Massively

EVE Online overhauls factional warfare for cleaner systems and bigger consequences

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, Sandbox

Factional warfare isn't a part of EVE Online you hear about very often, and according to the latest design blog, that's partly because the system itself was a mess. The developers are hard at work overhauling the warfare system so that it will be easier to understand, will be more intuitive to use, and will have more substantial bonuses and penalties for factions actively participating in the war. The usability changes are small but significant, mostly centering around consolidating the system's important details under a unified naming schematic.

Turnaround time for system control is being lengthened to roughly 30 hours, but the penalties for enemy factions are also becoming more severe. Enemy factions cannot dock at stations in occupied systems, and the faction in control will be able to spend Loyalty Points to gain special upgrades so long as the system is controlled. If you like going to war in your internet spaceship but aren't really a fan of the wild frontier devoid of security, it might be worth taking a look at the newest design entry.

EVE Online overhauls factional warfare for cleaner systems and bigger consequences originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 May 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno

Brendan Drain — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, EVE Evolved, Sandbox

When Inferno arrives on May 22nd, it will introduce a whole new wardec system, war UI improvements, and iteration on faction warfare. We'll also see a ton of new modules released over time to completely mix up how people currently fit ships for different roles. For those who started playing EVE Online after 2007, getting new modules and having to rethink all your ship setups will be a very unusual state of affairs. For older players, it signals a glorious return to the way things were before Empyrean Age expansion -- players will have to learn to adapt to a constantly changing PvP landscape or stagnate and die.

The only people immune to wardecs will still be those in NPC corps, and all current loopholes like EVE University's infamous decshield will be removed. The number of wars the target corp is fighting will no longer be factored into the war cost, but the base cost is rising to 20 million and an additional 500,000 ISK will be added for every active member in the target corp. The number of wars the aggressor is fighting will still factor into cost, so you can sort of do a reverse-decshield by having alt corps wardec the target and waiting a week for his bill to recur. There are flaws with the system as presented, but those may have been at addressed at the roundtable, which was not streamed.

In this special EVE Evolved Extra edition, I delve into the information revealed at Fanfest on revamping PvP as presented at those talks that were streamed live.

Continue reading EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno

EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare

Brendan Drain — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

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

I think it's safe to say that most EVE Online players have never tried their hands at faction warfare, the state-sponsored bloodbath that pits Minmatar and Gallente pilots against their Amarr and Caldari rivals. When the system launched almost four years ago during 2008's Empyrean Age expansion, it was an immediate and colossal success. CCP ran news stories leading up to the expansion to show the growing tensions between the four nations, with several videos highlighting major flashpoints like the Malkalen incident. The stage was set for the war to end all wars, and players were brought to the front lines to die for their nations.

Faction warfare was originally designed to be a stepping stone for empire-dwellers who wanted to get into nullsec and to give fleet-based PvP to pilots without nullsec contacts. The first few months saw some spectacular action, with fleets of over a hundred rookie pilots happily smashing each other to bits. For over a year, faction warfare provided practically instant-action PvP on any scale you could want, from solo roaming and small gang warfare to full-on fleet battles with several capital ships. Unfortunately, CCP didn't iterate on the feature, so after a year with broken capture mechanics and no real purpose or reward for fighting, faction warfare began to grind to a halt.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I speculate on how faction warfare could possibly be resurrected.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare

EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: All there is to know about DUST 514

Brendan Drain — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, PvP, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, EVE Evolved, DUST 514, Sandbox

Last week, EVE Online developer CCP Games officially started accepting beta signups for its upcoming MMOFPS DUST 514. This first phase of closed beta tests will be open only to active EVE Online subscribers, giving us an early opportunity to contribute feedback to the game's development ahead of console players. I think that's important because it's our universe that the game will take place in -- literally. DUST 514 players will be connecting to EVE Online's supercluster, so gameplay between the two titles will be intimately linked in realtime.

With the new game's release date set for the summer 2012, EVE players can expect the next big expansion to focus heavily on planetary control and the DUST 514 link. The past month has been flush with new information on DUST's customisable vehicles, drop suits, infantry weapons and more. We've even had a look under the hood at the server architecture that will keep the planet-bound battles fast and furious without lagging out the EVE players smashing each other to bits in orbit.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I gather together all the key information on DUST 514 released this month and discuss what it means for EVE Online players.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: All there is to know about DUST 514

EVE Evolved: All there is to know about DUST 514 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth's 2.27 patch introduces factional warfare

Jef Reahard — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic

GamersFirst has patched its post-apocalyptic sci-fi MMORPG Fallen Earth to version 2.27. There a slew of additions and tweaks, but the biggest is undoubtedly the addition of new faction territory control mechanics. According to the patch notes, alliances are for losers, as Fallen Earth's version of factional warfare is a no-holds barred six-way showdown.

The factional control area is north of Blaine, and it consists of 13 flag-control points. Seven of these points feature keeps that players may capture and maintain, as well as partake of various perks contained within (like the new Death Toll gear). That's not all, but you'll need to head to the official Fallen Earth website to learn more.

