games just to do something by themselves and relax. The latter will never get on with EVE 😀

[@aresdesiderata8959]

It is actually the spaciest of all space games. It's such a space game that you literally can't go anywhere BUT space. The exception would be stations, but all you do there is spin your ships before going back out into space. To say Eve isn't a space game is ludicrous. It is the greatest persistent science fiction sandbox game there's ever been. You can do everything from mining to battling in huge fleets to dueling in high speed interceptors where dog fights can literally last a matter of seconds. Not only that but the atmosphere, the graphics, the music, the lore, are all top tier and have been compiled over decades of game history. It is the most unique game of all time. Look at how successful Albion online is, because it's a carbon copy of Eve, but reformatted into a simpler 2D fantasy setting. I'm only surprised it took THIS LONG for someone to do what Albion did, after Eve perfected the blueprint.

[@makinawake9178]

@@stiimuli economic submarine simulator

[@MikhailFedotov]

I love the concept of EVE. The game is beautiful, the music is, their DLCs are. But, it's so toxic and the grind is horrible if you don't actually pay for it. I want to love the game, I just can't..

[@coloradodrives7784]

What grind are you paying for? I'm going out and mining the materials for my build project while still having to FC for my alliance and rat to help keeps the military index up in our part of null sec. You can't pay for any of that, the best you can do is maybe pay for a skill injector, and that can be done with in game currency, same as a subscription, if you earn enough. And it really isn't that hard to earn that amount of money lol.

[@pmull6784]

I have 60m skill points after 4 years. I'm one of those that keeps giving it up and coming back. Definitely a love/hate relationship. Prolly more love than hate, I guess...

[@llongone2]

I've been playing for almost 3 years, and I feel like I know about 10% of the game. There is so much to learn/do/understand/experience...(for me,) it's nearly endless content.

[@Matticus898]

Only if they would make Elite Dangerous more like EVE...........

[@TheKianykin]

I once blew up someone t2 fitted cyno beacon that was being used to jump a carrier into lowsec. The guy got so pissed off he got red alliance to wardec our tiny corp. Fun times

[@McSniffle]

I recall when I played a lot (10+ years ago), the largest ships take years to be able to use, not to mention outfit correctly. But even early characters can be very useful in very particular ships. You can't really get anything of value out of EVE Online if you dont establish yourself in the community and align to some identity within its player-run world. The only feelings of satisfaction in that game stem from your impact (or lack-thereof) within a corporation or alliance, or how your corporation or alliance affects others. It's a very alive world, everything is player made and player ran, so nothing feels artificial. But a world like that means that 99% of people who play it will never feel like a main character and you have to be OK with that. It honestly at times felt like going to a job, but all the coworkers were cool and we would chat for hours on voice coms while essentially being border-guards at gates seeing action maybe every few days lol.

[@hiroki_rinn]

I started in 2003 and still play, and I play it “wrong” in that I’ve avoided player groups for about 8 years. That loner lyfe! Ya just get tired of all the turncoats and children screaming that they have the conch.

[@Vonatar74]

EVE is a game that is way better to watch, read about and think about, than actually play.

[@stiimuli]

good way to describe it

[@JustAllinOneResource]

Thanks Obsidian. It is one of my favorite space sims but I just can't afford it. No way am I going to say goodbye to that much money on a monthly charge where I could pick up two decent games for that price when they go on sale so nah.

[@Danko05]

Do you know it is free to play now?

[@katharinekatharsis]

@@Danko05 wrong.

[@siddheshkadam1988]

@@Danko05 eve f2p is a joke, only way to actually play it is to sub, lose sub means lose the skills. 5 usd per month is the best price for the sub, 20 usd not worth it.

[@Danko05]

@@siddheshkadam1988 how do you pay 5 a month?

[@siddheshkadam1988]

@@Danko05 you cannot pay 5 per month, what i mean there is that the game does not deserve anything over 5 usd as sub price, paying 20 usd is totally not worth it.

[@aresdesiderata8959]

It is actually the spaciest of all space games. It's such a space game that you literally can't go anywhere BUT space. The exception would be stations, but all you do there is spin your ships before going back out into space. To say Eve isn't a space game is ludicrous. It is the greatest persistent science fiction sandbox game there's ever been. You can do everything from mining to battling in huge fleets to dueling in high speed interceptors where dog fights can literally last a matter of seconds. Not only that but the atmosphere, the graphics, the music, the lore, are all top tier and have been compiled over decades of game history. It is the most unique game of all time. Look at how successful Albion online is, because it's a carbon copy of Eve, but reformatted into a simpler 2D fantasy setting. I'm only surprised it took THIS LONG for someone to do what Albion did, after Eve perfected the blueprint.

