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Free for All: Revisiting EVE Online's newbie tutorial
I might leave the EVE Online number-crunching and analyzing to Massively's Brendan Drain, but my personal history with the game is long, however, and I have proudly reactivated my 2004 account (complete with a 10 million skill point character) once a year to see how things are going. I generally spend several hours playing and getting used to the changes but end up playing other games for columns like Rise and Shiny. This time around, I thought I would try something different. I was spurred into action by the recent Steam sales, one of them offering an EVE Online Starter Pack for something like two bucks. (Now it's almost $5.00) It comes with 30 days of time, some special newbie goodies, and a booster to help skills grow faster. Sure, I could have reactivated my old account for $15.00 (and probably will after this is over), but I wondered how making a new character now would compare to what it was like all those years ago. It turns out that it's still pretty darn cool.
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
Pick up MMOs on the cheap in Steam's holiday sale
It's that time of year again, folks -- the time when grandfather Valve slides down the chimney and offers you a huge pile of reasonably priced games. Yes, Steam's holiday sale is now in full effect, bringing with it some nice deals on a few MMO titles. Here's what we've found so far: Guns of Icarus Online - $3.74 (75% off - flash sale!) The Secret World - $14.99 (50% off) The Secret World: Massive Edition - $29.99 (50% off) Darkfall Unholy Wars - $13.58 (66% off) Defiance- $4.99 (50% off) Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition - $15.99 (60% off) EVE Online - $4.98 (75% off) Keep in mind that sales change daily and that some games above do require subscription fees. The Steam holiday sales ends January 2nd, 2014.
EVE Online's PLEX for GOOD drive raised over $190K to aid The Philippines
EVE Online players aren't all about intrigues and blowing each other up in New Eden, they are about helping others in this world. The community banded together in the recent Plex for GOOD drive and raised $190,890, all of which goes to the Icelandic Red Cross to help The Philippines recover from Typhoon Haiyan. CCP's development staff offers a very heartfelt thanks to its players for their generosity. The drive, which included dozens of unique player-run efforts and culminated in a CCP telethon that lasted over eight hours, brought in 12,726 PLEX (equaling approximately 1060 years of playtime). The livestreamed telethon featured EVE Online devs who pledged things like head-shaving and sparring with a Tae Kwon Do champion when certain fundraising milestones were hit. Perhaps the most painful dev pledge was getting shot with one paintball for every $2,000 donated! Sprinkled throughout the telethon were other tidbits including a dev cooking competition, Q&A sessions, and more. You can watch the follow through with the paintball pledge below, and catch the telethon in its entirety on YouTube. [Source: CCP press release]
DUST 514: Uprising upgrades factional warfare, vehicles, and more
The Uprising has begun. Today, CCP rolls out DUST 514's 1.7 update, dubbed Uprising, which includes new weapons, a new volcano-themed battleground, and an overhauled vehicle system. On top of that, the studio is strengthening the link between the ground game and EVE Online. Oh, and you can shoot your comrades now, too! Two new rifles join the game's arsenal: the Minmatar Combat Rifle (short and medium ranges) and the Caldari Rifle (for long range). The vehicle changes, while streamlining vehicle fitting and laying a foundation for future vehicle variations, also address some players requests; temporary lock-timers will prevent anyone other than vehicle owners and squadmates from hopping in a vehicle (for five and 15 seconds, respectively) after it is deployed. If you want higher stakes in factional warfare, you've got it, as friendly fire has been enabled. Additionally, players participating in factional contracts will receive loyalty point that can buy exclusive faction-aligned weapons. And those orbital strikes? Those have to be earned by capsuleers in EVE Online by securing orbiting satellites. More details are available on the official site. [Source: CCP press release]
EVE Online adds Twitch.tv integration
Today EVE Online is updating the game with Twitch.tv integration, allowing players an easy way to stream their play sessions. To use it, players simply need to sign up for a Twitch.tv account and then access the feature from the social menu in the game. Streams can be set to private if the user only desires a select few to view his or her victories. The devs say that this move will definitely help out aspiring streamers: "By integrating an SDK created by Twitch.tv into EVE, you can now completely bypass the 3rd party software and stream directly from the EVE client. Amazing!" [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]
EVE Online's New Eden Open II boasts $25,000 prize pool
Lock and load, space jockeys: EVE Online's back with New Eden Open II -- and this year the prize pool is far larger than 2012's. The New Eden Open is a space combat tournament between 32 12-player teams, all competing for real cash prizes. First place will net $12,000, second place $8,000, and third place $5,000. To compete, a team must win a spot via a silent auction or through a raffle. CCP is fine-tuning the tournament based on last year's performance and is taking care to schedule it around the holidays. Signups begin on December 12th, with the auction proceeding on the 20th and the tournament taking place on three consecutive weekends in February.
