Filed under: Guilds

Darkfall gets its own analog of EVE University: Newborn on Agon

by James Egan Oct 30th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, EVE Online, Guilds, PvP, PvE

The settings of Darkfall and EVE Online are worlds apart, but there is some common ground between the titles. PvP combat permeates both sandbox games, and given a potentially hostile environment when starting out, it's always good to have a helping hand. EVE Online players have training corps like EVE University to show them the ropes in what can sometimes be a brutal game. Darkfall now has an analog of EVE University called "NEW" which Syncaine recently pointed out on his blog, Hardcore Casual. NEW is short for "Newborn on Agon", a North American server clan that provides training in most any facet of the game for those willing to learn.

Although Darkfall can be harsh to newer players, NEW provides a (comparatively) safe environment where players can spend 30 days learning what interests them, or developing the skills to succeed in the game once it's time to move on. The clan is politically neutral and owns the city of Hammerdale, contributing to NEW's potential to become a haven for new players. Also, some of Darkfall's major alliances support the idea of NEW which could be beneficial in the long run.

It's great to see things like this happen in sandbox MMOs, and hopefully Darkfall will continue to see its players establish lasting institutions in the game.

Major EVE Online alliance CVA disbanded: espionage or hack?

by James Egan Oct 28th 2009 at 7:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Guilds, News items

Major EVE Online roleplaying alliance Curatores Veritatis Alliance (CVA) disbanded today, possibly the result of a traitor within their ranks, leaving a power vacuum in the Providence region they once held. It's possible for high-level directors of an alliance to disband the organization, and this is exactly what happened today to Curatores Veritatis Alliance. CVA was an alliance loyal to the game's NPC faction the Amarr Empire and had a long history of enforcing rule in lawless space and resisting rival player organizations of Minmatar freedom fighters -- notably Ushra'Khan -- who they branded as terrorists. In short, CVA has played a significant role in the player-driven setting of EVE Online.

At this point, speculation as to how CVA was disbanded is rampant. The concept of a mole using high-level access to destroy an alliance from within is not unprecedented in the game, although some players are asserting an account hack took place. EVE pilot "BULLETPROOF 50CENT" of the corporation Traceless Representatives of Anonymous Players (TRAP) has claimed credit for the disintegration of CVA. He stated: "I am known as bullet, just a small, relatively unknown member of a covert organization, created by and dedicated to the taking down of what we saw as the single largest evil in EVE -- CVA."

EVE Online technical director explains new feature: Fleet Finder

by James Egan Oct 27th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guilds, Grouping

The next EVE Online expansion will be Dominion, slated for a December release, which will introduce some major changes to the game and new features as well. The "Fleet Finder" is one such feature, explained in today's dev blog by EVE Online Technical Director Jon Bjarnason (aka CCP Atlas).

The Fleet Finder will give players much greater control over forming a fleet and, as CCP Atlas says, there will be "No more 'x up in corp channel' messages." The feature will also streamline how information is conveyed to other pilots.

EVE players to tap new resources with Dominion expansion

by James Egan Oct 6th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guilds

Big changes are on the horizon for EVE Online in the Dominion expansion and beyond. Alliance sprawl in 0.0 security (lawless) space is going to be curbed, in favor of a new paradigm where alliances claim less territory but can derive much greater value from what they hold sovereignty over. This is the focus of a dev blog from EVE Game Designer CCP Chronotis -- "The Streams Must Flow".

Streams in this case refers to EVE's various revenue streams which are going to be altered in the coming months, and how this will affect players in 0.0 alliances. In the past, supporting a large number of players required an alliance to draw upon the resources of many different solar systems, specifically high-bounty pirate NPCs and valuable ores in addition to a very high passive income from rare moon minerals. CCP is adjusting how those rare minerals are used in Tech II production, meaning more common materials will be used, so Dominion will allow alliances to upgrade their controlled space as a means of generating more income.

Exploring need, greed, and team play

by Rubi Bayer Sep 30th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvE

Brian "Psycho child" Gr een and Ferrel at Epic Slant recently discussed an ongoing challenge facing game developers: designing for the team instead of for the loot.

Balancing game mechanics and rewards with player goals and desires, while still encouraging people to play as a group has always been tricky. Players are there to have fun, which usually translates into some sort of reward system, be it in-game cash, leveling up, further quests, or better loot. The foundational goal of an MMO in this case is for there to be a learning curve: go out with your group and learn how to succeed at this encounter by working together as a group, playing off of one another's strengths and weaknesses. In the end, learning and succeeding is the reward.

