eve online game review
EVE Online, the MMO test after 11 years of existenceYou've probably heard of it, you may never have dared to try it ... EVE Online is a game that is intriguing, and that has good reasons for it! A few months after the release of the French translation, it is time to redo a test of one of the rare MMOs to have exceeded the decade of existence.
EVE Online is not a newcomer to the online gaming market. Developed by CCP Games (an Icelandic company), and released in 2003, this MMO experienced a free extension every six months until the middle of 2014, then passing on a rhythm of "releases" (always free) every 6 weeks. Suffice to say that 19 extensions and 6 releases later, things have changed since 2003!
You play a character with very special talents ... Following physical and mental training which few come out alive, you can, once enclosed in a capsule commonly called "pod", control your vessel directly through your brain. In the event of death, the capsule "downloads" your memory into the body of a clone provided for this purpose, effectively making you immortal.
Please note that this is not a first person piloting game. You give orders to your ship with your mouse, and you activate your "modules" (the capabilities of your ship: shoot, repair ...) by clicking on their icons at the bottom of the screen.
COME AND HAVE FUN IN MY SAND BIN
The game is a sandbox (sandbox in French): EVE indeed leaves great freedom to players, and once the tutorial is over, no question of holding your hand! You are free to make the career of your choice (Mining, Production, Combat ... or invent your own destiny), you are also free to equip your ship as you want, to go where you want, etc. Many possibilities are available to you, especially since CCP (the developer) does not condemn the scam or theft. You can very well start a career as a con artist if you like.But in reality, once the tutorial is over, you may be a little lost, because the "freedom" available goes hand in hand with a total lack of guidance ... It is therefore essential to get in touch with other players so as not to be frustrated by the lack of information. Whether joining a help chat or a guild of players, your playing experience as a beginner depends on the help you receive. Practiced solo and without corporation, EVE Online has little interest.
A LIVING UNIVERSE
Another fundamental aspect of this MMO, EVE Online has only one server on which you will come across players from all over the world, with an economy entirely managed by these same players. Clearly, each vessel, each equipment, each ammunition that you use, is manufactured by a player, and sold at a price fixed by this player according to the law of supply and demand. A strong point of this approach is the fact that all careers find their place in this great ecosystem. There is no "useless" career or aimless activity. It also means that things that impact a career can affect the rest of the game.A simple example: a big battle with the destruction of many ships will cause the price of the minerals used to make these ships to rise.
RISK IS ALL OVER
EVE is also the constant presence of the concept of risk. When one of your ships is destroyed, it is lost for good and it must be rebuilt or redeemed (in PvE as in PvP). The player therefore feels real pressure when he goes out into space: any error on his part or any imprudence that can result in the loss of his hard-won ship. But it is also what makes all the salt and the spice of EVE Online.There are of course ways to limit this risk. For example, police-protected systems significantly reduce the risk of dying in PvP, since any unauthorized assault will result in the destruction of the attacking ship. However, the "possibility" remains and maybe what you are carrying in your cargo is expensive enough for it to be profitable for the pirate to destroy his ship at the same time as yours, so that one of his friends can recover loot of value in your debris ... (this activity is called "Suicide Ganking" and is just one example among many of the emerging gameplay regularly invented).
The advantage is that as prices change according to supply and demand, if an activity becomes more dangerous, its profitability will increase just as much. We therefore come to situations where the player who takes more risks is also better rewarded for his efforts. This is the beauty of EVE: even without developer intervention, this virtual economy balances itself.
IT'S ALL A CHALLENGE
So, part of the fun of the game comes from the feeling of accomplishment when you succeed in something risky, whether it is destroying another player in PvP, successfully transporting equipment in a PvP area, etc. If there were no risks, if there were no issues, succeeding in doing something risky would not have the same flavor!PVP in EVE is therefore something that very often increases your heart rate, much more than in any other MMO. Something that contrasts a lot with the proposed PvE, rather "soft" in its genre, despite the recent introduction of more difficult missions (the "burners") in order to make everything more dynamic.
