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EON Magazine issue 24 looks back at EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion

Brendan Drain — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Lore, MMO industry, Opinion, Hands-on

Issue 24 of EVE Online's quarterly official magazine EON hit the shelves this month, bringing a fresh dose of internet spaceships to coffee tables and bathrooms everywhere. Produced by MMM Publishing and written by a growing cast of writers from within the EVE community, EON provides something solid for fans of EVE to hold on to and acts as a snapshot in time or record of the game as it evolves. Recent big news stories and nullsec wars are detailed in each issue, along with editorial pieces, fiction, interviews and guides.

The latest issue is a wormhole special, with a huge focus on 2009's incredibly successful Apocrypha expansion and the hidden wormhole systems it brought to EVE. In addition to the second part of Pottsey's background on the ancient Sleeper race locked away in wormhole systems, the magazine contains testflights of the four strategic cruisers produced from materials discovered in wormhole space. A fantastically insightful article on the making of Apocrypha also delves into the gritty details of how CCP put its entire weight behind one incredible expansion during a time of real world economic turmoil.

Skip past the cut for a breakdown of everything in EON Issue 24 and my impressions from reading through it.

Continue reading EON Magazine issue 24 looks back at EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion

EON Magazine issue 24 looks back at EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Mining 101 -- Advanced mining

Brendan Drain — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Professions, PvE, Hands-on, EVE Evolved, Guides

Because it is stigmatised as a boring and inactive activity, mining is perhaps EVE Online's most overlooked profession. While it can be a repetitive and sedate affair, mining is a good way to make ISK during low points in your game time. A lot of miners use the profession to make a little ISK while they chat with friends in-game, read the forum or do some other activity. In the first two parts of this three-part guide to mining in EVE, I looked at some of the basics of solo or group mining and how to make the most ISK for your invested time.

Over the years, I've learned a few tricks and strategies for mining that have come in handy. If the local asteroid belts are stripmined clean and you need somewhere nearby to mine, for example, it's possible to use the mission system to spawn a practically endless supply of low-end ore. If setting up camp in high-security space isn't your thing, it can also be very profitable to run a nomadic mining expedition. Using a starbase as a base of operations, you can set up ore depots and refining stations in either normal space or wormhole space.

In this final part of the EVE Evolved guide to mining in EVE, I look at spawning asteroids using the mission system, using a starbase as a base of operations in outlying systems, and running a wormhole mining expedition for massive profit.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Mining 101 -- Advanced mining

EVE Evolved: Mining 101 -- Advanced mining originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Group PvE in EVE Online

Brendan Drain — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Professions, Endgame, PvE, EVE Evolved

EVE Online is often thought of as a strongly PvP-based game, with player conflict and competition at the heart of practically every activity the game offers. Competition for resources, power, and notoriety routinely drive players to disintegrate each other's ships, but this effect isn't limited to just PvP. Miners compete with each other for ore on a daily basis, for example, and traders fight for market supremacy. EVE's competitive sandbox element is such a headline feature that PvE often takes a back seat in discussions about the game.

EVE's combat-based PvE comes in the form of repeatable agent missions, hidden exploration sites, and deadly Sleeper encounters. While most of these can be completed solo by experienced pilots with a well-designed ship, they're often much faster and more fun when done in groups. The lack of a limit to how many pilots can be brought on PvE expeditions even makes it feasible to take newer players along to tough missions, something that doesn't happen in most MMOs.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at why EVE's PvE is so inherently soloable, which types of PvE encounters are well suited to group play, and what the future holds for EVE's possibly neglected group PvE content.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Group PvE in EVE Online

EVE Evolved: Group PvE in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE wormhole exploit is fixed

Brendan Drain — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST

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

Two weeks ago, we reported the news that a new exploit had been uncovered in EVE Online. Players in a hidden class 6 wormhole system with a rare magnetar anomaly discovered that they could abuse the anomaly's effects to gain infinite tracking and range on typically short-range turrets. The exploit was uncovered when they used it to defend their home system from attack against Rooks and Kings, a corporation that wormhole-dwelling corps have learned to fear for its precision invasions of colonised wormhole systems.

