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Deep safe spot nerf coming to EVE Online
Any EVE Online player that's spent time in nullsec or lowsec will know the importance of safe spots. By creating a bookmark while in warp, you can warp to areas of space several AU from any celestial objects. Although other players can still see your ship on the directional scanner, they'll need to narrow down your location with combat scanner probes to warp in on top of you. You can be stay relatively safe from hostile players by continually warping between multiple safe spots, an old and intended part of EVE's tactical gameplay. The creation of deep safe spots several hundred AU from the nearest celestial object, however, has never been an intended game mechanic. Over the years, several different bugs and oversights have allowed players to create them. Unfortunately for players that have been using deep safe spots, this particular tactical tool is going to change when Tyrannis hits on May 18th.
EVE Online player creates incredible multi-box setup
From irritating spam-bots to automated farming macros hogging the best spots, macros and bots are almost universally despised in every MMO. Multi-boxing, on the other hand, is a much more ambiguous idea that has been common since as far back as the early days of EverQuest. Although there's nothing in the rules of most games against one player controlling multiple characters, there are usually rules against automating gameplay. This includes sending keystrokes and mouse commands from one computer to several clients, the preferred method for multi-boxers to control multiple game clients simultaneously. After a hit from the banhammer for "macro use", EVE Online player Zhek Kromtor engineered a low-tech solution to his rule-breaking problem. With a setup that looks like something out of The Matrix or Minority Report, Zhek has set up eight monitors and eight computers to run a total of fourteen EVE clients simultaneously. To control them all at the same time without rule-breaking macro software, Zhek has tied together six computer mice with packing tape and wooden skewers. Six separate keypads have been taped together, with yet more wooden rods letting him activate the modules on six ships at a time. According to the EVE EULA, using software to send keystrokes isn't allowed but there's nothing about taping together keyboards and mice. Whether you think this kind of setup is awesome or a blatant flaunting of the rules, putting together this kind of setup is definitely a bizarre achievement. [via Kotaku]
EVE Evolved: A sneak peak at EVE Gate
Some time ago, CCP announced their unusual plans to develop their own EVE Online social networking website. Their plan was to tie it into the game, giving players a site they could visit to stay in touch with their EVE contacts and corporation while not logged in. It was expected to be ready by Winter 2009 but never materialised when the Dominion expansion was released. Now named EVE Gate, the website has been rescheduled for the upcoming Tyrannis expansion on May 18th. Recently, CCP released an early alpha version of the EVE Gate website and have begun the slow process of adding features and working out bugs. Some of the features are not active and the site is not yet tied into the active EVE server. Nevertheless, the current alpha build shows what we can expect from the site when it launches. In this article, I give a run-down of what features we can expect from EVE Gate at launch and what we can expect from it in future iterations.
EVE Online Alliance Tournament VIII sign-ups open on Monday
The Alliance Tournament is one of EVE Online's annual highlights. Loved by participants and watched by hundreds of excited fans, the tournament is a showcase of EVE's combat mechanics and pure strategy. With the interesting new "flagship" rule to shake things up and the usual commentary on EVE TV, this year's tournament in June is definitely something to look forward to. In a recent news post, CCP confirmed that sign-ups for teams officially open on April 12th. Alliances wanting to enter have until April 23rd to submit their interest in taking up one of the 64 slots in the event. Most of the slots for this year's tournament will be assigned to applicants completely at random, with last year's winners being guaranteed a spot. In an effort to make sure EVE's big alliances aren't excluded by the luck of the draw, eight slots will be reserved for auction. Alliances will bid against each other for one of the eight guaranteed spots, allowing eight of EVE's richer alliances to choose to secure their slots. There are enough slots left over, however, that those who don't enter the auction will still stand a very high chance of winning a slot at random. To help reduce the number of absentee entrants from last year's total, every alliance entering will also have to pay a 2 billion ISK non-refundable sign-up fee. CCP Claw has helpfully summarised the entry conditions and procedures in a post on the EVE Online forums.
E-ON Magazine issue 19 hits the shelves
In Autumn 2005, EVE Online became one of the only MMOs out there with its own dedicated print magazine. Under contract from CCP Games, MMM Publishing has worked tirelessly ever since to produce EVE's official magazine "E-ON." Four times per year, we're blessed with a dose of the latest and greatest things from New Eden in a comfortingly solid format. The magazine covers everything from strategy guides and ship fitting advice to sneak peaks at upcoming expansions, interviews with CCP staff and incredible fiction set in the EVE universe. E-ON differs from other game magazines in that they don't any make money from advertising. In an effort to keep the magazine all about EVE, they've taken the unusual but apparently successful route of publishing full-page adverts from in-game corporations and organisations. Advertisers buy space in the magazine with ISK, the in-game currency, and adverts must be for strictly in-game purposes. The ISK is then used to pay volunteer writers, who create most of the magazine's content and produce important things like guides from a true player's perspective. There's even a scheme in the works to reward advertisers with discount coupon codes for the magazine to gift their corpmates. Now nearing their fifth year of publishing, E-ON issue 19 has recently been released. As usual, this issue is absolutely packed full of everything we've come to expect from the mag. Skip past the cut for a run-down of what you can expect in issue 19 of E-ON Magazine.
CCP Games conquers Mount Kilimanjaro, one step closer to world domination
CCP Games is a company with a singular lofty goal: World Domination. From their humble beginnings in a small office in Reykjavik, Iceland, they released an experimental sci-fi MMO into an untested market. Almost seven years down the line, EVE Online has been a consistent success and CCP as a company has expanded at an incredible rate. Now with additional offices in China, North America and the UK and two exciting new games on the way, they're well on their way to meeting that gargantuan goal. Last month, CCP took their plans to dominate the earth literally as they conquered Africa's highest peak. On March 1st 2010 at approximately 6:30AM, CCP developers "CCP Solomon", "CCP Diagoras" and "CCP Punkturis" from the company's Reykjavik office arrived at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Along with a fourth friend named Sveinn Sveinsson, they completed an impressive 6 day trek to the peak through harsh conditions. On arrival, they literally planted the CCP flag at Uhuru peak, an incredible 5895 metres above sea level. [Via MMORPG.com]
EVE Evolved: Motivating the troops
In EVE Online, pilots are encouraged to join player-run corps in order to find a place in the game they can belong and meet like-minded people with similar goals. As the CEO of a small EVE corporation, I've often found the hardest part of running a corp is keeping the members motivated. In a previous article, I gave advice on running a corporation, from details on keeping your assets secure against theft to the different types of operations a corp can go on. Following that, I explored the importance of corporate goals and a few of the things corps routinely work together to achieve. Maintaining motivation is integral to both running corp operations and achieving goals. Demotivated pilots will rarely join in on corp activities and are more likely to leave the corp in search of a better one. This is a particularly big problem in PvP-based organisations like faction warfare corps, pirate squads or territorial alliances. In this short article, I look at four of my favourite ways a corp can motivate their pilots.
EVE video corner: "Future Proof"
There's no doubt about it that EVE Online can produce some stunning visuals and incredible stories. New Eden has been the setting for countless creative works, some featuring real gameplay and events and others pushing the limits of the prime fiction. Every so often, I come across a video so mind-blowing that it has to be shared. Last night CrazyKinux's Musing pointed me toward an awesome new EVE video that's been seven months in the making. Produced by Kale Ryoko, "Future Proof" tells the tale of a Caldari militia fleet on a combat mission for the state. Headed up by support commander Firefox of the Chimera "Overlord", the fleet must do all it takes to push through to their objective. Assisting with this twelve minute masterpiece is Veto corporation's Kyoko Sadako, the mastermind behind such incredible videos as "War Has Come" and "The Angel Cartel (Push Eject)". Made using some of EVE's art assets and the Unreal 3 Engine, Future Proof is a video that simply must be seen. Skip past the cut to watch both parts of the video in HD. The original version is available for download at the video's official page on the EVE forums.
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.
EVE Evolved: Medic ships, part 2: High-end healing
In the first of this two-part guide, I looked at some of the more affordable entry level ships and modules available to dedicated healers in EVE Online. I went on to examine an effective strategy for using medic ships as part of a PvE gang, whether you need some help on a particularly hard mission or you're trying to crack one of EVE's hardest exploration complexes. This week, I look at high-end healing as I explore capital ships and the role of medic ships in both PvP and wormhole operations. Healing in missions and exploration sites is a largely passive affair, with the healer permanently locked to the main tank. NPCs in these sites never switch targets but the same can't be said for players or the advanced Sleeper AI that roam wormhole systems. Repairing your gang-mates in PvP or a wormhole operation is a completely different affair, made all the more complicated by the fact that the dedicated medic ship is sure to come under fire. In this article, I look at capital ships and the remote assistance strategies players use in PvP or wormhole operations.
