It’s that time of year again, that wonderful time of year! No, not christmas. It’s the hulk-busting season.
And what comes along with Hulkageddon? That is right, whining, tears and a fundamental misunderstanding of EVE-ONLINE as a whole.
So join me then, pirate and carebear alike, as I reveal to you the true secret of New Eden, and the ultimate key to prospering in far reaches of space!
The Misunderstanding
There is, and has always been, a problem in EVE. This problem stems from both mismanaged expectations and from a willful sort of ignorance.
The problem I am referring to, is a sense of entitlement.
Many new players (and indeed some very foolish and stubborn old players) come to New Eden with a set of expectations, these expectations include something they have been spoon fed by other MMOs, a sense that they are entitled to play their massively multiplayer games ALONE and without interference by third parties any time they like. They feel entitled to take what they want, without needing to defend what is theirs unless they specifically consent to engaging others in combat.
This assumption holds true in almost any MMORPG on the market today. However, it does not apply to EVE-ONLINE.
To quote the developers:
EVE-ONLINE IS DESIGNED TO BE A HARSH, COLD WORLD. NOT TO LOOK LIKE ONE.
This is a fact of life, an immutable design decision taken in a clear state of mind by the authors of your chosen form of entertainment.
Complaining about how this is “not fair” or railing endless about “it should not be like this” is completely and utterly pointless and stupid, if you don’t like Soccer, do you complain that its bad and you should be allowed to carry the ball in your hands instead? No. You go play something else.
And if you cannot come to terms with the fact that the quoted section above is precisely how EVE is, then that is what you should do. Play something else.
There is nothing wrong with not liking this style of gameplay, you are not a pussy for not liking it, but for the love of god shut the fuck up and leave, nobody that does like the fact EVE works like this is interested in your whining. There are other games out there that will frustrate you less, and there is absolutely no reason you need to be miserable, or for you to give the playerbase of EVE a headache with your complaining.
The Ignorance
EVE-ONLINE is not without it’s nuances however, it does accomodate less competitive players and professions with a degree of safety in specific areas, it does have rules to prevent griefing and it does have a sense of morals.
Unfortunately the whiny players mentioned above fail to interpret these rules in the spirit they were written, and instead will try their very hardest to use them as false arguments to support their position. A position which is in direct violation of the design choice discussed in the previous section.
Safety
High Security space provides a measure of safety against unwanted aggression. This measure is not complete, nor is it inviolate. The assumption that High security space is completely safe is utterly false and supported by the game mechanics. This measure of safety exists to make it easier for starting players to make their way in the world of EVE without being blown up every 3 seconds, and allows for the extremely amazing trade and manufacturing gameplay to exist for the solo and small group player.
It does not exist so you can mine, mission or do anything else in complete safety.
Specifically, in EVE online, you only own what you can keep.
If someone probes out your mission and begins stealing your loot, the rules of high security space allow you to engage them at your own risk but at no expense to you. The thief takes the risk of your retaliation, this is the price he must pay for his illegal action. If you want to keep that loot, you had better be prepared to defend it, and if you cannot, then the thief deserves what he has taken from you.
This is how things are designed to work in EVE.
If you are mining in your hulk, and you go AFK for extended periods of time, and you come back to find someone has suicide ganked your ship, then the ganker’s ship was invariably destroyed by CONCORD.
CONCORD punished the ganker and his security status has been lowered with all the consequences that entails, and that is the price he must pay for his illegal action, and he has paid it in full. There is no further penalty for him. CONCORD enforces the rules by applying the punishment decided upon by the designers for certain transgressions. They do not exist to pre-emptively strike down someone that has not done anything yet.
If you had been at your keyboard, and been on the lookout for suspicious activity in your belt, you could have probably escaped without being harmed.
Your safety is always your own responsibility in New Eden. No one else’s. And no amount of crying on the forums will change this fact, as again, this is an immutable part of the design of the game.
Griefing
There are sections in the Rules of Conduct (not the EULA as many mistakenly claim) that exist to protect players from harrasment.
To know, specifically points 1,2,3 and 16
- You may not abuse, harass or threaten another player or authorized representative of CCP, including customer service personnel and volunteers. This includes, but is not limited to: petitioning with false information in an attempt to gain from it or have someone else suffer from it; sending excessive e-mails, EVE-mails or petitions; obstructing CCP Employees from doing their jobs; refusal to follow the instructions of a CCP Employee; or implying favoritism by a CCP Employee.
- You may not use any abusive, defamatory, ethnically or racially offensive, harassing, harmful, hateful, obscene, offensive, sexually explicit, threatening or vulgar language. (Alternate spelling or partial masking of such words will be reprimanded in the same manner as the actual use of such words.)
- You may not organize nor be a member of any corporation or group within EVE Online that is based on or advocates any anti-ethnic, anti-gay, anti-religious, racist, sexist or other hate-mongering philosophies
These three cover the standard sort of agreement to prevent personal abuse, inappropriate language, spamming and real-world racism.
It does not include and form of action that can be taken within the rules and mechanics of the game world. If i want to declare war on your person and blow you up every single time you undock for 6 months on end. I can do that. And it’s not breaking the RoC in any way or form. It is up to YOU to deal with this, using the mechanics of the game. Likewise, I can threaten to do the aforementioned to you, and I am still not breaking point 1. If I were, however to tell you I intend to inflict real world bodily harm upon you, the player, THEN and only then am I breaking RoC. And I strongly encourage people to always report this kind of behaviour.
16. You may not do anything that interferes with the ability of other EVE Online subscribers to enjoy the game or web site in accordance with its rules. This includes, but is not limited to, making inappropriate use of any public channels within the game and/or intentionally creating excessive latency (lag) by dumping cargo containers, corpses or other items in the game world.
16 is a tricky one, or at least people seem to think it is.
Some player like to interpret this line as “anything that stops me from doing what I want is in violation” but the reality is that what it says is:
“Any action that makes normal use of the game client impossible to you is in violation”
The difference between the two is massive and important. I can run hulkageddon whenever I want to and blow up thousands of ships over and over again, and I will NEVER be in violation of this rule. If I however, drop 15,000 cans in space to lock up your game client and prevent it from functioning normally, THEN and only then, am I in violation.
In summary, Hulkageddon is a completely valid form of playing EVE online. There is nothing in the RoC that will defend you from it. Some developers even endorse it, and your crying will fall on deaf ears.
Because it is you that is doing something wrong.
Not the people that blew you up.
-Helicity.
