dominion posts

EVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading

by Brendan Drain Nov 22nd 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Forums, Game mechanics, Guides, Professions, PvP, Making money, Tips and tricks, PvE, Hands-on, Academic, Education, EVE Evolved

In the first part of this guide I covered the basics of trading in EVE Online and some of the jobs best suited to newer players. There's a lot more to trading than buying low and selling high and in this week's installment, I'll cover some of the more advanced trading and marketeering tactics that have proven themselves effective in EVE. From margin trading on the market to making a living off the contracts page, anyone with enough dedication can learn to rake in hundreds of millions of ISK per day without even leaving the station. For the gamblers and risk-takers among you, market speculation and price manipulation can produce incredible short-term profit but with significant risks attached.

In this second part of my concise guide on trading, I look at margin trading on the market, playing the contract pages, market speculation around patches and the dirty art of market manipulation.

Tags: buying, ccp, ccp-games, contracts, Dominion, eve, eve-evolved, eve-online, expansion, featured, guide, hauling, isk, manipulation, margin, market, professions, profit, pve, pvp, selling, speculation, tips, tips-and-tricks, trading

EVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading, part 2

by Brendan Drain Nov 22nd 2009 at 6:00PM

CCP Games alters plans for EVE's capital ships in Dominion expansion

by James Egan Nov 20th 2009 at 9:00PM

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

The EVE Online developers have announced that some of their proposed changes to capital ships will not deploy with the Dominion expansion as originally planned. This may come as good news to some of EVE's supercarrier (formerly "mothership") pilots who've expressed no small amount of dissatisfaction at how their ships were slated to be changed. With the supercarrier changes not going through, this also means that the fighter bombers -- anti-capital ship drones intended to bathe EVE's largest ships in waves of torpedo explosions -- will not arrive on December 1 with Dominion.

Changes to other capital ship weapons systems like XL Turrets, however, are another matter entirely. They're discussed at length in a dev blog from CCP Nozh titled "Capital Ships in Dominion" as are the new Citadel Cruise Missile Launchers intended to be a long range weapon system.

Tags: capital-ships, ccp, ccp-games, ccp-nozh, dev-blog, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, fighter-bombers, fighters, game-mechanics, motherships, pvp, sci-fi, supercarriers, titan, titans

CCP Games drops more details on EVE's new mission arcs for pirate factions

by James Egan Nov 18th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Quests, PvE

We recently wrote a bit about the new PvE content coming to EVE Online in the Dominion expansion -- Epic Mission Arcs for the Angel Cartel and Guristas pirate factions where your speed will help you survive. Now CCP Games has dropped more info on these branching pirate missions; the Guristas arc is called "Smash and Grab" while the Angel Cartel arc is "Angel Sound". A dev blog written by CCP Jasonitas walks readers through the standings requirements -- if your Angel Cartel standings are horrible but you have decent standings with either the Minmatar or Amarr, you can still run the Angel arc. Likewise with the Guristas, your Caldari or Gallente faction standings will let you embark on the Guristas pirate arc.

In some respects, these arcs will open up pirate faction mission running for many players, given that completion of an arc will impart a 30% standings gain towards that faction. Players have long wanted a way to repair their negative standings towards New Eden's pirate factions and this seems to be the first step towards that. Still, that standings gain won't benefit players who are particularly loathed by a given pirate faction unless the arcs can be repeated some months down the line as with standard Epic Mission Arcs.

Tags: amarr, angel-cartel, angel-sound, caldari, ccp-jasonitas, dev-blog, dominion, epic-mission-arcs, eve, eve-online, expansions, gallente, guristas, interceptors, minmatar, mission-running, new-eden, pirate, pirate-factions, pirate-missions, pve, smash-and-grab, speed-boat-missions, standings

CCP discusses NPE in EVE Online expansion

by Rubi Bayer Nov 16th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Interviews

With only a few weeks to go until the launch of Dominion, the EVE Online team has got to be pretty busy. CrazyKinux was lucky enough to get a bit of time with Game Designer Eris Discordia to talk about the details of the NPE - New Player Experience.

The discussion covered some interesting ground, such as how CCP is working to keep the NPE easy for players to use and understand, how far it's come since 2003 ("You started in space and you had to shoot a drone and that was pretty much it."), and how they would like to see it improve from here on out. They also talked about the reasoning behind the way the NPE is set up, as a crash course designed to get you through the basics and into the game, rather than a more scattered, drawn-out approach.

It's an interesting read for any veteran EVE Online player, and a valuable one for anyone new to the game. The full interview can be read here, and a big thanks to CrazyKinux and Eris Discordia for taking the time for it!

Tags: ccp, crazykinux, dominion, eris-discordia, eve-online, new-player-experience, npe

CCP Games elaborates on conquest in EVE's Dominion expansion

by James Egan Nov 12th 2009 at 5:00PM

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

"-- Smash the control images -- Smash the control machine --"

William S. Burroughs, The Soft Machine

The Dominion expansion for EVE Online is so-named for its heavy focus on the game mechanics of "Sovereignty" or control of territory in the New Eden galaxy. There's been no small amount of controversy surrounding CCP's proposed system, however, particularly as it's slated to go live on December 1st with the Dominion release. While some of the core game mechanics of control are still undergoing revision, CCP Games recently explained how ownership of solar systems will change hands in a dev blog titled "Storming the Gates."

EVE developer CCP Abathur lays out how new equipment will be used in claiming space and repelling invaders.

Tags: alliances, ccp, ccp-abathur, ccp-games, dev-blog, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, game-mechanics, guilds, i-hub, outposts, pvp, sbu, sci-fi, sovereignty, tcu, territorial-control, wormholes

EVE Online Lead Content Creator explains epic mission arcs for pirate factions

by James Egan Nov 11th 2009 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, Quests, PvE

One of the new content additions coming to EVE Online this December are Epic Mission Arcs for two of New Eden's pirate factions -- the Guristas and the Angel Cartel. Scott Holden (aka CCP Molock) is the Lead Content Creator at CCP Games who has overseen the inclusion of the new pirate missions into EVE. Holden recently discussed some of the specifics of pirate mission running with Mondes Persistants.

The epic arcs for the Guristas and Angel Cartel will offer up roughly 10-12 branching missions, says Holden. The Guristas arc will largely be based in nullsec space in Venal, but players will be able to begin in Orvolle (high security) or low security starting points like Taisy. The Angel Cartel epic mission arcs will mostly be based in the Curse region, the stomping grounds of the Cartel. Would-be devotees to the Angel cause (of sabotage, extortion, and general mayhem) will be able to embark on the faction's mission arc from solar systems like Sendaya or Konora in low sec. Surprisingly, it seems that a player doesn't need high pirate faction standings to access either the Guristas or Angel Cartel epic mission arcs. Players with good standings with empire factions will be able to jump into the pirate mission arcs via mission agents found in low security space.

Tags: angel-cartel, branching-storylines, ccp, ccp-games, ccp-molock, dominion, epic-mission-arcs, eve, eve-online, expansions, guristas, interceptors, interviews, mission-running, missions, mondes-persistants, pirate-factions, pirates, pve, quests, sci-fi, scott-holden, speedboat-missions

EVE Evolved: Dominion be damned

by Brendan Drain Nov 8th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Forums, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, EVE Evolved

At the last EVE Online fanfest, it was announced that the Dominion expansion is slated for December 1st to coincide with Iceland's Sovereignty day. With less than a month to go until launch, there has been growing concern at the extreme lack of information on the new sovereignty mechanics at the expansion's core. There have been a few scheduled tests and several devblogs but few factual details on the mechanics we'll be using once the expansion goes live. I've even been on the test server and tried the new mechanics out but they're far from finished.

