devblog
Latest
Details of EVE's upcoming Incursion expansion revealed
It's an ordinary day in EVE Online, with pilots going about their daily business of trading, blowing each other up and battling the pirate forces of New Eden. Everything is quiet -- perhaps a little too quiet. All of a sudden, alarms go off in the space stations as warning comes in of an incoming Sansha incursion. We've known for some time that the Incursion expansion would include dungeon-like military incursions by ruthless pirate faction Sansha's Nation. Until now, however, details on exactly how those encounters would take place have been kept secret. In a new EVE devblog, CCP Ytterbium has now revealed exactly what we can expect from the Incursion expansion's signature feature. The Sansha incursions will begin with wormholes opening into every system in the target constellation. Sansha forces will form blockades at the stargates, replace the local NPCs in asteroid belts and begin to set up a series of military outposts. Sansha's Nation brings a frightening new technology to each incursion, capable of causing a number of debilitating effects on every pilot in the system. Ship resistances and damage output of all ships will drop, making it difficult to run missions or explore while the incursion is in progress. Similarly, cynosural fields will be blocked to prevent any capital ships entering the system. Skip past the cut for a run-down of how we'll tackle the Sansha invasions coming with the Incursion expansion.
EVE Online devblog discusses recent 3000-player battle and server stability
Recently, we reported on the largest battle ever held in EVE Online. Over 3200 pilots clashed in the lawless nullsec system LXQ2-T. What was meant to be a titanic battle between the Northern Coalition political conglomeration and its rival Russian power block from the drone regions was quickly overcome with lag. Although it's impressive that the server didn't crash, pilots reported delays of several minutes between issuing a command and the server's carrying it out. In a new devblog, CCP Veritas looks at exactly what went on behind the scenes at that colossal battle. While we play EVE Online in realtime, the server essentially queues up our commands and processes them in order. If the load becomes so high that more commands enter the queue every second than can be processed, our commands begin to be delayed and we experience that as lag. If you've ever been interested in what goes on under the hood of EVE's massively complex server, this devblog is definitely worth a read. If nothing else, it reinforces the fact that lag is a much more complex issue than we sometimes expect and progress in combating it involves painstaking work. In a future devblog, Veritas will present a historical look at the EVE server's performance and how it's been improved in the last few months as part of CCP's ongoing war on lag.
CCP explains plan to get rid of EVE's daily downtime
The often-repeated joke that EVE Online is a 23/7 game may soon be put to rest. EVE currently has an hour each day, between 11AM and noon GMT, designated for server maintenance. During this time, important tasks that ensure the smooth functioning of the game are carried out, such as respawning asteroids and load-balancing the server. Over the past year or so, CCP Games has been working to reduce the daily downtime by changing many of these essential downtime functions to happen while the server is up without impacting game performance. CCP's efforts have not been in vain, as the past few years have seen the duration of downtime drop from an average of 50-60 minutes to under 20 minutes. In a new devblog, CCP Hunter explains what has been done to reduce downtime and what the future holds for New Eden's daily slumber. The devblog reveals that most of the current downtime is taken up by server shutdown and startup procedures, with only five minutes of actual maintenance processes per day. Once all the processes required for the daily downtime are removed, the plan is to have the server running permanently.
CCP showcases the EVE community's creativity in a new monthly devblog
Whether you like EVE Online or hate it, it's hard to deny that the game's community produces some incredible creative works. We've seen examples of the community's creative output in a myriad of forms, from impressive videos and fiction to useful tools and websites. In recognition of the community's ongoing efforts, EVE Online's Associate Community Manager CCP Fallout has started a new monthly devblog series highlighting the community's creative accomplishments. In the first installment of this new blog series, CCP Fallout discusses two of her favourite EVE websites -- EVE News 24 and Skill Training Complete. Covering all the recent goings-on in the world of EVE politics, EVE News 24 is a great way to keep up-to-date with what's happening in New Eden. Skill Training Complete is an innovative tool that allows players to ask and answer questions about EVE Online, giving newer players a great new way to shortcut the game's infamously steep learning curve. Fallout makes a special note about the EVE Blog Pack, an invaluable community resource maintained by social media guru and long-time EVE player CrazyKinux. Visit the EVE devblog page to read more about the new monthly blog series, and stay tuned for next month's installment when CCP will be looking at the amazing artwork EVE players create that blows them away.
