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EVE Evolved: Rebuilding EVE's corporation tools
The MMO genre is defined by the online interactions of thousands of players, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the single-shard sandbox of EVE Online. While it's possible to play EVE solo, it's the players who make most of the game's meaningful content, and it's only in your emergent interactions with other players that I think the game truly comes to life. Some time ago, I wrote about the importance of CCP supporting EVE's power players, the corporation owners, fleet commanders, and event organisers who give the rest of us something fun to do. Now it looks like CCP is starting to deliver that support, with developers currently looking at updating EVE's archaic corp management tools. CCP Punkturis recently asked corporation owners for a list of the most annoying "little things" they'd like to see fixed with the corporation management interface and was instead flooded with requests for big features and complete overhauls. Developers later confirmed on The o7 Show that at least one highly requested big feature is definitely on its way: CEOs will soon be able to switch off friendly-fire between corp members. The threat of corporate infiltrators attacking corp members has been a massive barrier preventing corps from recruiting new players, so its removal is good news for everyone (except spies). So now that corporation management is finally back on the drawing board, what other features do corp owners need? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I look at a few ideas for corporation tools and features that would make EVE a better place for everyone.
Shroud of the Avatar enters Steam early access today
There's a certain feeling that you get when you walk around in a game with a new hat, as if you're making a statement: "Hello, world, I have a new hat." And you can get a new hat by logging into Shroud of the Avatar and doing the Grand Tour quests added in the game's most recent release. The new pilgrim hat will be available only during Release 12's testing schedule, so you'll want to get the hat soon if you want that new hat. Release 12 does offer more than just a new hat, though; the update offers a comprehensive new user experience, 15 new skills, 50 new weapon and armor recipes, 40 new songs, new maps, guilds, and other improvements. Studio boss Richard Garriott has also weighed in on the state of the game and updates for the solo play version of the game. Check out the full update on the official site for more details and community news. SOTA officially enters early access on Steam today.
EVE Evolved: Has the industry revamp worked?
When I was first introduced to EVE Online back in 2004, a big part of the attraction for me was the promise of a huge player-run economy in which the only real laws were those of supply and demand. With only a handful of tech 1 ships and modules available to build and everything made out of the same basic minerals, science and industry were pretty easy for new players to figure out. Over the years, more complexity has slowly been added to industry via features like Starbases, Salvaging, Capital Ships, Tech 2 Invention, Planetary Interaction and Tech 3 Reverse Engineering. Today's industrialists have to contend with hundreds of different items that are often arranged in sprawling component manufacturing chains, which can make it hard to figure out exactly how to make a profit. The recent industry revamp attempted to solve this problem with a full user interface overhaul and a revamp of material costs and manufacturing prices. All of the relevant information for using a blueprint was packed into a slick new combined Industry UI, allowing new players to find the info they're looking for in-game rather than through websites or opening dozens of item info windows. It's now been almost two months since the industry revamp went live, and while the market for many items is still going to take several months to fully stabilise, the dust has finally begun to settle. So what's the verdict? Has the industry revamp worked? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I consider whether the industry revamp has been successful, how easy it is to make a profit in the new system, and whether it's worth setting up your own industrial starbase.
Guild Wars 2 is revamping the new player experience
If you've been playing Guild Wars 2 since launch, you're probably intimately familiar with the ins and outs of the game's mechanics. Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily translate for new players, who can find themselves overwhelmed in the early parts of the game with a wide array of statistics, abilities, game modes, and the like. Along with all of the other improvements the game is making in the September 2014 feature pack, the new player experience is receiving an overhaul. Players will now receive a clear reward window indicating what is unlocked at each level, with features such as PvP and WvW initially locked away until higher levels so that players can familiarize themselves with the game systems first. Veteran players can still navigate to these features via the map at lower levels. The personal story is now tied into the story journal, major rewards have been reworked, and the interface will serve to more efficiently guide players to points of interest. Check out the full posting to see how leveling in Guild Wars 2 will get just a bit more friendly with the next major patch.