Fallen Earth's 2.27 patch introduces factional warfare originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Looking forward to the winter expansion

Brendan Drain — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Expansions, MMO industry, PvP, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Since EVE Online's release in 2003, CCP Games has been the center of one of the most interesting success stories in the games industry. Produced by a tiny indie development studio on a frozen volcanic rock, EVE was the perfect example of how to do things right. The game's publishing deal with Simon & Schuster allowed CCP to buy back the rights to the game several months after its initial release. With no publisher taking a cut of the profits, CCP ploughed subscriptions back into the game's development and grew the development team organically. As a one-game company, CCP worked closely with players to make EVE the best game possible for its loyal playerbase.

In a recent letter to the players, CCP CEO Hilmar laments that somewhere along the line, things changed for the worse. The CCP of today bears little resemblance to the "little indie studio that could" of 2003, not just housing over 600 employees in offices around the world but also developing upcoming MMOs DUST 514 and World of Darkness. Resources are spread thin, and EVE Online has suffered for it. Last month I looked back at the blockbuster Apocrypha expansion and asked why every expansion since then has cut down on the in-space development players want. Hilmar's letter and its accompanying devblog answered that question this week with a solid plan for iteration on flying in space features during the winter development period.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look forward to the winter expansion and explain why each of the issues being tackled in the coming expansion is a big deal to players.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Looking forward to the winter expansion

EVE Evolved: Looking forward to the winter expansion originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Upgrading to a PvP cruiser: Gallente and Amarr

Brendan Drain — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, PvP, Endgame, Hands-on, EVE Evolved, Guides

People come to EVE Online from many different gaming backgrounds, and for one reason or another, the game doesn't click with most people the first time they try it. Two weeks ago, I encouraged people who have tried EVE but never got it to click with them to approach the game from a new angle -- to grab a few friends and charge head-first into PvP with guns blazing from day one. In last week's EVE Evolved, I advised new players on getting into their first PvP frigate, preparing for PvP, and staying financially ahead of the inevitable ship losses. I also put together two frigate setups for each race that will fit and function well with only a few days worth of skills trained.

While frigates are fantastically cheap ships in which to learn the basics of PvP, their effectiveness on the battlefield is limited. Most tech 1 frigates struggle to deal anywhere near 100 damage per second, and if caught by enemy tacklers they die quickly. While the next step up is the destroyer class, I strongly advise PvP-oriented players to skip it and move straight on to cruisers. Although cruisers have less mobility than frigates and are easier for large ships to hit, they pack a big punch for a relatively low cost and can take a bit of a beating.

In this week's extra large EVE Evolved, I share effective and battle-tested setups for the Thorax, Vexor, Arbitrator, and Omen that new players can use with less than two weeks of skills trained. I also suggest skills to train and give a few tips for keeping costs down. If you're a fan of Minmatar or Caldari ships, tune in to next week's EVE Evolved for the continuation of this article.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Upgrading to a PvP cruiser: Gallente and Amarr

EVE Evolved: Upgrading to a PvP cruiser: Gallente and Amarr originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth dev blog talks Alpha County, factional territory control, and more

Jef Reahard — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Dev Diaries

There's a new Fallen Earth dev blog in town, and it's so big that it requires the input of two devs. Producer Marie Croall outlines the game's upcoming development schedule and even drops a release date for the much-anticipated Alpha County/Progress Towns/combat changes patch. That date is July 6th, and Croall provides a recap for those of you who've forgotten about the fact that the update will raise the level cap to 55 and introduce new resources, gear, missions, and a town to fight over.

Croall also hints at upcoming changes to Fallen Earth's fast travel system, and she's quick to point out that the team isn't "dumbing anything down -- just putting emphasis on the features that drive the game." Speaking of features, we learned that a world event system is coming, as is faction territory control. It sounds as if the details haven't been ironed out just yet, as Croall doesn't offer any specifics. She also invites players to ask plenty of questions "so [they] can explore all angles together."

GamersFirst's Joseph "Linus" Willmon checks in to update players on the status of the PTS as well as the new monitoring tools that G1 is putting in place to isolate those pesky server performance issues. Finally, there's a quick blurb about skill and faction respec items that have been added to the Fallen Earth store. Catch up on all of this and more at the official Fallen Earth dev blog.

Fallen Earth dev blog talks Alpha County, factional territory control, and more originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wings Over Atreia: Bribing for Balance

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, PvP, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

Nope, this isn't a new game show on a cable network but rather the idea behind the latest program from NCsoft to help increase and balance the populations of the servers in Aion. In a game heralded for its PvPvE, keeping enough enemies around to ensure PvP is more than just a passing fancy -- it's vital to the welfare of the game. And of late, on some servers it almost seems as if Asmodians are just mythical creatures that Elyos tell stories about.

Although I won't speculate (here at least) on the decline, Asmodian populations have dwindled across many servers as has their participation in PvP. Besides the universal events that celebrated the release of patch 2.5, Aion has aimed some new (or revamped) events specifically at reversing this population trend. The basic premise is this: If you bribe them, they will come. The plan, unveiled in May, would encourage players to return to their furry-backed roots or even try some claws on for the first time by offering special faction incentives. Couple this with the free trial and the hope was that servers would see an influx of Asmodians and a return to the days of faction warfare glory.