Rockets and more to be boosted in EVE's Incursion expansion
Of all the small issues players want to see fixed in EVE Online, few have gained as much community support as the campaign to boost rockets. Rockets are intended to be short-range but high-damage anti-frigate missiles for tech 1 and 2 frigates with missile hardpoints. Unfortunately, their damage output and effectiveness against other frigates has been extremely poor since missiles and ship signature radii were rebalanced years ago. The issue has gained so much support in the community because it's seen as one of the few problems in EVE that could possibly be fixed in a matter of minutes. Players assert that all it would take is changing a few numbers in the EVE database, and yet the problem has remained unsolved for so long. Missile-slinging frigate pilots across New Eden will breathe a sigh of relief today as a new devblog has finally answered their prayers. In the upcoming Incursion expansion, rockets will have their explosion velocity and base damage increased to make them effective against frigate-sized ships. In addition, several neglected and underused types of tech 2 ammunition are being boosted to make them desirable to use instead of faction ammo. Further changes covered in the devblog include some performance optimisations with the Supercarrier Fighter Bombers and the inclusion of faction ships in the standard market browser. With easier access to faction ships and boosts to underused ammo, players taking part in the expansion's new group PvE feature will be pleased with the changes.
EVE Evolved: The war on lag
It seems as though everywhere I go to read about EVE Online, someone is complaining about lag. Throughout the game's seven-year history, developers and server engineers have waged a constant battle against the lag monster. Frequent upgrades and code overhauls have ensured that the capacity of each server cluster increased at pace with the growing subscriber numbers. When the Dominion expansion came, something in it caused lag to get a lot worse. The issue has yet to be corrected and has even spurred some players to put media pressure on CCP to correct the issue. Until recently, the developers at CCP had been very quiet on the topic of lag and their efforts to combat it. Aside from the occasional fleet-fight mass testing event on the test server and the news that there was actually an entire team dedicated to lag, players were left largely in the dark as to what was being done to address the issue. In the absence of strong evidence to the contrary, many players began to assert that EVE's developers weren't working on lag at all. Earlier this week, we posted that CCP was planning a series of devblogs on lag to showcase the progress it's made. In a surprisingly rapid turn-around, four devblogs on lag and another on CCP's core technology groups have already been posted. They cover such topics as server scalability, the results of recent mass testing events, and CCP's new "thin client" testing tool. In this week's EVE Evolved, I introduce each of CCP's four recent devblogs on lag with a quick summary.
Upcoming EVE devblog series to show CCP's lag-busting efforts
With EVE Online's single-shard universe, the server hardware and game code have to be continually updated to cope with the game's constantly expanding playerbase. Each time the server is upgraded, node stability and lag in large fleet battles improves significantly. Unfortunately, this trend of periodic improvements took something of a wrong turn when the Dominion expansion came along. Before Dominion, fleet battles took place with over a thousand ships on each side and no crippling lag or node deaths in sight. Since the expansion's release, however, fleets of only a few hundred have regularly experienced unplayable conditions. Frustrated by CCP's lack of visible progress in tackling lag, members of the EVE community have been making their outrage known. A recent appeal to the gaming media by a few players resulted in the issue getting very high exposure, which could be bad for CCP's public image. CCP issued a response explaining that lag is a high priority, and that there is even an entire development team dedicated to tackling it. Earlier this week, CCP Zulu expanded on CCP's lag-busting efforts in the first of a new EVE devblog series dedicated entirely to lag.
