EVE Online Expansion Slated for Early December

[Junaid Alam]

EVE Online Expansion Slated for Early December

An expansion for the space-based MMOG EVE Online is due to be released in the first week of December.

The download, dubbed Trinity, will include some hefty changes to existing gameplay in the form of 20 new ships, ranging from small frigates capable of special electronic warfare to battleships equipped with niche cloaking capabilities.

On the hardware front, the aging graphics engine has been entirely rewritten, and all-new ship models will appear. Free in-game voice software will also be provided, though many of the large player alliances will likely continue using the standalone TeamSpeak.

EVE Online CEO Hilmar Petursson has said the graphics overhaul in particular was important, enabling a performance increase and less stress on the CPU, and thus less lag.

During the MMOG's annual fanfest in Iceland, he also unveiled new details about ideas to be incorporated into future expansions.

Human avatars, so far absent in the game, will apparently have some The Sims-like options at their disposal, such as the ability to cruise bars and clothing stores.

Perhaps more interesting for longtime players is the prospect of planetary interaction, which developers said is still on the board for the longer term. Though planets appear in the game along with other celestial objects, they are currently inaccessible, and all trading and so on takes place at space stations.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=30258]

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[Kesash]

Still no mention of game balance fixes (can flipping, gate camping, etc.) Gotta love playing a game that's geared so heavily towards crooks and thieves. *sigh* I guess I'll still pay my monthly fee for the priviledge of getting shot at by CCP... er... BoB... er...

 

[LowBeyonder]

I'm not sure how they'd "fix" can flipping, and gate camping is just part of how the systems are set up. Yeah, pirates use camps to gank people in lowsec, but gate camps are also a critical part of 0.0 warfare.

I'm definitely looking forward to the new EA frigates and the heavy dictors (should help counter speed-fit HACs). Skill reqs on the Black Ops battleship are rough, but it's a cool idea. And jump freighters, well, it's about time.

Besides, anything that reduces fleet lag, I'm pretty okay with. Also, new shiny!

I hadn't heard they were making EVE Voice free, though. That's pretty awesome.

 

[Kesash]

The changes in graphics between the current version and then upcoming are noticeable and make this game even more "blingy" for an already awesome game in the graphics dept.

I fully support gate camping in lo-sec for wars, but it gets kinda old when you're just trying to have fun and you *have* to run through a lo-sec area to get something nice you've saved up for and the first thing you're greeted with when you pop out of warp is 10 blinking red icons, a view of your pod, and a demand for 10 million ISK not to pod you from some drunkard and his stoned buddies. What recourse do you have? Absolutely none. Tin-Cancorde? HAH!

Can flipping has ended Jettison Can (Jetcan) mining. If you jet can mine and someone flips your can, you have no one to blame but yourself.

For a game so full of blatant exploits, cheating (BoB and the Devs), racketeering, extortion and other in-game e-criminal activity, I'm surprised that it's survived as well as it has.

Consider this:
WoW - Out ~3 years, 9 million + population
EVE - Out ~6 years, - 300,000 population

Where's the disconnect?

 

[Junaid Alam]

" What recourse do you have? Absolutely none. "

In low sec? Actually, it is ridiculously easy to escape any gatecamp in low sec...hit the warp button. There is no warp bubble to prevent you from warping and therefore you can get away easily in any frigate or any ship with more warp core stabilizers than the campers have warp core scramblers.

There is usually a counter for anything. Even in 0.0 space, it's not that hard to escape most camps using either a scout or a cloaking ship. I've done it dozens of time as have hundreds of other competent players. It's basically routine for alliance players.

Frankly the game is popular among people who play it for precisely the reasons you seem not to like it. I don't know what "e-criminal activity" is supposed to mean, but yes, there are consequences for in-game actions. The developers don't baby the player base and the player base isn't there to be babied. It doesn't need 80 billion players to be successful, obviously, since CCP is doing quite well in the revenue and growth department and the game universe is anything but bare.

