In the SF MMO EVE Online, the rigid power structure between massive alliances becomes a problem. Is the universe heading towards stagnation without wars and conflicts?
Wars might actually be good for something …
The SF MMO EVE Online usually delivers some fantastic story on a quarterly basis that must seem like a report from a foreign world to uninitiated readers. Once, an alliance forgot to pay the rent for their star system – the resulting battles involved thousands of players who shot to pieces their ships that they had assembled over long weeks and months. In another story, the pilot of a giant space titan mistypes, enters the wrong course, and ends up with the valuable ship right in a space region claimed by another alliance: they do not invite him for tea but gather the troops. The unfortunate pilot is soon aided by his allies. A massive space battle soon sets the void ablaze.
There are other stories in which a band of space pirates tracks the behavior of a player for years, suspecting that he has hidden a valuable ship somewhere and will eventually have to log in there to cash it in. Then they would wait there, ready, no matter how long it takes. And there are intrigues, tales of misinformation, false accounts, spies in the enemy alliance, who – after years as a double agent reaching the top of the hierarchy – can finally fulfill their mole mission and severely damage the opposing alliance.
Is the universe of EVE Online heading towards stagnation?
But such stories have become rare lately. Instead, one reads thoughtful analyses of what could be the reason for the sudden lack of activity in the world of EVE Online. In a column by massively, the author addresses what seems to be the consensus of many observers: In null sec, the sandbox arena of the game, two such large power blocks have formed with N3/PL and CFC that no one can fight wars against each other anymore, lest they be crushed like a fly by their own alliance. And taking action against the opponent would trigger an unfathomably large conflict that no one wants, as they have too much to lose and too little to gain.
According to the observer, what used to be an anarchy with many skirmishes has become a rigid affair. He attributes this to capital ships and an excessive mobility of individual fleets. This has made it possible today to wage war at the other end of the universe without making oneself vulnerable.
The situation is particularly poignant as CCP, the developers of EVE Online, have repeatedly emphasized that they want to leave storytelling in their universe to the players and not interfere in these processes. So what to do when the situation seems so entrenched?