EVE Fanfest 2014: EVE's Kronos expansion is an industrial revolution
The EVE Online keynote presentation finished just a few hours ago at EVE Fanfest 2014, and it looks as if there are big plans for the year ahead. This summer will bring us the Kronos expansion, which is scheduled for June 3rd and aims to revolutionise every aspect of industrial activity in EVE Online in terms of both gameplay and accessibility. The economy has become quite stagnant over the past year as players have long since worked out all the most efficient ways to manufacture and trade, so CCP has planned its very own industrial revolution with a complete overhaul of industrial gameplay. Kronos also marks another important milestone for CCP, as the company will be switching from releasing two major expansions per year to a more agile strategy of releasing 10 smaller updates each year. The Kronos release was originally planned as a full expansion before the changeover to a 10-release schedule, so it's as packed as a full expansion. In addition to a deluge of industry overhauls, we'll be getting a shiny new mining ship, major pirate faction ship revamps, an enhanced new player experience, and a cool new effect when players warp into or out of an area. Read on for a breakdown of the EVE keynote presentation and to find out why CCP is moving away from its usual two expansions per year.
How to play a boosted level 90 hunter
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing how to get started with the hunter class. Do you still need convincing on why you should boost a hunter to 90? Go check out my 10 reasons why from last week. So you've got a fresh level 90 hunter in front of you -- what now? What are all these abilities? How do pets work? We've got answers for all that. Without the benefit of having abilities and mechanics slowly introduced while leveling, you might be a little confused when you first log in. Don't fret, you'll be turning monsters into pin cushions and taming an army of pets in no time. You can check out my previous getting started with hunters article for help in choosing a race and specialization for your hunter. Once you're past that step, we can dive into the meaty bits. We'll start with the absolute basics. What to do the moment you log in with a fresh 90 hunter. First, I want you to take a peek in your spellbook. Don't panic, we'll sort out what's important here.
Scattered Shots: 10 reasons to use your level 90 boost on a hunter
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing the reasons why you should be playing a hunter. As you may have heard, Warlords of Draenor will be available for pre-order soon, and with each purchase comes one free level 90 boost. Still wondering which class you should use your boost on? I'm here to make your decision a whole lot easier. Here are 10 reasons why you should use your level 90 boost on a hunter. 1. Feign death Hunters only die if we choose to die. Feign Death makes a hunter's repair bill is a mere fraction of what it would normally be. It's not just about repair bills though, it's about being able to avoid fighting things you don't want to fight. It's about avoiding corpse runs. And you would be surprised how often it fools people in PvP. Other classes are jealous of Feign Death, but they put up with it because we can mass resurrect to save them a corpse run. I put this at number one because it is, without a doubt, my favorite hunter ability. On second thought, it's probably tied with number three on the list. It's really hard to choose.
EverQuest Next looks to players to improve the new play experience
Sometimes, existing players don't really know what new players need. But EverQuest Next Landmark is still very new, and everyone who's in the game is still very much learning what can be done. So the development team at Sony Online Entertainment has turned to the players to ask what can be done to make the new user experience for players that much easier. As the thread opener from lead designer Darrin McPherson explains, sometimes as a developer it's hard to see what a game is missing simply because you're too close to the game. You know how all the systems work; you built most of them, after all. Players, on the other hand, can find holes in explanations that might otherwise be unavailable. If you've been playing around in the test and want to add your thoughts, head over to the official thread and let the team know what's intuitive and what isn't.
EVE Online assembles a new guide for new pilots
Getting started in EVE Online can be a daunting task. Most of what people know about the game comes from secondhand sources -- there's a lot of money being thrown around, there's an atmosphere that makes a prison shower seem welcoming, there are plenty of people who will blow up your ship because it's there and they can. But what do you do? How do you start? Hopefully, your questions can be answered via the new FAQ for new pilots. The FAQ clocks in at around 38 pages and covers everything from death and respawning via clones to what you can actually do in the game for content. For veteran EVE players the information will probably seem like old hat, but for novices or those who are just curious it can provide plenty of insight. So if you want to learn more about the game, go ahead and take a gander at the full new player guide.
Scattered Shots: Hunter etiquette
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing what it means to be a good hunter. The level 90 boosts are coming Soon™ and I am sure there are some of you interested in picking the hunter as your first boosted character. You can check out my article on getting started with the hunter class from two weeks ago for a brief introduction to the class and picking a race. Once you are level 90 and want to start doing group activities, there are some things you should know about being a hunter. The last thing you want to do is contribute to that awful "huntard" stereotype. We're going to start off with a little pet etiquette. First and foremost, turn off Growl autocast when you are in any kind of instance with a tank. Even veteran hunters make this mistake from time to time. You're out killing things on the Timeless Isle, and all of the sudden your queue pops and you forget to turn Growl off once you get inside. If you find that you are forgetful when it comes to this, you may want to look into getting the BadPet addon or something similar.
