Eve Online

[Zenith]

If they are active subs, I dont believe they care TOO much eh.

I find myself being scared of the idea of Chinese EVE corps

 

[Shagrat]

If they are active subs, I dont believe they care TOO much eh.

I find myself being scared of the idea of Chinese EVE corps

interesting to see how the politics of the eve universe will change if a massive Chinese power block makes a play for a region of space.

 

[BloodOmen]

Don't even play Eve but I must admit this is quite impressive

http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/0...500-000-subscribers-heads-into-second-decade/

 

[rynnor]

Dont most of them subscribe using in game credits though?

 

[Raven]

I did when I played.

However, they probably make a fair bit from people buying the tokens to sell in game anyway. I know when I first started I bought a couple to start my "playing the AH"

 

[Marc]

interesting to see how the politics of the eve universe will change if a massive Chinese power block makes a play for a region of space.

The chinese have their own server, given the politics of china. However, there is a chinese alliance on the tranquility server who have taken space in nulsec. They must have worked out how to circumvent the chinese firewall. I know it is possible for non chinese people to play on the chinese server (serenity) but it takes a lot of work.

Love it or hate it, you have to admire the increase in subscriptions year on year, heading into its tenth year and its still increasing.

 

[LordjOX]

Looking at the map, nullsec couldn't be more boring. The two biggest blocs (goonswarm, TEST) are best pals forever. Rest seems like either their pets or russians

 

[Marc]

Looking at the map, nullsec couldn't be more boring. The two biggest blocs (goonswarm, TEST) are best pals forever. Rest seems like either their pets or russians

It looks that way but you couldnt be further from the truth. The map has been on fire since the fall of the northern coalition nearly 3 years ago. There is action every where you go.

 

[Coldbeard]

I spent hours reading up on nullsec guides and videos. Fitted a heron for some exploration and carefully planned my route checking recent kills and activity in the relevant zones. I managed to get one jump before I landed straight into a russian gatecamp where I swiftly got warp scrambled and podded in unceremonious manner. Should have warped within the gate and checked if there was anything there I guess, but lesson learned the hard way. Put me somewhat off furture ventures into nullsec for now though :/

 

[svartalf]

I spent hours reading up on nullsec guides and videos. Fitted a heron for some exploration and carefully planned my route checking recent kills and activity in the relevant zones. I managed to get one jump before I landed straight into a russian gatecamp where I swiftly got warp scrambled and podded in unceremonious manner. Should have warped within the gate and checked if there was anything there I guess, but lesson learned the hard way. Put me somewhat off furture ventures into nullsec for now though :/

Sadly, despite all the interesting large-scale battles and politics, Eve boils down to gatecamping and spreadsheets.

 

[Ctuchik]

If they are active subs, I dont believe they care TOO much eh.

No and why should they?

Doesn't make it any less depressing though.

 

[Zenith]

You're on some kind of negative streak mate. From my viewpoint there is quite enough action going around!

 

[Marc]

I spent hours reading up on nullsec guides and videos. Fitted a heron for some exploration and carefully planned my route checking recent kills and activity in the relevant zones. I managed to get one jump before I landed straight into a russian gatecamp where I swiftly got warp scrambled and podded in unceremonious manner. Should have warped within the gate and checked if there was anything there I guess, but lesson learned the hard way. Put me somewhat off furture ventures into nullsec for now though :/

Like I say to anyone, if you really want to get into nul, join a corp/alliance. That way you will start out in fleets and get a feel for it. I wouldnt suggest going to nul solo until you are experienced at the game and have a basic grasp of game mechanics. To solo, you really need to learn how transversal works because right clicking and "orbiting at.." will get you killed straight away.

 

[Ctuchik]

You're on some kind of negative streak mate. From my viewpoint there is quite enough action going around!

I'm ALWAYS on a negative streak.

It's a personality flaw i have been working on for the last 20 or so years without any noteworthy improvements.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I'm ALWAYS on a negative streak.

without any noteworthy improvements.