New devblog reveals only 54 developers working on EVE Online
Icelandic MMO developer CCP Games has always made a point of being open and transparent with players. Through tools such as the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) and in-depth devblogs, a great deal of CCP's internal workings have been laid out in the open for all to see. In the latest CSM summit, CCP revealed that it couldn't commit any resources to CSM issues for at least the next 18 months as too many development resources were being used up by Incarna and Dust 514. EVE Online's new senior producer CCP Zulu (formerly CCP Zulupark) elaborated on the issue yesterday with a full devblog on CCP's current allocation of developer time. In the devblog, Zulu provides a complete breakdown of CCP's current development teams, what projects each developer is assigned to, and what we can expect to come over the next year and a half. The devblog confirms grim fate of issues raised by the CSM, with no teams assigned to cover player-raised game defects. Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of the devblog, however, was that only 54 members of CCP's "200-person development team" are working on anything that directly affects the current EVE populace. Of those, only 22 are working on features for the next expansion. Skip past the cut to find out why there are only 22 developers working on features and what the reactions of the EVE player-base have been since the announcement.
Pirates of the Burning Sea dev blog details expansion graphical tweaks
Flying Lab Software is ramping up for the first expansion to its Pirates of the Burning Sea historical MMORPG, as the August launch of Power and Prestige is just around the corner. In a new blog on the official site, the developers talk about some of the graphical tweaks in store for ship captains everywhere, focusing in on the new avatar lighting system. The blog talks about the technical wizardry behind the new lighting system, as well as the decisions that went into creating the system itself. "The new lighting system had to be designed within several constraints. First, the new lighting system couldn't require much artist time, because ArtCo was busy with other expansion work. Second, the new system couldn't be much more resource-intensive than the old lighting system. Third, the new system couldn't add huge amounts of data to the game's size," the blog says. Check out the full article on the official website.
TERA devblog discusses race and class combos
Not content with his various blogosphere interviews and E3 hob-knobbing, En Masse Entertainment Senior Producer Brian Knox continues his prolific PR assault with a devblog on the official TERA website. The topic, race and class combinations, is sure to pique the interest of even the most casual TERA fan, as Knox discusses everything from game balance, to race differentiation, to aesthetics. "We want to give players as many options as possible, but there are story and lore reasons why a certain race may not be appropriate for a particular class. This is partially based on our continuing development of TERA's rich narrative backstory, partially because some combinations simply don't make sense, and partially because the actual combinations (such as weapons and armor for some races) are very technically challenging to pull off in a convincing way," Knox writes. You can view the full blog on the official website.
EVE merchandise store gets an overhaul
The EVE Online merchandise store received a facelift yesterday to bring its visual style in line with CCP's new EVE Gate social networking tool. In addition to selling EVE game time codes, the store features a huge range of extremely nerdy internet spaceships paraphernalia. If you're looking for the latest issue of E-ON magazine, a model battleship, a new EVE poster or an EVE T-shirt, the EVE store is where you'll find it. In a new devblog, CCP has gone into detail on their future plans for the store. On top of the current cosmetic and layout changes, CCP aim to produce a variety of new posters, collectibles and clothing. Unfortunately for European players, CCP has been unable to reduce the massive shipping costs on items to the EU.
CCP release more details on Tyrannis, promise to continue development after release
Scheduled for release on May 18th, the Tyrannis expansion has a lot of EVE Online players excited. The expansion's long-awaited planetary interaction feature will open up the planets of New Eden for colonisation and industrialisation. CCP revealed the first details of planetary interaction in a devblog back in February and at GDC 2010, senior EVE producer Torfi Frans Olafsson elaborated on what we can expect from the expansion. A prototype of the planetary interaction feature has even been available on the EVE test server, from which player feedback has been gathered to help develop the expansion. In a recent devblog, CCP released some encouraging new information about Tyrannis. Included in the announcement was a list of the tools and structures we'll use to colonise planets.
