EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

One of EVE Online's most notable elements in the recent expansion Apocrypha is the complete revamp of the new player experience.  It has long been a joke that EVE's learning curve is more like a learning "cliff" insinuating that just picking up this game and playing could be described as brutal.  It is this rumor that has left many would-be new players feeling reluctant to give the game a try. 

While EVE Online was never quite that bad, it does have a game depth that takes more than a quick 2 hour tutorial to grasp the nuances of.  Understanding that trends change and to keep EVE viable in an ever growing market, the creators of EVE Online took the new player experience and revamped it into something a bit more understandable and less overwhelming.

With only a couple months of gameplay under my belt, being a new player is still very fresh in my mind.  I had the same difficulties and hurdles that most everyone else goes through and many of the same frustrations.  Does EVE Online Apocrypha’s New Player Experience ease these woes?  How exactly does the new and improved introduction to this sci-fi wonder handle now?  Let’s have a look!

Character Creation

This is the most drastically altered feature in game and it has been 100% for the better.  Previously, you went through several pages of information making decisions every step of the way that you weren’t quite sure how they affected your character.  You had race, bloodline, and ancestry options to make decisions on as well as vague attribute assignments and class choice.  While the choices you made in regards to your race were fairly clear, attributes weren’t explained at all and class choice seemed important up until you get in game and find that it makes almost no difference in how you play.

All this has been streamlined.  You make your race, bloodline, and ancestry choices, just as you did previously, but in a much quicker and user-friendly layout (all on one page, yay!).  Class options have been removed because the new EVE Online is embracing its true self and letting us know right off the bat that there are no limits on what we can do.  Remember when you were little and your mommy told you that you could grow up to be anything you wanted to be?  Yeah, it’s like that.

Attribute point assignment was also removed from character creation.  I’ll be honest, when I made my first character I had no idea what those meant or what I was supposed to do with them so I basically just picked whatever looked pretty.  As it turns out (who knew?) attributes actually DO mean something and because of this, they were yanked from character creation.  You’ll still get the points, don’t worry!

Not only is this new format new player friendly, but even for older players it will make character creation much easier and faster so we can get our brand new avatars in game as quickly as possible.  A much needed change and definitely for the better.

The Tutorial

Pre-Apocrypha, the new player tutorial wasn’t awful.  It gave information that was pertinent but you did have the feeling that it was sort of patched together as time wore on and it focused on aspects that were less important and left off things that were extremely important.  This is assuming you managed to get through the whole thing because it was painfully long.  If I were a betting woman I’d say that many exited the tutorial out of boredom without grasping much of what they needed to know.

The new tutorial, while still very in depth because this is a complicated game, touches upon topics that make sense in a way that makes sense.  Kudos to whoever put this baby together because running through the revamped tutorial was a joy compared to the first time around.

First, the tutorial assumes that you have no clue where things are and what fancy terms like “cargohold” or “neocom” mean.  Buttons flash and little pop ups leap to life when addressing various elements making the topic of the current conversation very clear.

The new tutorial also spends some time discussing skills, training, and a brand spankin’ new feature called the training queue.  Since this is not only the basis of your character progression but also one of the most complicated skill systems I’ve ever seen it definitely deserved the face time.

Newbie Missions

Why fix what is broken?  The new player missions, meant to familiarize the player with missions and all the pesky little things like putting that danged item in your cargo hold before you undock to deliver, still does exactly what it is suppose to.  There are very few changes here except that going into it you feel slightly more prepared to go at it alone.

This part of the tutorial teaches you about how various missions work, introduces you to combat, and connects you to other agents who will assist you in furthering your pilot career.  After this, you are free to roam the systems!

In a thriving MMOG market aging games, such as EVE Online, have to work just a little bit harder to find their place amongst the flashy new games that are turning out year after year.  EVE Online is nearly 6 years old but as Apocrypha is proving, older games still can compete!  The New Player Experience, in this writer’s opinion, is not only a step in the right direction to preserve the game’s future but also a welcome addition for any player who wants to play for more than the first five minutes.