THE PROGRESS OF YOUR CHARACTER
EVE adopts a rather particular character progression system. Clearly, each character has skills (and can buy new ones). These skills start at level 0, that is, they have no effect. A character can advance their skills to level 5 if they wish, but they can only advance one skill at a time. These skills represent the progression of the character, because they give passive bonuses and allow to equip more powerful ships and modules.The specificity of EVE is that the level gain in skills is entirely passive: there is no "experience" to gain by killing other ships. It is actually real time that will determine the progress of your character. Whether you are connected or not, your skills will progress at the same rate. This has the advantage of putting all players on an equal footing: playing one hour per week or one hundred hours per week will not change the speed of your progress (at least not that of your skills).
But it also means that said progression can turn out to be rather slow, the most important skills can be counted in tens of days of passive learning. However, this does not benefit veterans as much as you might think. On the one hand because the duration of progression of a skill is exponential (it is very fast to go up level 1, 2, 3 and 4, then very long to go up level 5), and on the other hand because the number skill in a field is not infinite.
Clearly, it is very easy for a beginner to reach the power of a veteran player in one area, but the veteran will be powerful in several areas. Note that the choice of your starting faction does not limit you in any way on the skills that you can learn: a single character can decide to learn all the skills of the game (a gallente can therefore learn to pilot minmatar ships for example) .
GOOD EQUIPMENT IS ESSENTIAL
The equipment system is done through modules. Without modules, a ship is completely useless. This means that changing the fitted modules can radically modify the faculties of it. In fact, when you buy a ship, it is equipped with nothing. It's up to you to choose and buy the different modules that will constitute it, whether to fulfill a specific role and / or adapt to a specific situation, but also to stay in tune with the bonuses of your ship .Because here each ship has bonuses in one or more roles. For example, one ship is made to heal, another is made to more easily withstand damage, etc. This makes it possible to consider ships as the equivalent of your character class on a classic MMO.
But that doesn't mean you can't be original! For example, if a ship has range bonuses for its weapons, its natural orientation will be to be a kind of sniper. But you can also equip it with short range weapons, and use its range bonus to make it a closer fighter more versatile in terms of distance. This can create the element of surprise, or even serve as a bait for an ambush: the enemy rushes at you thinking that they have succeeded in catching a sniper, when in fact you were equipped for this situation.
TO CONCLUDE
It is difficult to give a precise overview of the gaming experience on EVE, as it strongly depends on the preferences of each and of the players encountered. One piece of advice remains, however: if you want to get started, don't stay alone! EVE Online greatly promotes multiplayer and cooperation.In terms of performance, note that the game is extremely greedy most of the time. On the other hand, it will be necessary to lower your graphics if you have to take part in big battles, which can reach several thousand players.
You can get EVE for less than € 5 during sales or create your account with a referral link and benefit from rewards, if the sponsor agrees to share his (discounts and referral rewards are not cumulative). After the first month, however, count a declining monthly subscription ranging from 11 to 15 € / month.
Nowadays, subscription MMOs can cringe, it's true. But keep in mind that EVE Online does not release any paid extensions, and that new content arrives every 6 weeks. If you hang on, the price-performance ratio should therefore be far above average.
Finally, be aware that you can also pay your subscription with game money (at least if you have a lot of free time). But it is very likely that you will not be able to pay your subscription through this channel during the first months.
The notes
+ Positive points
A single server, for a gigantic universe with a player-led economy
A huge lifespan ...
PvP provides thrills ...
New content every 6 weeks, and no paid extensions
The possibility of paying your subscription with game money, past a certain milestone
The large number of activities and play styles available
-Negative points
Getting started is not easy. Using external elements (guides, videos ...) is almost compulsory
... which goes hand in hand with a slow progression
... as opposed to a rather soft PvE
Lack of pathfinding when the vessel encounters a large obstacle
EVE Online has improved enough that we can no longer speak of an elitist game. However, it retains all its depth and complexity, hence the fact that it takes time to take it in hand. If you pass the course of the first hours, you will find a rich and engaging universe, which could follow you for several years ... And now that the French translation has arrived, it would be a shame not to try it!
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