The ten year anniversary of EVE Online has come and gone. With it came the reflection of EVE exploits throughout the last decade. A commemoration video was released by CCP demonstrating the graphical changes the game has undergone since its release and giving estimates of 40 mil. ships destroyed, 14 bil. NPC crew members killed, and 15 mil. pods destroyed in the last ten years. During the height of the buzz surrounding the ten year anniversary I was just coming back into EVE, and I never really gave the event much thought until last week when I was going through my old things and I found this...
This is the original box set for EVE Online when it was released in May 2003, it came with a bitchin' poster, CDROM, and a short manual. The poster features a Bantam mining the shit out of another Bantam, a couple Condors, Vexors, and what looks to be an early version of an Impairor. The box has a Fed Navy Comet doing some damage to a Caldari station.
When I found this token from the past it gave me a greater appreciation for really how much has happened and how far the game has come since its launch. Looking back to my earliest memories of the game, I believe the anniversary event failed to capture the magnitude of all that has changed. At least in addressing the finer details, which I find enjoyable to reflect upon....
During EVE's release, cruisers were the biggest hull available. I remember seeing a Moa one week after release and thinking how much of a total bad-ass this demigod of EVE must be to have obtained such a behemoth. Capsuleers from surrounding systems converged on the Moa in their rookie ships to gaze at this paragon of death and destruction; their eyes gleaming with dreams of one day owning such a ship.
Not long after, battleships were introduced to the game and I made it my goal to obtain a Megathron before summer's end. Back then mining and industry were really the only options for most players to accumulate any wealth. Missions gave little ISK and pirate bounties were even worse; level 2 agents were the highest available, no incursions, no moon mining, etc. It was the players, various plexes that were few and far between, asteroid belts, and stations. With determination I undocked my Imicus day-to-day, pelting omber after omber with my mining laser of justice; slaying asteroids left and right until I was able to afford a Thorax. With more than twice the amount of available mining lasers at my disposal, my Megathron drew ever closer.
Not long after, battleships were introduced to the game and I made it my goal to obtain a Megathron before summer's end. Back then mining and industry were really the only options for most players to accumulate any wealth. Missions gave little ISK and pirate bounties were even worse; level 2 agents were the highest available, no incursions, no moon mining, etc. It was the players, various plexes that were few and far between, asteroid belts, and stations. With determination I undocked my Imicus day-to-day, pelting omber after omber with my mining laser of justice; slaying asteroids left and right until I was able to afford a Thorax. With more than twice the amount of available mining lasers at my disposal, my Megathron drew ever closer.
When I finally obtained my goal I was stuck not knowing what to do next. I had reached the pinnacle of EVE yet I dare not risk my hard-earned battleship in the open field, and I refused to adulterate my achievement by mounting mining lasers. So began my pull away from industry and into the world of PVP (with smaller ships, of course), but that is a story for another time.
Back then there was no such thing as signature radius, tracking, explosion radius, and the like. It was all about who had the biggest gun with the longest range. One can imagine why battleships (especially railgun ships) were so powerful; having the ability to insta-pop frigates and blast down cruisers in seconds. The EVE community was in its infancy and it was exciting to make friends and connections. Null sec was hardly populated and the seeds of the big-name alliances were just starting to spread their hand out over the red areas of the map.
Most of the convenient features we enjoy today were not implemented; there was a very limited social interaction and trade system, no sovereignty, limited missions, no faction warfare, no WH space, comparatively few modules and fewer ships...you get the picture. A current player may look back on this game and scoff, but at the time it was a remarkable achievement. MMO's were just starting to make their mark and the complexity of the game was astounding at the time, especially without the online resources we have today. Although I would never willingly go back to "the old days", they breed a certain nostalgia that many other games from my past cannot compete with.
To see how far this game has come in the last ten years only makes me more excited to see what is in store for us down the road.
