monument
Latest
Google offers access to virtual 3D models of ancient monuments
Historic monuments around the world face threats from natural disasters, tourism and war, which is what led Ben Kacyra to found CyArk -- a non-profit organization working to scan and digitally archive ancient monuments. With laser scanning, photogrammetry, drone imaging and structured light scanning, CyArk's team has been developing detailed, digital 3D images of structures like the Ananda Ok Kyaung temple in Myanmar, the Al Azem Palace in Syria and Chichen Itza in Mexico. Now, Google is making these models available through its Arts & Culture platform.
PSY is finally getting the monument he deserves in Seoul
PSY's "Gangnam Style" is so recognizable, the second it starts to play people know what to do. To commemorate the track that broke YouTube's view counter, the Gangnam District Office announced that it will be erecting a statue in PSY's honor because, why the hell not? The structure will be two interlocking wrists symbolic of the song's horse-riding dance move and will contain sensors in it that will trigger Gangnam Style to play when you're standing under it. It will be built in the eponymous upscale Seoul district, so if you're ever in the area make sure you stop by and check out a ridiculous statue commemorating an even more ridiculous tune.
EVE Evolved: Eleven years of EVE Online
It seems that every year another few MMOs have closed their doors or convert to free-to-play business models to stay afloat. EVE Online has always enjoyed a level of insulation from these market trends elsewhere in the genre, and just last week on May 6th it celebrated its 11th year of year-on-year subscription growth. Following on from my previous column celebrating the EVE Evolved column's sixth year of operation, this week I'll be summarising all the major EVE news stories throughout the year. It's been a big year for EVE fans, one that many of us can be proud to have been a part of. The EVE community turned its financial wizardry toward the real world and raised over $190,000 US in relief aid following a typhoon hitting the Philippines, and CCP even built a monument dedicated to the community. Several massive player battles once again put EVE on the global media's radars, and the Odyssey and Rubicon expansions revitalised the game for explorers and PvPers alike. But not everyone can hold his heads up high this year, with details of more cyberbullying within EVE coming to light and several players being banned for defacing the EVE monument in Reykjavik. In this anniversary retrospective, I summarise all the major EVE news from the year in one place and take a look at what the future may hold for the EVE universe.
CCP permabans EVE monument vandals
Citing a "zero tolerance approach to dealing with harassment and victimization in the EVE Universe," CCP announced today that it has permanently banned the three vandals who defaced the new EVE monument in Reykjavik, Iceland. A fourth individual received a six-month ban. "The fact that the monument was vandalized is an insult to the entire community, not just to the individual who's name was directly targeted by the vandalism," the studio posted. The ban includes not only CCP's games but attendance at Fanfest as well. CCP declined to release the in-game names of the individuals and said that any future development related to the incident will be kept confidential.
EVE Online's player monument is the target of vandalism, CCP responds
So how long did you expect EVE Online's big player monument to be up before people began screwing with it? As it turns out, the correct answer was "four days." A player took to Twitter announcing that he had vandalized the monument over the weekend, scratching out the name of player Xenuria. Whether or not this is a good thing depends largely on what rumors regarding Xenuria you believe. The alleged vandalism, which apparently took place during this weekend's EVE Fanfest. It certainly sets an unpleasant precedent and opens the door for further vandalism within the game's historically contentious playerbase; one can only hope that this is addressed and corrected. CCP Falcon has addressed the situation on the official forums; we've included the relevant bits below.
CCP releases EVE's Rubicon 1.4, preps for monument reveal
EVE's latest patch is live, and it "mainly focuses on a slew of bug fixes and minor tweaks as we approach Fanfest 2014," according to CCP. Part of the Fanfest buildup includes the dedication of the EVE Universe Monument on April 30th. CCP's announcement post provides directions to the site and says that the festivities will kick off at 17:00 UTC.
EVE Evolved: What to expect from EVE Fanfest 2014
Almost 10 years ago, EVE Online developer CCP Games started a new tradition with the first ever annual EVE Fanfest. The event started out as a largely informal gathering in a tiny venue that allowed players and developers to mingle on a more personal level, but it's now grown into something massive. Over a thousand players now make the annual pilgrimage to EVE Online's birthplace in Reykjavik, Iceland, to hear what the future holds for their favourite MMO. For many, the event is also a social gathering, a chance to swap stories with other players, and a rare opportunity to meet the corpmates they fly with every day in the virtual galaxy of New Eden. The Fanfest weekend is typically a packed schedule of panels, talks, roundtable discussions with developers, and keynote speeches revealing the future of the game. While the event is understandably focused on EVE Online, it's recently expanded to cover aspects of DUST 514, the latest goings-on with World of Darkness, and even CCP's new virtual reality dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. CCP has announced that this year's event will see a monument to the EVE playerbase unveiled in Reykjavik Harbor as well as the first reveal of EVE's summer expansion, but what else can we hope to glean from this year's event at the start of May? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I delve into the EVE Fanfest announcement and speculate on what we might expect to hear from this year's event. Will this be the year that World of Darkness gets some serious news? And what's new for DUST 514?
