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Palmer Luckey's company is making drone-ramming drones
Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey and his company Anduril Industries have drawn flak for their pursuit of controversial government and military contracts, and that uproar isn't about to subside any time soon. Anduril has unveiled the Interceptor, a "counter-drone" built solely to take down other robotic fliers by ramming them at high speed. It requires human operators' permission for takedowns, but can be cued through AI and automatically acquire targets using computer vision. The company is hoping this will protect military units and key infrastructure against hostile drones, whether they're improvised bombers or purpose-built recon vehicles.
EVE Evolved: Features coming in Oceanus and beyond
It's been almost four months since EVE Online switched from publishing two major expansions per year to releasing ten smaller updates, and so far it looks like the new schedule has been a huge success. Rather than forcing the industry overhaul out the door in Kronos before it was ready, CCP was able to push it forward to the Crius release window seven weeks later and the extra development time meant the feature launched in a very polished state. It may be too early to tell if the new schedule's success can be seen in the concurrent player graph for Tranquility, but the numbers have remained steady for the past few months in what is typically the annual low-point for player activity. The Oceanus update is scheduled to go live in just two day's time, adding several graphical upgrades, more difficult burner missions, an experimental new notification feature, and other small improvements. The scale of the update seems to be on par with the recent Hyperion release, consisting of mostly small features and minor iterations on gameplay. While we're told that CCP is still working on large projects behind the scenes, the new release schedule means they won't be rushed out the door and so we may not see them for some time. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I summarise everything we know about Tuesday's Oceanus update, and take a look at what's to come in further releases.
Star Citizen's latest ship is ready for the races
Not every spaceship is slated for combat or trade; some ships exist to go as fast as possible. The Origin M50, Star Citizen's newest offering, is a racing ship that can do double duty as a courier or interceptor. The craft is dominated by a pair of engines that provide an incredible amount of thrust and maneuverability. Players who cough up $90 can put one of these sleek machines in their collection right now. The devs promise that the M50 is "hanger-ready," meaning that you can admire it in person via the hanger module. Taking it out for a spin? That may be a while yet. [Thanks to James for the tip!]
3D Realms acquired by Rise of the Triad developer
Interceptor Entertainment, developer of the 2013 Rise of the Triad reboot, has acquired Apogee Software, who in turn owns the 3D Realms brand and formerly owned the Duke Nukem IP. The news was first reported by Danish newspaper Borsen, and confirmed on Twitter by Interceptor CEO Frederik Schreiber. Apogee/3D Realms recently became embroiled in a legal battle with Gearbox Software, the current owners of Duke. It's not clear how the acquisition will impact the ongoing legal battle, but Schreiber noted that Interceptor will have an official statement tomorrow. [Image: Apogee]
Interceptor CEO on Duke Nukem case: We 'acted in good faith'
Interceptor CEO Frederik Schreiber has acknowledged yesterday's surprise lawsuit between Gearbox Software, the current license holder of the Duke Nukem franchise, and 3D Realms and Interceptor, the two studios currently collaborating on top-down shooter Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction. "We are aware of the lawsuit against 3D Realms and Interceptor," Interceptor CEO Frederik Schreiber told Game Informer. "It's an unfortunate situation, but we have acted in good faith and are working towards a resolution." 3D Realms has yet to comment on the situation. The Duke Nukem license was purchased by Gearbox in 2010. Yesterday's filing claims 3D Realms "sought to privately convince others that the sale never happened." This isn't the first time Gearbox and 3D Realms have gotten into a legal kerfuffle. After Gearbox purchased the Duke Nukem license and shipped Duke Nukem: Forever, 3D Realms sued over alleged unpaid royalties. A few months later, 3D Realms offered a public apology and dismissed the lawsuit. [Image: Gearbox]
Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction teases top-down action
Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction is a top-down, action RPG for PC and PS4 from Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms, according to a teaser site at alloutofgum.com (warning: auto-playing, manly music) and a Facebook page. The Facebook page briefly contained scripts of alien text that described the death of a planet and the hard-won survival of its population, the Kyrr, as translated by fans. "Duke Nukem kicks ass across planets in an Unreal Engine-powered galactic adventure to save the president from an apocalyptic alien threat," the translation reads. "All new enemies. A never-before-seen arsenal of devastating weaponry and series-first mechanics, including experience points and tech trees, will let Duke rip 'em a new one in a way he never has before." Interceptor Entertainment is the studio behind Rise of the Triad and iOS ports of Duke Nukem games, and in December we noticed it was working on a PC and PS4 game dubbed "Project Ascender." 3D Realms handled 2011's Duke Nukem Forever with Gearbox Software, a relationship that ended with a canceled lawsuit and ... Duke Nukem Forever. The timer on Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction's teaser site hits zero on February 25. [Image: 3D Realms]
EVE Evolved: Lowsec isn't impenetrable
When EVE Online was created, one of its core design philosophies was the idea of risk vs. reward -- that higher-value activities should expose the player to greater risk of loss. This rule naturally follows from how the world of business and competition works in real life, and I think it will always arise organically from sandbox MMOs with limited resources. If something's risk-free and easy to do, you can bet there are countless other people already doing it and squeezing the profit margins. This idea was also built into EVE at a fundamental level, with the galaxy split into police-protected high-security systems, the pirate-infested low-security borders between nations, and the chaotic uncolonised wilderness of nullsec. The steep step up in risk when transitioning from high- to low-security space has always been a major point of contention with gamers, as those who don't know any better often charge straight into deep space to their deaths. The story of the newbie working his way up to get his first cruiser or battlecruiser and then losing it to pirates is repeated so often on forums and in the comments sections of articles that it's almost become a cliche. While the idea that pirates wait around every corner lingers on, this impenetrable barrier hiding all the best content from new players no longer really exists. Through the addition of wormholes and the changes made in Rubicon, no star system is now off limits to a pilot with just a few months of skill training under his belt. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at what you can do to safely travel and operate in EVE's dangerous areas, why the barrier into low-security space needs to remain low for new players, and how CCP has expanded the EVE universe through the introduction of riskier areas of space.
