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EVE Evolved: The Council of Stellar Management, part 2
When it started, a lot of players were skeptical that the CSM was anything more than a PR stunt to recover from the T20 scandal. Over a year and a half later and there are still those that feel the entire system is a waste of time and resources. To set the record straight, CCP recently released a devblog highlighting just a few things that the CSM have already helped get into the game.
EVE Fanfest streaming in live video Saturday, Oct 3
Are you disappointed you couldn't attend EVE Fanfest 2009 in Reykjavik this week? If so, there's some good news. CCP Games announced today that they're going to stream live video of the Fanfest presentations on Saturday, October 3rd, from 12:00 - 17:00 GMT. The live video stream can be viewed at the EVE Fanfest 2009 site and will feature keynotes on the future of CCP Games and EVE Online -- namely DUST 514 -- and Senior Producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson's keynote on the Dominion expansion (recorded Friday evening). CCP Games will also stream video of the finals from this year's Fanfest PvP tournament with its free-for-all and Tech III matches. If you're unable to view the video stream, you can also listen in on the keynotes through the EVE Online Facebook page thanks to Vivox. Information will be made available on the EVE Facebook page tomorrow, and this audio will stream from 15:00 - 17:00 GMT.
EVE social network COSMOS roadmap revealed, some features delayed
COSMOS is the social network for EVE Online slated to arrive with this winter's Dominion expansion, which CCP Games describes as "EVE away from EVE". Ultimately, it's a way to extend the game experience into new platforms such as web and mobile, along with voice integration -- but this is the long-term plan. In the short term, they've announced a delay with rolling out some of the previously mentioned features when Dominion launches. The initial release will focus on the new in-game mail system being tied into COSMOS and laying the groundwork for other features to come in early 2010. EVE Online developer CCP Caedmon explained the reasons behind this delay: "We think that this delay for the web application is the right move because we have always had our sights set on the long game for COSMOS. The first release, while crammed with good stuff, was always intended to lay the basis for the ground-breaking innovations to come. Rushing COSMOS out with less polish didn't make sense in this context, we want to impress from day one."
EVE minimum system requirements raised for Dominion expansion
CCP Games periodically raises system requirements for EVE Online when they feel those minimum requirements are holding the game back. This is going to happen with this winter's Dominion expansion when players will need Windows XP Service Pack 2 to run the EVE client. The game will be getting a graphics update that includes a new look for some of EVE's planets and the Chromium powered in-game browser will require that XP users step up to at least Service Pack 2. No hardware system requirement increases have been announced, just the need for players to update to Service Pack 2. This will only affect 0.4% of the game's Windows XP users, according to EVE dev CCP Explorer in his latest dev blog. CCP Games will also officially begin supporting Windows 7 with Dominion.
EVE Evolved: The road ahead for 0.0 alliances
A lot of MMOs rarely (if ever) revisit old gameplay mechanics or areas, focusing instead on new expansions. EVE Online is different in that the developers go back and re-visit old aspects of gameplay rather than just focusing on new mechanics and content. Even Blizzard have seen the wisdom in redevelopment of old content, and in their next planned World of Warcraft expansion "Cataclysm", the entire game world is being given a revamp to bring everything up to their most recent development standards.CCP Games have been using this development strategy for years and coupled with player-based development in the community, EVE Online is truly a game that evolves over time. Player-managed political states shift allegiances, entire empires can rise, span the galaxy and fall within a year and the emergent gameplay that typifies EVE's sandbox style is constantly being expanding on by players. The game we know now is very different to the one we had a year ago and if recent devblogs are any indication, EVE is about to undergo a major evolutionary leap. The entire sovereignty system and the state of capital warfare is about to undergo a complete revamp.In this article, I take a more in-depth look ahead at the changes that are coming to 0.0, capital ships and the sovereignty system and how I think they could turn out, given my experiences in EVE.
AGDC09: EVE's Nathan Richardsson on the Dominion expansion and beyond
Massively was on the ground at the Game Developers Conference 2009 in Austin this week, and had a chance to sit down with Nathan "Oveur" Richardsson, Executive Producer of EVE Online. We discussed EVE's winter expansion, Dominion, and the new dimensions to the sci-fi MMO's setting that CCP Games hopes to introduce. We also learned a bit more about the company's plans to expand EVE into other platforms, namely through the COSMOS social network which will tie in with the game from Dominion onward.
