ccp-greyscale
Latest
EVE Online walks us through the remaking of a tutorial
With EVE Online's inbound Inferno 1.2 patch comes a completely overhauled tutorial experience for the game. CCP Games was concerned by how many potential players failed to make it through the existing tutorial, and CCP Greyscale wrote a lengthy post detailing how a studio goes about retuning the beginner experience to retain customers. This process is detailed in five steps. The first was to gather metrics and analyze them to see where problem areas lay. From there the team broke apart the current tutorial, reorganized it, and formed task forces to deal with each section. After making the changes, the team turned the new tutorial over to outside testers for evaluation and feedback. Finally, the improved tutorial will be implemented to (hopefully) greater effect. CCP also listed many of the changes coming with this new tutorial. These changes include removing the voiceovers and adding right-click context menus, better visuals, highlighting text, and easier navigation between the tutorial steps.
EVE dev blog outlines starbase-related tweaks
Oh those crazy CCP devs! Not too long ago the company was hell-bent on steering EVE Online down the microtransaction dress-up path, and now the folks behind the sci-fi sandbox are posting spaceship-centric blog updates on a daily basis. The title of the latest feel-good entry is Starbase Happy Fun Time (we kid you not), and it's all about introducing the changes that are appearing in advance of CCP's planned starbase revamp. CCP Greyscale gives us the skinny on tweaks to jump bridges, timers, and fuel blocks, and all of the adjustments are being made with an eye towards increasing capsuleer quality of life across the board. If the balance change theme sounds somewhat familiar, it's because CCP is making a habit of saying all the right things lately.
EVE Evolved: A new nullsec for everyone
Several weeks ago, EVE Online developer CCP Greyscale published possibly the single most important devblog of the past two years. Titled Nullsec development: Design goals, the blog laid the ground rules for high-level discussion on EVE's upcoming nullsec revamp. For those who live in nullsec, territorial warfare and nullsec life represent the true endgame of EVE. It's in these massive lawless regions of space that players forge alliances, build their own empires, and lead massive fleets of ships into enemy territory to kick over some space sandcastles. Over the past two weeks, I've been delving into the discussion surrounding the upcoming nullsec revamp and speculating on what changes we might see. I started with a look back at the early days of nullsec industry and went on to give some ideas aimed at reclaiming those glory days. I followed that up with last week's summary of EVE Online's empire-building history, the problems faced by today's territorial warfare mechanics, and further speculation on how the system could be radically changed for the better. In this week's EVE Evolved, I conclude this series of articles on the upcoming nullsec revamp with an examination of the discussion surrounding PvE, the local channel, and the potentially revolutionary smallholding system that could give even casual and solo players a taste of nullsec.
EVE Online dev blog outlines major long-term changes
A couple of weeks ago, we told you about an EVE Online initiative to bring about substantial changes to the game's nullsec regions. Yesterday, CCP expanded on the initial concept via a lengthy new post that should banish any doubts as to whether or not the devs expect the game to be around in the far future. CCP Greyscale outlines 12 bullet points discussed at length amongst both the dev team and the Council of Stellar Management, all with the aim of making nullsec the place to be in terms of EVE Online's primary gameplay. The post talks everything from mining to territory and conquest to intel and exploration. CCP Greyscale uses this last one as an example of how far-reaching the changes to EVE are shaping up to be. "Hopefully the amount of stuff in here will also make it clearer why we're saying 'more than five years.' For example, those few bullet points under 'exploration' mean replacing all of the exploration content that's been developed in the past five years," he explains.
EVE devs brainstorming nullsec changes
EVE Online players have been quite vocal in their disdain for CCP's recent focus on cash shop items, Aurum, and promotions like EVE is Real. The conventional wisdom in some quarters is that the devs are neglecting to work on things that made the sandbox game great and are instead branching off into the netherworld of RMT and social networking. Enter CCP's latest dev blog, which seeks to convey the message that work continues on New Eden proper -- with particular energy being directed toward EVE's nullsec experience. CCP Greyscale says that Team BFF has basically set aside discussions of nullsec sovereignty in favor of resource- and industry-based brainstorming. Though much of the blog post is highly theoretical, it's nonetheless interesting to get a brief glimpse behind the curtain, and it's also somewhat reassuring to see that the designers remain focused on the sandbox rather than on how people are paying for it.
Proposed changes to EVE's nullsec regions cause a stir
At the end of 2009, EVE Online's vast and lawless nullsec regions were given a complete overhaul with the Dominion expansion. System sovereignty mechanics were changed, and a new infrastructure system was put in place. Through an infrastructure hub interface, alliances were given the ability to upgrade the systems within their borders. Areas of space near EVE's empire systems that were rarely fought over suddenly became prime real-estate, ripe for conquest and development. The difference in quality between the best systems deep in nullsec and poor systems nearer empire was significantly lowered. The hope was that by increasing the carrying capacity of each individual system, CCP would cause large alliances to contract into smaller areas of space. The result hasn't been exactly as CCP had planned, since huge areas of nullsec are now being dominated by massive coalitions of alliances. In a new devblog, CCP Greyscale has explained steps that CCP plans to take in order to rectify the situation. The quality of cosmic anomalies provided by system upgrades will soon depend largely on the system's true security rating. Systems that were highly sought before Dominion will now be significantly better for making ISK. CCP hopes that this will cause high-end alliances to concentrate in higher-end space, leaving power vacuums near empire space for smaller alliances to fill. Player reaction to the devblog has been fierce, with the comments thread reaching over 65 pages, the vast majority of it negative. Whether the changes are a good idea is debatable, but the one thing players have widely agreed on is that the changes will not achieve the goals CCP has set out in the devblog. As the changes are part of the official Incursion features list, however, it's highly likely that they'll go to the live server in a future patch deployment.
Massively's EVE CSM interview: Incarna and nullsec PvP
In part one of our interview with EVE Online's player-elected Council of Stellar Management, we asked council member Deirdra Vaal about EVE Gate, the upcoming forum revamp, CCP's microtransaction policy and other topics discussed at the December CSM summit. In three meeting sessions, CCP and the CSM tackled some hard-hitting issues, the biggest of which were Incarna and nullsec PvP. Most of the details on Incarna are currently locked under NDA, but that didn't stop us from asking the CSM about it. Nullsec PvP has also been a hot topic recently with the revelation that levels of PvP have actually been declining since the Dominion expansion. Dominion was intended to open up nullsec for smaller entities, but we still see EVE's political landscape dominated by massive coalitions of alliances spanning several regions. Massively: The CSM expressed significant concerns about the Incarna development plans it had access to. Does the CSM think that CCP is heading in the wrong direction with Incarna? Deirdra Vaal: We feel that the approach taken to Incarna is the wrong one, and we emphasised this to CCP. However, CCPs general idea to set Incarna as an "off the grid" environment where we go for shady deals is something the CSM is reasonably happy with. It's just that so far we haven't really been shown any compelling gameplay. So we think they might be heading in the wrong direction, if they are lazy about it. They might also be heading in the right direction, but so far we haven't seen compelling gameplay that would support this assumption. Skip past the cut for the rest of our interview with EVE's CSM on Incarna, nullsec PvP and the future of EVE.
Massively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup
Having progressed from being a small independent studio in Iceland to a successful multinational industry leader, EVE Online's developer CCP Games has always had a reputation for being very close to the game's playerbase. Back in July, this view was soured when information from devblogs and the June CSM summit seemed to suggest that EVE would receive no bug-fixes or iterations on old gameplay features for at least 18 months. Players were in an uproar, and a growing perception began to spread that CCP was selling current EVE players short in order to focus on Incarna. In the past six months, things at CCP have take a complete 180-degree turn. Planetary Interaction has received the iteration players were promised, with gameplay tweaks and user interface fixes being deployed at a rapid pace. CCP also instituted team GridLock, whose purpose was to wage an all-out war on lag and fleet issues. In a refreshing and extremely welcome turn of affairs, CCP has been making a gargantuan effort lately to communicate with the players about upcoming changes and collect feedback. Though regular technical devblogs and pre-released test-server patches, players have been kept more informed than ever about what's going on behind the scenes at CCP HQ. Most recently, a series of 18 developer videos was released leading up to the Incursion expansion's final release today. Topics covered include battle reports from the ongoing war on lag, information on server optimisations that have been made recently, updates to planetary interaction, and other interesting topics. Skip past the cut for a detailed roundup of all 18 videos, all hosted on CCP's official YouTube page.
Massively interviews CCP Greyscale on the EVE Christmas gift
Early yesterday morning, a new devblog by EVE Online developer CCP Greyscale brought us an exciting first look at something awesome arriving in the upcoming Incursion expansion's December release. Speaking on behalf of development team Yggdrasill at CCP's top secret Iceland hideout, Greyscale explained CCP's plans to completely abolish learning skills in EVE. Learning skills increase a player's attributes, which decrease the time it takes to train skills. Since they take some time to train, however, dedicating time to them will only pay off after several months of subsequent skill training. As a result, new players are often advised to put off training for that ship they want or those useful industrial skills, as focusing on learning skills early on will pay off in the long run. This can stunt a player's progression in his early days, making for a very boring early play experience that can be distinctly off-putting. As part of the company's Christmas gift to all EVE players, the skillpoints we have invested in learning skills will be reimbursed so that we can add them to any skill we want. To compensate for the decrease in attributes and give new players a bit of a boost, all players will have 12 points added to every attribute. This is exciting news, as the removal of learning skills has always been strongly supported by the EVE community. We caught up with CCP Greyscale to ask a few important questions about what this change means for players. Skip past the cut for our interview with CCP Greyscale on the EVE Christmas gift and what the learning skill changes mean for players new and old.
EVE Online santa patch to get rid of learning skills
The noise in EVE Online this morning is something to behold, for it seems that CCP Games has let slip the details of its planned December "Santa" patch early -- and as Keanu would say -- whoa. According to the newest Devblog by CCP Greyscale, starting today, all NPC sales of Learning skillbooks have been canceled. Player-run sales orders are currently still in the market, however. From here, a second patch will be deployed on December 14th (if all goes well in QA-land, mind) that will officially nuke Learning skills from the map, and give players who have them trained a full refund of all skillpoints they've invested in Learning. At that time players can apply those skillpoints however they'd like until they're all gone, without waiting for them to tick off over time. Another thing to note with the planned December 14th patch, all player-owned Learning skillbooks will additionally go away. More importantly, the ones you have in your hangar, etc. will be reimbursed, whereas the the ones you inject into your head will not. As such, if you were looking at starting an alt within the next couple of weeks, don't waste your time or ISK picking up Learning skills, or be prepared to eat the loss of whatever you paid for the books if you inject them. Finally, another huge change comes with this upcoming patch, in that new capsuleers will no longer be getting the 100% learning speed increase up to their first 1.6 million skillpoints. The reason is that everyone will be receiving 12 new non-remappable base points in each attribute! CCP states that this change will offset the loss of speed bonus by effectively turning the current 2x speed bonus into a 2.5x speed bonus once the 12 new base points are added. Definitely not a bad trade off for starting capsuleers -- and no more sitting around waiting for those learning skills to tick down before you get to the fun skills, either! For all the holiday happiness in one place, pop by the EVE Online site, check out the newest devblog, and marvel at the shiny graphs.
EVE Online devs explain their plans for revamping the sandbox
EVE Online's sandbox approach to game design is one where where centralized, well-developed clusters of solar systems are controlled by NPC factions while vast, lawless tracts of space can be claimed by the players themselves. This 0.0 space (aka nullsec) contains some of EVE's most valuable resources plus offers complete freedom from the laws imposed in high security NPC space. It's the frontier -- the wild west -- that alliances of EVE's capsuleers clash with one another to control. For all the freedom to use diplomacy, espionage, and outright warfare to get the most out of 0.0 space, players have long been hindered by the game mechanics of "sovereignty" -- EVE's system of establishing control over territory and reaping the various rewards that come with such control. The changes CCP Games are making to the game with the Dominion winter expansion aren't just about altering a few game mechanics related to territorial control -- they're about changing the rules of the sandbox itself.
Latest EVE patch changes how hostiles appear in overview
Massively has pointed out a few highlights of what the Apocrypha 1.2 patch brings to EVE Online, but today's dev blog from CCP Greyscale explains the big changes they've made to the overview. The overview is an essential aspect of the UI which allows players to better understand what's happening around them in three dimensional space, so any major change to how it works or displays threats is something all EVE players really need to be aware of. When the Apocrypha expansion launched in March, players (finally) gained the ability to freeze the overview by holding down 'control', a useful enhancement which hopefully has led to fewer friendly fire incidents. Today's patch, however, changes how hostiles are displayed in the overview. CCP Greyscale's tl;dr version is "After patch, blinky people on overview = war targets, not outlaws." That said, there's a lot more to this and he details how and why they've made changes to the overview in his dev blog, "Apocrypha 1.2 - Important Overview Indicator Changes". The players are discussing the changes Greyscale outlines in a forum thread connected with the dev blog, so be sure to weigh in there with your views or questions.
Video tutorial explains EVE Online's new exploration system
The latest expansion for EVE Online is Apocrypha, which has added numerous exploration-intensive elements to the sci-fi game. Apocrypha brought drag-and-drop to the exploration system, making the discovery of hidden encounters (and now wormholes) a more visual process than the old system. However, for those players who are accustomed to the old methods of exploration, Apocrypha's revamped system can take some getting used to. EVE Online developer CCP Greyscale posted a dev blog earlier in the week which is a visual tutorial explaining how to find all that hidden content in the game. It's pretty much essential reading for any would-be explorers in New Eden. We also came across a player-created video tutorial showing how it's done, by Espoir from TridentGuild. The video covers everything from exploration probe placement to how to focus in on the signatures you discover. We've got the YouTube embed of the Apocrypha exploration tutorial for you below the cut:
First details emerge about true exploration system in EVE Online
The sprawling setting of EVE Online is called New Eden, a galaxy with over 5000 known solar systems. This is a vast area for players to pursue their goals, but given how each of those solar systems is clearly mapped out, some of the feeling of being in such a deep setting is lost. There's not enough sense of the unknown. It's possible to be an explorer in the game, but the fact is that truly new places aren't discoverable, just hidden pockets within the known galaxy. That will change in the Apocrypha expansion this March, when a true exploration system based around wormholes is implemented. In his latest dev blog, EVE developer CCP Whisper writes, "We are going to give you uncharted, unknown places to visit via paths that shift and slide through the fabric of space. We are going to give you thousands of new solar systems which will contain new NPCs, new exploration content and new pockets of resources to exploit. You will have the chance to venture into places that promise great rewards but also bring with them great risks."
Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero
EVE Online is a deep and complex game, and even those who've played EVE for years find there are still facets of gameplay they've never mastered. This is compounded by the game's unique nature as a massive galaxy primed for exploration and domination by its players, whose actions and machinations affect one another in a single setting that's never quite the same from one day to the next.EVE is always evolving, both in terms of the dynamics between players and the game itself, seen as a whole. But unlike most MMOs, EVE Online has an official magazine, called E-ON, which has kept pace with how the game and its player efforts have changed over the years. To flip through the E-ON back issues is to see the documented evolution of EVE Online. In fact, E-ON manages to stay ahead of the curve due in part to its access to CCP Games, but mostly through the efforts of the players themselves whose writing talents make up the entirety of E-ON. The man behind E-ON is Richie Shoemaker, aka "Zapatero." He's the one who's been guiding the publication along since day one, and ensuring its content digs beneath the surface of the game. He's interviewed EVE's players and developers alike, but it occurred to us... Zapatero has an excellent perspective on the game yet is rarely interviewed, himself. Massively recently caught up with Zapatero in between his continent hopping, and got him to tell us a bit about his approach to covering EVE and what the player community is capable of creating.
