Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: The day that EVE Online died]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/26/eve-evolved-the-day-that-eve-online-died/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/26/eve-evolved-the-day-that-eve-online-died/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/26/eve-evolved-the-day-that-eve-online-died/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

I think it's safe to say that this week has been an unmitigated disaster for CCP Games. Following last week's $99 license fee fiasco for third-party developers, CCP Zulu managed to claw back some player support with a segment addressing the issue during the alliance tournament. This week CCP followed up with the release of Incarna 1.0 and its long-awaited captain's quarters. Players logged in to walk around their private rooms and check out the various cosmetic items available for purchase in the new microtransaction store.

It didn't take long for people to realise that something was fundamentally wrong with the prices on the Noble Exchange. At around $40 for a basic shirt, $25 for boots, and $70 or more for the fabled monocle, items in the Noble Exchange were priced higher than their-real life counterparts. As players made some noise about the ridiculous prices, an internal CCP newsletter all about the company's microtransaction plans was purportedly leaked. In it, plans to sell ships, ammo, and faction standings for cash were revealed, plans that strictly contradict previous promises on gameplay-affecting microtransactions. Shortly afterward, all hell broke loose as a private internal memo from CCP CEO Hilmar was leaked to the press.

In the past few days, I've been contacted by dozens (if not hundreds) of concerned EVE players who are afraid that the game they love is coming to an end. I've even been in contact with an insider who is scared of the risks CCP is taking with the jobs of over 600 employees in four countries, scared enough to leak internal documents and emails. In this week's colossal EVE Evolved, I delve into EVE's latest controversy and shed some light on the biggest community flashpoint since the T20 developer corruption scandal.

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MassivelyEVE Evolved: The day that EVE Online died originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bluescreenCaptains-quartersccpccp-eveccp-gamescommunicationcqcrasheveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-gateeve-mmorpgeve-onlineeve-radioexpansionexpansionsexpectation-managementfearlessfeaturedgpuincarnaleakleaked-memomacrotransactionsMicrotransactionsmiscommunicationmonoclemonocle-gatemonoclegatenewsnewsletternexnoble-exchangepredictably-irrationalprice-anchorradiosystem-requirementsSun, 26 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Combat boosters]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/03/eve-evolved-combat-boosters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/03/eve-evolved-combat-boosters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/03/eve-evolved-combat-boosters/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

The drug trade has been a part of EVE since the very beginning. Originally, drugs were nothing more than a trading commodity occasionally demanded by agents in low security space. The old drug trade goods still exist in EVE, a non-functional relic of years gone past. A new drug trade has taken its place - the black market for performance-enhancing combat boosters. If you want to push your ship to the absolute limit of its abilities, whether it's for PvE or PvP, you're definitely going to want to get your hands on some combat boosters.

In this article, I take a look at the drug trade in EVE and the different kinds of performance-enhancing combat boosters that are available.

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MassivelyEVE Evolved: Combat boosters originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Almost any time a discussion about EVE Online comes up, one way or another we end up talking about the server. EVE Online is unique among today's most popular MMOs for its single-server approach. While most MMOs deal with large number of users by starting up large numbers of separate servers with identical game universes, EVE maintains only a single copy of its game universe on a massive cluster of servers. CCP's decision to go with a server model that doesn't use any sharding or instancing whatsoever has had a major impact on in-game activities and how the game has developed.

Server woes:
Unfortunately for CCP, maintaining their vision of a single game universe has proven a lot more difficult and costly than anyone anticipated. Working with IBM, the EVE server cluster is maintained in London and is currently the largest supercomputer employed in the gaming industry. Even with this massive power behind the EVE universe, there are still problems as CCP tries to keep the server upgraded ahead of its ever-expanding playerbase.

In this article, I discuss the unique gameplay that is possible thanks to EVE's server model, the problems the server currently faces and what CCP is planning to do about it.

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MassivelyEVE Evolved: EVE Online's server model originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpclustercrashdevdev-blogdevblogeconomyeveeve-evolvedeve-onlinefeaturedinfinibandjoystiqfeatureslagmarketnodepvpserverterritorywarSun, 28 Sep 2008 17:30:00 EST