Eve Online’s age also shows in its UI, reminiscent of Everquest, with many information-heavy windows. If you lose a ship in Eve Online, you get back a smaller portion of the cost then must manually purchase and fit a replacement.Įve Online comes from an earlier game design mindset where challenge and setback were necessary to contrast achievements and progress. If you lose a ship in Elite Dangerous, you pay a rebuy price of 5% of the ship’s total cost and respawn in a fitted, engineered ship matching your original. Elite Dangerous, by comparison, has player groups like the “Fuel Rats”, who altruistically deliver fuel to players whose ships ran out of fuel. Non-consensual PvP is a fact of life in Eve Online – I lost more ships in my first two weeks of Eve Online to ganking than in thousands of hours of Elite Dangerous. Mining in Eve Online is simpler, coining the phrase “AFK mining”, but provides the raw material for the broader economy and has specialist ships and skills.Įlite Dangerous is more forgiving. Mining in Elite Dangerous is more involved than Eve Online, requiring prospecting individual asteroids and gathering the released ore fragments, but only translates time into credits. At least, it is until you realize how uneconomical it is compared to specialist players. Building a ship from the blueprints you researched and from the ore you mined in Eve Online is a great feeling. You cannot construct or purchase ships or components from players in Elite Dangerous, the opposite of Eve Online. Elite Dangerous’ endgame is mainly PvE, including a detailed simulation of galactic politics called the “background simulation”.Įve Online has a much more complex economy and industry than Elite Dangerous. Before introducing Triglavians in Eve Online, the only endgame was large scale PvP. Eve Online players are the politics and universe, including building and destroying space stations. Many play Elite Dangerous in solo mode, sharing the same galaxy but not interacting with players.Īn Elite Dangerous player can exploit or ignore the in-game politics and universe around them. Eve Online’s corporate tax system sequesters a portion of each member’s income to support combined activities or reimburse members. While both have large squadrons ( Elite Dangerous) or corporations ( Eve Online), Eve Online has more tools for managing large corporations like alliances, inter-corporation war and in-game calendars.

While both are MMOs, Elite Dangerous involves smaller groups of players and ships than Eve Online. Elite Dangerous is even more immersive in VR, which Eve Online does not support.Įve Online focuses more on player-interaction.

Elite Dangerous‘ sound design is brilliant and immersive, with each ship having distinct sounds. Graphically, Elite Dangerous’ textures, models and effects are more detailed then Eve Online because you see them up close. Combat in Eve Online is more tactical, with the game aiming for you, and battlefields can span hundreds of kilometres. It occurs at a range of a few kilometres. Eve Online uses a usually zoomed out third-person camera view to get a better tactical perspective.Ĭombat in Elite Dangerous involves manoeuvring the opponent into your weapon sights, lining up a shot and firing at the correct time. Elite Dangerous has a first-person camera view. Eve Online uses more abstract, high-level commands, such as fly to this navigation point, with a keyboard and mouse. Many use a HOTAS (hands-on thrust and stick) and enjoy the sensation of flight. Flying a ship in Elite Dangerous is like flying a modern-day fighter. Developers also evolve mechanics and features so a detailed comparison would also quickly date.Įlite Dangerous is more intimate than Eve Online. A detailed comparison would fill volumes.

The goal was to only highlight the fundamental differences in design, intention, and appeal between Elite Dangerous and Eve Online. I wanted to experience Eve Online to understand its design philosophy and re-examine Elite Dangerous with different eyes. Being almost 20 years old, Eve Online is known for massive PvP battles and intrigue, ganking and its player-driven economy. As a long-time player of Elite Dangerous, Eve Online had always intrigued me.

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