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: Building a better empire]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/28/eve-evolved-building-a-better-empire/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/28/eve-evolved-building-a-better-empire/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/28/eve-evolved-building-a-better-empire/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

EVE Evolved title image: Building a better empire
It's often said that EVE Online is 99% endgame, with only the tutorials and epic mission arcs really providing directed gameplay. Once you get out into the open world, the game is dominated by sandbox laws and social interaction. This is most clear in the lawless nullsec regions where alliances war over territory and build their own empires in the void.

Last week I looked back at the early days of nullsec industry and examined the problems industry has developed over the years. With a massive nullsec revamp scheduled to begin this winter, I went on to speculate on how the game could be changed to bring back the glory days of nullsec industry. Although adequately incentivised local mining and production could transform player-created empires, those aren't the only areas of gameplay being revisited. Sovereignty mechanics, fleet warfare, small gang warfare, exploration and small-scale territorial control will all eventually be redesigned as part of the massive iterative overhaul.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the history of EVE's empire-building and territorial warfare mechanics, some of the problems faced by the sovereignty system, and how those aspects of EVE could possibly be changed for the better.

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MassivelyEVE Evolved: Building a better empire originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alliancealliance-warfareccpccp-eveccp-gamescolonisationdreadnoughtempireempire-buildingeveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlinefeaturedhistoryinfrastructureinterstellar-starbase-syndicateissmapmostly-harmlessnullsecoutpostplayer-owned-starbaseplayer-owned-stationpvpsovereigntystarbaseterritorial-controlterritorial-warfareterritorywarwarfareSun, 28 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Bringing back the glory days]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/21/eve-evolved-bringing-back-the-glory-days/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/21/eve-evolved-bringing-back-the-glory-days/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/21/eve-evolved-bringing-back-the-glory-days/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

EVE Evolved title image
In years gone by, exploring the unknown far reaches of the EVE Online universe meant setting a course for nullsec. With no way to install a permanent residence in the most lucrative far-off systems, players would launch dangerous expeditions into the deep with the hope of striking it rich. Nullsec was the only place to mine rare ores containing megacyte and zydrine, and piracy wasn't as common as it is today. For putting themselves at the risk of pirates, miners were rewarded with an income stream greater than that of any other profession in the game. It was a golden age in exploration that wasn't to repeat itself until March 2009's Apocrypha expansion opened 2500 hidden wormhole systems for exploitation.

Things have changed considerably since those early days of EVE. Player-built starbases and outposts have transformed the face of nullsec, allowing alliances to build themselves an empire in the void. December 2009's Dominion expansion brought a complete revamp of the nullsec sovereignty mechanics, allowing alliances to upgrade their space but dramatically increasing the cost of system ownership. Despite all of these updates and improvements, over the past several years we have somehow lost a lot of what made nullsec great in its glory days. Local industry has been replaced by risk-free logistics, and nullsec's risky but rewarding mining profession is now greatly overshadowed by safe highsec mission-running.

With a new iterative nullsec revamp scheduled to begin this winter, I use this week's EVE Evolved to speculate on what can be done to bring back the glory days of nullsec industry.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Bringing back the glory days

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Bringing back the glory days originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>arkonorbistotccpccp-eveccp-gamescrokitedysprosiumeveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlineexpansionfeaturedglory-daysindustrymanufacturingminingmoonmoonsoreoutpostplayer-generated-contentplayer-housingplayer-owned-stationpvestarbasetech-1tech-2tech-3territorial-warfareSun, 21 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Starting out in Vana'diel: Conquering conquest]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/starting-out-in-vanadiel-conquering-conquest/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/starting-out-in-vanadiel-conquering-conquest/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/starting-out-in-vanadiel-conquering-conquest/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,


Hello again Adventurers! So we've fought through the tutorial system, braved the Fields of Valor, and this week we get to go to WAR!

No, not Warhammer Online. We're going to learn about Final Fantasy XI's conquest! The conquest system is the weekly determination of who gets control of a region in Vana'diel. Remember that signet buff that you learned about in the tutorial? Well we're going to need that, first and foremost.

Signet may be a buff, but it enters you as a participant in conquest. Each time you destroy a monster, you will gain some conquest points and add to your nation's total for the zone. Each week, the Grand Dutchy of Jeuno will calculate all of the points and declare one nation as the winner of that zone. The nation that won gets to place their guards in the zone and will hold control of it until the next Sunday.

But what does control do? What can you get from the conquest system? Follow me, and let's find out!

Continue reading Starting out in Vana'diel: Conquering conquest

MassivelyStarting out in Vana'diel: Conquering conquest originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>conquestconquest-itemscrystalsffxifinal-fantasy-xigilmoneyoutpostsquare-enixstarting-out-in-vanadielwarpTue, 10 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Online player establishes new profession]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/14/eve-online-player-establishes-new-profession/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/14/eve-online-player-establishes-new-profession/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/14/eve-online-player-establishes-new-profession/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Players in EVE Online pursue a wide variety of professions or careers, but are not locked into any given role at character creation. This flexibility allows a character to change their play style over time, or to capitalize on niches no one else has filled. This is the case with Dylon Xavier, an enterprising Caldari pilot with Ascendant Strategies, Inc.

ISD Magnus Balteus reports that Xavier "has decided to try something different; create a product that is both time and resource consuming to build, and offer it for auction to the alliance that has the funds and space to deploy it." The niche item in this case is an Outpost Platform. When launched, it will create a space station for an alliance that can handle the minimum 20 billion isk bid on his auctions. This substantial pricetag includes a freighter for transporting the Outpost Platform and materials, and turns what is normally a time-consuming collective effort into a (comparatively) rapid-deployment. He's also willing to have Chribba, perhaps EVE's most trusted player, broker the transactions, mitigating the risk involved with such large amounts of currency. With the neverending ebb and flow of territorial control in New Eden, and if alliances continue to express interest in Xavier's venture, he may well have created a new and lucrative profession in EVE Online

MassivelyEVE Online player establishes new profession originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alliancealliancesascendant-strategiesccpccp-gamescharonchribbacraftingdylon-xaviereveeve-onlinefreightergame-mechanicsguildsinterstellar-correspondentsisdnew-edennicheoutpostoutpost-platformprofessionsrisksci-fisovereigntyspace-stationterritorial-controlThu, 14 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST