erlendur-thorsteinsson
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EVE hits new milestone with 56,021 players online
It was just last week when we mentioned EVE Online's new peak concurrent user (PCU) record of 54,446 pilots online. That record was smashed yesterday though, only one week after the previous PCU record was set, with 56,021 pilots online in New Eden. Beyond the new PCU record being set, this past Sunday's traffic may also make CCP raise the limit on number of players that can be in the Jita trade hub at a given time. 1400 players crowded into Jita yesterday, which is apparently the hard limit that the game's developers had set for the busy solar system. This prompted CCP Games Software Director Erlendur Þorsteinsson (aka CCP Explorer) to state, "We have been increasing the limit in the last few weeks and it looks like there might possibly be room for more in Jita." This could be good news for the legions of traders who flock to the system, and overall a good sign for EVE Online to see the PCU climbing higher and higher. Likely a major factor in the surge of active players is the upswing in nullsec alliance warfare which resulted from changes in the Dominion expansion -- not the least of which is that a certain moon material holds great value now; the desire to control these rare resources is a major driver for large scale conflict. And of course, the recent 'get EVE for $5' sales on Steam probably hasn't hurt either.
EVE Online coding honcho profiled in 'Master of the Universe'
Most gamers probably aren't familiar with IEEE Spectrum, but it's a publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional technology association. Fans of EVE Online who are curious about the people behind the sci-fi title might be interested in checking out IEEE Spectrum's piece on CCP Games and the man who directs the EVE Online Software Group: Erlendur Thorsteinsson, also known to players as CCP Explorer. The profile is written by Erico Guizzo, titled "Erlendur Thorsteinsson: Master of the Universe." Guizzo's piece sheds some light on what brought the Computer Science Ph.D. to CCP Games in order to tackle the myriad challenges of improving EVE's single world environment. The article also gives mention to the work done behind the scenes on the title's more ambitious projects, including adding wormhole exploration to the game with the Apocrypha expansion, and the forthcoming Walking in Stations where player avatars will step out of their ships for the first time. [Via CrazyKinux]