EVE Evolved: EVE needs real colonisation now
MMOs have absolutely exploded in popularity over the past decade, with online gaming growing from a niche hobby to a global market worth billions of dollars each year. Once dominated by subscription games like EverQuest and World of Warcraft, recent years have seen free-to-play games take centre stage. Global MMO subscriptions have been reportedly shrinking since 2010, and EVE doesn't appear to be immune to this industry-wide trend. Though February 2013's figures showed EVE subscriptions have technically grown year-on-year, those numbers were published just after the Chinese server relaunch, and CCP hasn't released any new figures since. Developers have done a good job of catering to current subscribers and polishing existing gameplay with the past few expansions, but the average daily login numbers are still the same as they were over four years ago. EVE will undoubtedly hook in plenty of new and returning subscribers when its deep space colonisation gameplay with player-built stargates and new hidden solar systems is implemented, but time could be running out on these features. Hefty competition is due in the next few years from upcoming sandbox games such as Star Citizen, EverQuest Next, Camelot Unchained, and Elite: Dangerous, and CCP will have to release something big soon to bring in some fresh blood. In this week's EVE Evolved, I ask whether CCP should focus on new players and suggest plans for two relatively simple colonisation-based expansions that could get EVE a significant part of the way toward its five-year goal in just one year.
Scattered Shots: Getting started with the hunter class
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing how to get started with the hunter class. Before we get into this week's column, I wanted to give a shout out to the Hunting Party Podcast. All good things must come to an end, and this Saturday, January 18 at 2 p.m. EST will be episode 200, aka the final episode. Retired hosts will be returning as well as some special guests. It should be a fine send off to this awesome hunter-specific podcast. If you miss the live show you will find it on their front page or Youtube. Now, back to your regularly scheduled huntering. So you've finally decided to roll a hunter. Congratulations on coming to your senses and choosing the best class in WoW. Whether you are a veteran of one of the other 10 hunter-support classes, or a brand new WoW player, there are probably important questions burning in your head like which color of sporebat should you tame? Such questions will all be answered in due time, but first you should meditate on whether or not this is truly the class for you. I think you'll have a hard time fully enjoying your hunter if the idea of hunting down and managing pets doesn't get you excited. Some players are just looking for that classic archer archetype and unfortunately WoW does not have that. There are other pet classes, but none compare to hunters. We get to choose from literally hundreds of different pets in the world (with many more added each expansion). We name them, fight with them, choose their specialization, and can collect up to 55 of them on a single hunter. We're the only class which can bring almost any buff or debuff to our groups. Oh, and we can play dead to avoid repair bills.
Perpetuum plans for improved new player experience
One of the great sorrows of any sandbox game is that a player is dropped in with the option to do anything... and very little concept of how to do those things or what should be done first. Perpetuum is making plans specifically to address that by giving players a crash course in everything that can be done, courtesy of a new virtual training island sealed away from the rest of the game world. Rather than permit players to select factions at character creation, the new experience will drop players into a simulation that allows nothing from the main game in or out. While in this tutorial area, players will have access to everything possible at maximum levels while being instructed in how to take part in several game systems. Using one of the four exit teleporters allows players to select a faction and start playing the core game, retaining no advancements but getting a real-time sense for how the game works. Testing is slated to begin this month for players who want to experience the game through a slightly gentler ramp-up.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's reputation systems for the new player
One thing new MMO players will learn is that games that have levels inevitably also have a level cap, meaning that when a character reaches the highest level, there's not often much left to do other than to wait for a new expansion. This conundrum has left many developers trying to find ways to keep players in the game while they worked on new, larger content pushes. Many accomplish the task by creating repeatable quests or missions. Some games, Star Trek Online included, have integrated what are known as reputation systems into their games. Reputation systems are meant to keep players participating in repeatable content, allowing them to apply the currency received from that play to obtain select items and unique rewards.
