EVE-Online... some of you probably tried it (and most of those who tried it hated it, of for nothing else, then for the "learning curve", which is more of a "learning brick wall"), others would never bother with this type of MMO because it's too competitive, too complex, too boring or too addictive (it can be all of that, depends on person) and last but not least, because NORMALLY it requires a paid subscription (I say "normally", because about 25% of the userbase doesn't pay a single dime, electing to exchange gametime purchased by less effective or less patient players in exchange for prepaid gametime - but thanks to the learning curve, newbie players seldom manage to pull that amount of in-game money before their trial period runs out, and other players find it either difficult or annoying to give away so much game wealth equivalent to how much the going rate of the moment is).
But enough of that "free advertising" (I love the game, been playing it for well over 4 years myself), and on to the reason I bothered to make this thread.
A group of players decided that the dreaded learning curve was indeed too threacherous, and set forth to alleviate that problem somewhat.
What they did is nothing short of monumental : they compiled a list of the BASIC things you'd probably want to know about just about everything of interest to a new (and not-quite-so-new) player, added in just enough advanced information plus tips and tricks to make even older players keep reading (not all players explore all aspects of the game, it's far too large in scope for all but the most determined players to try everything), and put it all in a huge 400-page PDF (actually, it's just the newest incarnation and by far the largest, the previous versions were noticeably smaller).
THEN THEY PUBLISHED IT FOR FREE, when similar (and much less helpful) guides are sold for prices ranging from 30$ to 75$. Yup, they're just handing it out at NO charge whatsoever to anybody who wants it.
NOTE: "ISK" is the name of the in-game currency (standing for "Inter-Stellar Kredits") and also the international currency symbol for the Icelandic Kronur (the game devs being an Icelandic company).
http://www.isktheguide.com
This is where you can find the newest versions, they keep updating it whenever they can, and the download links.
Small warning : the file is quite large (this version's ZIPed PDF is about 56 MB).
http://go-dl.eve-files.com/media/corp/HUN/ISK_2.01_ENG.zip
This is the direct download link to the current version (to save you a few extra clicks, also the default download is in torrent version, those that can't or don't want to use torrent, the above link is not obvious since it's in slightly smaller font, to save bandwidth on the host).
The guide itself is a work of beauty (in my opinion, anyway), it shows how much effort these guys put into it... not only does it contain massive amounts of helpful information, the "production value" (look//aspect) is on par (or even above) many game manuals I have seen.
If nothing else, even if you ever tried the game before and din't like it, taking a look at the guide might be at least entertaining, if not time well-spent.
ANY PERSON THAT EVEN THINKS ABOUT TRYING OUT EVE-ONLINE SHOULD AT LEAST TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THIS DOCUMENT.
They can thank me later :P
Did I mention I love the game ?
And how awesome the guide looks ?
I'm proud of those EVE players, even if I don't know them in person :)