I found that extremely funny

 

[Ctuchik]

Yeah, for some reason no matter how hard i try, i just can not get any more negative.....

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yeah, for some reason no matter how hard i try, i just can not get any more negative.....

Infiniloop achieved, saying you can't get more negative is more negative and you return to state that is; negative + negativity from not getting more negative.

That ofcourse means that you should be positive that you can always get more negative

 

[Ctuchik]

My head hurts.... :<

 

[Marc]

Awesome article on Vile Rat, by Playboy of all publications

http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/vile-rat-virtual-world-of-eve-online

 

[Shagrat]

very poignant.

 

[svartalf]

I haven't read this article yet, but the image reminds me very much of this picture:

PAX East 2013: EVE Online Odyssey expansion announced
by Brianna Royce on Mar 23rd 2013 4:30PMSci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, Previews, News items, Massively Event Coverage, Sandbox0


CCP Games has just announced at PAX East that EVE Online's next expansion will be called Odyssey and will hit the live servers this summer on June 4th. CCP told convention attendees that the focus of the expansion will be on exploration and shaking up the status quo of the classic space sandbox.

The studio has simultaneously unveiled an official website for the expansion; it promises, among other features, "a re-imagined scanning system, intuitive navigation and new exploration modules" that "will aid you as you search the heavens for your next conquest."

[This story is developing -- stay tuned as our PAX attendees post more info!]
EVE Online PAX Prime 2013 Gallery

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  PAX East 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about [/i]WildStar, DUST 514, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!
  
  
  
  Tags: breaking, ccp, ccp-games, con, convention, eve, eve-online, event, event-coverage, events, expansion, expo, galleries, gallery, internet-spaceships, massively-event-coverage, odyssey, pax, pax-2013, pax-east, pax-east-2013, penny-arcade-expo, sandbox, sci-fi, screenshot, screenshots, spreadsheets-online
  
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  http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/pax-east-2013-eve-online-odyssey-expansion-announced/

 

[svartalf]

PAX East 2013: An interview with EVE Online's Jon Lander
by Eliot Lefebvre on Mar 25th 2013 1:30PMSci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, Patches, News items, Sandbox0


The next expansion to EVE Online was announced during this year's PAX East. Odyssey will usher in to the game a host of improvements ranging from better exploration mechanics to a redistribution of resources, ensuring that players have plenty to do with their internet spaceships over the summer. But what are the longer-term impacts of these changes? What can players expect from this expansion and more moving into the future? How does all of this play into the soon-to-launch DUST 514?

I'm admittedly not a regular EVE Online player, but I was on the show floor for the big announcement, and I had a chance to ask CCP executive producer Jon Lander a few questions after the presentation. The first one was the one that sprang to mind after viewing the announcement (which you can do as well with the video just below): Is this an expansion meant to add something new to the game, or is this meant to fix things that are broken?

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(GO TO ORIGINAL SOURCE FOR PRETTY VIDEO)

The answer, according to Lander, is "both." At first, he explained, the EVE Online team was heavily focused on creating new systems and giving players new things to enjoy in the game. Over time, that meant some systems got broken, and so the team spent the last three expansions trimming up and fixing things that just weren't working. Moving forward, CCP thinks it's important to aim for a balance of both, introducing new features while ensuring that the old features move to keep up with the times.

Part of this is just a result of the game's having what Lander sees as having a huge amount of untapped potential. When players have asked about the game adding new system, he found himself looking at the game's map and seeing the enormous amount of empty space already present. This is part of why Odyssey is meant to encourage exploration, to give players a sense of wonder flying through the galaxy and at the thought of discovering something new.

It's also indicative of a change in philosophy regarding the expansions in general. Previous expansions have more or less existed in a bubble. Odyssey is the first step in answering a question about how the team can design several expansions to be linked together. That means creating ongoing themes in both a mechanical and creative sense, laying the groundwork in one expansion for the developments to come in a future installment. It's not just the players exploring; the development team is as well.