[@solomonsd21]

I was an Eve Online beta player back in the day, and went to their first Even Online Fan Fest in Reykjavík, my first trip to a European country. I had a lot of good times, but my friends stopped playing, and it was far less fun as a solo game. I still have 2 of the 3 accounts I used to run, but haven't played in years. Working from home I find myself not interested in games as much, wanting to get out of the house more than staying in it even longer. I really do not like the buyable boosts you can go through now. I put in a LOT of hours to build up my characters.

[@sahhull]

I was an Eve beta tester too. I just have the one account now. Every so often I down load it and play for a month, but I simply dont have the spare time anymore.

[@ProfessionalillegalMexicanwall]

Sell me your characters hahaha

[@makinawake9178]

I don't appreciate the pay2win stuff either but as always the underdog can come out on top. It's a big part of the attraction.

[@BanControl]

@@makinawake9178 i dont consider it p2w because those skill points arent just magically created, someone else had to spend irl time training those skills to then extract and sell them to the supposed "p2w" people.

[@CitarNosis506]

Started out last year, found a nice high sec corp but still doing stuffs in High, low, null and soon wormholes. It's just an amazing game, an evolving universe.

[@StarCitizenJorunn]

Aren't all of those video clips cinematic trailers that don't look anything like the actual gameplay and there were never any actual player characters in game? I get that you need good B-Roll and Eve gameplay just isn't...

[@zangcheye]

I used to love EVE, but I am very disillusioned with how things have gone since Free to Play. I totally get that a company has to make money. I do. But, I came back a few months ago after about 10 years. I am so disappointed in how the progression system was implemented. I paid two subscriptions for 4 years more than 10 years ago, and earned and bought a lot of stuff. Now, when I play, because I'm not omega, 90% of what I spent a lot of money and time on is not accessible in the F2P system. I paid for them, I earned them, but now I have to re-sub to get what I already had? I guess you could say WoW does the same thing, but I was really let down by this. At least let me use what I had and work on progressing from there, please.

[@TrampyPulsar]

I don't have much hope, seems we're going back to the way the game was run that lead up to the Summer of Rage, Scarcity, buyable ships on the cash shop, 'gold ammo' boosters for cash, lots of bad omens.

[@lillen141]

Wish it whas pve an d not pvp.

[@Drakey_Fenix]

Wish it wasn't live service and subscription based. I have been interested in Eve Online for over 15 years, but I refuse to pay a subscription fee to any type of game, as I don't like that kind of model. More and more things in life are turning to that model and going away from ownership, something that I personally think is awful.

[@BearThor]

I also wish it was PvE. But then again, without the PvP the game would be dead ;D

[@TheXood]

@@Drakey_Fenixhow would you want to pay then? A one time purchase will be hard to keep a game going for many years. Unless it has a huge amount of new players all the time. This only leaves microtransactions

[@TheXood]

There are a few space mmo with PvE on Steam.

[@BrunoMoozika]

@@Drakey_Fenixyou can play it for free. But otherwise how exactly would you want a MMOG to function without subscriptions? This isn't a single player or "open world" sort of game, it's a massive multiplayer sandbox online game with hundreds of thousands of players in the same universe. At least EVE allows you to pay for the subscription with ingame currency, if you are willing to do the work. I haven't paid for my subs for 2 years, can easily pay it with my ingame currency.

[@Omidion]

I like what EvE represents, but i tried to get into the game many times, but it's so complicated that i couldn't it's not a new player friendly game.

[@stiimuli]

yeah for many years the steep learning curve (mountain) was infamous. I think systems have been put in since then that help with that but not sure what they are.

[@bdouglas3751]

I would be interested in you providing some EVE content

[@TarisRedwing]

na Eve has been stale game play wise for 10 years now. If anything they keep taking things away while dangling the golden carrot of potential fun in front of players. They need more interesting things like the Triglavians for me to come back.

[@coloradodrives7784]

We need a massive drifter invasion like we had with the Trigs!

[@Woobieeee]

Eve is simply the greatest Space game ever created. There is no debate against it. Hopefully they are able to stay alive another decade.

[@71Jay17]

That requires listening to players who unsubed and left which contradicts the hardcore base of narcissistic griefers. So it wont happen. Its heading for the grave and I am sad but ok with it. The company does not want to grow.

[@thatgregguy]

The greatest space game ever created????? Thats definitely your opinion.

[@makinawake9178]

@@thatgregguy that's what usually happen on social media

[@StevenHouse1980]

I would like to see someone turn a copy of EVE into a Star Wars game, with an even bigger galaxy map, with vastly more factions.

[@Whologin]

Everyone will want to license Star Engine for this purpose.

[@Ploskkky]

I always hoped that Elite Dangerous would implement engaging, deeper mechanics, comparable to those of EVE online. I think that would have redeemed Elite Dangerous and given it a much longer life span. Compared to Eve's development, Elite's development is so dull, lack luster, and bad.

[@maxstr]

Eve got way too expensive for me. I also really liked the idea of walking in stations 🤷

[@stiimuli]

Sadly the "space legs" aspect failed. But we did get interesting avatars and station apartments out of it.

[@streyafromspace]

EVE player since 2009. I had quit back in 2020 but came back recently and yeah....nothing quite feels like it. Still not back to full time capsuleering though, flying around I forgot how tiny and crowded New Eden is compared to other games' galaxies. Elite's galaxy feels far far bigger and more realistic, so I play both games to scratch different itches.

[@BanControl]

yeah eve has like 7k systems but elite dangerous is a literal scale model of the milky way galaxy. like you said 2 different itches. tho i feel elite dangerous could have been an eve killer if it simply had the player driven economy that eve has. the economic side of eve is the real reason it has stayed so strong.

[@mikewade777]

All my favourite space games have been large multi path mission based hand crafted levels, open world random generated space is just too boring for me.

[@gilesward7700]

Not sure if it's me but while Elite Dangerous wasn't mentioned at any point it did seem there was implied criticism of Frontier. Or maybe I'm being too cynical? 🤔😆

[@ddabrahim]

Cinematics looks so much better than the actual game. I love the concept of EVE Online but when I had to wait 30 real days for a skill to learn, I stopped and never logged back in to the game since.

[@bencze465]

True, in todays world of instant gratification things where you build for a long time don't have value to most people.

[@stiimuli]

Yeah the skill system always bothered me. Its entirely based on time rather than amount of effort put in....which means the veterans will *always* have the advantage no matter how hard a new player tries.

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

@@stiimuli I mean, you can buy boosters. And for new players there are alot of options to get skillboosters fast for some milestones

[@stiimuli]

@@delfinenteddyson9865 ah skillboosters must be something introduced since i last played. Sounds like a good idea but still problems with the skill system and the game that really irk me.

[@Dark0Storm]

Its a massively multiplayer online game, this is kind of necessary not to punish people who can't login and play all day. I really liked that my character kept developing whilst I was at work and saw it as a positive thing rather than a negative. The real fun of the game comes from interacting with others in corporation, in actually creating (not just influencing but creating) the economy, the tensions, the conflicts, the narratives, the story alongside everyone else. If that isn't people's thing, then this game isn't going to do much for them tbh. Skills are all we ll and good, but working with others allows you to achieve, and feel like you are achieving, much more than raising a skill will do. You don't need ot fly the best ship to take part in a combat and feel the thrill of a well executed ambush or defence. You don't need to be the best miner to join a mining fleet and help collect the resources needed to build a fleet of ships for your members to protect their space... but you do kind of need to enjoy that kind of gameplay.@@stiimuli

[@Aeronor2001]

That quote from CCP about focusing on "conflict, identity, and community" is something I sincerely hope Frontier does with the Powerplay update. Eve does a great job at creating factions with unique cultures and methods, I would love to see the major factions of Elite fleshed out with meaningful conflicts between them (and meaningful rewards). What you said about CCP knowing what their players tend to want and being able to deliver it... crucial to the longevity of these games. I don't play Eve anymore, but it was a great experience crafted by a very devoted developer.

[@GenericName007]

Feel like EVE is leaving money on the table. The crowd that loves it, really loves it but for reasons that are probably known to anyone who have played the game, it's not for everyone. If they had a more developed and engaging solo player, not entirely interested in PvP experience, they could attract and retain a lot more people. Even if they had to go so far as to make it a separate product so as not to break what is working with EVE. If they made a more solo, casual'ish focused game set in that universe wit a lot of the same assets even, I think they could sell that pretty decently.

[@ragingchimera8021]

Agreed. Various Indie developers have been trying to fill that void for a decade now.

[@Dark0Storm]

If they did that then they'd have to take resources off doing the things they do now. I think it's ok for a game to solely focus on a multiplayer experience. There's definitely a market for it and doing one thing well is often better than trying to offer everything to everyone.

[@kearseymorton2078]

what you are asking for is not Eve. Eve is PVP first, and that is what made it a roaring success for 20 years (can you imagine a minimum of 20k players online every minute of the day for more than 20 years?). If you want PVE, there are plenty of other games out there.

[@GenericName007]

@@kearseymorton2078 As I clearly said, they could create a new title so as not to break what is working with EVE. Companies make new games all the time, hell CCP has made another game while they were operating EVE. If that is something a company wants to do they manage their resources, they hire new staff, etc. That aside I was making no suggestion as to any action they should take, I simply put forward they were leaving money on the table as they have created a good universe, just at present it is implemented in a way that isn't attractive for a lot of people.

[@mellogo1d191]

@@kearseymorton2078yeah sure…those 20k players in reality is actually more like 4000 players multi boxing…! LMAO

[@galloviking4766]

I'm an Elite veteran looking for a new space game. Well, new for me, haha. Eve might be it...

[@commander_fu6457]

Played it on/off for a while. I participated in faction warfare, lived in a wormwhole at one point etc.. Their price change in 2022 was right when I and some friends started playing again and it made me not renew the sub tbh. They have added so many purchase options for skillboosters and whatnot with their alpha clone stuff that complicated things unnecessary imho (probably on purpose). They need money to continue, I can understand it, but somehow the way they did it rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I will play again some time and who knows, the new content might actually be worth the new price for me.

[@71Jay17]

It has a massive player retention problem stemming from developers who dont actually listen to customers who have left because it directly contradicts a small hardcore base hell bent of keeping it a griefers sandpit. They reap what they sow and they sow a game for narcissists only.

[@sky173]

I'm curious... all the EVE footage in this video. Is that how EVE plays? Or is it more of a 'chess board' type game?

[@BearThor]

It's not... It's more like a tactical overview.. Or Chess if you'd like ;D..

[@BrunoMoozika]

Kinda a third person tactical shooter (Homeworld style, if you know it). Imagine Balder's Gate 3 in space, with ships and in real-time. And that's just the flying and combat part, there's industry, research, trading and so on.

[@Whologin]

your looking for Star Citizen.

[@lisztdylan7846]

Most of the stuff shown is footage of the game but using cinematic camera angles you would never play in. When I play eve I spend 90% of my time staring at local chat, hacking mini games and the probe scanner interface.😅

[@stiimuli]

It actually plays kinda similar to Elite: Dangerous without the cockpit camera view (and some other big differences)

[@Polite_Indifference]

A few years back they increased the monthly price of Omega by 60%! And you can't play the game properly without Omega. I can't think of any other subscription product or service which become 60% more expensive practically overnight. The quality of the game didn't increase by 60%, so why is it reasonable for the monthly cost to increase by 60%? That was the end for me unfortunately.

[@jonathanj.3695]

There's literally no sandbox MMO as deep and complex as EVE Online, hence why it still remains strong. Sure, there's Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, and even Albion Online, but they're not quite to the level of social, economic and strategic depth as EVE. The closest persistent online sandbox I've found to EVE, at least logistics and strategy-wise, is Fox Hole.

[@furyanwolf]

I was on and off for years with Eve, still loved the vibe and likely would today too, but it never lasted more than 2-3 months at a time at best, they made it far too difficult for people to enjoy the game outside of PvP. It only caters to PvP and people willing to risk everything and live in null or low sec, high sec is a waster of time by design and if you don't have the years of knowledge backing you to do well in null or low sec, you'll end up being funneled into buying PLEX to make up for your low skill. Thus, you either pay waaay to much to play the PvP way as the devs intend or you get bored in high sec. This is why in the end Eve died for me. Been playing FF14 for years since and its never let me down and I've never had a dull moment, because they have content for everyone, not just hardcore PvPers. If only Eve could've done that too.

[@Taz6688]

You say you still drop in every now and then to the game, so you would know the reason for the profits are never ending 'Personalised offers' something the old team would never do. They said they (CCP) would never do is sell skill points, you can now buy many offers with 2 months skill points, it was bad enough when Plex were added and then skill injectors, meaning the months and years of pilot skills you learned, were dismissed as you could buy your way into any ship in a day. In some respects the game has strayed from the unique game to the same as any other, buy skins, buy skills, the game is PVP, but it can be reduced or avoided, a sort of MMO, but one where you cannot ever trust anyone, fleet with someone, will they trick you into pvp combat. With new objectives being added new set-ups appear, instead of joining with others you see multiboxers going for the new content, fleets of Alex 1, Alex 2, Alex 3, Alex 4, Alex 5, done as they cannot trust anyone to fleet with and get the best payout, CCP do not care as that's extra accounts to buff the numbers. When I played you sometimes had to wait to log in, 45 - 50k online, now its around 20 - 25k and many of them are free to play or alt accounts, the true figure playing is a lot lower, I used to play 5 accounts, many people I knew had many accounts, sort that out to true log ins, the number is low, so I guess why the offers spam to get money from the few who still pay. I have to say it's still the best for graphics and open play, it has only got better.

[@alistairbolden6340]

I wouldn't say its still going strong at all, its never got more than 25k character online and some people have as many as 20 alts, I would be shocked if it ever has more than 10k real players online at once. That's not exactly doing well at all.

[@UniDeathRaven]

Still going strong because only ONE such game exists in video gaming industry. It has monopoly on its gameplay design. It is perfect kind of free2play game that sucks your money for ETERNITY while has NEVER ENDING GAMEPLAY. Eve online can exist for 100's of years without change.

[@jazzdirt]

I would still be playing Eve online if I didn't have a life otherwise... Eve can't be combined with a normal life schedule.. I've played since 2003 (?) until 2017. I log in every once in a while.. But I've no time to actually dive in anymore... Sometimes do some missions.. But that's not Eve... Eve for me is holding sov in Null or running a wormhole corp. And those things can't be done casually, that actually is a fulltime job.

[@gehteuchnixan8256]

Eve Online... I dived into it several times by the years, but for me, it always was and probably always will be a piece of shit. Too expensive, too monotonous, very few basic quests which are always the same and a very aggressive community in an everywhere pvp world. Even the smallest player in an EMPTY mining ship or freighter gets killed everywhere without any reason or use for the other player, just because they can and are notorious bored. As a result, 90% of the player hides among NPCs in High-Sec. Devs decided to ignore this problems, so many people quickly turn away as it is almost impossible to discover or try out something new as a beginner, you always get slaughtered everywhere. In short terms: no newbie protection or pve/pvp isolation, no community problem solving, no contact to the players by devs, just throwing in some new content and grabbing the players money.

[@GordonClark-o4n]

I have played since beta. Finding like minded players from all over the world has kept me playing. It’s the people that play eve that make it special. One shard world. Not 800 20k player servers.

[@justalex4214]

Never touched this game and probably never will cos personally I'm not a fan of being a small cog in the machine of a large org/corp/guild. That's what my fulltime job is for, don't need that in my spare time.

[@dimaworld2448]

you know no lie will change the fact that thousands of players have left the game, online has fallen dramatically, why? because the developers destroyed it with their own hands, making a donation that affected so much that those people who played it for decades lost interest in it, do you want to bring people back to the game? make a separate server where the donation of real money will not affect the game , where the achievements of thousands of people will not be thrown into the trash by the stupid decision of the developers to stupidly make money

[@teegegaming]

step 1 dont cap alphas at 5mill skill points, step 2 dont charge so much for omega or me and many others would keep playing after just getting into it then getting money capped just as were getting hooked. its tough enough to get into this game as a new player.

[@kessilrun6754]

Always looked very eye candy to me, but never once looked up actual gameplay. I assumed it was a point-and-click style of space game? I.e. not an actual space flight sim?

[@71Jay17]

Except they don’t listen to their customers. it’s still a sad sandbox for griefers.

[@Notivarg]

Griefers are their target audience.

[@sovietbear5163]

First and the only rule of new eden *DO NOT FLY what you cannot afford to lose*

[@71Jay17]

@@sovietbear5163 You assume people don't already do this. Tell me what is fun about being griefed for weeks on end because lolz. The answer is don't waste money on the game.

[@sovietbear5163]

If you cant beat them Join them my friend 💀

[@71Jay17]

@@sovietbear5163 its sad that you’re right. You have to co-opt and grief back. Game for griefers. So it will never grow beyond that small antisocial population.