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EVE Evolved: Everything we know about Rubicon
Back in April, EVE Online Senior Producer Andie Nordgren delivered an incredible long-term vision for the game's future that included deep space colonisation, player-built stargates, and players controlling practically everything that's currently run by NPC empires. This vision sets the tone and direction for development over the next ten expansions, each of which will introduce a small component of the overall goal. In a live interview session earlier this week, CCP revealed the first steps it will take toward space colonisation in its upcoming winter expansion. Named Rubicon, the expansion will be in players' hands on November 19th and promises to give individuals and small groups unprecedented control over the sandbox. It will let players fight over planetary customs offices in high security space, significantly buff the ability of small ships to participate in hit-and-run style warfare, and even introduce a new set of personal deployable structures that can be hidden anywhere in space. All this comes alongside two new Sisters of EVE ships, twitch livestream integration, and significant balance changes to Marauders, Interceptors, Interdictors, and Electronic Attack Frigates. In this week's EVE Evolved, I run down all of the new features and changes announced so far for EVE Online's Rubicon expansion.
New rogue talents and other rogue buffs coming in patch 5.2
If you follow rogue news, you know the class is in a bit of a funk. The developers are certainly aware of the class's low representation and they're aiming to fix it. Two new rogue talents have been datamined from patch 5.2: Hit and Run and Marked for Death. Where these new talents fall in the talent trees, we aren't yet sure. One of them is surely replacing Preparation, which has now become a baseline ability. In addition to the new talents, great changes have been made to select existing talents and abilities. For example, Deadly Throw no longer requires a full 5 combo points to interrupt an opponent's spellcasting, but rather only 3. Shuriken Toss, when used beyond 10 yards, turns all of your auto-attacks into ranged shurikens with a 30 yard range for 10 seconds. Do keep in mind, however, that this is the PTR. So sayeth Ghostcrawler: @dylanrogue We have had the discussion about whether we're buffing rogues too much in 5.2. Give it a spin on the PTR and let us know. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) December 20, 2012 Everything on the PTR is subject to change. Get excited, but cautiously so.
An insider's account of galactic warfare in EVE Online
Prolific games journalist Jim Rossignol is an avid EVE Online player, who has made regular contributions to Eurogamer focused on this particular sci-fi MMO. His latest piece, "EVE Online: Battle Reports", is a brief account of how his PvP-focused corp (EVE's version of a guild) fared in a conflict against some steep odds. His aim is to explain a bit about how the game works while telling his story, hopefully holding appeal for those who don't play the game as well as those who do. "Because of the open structure of the game world, player-versus-player battles happen in all kinds of contexts and situations, and the sheer number of variables means they can make for a great story," Rossignol writes.
Top 5: Christmastime in Gaming
Ahh, Christmastime. Every year, we look forward to cherished traditions such as fighting traffic, stressing out over finding gifts, and even the occasional Black Friday trampling. Yet one would be surprised to learn that December 25th has a history which shares very little with frivolous lawsuits and Bill O'Reilly frothing at the mouth. Indeed, aside from its litigatious and hostile depiction on the news, Christmas is largely an excuse to shower our loved ones with food, presents, and joy. It's also an easy inspiration for a stressed columnist trying to finish his Christmas shopping to create a Top 5 list. As such examples of religious-based holidays are rare in gaming, this list will not be Nintendo-specific. For those who celebrate the date, I wish you a Merry Christmas. For those who don't, I wish you well just the same. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Boy killed by texting driver
According to a report from the Boston Globe, a man claims that he was typing a text message into his cellphone when he lost control of his SUV and fatally struck a 13-year-old boy on a bicycle. In a stark and sad reminder of the cause for recent laws put into effect governing texting / phoning while driving, it appears the man was so distracted that he didn't even realize what had happened until later that night. Ironically, the friend of the boy who had been walking with him attempted to call 911 on his phone, but was unable to get through. The driver is being charged with motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving without a license. A tragic story -- and unfortunately not the first we've seen -- but hopefully a cautionary tale for anyone who regularly juggles driving and texting. Don't.
Mercedes-Benz 'ignores' court order to activate suspect's GPS
For all the tracking equipment that Mercedes-Benz crams in its motorcars, it's apparently mighty tough to get the company to tap into any of it if you're not the owner. Reportedly, the automaker has "refused to comply with a court order to activate a car's GPS" after authorities tried in vain to track down a hit-and-run suspect the easy way. Police were able to pinpoint the owner of a 2003 S430 as a "prime suspect" for striking and killing a 24-year old jaywalker in California, and while chasing him down the old fashioned way would seem a good bit more entertaining, Glendale police were looking M-B's way for a shortcut. Apparently, no comment has come from the firm, even as those involved with the case have continued to fume over the lack of assistance, and while we'd assume Mercedes-Benz is just looking out for the privacy of its customers, hasn't GPS tracking (much less the court ordered variety) been deemed legal anyway?[Via GPSTrackingSystems]
TruScene TS-1L keeps watch over your vehicle
If you've ever been the victim of a hit and run, particularly one where you weren't there to see it happen, you'll immediately appreciate the TruScene TS-1L. This in-car camera can be mounted on the front or rear (or both) of your ride and comes with a drop-down LCD to get things aligned and installed correctly the first go 'round. This eagle-eyed camera keeps a constant watch on what's happening around your vehicle when you're not there to bear witness, so you have a license plate and mug shot of the screeching bandit should an accident occur while you're away. The TS-1L constantly records 30 second loops of footage where non-essential clips (i.e. periods where nothing happens) are deleted to make room for the next clip. If someone jolts your whip by, say, ramming into you or clipping your side mirror, TruScene saves the recording, encrypts it, and stamps a digital watermark on it for later use. The video can be used for insurance or court purposes by uploading the file to TruScene's database where it's properly decrypted for playback. The seriousness of this device carries right over to the pricetag, so we'd recommend having a vehicle truly worth protecting -- and make sure your deductible is over a grand to begin with, because the peace of mind provided by the TS-1L requires $1,000 out of pocket. [Via OhGizmo]
