EVE Online dev blog: new missions galore
EVE Online developer CCP Molock writes in his dev blog that CCP Games has big plans for PvE content in the game, especially for mission-runners. Eight devs are currently working full-time on mission and deadspace creation. In addition, there are a number of freelancers working on new mission text. The freelance opportunities were announced in EVE's EON magazine, so it seems they found the people they needed -- particularly in light of just how much PvE content is on the way.
Molock describes the process of getting everything in order for The Empyrean Age and Factional Warfare as 'dizzying', particularly in light of the 160 new Factional Warfare missions that were part of the expansion's launch. Molock states that more content is to come in subsequent Empyrean Age releases, and explains what we can expect from EVE's PvE experience in the future.
He writes that The Empyrean Age expansion involved new tools, which the devs now use to create deadspace complexes and add greater interactivity to missions. Mission running, particularly Level 4's in high-sec, are a major source of income for many players. CCP plans to enhance this aspect of the game experience by adding more dynamic PvE content; exploding ship and structure events, NPCs that aggress based on standings, and mission story arcs are actively being developed.
Molock gives some hints as to what we may see in Empyrean Age 1.1: roughly 100 new agent missions with another 125 in varying states of completion, and yet another 120 missions have been submitted by the writers. Molock states that new mission content will not only be linked to the expansions, and can be added to the game during the normal downtime if CCP chooses to do so. Here's hoping they opt to do this soon, as pulling that same mission three times in a play session can get a tad repetitive. Of course on the flip side, the influx of new PvE content means that certain lucrative Level 4 missions may not be offered by agents quite as frequently. Still, it's a small price to pay for having a much wider array of mission offerings.