Just what exactly are the incentives and -- more importantly -- how well are they working? Glide past the cut for details and to join in a discussion on the matter.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Bribing for Balance

Wings Over Atreia: Bribing for Balance originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wasteland Diaries: RP-PvP

Edward Marshall — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Events, in-game, PvP, Roleplaying, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic

In Fallen Earth, I spend most of my time PvPing. Well, actually, I probably spend most of my time waiting or preparing to PvP. I engage in PvE content out of necessity. In order to be effective in PvP, one needs levels and chips and gear. If this stuff could be earned through PvP alone, then that's all I would ever do. The situation has gotten better with the FCP rewards and XP for PvP, but it still isn't really enough. The other prominent playstyle in Fallen Earth, one I usually shy away from, is roleplaying. Some people will never do it, and some people are always in character. Most of us fall somewhere in between. This week I dipped my toe into the RP field.

I would normally never decide to attend a roleplaying event, but lately I've been trying to broaden my horizons. Knowing there was a possibility of some PvP action solidified my decision to head down to New Flagstaff for Rowdy's Bunker of Blues. This is an event held every Wednesday night at the bunker bar by the pond in the center of the city. There was a live DJ and free drinks (plus the aforementioned possibility of a fight), so why not? After the cut, I'll describe what happened there and how I did when I threw my hat into the RP arena.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: RP-PvP

Wasteland Diaries: RP-PvP originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wasteland Diaries: The Nerfpocalypse

Edward Marshall — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, PvP, Opinion, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic

I don't know about you, but when I think about a post-apocalyptic future, I think about bands of merciless raiders, anarchy and danger along every roadway. Does Fallen Earth have all of these things? Yes, but it is hardly the lawless, danger-ridden place (once you get acclimated to it) that you would expect to find when civilization has collapsed and there are mutants running amok. Fallen Earth is hardly the quintessential post-apocalyptic future. Games like Gamma World (a pen-and-paper RPG from days of yore) and Wasteland captured the bleakness of a destroyed world much more convincingly.

But who knows. Maybe the folks at Icarus got it right. We'll never know until the earth is destroyed. And games won't be such a matter of import when almost everyone is gone. Anyway, what I am getting at is the setting. The setting looks fantastic; the art department has certainly captured a desolate wasteland. The writing is great, and the towns and encounters are well-designed. Fallen Earth has the ambiance nailed. But the wasteland just doesn't have that sense of danger about it. Not for me, at least. After the cut, I'll discuss what I thought FE was going to be like, what it is, and what I think it should be.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: The Nerfpocalypse

Wasteland Diaries: The Nerfpocalypse originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wasteland Diaries: The battle of Haietta

Edward Marshall — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, PvP, Endgame, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic

There are new PvP objectives in Fallen Earth. Well, the objectives are the same, but the means of achieving those objectives are now different. Conflict towns remain largely unchanged, but the taking and holding of one is now dramatically different because of a few subtle changes. No longer are the non-timed towns captured by doing repeatable missions. Timed conflict towns haven't changed at all. But the other towns had a silly mechanic: having the PvPers do PvE missions to control a town. The attackers and defenders would roam about doing missions and possibly run into one another and fight. More often than not, there was little fighting.

The new system concentrates the action on a certain point -- actually, three points. The Faction Control Points (FCPs) are placed near or in the town. They are now the key to controlling the town. Of course you can still do it the old-fashioned way, but it's much quicker to control all three points at once. Controlling all three points will give the controlling faction a steady stream of faction points toward its cause. Each tower held contributes 2500 points to the controlling faction about every five minutes.If you've ever done the missions in a conflict town, you know this is a much faster method. PvP is rampant in Fallen Earth right now. Well, in Haietta, it is. After the cut, I'll give a first-hand account of what I've seen on the front lines.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: The battle of Haietta

Wasteland Diaries: The battle of Haietta originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wasteland Diaries: Faction control points

Edward Marshall — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fallen Earth, PvP, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic

Faction control points are the newest PvP draw in Fallen Earth. They're still in their infancy, but I have already seen an increase in faction control point PvP. Factional warfare has always taken a backseat to clan warfare in Fallen Earth. At least for as long as I can remember. Right now, clan warfare vs. factional warfare is dividing the FE community. A rift between omni-clans and single-faction clans has resulted in more clan warfare, with factions completely disregarded. Faction control points were an effort to add some meaningful faction-based PvP to the game. In some ways it succeeds and in some ways it fails.

I was able to get in there and test these faction control points this week. I died plenty, but I also slew more this week than I had in a long time. I was able to test them exhaustively alone and with a group. I was able to witness the dynamic of six different warring factions in one small town. If that wasn't confusing enough, there was also a layer of clan politics muddling things up even more. After the cut, I'll give you the low-down on faction control points (FCPs for short), detailing my personal experiences with them, and how they have changed the face of FE so far.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: Faction control points

Wasteland Diaries: Faction control points originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Getting into PvP from day one

Brendan Drain — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Although it has significant PvE elements, EVE Online has always at its core been a heavily PvP-oriented game. Players wanting to get into PvP are often advised to train months' worth of skills and build up significant ISK reserves before even trying it, but this is something I strongly discourage. As I've said in several previous articles, a new player can be a useful and effective part of a PvP squad with very little training time. This is something I personally put to the test when a few real life friends and I started completely new characters and started engaging in PvP with less than 12 hours of skills trained.