On September 21st, a hotfix was rapidly deployed to temporarily remove the offending electronic warfare effects from magnetar anomalies. This prevented players from pushing the effectiveness of tracking disruptors over the magic 100% mark that caused the bug. EVE developers CCP Games have announced that after some internal discussion, they've decided to make that change permanent. Removing the effect from all magnetars and not just the currently exploitable ones ensures that similar problems don't occur in the future if new equipment ever raises the effectiveness of tracking disruptors. The only question left unanswered is what will happen to Aperture Harmonics, the corporation that has been using this exploit for some time.

EVE wormhole exploit is fixed originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Medic ships, part 2: High-end healing

Brendan Drain — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

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

In the first of this two-part guide, I looked at some of the more affordable entry level ships and modules available to dedicated healers in EVE Online. I went on to examine an effective strategy for using medic ships as part of a PvE gang, whether you need some help on a particularly hard mission or you're trying to crack one of EVE's hardest exploration complexes. This week, I look at high-end healing as I explore capital ships and the role of medic ships in both PvP and wormhole operations.

Healing in missions and exploration sites is a largely passive affair, with the healer permanently locked to the main tank. NPCs in these sites never switch targets but the same can't be said for players or the advanced Sleeper AI that roam wormhole systems. Repairing your gang-mates in PvP or a wormhole operation is a completely different affair, made all the more complicated by the fact that the dedicated medic ship is sure to come under fire.

In this article, I look at capital ships and the remote assistance strategies players use in PvP or wormhole operations.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Medic ships, part 2: High-end healing

EVE Evolved: Medic ships, part 2: High-end healing originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Planet Risk podcast explains tactics for EVE's high level wormholes

James Egan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:59:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Podcasts, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Tips and tricks, PvE

The EVE Online-focused Planet Risk Show returned this week after a planned holiday hiatus. For those who've never heard of Planet Risk, it's a live weekly Split Infinity Radio program that's also released as a podcast. Planet Risk differs from most EVE podcasts in that it's largely focused on wormhole colonization, which only became possible after the Apocrypha expansion was released, allowing players to pull back the curtain of known space and head into uncharted expanses. Hosts Luminus Aardokay and Quivering Palm spend most of their EVE time in wormhole space, so they're fast becoming experts on the subject. Indeed, they broadcast The Planet Risk Show from within their colonized wormhole system, which is a rather unique one in the game.

Their home is one of the most hostile types of wormholes in New Eden -- a Class 6 -- where the Sleeper NPCs are especially deadly. The ship setups and tactics used against the Sleepers in such a solar system differ greatly from how it's done in lower class wormholes. They explain some of the tricks that allow them to overcome the Sleepers in their Class 6 wormhole this week in Episode 13 -- right around the 1 hour 11 second mark. It's a good listen, particularly as there isn't a great deal of information available on such high level encounters in the game.

Continue reading Planet Risk podcast explains tactics for EVE's high level wormholes

Planet Risk podcast explains tactics for EVE's high level wormholes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Research: Reverse Engineering and Tech 3, part 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Research: Reverse Engineering and Tech 3, part 2

EVE Evolved: Research: Reverse Engineering and Tech 3, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Research: Reverse Engineering and Tech 3

Brendan Drain — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Guides, Crafting, Professions, Making money, Tips and tricks, PvE, EVE Evolved

In the first two parts of this guide to Research in EVE Online, I covered the basics of Tech 1 blueprint research and the "Invention" system that allows players to make their own Tech 2 blueprint copies. The reverse engineering process used to make Tech 3 blueprints is a lot like invention except with a new set of materials, equipment and skills. Though the process used to create it will be familiar to inventors, the end product is a strange beast. Unlike Tech 2, Tech 3 isn't just a straight improvement over lower tech levels and doesn't use Tech 1 or 2 as a base. Instead, it's an entirely new technology used to make custom, modular ships. At the moment, the only Tech 3 products we have are the modular "Strategic Cruiser" class but more is planned for future patches. Tech 3 frigates are rumoured to be next on the development table and it's entirely possible that we'll see strange new Tech 3 modules thrown into the mix too at some point.

