This is a thread about Lineage 2.
HAH just kidding. This is actually a thread about Eve Online!
For those not in the know, Eve Online is a space-based MMO. If you want an explanation of why you should play it instead of whatever other MMO you’re playing, here’s one I copy-and-pasted earlier!
What’s wrong with WoW is what’s wrong with all but two MMOs I’ve ever seen, and I only just realised what this was when I started playing EVE.
The two games on the surface look kind of similar. You have territories, contested areas and Places Newbies Do Not Go. The huge difference between the two though is that nothing in WoW is changable in any way. Darkshore will still be Alliance territory in five years time, Orgimmar will still be the Horde capital and Ashenvale will still be Contested no matter how many games of Warsong Gulch the Alliance win there. Even assuming you found a way around this the GMs would stamp you down before the day was out. In EVE though all those territories and alliances you see are completely controlled by players even to the prices in the market. In WoW you could maybe hold a town until the respawning NPCs beat you up, but in EVE you could walk into an area with enough force and control the entire area, from who enters and who leaves right down to the cost of the ammunition there that YOU produce with your factories. WoW has an auction house where you can fix prices but in EVE you can economically control entire solar systems and make billions doing it. The corp I’m in right now (GoonFleet) is at war with 3FA (3rd Front Alliance) on that map, and if we force them out then it’s entirely possible we could own those systems in a few weeks. And the GMs will do nothing about it, because EVE, much like Ultima Online before it, is all about letting the players do anything they want, and not just what the GMs want them to do. I wasn’t here for it (maybe Zero or someone was) but the GMs joined in the fun at one point rampaging through the systems with huge Jovian Battleships, and got beaten up for their troubles. I am reliably informed that it was a fucking blast for all concerned.
It’s the most newbie-unfriendly, love-it-or-hate-it game I’ve ever played, with a soul-destroying tutorial, but God the buzz you get from routing an armada of enemy ships is beyond incredible. Add the fact that skills train even when you’re not logged on and you can run courier missions/mine asteroids for ores in a window while browsing the net and you also have the ultimate casual MMO. Here’s a link to the two-week free trial if you’re interested.
I’m rambling here but at the end of the day what you can accomplish in WoW (get awesome loot from ancient beings and kill gods), while really really damn cool, is nothing compared to the scope of what you can accomplish in EVE (control a fleet of battleships and own the world).
And hell, can you ride out in something like this in WoW?
Or this?! (Steve’s pissant boat).
So after reading all that you probably want me to comment on the actual game. Well I won’t. Instead here are some bullet-points (I’m lazy and tired).
The Good
[ul]
[li]Skills. Skills train even when you’re not online. Eve is the perfect casual MMO.
[/li][li]You can play it windowed. Run courier missions or mine while you’re working/browsing!
[/li][li]It looks goddamn beautiful. Anyone running around deadpace/COSMOS will tell you this!
[/li][li]It has a free trial!
[/li][li]Everything is player owned-and controlled! Unlike WoW, there are no NPC vendors! Everything you get is from pirate loot or bought from other players!
[/li][li]Exciting PVP! You’ll die a lot!
[/li][li]It’s fucking huge. You’ve seen the map already. All those stars are places you can visit!
[/li][li]The GMs don’t care what you do to other players! Scam them, kill them and take their stuff! It’s all part of the game! The game is run by the players, not the GMs stepping in every time they see someone being mean.
[/li][/ul]
The Bad
[ul]
[li]The tutorial is long and arduous and the worst example of the game you could possible want as an introduction!
[/li][li]It’s easy to get sucked into thinking it’s all about mining and getting bored easily. Go find an agent or grief someone! Being an asshole is fun!
[/li][li]It’s full of drama. Seriously WoW ninjalooting drama has nothing on multiple corporations slugging it out over half the galaxy because someone called someone else’s girlfriend a dirty whore.
[/li][li]There are already hundreds of people playing in huge ships who will not hesitate to blast you if they see you (me). This will only happen if you’re unlucky or slow but it IS annoying.
[/li][li]Unlike WoW, Eve has a whole TON of shit that is neither easily explainable or demonstratable! Luckily this is mostly useless shit and not important stuff that may get you killed. The game hates new people.
[/li][/ul]
So this the game. I’ve been here for four weeks now, Steve for one, and we’re both in it for the long haul. You should come join us. I’ll post character creation crap in the next post if anyone is interested. 
