Back in 1966 the words "Space, the Final Frontier" were uttered at the beginning of a new television series that would go on to influence a generation to the glory that is the great unknown. Space, the final frontier indeed.
Men, actual real ones, landed on the Moon and returned safely. We've built space stations, sent probes into the deep, discovered wonders beyond imagining, taking pictures of the furthest reaches of space and time and made countless fantastical dreamscapes in word, film, animation, and more.
We have a love affair with space.
I know I do. It took five seconds for me to fall in love with Eve. It was a huge case of love at first sight, I was smitten. I knew I had to have me some of that. I can fly spaceships?!? I really didn't need to know any more.
And I really still don't. The people whining about Eve remind me of those that helped kill the space program. "Why are we up there when there are so many problems to fix down here on Earth?" "What's the point?" "What do we get out of it?" Like their own lack of imagination, intelligence and foresight is excuse enough to subject and drag us all down to their level. I suppose people have forgotten about computers, MRIs, cell phones, microwaves, and the million other things directly or indirectly derived from the space program.
There are those that destroy in the name of helping. Oh sure, it makes sense right? No one can argue against it, there are indeed problems here on Earth. And, I suspect, that .0001% of the total US budget will be put to better use? Yeah, right.
Don't get me wrong here, I complain a lot and I think Eve certainly needs to keep improving. But in the three years I've been playing it has gotten A LOT BETTER! (Kirith took this thread away from me, but he makes the same point.) Eve is much, much, much better than when I started playing it in September of 2008. It looks better, it sounds better, it has more content, more play-styles, more ships, more of everything. That cannot be denied.
I have no idea what the point of Walking in Stations is either. But I am not going to sit by and let a few vocal a-hats ruin my Eve. HTFU. It's the battle cry of New Eden and some people need to take their own advice. Play or don't play, it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. Yes, Eve numbers are down so far this year and yes that trend is going to continue for a while longer. For those of you in High School or College, the rest of us have a real world to live in and it is f**king rough. If you haven't heard, the world is in a recession. People don't have jobs.
I don't read the forums if I can avoid it, they are the land of the babies, the whiners, the malcontents and the never-happy, the immature and socially un-adapted. There are many, many good people playing Eve and many that NEVER read or notice or pay any attention to forums, blogs, twitter or anything else except the game. Those are the real players of Eve, the foundation, the backbone, the base of subscribers. Not us. Not bloggers, forum posters, twitter fleeters, we are the tip of the iceberg. If we melt the iceberg will just readjust and float on.
Is Eve in trouble? Of course, all businesses are in a continuing state of trouble. Grow up and smell the coffee. There are a million things tearing at Eve every single day, more games, more distractions, more entertainment, more and more options. It is a fight. And eventually, no matter what happens, Eve is going to lose that fight. Sorry, but it is 100% going to die some day. Just like you and me. Nothing lasts forever.
Just ask the good people at NASA.
I suggest the opposite. Let us, the tip of the iceberg people, be the champions of Eve. The ones that won't let the ignorant, the stupid, the reactionary, destroy Eve before its time. How about that?
As for me and my house? We are foursquare for Eve. At least the outside in space part of it. Someone else can play the barbie house version. I undock every day and enjoy the wonders of Flying in Space more than ever. Yes there are things that need to be better, or fixed, or addressed - like GCC - but they don't "ruin" the game. We are Eve players, we are tough, adaptable, and powerful. And together we can accomplish more than we can alone.
How about you? You going to set the fires or help put them out?