CCP Games reveals big plans for EVE Fanfest 2014
The universe of EVE Online may be best known as a crazy virtual galaxy full of back-stabbing pirates and political betrayal, but for a few days each year it becomes something altogether more tangible. At the annual EVE Fanfest, hundreds of the game's most devoted fans make the long pilgrimage to the game's birthplace in Reykjavik, Iceland. In addition to the official talks and reveals on the game's future from developer CCP Games, Fanfest plays host to charity raffles, roundtable discussions with developers, and informal get-togethers for players to share their stories. Last year's 10th anniversary Fanfest was the biggest one yet, with information included on World of Darkness and DUST 514 and the official reveal of Oculus Rift-based dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. This year's attendees can look forward to the first ever live demo of EVE's yet-to-be-revealed summer expansion, hands-on experience with the next major evolution of DUST 514, and playtests of a brand-new build of the virtual reality dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. This year's Fanfest will also see a special monument dedicated to EVE Online players revealed to the world; The "Worlds Within a World" monument will be installed in Reykjavik Harbor and will be etched with the names of all active EVE subscribers on March 1st. It's also hoped that crowdfunded EVE Online documentary A Tale of Internet Spaceships will be premiered during the Fanfest weekend, and we'll reportedly hear the latest on CCP's new EVE comic book and live action TV series. The event takes place from May 1st to May 3rd, and I'll be attending this year's event on behalf of Massively to bring you in-depth first-hand coverage of all the big reveals. Stay tuned!
EVE Online players to get a real-life monument in heart of Iceland
How does your favorite game or game series thank you, the player? In-game items? Bonus XP weekends? Raffle contests? How about a monument to your honor and glory in the heart of a country's capital city? CCP, developers of EVE Online, plan to erect a monument more than 16 feet tall in the city of Reykjavik, Iceland to thank players for their time and contributions to the long-running starship MMO. That's like bonus XP for life. The monument will be erected and placed upon a half-meter tall pedestal which will list the main characters of all active EVE Online players. A press release announcing the planned monument states that the active player list will be captured on March 1, 2014, so if you want to stand up and be accounted for, now's the time to strap back into the captain's chair. CCP will also include the names of EVE players who have passed away. Hilmar Veigar Petursson, CEO of CCP said in a statement that, "Honoring [the players] as part of a timeless monument shows how virtual lives and adventures have reached a new level of meaning and impact that weaves into and enhances those that happen in this world. We are humbled by all those that have joined us on the journey so far, and it's our hope that this physical piece will continue to gather energy and relevance into decades to come, becoming like EVE Online and outliving us all." [Image:Sigurður Guðmundsson]
CCP plans monument to EVE Online players in Iceland
More than an in-game monument to a single battle, EVE Online fans will soon be able to visit a tangible monument in Reykjavik, Iceland recognizing and honoring all players. The monument will feature two main elements facing each other through a reflective stainless steel barrier, a quote from the EVE universe, and the names of all main characters created as of March 1st, 2014 (including a special mention of players who have passed away). Underneath the structure, a laptop containing videos and messages from players and staff will be buried as a time capsule. The completed work will be unveiled April 30th, just in time for Fan Fest 2014. Of this endeavor, CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Petursson stated, "Our intention is to immortalize the contributions of the millions of people of the EVE universe in a way that extends beyond their immortality in our games. Honoring them as part of a timeless monument shows how virtual lives and adventures have reached a new level of meaning and impact that weaves into and enhances those that happen in this world. We are humbled by all those that have joined us on the journey so far, and it's our hope that this physical piece will continue to gather energy and relevance into decades to come, becoming like EVE Online and outliving us all." [Source: CCP press release]
Monument to be built for EVE's largest battle ever
EVE Online is known for its epic battles. Not only did last Monday see the biggest EVE battle to date, but the developers and players have already started work on a monument to remember the event. The Bloodbath of B-R5RB, as the battle is now known, will be commemorated in game with the Titanomachy monument, constructed from the wrecked models of the brand new Titan ship introduced with Rubicon's 1.1 release (coincidentally right after that battle). The permanent monument site will live around the seventh planet in the B-R5RB solar system and is already expected to be a pilgrimage destination for many players. You can read a complete recap of the Bloodbath of B-R5RB on the most recent dev diary, and be sure to tune in today at 19:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EST) for a developer livestream discussing the event and Rubicon 1.1's release.
EVE Online monument commemorates the summer riots
Back in June, the EVE Online community reacted negatively to the release of a lackluster Incarna expansion and controversy over microtransaction prices. Complaints eventually erupted into in-game riots with the leak of a company newsletter on microtransactions and an internal memo from the CEO denouncing complaints as noise. Players got together in trade hubs across the game to protest EVE's development direction, attacking a pair of invulnerable monuments outside the systems' major stations. As a nod to players' refusal to accept the status quo and force change, CCP recently altered the Jita monument that was the main focus of the summer riots. The statue now stands destroyed, and its plaque congratulating Heinky and Shin Ra of Burn Eden for solving a riddle contest several years ago has been changed to the text below: "This was once a memorial to the winners of a riddle contest sponsored by late entrepreneur Ruevo Aram. After standing proud for half a decade, it was destroyed in late YC113 by capsuleers who were staging a mass uprising against an intolerable status quo of intergalactic affairs. Today, the ruins of this once-great work of art stand as a testament to the fact that change is the universe's only constant." The change is currently only live on the test server, but will likely come to the main server on November 29th when the Crucible expansion launches. Thanks to Drew for the tip!
Ukraine war memorial given eternal LED torch, cell antenna
An eternal flame that once blazed via good old fashioned science has now been given a new lease on life thanks to modern technology. This Cherkassy, Ukraine war monument, erected in honor of fallen World War 2 soldiers, had been sitting extinguished given the price of natural gas after the fall of the Soviet Union. Now, though, the bowl has been gifted with a LED marquee simulating a flame, which covers up its alternate use as a cell tower. Sure, beauty's in the eye of the beholder and we're fairly certain this hasn't been accepted with universal approval, but if you ask us, and admittedly we're biased, the more LEDs the better. [Via Hack a Day]
