Topic: New Player, done.
W*ell, this is it. I still cant wrap my head around the pay-for-XP concept that is Eve Online.
Of course, there will be people who loves this, just like there will always be people who doesnt.
IMO, and the population figures, or more precisely the lack of, speak for themselves, that will seriously hurt people who wants to try out this game. You veterans should know. I only always see the same group of vets chatting among themselves, back and forth.
Knowing there is NO WAY anyone can be better XPed than someone who has been PAYING, not necessary PLAYING, earlier, is just demoralizing. There is just no drive, no incentive, no motivation to play longer and smarter. No matter how many mobs I kill, however long I harvest/mine, I just cant get better at it. Only time, whether u lay or not. You might wanna call this the grind mentality. I look at it as reward vs investment (time played, in-game experience learnt). Now, its reward vs investment (months subscribed).
I guess this model works if you are looking at a small population of like-minded players. But seriously, how many new gamers would wanna play Eve nowadays? Seriously. If you have not, would you? I guess this game is heading towards that direction, holding on to the remaining vet players, and not enough incentives to bring in the new.
Nonetheless, good luck to all who enjoyed the game! Ill move on to many other MMORPGs that are courting for my sub, one who rewards smart play.