Everyone once in a while I spread some news onto these forums about EVE online bigger battles. Well this weekend was EVEs probably most bloodiest weekend of all time. The war in the Fountain region has been going on for the last 2 months, and with the tide shifting towards the invaders the CFC (goons and friends) they decided to hit TESTs, (the defenders) home station. The result was the biggest battle in EVEs (and all games) history, over 5000 players fought in the battle which lasted about 8 hours. Over 4000 players where in the one system at the peak time. 2000 ships were destroyed overall. In the end the CFC won the battle, and thus the war and the region with all of its riches.

Here are two links to more detailed reports.
http://themittani.com/features/6vdt-cfc-battle-report
http://evenews24.com/2013/07/29/6vdt-h-the-biggest-battle-in-eve-history-ends-the-war-in-fountain/

It only lasted 8 hours because of the lag Any big battle like that in EVE turns into a slideshow, it's horrible. Still, quite impressive numbers compared to other MMOs.

Eve has always seemed like such an amazing, mind blowing game to me. I've found it so cool because of battles like these. I've never gotten into it though because of my lack of a good computer and the monthly subscription.

To have that many players in a single MMO these days(that isn't wow) is amazing in itself.

The last time EVE had a "Biggest battle in EVE history" I went and tried the trial. Couldn't even clear the six hour tutorial without falling asleep, which is a damn shame.

I don't think EVE is actually about spaceships. I think people must have fun some other way in that game that I don't know about.

That first link's description was amazing. Goonsquad sounds like the Mongols of EVE.

It's pretty much spreadsheet the game.

The tutorial has been improved. The actual experience of playing EVE often doesn't match up to the stories we hear about it. You're right in a sense that EVE isn't about flying spaceships. It's about power and politics, and a lot of skullduggery. If you are a solo player mining and doing PvE you're probably going to have a bad time. The meat of EVE is in the corps and the alliances. Join a corp, move from hisec into the more lawless areas and you'll begin to see what EVE is about.

http://i.imgur.com/A2fkfuO.jpg

Been playing on a free trial lately getting the ropes of it. At first I thought I wouldn't enjoy it one bit and that it looked too overwhelming. As of right now, I am actually enjoying it and possibly considering buying a subscription. Not sure if I want to take place in one of those massive lag fest battles though. I'll just stick to the side lines for now in PvE. Seriously, I am a monster on those level one missions shooting down pirates and stuff.

I was an EVE player for roundabout 2 years. I'd say that's an apt description.

What I adored about that game was that it was unapologetically niche. There's certain types of gamers that are going to like that sort of game, and that's a game geared towards them. Eventually I had to prioritize my life, though. They still send me newsletters when there's an update and a good offer to renew my subscription. It's tempting, but I just don't have that kind of time for the game.

I would say that the real meat of the game is in the community interaction, and the really elegant way that everything ties together. I made some friends shortly after starting the game, and we'd get together to mine, and quickly learned how much more efficient and profitable it was to do as a group than alone. We made some contacts with some fighter jockeys that agreed to stand guard for us when we ventured into unsecured space, pulled in a guy we knew that was really good at hauling freight and had made friends with a lot of the pirates in the area, and eventually formed a corporation and started selling to another player that specialized in refining.

That's what I really liked about the game, how it innately encouraged cooperation. We'd mine material that was refined into supplies that other players would use to make equipment that would be bought by the teams that we'd hire out to protect us when we went mining. I found PVE in the game to be not terribly compelling, but I also understand that things have changed a lot in that area since the mid-2000's.

I did once get pulled into a moderate-sized engagement, once. We were out in unsecured space strip-mining an asteroid belt in a calm sector of space. When suddenly we spot all these ships jumping into the system. Turns out there was a running battle between two corporations. One team was trying to flee, and the other guys were pursuing them all over the place, and blockading the warp gates. So we were stuck in system in these slow mining ships hoping nobody would spot us. Which worked until a pirate troupe nearby decided to investigate while the battle was dying down for some easy loot and spotted us.

I barely managed to make it out, and our fighters really earned their percentage that day, but it was pretty hairy at the time.

This is how I thought "The Elder Scrolls Online" would be.

Not in space.

Just a game with consequences. That battle is simply amazing.

I hope this game is still around in 60 years when I retire, because it sounds like a great thing to spend my golden years doing.