The Mog Log: There's nothing to say about Final Fantasy XI
At a glance, Final Fantasy XI is doing all right for itself. It's been running for over a decade and has had to deal with only occasional server merges. It launched another new expansion this year. It certainly doesn't have the population that it used to have, but the people who are playing seem happy enough with the game, and that's what matters. And yet for all that I ostensibly write about both of Square-Enix's online games, these days it's pretty much all Final Fantasy XIV. Some readers have asked me why this is. Have I fallen out of love with Final Fantasy XI? Yes. And no. It's complicated. And I think discussing why I'm not writing more about XIV's more classic sibling also bears some discussion in the context of the game as a whole. So let's talk about why there's so little to say about Vana'diel these days, even while Vana'diel continues to be an active environment.
Captain's Log: Fleets for new players in Star Trek Online
Once again it's time to delve into tips and tricks for new players in this week's Captain's Log. I'm quite happy to say that many of these previous columns are still very popular and generate a lot of feedback. This week I will endeavor to help new Star Trek Online (and MMO) players with questions I've received via email about the pros and cons of joining a fleet. All MMOs have social groups, most called guilds. In Star Trek Online these groups are appropriately referred to as fleets due to the naval structure of the factional militaries. These social groups are extremely diverse, as diverse as the people who play the game. The trick is finding the right fit.
EVE Online starts up new player training sessions
Starting new in EVE Online is like learning to swim in the deep end of the pool when there are alligators in the water. It's not that you can't do it, just that it requires equal measures of dedication and luck. And in such a player-driven game, there's only so much that tutorials can teach you. What you really need are lessons from veteran players who can teach you exactly what to do... which, not coincidentally, are being offered starting October 15th. Why help train others to be better players? Simply put, according to the official post, it's because educated players are more likely to keep playing the game and actually expand the universe. You might get an easy kill by sniping someone who doesn't know how to fit a ship, but that player isn't going to stick around to provide you anything of use. So if you'd like to learn or help some new players up, take a look at the schedule and consider taking the time to make EVE Online more welcoming for new players... and then blow them up.
Captain's Log: More Star Trek Online new user tips - bridge officers
Before I dive into the next installment of my new player tips, I'd like to let everyone know that the Star Trek Online site has issued a few new dev blogs hinting at some of the cool news about the upcoming Season Eight: The Sphere. There are some great new blogs featuring the concept art of the new Dyson Sphere space adventure zone, too. But back to the original topic. Last week's column that provided a basic outline to the Star Trek Online user interface proved to be surprisingly popular and generated far more emails from readers than I had anticipated. Many of the readers have asked that I continue on with the new user tips and I think it's a great idea. So if you've always wondered about the very basics of STO Bridge Officers, join me past the jump to learn more!
The Mog Log: FFXIV lessons from Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XIV is in the final push to launch now, with phase 4 right around the corner and early access shortly after that. This is good news for me, since it means I can get back to actually playing the game that I write about every week after nearly a year. And, you know, the game is pretty awesome, so that's a bright point as well. It also means that the future isn't what it used to be. The relaunch has been The Future for a very long time, but now the relaunch is The Almost Right This Second, and The Future consists of patches and expansions and new classes and the like. All good things, all welcome, and all things that could take a few lessons from Final Fantasy XI. I've said before that Final Fantasy XIV was designed to fix some problems from Final Fantasy XI that it never was going to have, but that's not what I'm talking about. Instead of talking about preventing players from leveling consistently or hunting the possibility of RMT with McCarthy-level vigilance, let's look at some simple lessons to internalize in the future.
Welcome to World of Warcraft blog series debuts
There are a variety of guides and resources available to new WoW players out there, including the official new player help forums and our own WoW Rookie column, but Blizzard's just added a new one to the mix. "Welcome to World of Warcraft" is a blog series that provides exactly what it says: a welcome for new players, with detailed information on how to get the hang of the game. The title of the first post is "Basic Movement and Combat". As you might imagine, it instructs players on how to use the keyboard and mouse to get around in the game, how to use and read the map, and the basics of dealing with hostile mobs, including attacking, healing, rezzing, and finding your corpse. It's been several years since I personally have needed resources like this, and reading them over always brings a rueful smile to my face as I recall the many rookie blunders I made. Falling off of Teldrassil is, I believe, a common one for those of us who started with night elves. I'm not ashamed! Considering the age of World of Warcraft, it's sometimes easy to forget that there are still new players starting who need all this information. I'm glad Blizzard is keeping these folks in mind, and for all the new people out there, I hope your introduction to WoW is a good one and I look forward to seeing you in the game!