EVE dev blog explores balancing player load
CCP has posted yet another incredibly detailed and highly technical dev blog over on the official EVE Online community site, this one relating to how the studio balances the player load across the node-based single shard on which New Eden exists. The post begins by explaining that an increase in players with this year's Odyssey expansion led to extreme CPU load in empire space, which in turn created scenarios where EVE's time dilation technology had to kick in even for systems that weren't experiencing some sort of mass fleet battle. The blog walks through how CCP identified the problem and also explains the solution, which basically comes down to rebalancing which systems share nodes by performing multiple splits of the existing universe. If you're an EVE player or love exceptionally granular, detailed breakdowns of the though process behind server-side changes, the full post is worth a read.
The Soapbox: Seriously, we have enough fantasy MMOs
Let's play a game. I'm thinking of an MMO that features magic, monsters, humans, and a vast fantasy world full of steamy swamps, grassy plains, and deep, dark dungeons -- can you tell me which MMO it is? If you answered RIFT, you're right. You're also right if you answered TERA. Or World of Warcraft. Or Guild Wars 2. Or Neverwinter. Or... you get the idea. We're people who play MMOs. Our hard drives are practically bulging with games featuring wizards and warriors. We've plunged our swords into millions of orcs and gnolls. We've looted more imaginary copper pieces than anyone could possible imagine. We've even slain so many dragons that you have to wonder why dragons even bother showing up anymore. It's not the gameplay but the setting that can make the whole exercise so soul-crushingly boring.
The Stream Team: Space mining in EVE Online
The primary goal of EVE Online is simple: Make money without getting blown up. One of the most reliable methods of doing so is mining valuable ore from the asteroid belts that litter New Eden -- as long as you can avoid the mercenaries and pirates who patrol low-security space. Tonight, Massively's Mike Foster is headed out into the black to collect space rocks or die trying. Undocking procedures begin at 7:00 p.m. EST. Game: EVE Online Host: Mike Foster Date: Monday, December 2nd, 2013 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below.
CCP Rise stops by Reddit for an EVE Online AMA
EVE Online game designer CCP Rise spent a couple of hours on Reddit today answering questions about the past, present, and future of CCP's space-themed sandbox. Questions ranged from incredibly broad to ridiculously specific, but some interesting tidbits did crop up as the Q&A went on. When asked about the long-delayed ability to walk around stations and interact with other players via character avatars, CCP Rise explained that the team is focused primarily on enhancing in-space gameplay and that putting people on avatar development would require too much in terms of resources and time. He also praised the current Council of Stellar Management for helping the CCP team dodge potential blunders and better understand EVE's players. The whole thing is worth a read if you're an EVE pilot or are interested in a small peek at the life of an MMO game designer.
Tickets now available for EVE Fanfest 2014
It's time to pack your bags and get ready for a trip to sunny Iceland if you're an EVE Online fan. Yes, the EVE Fanfest isn't until May, but the tickets are now available for purchase if you already know you need to be there. Tickets are normally $175, but there's a limited number of early bird tickets available for $150 if you jump on the deal fast enough. As it has in previous years, the fanfest will contain an assortment of panels and revelations for the games under the CCP Games umbrella, including EVE Online, DUST 514, and the upcoming EVE: Valkyrie. There will also be pub crawls, dinner with the developers, and the Party at the Top of the World to finish it all off. If that sounds like your sort of deal, grab your tickets now and start budgeting for the trip in a few months.
DUST 514 dev blog showcases new assault weapons
Two new weapons are headed to the DUST 514 battlefield in the form of the Caldari rail rifle and the Minmitar combat rifle. These items join the Gallente assault rifle and Amarr scrambler rifle as the latest in DUST 514's race-specific weaponry; each gun possesses unique traits based on the preferences of the race that designed it. The Minmitar combat rifle comes in three-shot burst and fully automatic variants. The Caldari rail rifle also comes in two variants; the assault version uses no sight and loses range for increased rate of fire, while the normal version fires slowly but with higher accuracy. You can check out full crunchy breakdowns on both in the typical CCP style over on the official update post.