Although we had significant PvP experience under our belts, the exercise proved to me that skill training and ISK weren't the absolute minimum requirement they were thought to be. I firmly believe that all it takes to successfully PvP from the outset is some patient direction from older players and perhaps a little generosity to help you afford some early ship losses. In my experience with introducing new players to EVE, I've always found the EVE community to be more than willing to provide both of these in abundance. I'd say that not only is it possible to try out PvP within the 14-day trial period, it's highly recommended.

In this opinion piece, I explain some key things you can do as a new player to get into PvP right from day one of the EVE free trial.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Getting into PvP from day one

EVE Evolved: Getting into PvP from day one originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE video corner: "Future Proof"

Brendan Drain — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Lore, PvP

There's no doubt about it that EVE Online can produce some stunning visuals and incredible stories. New Eden has been the setting for countless creative works, some featuring real gameplay and events and others pushing the limits of the prime fiction. Every so often, I come across a video so mind-blowing that it has to be shared. Last night CrazyKinux's Musing pointed me toward an awesome new EVE video that's been seven months in the making.

Produced by Kale Ryoko, "Future Proof" tells the tale of a Caldari militia fleet on a combat mission for the state. Headed up by support commander Firefox of the Chimera "Overlord", the fleet must do all it takes to push through to their objective. Assisting with this twelve minute masterpiece is Veto corporation's Kyoko Sadako, the mastermind behind such incredible videos as "War Has Come" and "The Angel Cartel (Push Eject)". Made using some of EVE's art assets and the Unreal 3 Engine, Future Proof is a video that simply must be seen.

Skip past the cut to watch both parts of the video in HD. The original version is available for download at the video's official page on the EVE forums.

Continue reading EVE video corner: "Future Proof"

EVE video corner: "Future Proof" originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Playing casually or just killing time

Brendan Drain — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, PvP, Tips and tricks, PvE, Opinion, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

MMOs are a popular hobby for hardcore and casual players alike. While some people love getting firmly embedded in their favourite MMO every night, a growing number of players prefer to log in occasionally and just kill a few hours at a time. EVE Online is no exception, with a mix of both casual and hardcore players. Taking part in things like alliance warfare, starbase industry or corporate management may require that a player log in every night but most other avenues of gameplay don't. A lot of EVE's gameplay can be picked up for a few hours and set back down with no added responsibility. In fact, player demographic data shows that most players prefer to live in the more casual environment of high security space. So what kind of things can you do if you just fancy playing internet spaceships for a few hours?

In this opinion piece, I look at five of my favourite ways to kill a few hours in the name of EVE. What's your favourite way to spend a few hours?

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Playing casually or just killing time

EVE Evolved: Playing casually or just killing time originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The importance of corporate goals

Brendan Drain — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Guilds, Professions, PvP, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved

When new EVE Online players give up and quit the game, their reasons are usually very similar. A lack of drive to play the game is common, with players logging in only to change skills. Similarly, people complain that the game is boring and isn't really taking them anywhere. Most of these reasons boil down to a basic lack of motivation, purpose and goals. As a sandbox game, EVE doesn't really lead the player anywhere after the tutorials and it can be easy to get lost. This is where the EVE community steps in by providing a whole host of player-run corporations to help pilots find their way in EVE.

As a very social game, I don't think EVE truly takes off until you get into a good corporation. In addition to help and advice, a good corp with some solid corporate goals will offer players a sense of purpose and direction that can be hard to find on your own. The opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself and accomplish goals you could never hope to on your own can be a great motivator. Whether your corporation's goal is to build a freighter from scratch, run a massive industrial complex, engage in PvP or even lay claim to a system, it stands a much better chance of being achieved when pilots cooperate.

In this opinion piece, I show how the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts as I look at a few of the goals corporations commonly work toward as a team.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The importance of corporate goals

EVE Evolved: The importance of corporate goals originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle, page 3

Brendan Drain — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle, page 3

EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle, page 3 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle, page 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle, page 2

EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle, page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle

Brendan Drain — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Exploits, Forums, Game mechanics, Professions, PvP, Making money, Opinion, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

When faction warfare went live with EVE Online's Empyrean Age expansion back in the summer of 2008, It was a magnificent success. It was intended as a way for newer players to get into PvP and as a stepping stone from the safe haven of empire to full-on sovereignty warfare. It wasn't long before large fleets were duking it out in low security space and for a time, it was great. Eventually, problems began to come to light that demanded developer attention. Capturing exploits and a lack of rewards were causing players to leave the war and after a year with no development, faction warfare was looking abandoned.

Rewards were eventually implemented in an attempt to revitalise the ageing faction warfare system and promote PvP. With the Dominion expansion came the most anticipated of those rewards - new tier 1 navy battleships available only from the faction warfare loyalty point store. Since the announcement that they were coming, mission-runners have been farming faction warfare missions like crazy for loyalty points. The promise of unique rewards from the missions was intended to revitalise the game and give pilots something to fight over. But did the rewards really improve faction warfare and promote PvP or was it a huge mistake?

In this three page exposé, I run down the history of faction warfare missions, from the development mistakes to the EVE corp that made almost enough ISK to build a titan. Did the mission buff revitalise faction warfare or did it put the final nail in its coffin? And just how did mission-runners make billions of ISK?