Rise of the Triad dev working on next-gen 'Project Ascender'
Interceptor Entertainment, Aalborg, Denmark-based developers of Rise of the Triad and iOS ports of Duke Nukem and its sequel, are currently working on a game known as "Project Ascender." The game is in development for PS4 and PC, and has been in the works since September. The project's existence is made known through two Interceptor developer LinkedIn profiles, namely that of CEO Frederik Schreiber. The other LinkedIn profile in question, for Executive Producer Khaled Ibrahimi, lists a 2014 release window for the project. The project linked in Schreiber's profile lists 19 team members on the project, including IP Creator Scott Miller, co-founder and CEO of 3D Realms.
EVE dev blog covers Rubicon ship rebalancing
EVE Online's 20th expansion, Rubicon, goes live on November 19th. Rubicon brings many changes to EVE including mobile structures, new faction ships, controllable customs offices, and a completely overhauled warping system. And of course, Rubicon includes adjustments big and small to a wide variety of the ships already flying in New Eden. CCP today posted a summary dev blog outlining the changes due with Rubicon for each ship type. Interceptors are receiving role bonuses that make them immune to warp bubbles, electronic attack ships are seeing range increases and general upgrades, interdictors are getting increased survivability and higher damage output, and marauders are receiving a complete functionality revision that splits the ship type into two distinct roles. Check out the full post for details. And if you haven't already, have a look at Brendan's EVE Evolved from yesterday so you'll be ready for these and other big Rubicon changes.
EVE Evolved: Getting ready for Rubicon
EVE Online's Rubicon expansion goes live in just two days on Tuesday, November 19th, introducing four brand-new personal deployable structures and revamping PvP across the board with a seemingly innocuous warp acceleration fix. The expansion represents the first step in new Senior Producer Andie Nordgren's plan to bring true player-run deep-space colonisation to EVE Online. The new Mobile Depot that can be placed anywhere in space is possibly the most sandboxy feature since the introduction of player-owned starbases back in 2004. Players have been coming up with plans for the device since its first announcement, but I think we'll see its true potential revealed in the coming weeks and months. If you've been saving up your Sisters of EVE loyalty points to get your hands on the faction's new exploration ships, be prepared to buy and build the blueprints as soon as the server comes up. These will be the first pirate faction ship blueprints that are available in high-security space, and a recent devblog confirmed that players have been collecting Sisters of EVE loyalty points like crazy lately in anticipation of the expansion, but those who get the built ships to market first will make an absolute killing. For the rest of us, getting ready for the expansion means planning where to set up a Mobile Depot for some quick profit-making enterprise or building a few small PvP ships to put the new warp speed mechanics to the test. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the best places to set up a Mobile Depot, re-consider the lure of low-security space, and propose adapting your PvP fleets to take advantage of the warp acceleration changes.
Rise of the Triad out this summer, here's what you'll need to play it
The release window for Apogee Software and Interceptor Entertainment's revival of Rise of the Triad has been narrowed from sometime this year to sometime this summer, it was announced on the game's official blog today. Also unveiled, in addition to the homage cover artwork above, was the fact that RotT will be available simultaneously on Steam, GOG and Green Man Gaming upon launch. In order to run it, first-person nostalgia aficionados will need a minimum of two gigs of RAM and either a Radeon HD 3870 or an NVIDIA 8800 GT, plugged into the same motherboard as a 2.4 GHz dual-core processor running Windows XP or newer. For the best experience, double the RAM, bump up to the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and drop in a Radeon HD 6950 or GeForce GTX 560.
EVE Evolved: Could EVE use twitch controls?