In today's part of this bumper guide to research, I look into EVE's newest addition to the researcher's repertoire as I examine Tech 3 and "Reverse Engineering". I'll look at how it all fits together to make a finished product, what's required to get involved and best practices for staying profitable in what has become a very competitive marketplace.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Research: Reverse Engineering and Tech 3

EVE Evolved: Research: Reverse Engineering and Tech 3 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online giving players free holiday gift: the Zephyr

James Egan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, News items

EVE Online players received some good news today, when CCP Games announced a free holiday gift for all active subscribers: the Zephyr, a pure exploration vessel that's unique among all ships of New Eden in both form and function. Beyond the pimp factor of this Intaki Syndicate ship, the Zephyr's primary use will be in the uncharted expanses of wormhole space. It's the only ship in EVE Online that has a probe launcher built in. This "Prototype Iris Probe Launcher"-equipped ship pairs minimal mass (and less likelihood of collapsing a wormhole) with a small sensor footprint, which makes it hard to scan down by hostiles. While the integrated exploration gear is nice, even better is that Sleeper NPCs -- the awakened and powerful guardians of wormhole space -- will not fire upon a Zephyr (EVE filmmakers take note!). What's even cooler is that it actually has sails; it's designed to soar through space on solar winds when not in warp.

The Zephyr exploration ship will be free to all players and available to be claimed between December 18th and January 6th, 2009. Redeeming the ship is easy, simply log in to the EVE client on or after December 18th and click "Redeem Items!" on the lower right of the client window. Remember it's one ship per active (non-trial) account, not per character, and this may very well be a one time offer. Have a look at CCP Wrangler's full description of the Zephyr for more on this rather unique addition to New Eden's array of ships.

EVE Online giving players free holiday gift: the Zephyr originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Wormhole piracy 101

Brendan Drain — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, Guides, Guilds, Professions, PvP, Raiding, Endgame, Tips and tricks, Player Housing, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

If it seems like I've gone wormhole crazy lately, that's because I have. The wormholes that arrived with the Apocrypha expansion have infiltrated and enriched many different aspects of EVE Online, from exploration and corporate goals to small gang PvP and piracy. In previous articles, I looked at preparing for an expedition, untangled the mystery of the Sleepers and told the story of a tense week for Total Comfort alliance in the Sleeper's den. After a week spent hunting wormhole-dwellers for fun and profit, this week's EVE Evolved is dedicated to the fine art of being an interstellar cut-throat as I delve into the world of wormhole piracy.

Wormhole piracy is one of the few professions where small gang warfare is most prevalent. While many pirates have already begun including wormhole systems in their roaming gangs, our corporation (and I'm sure others) have come across a much more effective method. By setting up your own pirate staging base inside a wormhole system, your corp can use its regular outgoing wormholes to wreak havoc in systems all across EVE. Using this method, it's possible to spring attacks on people without anyone even seeing you coming. Whether you're planning surprise attacks on 0.0 systems or hunting in the 2500 new unknown sleeper systems, wouldn't you like to run your own pirate way-station?

Read on for an informative guide on using wormholes to wreak havoc around EVE and make a profit in the process.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Wormhole piracy 101

EVE Evolved: Wormhole piracy 101 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Untangling the mystery of the Sleepers

Brendan Drain — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guides, Lore, Making money, Raiding, Endgame, PvE, Player Housing, Hands-on, Education, EVE Evolved

When EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion was released, details on how wormholes and the 2500 new systems that came with them worked were sketchy. The advanced Sleeper AI found protecting these systems were a force to be feared, unknown and mysterious. There were no guides, no stories of encounters on the forums and anyone that had mounted a successful expedition was keeping their closely guarded secrets to themselves and raking in the ISK.

