new-eden posts

Creating the planets of EVE Online

by James Egan Jan 21st 2010 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions

One of the most visually striking changes that came to EVE Online with the Dominion expansion is how the devs improved the look of the planets. This was no minor facelift either, it's been a dramatic change. The graphics update breathed new life into New Eden's setting -- solar systems now have vibrant gas giants as well as planets dominated by storms, ice, oceans, or lava. Most players are probably just content to see and appreciate the eye candy, but those interested in how CCP Games created these planets will want to read the "Awesome Looking Planets" dev blog from CCP Mannapi. (And just look at that angry expression!)

Although the subject of Mannapi's dev blog is somewhat technical, it's actually rather easy to follow. He walks the reader through the tools and processes CCP Games put to use in revamping planets in Dominion. If reading about height maps, preprocessing, rendering, and textures is your cup of tea, you'll probably enjoy his illustrated explanation of these facets of planetary design in EVE.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, ccp-mannapi, dev-blog, dev-blogs, dominion, eve, eve-online, expansions, graphics, new-eden, planets, sci-fi

EVE University founder steps down

by James Egan Jan 17th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Guilds

For every story of deception and betrayal in EVE Online that grabs the headlines, there are far more acts of altruism in the game's setting of New Eden. A fair amount of that goodwill is connected with EVE University [E-UNI], a corporation in the game that exists to help new players and has been doing so for nearly six years. When veteran player Morning Maniac established EVE University, he pioneered the concept of a corporation that teaches new players and exposes them to aspects of the game they would likely not experience on their own. Since its inception, EVE University has brought thousands of new players into the fold and shown them what's possible in the sandbox of New Eden. After a long tenure, however, Morning Maniac announced that he will step down as CEO of EVE University on February 1st.

He wrote: "Five years and 11 months ago I founded Eve University to create a place where new players could get together and be appreciated for who they were. Classes and doing things together were important but nothing was, and is, more important than the positive attitude towards new players."

Tags: ccp-games, e-uni, eve, eve-online, eve-university, kelduum-revaan, morning-maniac, new-eden, sci-fi, teaching, training-corp

EVE hits new milestone with 56,021 players online

by James Egan Jan 11th 2010 at 6:00PM

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

It was just last week when we mentioned EVE Online's new peak concurrent user (PCU) record of 54,446 pilots online. That record was smashed yesterday though, only one week after the previous PCU record was set, with 56,021 pilots online in New Eden. Beyond the new PCU record being set, this past Sunday's traffic may also make CCP raise the limit on number of players that can be in the Jita trade hub at a given time. 1400 players crowded into Jita yesterday, which is apparently the hard limit that the game's developers had set for the busy solar system. This prompted CCP Games Software Director Erlendur Þorsteinsson (aka CCP Explorer) to state, "We have been increasing the limit in the last few weeks and it looks like there might possibly be room for more in Jita."

This could be good news for the legions of traders who flock to the system, and overall a good sign for EVE Online to see the PCU climbing higher and higher. Likely a major factor in the surge of active players is the upswing in nullsec alliance warfare which resulted from changes in the Dominion expansion -- not the least of which is that a certain moon material holds great value now; the desire to control these rare resources is a major driver for large scale conflict. And of course, the recent 'get EVE for $5' sales on Steam probably hasn't hurt either.

Tags: ccp, ccp-explorer, ccp-games, dominion, erlendur-s-thorsteinsson, erlendur-thorsteinsson, eve, eve-online, jita, new-eden, pcu, peak-concurrent-users, sci-fi

New training corp in EVE Online teaches players PvP and nullsec survival

by James Egan Jan 9th 2010 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Guilds, PvP

One of the things we really like about EVE Online is how the game experience is player-driven, and that goes far beyond the more notorious aspects which have garnered a lot of attention of late. EVE's open setting of New Eden allows players to establish all types of ventures or organizations -- anything ranging from lotteries and banks to corporations focused on wormhole colonization is possible. Some players opt to create training corps that teach new players about the many aspects of this rather complex game.