 

[Kesash]

I never said I disliked this game! (I just don't like certain aspects/designs of it). Since the demise of Earth and Beyond (F5CK 21) and the laughable attempt of SWG, it's the best space based genre MMORPG out there.

I loved being in a "claimed area" in 0.0 space, it was great because as soon as a "unknown" stuck their nose in the area, you knew about it and the unknown was dealt with one way or another. Due to circumstances beyond my control I ended back up in Hi-sec (so called Carebear Space).

I like that CCP does not coddle their player base (debateable...), but they are still under scrutiny for their... "activities", so to speak, involving BoB and other corps. (I'm proudly independent (buy my minerals, PLEASE! ), neither BoB nor Goon affiliated and plan to stay that way).

The biggest problem new folks seem to have with getting into this game is that there is/are no... Rulebook, Manual, Operating Instruction, or whatever to explain things to those of us who aren't versed in "Icelandic Mathematics" (generic term used to explain the way things are that are unexplainable in the game), so nothing to call the DEV's on when things don't go as advertised. Yes, there are the game forums, but between the e-peens, flame wars and the self promoters, and the folks who literally have no other life but playing this game, there are literally 15 - 20 crap post for every 1 message that makes any sense. The learning curve in this game is steep and unforgiving and it will turn off 9 out of 10 people in a hurry.

In all honesty, I would love to see this game grow and develop, but also be a little more fair and forgiving for those casual players who don't "live" the game. And my kudos to CCP for continuing to keep this game fresh.

 

[LowBeyonder]

Can flipping has ended Jettison Can (Jetcan) mining. If you jet can mine and someone flips your can, you have no one to blame but yourself.

I'll be honest, I haven't mined outside of our corner of 0.0 in forever. Still, solo jetcan mining has always been a dubious plan at best. My only balance complaint these days are super speed-fitted HACs, and that's just because I'm too frequently on the wrong side of them...

Consider this:
WoW - Out ~3 years, 9 million + population
EVE - Out ~6 years, - 300,000 population

Where's the disconnect?

WoW is the game where when you die, it costs you ten seconds of running back from the graveyard.

Eve is the game where when you die, your umpty-million ISK T2 ship goes up in flames and wreckage.

I love the fact that Eve has the consequences and depth of gameplay it does, but yes, it limits its appeal. And that's fine - Eve's infrastructure couldn't support a million people, Jita's bad enough as is. And going sharded would ruin one of the coolest things about the game.

It could use some better documentation, though.

 

[Kesash]

Jita... *shudders* a self-supporting black hole of lag and villany (to paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobe). The best time to go through Jita = NEVER! I went through there ONCE! It took me almost 15 minutes to warp across (I was told that was a good day!)

One thing I really really really like about EVE is that you very RARELY get Gold Farmer Spam. The rare ones that do happen are dealt with swiftly and brutally. No kid gloves. Transactions are traced so if any of that crap does go on, it's squashed quickly and efficiently.

Another really innovative thing which I wish other MMORPGs would adopt is the concept of ETC (Eve Time Cards) selling. That has got to be the slickest most innovative thing for a person to AVOID the gold farmers all together and get a nice sized usable chunk of ISK. It's supported by CCP and even secured by them. No chance of getting ripped off or scammed. Want to make some quick in-game cash? Buy a time card, sell it on EVE's secure transaction site. Buyer gets a guaranteed good time card, you get ISK. If WoW or LotRO would adopt something like this, it would kill the Gold Farmer industry in those games off faster than you can say "Ni Hau!"

 

[Katana314]

EVE Online is basically the only MMO with which I don't instantly think "Ugh, pimple-covered fat people in basements whose characters are the opposite gender". I was utterly amazed at how barely any of the stores are NPC-operated...and yet you don't get a chat channel filled with "WTB LVL3 TRANSPORT CRUISER, PM ME FOR OFFERS"

 

[Kesash]

Thankfully, you don't get that spammage because there is no "broadcast" channel so to speak that goes across the whole game, unlike those you find in other MMORPG's. Spammers have a very short lifespan in EVE.