Making fleet battle reservations in EVE Online?
by James Egan 
Dec 5th 2008 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP
This is probably a first in the MMO industry... EVE Online announced higher performance server reservations for large scale PvP battles. Unlike most other MMO titles where you choose a server to play on with your friends, EVE Online doesn't make you choose. Although the server cluster is made up of hundreds of IBM blade servers, from a player's perspective, it's all one galaxy with over 5000 solar systems. This is good for a 'sandbox' game, where players are allowed to do whatever they feel like within the rules of that place. It creates a huge galaxy where everyone can potentially interact... or kill each other. But it comes with a rather substantial drawback at times: lag.
This 'single server' approach makes EVE Online a game where players hope to have large-scale fleet battles not unlike all those sci-fi shows and films we grew up with. But the harsh reality is that there are limitations of server technology that hinder large scale conflicts. Bring a few hundred of your friends to a fleet battle in EVE and you might not be fighting so much as watching a slide show. Definitely not the most fun to be had in the game.
EVE's developer CCP Games have taken steps to improve this situation, and some of their approaches do seem promising, but for the time being they're taking a stopgap measure to reduce fleet combat lag -- server reservations. This new Fleet Fight Notification system allows players (CEOs and Directors only) to actually log into a site and reserve faster servers, 24 hours in advance of combat commencing. Of course, given how competitive the game can be, this will set off some warning alarms in the minds of some players...
One of the first things that will probably come into people's minds is, "If I notify CCP that we're planning to have a large fleet operation tomorrow, will our enemies somehow get advance warning of the offensive?" And that's certainly a valid concern, as you'd wonder who actually has access to these requests. CCP stated that notifications go to the Tranquility admin team (aka Virtual World Operations), the Lead GMs, and most notably -- Internal Affairs. (CCP has employees who are tasked with investigating allegations of wrongdoing on the part of CCP staff... emphasizing their stance that "Abuse of this system will NOT be tolerated.")
The upside of this is that it's like a concierge service for your fleet battles, and might provide alliances with a better fleet PvP experience than they'd have otherwise. The downside is that it's not always practical to schedule these things in advance. Granted most large-scale fleet engagements are the result of planning, but some fleet actions come together in a more dynamic way. Perhaps more than anything, this new option for requesting higher performance from the servers entails some degree of trust on the part of players, who will be giving out sensitive information about their alliance's plans. But that's the tradeoff.
Where do you stand on this? Would you be willing to trust in the sanctity of the system CCP put in place to provide optimal conditions for large-scale PvP? Or are you skeptical that this system won't somehow be turned to someone else's advantage?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Etras said on 1:32PM 12-05-2008
I think this is a great idea. I have to admit, my previous corp was on the defensive quite a bit, and warping in to help defend, I was usually dead before I could start moving to my first sniper location. This will help both sides have a much more enjoyable time in the game.
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Merkur said on 9:42AM 12-06-2008
its a good idea. but they should have made it so, that you dont enter a concrete system but a constelation or even a region.
this way the players would still have the tactical freedom to choose the battle field.
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James Egan said on 10:58AM 12-06-2008
Merkur,
The way it should work is that it's no different from EVE's normal gameplay, in other words players won't be logging in to a separate PvP server. What happens after the server request would be transparent to the players -- basically, behind the scenes CCP would divert additional resources/servers to the given solar system(s) that they've been notified will be contested.
It's not an ideal solution for the lag, but it's an option they've made available to the players.
James Egan said on 11:04AM 12-06-2008
I didn't log in to the Fleet Notification page since I'm neither a CEO or Director, but you mentioned if players can specify a wide area or if it's more concrete. I can't confirm how the system works right now as I don't have access myself.
For any readers who've tried this, can you specify a region or several systems, or do they limit you to one solar system?
Merkur said on 7:38PM 12-06-2008
Egdan, you misunderstood me - of course there is no extra pvp server! its eve! single shard ftw!
and yes you need to specify a single solar system on the fleet Notification page. you cant add a constelation or a region, just a single solar system - tho you have a comment field where you can state additional systems
James Egan said on 7:46PM 12-06-2008
Merkur, sorry about that. Wasn't sure how familiar you are with the game, hence my two responses. (A fair number of our readers check out the EVE articles but don't play, so just wanted to be clear. No offense intended, of course.) I definitely agree single shard does make for an interesting setting.
Thanks for the info about the limitations on the Fleet Notification system.
kranq said on 4:56AM 12-08-2008
I dont like it... all that needs to happen is for the ceo's to chat and force us into their games...
i like the idea of going into a region or jump ito an area designed for PvP... the warp in can be strethced for those who arrive early and have timers to prepare for battle.
this could lead to an odds system where people can grudge match, fight similar skill points or even honest WAR...
I do not like the idea of CEOs actually setting a time for engagement... it takes the set up or surprise out of the game.. sometimes PvP is a gate camp some times its impromptu... and sometimes it is in a whole system... booking a fight... pfft next it will be telecast
yes I understand the Load on the node... but I do not like the idea of booking a fight
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Etras said on 8:19AM 12-08-2008
Thats the most idiotic thing I've heard... A seperate PVP system? have you PLAYED eve? How would you do a POS take down or defense? common now this is one of the best solutions for the lag issue IMHO.
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