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 Evolved: Medic ships, part 1: The healers of EVE
The holy trinity of tank, healer and damage-dealer is present in every MMO, including EVE Online. While most MMOs dedicate these roles to specific classes, ships in EVE can do all three at the same time. When running missions solo, for example, a ship will need to tank incoming damage, repair it and deal damage themselves. Setting up a ship for solo PvE becomes a balancing act between the three roles. Too little tank and you'll find yourself in trouble, but too little damage and you'll take forever to kill NPCs. As part of a gang, however, remote armour repair and shield transfer modules allow pilots to specialise into a traditional healer role. Rather than having each player repair their own damage, it can be much more effective to have a dedicated medic ship to repair anyone that gets shot at. There are even specialised ships for would-be healers in EVE, from entry-level cruisers to advanced Tech 2 Logistics ships and massive capital ships. Medic ships can be an effective part of any gang, whether you're tackling a tough level 4 or 5 mission or engaging in large-scale gang PvP. In this first part of a two-part look into dedicated healers in EVE Online, I look at the more affordable ships and modules available and the best strategy for healing in PvE.
Video shows CCP's incredible cloth and hair simulation
We've known for some time that CCP planned to use physics simulation to make the clothes in EVE Online's Incarna expansion and their upcoming World of Darkness MMO more realistic. They even gave a talk on using NVidia's APEX cloth simulation at the 2010 Game Developer's Conference. Until now, all we've seen are technical details and the occasional screenshot, which makes it hard to work out how the end product will look. NVidia have released a new video this week of CCP's cloth simulation in action, giving those of us that are interested a sneak peak at the incredibly impressive results. Although APEX cloth simulation will be introduced to EVE when Incarna is released, the video looks much more like something out of World of Darkness. As an added bonus, the system seems to simulate realistic hair and not just clothes. Hair in most MMOs has always been limited to shorter styles which would look alright without animation. The ability to simulate complex clothes and long hair styles make character customisation in World of Darkness and EVE's Incarna expansion look very promising. Skip past the cut to watch the video in HD. [Thanks for the tip, Patrick!]
Win a year of EVE Online game time with the PODDED podcast
We all love to keep up with what's been going on in our favourite MMOs, whether the news is delivered by dedicated news sites and blogs or live radio shows and pre-recorded podcasts. There's certainly no shortage of fan-run podcasts and blogs in the EVE Online community but occasionally one will stand out from the crowd. Originally started up in 2007, the "PODDED" podcast had limited success with a run of only 11 episodes. After a relaunch in 2009, hosts Dillon Arklight and War Childe seemed to find their feet and have since seen their listener base grow. Posted on an irregular schedule, the PODDED podcast explores everything that's happened in the world of EVE since the last episode, from news and devblogs to coverage of major nullsec wars. To celebrate the one year anniversary of their relaunch, Dillon Arklight and War Childe are giving away one year's worth of EVE game time! To enter, you'll need to record an original piece of EVE-related audio comedy. It must be no longer than 3 minutes and can be any form of comedy. Some suggested ideas include an EVE parody song, reading an original EVE short story, creating a fake EVE advert or just doing some general comedic gags. If you think you've got what it takes to produce a funny EVE-related audio clip of three minutes or less, get your submission in by April 28th for a chance to win. Full submission guidelines are available at the PODDED podcast homepage.
EVE Tyrannis expansion trailer confirms May 18th release date
Just under a month ago, CCP announced Tyrannis, the next big expansion for EVE Online. Tyrannis centres around the planets of New Eden, which have so far played a purely visual role in the game. The expansion promises to open these planets for exploration and industrialisation, with players scanning for juicy mineral deposits and setting up vast, sprawling industrial networks. An early prototype of the planetary interaction feature has even been put on the EVE test server and players can help develop the expansion by giving their feedback. CCP typically release two expansions per year and Tyrannis has been roughly slated for this year's summer expansion. Although the summer expansion can sometimes come as late as July, CCP have just released a new teaser trailer confirming a May 18th release date. This gives the developers just over 8 weeks to get the expansion into shape. This should give the team more time to work on the next expansion, which most are hoping will be Incarna. Skip past the cut to watch the official Tyrannis teaser.
Help develop Tyrannis on the EVE test server
EVE Online's Tyrannis expansion is due for release in a few months and players are looking forward to the new planetary interaction mechanic. Although the core ideas for the expansion have been settled on, many of the game mechanics have not been fully fleshed out. In an effort to get players involved, CCP have begun releasing early prototypes of the planetary interaction feature on the EVE test server Singularity. It's important to keep in mind that nothing on the test server is final. As a studio that makes heavy use of agile development strategies, CCP will use feedback from players on the test server to incrementally refine the design. Dierdra Val, director of EVE University, has been on the test server to bring the EVE community details of CCP's current designs. They've released a video showing the process of installing structures on a planet and setting up factory links. So far, planetary interaction seems very similar to the moon mining and reacting industry but it's definitely a much more active process. While moon mining operations produce an endless supply of moon minerals at a steady rate, planet-based material deposits will vary in total size and yield per cycle. The materials produced on planets are also different than those produced by existing industrial operations. Skip past the cut to watch EVE University's test-server planetary interaction tutorial or set up a test server client and try it out for yourself.