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle

EVE Evolved: The faction warfare mission debacle originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Dominion patch notes long but packed with info on game changes

James Egan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Launches, Server downtime

The Dominion expansion for EVE Online will arrive tomorrow, December 1st, after a lengthy downtime of roughly 19 hours (02:00 GMT/UTC to 21:00 GMT/UTC). Access to the EVE website and forums will be down for much of this time, as will the EVE API, but CCP Games has compiled a tome of Dominion patch notes to occupy at least some of that time. There's also a player discussion of the Dominion features and changes on the game's forums with some clarification on details from the CCP devs.

If reading through the full patch notes (10,000 words and climbing with updates) isn't really your thing, a few of the EVE bloggers have discussed the highlights of what's new in this expansion. Mynxee covers the good, the bad, and the comical in Dominion on her Life in Low Sec blog. We also recommend checking out Casiella's take on the Dominion patch notes over at the Ecliptic Rift blog. Casiella discusses the myriad features that haven't gotten much attention so far: voice fonts added to EVE Voice in chat channels; the in-game jukebox now using MP3s with playlist support; and how player actions for the Caldari race via factional warfare now impact the rival Gallente storyline missions.

EVE Dominion patch notes long but packed with info on game changes originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online mini expansion Apocrypha 1.5 deploys Thursday, Aug 20th

James Egan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Bugs, Expansions, Exploits, Game mechanics, Patches

Tomorrow, EVE Online will launch Apocrypha 1.5, which CCP Games has dubbed a "mini-expansion." The Apocrypha expansion was released in March and introduced a slew of new features to the game, but there were more changes in the works that didn't make it into that first release. The 1.5 changes slated to roll out tomorrow are numerous and will introduce a few new aspects to EVE Online, more than a typical patch would, but cannot be considered a full expansion release either.

[UPDATED]: The maintenance window has been extended "due to delays earlier in the deployment process" per CCP. Tranquility is expected to come online at 16:30 GMT (12:30 PM Eastern).

Read on for Massively's highlights of what Apocrypha 1.5 will bring.

Continue reading EVE Online mini expansion Apocrypha 1.5 deploys Thursday, Aug 20th

EVE Online mini expansion Apocrypha 1.5 deploys Thursday, Aug 20th originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Factional warfare to be "cleaned up" by EVE developers

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST

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

Factional warfare, while a great idea when it came out, is in need of some trimming as of late. Some have even gone so far to say that the developers at CCP have abandoned the project but a recent EVE dev post says otherwise.

CCP Ytterbium has gone on the record to say that there are changes coming to the factional warfare system. While the entire system can't be completely cleaned up in one go, Ytterbium has laid out a series of modifications to make the system more lucrative and playable.

Continue reading Factional warfare to be "cleaned up" by EVE developers

Factional warfare to be "cleaned up" by EVE developers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CCP Games reveals next major Apocrypha update for EVE Online

James Egan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, News items

EVE Online senior producer CCP t0rfifrans just published a dev blog about the next major update to the game, Apocrypha 1.5. This is not a completely new expansion, just a significant update they will release in August before EVE's (as-yet-unnamed) winter expansion. While CCP hasn't released the complete rundown of Apocrypha 1.5's features and changes, they have announced a few highlights:

Perhaps the biggest changes in 1.5 will be factional warfare improvements. Beyond responding to the lag issues many players have been reporting with factional warfare, CCP is going to introduce Loyalty Points (LP) for kills and captures, and each militia will have its own LP store where militia players can cash in for items unique to that faction.

Several Level 4 epic mission arcs will be introduced, tied to specific races in New Eden. CCP t0rfifrans writes: "These captivating stories deal with moral ambiguity, intrigue, honor, and some people's lack of it. This should come as no surprise to those who know EVE and what we are about. As before with the epic arc that was released with Apocrypha, they provide a deep, interesting story, where your choices influence the outcome."

One of the long awaited buffs for Black Ops battleships will arrive: specialized cargo holds. The first use of this system will be to give Black Ops ships fuel bays, but this feature paves the way for similar additions to other ship classes in the future. For instance, some ships may one day be given ammo bays, freeing up valuable cargo space.

Rigs will be offered in different sizes, with frigate and cruiser sized rigs introduced to the game. These new small and medium rigs will be cheaper to buy or manufacture, and thus provide a lower cost way for players to trick out their ships.

CCP t0rfifrans also dropped a few hints about the forthcoming winter expansion, which will *not* be Walking in Stations. He writes: "All I can say, is that it is focused on sovereignty and you will not be able to walk in it."

We'll keep our eyes open for more about Apocrypha 1.5 as information becomes available.

CCP Games reveals next major Apocrypha update for EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CCP Games addresses player concerns in EVE Online Q&A

James Egan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online

The first Q&A between EVE Online developers CCP Games and the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) -- a group of players (elected by fellow EVE gamers) that represents the collective interests of the subscribers -- was released this past week. It addresses a few concerns the players have had, for instance the delays with EVE's 'Quarterly Economic Newsletters', what is intended to be a regularly released overview of the game's ever-shifting economy. (CCP says they're on track to release the QEN's on schedule moving forward.) The Q&A also addresses a major question that has arisen for factional warfare participants, which began with the Empyrean Age expansion and its all-out war between the game's four races. Players fighting for the Caldari race's militia have, essentially, won the war. They've captured all of Gallente space. So where will (Caldari-Gallente) factional warfare go from here?