When it comes to training corps there are several well-known options. EVE University is perhaps the most famous training corp in New Eden, but others like 1st Steps Academy and Trader's Academy exist to help out new players. For those hell bent on jumping into PvP, Agony Unleashed offers classes that can help you on your way. Now there's a newcomer to the roster of training corporations in the game -- the Open University of Celestial Hardship [OUCH].

Tags: 0.0, 1st-steps-academy, agony-unleashed, alexia-morgan, black-claw, ccp, ccp-games, community, eve, eve-online, eve-university, guilds, new-eden, nullsec, ouch, player-run-ventures, pvp, sandbox, traders-academy, training-corp

How the Grinch Stole Christmas EVE

by James Egan Dec 28th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, News items

"Curzon Dax stole Christmas." Words I never thought I'd be writing here, but there it is. EVE Online player and forum personality "Curzon Dax" -- perhaps best known for his many song parodies of the game and its players -- has unveiled his in-game IPO for what it really was: a multi-billion ISK confidence scam. Curzon made the announcement on Christmas, no less, and placed the scam at 374.4 billion ISK raised.

While the players who were taken for those billions will certainly be less excited by this news, Curzon accomplished something that's becoming less and less common in the game. For every player that uses cunning to profit in New Eden, there is a horde of player alts who resort to copy-paste scams in local chat at most any mission and trade hub in EVE. As these players simply try to profit from mislabeling items in contracts or spam local chat with the ubiquitous "I'm quitting EVE. Send me ISK and I'll send you 10x back!" garbage, Curzon aimed much higher and cultivated an image which he used to draw his marks in.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, curzon-dax, deception, eve, eve-online, new-eden, scams, sci-fi, theft

EVE Online giving players free holiday gift: the Zephyr

by James Egan Dec 15th 2009 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, News items

EVE Online players received some good news today, when CCP Games announced a free holiday gift for all active subscribers: the Zephyr, a pure exploration vessel that's unique among all ships of New Eden in both form and function. Beyond the pimp factor of this Intaki Syndicate ship, the Zephyr's primary use will be in the uncharted expanses of wormhole space. It's the only ship in EVE Online that has a probe launcher built in. This "Prototype Iris Probe Launcher"-equipped ship pairs minimal mass (and less likelihood of collapsing a wormhole) with a small sensor footprint, which makes it hard to scan down by hostiles. While the integrated exploration gear is nice, even better is that Sleeper NPCs -- the awakened and powerful guardians of wormhole space -- will not fire upon a Zephyr (EVE filmmakers take note!). What's even cooler is that it actually has sails; it's designed to soar through space on solar winds when not in warp.

The Zephyr exploration ship will be free to all players and available to be claimed between December 18th and January 6th, 2009. Redeeming the ship is easy, simply log in to the EVE client on or after December 18th and click "Redeem Items!" on the lower right of the client window. Remember it's one ship per active (non-trial) account, not per character, and this may very well be a one time offer. Have a look at CCP Wrangler's full description of the Zephyr for more on this rather unique addition to New Eden's array of ships.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, ccp-wrangler, dev-blogs, eve, eve-online, exploration, holiday-gift, holidays, new-eden, new-ships, sci-fi, sleepers, the-zephyr, wormhole, wormholes, zephyr

EVE Online sets new peak concurrent user record

by James Egan Dec 7th 2009 at 1:00PM

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

The sci-fi MMO EVE Online set a new record this past weekend for users logged in at a given time: 54,181 pilots, up from the previous record of 53,850 set in March of this year. This new peak concurrent user (PCU) count is a significant milestone for the single shard setting of New Eden, where all of those players can (potentially) interact with one another. New Eden is a big place though, a galaxy with thousands of charted solar systems and thousands more uncharted, accessible through wormholes. Given the size of New Eden, those 54,181 pilots may not interact directly but their actions can impact everyone else in the game, regardless of whether it's through trading, establishing or toppling industrial empires, or alliance warfare on a massive scale.

