Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
A Carebear's first look at Perpetuum
I've played a lot of MMO's, DAOC was my first MMO. I really enjoyed CoH, Vanguard, and LoTRO, and especially the sandbox Ryzom. I tried EVE several times, but never was hooked, even after getting into a 0.0 corp. I did like the RvR in DAOC.
-
As in other sandboxes, my first focus is to gather enough materials to make my own ammo. That way I am self-sufficient. I like to kill things, and want to make all my own ammo; and also want to sell the ammo if possible. So that was my focus in PO.
-
I went for a combat/industrial origin; the first 10 tutorial missions are fun, and I got the Castel, a small but good robot. He promptly went out and got killed. That leaves me with nothing since you lose the entire robot when you die. I decided to start another account, dedicated to mining, and make all that money back.
-
My second account was industrial/relations origin, and is mining and manufacturing oriented. Now, I've made up the Castel, and built two miner bots, an assault bot, a sequer. Factory operations are fun, once you figure out how to get a good CT, and maximize the factory output. Ammunition has been selling very well, including bullets, missiles, and charges. I can make everything I need, and sell the extra for profit. In the economic sandbox, I can make a living; and have free ammo.
-
That sets up my combat robot to start working for a corporation to build up faction and get better missions. So I have just now started doing missions, after a month of part-time play. Having an infinite supply of free missiles is great! 
My two accounts made a small corp of their own, so I could play with the corp controls.
-
In all this time, combat has been limited to guarding the miner bot, or running the lvl 1 missions. I have not been to the beta Islands, and have not been in a group or joined a corp. So that's a Carebear LOL
-
For those who like mining and crafting, this game is fun. It is even better that you have to prospect for materials, instead of having stuff sitting around with giant white labels above their heads (ala LoTRO). As a sandbox, you can choose how much of each type of game experience you want, from pure industrialist to combat specialist. A great game for Carebears!
------------
2024: 47 years on the Net.
Comments
This post right here makes me very optimistic for the game (as another potential subber who just heard about the game). The whole reason Eve lasts so long is because it is a sandbox that has something for most types of players; not just PvP centric (like DF) with little to no content in other aspects to "fuel the machine" and vice versa (crafting game with no PvP draw to create demand). If PO can work their way through the game mechanics to find a good balance such that 'carebears' and crafty ppl enjoy doing precisely what this fellow likes to do, then PO is a long way towards being successful. Sure they have a lot to do to get there, but this is promising.
IMO sandbox games have a different set of requirements to be successful. You need the trifecta of players. Crafters/PvE, PvP and Socialites. Crafters and PvE players create the supply for the economy and part of the demand. PvP players create a lot of demand, activity, defense structure in "hostile areas" for the miners, etc. Socialites create the guild/corp back bone, provide the merchant services, trading, etc. to tie it all together. This will form a basic in-game economy and "circle of interaction", if you will, that IMHO is one of the best litmus tests for a sandbox game.
OP, thanks for posting this as I am doing research to consider if PO is right for me and your post helps a lot. I will see you in-game!
I must have missed this post somehow...
Good read, glad you enjoyed the game. I hope you are still enjoying it:)
Glad you enjoy the game. You can get a new starter bot by right clicking the spining icon while docked in a terminal.