CCP responded: "We plan the NPC timeline for events leading up to expansions, coordinating the release of news and integrating the high level plot with chronicles, video, and everything else we can. This year, our storyline theme was to try and 'cross the streams' more, meaning that we were going to look for ways to weave the exploits of capsuleers into the NPC canon. The Caldari sweep of contestable Federation space gave us the perfect context to do just that."

Continue reading CCP Games addresses player concerns in EVE Online Q&A

CCP Games addresses player concerns in EVE Online Q&A originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Has faction warfare been abandoned?

Brendan Drain — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Expansions, Game mechanics, Professions, PvP, Raiding, Grouping, Opinion, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

EVE Online's Faction Warfare system was released almost one year ago with the Empyrean Age expansion and was initially a complete success. It provided a stage on which thousands of players waged war. From fleets of over a hundred players to gangs as small as two or three pilots, everyone found their own place in the conflict. After the initial wave of success, questions began to arise on the lack of rewards to offset the cost of losing ships in PvP. In addition, while the point of faction warfare initially revolved around capturing systems, holding an enemy system provided no benefits beyond bragging rights. Almost a year on from its initial release, faction warfare has barely changed, prompting very real concerns from players that EVE's developers CCP have entirely abandoned it. These issues have even made it as far as the Council of Stellar Management.

In this article, I take a retrospective look at how faction warfare has (or hasn't) progressed in this past year and ask the question "Has Faction Warfare been abandoned?".

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Has faction warfare been abandoned?

EVE Evolved: Has faction warfare been abandoned? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 May 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively looks at Capsuleer 2.0, an iPhone app for EVE Online part 2

James Egan — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, PvP

I was dreading having to manually enter that long API string linked to my EVE account, but Capsuleer's system made it quite easy. Can you tell me about the Import Control System?

Roc: The Import Control System was Sam's brainchild. Nobody wants to manually enter that string, myself included, but I also don't like applications "scraping" my game login data from the EVE Online website. The entire point of an API is to be able to access it without using your game login credentials. Since the iPhone doesn't do copy/paste (prior to OS 3.0), Sam came up with this method for effortlessly and securely importing your data to your device.

Sam: As Roc said, the API is all about security. CCP introduced it so that 3rd party applications didn't need your username and password anymore. It's a secure and simple way to provide access to a limited subset of data without exposing the credentials needed to log into your account. My initial prototype had you typing in the big long API key, and man I don't think I got it right more than twice in a row. I knew that we needed a better alternative. That's when I came up with the Import Control System. We have been foiled a bit by a few email clients that don't like the evechar:// url syntax that we use (they try to validate it and can't because they don't recognize the prefix), but with 2.0 we have an alternative http:// based url that can be used as well, so that should hopefully clear up the issues that people ran into.

Continue reading Massively looks at Capsuleer 2.0, an iPhone app for EVE Online part 2

Massively looks at Capsuleer 2.0, an iPhone app for EVE Online part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wormhole exploration hearkens back to EVE Online's early days

James Egan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST

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

EVE Online's latest Apocrypha expansion has elevated the exploration profession to new heights. The addition of roughly 2500 new and uncharted solar systems, expanding the game's galaxy of New Eden to over 7500 solar systems in total, brings what can honestly be called 'true exploration' to the sci-fi MMO.

Territoriality is a major aspect of EVE and wormholes allow players to emerge in far flung regions of New Eden -- sometimes places they're not supposed to be -- leading to all sorts of unexpected near-death experiences. Players have already reported emerging from wormholes and finding themselves hunted by the local territorial powers (player alliances claiming those regions of the galaxy) or by the NPC authorities, in those cases where players are involved in factional warfare. Some pilots have found themselves deep within enemy faction territory, leading to all kinds of insane chases across the galaxy.

Continue reading Wormhole exploration hearkens back to EVE Online's early days

Wormhole exploration hearkens back to EVE Online's early days originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Stunning EVE machinima depicts struggle between New Eden's factions

James Egan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, PvP, Machinima, Races

The sci-fi setting of EVE Online provides a great amount of material for players interested in creating machinima. But it's not everyday that a short film as good as Clear Skies or Havoc comes along. Then again, it's also not every day that something created by a player draws accolades from the game's creators -- but that's exactly the case with the work of EVE player Kyoko Sakoda, in "War Has Come" -- which beautifully captures the game, set to a cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."

Sakoda writes, "This is one of my first thematic works. I know the Bear McCreary version of the song may sound like it is out of place for a few hardcore sci-fi fans, but I could not justify using any other cover. Enjoy, and write feedback if you wish. I'm always looking to improve my storytelling, direction, and editing and compositing skills."

We've got "War Has Come" embedded for you below the cut, and it's well worth a look. We just wish Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" was a longer song...

