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: Looking forward to the winter expansion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/09/eve-evolved-looking-forward-to-the-winter-expansion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/09/eve-evolved-looking-forward-to-the-winter-expansion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/09/eve-evolved-looking-forward-to-the-winter-expansion/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

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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

MassivelyEVE 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]]>assault-shipsbalanceblastersCaptains-quartersccpccp-eveccp-gamesestablishmentseveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlineexpansionfaction-warfarefactional-warfarefeaturedfonthilmarincarnalagmmo-industrymothershipmothershipsnerfnullsecomg-a-new-fontopinionpvepvpship-spinningsovereigntysupercapital-nerfsupercarriersupercarrierstime-dilationtitantitanswarfarewinteryaySun, 09 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Massively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/18/massivelys-eve-online-incursion-video-devblog-roundup/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/18/massivelys-eve-online-incursion-video-devblog-roundup/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/18/massivelys-eve-online-incursion-video-devblog-roundup/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Having progressed from being a small independent studio in Iceland to a successful multinational industry leader, EVE Online's developer CCP Games has always had a reputation for being very close to the game's playerbase. Back in July, this view was soured when information from devblogs and the June CSM summit seemed to suggest that EVE would receive no bug-fixes or iterations on old gameplay features for at least 18 months. Players were in an uproar, and a growing perception began to spread that CCP was selling current EVE players short in order to focus on Incarna.

In the past six months, things at CCP have take a complete 180-degree turn. Planetary Interaction has received the iteration players were promised, with gameplay tweaks and user interface fixes being deployed at a rapid pace. CCP also instituted team GridLock, whose purpose was to wage an all-out war on lag and fleet issues. In a refreshing and extremely welcome turn of affairs, CCP has been making a gargantuan effort lately to communicate with the players about upcoming changes and collect feedback. Though regular technical devblogs and pre-released test-server patches, players have been kept more informed than ever about what's going on behind the scenes at CCP HQ.

Most recently, a series of 18 developer videos was released leading up to the Incursion expansion's final release today. Topics covered include battle reports from the ongoing war on lag, information on server optimisations that have been made recently, updates to planetary interaction, and other interesting topics. Skip past the cut for a detailed roundup of all 18 videos, all hosted on CCP's official YouTube page.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup

MassivelyMassively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-eveccp-gamesccp-greyscaledev-diarydevblogeveeve-ccpeve-mmorpgeve-onlinefeaturedfighter-bombersfleetfleetsincursionincursionslagmass-testingmothershipsneural-remappingplanetplanetary-interactionplanetssanshasanshas-nationserversupercarriersteam-gridlockthin-clientvideoTue, 18 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE's Dominion 1.1 patch to bring supercarrier changes, fighter bombers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/20/eves-dominion-1-1-patch-to-bring-supercarrier-changes-fighter/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/20/eves-dominion-1-1-patch-to-bring-supercarrier-changes-fighter/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/20/eves-dominion-1-1-patch-to-bring-supercarrier-changes-fighter/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


A substantial number of changes will be made to EVE Online tomorrow with the Dominion 1.1 patch. The supercarrier changes and introduction of fighter bombs coming in 1.1 were originally slated for the Dominion expansion's launch last month but had to be postponed. Beyond the changes impacting EVE's capital ship pilots, nullsec warfare will be affected by how CCP is altering the stats of Sovereignty structures. (Territorial Control Units will receive increased hitpoints with reduced onlining time, likewise Sovereignty Blockade Units are getting a defensive buff.)

New features are being introduced as well, like voice fonts for the Vivox-powered EVE Voice. According to the latest patch notes: "This new feature will allow you to alter your voice during chat to increase or lower pitch or to change from male to female voices. This is certainly not going to be abused in any way."

Stick with us past the jump for some highlights of how EVE Online will change tomorrow.

Continue reading EVE's Dominion 1.1 patch to bring supercarrier changes, fighter bombers

MassivelyEVE's Dominion 1.1 patch to bring supercarrier changes, fighter bombers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>capital-shipscarriersccpccp-gamesdominiondreadnaughtsdreadnoughteveeve-onlineeve-voicefighter-bombersforumsmothershipsnullsecpatch-notespatchessci-fisovereigntysupercarrierstriagevoice-fontsWed, 20 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[CCP Games alters plans for EVE's capital ships in Dominion expansion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/ccp-games-alters-plans-for-eves-capital-ships-in-dominion-expan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/ccp-games-alters-plans-for-eves-capital-ships-in-dominion-expan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/ccp-games-alters-plans-for-eves-capital-ships-in-dominion-expan/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


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

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

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

MassivelyCCP Games alters plans for EVE's capital ships in Dominion expansion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>capital-shipsccpccp-gamesccp-nozhdev-blogdominioneveeve-onlineexpansionsfighter-bombersfightersgame-mechanicsmothershipspvpsci-fisupercarrierstitantitansFri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Major rebalance of capital ships coming to EVE Online in Dominion expansion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/major-rebalance-of-capital-ships-coming-to-eve-online-in-dominio/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/major-rebalance-of-capital-ships-coming-to-eve-online-in-dominio/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/major-rebalance-of-capital-ships-coming-to-eve-online-in-dominio/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


There are few things in EVE Online which provoke more outrage among the playerbase than capital ship nerfs. These multi-billion ISK behemoths aren't just an investment in terms of currency -- being able to pilot a capital ship effectively is a time investment as well, given EVE's real time skill training system. The writing's been on the wall for a long time though. Considering the sheer numbers of capital ships being fielded in the game, some changes might just be a good thing for EVE Online.

EVE developer CCP Abathur's dev blog "Dominion - The Capital Battlefield" frames the current state of capital ship warfare with a look at how dreadnaughts and carriers entered the game, and how over time their significance was eclipsed by supercarriers like motherships and titans. The big announcements are the changes being made to the various classes of capital ships in EVE, and Abathur walks us through the boosts and nerfs that will soon affect the game's numerous capital ship pilots in the Dominion expansion.

Continue reading Major rebalance of capital ships coming to EVE Online in Dominion expansion

MassivelyMajor rebalance of capital ships coming to EVE Online in Dominion expansion originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingcapital-shipscarriersccp-abathurccp-gamesdev-blogdominiondoomsdaydreadnaughtseve-onlineexpansionsgame-mechanicsmothershipspvpsci-fisupercarrierstitansWed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST