EVE-Online

I’m one of the many to play this thing. The more I play it, the more aware I become of the beautiful graphics and the people who play it. There’s a large chunk of people out there who just want to be bad for the sake of being bad, see who can get the biggest bounty on their head, etc,.. and then there’s the “HELLO FELLOW SPACELING!”-types who are just in it for fun.

Unfortunately, I can’t show you how pretty it looks because my computer can’t quite handle it. Poor Shodan… *soft caress* Needs a new 3d-card, she does. Still, it makes for some pretty interesting effects.
One of the things this game lacks is the ability to make your own ship unique visually, not only with the modules and names and whatnot that you can already install. No matter who you, the same model ship always looks the same. Except… except if you’re watching a ship on MY computer. Then, you’ll have the pleasure of seeing psychadelic ships that shimmer with color, switching from stylish pink stripes to green-black-yellow-purple blotches with the (severely lagged down) blink of an eye.

click on image for a larger view

One thing that disturbs me with most spacefilms is that there is SOUND in space. SOUND! Why? Can’t they just make a silent but tremendously brutal film? Does there really need to be so much scifi noise? EVE-Online also has sound. But it’s forgiveable because it’s already a very silent game. Space is silent.
Space is vast, is empty… but in every system you go, you can find something to do, someone to visit, someone to kill, asteroids to mine,… Still, it feels empty. There may be a space station 440 au away, but you can’t see it.
Of course, on my computer, the vast emptiness of space becomes incredibly blank and frightening. It’s a hideous, frightening thing… especially going into warp or bringing up any other menu, as this results in bizarre black criss-crossing patterns or I’m-about-to-faint black blotches. Poor Shodan.

click on image for a larger view

Something irritates me about the game, though. If you spend half your time trying to get to a point, you should spend the other half trying to stop yourself from going past the point. Once you start moving, you keep moving. There’s afterburners and microwarpdrives and whatnot, but after the first, 10+ second boost, it slows back down again. Why? Is it spacedust? Wind?
But ok. It’s just a game. They made it that way and if they change it now, it’ll change the whole system drastically. I suppose it would be a lot less user-friendly.

Going into warp is great. It takes a while for the ship to gather itself and launch itself… and as it enters and exits this strange, beautiful tunnel, it shudders with the effort. While you’re in it, everything rushes past. It’s stable, but dangerous. Ahead, the world turns blue. Behind, it decays with a rotten red as you fling yourself at impossible speed through what has to be both time and place.
I wish I could show you what it’s meant to look like. Perhaps I will someday soon. Meanwhile, check out the EVE-online site if you’re even remotely interested.

Hm. What happened to good ol’ 31-day-free-trial-if-you-try-this-RPG-now!-games? Now it’s 14 days free! What, they’re afraid that someone will actually get tired of the game within 31 days? Or is it that they’re afraid they’ll accomplish so much with these trial accounts that they won’t ever need to create a long-term one because they’re hopping from trial to trial? GrrrRRr.