Continue reading Stunning EVE machinima depicts struggle between New Eden's factions

Stunning EVE machinima depicts struggle between New Eden's factions originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Slave emancipation a major change in EVE Online's lore

James Egan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Lore, Roleplaying

A significant twist in EVE Online's lore was announced on Christmas day: emancipation for much of the subjugated Minmatar race. EVE's far-future galactic setting of New Eden is characterized by struggles between the four (playable) races. Of those races, the dynamic between the theocratic but cruel Amarr and the tribal Minmatar is often one of master and servant. The Amarr enslaved the Minmatar race centuries ago; this is a prevalent aspect of the backstory (lore), the game's missions (quests) and factional warfare, as well as a focal point of the roleplaying that some players opt to engage in. Even some player alliances have taken a stance for or against slavery in the game. (Those who don't play EVE might be surprised to learn that slaves can be bought and sold on the open market as a low-cost commodity. Note, however, that the players themselves cannot be forced into slavery. It's just an aspect of the setting... one which is intended to evoke response from the players.)

CCP Games has decided this change in the Amarr-Minmatar dynamic was warranted in terms of New Eden's backstory, with the freed slaves numbering in the hundreds of millions, although the existence of slavery in EVE is still far from being abolished.

Continue reading Slave emancipation a major change in EVE Online's lore

Slave emancipation a major change in EVE Online's lore originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Fleet warfare

Brendan Drain — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guides, Professions, PvP, Raiding, Tips and tricks, Grouping, Politics, EVE Evolved

Fleet warfare in EVE Online is a big step up from the small, casual PvP gangs discussed in last week's PvP Masterclass article. In this guide, I explore the day to day activities of EVE's largest combat machinations, from 30-man faction warfare gangs to 300-man territorial fleets. In stark contrast to a small and highly mobile gang, a large fleet is a lumbering hulk that favours combined firepower and good co-ordination over all else. Massive fleets of hundreds of pilots routinely clash in the outskirts of EVE's lawless 0.0 space. But when they move at the speed of their slowest member and are really only as good as their fleet commander, what can you do to make sure your fleet is a success?

Fight-by-numbers:
The essence of fleet warfare is that using more ships is usually better. By focusing all attacks on one enemy at a time, a larger fleet has a very high damage potential. It also allows a more diverse range of ship types to take part in the fight such as an electronic warfare wing or sniper squadron. Forming a large fleet usually requires some planning and co-ordination, making them less suited to casual PvP and more suited to organised assaults on specific targets like POS.

Read on as I tackle the question of how to make a fleet effective from the perspective of both the fleet's individual members and the fleet commander.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Fleet warfare

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Fleet warfare originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Gang warfare

Brendan Drain — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guides, Professions, PvP, Raiding, Tips and tricks, Grouping, EVE Evolved

PvP Masterclass is a series of articles explaining PvP from the bottom up and showing you how to get involved even if you're a new player. In part 1 of this series, I examined the main types of PvP a player can choose in EVE Online and showed the directions players can take their PvP careers. In this second part, I explore how small gang warfare fits into the PvP landscape of EVE and help you decide what avenues you should pursue if small gang warfare is your cup of tea.

Numbers game:
A complaint I hear all too often today is that small gang warfare in EVE is dead, that PvP is a numbers game and competing on the battlefield means having the biggest blob. It almost always transpires that these people are trying to shoehorn small gang warfare into places it's not suited for like major 0.0 territorial conflicts or that they're neglecting the importance of intel-gathering scouts. Small gang warfare isn't about your gang of five ships trying to take on a blob of two hundred. It's about putting together a small, tight unit of pilots and picking your fights carefully.

Whether you're planning to pirate, fight for the Gallente Federation or declare war on your neighbours, small gang warfare is for you. Read on as I examine the small roaming gang, one of EVE's oldest and most fun avenues of PvP.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Gang warfare

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Gang warfare originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Introduction

Brendan Drain — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guides, Professions, PvP, Tips and tricks, Grouping, Politics, EVE Evolved

One of the most perplexing things about EVE Online has to be the fact that although the game is essentially designed around PvP, a lot of players avoid it entirely. In this new series of articles, I will explain PvP from the bottom up, with a particular focus on helping anyone that has always wanted to give EVE's high quality PvP a try but wasn't sure what to do. In this first article, I examine the different types of PvP available in EVE Online and suggest ways to get involved in them even if you're just finishing the 14-day trial.

Types of PvP:
In most MMOs, PvP means organised battleground matches or one versus one player duels. For those games lucky enough to have open world PvP, the options are a lot more varied. In EVE Online, the exact right combination of factors come together to create what on a good day I can only describe as the best PvP experience I have ever had in a computer game. Rather than just being something fun to do, PvP in EVE arises as a natural consequence of normal play, used by players to push forward their own agenda in a harsh, dismal space-borne society.

Continue reading as I help you choose which type of PvP suits you the best and suggest ways to get involved in it.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Introduction

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass - Introduction originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The making of EVE Online, part 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST

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

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The making of EVE Online, part 2

EVE Evolved: The making of EVE Online, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The making of EVE Online

Brendan Drain — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Launches, MMO industry, EVE Evolved

EVE Online's development path from concept to release has followed a very different path to the MMO norm. Starting from its humble beginnings as one man's dream to build an online space game, EVE has developed into the massively popular game it is today. Rather than designing and developing the game all in one go, the CCP crew opted for a staged delivery approach. The game was re-made 11 times, each stage being progressively closer to the final goal. By launch, EVE had been through 5 total recodes where almost the entire game was scrapped and rebuilt from scratch and at least 6 partial recodes.

Join me as I take a look at the course EVE's development has taken from concept all the way to the current Empyrean Age expansion.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The making of EVE Online

EVE Evolved: The making of EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Electronic Warfare, part 3

Brendan Drain — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Classes, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, Grouping, EVE Evolved

In the first two parts of this three part guide, I explained the basics of electronic warfare in EVE Online and examined the skills and equipment you'll need as an electronic warfare specialist. In this final section, I tackle the tricky issues of battlefield operations and survival.

Survival:
An unfortunate fact about being part of a fleet's electronic warfare crew is that you'll almost certainly be a high priority target for your enemies. To make matters worse, specialist electronic warfare ships tend to have very poor defensive capabilities. Fitting any kind of tank on an electronic warfare ship can waste vital module slots and severely impact the performance of your ship. This is particularly true in the case of ECM jamming ships where the low slots should be used for signal distortion amplifiers.

What can you do to keep your ship safe on the battlefield and what should you do to help your fleet be victorious? Join me as I answer these questions in a thorough tactical overview of electronic warfare in EVE Online.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Electronic Warfare, part 3

EVE Evolved: Electronic Warfare, part 3 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Classes, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, Grouping, EVE Evolved

In part 1 of this guide, I delved into the world of electronic warfare in EVE Online. In this second segment, I examine the skills and equipment you'll need to be an electronic warfare specialist with special regard to ECM jammers, remote sensor dampeners and tracking disruptors. Contrary to popular belief, new pilots with few skillpoints can still be extremely useful in this area of PvP. The entry-level skills and equipment for electronic warfare specialists can be obtained within days of starting the game.

Entry-level ships:
Although electronic warfare modules can be fitted to any ship, each race has its own set of specialised ships that get bonuses to them. Ranging from cheap expendable frigates up to expensive force recon ships, there are specialist ships for players of all skill levels and in all price ranges. The Caldari race have ships that specialise in ECM jammers, the Gallente specialise in remote sensor dampeners and the Amarr make good use of tracking disruptors and energy neutralisers.

Read on as I examine the skills and equipment you'll need to be one of the most effective electronic warfare specialists in EVE.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 2

EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 1

Brendan Drain — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Classes, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, Grouping, EVE Evolved

Whether you're taking part in faction warfare, pirating, fighting a dirty corporate war or defending your homeland in 0.0, chances are you'll be engaging in a lot of fleet warfare. Although a lot of newer fleet commanders prefer all fleet members to be in ships that deal a lot of damage, the optimum setup makes better use of a variety of ship types. A strong fleet in EVE Online is typically composed of three main groups. First you have the tacklers who intercept and warp-scramble enemies, then the damage dealers who kill the enemy and finally you have the electronic warfare crew.

What is electronic warfare?:
Electronic warfare involves the use of modules that debilitate the enemy indirectly rather than attacking them head-on. This includes using target jammers to cause the enemy to lose his active target locks, sensor dampeners to decrease his lock range and energy neutralisers to deplete his capacitor. A good electronic warfare ship has the potential to remove several enemy ships from the battle, cutting the effectiveness of the enemy fleet down significantly. For this reason, a good electronic warfare wing in your fleet can be seen as a force multiplier, allowing your fleet to engage much larger forces and succeed.

In the first part of this guide, I cover the basics of electronic warfare in EVE and show just how important this often underused portion of a fleet is.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 1

EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 1 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online interview discusses players determining storyline

James Egan — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Guilds, Interviews, Lore, Patches, News items, PvE, Politics, Races, Roleplaying

Split Infinity Radio, a gamer-run internet radio station (with a noticeable sci-fi MMO bent) recently interviewed Scott Holden, Lead Content Creator of EVE Online at Gen Con 2008. Holden has been integral in building up all the mission content that's about to drop in the upcoming Empyrean Age expansions over the next few months. Split Infinity asks Holden a question that's been on the minds of a number of EVE players: Can player actions really influence the storyline?

Holden's answer is 'yes'... to a point. He discusses the initiative at CCP to create a system where events are announced in contested parts of space, prompting players to get involved. Their actions would be reported on through the in-game news, and in this way affects (or creates aspects of) the storyline. Participants in factional warfare, or anyone who reads the Interstellar Correspondents news pieces, know that this already exists to some extent in EVE, but Holden states that CCP would like to take the idea further as time goes on.

Continue reading EVE Online interview discusses players determining storyline

EVE Online interview discusses players determining storyline originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CCP Games video interview on player interaction with fiction

James Egan — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Expansions, Interviews, Lore, PvP, News items, PvE

The backstory of EVE Online is something that CCP Games has put a great deal of time and effort into creating. As all MMOs are ongoing works, so too are EVE's backstory and the storyline that players experience. To that end, CCP has people like Lead Writer Tony Gonzales (author of The Empyrean Age novel) and Lead Content Creator Scott Holden to flesh out the setting's past, while ensuring that the future of EVE's story remains open enough to allow players to do as they choose.

MMORPG.com caught up with Tony Gonzales and Scott Holden at Gen Con, and got them to speak about the story of EVE in a video interview. They discussed how factional warfare finally came to be in EVE, player response to the Empyrean Age expansion, and how CCP is working to better integrate the backstory with gameplay. Be sure to check out MMORPG.com's Empyrean Age interview if you'd like to hear CCP's views on player-driven versus story-driven action.

CCP Games video interview on player interaction with fiction originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments