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Daily Tip:If you use turrets, learn how tracking and optimal range works. If you use missiles, learn how explosion radius and explosion speed work.
A Special Report on the Apocrypha Launch for EVE Online - Page 2
The other hot topic of discussion is of course the nifty new skill
training queue. While it may not be as useful for players sporting
millions of skill points, learning to use the queue blends seamlessly
into the new tutorial. Skills are now given to players in a manner
which explains how they fit into the grand scheme of possible career
choices, whereas previously players would amass a giant pile of skills
via character creation based on seemingly arbitrary choices with no
real explanation of what they were used for, or in some cases, they
would serve no purpose at all depending on what you wanted to
accomplish in the game. When combined with the epic mission arc, adding
this kind of structure at the entry level is easily the most
significant leap forward EVE has seen in years.
The
Damsel
in Distress
At the conclusion of the old tutorial missions, players were more or less given a pat on the back by their agent and then left to their own devices. I still remember hitting that point the first time and thinking, “Ok, what now?” It was easy to feel slightly overwhelmed, and with no true social hubs in EVE I also had that moment of wondering whether I’d meet other pilots and hopefully survive in some of the harsher environments outside of high sec space.
While I don’t want to give any spoilers here as to the content of the epic mission arc, I find it to be a brilliant solution for transitioning players from the tutorial to the great wide open of New Eden. Unlike standard agent missions, the missions along the epic arc never expire, so there isn’t that pressure to do them on anyone’s schedule other than your own. In the meantime, they were cleverly crafted in such a way that it encourages players to work together while not making it mandatory, at least earlier on in the chain.
One sticking point here is that while my tutorial agent did mention where I needed to be to begin the epic missions, they failed to add a bookmark for my new contact, and I foolishly forgot to do so myself. Thankfully some of the other pilots in the area were kind enough to point me in the right direction; otherwise I’d likely still be spinning the 3D map in circles looking for a star system that sounded familiar. Another slight bump in the transition comes in the form of your new contact being seven jumps away. Considering the vastness of known space that’s not too terribly far, but those jumps begin to add up once you realize you have half a dozen ships sitting in your hanger that you might want to bring with you.
Captain’s Log: Stardate 3160.9
Dalmarus made some excellent points about expanded content in a recent Forever Fantasy column. In that article’s accompanying forum discussion, the EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion was brought up which is an excellent example of delivering meaningful content to a broader spectrum of players; something SOE had previously been criticized for not accomplishing with the earlier, raid-centric Planes of Power. LDoN has not only been one of my favorite expansions, but in many ways it set the bar for what could be achieved with new content when developers broaden their focus to accommodate a larger potential audience.
By and large, Apocrypha manages to bring something new to the established universe of EVE in meaningful ways for players of just about any skill level. Even if the expansion itself weren’t free to current subscribers, I think Apocrypha raises the bar both in terms of quality and providing meaningful content to a broad spectrum of players. I’ve been a big proponent for content that expands a core MMO experience outward rather than strictly upward, and the latest installment of the EVE saga not only accomplished exactly that, but does so with flying colors. Mind you, most of those colors are different shades of gunmetal gray, but this is EVE I’m talking about here!
Have you been playing through Apocrypha? If so, be sure to share some of your impressions on our forums, or if you’d prefer, my inbox is always open! In the meantime, this is Captain Sardu, signing off!
|
Apocrypha raises the bar in terms of delivering meaningful content to a broad spectrum of players |
At the conclusion of the old tutorial missions, players were more or less given a pat on the back by their agent and then left to their own devices. I still remember hitting that point the first time and thinking, “Ok, what now?” It was easy to feel slightly overwhelmed, and with no true social hubs in EVE I also had that moment of wondering whether I’d meet other pilots and hopefully survive in some of the harsher environments outside of high sec space.
While I don’t want to give any spoilers here as to the content of the epic mission arc, I find it to be a brilliant solution for transitioning players from the tutorial to the great wide open of New Eden. Unlike standard agent missions, the missions along the epic arc never expire, so there isn’t that pressure to do them on anyone’s schedule other than your own. In the meantime, they were cleverly crafted in such a way that it encourages players to work together while not making it mandatory, at least earlier on in the chain.
One sticking point here is that while my tutorial agent did mention where I needed to be to begin the epic missions, they failed to add a bookmark for my new contact, and I foolishly forgot to do so myself. Thankfully some of the other pilots in the area were kind enough to point me in the right direction; otherwise I’d likely still be spinning the 3D map in circles looking for a star system that sounded familiar. Another slight bump in the transition comes in the form of your new contact being seven jumps away. Considering the vastness of known space that’s not too terribly far, but those jumps begin to add up once you realize you have half a dozen ships sitting in your hanger that you might want to bring with you.
Captain’s Log: Stardate 3160.9
Dalmarus made some excellent points about expanded content in a recent Forever Fantasy column. In that article’s accompanying forum discussion, the EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansion was brought up which is an excellent example of delivering meaningful content to a broader spectrum of players; something SOE had previously been criticized for not accomplishing with the earlier, raid-centric Planes of Power. LDoN has not only been one of my favorite expansions, but in many ways it set the bar for what could be achieved with new content when developers broaden their focus to accommodate a larger potential audience.
By and large, Apocrypha manages to bring something new to the established universe of EVE in meaningful ways for players of just about any skill level. Even if the expansion itself weren’t free to current subscribers, I think Apocrypha raises the bar both in terms of quality and providing meaningful content to a broad spectrum of players. I’ve been a big proponent for content that expands a core MMO experience outward rather than strictly upward, and the latest installment of the EVE saga not only accomplished exactly that, but does so with flying colors. Mind you, most of those colors are different shades of gunmetal gray, but this is EVE I’m talking about here!
Have you been playing through Apocrypha? If so, be sure to share some of your impressions on our forums, or if you’d prefer, my inbox is always open! In the meantime, this is Captain Sardu, signing off!
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