EVE Online ship insurance changes to come with Tyrannis
EVE Online's insurance system has been a hot topic of debate over the years. Under the current system, ships have a fixed base value calculated according to the minerals used in their production. Platinum insurance costs 30% of this base value for three months worth of coverage and if the ship is destroyed in that time, 100% of the base value in ISK is deposited into your wallet. It's a safety net designed to lower the cost of losing ships and promote PvP. The main drawback of the system is that the values it uses for minerals are fixed and haven't changed since EVE came out in 2003. The prices of the various minerals that go into a ship have changed drastically over the years but insurance costs and payouts have remained constant. Skip past the cut for a breakdown of the problems with the current insurance system and details of CCP's new plans.
New EVE Online novel "The Burning Life" released
Storyline is an important part of any MMO and EVE Online is no exception. New Eden is steeped in story-telling, from the regularly released fictional chronicles to the countless blogs, battle reports and dramatic events recorded by players. EVE is a game that lends itself very well to creating immersive stories, videos and other creative efforts. Back in June of 2008, CCP commissioned author Tony Gonzales to write a novel set in the EVE universe. The novel, titled "Empyrean Age," came at the same time as the expansion of the same name and gave some background story for faction warfare. June 2009 brought the announcement that CCP's own fiction-writer Hjalti Daníelsson had begun work on a second EVE novel entitled "EVE: The Burning Life." Hjalti is better known as CCP Abraxis, the pen behind most of the EVE chronicles and the current driving force behind the game's storyline.
EVE's 8th official Alliance Tournament to include a new "flagship" rule
The first details on this year's annual EVE Online Alliance Tournament emerged in a short devblog last month, with promises of further information to come. The Alliance Tournament is one the year's biggest highlights for EVE's PvP alliances. It provides a much-needed way to see which alliance can come up with the best strategies and execute them well. While massive fleets clash in the vastness of nullsec warfare, the tournament puts all alliances on an equal footing with restricted team sizes and ship allowances. In a new devblog, CCP have announced the finished format for this year's event along with an updated set of rules.
EVE Online devblog addresses recent server issues
EVE Online's server is a complex beast, holding the title of biggest supercomputer in the gaming industry. The main server cluster is housed in London and serviced by a team of IBM engineers. In addition to constant hardware upgrades to take advantage of the newest technology, CCP's network programmers work around the clock to improve performance and track down bugs that will affect the game. EVE is no stranger to lag or network issues and older players know all too well that server troubles are expected around patch days. When the Dominion expansion was released, there were far more complaints of server issues than could be attributed to the usual "patch day blues". Now several months down the line we're still hearing horror stories of fleet battles lagging unbearably with only a few hundred players. The last few months have seen an increasing number of node deaths and database failovers, in some cases causing unscheduled server reboots. Read on to find out what CCP is doing to combat the issue.
EVE Online's Scorpion to receive graphical overhaul in Tyrannis
When high-quality ship models were introduced with EVE Online's Trinity expansion, not every ship reacted to the graphical upgrade in the same way. Some ships, like the Megathron and Crusader, saw dramatic visual improvements with panel details and sharp lines. For the Scorpion, however, the upgraded detail exposed design flaws in the original model that spoiled its look for some players. The Scorpion has long been held as one of the ugliest ships in EVE, sporting the signature Caldari asymmetric design and odd metallic pylons. For a battleship, it's always looked small, light and flimsy; a look that perhaps suited its original role as a long-range electronic warfare ship. With it being rebalanced for a close-range "brawler" role last year, the old model really started to look out of place on the field of battle. In a new devblog, the CCP art department have released screenshots of a new Scorpion model they're planning to roll out with the Tyrannis expansion this summer. Using design themes from their work on Tech 3 strategic cruisers, the team have turned one of EVE's all-time ugliest ships into a masterpiece. Not only does the ship now look more like its namesake, it has a much more solid and aggressive look to it that better suits its role in PvP. This may mark the start of a change for other Caldari ships, many of which sport elements of the same bizarre asymmetric design that spoiled the Scorpion's appearance. As an added bonus, CCP's graphics programmers have created a new texture packing system that vastly improves the visual quality of small details on ships. If you're interested in the new Scorpion model or the finer details of how CCP texture the ships in EVE Online, the latest devblog is definitely worth a look.