A few weeks ago, the EVE Online community went nuts for EVR, CCP's exciting new virtual reality dogfighter developed for the upcoming Oculus Rift gaming headset. The game demo was produced by a team of just a handful of developers in just seven weeks using nothing but their spare time, but attendees and press at EVE Fanfest 2013 were nevertheless blown away during test sessions. Though EVR isn't going to be integrated with the EVE universe, Senior Producer Andie Nordgren stated in her Keynote address that CCP will be looking into more immersive flight and combat mechanics for some the game's ships. This comment has sparked a lot of discussion over the possibility of finally getting some direct flight controls in EVE. The lack of direct twitch-based controls in EVE is often cited by gamers as a big part of the reason they can't get into the game. There's no active dodging of missiles, manual ship targeting, or really complex tactical maneuvers in EVE, but that's kind of the point. Most ships in EVE are colossal lumbering hulks more akin to today's seafaring battleships than fighter planes, and combat with them is more a game of strategy and teamwork than a battle of reaction speeds. But that isn't exactly true of all ships; interceptors and fast microwarpdrive frigates move at several kilometres per second and are so agile that pilots can already pull off some interesting tactical maneuvers. So isn't it about time we made the combat for those ships a bit more visceral and immersive? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the fast-paced world of interceptors and explore how twitch controls and weapon aiming could possibly be implemented without killing the server.
18 minutes of Rise of the Triad multiplayer
Interceptor Entertainment's remake of Apogee's Rise of the Triad will be out sometime soon – no specifics announced yet – for $14.99. In the meantime, we can share 18 minutes of the game's old-school multiplayer action.
Wasteland Diaries: Triumphant return
I remember way back when the Fallen Earth team released Deadfall there were many people didn't partake because they were waiting for Sector 4. And Deadfall was a pretty major update. It was practically a sector unto itself, with the level cap raised by four. As far as content goes, it wasn't far behind Alpha County in terms of scale. Yet for some reason, many players were holding off on re-subbing until the elusive Sector 4 raised its mythical head. Hopefully those players are willing to wait another week or two. Sector 4 is finally here, but I don't feel it's quite ready yet. It's not S4 itself, it's a slew of other things which I'll cover that later. The important thing is if you decide to head into Alpha, be prepared. You might be a little rusty after all of this time away from the wasteland and in need a refresher course in the finer points of not taking a Kaibab dirtnap. If that's the case, don't sweat it, we all are still working out kinks due to the new combat system. But even if you are stumbling back into the game in the most ungainly of fashions, an ounce of prevention is still much better than a pound of cure. There are a few things you can do to help yourself thrive in the new sector. After the cut, I'll give you some advice that may or may not help you along your way. I'm hoping on the former.
Wasteland Diaries: Car wars
Lately, I've been doing a lot of crafting in Fallen Earth. I have a lot of materials stockpiled, and it seems they are just taking up space. So I've been putting together some vehicles (Interceptor Speedsters, to be precise). They take about four days each to make; that's in real time, mind you. There isn't much of a demand for them right now. In fact, they sell very inexpensively on the auction house. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with them, but I guess it can't hurt to have a couple on hand. Fallen Earth is unique in the sense that you can't purchase a mount from a vendor NPC. You can get them from the rewards merchant or buy them from the Fallen Earth store, but the usual method of acquiring one is to craft it or buy it from the auction house. Some are even quest rewards. But the majority of the mounts out there are provided by the playerbase. In this post, I'll look at the evolution of vehicular combat in Fallen Earth and what we might hope and expect to see in the future. So put the pedal to the metal and zip past the cut for more.
Eve dev blog on PvP ship losses
The latest dev blog for EVE Online is from CCP Diagoras and contains some numbers and information about ship losses through PvP over the last year from April 2008 to April 2009. Firstly there are some very specific subscriber numbers. At the end of April 2008 the game had 234,314 active paying accounts, which had grown to 299,064 by the end of April 2009, which fits nicely with their statement a few days later that the game had passed 300,000 paying subscribers. Using these numbers and the number of ship losses which involved another player attacking he comes up with the information that in April 2008 there were 0.61 ship losses per subscriber in that month. By April 2009 this had raised to 0.67. The blog then follows up with a series of graphs that show more specific PvP ship losses per month. Some interesting highlights include how dreadnaught losses fluctuate over time compared to the number of each capital ship type destroyed per month which reflects the pattern of big battles over that time, and the numbers of Battleships and Interceptors destroyed which show the preference players have for Caldari and Gallente ships.
EVE Community Spotlight: Winterblink
Some players in EVE Online are known for a particular contribution to the community. Others for their presence on the forums or for their reputation as a pilot. EVE's players know Winterblink for all of these reasons, and more. While there are a number of celebrated players in EVE Online, few names are as recognizable in the game as Winterblink. Whether you're a fan of the Warp Drive Active comic, you listen to his podcast, or perhaps you just want to podkill him... most players agree that he's one of the friendliest people you're likely to meet in EVE, except for when he's got you in his sights. Massively recently caught up with Winterblink and spoke with him about how Warp Drive Active came to be, finding humor in a game that's taken so seriously by its players, and what it means to him to be a part of the EVE community.
Rogue Signal: Tackling tackling
In Rogue Signal last month, we discussed some of the raw basics for fitting your ship for PvP in EVE Online. Today, we'll be discussing the most basic role in fleet combat, the tackler. Knowing your job, and the jobs of those around you, can make a big difference in which side ends up scooping the loot at the end of a fight, and Rogue Signal is here to help you understand those roles, starting this week.