Lander also spoke about the game's need to attract new players. While EVE has always boasted a slow climb upward, it's always important to ensure that new people can advance without feeling lost. A lot of new players come into the game because they see things that look cool on the outside -- massive corporation wars, huge fleets, mining empires, and so forth -- but when they get in the game, they're lost. There's no indication about how to do any of that.

That's meant to be improved, starting with a revamp to how the game indicates points of interest. The idea is that players should be able to see what's happening and have an idea about how to join in from a reasonably early point. When you ask, "What should I do?" the game shouldn't be obfuscating the answer.

I was also curious what role DUST 514 players will have in the expansion. Iif you're encouraged to go out and explore a new world, it seems reasonable that you might send a few mercenaries planetside to secure territory. Lander explained that the team working on DUST 514 is focusing first on ensuring that the game itself is good and solid, but both teams want to make sure that the games influence one another. As time goes by, the influence of ground-based players will spread through the galaxy once the team is satisfied that DUST is playing as well as it ought to.

New ships will be added in the expansion, and some of them will be meant to play nothing like ships that players have fitted before. Lander doesn't want the game to be perfectly balanced, as part of the fun of EVE is the imbalance and figuring out ways that players can work around those restrictions. That having been said, at the top end he wants to ensure that progression is horizontal rather than vertical, with new sorts of ships giving options rather than automatically being better than their predecessors.

This also plays into the redistribution of resources. As it stands now, getting resources isn't necessarily easy, but it is tedious. Knowledge about where to get things is all very public. No one needs to explore or find new ways to get certain metals. It leads to a static game state, and that's the opposite of what EVE should be about.

So the team is getting rid of that sense. You should be exploring and looking for new ways to get things, not falling into the same old ruts, and old alliances should decay and split. It's a natural progression.

The expansion announcement touched on the Battle for Caldari Prime and future story developments. Lander feels that the best thing about EVE is that the game's story is fundamentally based upon the players and their actions. As a result, the teams' goal with story is to provide opportunities for players to be involved with larger events rather than advancing a specific storyline goal. That makes things complicated -- the current event had to have resources in place for all sorts of outcomes, including what would have happened if the orbiting cruiser hadn't been taken down. But the team wants to give players more chances to take part in ongoing events and influence what shapes the story.

If you're an EVE fan, it promises to be quite the journey.

Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of March 22nd to 24th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar,DUST 514, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!



Tags: ccp, ccp-games, con, convention, eve, eve-odyssey, eve-online, event, event-coverage, events, expansion, expo, internet-spaceships, interview, jon-lander, massively-event-coverage, odyssey, pax, pax-2013, pax-east, pax-east-2013, penny-arcade-expo, preview, sandbox, sci-fi, spreadsheets-online, video, videos

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[svartalf]

Perks announced for EVE Fanfest HD livestream package
by Shawn Schuster on Mar 28th 2013 6:30PMSci-Fi, Screenshots, EVE Online, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, DUST 514, Livestream0


EVE Online's wildy popular Fanfest in Reykjavik, Iceland will be livestreamed once again this year, but some new perks have been announced today to entice you to pony up some cash for the enhanced version.

Aside from the standard definition Twitch.tv stream (which is free), fans can purchase an HD version for a one-time fee of $19.95 US or one PLEX. This HD 3-day package also includes a series of live pre-show interviews with CCP devs, a digital copy of the Fanfest "Quafe" t-shirt for your EVE Online character, fifty copies of the Quafe Scout vk.0 drop suit for DUST 514, and a choice of one of five pirate faction rookie ships for EVE Online: the Angel Cartel Echo, Blood Raider Hematos, Dread Guristas Taipan, Sansha's Nation Immolator or Serpentis Violator.

Check out the gallery below for screenshots of the ships and the in-game t-shirt.

