Back in September 2012 I wrote a post saying that I was worried the end of the 'Jesus Feature' within Eve expansions could lead to issues down the road. I personally thought the big headline feature was what kept Eve fresh and retained players. How many other 11 year old games are you playing?
Splinter Cell?
Galactic Civilisations?
Planetside?
Warcraft III?
Star Wars: Galaxies?
Everquest : Lost Dungeons of Norrath?
Time Crisis 3?
Call of Duty?
Prince of Persia?
Knights of the Old Republic?
Deus Ex?
Nope. I doubt any is, and before anyone says anything those are the originals of Planetside, CoD and Deus Ex! One of the reasons Eve Online has outlived all of those is that the game has grown every six months. One of the reasons it has survived is because of the expansions.
I can say, hand on heart, that if the Empyrean Age expansion had not happened I would not be playing Eve now or writing this blog post.
I wonder how many players would no be playing any more if Apocrypha hadn't introduced wormhole space and Strategic Cruisers and given them something different to do?
How many players subbing to Eve right now have been retained because of a certain historical expansion?
What past expansion has kept you in the game? I'm betting its not Odyssey or Rubicon.
Crucible and Inferno were severely needed. However they haven't delivered new things to do on the scale of Empyrean Age or Apocrypha. The subsequent "expansions" have not delivered this either. We have heard for years "Eve is dying". Eventually those people might be right. Are we seeing the start? Are the four horsemen on the edge of Jita and riding towards 4-4 as I type this?
I wouldn't go as far as Eve is dying, but it certainly is certainly stagnating. My kills for the last year:-
Yeah. Its not going good at the moment is it?
The fact is there is nothing to excited about in Eve currently. The old cycle used to be:-
New expansion release with new stuffz and new things to do brings people back.
Interest starts to tail off.
Announcement of next release with lots of new stuffz and new things to do creates a buzz.
Players start looking forward to the next release.
Pre-expansion lull hits.
New expansion release with new stuffz and new things to do brings people back.
... repeat for years...
What are you looking forward to in Eve's future right now? What forthcoming things have you excited?
Yup. Not a lot is there. What we know is coming over the next few years from CCP Seagull's five year plan at Fanfest 2013:-
Revamp of Corp/Alliance management UI (90% of Eve doesn't care but it is needed)
PoS and Starbase Revamp (again a large proportion of Eve doesn't use these, but might if done right)
0.0 Sov Revamp/Fix
New Space and Player Built Stargates
Thats what we know about. Not much to get excited about. What is there for those who don't run a corp or alliance, don't own a PoS or Starbase? Thats probably a lot of Eve. 0.0 Sov fix has the potential to excite as does the new space and stargates, but that several years down the road (potentially).
Eve Online needs a shot in the arm sooner rather than later. We need an Empyrean Age or Apocrypha to refresh the game and liven everyone up.
I don't think either Star Citizen or Elite: Dangerous are serious long-term threats to Eve Online. However they are massive short-term threats. Stagnation in Eve with bored subscribers at the same time these are release? Yeah they have got the potential to do a lot of harm.
Come on CCP! I know after the space-house and rage in 2012 you don't want to tell us players of your plans, but we need something to look forward to. Chuck a bucket of cold water over us, the pond is getting a bit stagnant here!
Splinter Cell?
Galactic Civilisations?
Planetside?
Warcraft III?
Star Wars: Galaxies?
Everquest : Lost Dungeons of Norrath?
Time Crisis 3?
Call of Duty?
Prince of Persia?
Knights of the Old Republic?
Deus Ex?
Nope. I doubt any is, and before anyone says anything those are the originals of Planetside, CoD and Deus Ex! One of the reasons Eve Online has outlived all of those is that the game has grown every six months. One of the reasons it has survived is because of the expansions.
I wonder how many players would no be playing any more if Apocrypha hadn't introduced wormhole space and Strategic Cruisers and given them something different to do?
How many players subbing to Eve right now have been retained because of a certain historical expansion?
What past expansion has kept you in the game? I'm betting its not Odyssey or Rubicon.
Crucible and Inferno were severely needed. However they haven't delivered new things to do on the scale of Empyrean Age or Apocrypha. The subsequent "expansions" have not delivered this either. We have heard for years "Eve is dying". Eventually those people might be right. Are we seeing the start? Are the four horsemen on the edge of Jita and riding towards 4-4 as I type this?
I wouldn't go as far as Eve is dying, but it certainly is certainly stagnating. My kills for the last year:-
The fact is there is nothing to excited about in Eve currently. The old cycle used to be:-
New expansion release with new stuffz and new things to do brings people back.
