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First qualifiers for EVE Alliance Tournament VII come to a close
In the gaming world it's been the Penny Arcade Expo and Dragon*Con that got most of the attention over the weekend, but EVE Online's annual PvP tournament kicked off on Saturday as well. EVE Alliance Tournament VII's first round of qualifiers saw 64 player alliances (guilds) go head-to-head, with only half of that number earning the right to compete in the finals after next weekend's second round of qualifier battles. If you didn't have the time to listen to the tournament in-game using EVE Voice or catch any of the internet radio broadcasts, CCP Games has video footage of all of the weekend's matches in HD on their YouTube page. Both the Day 1 and Day 2 qualifiers are available, and they provide the first looks at Tech III Strategic Cruisers and even Black Ops battleships being put to use in the Alliance Tournament. Stick with us after the jump for more on the first weekend of Alliance Tournament VII.
EVE Online player circumnavigates the game's world
The game world of EVE Online is vast, a galaxy of over 5000 charted solar systems called New Eden. EVE's explorer-types, like Jeran Tek, have successfully visited every solar system in New Eden. Jeran Tek isn't alone in such pursuits, however. This past week saw another player establish a new exploration milestone; DevilDogUSMC of The Helicon Alliance circumnavigated EVE's galaxy. It took him four days, on a journey with 118 waypoints and 502 jumps in a covert ops frigate (capable of warping while cloaked). DevilDogUSMC spoke with EVE's volunteer in-game reporters (Interstellar Correspondents), stating why he even attempted this. He said, "Since I became a pod pilot five and a half years ago I wanted to explore this universe, but I was put into action with fleet after fleet not ever having the chance. So I decided to take a break from... politics and working with our alliance fleet and went for it. This was a chance for me to show the rest of New Eden that anything can be done as long as you commit to it and work for it." The full story on DevilDogUSMC's journey was reported by ISD Aeterna Vitae on the EVE Online site.
EVE player-run contest rewards 'human trafficking' of mission commodities
Well, it's true, but it's not nearly as bad as whatever you're thinking. I considered toning down that headline, but in terms of EVE Online's game mechanics, essentially you can engage in (or choose to reject) such practices. You see, in EVE Online people can be considered commodities and are used as mission items: marines; exotic dancers; slaves; and perhaps the lowliest of the low -- tourists. In fact, anyone who's been running missions in EVE Online for a while likely has many of these commodities sitting in their hangars unused. EVE player Siri Blue decided to run an unusual contest of sorts, the "People for Stuff" Raffle where players can convert their "people" into a chance of winning prizes. What do EVE players need to do to enter? Siri Blue writes, "In order to participate you contract 1000 people to me (location or type does not matter - homeless, slaves, exotic dancers, tourists, marines - everything is ok.)" For those easily confused, Siri adds, "Cows do not count as people!"
The Black Rabbits Academy teaches piracy in EVE Online
Among all the massively multiplayer online games on the market, EVE Online is perhaps the most complex game running, which is part of the title's appeal. The learning curve has, in the past, dissuaded some MMO gamers from really digging in to EVE, but that curve has been getting a bit less steep as the tutorial improves. The Apocrypha expansion's New Player Experience also aims to make those first weeks in New Eden easier. That said, the best resource available to new EVE players is the game's playerbase itself. It's always best to learn from others and when possible, with others. That's one of the unique things about EVE -- players form corporations for various purposes, one of which is to provide schools or academies where various facets of the game are taught by experienced players. Players can learn alongside others who share similar interests. You want to learn the ropes of the game? You can join EVE University and take part in their organized classes or listen to speakers on various topics in New Eden. Want to learn how to kick ass in PvP? Take a class at Agony Unleashed and they'll turn you into a killer in no time. But EVE University and the other training-focused corps tend to focus on the more 'legitimate' aspects of the game. But what if you want a training course that lets you learn about and become part of New Eden's criminal society? There are options.
EVE Online interview discusses players determining storyline
Split Infinity Radio, a gamer-run internet radio station (with a noticeable sci-fi MMO bent) recently interviewed Scott Holden, Lead Content Creator of EVE Online at Gen Con 2008. Holden has been integral in building up all the mission content that's about to drop in the upcoming Empyrean Age expansions over the next few months. Split Infinity asks Holden a question that's been on the minds of a number of EVE players: Can player actions really influence the storyline? Holden's answer is 'yes'... to a point. He discusses the initiative at CCP to create a system where events are announced in contested parts of space, prompting players to get involved. Their actions would be reported on through the in-game news, and in this way affects (or creates aspects of) the storyline. Participants in factional warfare, or anyone who reads the Interstellar Correspondents news pieces, know that this already exists to some extent in EVE, but Holden states that CCP would like to take the idea further as time goes on.
EVE alliance circumvents factional warfare restrictions
Factional warfare became a part of EVE Online in the Empyrean Age expansion, which ushered in a time of backstory-driven militia conflict for players aligned with one of the four races of New Eden. What promised to be a new avenue for EVE's roleplaying community ended up being inaccessible to roleplaying alliances. CCP stipulated that alliances cannot enlist with factional militias, as their sheer numbers could streamroll their opposition and create overwhelming odds for the disadvantaged side in the conflict. The only recourse EVE's alliances have is to form splinter corporations outside of the alliance, for the sole purpose of allying with a given racial faction. That is, until recently. An article from ISD Magnus Balteus, one of EVE Online's in-game reporters, states the Star Fraction alliance "has openly declared war on corporations that have joined the Caldari milita; the State Protectorate. For over a month, Star Fraction has been selectively targeting the corporations of fleet commanders in the Caldari militia."
