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EVE Evolved: Does EVE Online have the world's largest MMO map?
MMO game worlds seem to be getting larger every year, and the debate over which is biggest frequently appears on forums and blogs. It usually starts with people breaking out infographics comparing the size of the various islands and continents in their favourite fantasy MMOs, and it escalates from there. World of Warcraft's Azeroth turns out to be surprisingly small at an estimated 80 square miles, while World War II Online claims to have the largest MMO game map in the world with over 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 square miles) of playable space modeled as a half scale map of Western Europe. Someone in the discussion will inevitably mention EVE Online, and that's when things get complicated. The New Eden star cluster is lightyears across, and its 7,699 accessible solar systems have earned it a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, but can EVE's map even be compared to accessible landmass in a fantasy MMO? All of the space between stars is currently empty and inaccessible, and players warp between points of interest within a solar system without interacting with any of the space in between. With that and the relative difference in scale between EVE and land-based games, it isn't immediately clear whether EVE Online still has the world's largest playable MMO map. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at how empty space works under the hood in EVE Online and crunch some numbers to find out whether it really does have the biggest playable game world.
Perpetuum doubling world size, offering free trials
What's new in the world of Perpetuum? Well, free trials for starters, as Avatar Creations has officially introduced a 15-day grace period for each newly created account. Trial players will not be able to trade items or currency, and they also will be prevented from joining corporations in order to safeguard the game's economy from exploits. Perhaps the biggest update in the world of Perpetuum is, well, the world -- or rather, the world as it will look in an upcoming patch. Avatar's official dev blog details plans to effectively double the size of the planet known as Nia in a patch "planned for about a month from now." The new territory will include six new islands (three of them safe zones and three free-for-all areas). All of the zones will boast infrastructure, NPCs, and materials, and Avatar plans on introducing missions shortly after going live with the update.
Guild Wars Nightfall larger than Azeroth?
We here at Massively love to lurk on gaming forums. Aside from the occasional breaking news bit or entertaining discussion, we sometimes stumble across something so interesting that we can't help but share. In this case, a discussion concerning game world size over at GuildWars2Guru.com piqued our interest. The thread, originally started to discuss a preview article on ArenaNet's forthcoming Guild Wars sequel, quickly veered into new territory, namely the sizes of various worlds both online and off. A user by the name of IceD'Bear even produced a couple of images showing direct map comparisons of games as diverse as the Elder Scrolls series, Grand Theft Auto III, Lord of the Rings Online, and of course Guild Wars. Now, we know what you're thinking. A game's map size doesn't automatically translate into playable area, and therein lies the rub with these types of comparisons. That said, it makes for a nifty trek down memory lane with regard to old games, and it might add a few onto the list of titles to check out if you're of the explorer persuasion. You can view the map comparisons here and here, and be sure to let us know what you think about the largest game world to date, as well as any games you'd like to see measured against those listed.