First details emerge on EVE Online's 8th annual "Alliance Tournament"
For players and spectators alike, the annual EVE Online Alliance Tournament is one of the year's biggest highlights. Teams from dozens of player-run alliances fight it out in qualifying rounds for a chance to compete in the finals and win massive prizes. A points-based system limits the number and type of ships a team can field, putting every team on equal footing. Restrictions on the types of modules a ship can use ensure no team can buy themselves an advantage over a poorer rival. This makes the tournament a game of strategy, planning and execution. It's a refreshing change from the fleet and gang warfare that's typically found in New Eden. Massively covered Alliance Tournament 7 back in September 2009 and in their latest devblog, CCP have released a few details on the upcoming 8th tournament. This year the tournament is taking place in June and CCP is once again planning on "spicing up" the rule-set to keep things interesting. As with last year, videos of the qualifying rounds will likely be released on YouTube and the final match will be available for viewing on a live feed with expert commentary. For those interested in helping with the tournament, CCP is looking for EVE PvP experts to do commentary on the fights and chat about them afterward. Several experts will even be flown out to CCP HQ in Reykjavik, Iceland to help with the production of the live final match. Applications must be in by the 28th, giving just over two weeks for potential experts to sign up. For details on what's required and how to apply, see CCP's latest EVE devblog. More details on the tournament's new rules and sign-up procedures are forthcoming in the next few weeks. If the camera-work and visual quality are anything like last year, this will definitely be a great tournament to watch.
EVE Evolved: The development of Incarna
One of the biggest differences between EVE Online and most other MMOs is the lack of a humanoid avatar. Even when you're docked up in a station, you can't leave your ship and walk around. The detailed avatars we create on starting the game are not so much avatars as passport photos; seen only as little square mug shots in chat channels and the official forums. In their never-ending quest to make EVE the definitive Sci-Fi simulation, this is something the game's developers CCP have always endeavoured to change. The introduction of a full body avatar feature, code-named "Walking in Stations", "Ambulation" and now known as "Incarna", has been undeniably the most anticipated feature since EVE went live. It's been in development since 2006 but has proven a much larger task than CCP originally anticipated. With the expansion tentatively slated for winter this year, new information on it is still harder to find than a sober Icelandic game developer. In this week's EVE Evolved, I take a look at Incarna's development so far and why it hasn't been released yet.
EVE Evolved: Dominion be damned
At the last EVE Online fanfest, it was announced that the Dominion expansion is slated for December 1st to coincide with Iceland's Sovereignty day. With less than a month to go until launch, there has been growing concern at the extreme lack of information on the new sovereignty mechanics at the expansion's core. There have been a few scheduled tests and several devblogs but few factual details on the mechanics we'll be using once the expansion goes live. I've even been on the test server and tried the new mechanics out but they're far from finished. The worry was that if the specific details weren't revealed as soon as possible, it might end up being too late to make necessary changes based on player feedback. On Friday 6th, a devblog was finally released explaining the cost breakdowns in the new sovereignty system and what bonuses will be given for the various system upgrades. Rather than allaying people's fears, the devblog set the forums on fire. An intense debate has sprung up, with massive outcry from those that live in 0.0. Their concerns may well be warranted as the proposed mechanics don't quite match up with the original vision of the Dominion expansion that the EVE community has shown support for thus far.Has Dominion veered off course and is time running out to get it back on track? In this opinion piece, I run down the new devblog and give an inside view into parts of the heated debate it sparked off.