Fan-run EVE competition offers prizes for best wallpaper
EVE Online player Xiphos83 has teamed up with our friends over at Crazykinux's Musing to make an EVE competition that's definitely worth entering. Always on the look-out for a new desktop background, for this competition he wants to see your best attempt at a visually stunning EVE wallpaper. With all the graphical upgrades EVE has received over the years, it's always kept its spot as one of the most visually stunning MMOs out there. It lends itself spectacularly to taking awesome screenshots and making dramatic videos. Entries must be at a minimum resolution of 1280 x 1024 and should fit into either an "Action" or "Scenic" theme. Anything from well-posed snaps of your favourite EVE planet to full-on PvP shots are in with a chance to win. Entry costs 10 million ISK and the winners will split the entire pot between them, with an additional 175 million ISK contributed by donors. Judging by the number of comments the competition has received so far, there could be a lot of ISK in that prize pot up for grabs. To enter, simply email your screenshot to crazykinux [AT] gmail [DOT] com along with your EVE character's name and wire your entry fee to character "CrazyKinux" in-game. Entries must be in by March 26th and to be in with a chance to win, make sure you read the contest rules.
EVE University turns six years old today
EVE Online has made a name for itself as an MMO with a steep learning curve. Getting into the game can be a daunting experience for new players, particularly if they want to get involved in PvP. Six years ago today, EVE player "Morning Maniac" founded the EVE University corporation in an effort to combat exactly that problem. Since then, they've been EVE's best-known new player training corp, providing free training and supplies to players getting to grips with the game. The program has seen over 10,000 new players pass through and graduate on to bigger and better things. Their success has spawned many other training corps over the years, including those focused on piracy. In his six year birthday announcement, Kelduum Revaan of EVE University talked about how the game had changed over the years, adding that "one thing has remained constant - there are always new players, and there is always more to learn." At last year's five year anniversary, a brief history of the corp graced the EVE news. Since then, EVE University has gone from strength to strength, with some impressive achievements over the last twelve months. Over 3,000 new players entered the program this year, for a time making EVE University possibly the biggest single corp in the game. They were even recommended by PC Gamer magazine as the best place for new players to start their EVE journey. This year also saw the opening of their wormhole operations division and the opening of access to NPC nullsec regions for members. The corp looks forward to expanding operations and we at Massively wish them every success over the coming year.
EVE Evolved: Playing casually or just killing time
MMOs are a popular hobby for hardcore and casual players alike. While some people love getting firmly embedded in their favourite MMO every night, a growing number of players prefer to log in occasionally and just kill a few hours at a time. EVE Online is no exception, with a mix of both casual and hardcore players. Taking part in things like alliance warfare, starbase industry or corporate management may require that a player log in every night but most other avenues of gameplay don't. A lot of EVE's gameplay can be picked up for a few hours and set back down with no added responsibility. In fact, player demographic data shows that most players prefer to live in the more casual environment of high security space. So what kind of things can you do if you just fancy playing internet spaceships for a few hours? In this opinion piece, I look at five of my favourite ways to kill a few hours in the name of EVE. What's your favourite way to spend a few hours?
GDC10: Torfi Frans Olafsson gives details on Tyrannis, Incarna and more
For the last few weeks, EVE Online players have been getting excited about the up-coming Tyrannis expansion with its Planetary Interaction feature. We received our first taste of what Tyrannis will hold last month when the expansion was announced and since then we've speculated on how its planetary interaction feature might work. Although CCP haven't answered our interview questions on Tyrannis yet, we caught up with EVE Senior Producer Torfi Frans Olafsson at GDC 2010 to get the inside scoop. Torfi was keen to point out that a lot of what CCP are doing in Tyrannis is laying the foundation for future updates and expansions. He calls Tyrannis "a stepping stone toward something even bigger." In addition to providing some inside info on the upcoming Tyrannis and Incarna expansions, Torfi revealed that there are more people working on EVE today than ever before. In contrast to MMOs that cut down their development team sizes once the game is out, CCP's ranks have been increasing at a huge rate in recent years. The ever-increasing revenue generated by EVE subscribers allows them to fund a large development team dedicated to making the game better for EVE players. "We've never had as many subscribers as we have today", says Torfi, "330,000 subscribers, like actual paying subscribers, not counting trials." It's thanks to all those subscribers that CCP are beginning to realise dreams they were never able to achieve when the game was less popular. Skip past the cut to see what Torfi Frans Olafsson had to say about Tyrannis, Incarna and more.
