I saw today that EVE Online made gaming news. I have friends that play EVE. I like EVE but, it doesn’t suit my time limits. I am, however, impressed by a recent battle in EVE. The video of part of it is below. It runs 18+ minutes. You can watch it in full screen.

You may not know much about EVE. It is obviously a space game evolving space ships and fleets of ships. Now Gamer describes it as:

In short, it’s a cruel world where deception, piracy and scams run rife, and if you don’t have a smart head on your shoulders, you will likely get eaten alive. The learning curve for new players is mountainous, but those who survive the first few months encounter a unique world rarely seen in gaming.  

The article I quote from is titled: Eve Online’s Greatest Moments – It’s a Cruel World Out There. Using the word ‘ Greatest’ may be misleading to many. The article is about the greatest scams in EVE. The game is a lesson in human nature.

The Event

This weekend a major battle broke out. Damages are estimated to have cost 2,800 players US$30,000. That is about $11 per player average. But, the average cost is not a real number. Some suffered far more damages. See: EVE Online battle with 2,800 players, in pictures. – The Pictures.

EVE has a busy subreddit where Admiral_Dovolski posted. The subreddit is a good source for EVE players. Way better than SL’s subreddit.

The summary of the battle can be found in: EVE Online’s Battle of Asakai: who was involved, the stakes, and the aftermath. You’ll find out

Supercarriers contain a ship and items hangar in which the owning corporation can store combat equipment. In material costs, a supercarrier costs around 15 billion ISK to make. That is about US$348.75 according to mmobux exchange rates today. Or in our terms about L$92,418. Imaging buying something that cost you L$psk and having it destroyed.

A Titans cost 65 to 70 billion ISK or about US$1,627.50 or L$431,287. Some players lost Titans. Ouch!

Word is that 40 Carriers, 6 Supercarrier,  44 Dreadnoughts, and three Titans were lost.I suppose that is just the major losses.

Whatever, I consider that battle a major event.

If you play combat games in SL you can completely understand what triggered this war. Some over hype the start claiming it is down to a single click. It might be, but that is an over simplification. A player warped (teleport in our terms) to the wrong place, behind enemy lines. The gang there saw fresh meat and went to work carving it up. Calls for help and vengeance went out and the battle grew.

Wow!