CCP reveals Tech 3 coming in EVE's March expansion
by James Egan 
Nov 8th 2008 at 7:00PM
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Expansions, MMO industry, Professions, News items
CCP Games revealed some details on the as-yet unnamed EVE Online expansion, slated for release in March of 2009. "The unnamed expansion will introduce 'Tech 3' modular ship designs, branching epic mission arcs, further improvements to the new player experience, and exploration of uncharted space through unstable wormholes," writes Oli Welsh, reporting from EVE Fanfest 2008 for Eurogamer.
Welsh also reports that the exploration system of EVE Online will be revamped dramatically, now allowing for 'true exploration' where EVE's pilots will use "new skills and modules to travel through wormholes into all-new, unconnected space. There they will find unique stellar phenomena and the resources and artifacts that will lead to the third level of technology in the game universe, Tech 3 -- the first such update since Tech 2 was introduced back in 2004," Welsh adds.
Perhaps the biggest announcement made regarding the March expansion is the impact of Tech 3 on player ships. Welsh writes: "The star feature of Tech 3 will be modular, customisable ships. Instead of providing each faction with one or two new ships each, CCP will provide each with a template that comes in five sections, with five options in each. That's a total of 25 possible basic ships for each faction, with many more thousands of smaller modifications possible (7776 permutations possible, to be exact.)" Check out the whole Fanfest scoop on this huge expansion over at Eurogamer for more details on where EVE is heading.
Update: We've gotten word from CCP Games that the exact number of configurations with modular ship designs isn't set in stone quite yet, but may very well be in the thousands depending on how balancing and testing goes. Massively will be reporting more on Tech III over time, as information becomes available.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kyle Maxwell said on 2:01AM 11-09-2008
Trying to decide which is bigger to me, T3 ships or the new space to explore.
Reply
W. Graves said on 9:53AM 11-09-2008
hopefully this builds on existing exploration skills!
.... and the one on the top right looks like a preggers drake.
Reply
James Egan said on 11:45AM 11-09-2008
W. Graves, I'm an explorer as well... although I occasionally use those scanning skills for less noble purposes.
It seems that training up those skills is going to pay off in some new ways in March, when this expansion is slated to launch. *Definitely* looking forward to getting some more details on wormholes and what can be found in regards to Tech III as we get closer to the release.
More than anything, I think that having some new dimensions to exploration in EVE is important. Very curious about how drastically the profession will change in a few months from now.
Reply
halfcaptain said on 1:02AM 12-10-2008
I'm developing a habit of commenting in older articles to put my 2 cents on the counter. I guess the ironic part is that store is closed, but still.
I love exploring, and hopefully the expansion in March will offer a few new application of that profession. Scanning can be a little difficult to learn, but better understanding how ship scanners and probes work really gives you an edge in the game. Plus, being able to scan down someone you're chasing in 40 seconds or thereabouts after entering the system is usually a precursor to a nasty surprise. And usually a victory.
James Egan said on 9:53AM 12-10-2008
halfcaptain,
A fair amount of people read the older content as well. I don't think we're into necro territory yet. :)
I'll be paying attention to the new exploration system as we get closer to the expansion. I hope it'll build on the existing exploration skills we've trained up and isn't wholly distinct from them.
Hammerhead said on 12:02PM 11-09-2008
If I could just clarify one thing in the article. It's not 25 ships per faction. The confusion there could stem from the slide that showed 5 different choices for each of 5 different subsystems. That would be 5 to the power of 5 combinations. If there were 6 choices for each of the 5 sections it would be 6 to the power of 5 which is where the 7776 number comes from.
Reply
W. Graves said on 12:57PM 11-09-2008
It would be really nice IMHO if they released the skillbooks and basic info ahead of time so you could skill to at least have the prereqs if not final skills for the new ships.
Reply
halfcaptain said on 12:58AM 12-10-2008
That's actually a good point. I'd be all for knowing what to train to take advantage of the upcoming additions.
Yankeegunner said on 5:24PM 11-09-2008
I am REALLY looking forward to the exploration of new space!
I know all the big alliances are going to be throwing all their resources into this - but, it would be nice if some of the smaller groups ended up with some influence!
cést la vié
Reply
Shaddn Arakh said on 7:55AM 11-23-2008
5 ship-part types X 5 part-level types gives us 3125 permutations. Number 7776 was announced as an insider joke just for "lulz". Anyone with even half-dead brain would understand this from presentation.
Unfortunately, braind damage of the Eurogamer kid turned out to be much worse, and number 3125 never appeared in the article.
Now other brain-dead so-called "journalists" repeat the 7776 joke in article after article. How unprofessional.
Reply
mickliddy said on 10:09PM 12-16-2008
... new exploration ... Does this mean that - maybe - we will see some Jove space?
Reply
Abriael said on 7:52PM 1-06-2009
Personally, I think that they should really concentrate on their station ambulation expansion. new tech and new space is all fine and dandy, fun even, but the lack of the ability to walk around outside of your capsule is a gaping (worm)hole in the game at the moment, and that's what turns off many new players even more than the learning curve.
On a side note, instead, I'm not sure i like the idea of the gap between old players and new ones being increased further. EVE is already a game in which catching up or even getting close is quite hard. But that's just a personal sentment.
Reply