The worry was that if the specific details weren't revealed as soon as possible, it might end up being too late to make necessary changes based on player feedback. On Friday 6th, a devblog was finally released explaining the cost breakdowns in the new sovereignty system and what bonuses will be given for the various system upgrades. Rather than allaying people's fears, the devblog set the forums on fire. An intense debate has sprung up, with massive outcry from those that live in 0.0. Their concerns may well be warranted as the proposed mechanics don't quite match up with the original vision of the Dominion expansion that the EVE community has shown support for thus far.

Has Dominion veered off course and is time running out to get it back on track? In this opinion piece, I run down the new devblog and give an inside view into parts of the heated debate it sparked off.

Tags: 0.0, ccp, ccp-games, devblog, dominion, eve, eve-evolved, eve-online, featured, forums, nullsec, opinion, pvp

EVE Evolved: Postcards from EVE: Reader Submissions

by Brendan Drain Nov 1st 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, EVE Online, Culture, Wallpapers, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

As a tribute to EON Magazine's "Postcards from the Edge" feature, last week I started this two-part series of postcards from all around EVE Online. In last week's first part I presented a gallery full of postcards from my own travels in EVE. I then asked readers to email in any of their own screenshots that they wanted to appear as postcards. This week, I finish the series with a mixture of reader submissions and my own remaining postcards. As with last week, they're all high-resolution shots suitable to be used as widescreen backgrounds. Feel free to save them out from your browser to get them at full resolution.

Thanks go to Massively readers "Mike", "Mark Pittam" and my corpmate "Retalus" for their submissions. Included are some shots of the new planets coming with the Dominion expansion in December and a lot of pictures from Sleeper space. Hope you enjoy!

Gallery: EVE Online Postcards, part 2

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, dominion, eon, eve, eve-evolved, eve-online, featured, gallery, nyphur, planets, postcard, postcards, sci-fi, screenshot, screenshots, wallpaper

EVE Online Sovereignty playtest to be held on Friday, Oct 30

by James Egan Oct 29th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Game mechanics

CCP Games is holding a play test of the new Sovereignty system in EVE Online on Friday, October 30th at 17:00 GMT/UTC on the Singularity test server. The devs are looking for players to jump in and help them fine tune Sovereignty for the Dominion expansion release, which is very much focused on this particular game mechanic. Interested parties are encouraged to show up early, as the devs want to give players a short demo of the new Sovereignty system beforehand. Also, they'll need to divide players into two teams, Red vs. Blue. EVE Quality Assurance dev CCP Tanis writes, "We will be testing several aspects of the new Sovereignty system, think of this kind of like a 'king of the hill' game in EVE."

EVE players interested in helping out (and getting a feel for how the new system will work) should read through the info the devs have listed in the playtest announcement. The developers have stated the testing event will take two or three hours to complete. (As an aside, they're putting the Sovereignty game mechanics through its paces on Mischief Night... what could go wrong?)

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, ccp-tanis, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, game-mechanics, playtest, sci-fi, singularity, sovereignty, test-server

EVE's planetary graphics kicked up yet another notch for Dominion expansion

by James Egan Oct 29th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Expansions

We pointed out last month that EVE Online will get a new look to its planets this December, when the Dominion expansion launches. There's now more footage of the improved planetary graphics which is even better than what we saw in September, with a closer look at the swirling clouds, continents, and oceans, as well as light and shadows on the horizon. The footage is courtesy once again of EVE Online player Flamewave -- who may just live on the Singularity test server.

We've got a video embed of Flamewave's footage of the new planetary graphics as seen on the test server, so stick with us after the jump for a stunning look at New Eden as it will appear in Dominion.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, clouds, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, flamewave, graphics, new-eden, planets, sci-fi, singularity, test-server, video

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.