CCP Games introducing new economic measure in EVE
CCP Games generally takes a hands-off approach to EVE Online's economy, letting the collective actions of players determine what happens. But at times there are bottlenecks in terms of supply. CCP Greyscale cites the example of how the limited number of T2 blueprint originals (BPOs) decreased availability of items while driving up prices. CCP stepped in by introducing 'invention', where players can attempt to create higher-end items via R&D, eliminating the issue of supply and normalizing prices. CCP Greyscale's latest dev blog is called "Alchemy" and looks at the newest issue they've identified with EVE's economy, the inflated price of rare moon minerals. Greyscale says, "In particular, two rare moon minerals - dysprosium and (to a lesser extent) promethium - are becoming ever-more expensive as increased demand puts pressure on a limited supply. This is likely to become an increasingly large issue as time goes on, with prices for these minerals continuing to rise due to demand, and the increased price being passed on to the consumer of the final product." As we've mentioned in the past, these rare minerals in New Eden are something that the largest, most powerful alliances have sought to control and thus has been one of the drivers of conflict in lawless 0.0 space.
EVE live dev blog on medals and certificates, Thursday Oct. 16
Medals and certificates are two of the new features coming to EVE Online, as recently announced by developer CCP Greyscale. These features may prove useful for newer players in dispelling some of the complexity of skill training, while providing some bragging rights and easier recruitment (less need to request another player's API) for veteran players, but there's still some confusion about how they'll be implemented in the game. With this in mind, CCP has decided to hold a live dev blog on this feature, slated for tomorrow, October 16th. CCP Wrangler announced: "It is time for another Live Dev Blog and this time it's Chronotis and Greyscale who will answer all of your questions about Medals and Certificates. As usual Mindstar will be there to ask them your questions. This event will take place on Thursday, 16th October, in the in-game channel 'Live Dev Blog.' It starts at 20:00 GMT and lasts for about one hour." EVE players are already getting their questions in on the forum thread linked to this announcement. Given that the live dev blog will take place tomorrow, if there's anything you really want to know that wasn't addressed in CCP Greyscale's dev blog on certificates and medals, now is the time to ask in the thread.
Certificates and medals coming to EVE Online
Most players who've been drawn to EVE Online enjoy the game for its complexity. For such gamers, complexity in a title can be a strength, not a drawback. However, you know what they say about having too much a good thing... Newer players especially find aspects of the game daunting to learn, particularly in terms of skills and skill training plans. This complexity surrounding skills, while not a big deal to veteran players, can be hard to grasp for newer players. Enter "certificates" -- EVE's simplified and (visually) ranked groups of skills that should help rookie players better understand what they should focus on to achieve particular goals. If the feature does what the developers hope, certificates will remedy a problem newer players face -- "an inability to clearly see where a particular skill fits into the greater scheme of things, what it enables, how to get there and where to go next," CCP Greyscale writes in his latest dev blog "Certificates: Planning the Future."
EVE Online live dev blog on speed balancing, Wednesday Oct. 8
CCP Games is bringing back live dev blogs for EVE Online, this week's will deal with speed balancing. Developers Greyscale and Fendahl will be on-hand this Wednesday, October 8th at 20:00 GMT to address player questions about these changes. The dev blog will last roughly an hour, and will take place in EVE, in the "Live Dev Blog" channel. If you're interested in getting your questions answered, you'll need to post in the thread linked to this live dev blog to get your questions on their list. Players are already firing away, asking if the speed changes are limited to the nano-nerf and adjustments of stasis webifiers/warp scramblers, or if more sweeping changes to game mechanics are on the horizon. If you want answers about the speed balancing, this is probably your best chance for the time being, unless CCP opts to come out with an updated dev blog following this event.
CCP Games releases faction overview for EVE Online
For participants in EVE Online's factional warfare in the Empyrean Age expansion, it's common knowledge that there are four races embroiled in conflict. However, CCP Games has decided to add some more variety to the roles that EVE players can assume. To that end, EVE dev Matthew Woodward (aka CCP Greyscale) created a political overview for those who wish to immerse themselves a bit more in the backstory, or for those who wish to assume roles in the factional struggle beyond what is currently known about the key races in EVE's setting of New Eden. The cruel yet devoutly religious Amarr bring worlds and systems under their heel to 'save them from themselves.' They're opposed by the fractious Minmatar, a group of tribes resisting Amarr tyranny -- many of whom are chemically enslaved by a tailored virus and regular fixes of its narcotic treatment, ensuring their continued servitude to the Amarr.