My corporation (Pillowsoft) were among the first to launch their expedition, having previously prepared an Orca with a medium POS, fuel, equipment and everything else we thought we'd need. We set up in an unknown system and explored this new frontier with a cautious optimism. Over the months that followed, we learned a great deal about EVE's new wormhole systems and the Sleepers that lived in them. After striking gold many times and making each of our expedition members over a billion ISK richer, we began telling our story and giving up those secrets we had been so careful to protect. Today, a great deal is now known about the "unknown" wormhole systems and with ever more corporations launching their own expeditions, it's now more important than ever to research the Sleeper menace before venturing into the abyss.

Join me for this extensive three-page article where I dole out the fruits of my research on wormholes and begin to untangle the mystery of the Sleepers.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Untangling the mystery of the Sleepers

EVE Evolved: Untangling the mystery of the Sleepers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apocrypha 1.3 improvements and Tech III changes coming to EVE on Monday June 29

James Egan — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST

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

EVE Online patch Apocrypha 1.3 is slated for a Monday June 29 deployment. CCP Games is pushing ahead with their Need for Speed initiative, which aims to streamline the game's performance and provide a better play experience. They're making some database changes with the next Apocrypha patch that should improve what you experience in your game client with inventory management, but beyond addressing "The Jita Problem" there will be a fair number of changes in the next patch.

On that topic of speed, players should notice a huge change with starbase deployment (or hasty tear downs): players will be able to anchor, online, or unanchor offensive and defensive starbase structures in half the time it took previously. (Ninja POS deployment?) Perhaps more significant to some players than others, station reprocessing will be much faster -- apparently refining stacks of items will be up to 25 times faster than before. Also, some of those changes to Tech III production we've mentioned before are going into effect on Monday, and should ultimately be a boost for Tech III. Apocrypha 1.3's changes extend far beyond what is mentioned here; players heavily invested in wormhole exploration and the production it fuels should look closely at the patch notes to see how CCP's changes to the game might affect them.

Continue reading Apocrypha 1.3 improvements and Tech III changes coming to EVE on Monday June 29

Apocrypha 1.3 improvements and Tech III changes coming to EVE on Monday June 29 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next EVE Online patch will boost Tech III production

James Egan — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST

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

The Apocrypha expansion for EVE Online introduced wormhole exploration to the game and with it, the potential to reverse engineer advanced technology from the Sleeper NPC race. The goal for many such explorers is ultimately to produce the next iteration of ship technology in the game; these Tech III strategic cruisers feature modular designs that can accomplish some impressive things. This, coupled with their rarity and sky high prices make Tech III ships into everybody's favorite multi-billion ISK gankmagnets, and it's that scarcity that EVE game designer CCP Chronotis addresses in his latest dev blog.

He writes that CCP Games will make some changes in the next Apocrypha patch that will affect the supply of Tech III materials. Specifically, they're going to boost reverse engineering while also balancing out the types of salvage gained from Sleeper NPC wrecks, and increase the availability of Tech III production materials in general. If you're involved in wormhole exploration or Tech III production, consider this dev blog from CCP Chronotis a heads up as to the changes on the way.

Next EVE Online patch will boost Tech III production originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's wormhole exploration leads to new 'rescue' profession

James Egan — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Professions

Wormhole exploration is perhaps the key feature that came to EVE Online with the Apocrypha expansion. Its 'true exploration' of thousands of uncharted solar systems can bring great rewards but also entails equally great risks. The Sleepers are the strongest NPCs that players can face in the game's setting of New Eden, adding to the challenge of taking them on is the fact that you may be hunted down by players at the same time. The delayed local channel in wormhole space ("w-space") means you won't know if you're really alone in the uncharted solar system until you find yourself being targeted and fired upon by a roving gang of hostiles.

