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.

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A clean and simple character creation.

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.

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The revamped tutorial makes everything clear.

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.