[Source: CCP press release]
EVE Fanfest 2013

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  • More coverage: CCP Twitch page
  
  
  
  Tags: ccp, ccp-games, console, dust, dust-514, eve, eve-online, fanfest, fanfest-2013, fps, internet-spaceships, mmofps, playstation, playstation-3, ps3, quafe, sandbox, sci-fi, shooter, spreadsheets-online
  
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[svartalf]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xpJN9fyI1I
[/media]

 

[svartalf]

Odyssey summer expansion: Starbase iterations
02.04.2013 15:15


Starbase Iterations in Odyssey


Greetings once again spacefriends! CCP Fozzie here with a dev blog for you covering some of our plan for Starbase iterations in our upcoming EVE: Online Odyssey expansion on June 4th.

The Starbase (also known as Player Owned Stations or POS) feature has been a point of some slight contention in the past months. Starbases are in need of several changes to bring them up to the usability standards of modern EVE, and our plans for them have evolved over time. Last year we made the difficult decision to step back and reevaluate our early designs for a completely new starbase system, keeping in mind that some hopes we had raised over the past year might not be fulfilled as quickly as desired. While we work on a new version of the longer term plan we have already launched an offensive against the biggest flaws of the current system.

For Odyssey’s release, teams Five-0 and SuperFriends will be working on a package of improvements to the current starbase system, hitting some of the major pain points that we have sourced from the community. We’ve scoured the net for feedback and ideas, the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) presented a detailed and prioritized list from their perspective, and CCP Bettik read every single post from start to finish in the “Small part of the community” thread to collect all the specific issues raised.

From these lists we formed and prioritized a backlog of potential changes based on community priority and technical feasibility. We’re working hard to get as much of the backlog as possible done for the June 4th Odyssey release. This blog will go over the key parts of the backlog so we can keep you all up to date and get your feedback.

Please be aware that when we say something is planned at this stage in the process there is absolutely no guarantee that each individual item will be delivered as part of Odyssey. The starbase code is quite old and complicated; so it is quite possible we will hit road blocks when addressing some of these features, road blocks that in some cases could render one or more of them undeliverable. Since we at CCP have made mistakes with expectations management surrounding this feature in the past we want to be very clear. This is our educated estimate of what we think we can deliver based on this time period, but we cannot rule out roadblocks arising including but not limited to: unforeseen technical hurdles blocking a feature, the starbase code gaining self-awareness, seizing the building’s climate control system and roasting us all alive, and/or emergency response tasks taking developer time from feature work. Development within CCP is very fast paced, problems come up, schedules and priorities sometimes change; this is an unavoidable reality of game development. We will be working very hard to deliver these changes to you all in the Odyssey expansion, and we will keep you all up to date on our progress.

Now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, let’s get a peek at what we are working on!


Private starbase hangars


The #1 item on the CSM-provided list is our #1 priority for this Odyssey backlog, and also the most complicated addition. SuperFriends are most of the way through implementation of a item storage version of the structure, and we have a separate listing for creating a ship storage version as well that we may or may not be able to get done for this release. We are aware that for wormhole residents especially the ship storage version of a personal hangar would be the most valuable addition, but we are starting with the simpler implementation task before tackling the more complicated personal version of the Ship Maintenance Array.

These structures are significantly different than existing starbase hangars so I’ll go over some of the details in our plan:

• Similar fittings to a Corporate Hangar Array, but higher build cost.
• Normal members viewing the structure only see their own items, in the same way as when someone views the contents of a planetary customs office.
• Corp directors have the ability to see what members have items in the hangar, but do not have the ability to take or place items from/in the hangars.
• No limit on the number of characters that can use the structure, but storage is limited per character. The exact per-character volume is undecided but we are currently considering a range from 10,000m3 to 40,000m3.
• If a member leaves the corp, his or her items are left in the structure but cannot be accessed unless the player rejoins.
• If the structure is destroyed, it drops some but not all of the loot contained within.
• If the structure is unanchored, all contents are destroyed. A confirmation box warns the player if the structure is not empty, and ensures that the items are not destroyed by accident.

This customs office-like structure allows us to avoid requiring complicated management of the storage within the hangar.

Again I will mention that creating a personal Ship Maintenance Array version of this structure is also something we want to do, but it has some extra technical challenges so we can’t promise anything quite yet.