The new PCU record comes in the wake of EVE Online's Dominion expansion launch on December 1 which focuses on revamping the game mechanics of territorial control, or sovereignty, in New Eden's lawless tracts of 0.0 security (nullsec) space. CCP Games Senior Producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson told Massively: "With Dominion, we've made zero security gameplay so much more engaging. We're seeing a lot of people are taking the leap, updating their clones and jumping into the deep end of the pool. They are realizing that taking risks can bring big rewards, and lots of adrenaline pumped moments as well. Co-operation and having good allies is the key to success in the dark and brutal world of zero point zero space. We're seeing players communicate more, team up more and generally have more fun. Each day since release has been exciting for the developers as they watch this expansion unfold and take on a life of its own, in the hands of our ever-creative playerbase."

[Thanks StMistaken!]

Tags: 0.0, ccp, ccp-games, dominion, eve, eve-online, game-mechanics, mmo-industry, new-eden, nullsec, pcu, peak-concurrent-users, sandbox, sci-fi, senior-producer, single-shard, sovereignty, territorial-control, torfi-frans-olafsson

Creating the planets of EVE Online

by James Egan Dec 1st 2009 at 8:00PM

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

One of the nice things EVE Online players have to look forward to with the Dominion expansion launch today is the addition of redesigned planets. EVE developer CCP jBot was recently interviewed about the game's new look at MMOZONE and explained how CCP Games generated the planets with their in-house development environment. The work was done in tandem with the company's Shanghai team working on the ground-based DUST 514; the shaders they created allow the devs to manipulate landmasses and oceans, cloud density, city lights, and even regions with vegetation. Textures for 10 different planet types coupled with new planet shaders "should ensure that every planet in EVE is unique," said CCP jBot. The end result is that New Eden will now have procedurally generated gas giants and ice planets, not to mention various terrestrial worlds.

CCP's goal is to have the look of a given planet be identical in both EVE Online and DUST 514. CCP jBot told MMOZONE: "We're working hard to make sure when you're in space over your favorite planet in EVE or on the ground of that same planet in DUST 514 that it feels right. Obviously there are different constraints between console and PC that we live under which could mean a slight difference in the look but we're pretty excited about how things are looking on all platforms."

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, dominion, dust-514, eve, eve-online, expansions, interviews, mmozone, new-eden, planets, sci-fi, shanghai

Massively's EVE Online PLEX contest: "New Eden"

by James Egan Nov 30th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Contests, Giveaways

Massively's "Enemy at the Gate" contest for EVE Online was quite popular last week, and there were some very good entries. It was a contest where there could only be two winners (to be announced shortly), but as promised Massively is running a second contest this week. The contest is simply titled "New Eden," named after the social network for EVE Online that will extend the game experience beyond the game client. Ultimately the New Eden social network will bring aspects of EVE to mobile phones and the web, the hope being that it creates a number of new ways to access and experience the game.

Just like last week, this will essentially be a writing contest, where we pose a question to you about EVE's Dominion expansion (and beyond). Your entry (limited to 200 words or less, details below) will be judged by the Massively staff on the merits of creativity and presentation. You'll have one full week to enter, by answering our question in the comments below this post. Two prizes will be awarded. The grand prize will be 15 Pilot License Extensions (PLEX), which is 15 months of EVE game time. First prize will be 10 PLEX, so 10 months of EVE game time. Got all that? Great. So here we go -- to enter Massively's PLEX contest, answer this question in the comments below, limiting your response to 200 words or less:

How will the "New Eden" social network for EVE affect your playstyle? Will the ability to handle tasks when you're unable to log in change the game experience for you?

