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EVE Online seeks tourney commentators, plans dual character training for Odyssey
Want to be a part of EVE Online's 11th annual Alliance Tournament that starts on July 20th, 2013, but not from the cockpit of your ship? You can apply to be one of the PvP commentators who will discuss the tourney, tactics, and teams involved live on air with developers as well as providing commentary on matches as they unfold. Yes, live means you'll actually be in Iceland for this gig! Qualifications include having a valid passport, being over 21, having a sharp wit, and being well-versed in PvP. Full details for the application process are available on the official site. If you'd prefer to participate in the battles themselves, note that there will be a few changes to the tourney from years past. To start, Alliance Tournament XI will run over only three weekends, not four. Second, qualifying rounds and group stages have been replaced by double elimination from the get go. Next, from the second weekend onward, two ship types will be banned from the match by team captains. And finally, to fly with an alliance you had to have been a member since downtime this morning. Dev blogs covering all the rules, the broadcast schedule, and sign-up details will be coming soon. [Update: CCP has been busy today! The official site has now also been updated with a dev blog announcing that dual character training will ship with the Odyssey expansion next month.]
EVE Evolved: EVE's Alliance Tournament IX
With all the recent controversy in EVE Online, the annual Alliance Tournament was all too quickly forgotten. CCP did its usual fantastic job with the tournament coverage this year, with live video streams of the two qualifying weekends and a live EVE TV studio show for the finals. For those of us who missed the action, all of the match videos have now been uploaded to the CCP Games YouTube channel in HD. As we take a step back from recent events to digest CCP and the CSM's statements, now is the perfect chance to catch up on some of the year's awesome PvP tournament action. This year's tournament winners walked away with a first place prize of 120 billion ISK and 50 blueprint runs for a unique Amarr heavy assault cruiser called the Vangel. The second place prize of 50 billion ISK was also accompanied by 50 blueprint runs for a unique Amarr assault ship called the Malice. Both ships are significantly better than their standard counterparts, but with only 50 ever to be introduced in the game, they're sure to become priceless collector's items. The third and fourth place winners received 20 billion ISK each as a consolation prize for coming so far in EVE's number one PvP tournament. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the meta-game surrounding the tournament and collect together links to videos and commentary on all the main matches in Alliance Tournament IX.
EVE's Alliance Tournament IX ends in controversy
The Alliance Tournament is one of the highlights of the EVE Online calendar. Every year, tens of thousands of people tune in to watch teams from competing alliances battle it out in a massive knock-out style tournament. With rules in place to limit the number and value of ships a team can field, the Alliance Tournament is as close to a fair fight as you'll find in EVE. This year's tournament came to a close last night after two weekends of qualifying rounds, exciting knock-out matches and a controversial final. Skip past the cut to find out how this year's tournament ended. Be warned that this post will spoil the outcome of the tournament. For those of you who missed the live stream, we'll be compiling an in-depth summary with links to videos of all the matches once CCP has uploaded the matches to YouTube.
EVE alliance tournament finals start today
For those of you who have been following EVE Online's eighth annual alliance tournament, this weekend marks the spectacular conclusion of the past two weeks of fierce competition. The 64 initial entrants have been whittled down to 32 final teams, to be matched against each other to find which alliance has what it takes to crush all opposition. You can tune into the event's live coverage, beginning today at around 15:00 GMT (11AM EDT), via CCP's high-definition tournament feed. To encourage people to watch the feed live rather than just waiting for the YouTube videos, CCP will be giving away some huge prizes to a few lucky viewers at random. They have two NVIDIA GTX 280 graphics cards and a full set of E-ON magazine issue 1 to 20 to give away. In addition to the usual commentary on matches in progress, coverage of this final weekend of fighting will feature a live studio. Between matches, guest PvP experts and CCP developers will be discussing the state of play live on camera. As usual, CCP have prepared a few interesting videos for the interludes that offer a glimpse into the development of EVE. This year, they'll be giving us a look at their impressive "Video Production Team," and both CCP Hammer and CCP t0rfifrans will be on the show to talk about their latest projects. Videos of the finals will be put on the CCP Games YouTube channel in a few days, but there's nothing quite like watching coverage live. If you missed any of the matches in the first or second qualifying rounds, those videos are now also on YouTube. Skip past the cut to watch CCP's hilarious teaser video for Alliance Tournament 8's live coverage weekend.