Unfortunately, this gets lost quickly in the race for better loot - that drop that you need to advance. Players forgo groups in favor of solo farming, or wind up bickering with their group over who gets the loot, moving away from what many consider to be the main purpose of the game.

Psychochild and Ferrel explore some ideas and solutions, as well as suggestions for balancing the goals of both players and developers.

EVE Online: The taxman cometh

by James Egan Sep 22nd 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Guilds

When EVE Online developer CCP Soundwave isn't entertaining fans of internet spaceships with his wit during the EVE Alliance Tournament, he's apparently finding new ways to ... impose taxes on players? His dev blog today explains that CCP Games will tax the earnings of players in NPC corps and their reasons for introducing this taxes. This won't apply to those in EVE's player corporations or those enlisted with a militia for factional warfare. "Service guarantees citizenship and all that, so keep on trucking," he writes. (Note: For those less familiar with EVE Online, this deals entirely with in-game currency of course, InterStellar Kredits or ISK. No real world taxation is involved.)

After all these years, why impose taxes on players in NPC corps? CCP Soundwave explains it all in "I Bring Gifts! (By Gifts I Mean Taxes, Sorry)". NPC corps have a few advantages over player corps in that they cannot have wars declared against them by player corporations; immunity to wardecs is perhaps a key reason some players don't move on to player corps. In addition, members of NPC corporations don't have taxes subtracted from their NPC bounties and mission rewards, which most player corporations impose.

Pandemic Legion crowned EVE Alliance Tournament VII champs

by James Egan Sep 20th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Guilds, MMO industry, PvP, News items

The biggest PvP event of the year in EVE Online is the annual Alliance Tournament, which played out over three weekends in September. The final rounds of EVE Alliance Tournament VII were fought out today and only one alliance earned the right to call themselves the game's top PvPers: Pandemic Legion, tournament champs for the second year in a row.

64 alliance teams entered the tournament 3 weeks ago, and today's finals culminated with Pandemic Legion facing off against Circle-of-Two. It was an entertaining final match but it was decided early on, as Pandemic Legion's stealth bombers unleashed waves of destruction upon Circle-of-Two, ultimately sealing their fate in the tournament. Pandemic Legion proved to be calculating in their tactics and ship setups this year. They successfully varied between speed fitted Minmatar fleets for fast and brutal blitzes, and glass cannon stealth bomber setups for powerful alpha strikes. They remained unpredictable throughout the tournament and it paid off for them.

EVE Alliance Tournament VII streaming live in HD this weekend

by James Egan Sep 19th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Guilds, MMO industry

This weekend marks the finals for EVE Online's biggest PvP event of the year, the Alliance Tournament. The past two weekends of Alliance Tournament VII have seen the strongest teams among 64 player alliances battle it out to the top 32. The finals will take place today and tomorrow, running from 15:00 GMT until 21:00 GMT on both days, with only one alliance taking the crown as the game's top PvPers until next year.

For the first time in the PvP tournament's history, the final rounds will be streamed live in High Definition video, which you can view at the official Alliance Tournament VII site. The tournament can be viewed in standard definition as well.

EVE Online devs explain their plans for revamping the sandbox

by James Egan Sep 15th 2009 at 8:15PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guilds

EVE Online's sandbox approach to game design is one where where centralized, well-developed clusters of solar systems are controlled by NPC factions while vast, lawless tracts of space can be claimed by the players themselves. This 0.0 space (aka nullsec) contains some of EVE's most valuable resources plus offers complete freedom from the laws imposed in high security NPC space. It's the frontier -- the wild west -- that alliances of EVE's capsuleers clash with one another to control.

For all the freedom to use diplomacy, espionage, and outright warfare to get the most out of 0.0 space, players have long been hindered by the game mechanics of "sovereignty" -- EVE's system of establishing control over territory and reaping the various rewards that come with such control. The changes CCP Games are making to the game with the Dominion winter expansion aren't just about altering a few game mechanics related to territorial control -- they're about changing the rules of the sandbox itself.

The Daily Grind: Guilds as groups, not just chat?

by Krystalle Voecks Sep 11th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Daily Grind

With the seeming trend moving more and more towards the single-player option of soloing through MMOGs, we've noticed that there's been a move away from guild content in many newer games. Apparently we aren't the only ones who noticed it as there is an excellent post out on Journeys with Jaye that delves into guilds and makes some bold statements about what MMOs are doing wrong - or right - in regards to guilds and what developers should look at doing.