CCP turns PLEX for Good program toward typhoon relief
CCP announced today that EVE Online players who wish to help relief efforts in the wake of the typhoon that devastated parts of the Philippines can do so through the company's PLEX for Good program. For every PLEX donated between today and December 17th, CCP will contribute $15 to the Icelandic Red Cross. CCP will also award donating players with one in-game Sisters of EVE shirt as a thank-you gesture. In the world of EVE, PLEX is a tradeable item worth 30 days of game time. PLEX can be purchased with real money directly from CCP or with ISK inside EVE's incredibly complex marketplace. CCP has fired up PLEX for Good in the past; EVE players using the program have raised over $150,000 for disaster relief since it was debuted in the wake of the 2004 tsunami that struck Indonesia. To donate PLEX, contract the item/s directly to the CCP PLEX For GOOD character on a 14-day item exchange contract.
Eve Online: Rubicon launch-day roundup
With the launch of Rubicon today, New Eden's space will start getting just a little more crowded as EVE Online pilots start deploying personal structures in their quest for wealth and power. There's little doubt that said space will also be littered with plenty of blasted ship debris, perhaps even from the hulls of the new and shiny white Sister of Eden ships. If you can't get strapped into your virtual cockpit because you're stuck behind a desk (or some other meatspace employment cage), you can still prepare yourself for your next trip into space with these in-depth features, ship highlights, and videos below while listening to this newly released Rubicon track. Just think of it as a preflight check.
EVE dev blog covers Rubicon ship rebalancing
EVE Online's 20th expansion, Rubicon, goes live on November 19th. Rubicon brings many changes to EVE including mobile structures, new faction ships, controllable customs offices, and a completely overhauled warping system. And of course, Rubicon includes adjustments big and small to a wide variety of the ships already flying in New Eden. CCP today posted a summary dev blog outlining the changes due with Rubicon for each ship type. Interceptors are receiving role bonuses that make them immune to warp bubbles, electronic attack ships are seeing range increases and general upgrades, interdictors are getting increased survivability and higher damage output, and marauders are receiving a complete functionality revision that splits the ship type into two distinct roles. Check out the full post for details. And if you haven't already, have a look at Brendan's EVE Evolved from yesterday so you'll be ready for these and other big Rubicon changes.
Grab popcorn and watch the EVE Online: Rubicon trailer
"THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES." With this line, the EVE Online: Rubicon trailer drops its mike and leaves the YouTube, perhaps to grab a snack in the green room. For everyone else, there's the option of rewatching the official trailer a few hundred more times until the expansion launches on November 19th. You can check it out after the break!
Former EVE Online GM talks abusive players
"Game companies are not the Political Correctness Police," says Elizabeth Wyand, "and cannot be expected to adjust every player's rotten attitude." Wyand, a former GM for EVE Online, recently posted an interesting blog that discusses problematic players and the responses to their behavior -- one that exposes a fundamental misconception players have about the GMs who enforce the rules. Wyand's main point, though perhaps a bit too easy to misconstrue, is that being a jerk in most games is not against the rules. There is a big difference between threatening someone's life and hurting someone's feelings when it comes to enforcing chat violations or actioning players, and those who choose to offer up personal information about themselves must be aware that certain unsavory individuals will be happy to use it as a weapon at the first available opportunity. The full post is worth a read and includes some real-life examples of complaints Wyand received while manning CCP's support desk. It's worth noting, of course, that every game company has its own set of rules when it comes to harassment; what brings down the banhammer in RIFT might not even be a blip on the radar of a World of Warcraft GM.
The Soapbox: Instant leveling and the whining fringe
Over the weekend at Blizzcon 2013, Blizzard Entertainment announced the fifth World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor. The content add-on brings most of the things one might expect from an expansion -- new zone, new features, new quests, new dungeons -- but perhaps most notably includes the option to instantly raise any one of your characters to WoW's current level cap of 90. While you'll still face 10 levels of Warlords of Draenor questing, killing, and fetching if you opt to take the insta-level, the feature has re-ignited the argument among MMO fans as to whether offering players a maxed-out character somehow violates the core rules of the MMO genre. Should developers really provide high-level characters just to get/keep players in the game? The short answer, of course, is "duh." Here's the long answer.
EVE Rubicon streaming live this Thursday
Are you excited for the upcoming EVE Online: Rubicon? CCP aims to charge you up even more by showing off some of the best tidbits of the expansion in an upcoming livestream. CCP Guard and CCP Seagull will talk EVE Online's second decade, while CCP Fozzie and CCP Rise will discuss the upcoming ship balance. CCP Paradox and CCP SoniClover will follow up with info on player-owned customs offices, the new Mobile Siphon Unit, and more. Plus, the new Rubicon trailer will be debuting during the stream. Tune in at 19:00 UTC (14:00 EST) this Thursday, November 14th on CCP's Twitch.tv page.