Get ready for the second round of EVE's alliance tournament
The second round of EVE Online's annual alliance tournament event begins today. If last week's matches were any indication, this second round of qualifiers is going to be awesome to watch. In the first round, the 64 alliances entered in the tournament fought in 32 1-on-1 matches with opponents drawn at random. Teams gained points for each ship they killed, plus additional points for winning their match. In this weekend's second round, the 64 teams will head back into the arena for their final qualifying match. Each team will be matched against another of similar ability based on their performance in the first round. Tune into the tournament's live video stream, starting as of the moment this post goes live and ending late in the evening. The stream picks up again tomorrow at the same time for day 2 of the second qualifying round. If you've missed the first qualifying round, you can watch the matches in high definition on the official alliance tournament website. CCP has uploaded videos from the first round of qualifiers and even written up a great battle report on each match. Skip past the cut for a list of all 32 matches, links to their videos and a quick note of the ships on each side. Don't worry, there are no spoilers in this article, only links to some awesome PvP matches.
EVE pushes over the 60,000 peak concurrent user mark
With its single-server structure, EVE Online is home to over 330,000 pilots, all playing in the same instance of the game universe. As subscriber numbers rise, EVE continues to set new records for the number of players simultaneously online in a single 3D game world. Records tend to be broken in the days leading up to or following a big expansion, usually during EVE's peak activity on Sunday evenings. The previous record of 56,021 set following the Dominion expansion was beaten yesterday with a peak concurrent user total of 60,453. The high active subscriber levels we're currently seeing can be attributed to both the buzz caused by EVE's eighth alliance tournament and the newly released Tyrannis expansion. The main feature of Tyrannis goes live tomorrow, when the command centres required for planetary interaction will be seeded on the market. With two more weekends of the alliance tournament to go and the imminent Tyrannis land grab, we're sure to see this new record pushed even further in the weeks to come.
EVE's Alliance Tournament VIII kicks off today
Today marks the start of EVE Online's eighth annual Alliance Tournament. Each weekend for the next three weeks, teams from 64 alliances will face each other on an even playing field where strategy and execution are the deciding factor. Using expert commentators sourced from the EVE community and live video streaming of the event, CCP Games do their best to make the tournament a great spectator sport for the average player. For those that enter the competition, it's a chance to prove that their alliance has what it takes to come up with winning tactics and execute them flawlessly. The first qualifying round is already underway and you can tune into the matches through CCP's live video stream.
Pandemic Legion crowned EVE Alliance Tournament VII champs
The biggest PvP event of the year in EVE Online is the annual Alliance Tournament, which played out over three weekends in September. The final rounds of EVE Alliance Tournament VII were fought out today and only one alliance earned the right to call themselves the game's top PvPers: Pandemic Legion, tournament champs for the second year in a row. 64 alliance teams entered the tournament 3 weeks ago, and today's finals culminated with Pandemic Legion facing off against Circle-of-Two. It was an entertaining final match but it was decided early on, as Pandemic Legion's stealth bombers unleashed waves of destruction upon Circle-of-Two, ultimately sealing their fate in the tournament. Pandemic Legion proved to be calculating in their tactics and ship setups this year. They successfully varied between speed fitted Minmatar fleets for fast and brutal blitzes, and glass cannon stealth bomber setups for powerful alpha strikes. They remained unpredictable throughout the tournament and it paid off for them.
EVE Alliance Tournament VII streaming live in HD this weekend
This weekend marks the finals for EVE Online's biggest PvP event of the year, the Alliance Tournament. The past two weekends of Alliance Tournament VII have seen the strongest teams among 64 player alliances battle it out to the top 32. The finals will take place today and tomorrow, running from 15:00 GMT until 21:00 GMT on both days, with only one alliance taking the crown as the game's top PvPers until next year. For the first time in the PvP tournament's history, the final rounds will be streamed live in High Definition video, which you can view at the official Alliance Tournament VII site. The tournament can be viewed in standard definition as well.
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 Alliance Tournament VII kicks off this weekend
EVE Online's annual PvP tournament between player alliances (guilds) is one of the major events held each year for the sci-fi MMO. Alliance Tournament VII begins this weekend, Saturday September 5th, at 15:00 GMT, and will have 64 player alliances battling it out over three weekends culminating in a live video broadcast of the finals. (The match schedule is up but the lineup as it stands now may change due to some alliances backing out at the last minute.)While the devs will be on hand to obliterate rule breakers, it's members of the playerbase who commentate on EVE's Alliance PvP tournaments. The first two weekends will be qualifying rounds and players can listen in for this play-by-play commentary in-game over EVE Voice, by simply joining the "Alliance Tournament" channel and right-clicking "Join Audio". You can also tune in to the Alliance Tournament on these internet radio stations:
CCP Games selects player commentators for EVE Alliance Tournament VII
CCP Games holds an annual EVE Online Alliance PvP Tournament where player organizations face off against one another, live, in a spectacle of explosions, cunning tactics, ... and occasionally betrayal. This year's Alliance PvP Tournament will mark the seventh annual event. CCP Games likes to get the players involved in ways beyond being tournament competitors, which is good news for the gamers themselves. Rather than having the developers comment with the play-by-play action, we've mentioned that CCP put out a call to the players, seeking PvP experts to be commentators. The final choices have been made and CCP announced the names of this year's Alliance Tournament commentators today, and it's clearly an accomplished roster of players. Crovan (Dark-Rising), of The Drone Bay podcast fame, will be back again this year. As will Kil2 (coracao ardente), who did a great job last year, and who many players will know from the PvP videos he's released. Verone, arguably EVE's most well-known pirate, will apparently be enjoying the tournament as a viewer rather than commentator this year, but his Veto corpmate Ryas Nia will be on hand at Alliance Tournament VII. Ryas will be joined by two new commentators this year: TeaDaze from Agony Unleashed (a PvP training school in EVE) and Trzzbk from GoonFleet. This looks like a great lineup of players chosen to speak during the matches. EVE Alliance Tournament VII will begin in early September, and will run for three weekends, culminating in the live video broadcast of the finals from Reykjavik.