Repackaging modules in starbase arrays


The inability to repackage modules in starbase arrays adds to clutter in starbase storage and makes people hit the stack limit far faster than they should. It is especially frustrating for those players who spend extended time periods operating out of starbases.

This change will allow you to repackage undamaged modules and drones inside a Corporate Hangar Array or Assembly Array so they can be stacked. Ships and containers cannot be repackaged since that could be used to overflow the array. If you repackage a group it works just like in station by repackaging everything it can and skipping the rest.


Swapping and fitting Strategic Cruiser subsystems at a starbase


Another fix that significantly affects our wormhole residents, this entails placing the Strategic Cruiser and subsystems inside a Ship Maintenance Array (adding subsystems to the allowed list for SMA storage) and then using a right click menu to access subsystem choice. The reconfigured ship can then be boarded or ejected as normal.


Accessing starbase arrays from anywhere within the shield


The requirement to move within range of each and every starbase structure to access their storage is a major annoyance for most starbase users, and one we are working to fix. Thanks to new advances in starbase technology, tiny drones will now carry items to and fro within the shield bubble. This changes the POS module access range to instead check that your ship is inside the shield, allowing players to access all the structures from one location.


Starbase setup UI improvements


Our plans here are to port over of the usability features from the probing system over to starbase setup. Plans include setting the little arrows beside the modules to scale with your zoom level the same way as the arrows in the probing interface so that they never get too small to use, and allowing you to manipulate the central cube directly for quick placement.


Removing the sovereignty requirement from Capital Ship Maintenance Arrays


Clarification: This change affects Capital Ship Maintenance Arrays, not the Capital Ship Assembly Array that is used to build supercapital ships. CSAAs are not being changed. This change does not in any way allow supercapital ships to be constructed in lowsec or wormholes.

Capital Ship Maintenance Arrays are giant SMAs that are currently can only be anchored in space that has been upgraded for supercapital construction. In order to reduce the number of SMAs needed to service large corps we are planning to allow CSMAs to be anchored in all lowsec, 0.0 and wormhole systems regardless of sovereignty status.



This is not the complete list of items in our backlog but these are the changes most likely to make it into the Odyssey release in June. We have been working with the CSM throughout this process to ensure that we are making high value changes for you all, and we’re very interested in hearing what you think as well.

Unlike the content shown in dev blogs closer to release this blog has contained many items with outstanding technical challenges to overcome so I want to repeat again that we cannot unfortunately make binding commitments that all of these items will hit the Odyssey release. We will be working hard to make all this a reality but I can’t rule out possible complications arising, so please bear with us as we work towards a better starbase system together.

I will be watching the feedback thread for this blog very closely and sending all appropriate feedback to the programmers from both teams that are in charge of implementing these changes, so please continue letting us know your perspectives on all these changes and what other tweaks you want us to make in the future.

 

[Marc]

http://www.businessweek.com/article...online-cultivates-a-most-devoted-following#p1

"Players were once caught plotting to cut the power lines to another player’s house to leave him exposed during a major battle"

Lol, i remember that. No surprises as to who it was, Band of Brothers of course. Had a CCP developer handing them blueprints, were the first alliance to use hacking and had the biggest cap fleet at the time and we still wiped them off the map

 

[Ctuchik]

were the first alliance to use hacking and had the biggest cap fleet at the time and we still wiped them off the map

By disbanding their alliance and then go crying to CCP when they worked their way around it.....

Two turds, different flavors....

 

[Marc]

BoB
Kenzoku
IT Alliance
Raiden

My mistake, FOUR times we wiped them off the map

Whilst we are reminiscing, Ctuchik, do you remember the time the EVE community baited ASCN into attacking BoB which resulted in BoB annihiliating them and causing their alliance to failscade? Funniest thing ive ever witnessed in an MMORPG

 

[Marc]

Or

"There are no Goons" ahhhhahahaha

 

[Ctuchik]

ASCN were that makeshift alliance that launched from Fountain wasn't it?