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, ccp-plex-contest, contests, eve, eve-online, giveaways, new-eden, plex, sci-fi, social-network

EVEMail system reworked for Dominion expansion

by James Egan Nov 28th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions

While it's the major features coming in EVE Online's next expansion, Dominion, that have caught people's attention -- namely the sov changes -- there are a number of smaller things CCP is baking into the release. The developers are also addressing some long-standing issues that have been in need of a solution. The existing in-game mail system is, quite frankly, painful to use if you need to sift through and manage a decent volume of messages in a given session.

Fortunately this is about to change. Dominion will roll out with a new EVEMail system, and here are a few highlights of what will arrive this Tuesday:

Tags: ccp, ccp-caedmon, ccp-games, dev-blog, dev-blogs, dominion, eve, eve-online, evemail, expansions, new-eden, new-features, sci-fi

EVE Morning Report provides news-style daily snapshot of game's economy

by James Egan Nov 23rd 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Podcasts, EVE Online, Economy

EVE Online is a game that can be different things to different people. While some players are intent on the destruction of their fellow capsuleers, others prefer to focus on other aspects of the game like trading and mass production. After all, EVE's setting of New Eden is one largely dominated by megacorporations. For those involved in the complexities of the game's economic side, having frequent snapshots of New Eden's virtual economy would be a boon. The game's would-be tycoons now have this, thanks to EVE Online player Utemetsu and the EVE Morning Report -- short, 5-minute audio recordings released daily that convey information about major commodities traded on the open market in New Eden.

EVE Morning Report with Erik Mumm is presented in the style of NPR or the Marketplace Morning Report. It also provides players with the graphed price history of major commodities, captured from the in-game tools. The sponsors of the EVE Morning Report are other players whose various services are mentioned each day in exchange for their patronage. Although Utemetsu's program has only been running for a few days, EVE Morning Report is already expanding to include interviews with New Eden's marketeers. Individual EVE players, corporations, or alliances interested in sponsoring EVE Morning Report can contact Erik (Utemetsu) via email or let him know in the program's thread on the official EVE forums.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, economy, erik-mumm, eve, eve-morning-report, eve-online, interstellar-kredit, isk, new-eden, podcasts, sci-fi, utemetsu, virtual-currency, virtual-economy

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

EVE's Quarterly Economic Newsletter focuses on impact of anti-RMT operation

by James Egan Nov 10th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, MMO industry

One of the strengths of the sandbox game EVE Online is its player-driven economy, which developer CCP Games monitors through a small team of researchers headed up by Lead Economist Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson (aka CCP Dr.EyjoG). They observe all manner of player interactions and sift through a tremendous amount of data to track how EVE Online's economy changes over time. Their findings are presented to the playerbase (or to anyone curious about virtual economies) in the form of Quarterly Economic Newsletters (QEN). CCP released the 3rd Quarter 2009 report this week, which gives us a look at player demographics and the most popular ships flown by those players. (It's interesting to note that the most popular ship in the game is now the Hulk, a mining vessel which has usurped the Raven battleship as EVE's most flown ship, while Black Ops battleships are EVE's least flown ships.)

This latest QEN also gives various price indices and Market Snapshots, which chart the volumes of a number of popular items traded on the open market. CCP also shows the impact "Operation: Unholy Rage" -- their anti-RMT initiative -- has had on EVE Online's economy with over 18,000 (paying) accounts banned to date. Dr.EyjoG writes, "Unholy Rage taught us a great deal about RMT operations in EVE. We now have a much clearer picture of the extent of operations and the tools and methods they use."

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, dr-eyjog, economics, economy, eve, eve-online, eyjolfur-gudmundsson, interstellar-kredit, isk, market-trends, mmo-industry, new-eden, qen, quarterly-economic-newsletter, rmt, sci-fi, unholy-rage, virtual-economy

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

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."

Tags: alliance, alliances, amarr, breaking, ccp, ccp-games, controversy, curatores-veritatis-alliance, cva, espionage, eve, eve-online, guilds, hack, hardin, new-eden, providence, revenge, sabotage, spies, spy, trap