EVE Alliance PvP Tournament VII details and changes announced
One of the biggest events for players in EVE Online is the Alliance PvP Tournament which is held annually. CCP Games' new Alliance Tournament page explains what the event is all about: "The EVE Online Alliance Tournament is the ultimate battlefield in which the top pilots in EVE Online fight for the glory and honour of their alliance. 64 Alliances compete over 3 weekends of intense, explosive action, with the final weekend broadcast live via EVE TV." Last year's was tournament was a big success, with some excellent commentary on the matches from members of the EVE playerbase and no small amount of drama. Given how well things worked out last year, the 2009 Alliance Tournament will follow the same format, but there are a few changes that EVE developer CCP Claw discusses in his dev blog "How do you stop a man with seven alliance tournaments?"
CCP Games seeking players to commentate EVE Online Alliance PvP Tournament VII
One thing many EVE Online players look forward to each year is the Alliance PvP Tournament, where New Eden's pilots battle it out to see which alliance is crowned champion... until the next year when rivals fight to take that title away. Last year's tournament was very entertaining, both in terms of the matches themselves and the commentary from PvP experts selected from the playerbase, namely Crovan and Verone. This year's EVE Alliance Tournament VII will kick off in September. We don't have any further details on it yet, except that it will follow the same format that CCP used last year -- two weekends of qualifiers and a third weekend for the finals. Last year's finals were broadcast in live video, which is something that CCP Games wants to do again this in Alliance Tournament VII. In fact, they're now seeking PvP experts from among the EVE playerbase since it's worked out so well in the past. The requirements? EVE video producer CCP Charlie writes, "As an Expert you'll be on the set discussing the tournament, tactics, teams and talking with developers about EVE live on air. You'll also take shifts in the commentary booth providing live commentary on the matches themselves. You need to know your PvP and you need to know how to keep on talking!" The first two weeks' commentary will be done from those players' homes (via EVE Voice and internet radio stations), but CCP Games will fly the Experts out to Reykjavik, Iceland for the final rounds, covering both the airfare and accommodation. %Gallery-43561%
EVE developers to hold a meet and greet in Las Vegas
The major player gathering for EVE Online players is Fanfest, which is held in Reykjavik each year. However, the fact is many players can't make the trip to Iceland, and a number of North American players have hoped for an event that's more accessible to them. It looks like this is going to happen, and what's more accessible than Las Vegas? (Bonus: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.")The 2009 EVE Developers Meet and Greet in Las Vegas was mentioned very briefly during the recent (and excellent) Alliance PvP Tournament, but more info is available now. EVE Vegas is a two-day event that will be held on May 8th and 9th at the Imperial Palace (on the Strip). It kicks off on a Friday with the Meet and Greet, followed up by a conference on Saturday.
Pandemic Legion crowned EVE Alliance Tournament VI champions
The final rounds of EVE Online's annual PvP tournament concluded today, with some heated matches between the game's top performing teams in Alliance Tournament VI. In the end, it was Pandemic Legion who took the crown, having bested some of the game's top PvP pilots and defeating R.U.R. alliance in a tense final match.While the real prize is the earned right to call themselves the game's best combat pilots, Pandemic Legion reaps other rewards: a tournament cup, gold medals for the tournament pilots, and 60 PLEX which are essentially in-game certificates that can provide the champions with a whopping (collective) 8 years of game time. In addition, Pandemic Legion will be the first alliance ever to receive a permanent in-game monument dedicated to their victory. Massively extends its congratulations to Pandemic Legion along with the rest of the EVE playerbase, and props to all the other alliances that competed in EVE Online Alliance Tournament VI. It was an impressive showing, and the bar is certainly raised for next year's competitors.
EVE PvP Tournament assassination: Machiavellian or bad form?
Struggle between player alliances in EVE Online is very much at the heart of the game. While most conflicts play out in sweeping alliance warfare, with its requisite fleet battles involving hundreds of players, some alliances also choose to face one another in arena combat with the rapt attention of many thousands of their fellow pilots: the Alliance PvP Tournament. The Alliance Tournament in EVE Online provides a way for players to demonstrate what they're capable of under controlled conditions, and offers a shot at fame or notoriety among the playerbase. In some cases, alliances may face off in the PvP tournament to settle a score in a very public way. The rules of engagement in place ensure that all alliance teams are on equal ground with one another. EVE players can be devious though, if nothing else... as one match this past weekend proved: one alliance competitor assassinated his team's captain once the match had begun, and then self-destructed his own ship. The would-be saboteur, ironically named "Happy Joymaker", later announced he had infiltrated the alliance for the express purpose of a public execution of his target.
Massively speaks with Crovan about EVE Alliance PvP Tournament VI Part 2
Beyond being competitors in the tournament, what are some of the ways that players watching the event can get involved with Alliance Tournament VI? Down the road in a future tournament, you could try to become a commentator the way that we have. There's other things as well -- the volunteer program that CCP runs, ISD. They've got people on the field watching the matches and doing coverage live to post on the forums for people who missed the matches. If you want to actually be part of helping produce the alliance tournament, that's an option that's available to you. Also EVE Radio and the EVE-related radio stations do quite a bit. EVE Network News were liveblogging the entire tournament. If you can't listen to the live audio stream you can still read up on it and contribute to the conversation as it's happening. There's also IRC on the Coldfront server which is the semi-official EVE IRC server where all the people hang out. I'm in there a lot of the time, some of the other experts are in there sometimes. You can get a lot of conversation both during, between, and after matches about what's going on. There are a lot of different ways you can get involved, even if you're not flying. Obviously there's no live video feed until the last weekend. But there is live audio, and the videos tend to go up on YouTube pretty quick. I was very impressed with the turnaround.
Massively interviews Crovan about EVE Alliance PvP Tournament VI
The sci-fi themed game of EVE Online is one dominated by the players themselves, many of whom join together to form alliances. Those alliances vie for control of the New Eden galaxy, sparking continual warfare and political upheaval among the thousands of pilots flying in EVE at any given time. That's really the beauty of the game: the developers provide the setting, but it's the players who make it what it is. Alliance struggles are one of the defining features of the game, but not all scores are settled through massive fleet engagements. Some alliances opt to engage one another in an arena -- viewed by thousands of EVE's pilots -- the Alliance PvP Tournament. Alliance Tournament VI kicked off last weekend, continues this weekend with qualifying rounds, and will culminate in final rounds in February, which will be streamed as live video. As the Tournament is so significant to the players, each year CCP Games invites PvP experts from among the playerbase to be the tournament's commentators. Among those veteran combat pilots in EVE Online, Crovan certainly stands out. He, along with a small team of other PvP experts, was selected to provide live commentary on the matches. This should come as no problem for him, given the PvP experience gained from his time with now-legendary Mercenary Coalition and being a familiar voice to many of us with The Drone Bay podcast. Since The Drone Bay is the official podcast of the tournament, Crovan is recognizable to many listeners as the voice of the EVE Online Alliance Tournament VI. The fact that he's been a past Alliance Tournament competitor also gives him some additional perspective on the event. It's been a while since we spoke with Crovan -- we were fortunate enough to have him with us at Massively in the past through his excellent Rogue Signal column. We caught up with Crovan this week, however, and he told us everything we wanted to know about the Alliance Tournament. %Gallery-43561%
Pirate underdogs victorious in first round of EVE Alliance PvP Tournament
You killed KIA. You bastards! The EVE Online Alliance PvP Tournament returned this past weekend, guns blazing. The first qualifying round is now finished, huge bets in ISK were won and lost, and the competitors are preparing themselves for next weekend's face-offs. There were some good fights, and some surprises as well. When the relatively new pirate alliance "The Bastards" went toe to toe against KIA Alliance -- a formidable mercenary alliance in EVE Online comprised of seasoned combat pilots, many players assumed KIA would win. Those assumptions were wrong -- The Bastards scored a decisive victory against their opponents, no doubt to the chagrin of many players who bet against the pirates. One combatant from The Bastards, a career pirate (in EVE) named "Flashfresh", wrote about the experience of preparing to face some heavy competition from KIA Alliance and how their time spent in training paid off. Flashfresh wrote: "This afternoon, the team was announced, moved to a staging area and the Ventrilo server became a cacophony of mad noise. The rest (including me) cheered ourselves hoarse. There was no worry or fear amongst the Bastards team; no talk about the opposition only on how we were going to do. The entire corp had volunteered time and resources to train and train and train. We were ready."