A look at EVE Online's new planet art
With the upcoming Dominion expansion, EVE's planets are receiving some much needed graphical love. While they don't look bad, they just don't look like the rest of the graphically updated universe anymore. But, CCP has seen the problem, and will be updating all of their planets to bring an artistic focus back on them -- especially as they will be the settings of DUST 514's battles.As the Dominion expansion has hit the test server, one of the testers made a video showcasing some of the artistic upgrades. CCP certainly has made some beautiful worlds and awesome atmospheric effects, and you can catch it all in Flamewave357's YouTube video. Click continue reading to check out the video after the jump![Via MMORPG.com]
Major rebalance of capital ships coming to EVE Online in Dominion expansion
There are few things in EVE Online which provoke more outrage among the playerbase than capital ship nerfs. These multi-billion ISK behemoths aren't just an investment in terms of currency -- being able to pilot a capital ship effectively is a time investment as well, given EVE's real time skill training system. The writing's been on the wall for a long time though. Considering the sheer numbers of capital ships being fielded in the game, some changes might just be a good thing for EVE Online. EVE developer CCP Abathur's dev blog "Dominion - The Capital Battlefield" frames the current state of capital ship warfare with a look at how dreadnaughts and carriers entered the game, and how over time their significance was eclipsed by supercarriers like motherships and titans. The big announcements are the changes being made to the various classes of capital ships in EVE, and Abathur walks us through the boosts and nerfs that will soon affect the game's numerous capital ship pilots in the Dominion expansion.
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.
Breaking the chains of Sovereignty in EVE Online's Dominion expansion
We recently mentioned that the next expansion for EVE Online is called Dominion, and will focus on revamping the sovereignty game mechanics -- arguably one of the most crucial aspects of the game for the most hardcore players. So why, then, is sovereignty so important to the game's players? EVE Online is a game where everything takes place in a single setting, the New Eden galaxy comprised of thousands of solar systems. While a large percentage of the game's playerbase remains in high security space controlled by NPC factions, for others it's 0.0 space (aka nullsec) where the real action is. In a nutshell, 0.0 is a lawless frontier where the rarest ores and minerals, the highest bounty NPCs, the most lucrative exploration content (in known space) is found. Of course, these regions are the most hotly contested territories in EVE Online and those resources found within are a driver for the continual conflict that engulfs New Eden.
New faction battleships coming to EVE Online with Dominion expansion
The developers at CCP Games only just recently announced the next EVE Online expansion called Dominion, and its focus on planetary control. While they say it will bring new features like the COSMOS social network and Epic Mission Arcs for pirate factions, that's not to say that CCP Games isn't looking at other aspects of the game, particularly when it comes to those factions. Dominion will give some much-needed attention to faction ships, both those of pirate factions and Navy ships of the main empire factions. EVE Game Designer CCP Ytterbium posted a thread aimed at getting player feedback. He wrote, "As some of you may have guessed by now, [the] Dominion release will bring improvements to most in-game faction ships, as we do feel they do not perform properly in their intended roles at the time being."
EVE Online announces Dominion expansion, 'Walking in Stations' renamed Incarna
CCP Games has announced their 11th free expansion for EVE Online, called "Dominion." As the name suggests, the winter expansion focuses on territories and player control over them. We're told that the Dominion expansion focuses on conquering and holding space, and will feature a reworking of the sovereignty system of territorial control for player alliances. We don't have any further details on the sovereignty revamp yet, but according to CCP the changes have been made with subscriber feedback in mind, particularly through the player-elected Council of Stellar Management. Given that CCP Games is tying more of EVE Online's gameplay into the planets of the New Eden galaxy, the next step they're taking with the Trinity graphics engine is to add more detail to these planets (and presumably moons).
SCEA registers trademarks for 'Starhawk' and 'Dominion'
Sony Computer Entertainment America recently staked claim to two intriguing video game monikers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The first title, Dominion, is definitely a code name for the reboot of the Crash Bandicoot franchise we've been waiting on for so long. Or, possibly, a new God of War. Or, perhaps, a mash-up of the two franchises. Fine, we have absolutely no idea what Dominion is -- but if it turns out to be God of Bandicoot, remember that we totally called it.The second trademarked title, Starhawk, might actually lend some credence to rumors of an upcoming space-themed follow-up to Warhawk which we heard last month. See, they replaced "War" with "Star," which is a celestial body that can be found in space. Don't feel too bad for not catching it. That kind of journalistic sleuthing is the reason we get paid the big bucks.[Via superannuation]