Interest starts to tail off.
Announcement of next release with lots of new stuffz and new things to do creates a buzz.
Players start looking forward to the next release.
Pre-expansion lull hits.
New expansion release with new stuffz and new things to do brings people back.
... repeat for years...
What are you looking forward to in Eve's future right now? What forthcoming things have you excited?
Revamp of Corp/Alliance management UI (90% of Eve doesn't care but it is needed)
PoS and Starbase Revamp (again a large proportion of Eve doesn't use these, but might if done right)
0.0 Sov Revamp/Fix
New Space and Player Built Stargates
Thats what we know about. Not much to get excited about. What is there for those who don't run a corp or alliance, don't own a PoS or Starbase? Thats probably a lot of Eve. 0.0 Sov fix has the potential to excite as does the new space and stargates, but that several years down the road (potentially).
Eve Online needs a shot in the arm sooner rather than later. We need an Empyrean Age or Apocrypha to refresh the game and liven everyone up.
I don't think either Star Citizen or Elite: Dangerous are serious long-term threats to Eve Online. However they are massive short-term threats. Stagnation in Eve with bored subscribers at the same time these are release? Yeah they have got the potential to do a lot of harm.
When people dont see any result of their invested time, they wont contiue to waste their time. WOT tank crew gets XP for playing so maxing out your crew is a goal, but EVE ships dont get shit.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the majority of the expansions only affect corps/alliances and not the PLAYERS goes a long way into seeing what CCP wants from its PAYING players. Join a corp/alliance or GTFO. This is NOT what castle/nation/world builders want to hear ... they want to hear ... Here is the sandbox, now go play. Eve screams sandbox all the time, but never truly delivers.
ReplyDelete10+ year old games? Microprose's Master of Magic still gets playtime. As does Jagged Alliance 2. I'd love for MoM to get remade with multiplayer.
ReplyDeleteI have some years of playing eve in my books and I'm still pulling excitement about where eve will lead to. I also have witnessed players saying there is no new content so they stop playing. I can understand that point but some of it can be circumvented by trying out new paths, either new for you or even totally new. Some of those I know complaining about missing content haven't even tried wormholes but praise it as a great expansion. How many besieged sites (the gurista stuff) have you done yet? Would you / your corp try to own a constellation in high sec, capturing all POCOs (or COCOs …)?
ReplyDeleteTo your point of “Revamp of Corp/Alliance management UI (90% of Eve doesn't care but it is needed)“, well if they simple revamp the UI yes, it only effects a minority. But if CCP manages it to rebuild it in much more intuitive and usable design (I don't even know what that would be) this can effect not only those people using it but increase the quality of live and the possibilities of Corporations by a huge margin.
We all know the stories of trust and thievery in eve. Imagine a system less prone to such vulnerabilities, how much more people could enjoy a nice environment? In my opinion, the corporation management System is THE key to new player retention and to crow eve beyond its current users boundaries.
Well yes, maybe I am still hyper optimistic about eve, call it the optimistic eve veteran disease. ;)
I was optimistic until the Indy changes. Now I have doubts to if seagull can pull it off.
DeleteI have some years of playing eve in my books and I'm still pulling excitement about where eve will lead to. I also have witnessed players saying there is no new content so they stop playing. I can understand that point but some of it can be circumvented by trying out new paths, either new for you or even totally new. Some of those I know complaining about missing content haven't even tried wormholes but praise it as a great expansion. How many besieged sites (the gurista stuff) have you done yet? Would you / your corp try to own a constellation in high sec, capturing all POCOs (or COCOs …)?
ReplyDeleteTo your point of “Revamp of Corp/Alliance management UI (90% of Eve doesn't care but it is needed)“, well if they simple revamp the UI yes, it only effects a minority. But if CCP manages it to rebuild it in much more intuitive and usable design (I don't even know what that would be) this can effect not only those people using it but increase the quality of live and the possibilities of Corporations by a huge margin.
We all know the stories of trust and thievery in eve. Imagine a system less prone to such vulnerabilities, how much more people could enjoy a nice environment? In my opinion, the corporation management System is THE key to new player retention and to crow eve beyond its current users boundaries.
Well yes, maybe I am still hyper optimistic about eve, call it the optimistic eve veteran disease. ;)
Meh for the most part ccp is starting to stumble. Indy revamp should have been a Jesus feature, ot wasn't a total failure but it should have been alot better. If the pos revamp is the same meh I see the pcu dropping more. Even now i only have my pirate subbed while i burn thru my wh isk when its gone i will be if the game keeps going the way it is
ReplyDelete