So I've started to play Eve online. For those that don't know, Eve is a game where you "pilot" (captain would correctly describe your level of control) a spaceship to make your fortune in the universe. Space is vast (thousands of star systems), and offers many ways to profit: hired gun, corporate gun, miner, trader, pirate, strategist, bounty hunter, scientist, manufacturer. The economy is player driven and with 20,000 people online (there is only one realm) pretty much at all times (peaks above 40,000) this is most certainly fact and not just a claim.

The depth and scope of this game are broad. This is good and bad. It is good because the possibilities of what can be done are abundant. It is bad because it's overwelming for someone just starting. With the refer-a-friend invite, the trial period is 21 days, and I can see why. It's probably not untill you've completed all the tutorial missions and are close to finishing the first story arc that you are past the inital learning curve and you can start to appreciate what the game offers. Knowing someone that has a bit more experience is a great help, also.

One interesting feature of the game is that you can "level up" constantly, whether or not you're playing. Your character learns skills in real time and you can queue skills to start for up to 24 hours so that even if you can only get on for a few minutes each day for a time your character will continue to progress in their capabilities. Of course, money and faction standing will require you to actually play but if you have monied friends willing to foot the bill for equipment, you can easily participate with them when you're online while not spending all your free time playing.

The best part of the game is the scope of "that which can be done." While there are plenty of things that cannot be done, mostly having to do with "high security" space, some of the things you can do include: create your own starbases with various capabilities, gain control of systems and regions, create ships of rediculous size and power and use them to tear down your opponents' starbases and steal their teritory, you can build motherships which are essentially mobile starbases, you can build your own private jump fabric to give you an additional edge on attackers, you can use your starbase to mine a moon -- providing constant cash flow. You can explore, exploit, and settle dangerous systems that are only accessable though a constantly shifting fabric of wormholes.

I'm training up an alt that in 50 days will be able to captain a mamoth vessel that our small corporation will be able to use as a mobile base when we begin operations in hostile territory. The skill set required is divergent from the skills I want to aquire to be a better combat pilot, though I could learn both sets of skills in the sum of the two times. Between that and wanting to have my cake and eat it too, I decided on using an alt on an alternate account. Regardless, such things are in the realm of possibility even for someone just starting as long as they have people to work with them.