Tags: alliances, ccp, ccp-atlas, ccp-games, corporations, dev-blog, dev-blogs, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, fleet-advert, fleet-adverts, fleet-finder, game-mechanics, grouping, guilds, jon-bjarnason, loot-logging, new-eden, new-features, ninja-looting, sci-fi

EVE Online's faction ships due for a boost in Dominion expansion

by James Egan Oct 19th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions

When EVE Online's faction ships were introduced to the game they were, by design, a cut above the rest in addition to lending a certain amount of bling to being a pilot in New Eden. Faction ships had stats that made them worthy of the high amount of Loyalty Points required to obtain such a ship, the risks entailed with mission running in lowsec or 0.0 space, or alternately the high ISK costs to obtain them. But as Tech II ships, Marauders, and other advanced or specialized ship classes entered the game, it became apparent that faction ships in EVE Online were becoming antiquated.

CCP Games would like to get more players to actually fly those ships again instead of relegating (a few of) them to shiny hangar ornaments. EVE game designer CCP Ytterbium looks at the changes CCP Games is making to navy and pirate faction ships with the Dominion expansion and explains the reasons for these changes in his dev blog "Adding Flavor to Your Faction Meal". Have a look at the dev blog for Ytterbium's discussion of the various ship bonuses, new slot layouts, aesthetic changes, and how CCP envisions these faction ships rising to greater prominence in New Eden in Dominion and beyond.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, ccp-ytterbium, dev-blog, dev-blogs, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, faction-ships, factions, navy-ships, pirate-factions, pirate-ships, sci-fi

New starry backgrounds in EVE Online spotted

by James Egan Oct 15th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions

CCP Games has been rolling out some major graphical improvements to EVE Online since the Trinity expansion launched, bringing with it a new graphics engine and an updated look to the game's setting through the premium client. The first iteration of graphics enhancements added a shiny new veneer to EVE's ships, but those changes weren't skin deep. The models themselves were recreated through months of effort by the game's art team, and the look of the ships is now much improved. Later space stations (both inside and out) and stargates were given a facelift with much greater detail and shadows. The Apocrypha expansion brought new effects for electronic warfare modules and weapons, but it also introduced something else to the aesthetics of EVE -- those gorgeous backdrops found in the uncharted expanses of wormhole space.

By comparison, some players feel that the nebula-laced appearance of mapped solar systems is starting to look dated. While EVE's nebulas aren't likely to change anytime soon, players on the Singularity test server are posting screenshots of starry backgrounds which have made an appearance this week. You can check out the shots taken by various players at Scrapheap Challenge and in these threads on the official EVE forums. Whether these new starry backdrops will make their way into the Dominion expansion release in December isn't certain, but combining this look with the swirling clouds on New Eden's planets would certainly kick EVE's aesthetics up another notch or two.

Tags: apocrypha, ccp, ccp-games, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, graphics, new-eden, premium-graphics, singularity, skybox, skydome, stars, test-server, trinity

CCP Games seeking Dominion expansion play testers, Oct 15th onwards

by James Egan Oct 12th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Expansions, Game mechanics

The Dominion expansion for EVE Online will bring some major changes to capital ships and sovereignty when it goes live on December 1st. As that release date approaches, the developers at CCP Games are seeking feedback from the EVE playerbase on some of the changes being made to the game. They aim to do this through large scale fleet battles on the Singularity test server with a minimum of 100 pilots, although hundreds more would be preferable. The tests will first focus on open combat between large fleets and later switch focus to player-owned starbase (POS) sieges. There are three play tests (tentatively) scheduled, with more to be announced:

Thursday, October 15, @ 17:00 GMT

Friday, October 16, @ 18:00 GMT (this is specifically a Sovereignty test)

Thursday, October 29, @ 17:00 GMT

Read the full post from EVE Quality Assurance dev CCP Tanis for more info on the tests and how players can connect to the Singularity test server. Players are encouraged to bring out their capital ships and unleash plenty of drones during these mass-tests of Dominion.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, ccp-tanis, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, game-mechanics, player-owned-starbase, pos, sci-fi, singularity, sovereignty, test-server