EN24 discord
sov map

Jester’s Trek: There’s no more heroes left in the world, son

March 20, 2014

So Kirith Kodachi has a remarkably well-timed blog banter out. Here it is:

Quick post. I was listening to a song and a question occurred to me. Where are the EVE heroes? Against a dark background surely all we have are anti-heroes? A lot of mockery is aimed at any who attempt to be white knights. EVE is a dark place and yet pretty much all other MMO’s try to place the player in the role of some form of hero, boosting the ego and taking the player out of the humdrum 1 in 7 billion that is RL. Why have I fitted into EVE? Did I never want to be that? So I guess my question is:

Do classic heroes exist in EVE? Is such heroism even possible in EVE? How would you go about being one without opening yourself wide open to scams? Is the nature of the game so dark that heroes can’t exist? How do you deal with that irony? What effect does this have on us and the psyche of new players coming in from other MMOs? Is it something special that we don’t have classic heroes, or should we? Are our non classic heroes more genuine?

It’s a great question and I don’t just say so because I’m talking about the villains of EVE right now. Before I really dove into the topic of EVE players behaving badly and how I think this is impacting our game long term, I had intended to write a post about the good that EVE players do. So this strikes me as a fine time to do that.

Yes, I’m going to answer this question completely unironically. There are heroes in EVE. Here are some of mine in no particular order.

EVE University. Do I need to go over the remarkable amount of good these guys do again? I think I do, at least briefly. They’re ten years old, and for all that time all they’ve tried to do is teach people how to play EVE Online. This alliance is one of the most remarkable creations in all of video gaming and we have it as part of our community. Take a moment and just think about that! I am simply in awe of all the good these guys do.

AGONY Unleashed. A very similar organization to E-UNI, I don’t suppose it’s any secret that I’m a fan. 😉 These guys have had their ups and their downs over the years, but every time they struggle they come back even stronger with one mission in life: teach basic and advanced PvP tactics to anyone who wants to learn… and have fun practicing what they teach on the side, too.

The Angel Project. One of the newer ones on this list, created in 2012 by Sindel Pellion, intended to help newbies with a few ships to get them started, and help them learn this game, build relationships, and connect with other EVE players. That this organization was started is remarkable. That it’s had success is a freakin’ miracle.

The Valhalla Project. Say what you like about the incursion community, but these guys took me in when I was lost and helped me find a purpose in the game again. This is a rest stop for wayfarers right across New Eden between careers, and a remarkable community in their own right. You can talk to ex- and current sov warriors from every alliance in the game here. It’s just a terrific, eclectic community. They keep getting better and they keep getting stronger.

The Ditanian Fleet. …but sometimes I wanted to fly an armor ship in an incursion and when I did, these guys were here for me. This is every bit as welcoming a community, every bit as fun to fly with, but sometimes tinged with that streak of aggressiveness that has been the hallmark of my own EVE play. 😉

Red Frog Freight. I try not to miss opportunities to plug the excellent service these guys provide. The fact that they make a living based on doing it is just icing on a pretty damn fine cake. Jester uses this service. You should too.

Estel Arador Corporation. These are some of the unsung heroes of the PvPers of EVE. They run a free jump clone service providing support in dozens and dozens of stations right across New Eden. And they’ve been doing it for six years now. These are some of the really unsung heroes of EVE.

People who donate to PLEX for GOOD. 190 thousand USD for aid in the Phillipines. Tens of thousands for other causes over the years. The people who give their hard-earned PLEXes to these efforts are champions. ’nuff said.

People who run EVE community fansites. Let me just say it: this shit ain’t easy, and it ain’t always fun. The rewards you get from CCP are nearly worth the value of mining veldspar for the same amount of time. And yet dozens of people provide maps, guides, tools, entertainment, advice, art, help, and communities to this little bunch of people playing with internet spaceships. I could not be prouder to count myself among them.

People who voluntarily run player events around the world. I simply can’t imagine anything less fun or more stressful than signing up to run an event for EVE players, of all people! And yet people do it, they run terrific events, and I’ve had fun at every single one of them I’ve had the pleasure to attend. Bravo!

Players who unironically start new trial account after new trial account just so they can answer questions in the EVE Newbie channel. Yes, they use it as a recruiting opportunity for their corps. I don’t care. Have you ever just sat in the newbie channel for a while and watched its ebb and flow? I’m always very impressed at the players who take it upon themselves to answer the literally thousands of questions that pop up here, many of them over and over again.

My fellow delegates on CSM8, and the delegates of past CSMs. Likewise, the intrinsic reward of this job is remarkably little for the enormously high expectations that the players and CCP put on them. If you haven’t done it, you simply cannot understand. It’s the hardest work anyone can do for EVE and I have nothing but respect for (almost) everyone who’s volunteered to do it.

And finally, the EVE developers that actually talk to and listen to EVE players. I’m not going to name names. They know who they are. You know who they are. And if I start naming names, I’m going to forget a few to my sorrow. But every time I see an EVE dev interact with the players on a one-on-one level or as a group, I’m more and more happy I play this game.

So… yeah. There are a few heroes left in EVE, no matter what the nay-sayers think. And I’ve probably forgotten a few.

It’s just a shame there aren’t more.

– Ripard Teg

If you would like to read more we invite you to visit his blog here.