The question we'd raise is that considering the slant of games more towards solo content, are we seeing the slow death of guilds as anything more than a communal chat channel you share with friends? It certainly seems that in several newer games - short of raiding or the occasional (rare) group type content - much of the time people will be off on their own just talking back and forth. Do you think that guilds are moving into social-chat-only type structure, or do you think MMOs will change and begin to include more group/guild type content to get people playing together again? Where do you see guilds going in the newest generation of MMOs?

Breaking the chains of Sovereignty in EVE Online's Dominion expansion

by James Egan Sep 9th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP

We recently mentioned that the next expansion for EVE Online is called Dominion, and will focus on revamping the sovereignty game mechanics -- arguably one of the most crucial aspects of the game for the most hardcore players. So why, then, is sovereignty so important to the game's players?

EVE Online is a game where everything takes place in a single setting, the New Eden galaxy comprised of thousands of solar systems. While a large percentage of the game's playerbase remains in high security space controlled by NPC factions, for others it's 0.0 space (aka nullsec) where the real action is. In a nutshell, 0.0 is a lawless frontier where the rarest ores and minerals, the highest bounty NPCs, the most lucrative exploration content (in known space) is found. Of course, these regions are the most hotly contested territories in EVE Online and those resources found within are a driver for the continual conflict that engulfs New Eden.

First qualifiers for EVE Alliance Tournament VII come to a close

by James Egan Sep 7th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Guilds, MMO industry, PvP

In the gaming world it's been the Penny Arcade Expo and Dragon*Con that got most of the attention over the weekend, but EVE Online's annual PvP tournament kicked off on Saturday as well. EVE Alliance Tournament VII's first round of qualifiers saw 64 player alliances (guilds) go head-to-head, with only half of that number earning the right to compete in the finals after next weekend's second round of qualifier battles.

If you didn't have the time to listen to the tournament in-game using EVE Voice or catch any of the internet radio broadcasts, CCP Games has video footage of all of the weekend's matches in HD on their YouTube page. Both the Day 1 and Day 2 qualifiers are available, and they provide the first looks at Tech III Strategic Cruisers and even Black Ops battleships being put to use in the Alliance Tournament. Stick with us after the jump for more on the first weekend of Alliance Tournament VII.

EVE Alliance Tournament VII kicks off this weekend

by James Egan Sep 2nd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Guilds, MMO industry, PvP, News items

EVE Online's annual PvP tournament between player alliances (guilds) is one of the major events held each year for the sci-fi MMO. Alliance Tournament VII begins this weekend, Saturday September 5th, at 15:00 GMT, and will have 64 player alliances battling it out over three weekends culminating in a live video broadcast of the finals. (The match schedule is up but the lineup as it stands now may change due to some alliances backing out at the last minute.)

While the devs will be on hand to obliterate rule breakers, it's members of the playerbase who commentate on EVE's Alliance PvP tournaments. The first two weekends will be qualifying rounds and players can listen in for this play-by-play commentary in-game over EVE Voice, by simply joining the "Alliance Tournament" channel and right-clicking "Join Audio". You can also tune in to the Alliance Tournament on these internet radio stations:

EVE Online announces Dominion expansion, 'Walking in Stations' renamed Incarna

by James Egan Aug 31st 2009 at 4:45PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Guilds, MMO industry, News items

CCP Games has announced their 11th free expansion for EVE Online, called "Dominion." As the name suggests, the winter expansion focuses on territories and player control over them. We're told that the Dominion expansion focuses on conquering and holding space, and will feature a reworking of the sovereignty system of territorial control for player alliances. We don't have any further details on the sovereignty revamp yet, but according to CCP the changes have been made with subscriber feedback in mind, particularly through the player-elected Council of Stellar Management.

Given that CCP Games is tying more of EVE Online's gameplay into the planets of the New Eden galaxy, the next step they're taking with the Trinity graphics engine is to add more detail to these planets (and presumably moons).

Bill Roper explains teams and SuperGroups in new Champions trailer

by William Dobson Aug 31st 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Guilds, Raiding, Grouping, Champions Online

While Champions Online is designed to allow players to live out their fantasy of being a lone superhero badass taking on all-comers solo, if that's what they're after, there's also content and features aimed at groups of players. A new video hosted at GameTrailers and featuring Bill Roper is focused on the things that await people who are interested in getting together with others to tackle crime and evil. The title of the video leads you to believe that it is all about SuperGroups (Champions Online's guilds), but most of Roper's comments are related to grouping in general.

The reinforcement system, lairs/headquarters, group events, multiple-group content and different roles in groups all come up during the featurette. Head past the break to see how you can help save the world with a little help from your friends.