EVE Online player establishes new profession
Players in EVE Online pursue a wide variety of professions or careers, but are not locked into any given role at character creation. This flexibility allows a character to change their play style over time, or to capitalize on niches no one else has filled. This is the case with Dylon Xavier, an enterprising Caldari pilot with Ascendant Strategies, Inc.ISD Magnus Balteus reports that Xavier "has decided to try something different; create a product that is both time and resource consuming to build, and offer it for auction to the alliance that has the funds and space to deploy it." The niche item in this case is an Outpost Platform. When launched, it will create a space station for an alliance that can handle the minimum 20 billion isk bid on his auctions. This substantial pricetag includes a freighter for transporting the Outpost Platform and materials, and turns what is normally a time-consuming collective effort into a (comparatively) rapid-deployment. He's also willing to have Chribba, perhaps EVE's most trusted player, broker the transactions, mitigating the risk involved with such large amounts of currency. With the neverending ebb and flow of territorial control in New Eden, and if alliances continue to express interest in Xavier's venture, he may well have created a new and lucrative profession in EVE Online
EVE Online's embedded reporters track tides of war
EVE Online's volunteer press corps is called Interstellar Correspondents (IC), some of whom are embedded reporters on the front lines of the war between the races in New Eden. IC has put together a site dedicated to tracking death tolls, victory points, territory captures and re-captures, as well as militia activity in contested solar systems. The resource provides a decent assessment of how the tides are shifting in the warfare of the Empyrean Age expansion. The war's top pilots and corporations are ranked by their successes in the last seven days, alternately 'All Time' stats are listed as well. A nice feature is the personal statistics search, where you can see the performance record of any pilot or corporation active in factional warfare. On a side note, the corporation Massively columnist and Drone Bay podcaster Phillip Manning recently joined, The Dead Parrot Shoppe Inc., is ranked in the top ten in all three categories: Overall Ranks, Kill Statistics, and Victory Point Statistics. Way to go, Crovan. Via CrazyKinux
EVE Online's 'Empyrean Age' a first step towards something greater
EVE Online's latest expansion, The Empyrean Age. has largely been a success, both from the standpoint of a number of EVE's players and what it will allow the game to evolve into from the perspective of CCP Games. EVE developer CCP RyanD's recent dev blog confirms that CCP is excited about the directions the game will now be able to take in the future. He writes that throughout EVE Online's five year history, there was a rift between developer-created storytelling and player-driven roleplaying. There were a few prominent storyline events run in tandem by the devs and volunteers in ISD, but while such events succeeded in some respects, they failed in others. The mixed response to the events made them a rarity in the game. But those initial faltering steps have given way to greater storyline interaction in Empyrean Age, as player created content and efforts begin to mesh with the developing story of EVE. CCP RyanD writes, "The path we are on now is really unprecedented."
EVE Online's war journalists report from the front lines
The creators of EVE Online are going all-out with their storyline-driven factional warfare in The Empyrean Age expansion, which is less than a day away from launch. They're injecting the coming struggle with as much gritty realism as they can muster. Massively has already covered the formation of EVE Online's in-game news organization, called Interstellar Correspondents, but it looks like the staff at CCP Games is setting their sites a bit higher. In a recent dev blog, CCP Ginger discussed the concept of embedded reporting in New Eden. Specifically, there will be war correspondents who report on the events that transpire during the clashes between factions. These members of Interstellar Correspondents will be in the thick of the action and report on world shaping events to the populace of New Eden.
67,000 plus dead in Jita, cause unknown
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened... -- Obi Wan Something 'terrible' indeed has transpired recently in EVE Online, but the event brought more amusement than horror to fans of the brutal sci-fi game. Over 67,000 ships were destroyed in the bustling trading hub of Jita yesterday, and the pilots of EVE's galaxy of New Eden are still trying to figure out what really happened. All of the obliterated ships were shuttles, which is unusual given the nearly endless procession of freighters and industrial ships clogging the system's star gates. The Jita system is notorious for being overcrowded and is often blamed for the lag that affects the rest of New Eden. Not a day goes by without an EVE pilot, somewhere, cursing Jita and calling for the system to be nuked. It seems those rage-fueled wishes were finally granted, just not quite how most would want that retribution to play out. Theories about the event can be found in multiple forum threads, ranging from the plausible to the absurd. A few players expressed the view that multiple convoys of freighters offloaded their cargo of ships into space at one location, and somehow ignited the mass in a doomsday-level conflagration. Some feel that it was all orchestrated by EVE Online's developers to help set the tone for factional warfare between the races, which is about to consume EVE's pilots in the Empyrean Age expansion. Others point out the most likely cause of the mayhem: it was simply a bug... a map glitch. No official explanation from CCP Games has been given for the occurrence, nor has EVE's Interstellar Correspondents covered news of the event. Glitch or not, it's a novel way to kick off the wave of destruction about to sweep over New Eden mere days from now. Thanks Hortinstein
