Sturmer
@Sturmer
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Joined over one year ago
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Obscure lore: share a cool and lesser-known piece of EVE lore!
in EVE Online
100 rewards remaining
I want to continue CelestialFlea Zephyr story, as I just had a very, very special encounter: Space Oddity.
We cruise together, through space and time.
It’s a lone shuttle, endlessly drifting through the stars since 2016, a quiet tribute to the legend, David Bowie.
Kekbur - 🌌 “Here am I sitting in a tin can…” 🌌 A few days ago, I... | Facebook
So now I’m passing on a small tradition:
If you ever spot Space Oddity, warp in close, slow down, and play the song.
And if you’re lucky, maybe Tom will nod from the stars.
Host a brand-new in-game player event! 🌟
in EVE Online
Closes in 2 months
Friendship Machine Event – How to Leverage Game Events to Build Meaningful Connections
Ewww, this title sounds like something out of a scientific journal, but in reality, this event was absolutely a social experiment - one that unfolded naturally in the chaotic sandbox of EVE Online.
Let’s Start with the Stats
Number of participants? Unknown!
I hosted public fleets across multiple characters for about 16 hours. At peak, we had 250 pilots, but the fleet rotated every 4 hours as players completed their 2,000 event points and moved on.
But the real reason why it’s hard to estimate, bcoz an idea caught fire, and soon other players were hosting these fleets 24/7 across multiple regions of empire space.
The Goal of the Project
The aim was simple - to create a safe space and collaboration platform for corpless loners like myself, helping each other to complete the Drifter Crisis event and earn rewards.
When random mission objectives were removed and seagulling was neutralized, I saw an opportunity to help solo players, so I started hosting public fleets.
The Outcomes Were Fantastic
Countless players in fleet chat expressed how much they enjoyed the event, saying it was one of the best they’ve ever participated in.
Since the event itself wasn’t difficult gameplay-wise, players naturally engaged with each other - sharing stories, hobbies, music, jokes, and more. It felt less like an ISK grind and more like a space-themed speed-dating event.
Here are a few testimonies from fleet chat:
The Evolution of the Fleet
As the fleet grew, players started organizing and creating roles to improve efficiency and security. Gankers showed up? Few skilled pilots stepped in with PvP ships to form a protection wing. Frigates got blown up by deadly NPCs? Fleet members donated replacement ships. Logistics, speedy salvagers... woah!
Many pilots had never flown in a fleet before, and when they saw hundreds of ships warping together simultaneously—from their own fleet—they couldn’t contain their excitement, cheering and expressing pure joy.
At some point, gankers failed miserably in an attempt to wipe us with four smartbombing battleships—which, of course, ended hilariously. (Related Kills | Autaris | 2025-03-15 19:00 | zKillboard) And it triggered the 'Fly together - die together' effect on those, who lost their ships.
A Social Experiment in Space
I’ve been playing EVE Online for two decades, and I’ve never seen this level of spontaneous player cooperation in a PvE event before. It reminded me of what CCP Ghost once called the "Friendship Machine" - EVE’s unique ability to forge real social connections through gameplay.
I covered the full story in detail on my blog, so if you want a deeper dive, check it out!
The Takeaway for CCP Games
To wrap things up, I made this humorous video to capture the best moments:
This event’s success offers valuable lessons for future EVE content. Previous group content often received heavy criticism for forcing cooperation, but this event proved a different approach works:
Easy to hop in
Not overly intensive (leaving time for social interaction)
Encourages teamwork organically, without strict obligations, if half of the fleet was slacking - noone complained! There was so many ships on site, that people didn't stress out about someone not performing well, or performing at all.
Maybe this is the winning formula - a player-driven, social experience that turns a simple 'grindy' PvE event into something far more meaningful.
