This week we discuss the awesome MMO Eve Online and David Weber’s Honorverse, joined by in-studio guest GWCer Juan! Highlights: we talk to the talented and fun Ian Chisholm (creator of the machinima feature films Clear Skies and Clear Skies 2), compare Eve’s all-PvP universe to other MMOs, taste a bit of the yarr with long-time Eve pirate (and Eve blogger at lifeinlowsec.blogspot.com) Mynxee, hear about Sean’s Eve-hooker experience, discuss the connection (in both strategy and technology) between Eve and the Honorverse, talk true leadership and Honor Harrington’s take on the subject, love on Nimitz (the badass tree cat), and generally enjoy sharing some of our favorite sci-fi film, literature, and gaming material. Enjoyed hearing about Eve? There’s a free 14-day trial going on now. We’d love to fly with you!
1st comment!!!
Listening to the cast as I download the book and prepare to get EVE.
Damn you GWC, There goes my free time. 
I shall enjoy this week’s podcast in a few minutes while mowing and trimming the lawn. I have been interested in Eve for quite a while, and I’m thinking this podcast might be enough for me to rationalize signing up for at least the 14-day free trial.
Is the Honerverse as good as Campbell’s Blackjack Geary series?
ahh this is the cast i was looking forward to and once i get a new comp i will be joining you guys i hope.
MINMITAR FREEDOM!!!
After listening to the cast, it’s clear to me that Eve is not the kind of MMO that one can just wander in to and enjoy solo. It’s good to get that info up front. Now if I decide to get involved, I’ll make sure I have some other people I know that want to do it too.
Good podcast!
I can speak from firsthand experience on this one. I walked into the game stupidly confident thinking that given my background in space games this would be a walk in the park.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
After several false starts I admitted defeat and left with my tail between my legs. What I thot would be intuitive was not and what I thot should be easy was incredibly complicated, multi-layered and insanely sophisticated. I took a long hard look at the game and began to weigh how much time it would take to get where I wanted to go because when I do something I do it all the way. I couldn’t make it work, the time commitment and the possibility of getting pulled back into an MMO.
I say this not to rain on the Eve parade, because I do see how much edification others get from it. It is incredibly rewarding to those who are willing to unravel the universe and mechanics. Part of me will always wish I could have slipped into this universe. This is a game that requires commitment, not only from a time perspective, but from a raw learning curve/cliff.
If you are going to do this, prepare yourself to go all the way. There is no try, there is only do or do not. 
Really nice cast, & really nice to see a genre cast not dedicated to gaming focus on something in the MMO world without a lot of snark involved. I must say though, Juan & Sean’s description of other MMO’s not exacting a large toll would indicate to me that niether of them go involved very heavily in the end game raiding scene. I have many a sleepless night, many millions of gold & plat as well as lost experience that would say otehrwise. Believe me, there is a very high toll to be paid to get involved in that scene. It is also far from boring. The problem is it has a high burn out rate because everyone pushes each other & themselves so hard to achieve the goal. I can assure you, there is nothing more fulfilling in any game I’ve played than finally downing a mob you’ve been trying to figure out for weeks. It’s even more thrilling to be the first on your server to do it. When you do it with numbers less than what it’s supposed to use? Nothing like it.
My opinion is that the Honorverse has better writing–less repetitive–and character development, but I enjoy the battles between The Lost Fleet and the Syndics (sp?) much more.
Wait…Wait…Wait…
There are space hoes in EVE now??
Really??
Wow…
Really fun and very informative! I did catch Clear Skies 1 and 2 but I am amazed by the descriptions of its complexity (and of EVE Online itself).
And Honor Harrington sounds very cool. I had been wondering about to purchase with my Audible credit and I think I have it down!
And I am SOOOOOO glad you guys are doing Aliens. The first two are still among my favorite flicks.
Thanks for the perspective, Solai. That’s exactly the feel I got after listening to this week’s cast. While I’ve been gaming forever (I’m a 48 year-old guy, I own and operate a game-related website), I was always leery of games that demanded my soul, such as Everquest/Evercrack or WoW. Instead, I was more comfortable with games like Unreal Tournament (for my FPS needs) and Guild Wars (for my MMOish needs). Guild Wars, in particular, was a very satisfying game in both the PvE and PvP worlds, and was never too much to handle from a time and commitment perspective.
Thanks, Pike. That would help with the “don’t play alone” need.
You hit it right with MMOs being social games. To me it’s a very important part for a game to be truly enjoyable. A great way to make friends all over the world.
PvP is not needed to make it fun though. As stated before, spending hours together with 25 friends in a raid instance trying to kill a boss and finally succeeding is great fun.
I’m gonna ask a very stupid question now.
Is EVE an Xbox game, a PC (or Mac) game, or what?
Obviously I’ve heard Chuck and Crue talk about it a lot, but what format(s) is the game offered in? (Just curious).
PC and Mac (newer Intel-based Mac). And it’s not a stupid question. 
To further clarify, I am not aware of any MMO that is offered as a console game. Everquest had some kind of console tie in, but other than that I am not aware of any that are. So far, the MMO crowd is primarily PC/Mac based. I don’t believe there’s been much of a call for a console MMO. With Sony Live & the XBox live options they may try to explore that option more. We shall see!
Personally, I am really excited to see what they have so far on the KOTOR MMO in development.
Thanks for introducing me to Eve and Machinima! I’m still a bit hesitant to jump into Eve given my tendency to be OCG (obsessive compulsive gamer) with any game - with no end, and no structure it sounds like game heaven, but I don’t know if I have the time.
This was a great podcast - pulled me off the forum sidelines - I really apprecaite all you guys do. Looking forward to Aliens, because the food isn’t all that bad.
Welcome aboard, Splash. It’s always interesting to see what things pull people out of lurkerdom.
I’m dipping my toe into EVE myself, even though I’m not an MMRPG kinda guy.
i checked out Clear Skies 1 the first time the crew mentinoed it. The lip sync alone is amazing… But the story and effects just blown me away. Especially hearing how Ian Chisholm had to shoot the space combat, that is just amazing work.