Wormholes can also have tactical environments which affect how well your ship operates in that solar system, sometimes imposing penalties. Then factor in that wormholes are inherently unstable and can collapse once enough ships have passed through, and you've got a fair amount of unpredictability injected into your gameplay. Wormhole collapses have led to a number of EVE's capsuleers being stranded in unknown regions and unable to find a way back into known space ("k-space"), much less navigate their way home again. That's where "Wormhole Rescue Service" and its founder Astro Glyde can help.

Continue reading EVE Online's wormhole exploration leads to new 'rescue' profession

EVE Online's wormhole exploration leads to new 'rescue' profession originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Have wormholes revitalised EVE?

Brendan Drain — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

It's been just over a week since the Apocrypha expansion went live and EVE Online is already starting to see the impact of the new content on gameplay. Wormholes in particular have revitalised gameplay for so many individuals that Apocrypha may just be the best EVE expansion to date. Everything from piracy to low security space, system ownership and exploration have been affected by the advent of unstable wormholes. But how could something as simple as unstable wormholes revitalise other areas of gameplay?

In this article, I examine the far-reaching effects of EVE's newest gameplay addition - wormholes.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Have wormholes revitalised EVE?

EVE Evolved: Have wormholes revitalised EVE? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apocrypha expansion for EVE Online launches Tuesday, March 10th

James Egan — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Launches, Server downtime, News items

As CCP Games rolls out the most significant expansion for EVE Online to date, Apocrypha, players should prepare themselves for an extended 13-hour downtime, lasting from 03:00 GMT to (est.) 16:00 GMT on Tuesday, March 10th. Storyline updates in the form of news reports will continue throughout downtime, kicking off the backstory of the Apocrypha expansion. Massively has a solid overview of Apocrypha for you, most recently a visual tour of the expansion and a hands-on with the developers, explaining EVE's new features.

Patch Notes for this 10th EVE expansion are up as well. Updates to the patch notes will be made in green, and you can follow the highlighted links to all of the relevant dev blogs explaining the various facets of Apocrypha. We've covered much of this content at Massively, but two recent dev blogs from CCP explain how the new exploration system will work and what exactly makes the Sleeper NPC race's AI so formidable.

Continue reading Apocrypha expansion for EVE Online launches Tuesday, March 10th

Apocrypha expansion for EVE Online launches Tuesday, March 10th originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online Apocrypha expansion trailer kicks off storyline events

James Egan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, EVE Online, Expansions, Races

CCP Games just dropped the trailer for EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion, which sets the tone for the storyline players will soon experience. The trailer depicts a cataclysmic event which creates rifts in space-time throughout the New Eden galaxy, affecting all of the races.

We see fleets of ships investigating the anomalies and take their first journeys through wormholes, emerging in unknown space. There, the explorers find bizarre structures whose design is unknown to New Eden's races. These space stations house the technology behind Tech III, advanced modular ship designs, but seizing technology potentially thousands of years beyond that of the capsuleers awakens long-dormant defenses: the drones of the ancient Sleeper race.

We've got the YouTube embed of the Apocrypha trailer in HD for you below the cut.

Continue reading EVE Online Apocrypha expansion trailer kicks off storyline events

EVE Online Apocrypha expansion trailer kicks off storyline events originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's Apocrypha expansion hands-on: The Sleepers

James Egan — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, Races, Massively Interviews, Massively Hands-on

The Sleepers

The inhabitants of these uncharted solar systems may take offense to your encroachment upon their territory, however. The Sleepers, an ancient race of NPCs known for their mastery of virtual reality and cryogenics, will provide the greatest PvE challenges players have ever faced in EVE Online through their guardian drones. Their AI is far beyond what players are used to going up against in PvE. The Sleepers will have varying levels of strength and adaptation to player threats. They do seem to have a particular hatred for their creators at CCP, given their ultra-violent response to Ward's arrival at a structure the Sleeper drones constructed in space. They move in on him, dishing out *all* damage types: beams sizzle for EM and Thermal damage; warheads obliterate for Kinetic and Explosive damage. Fortunately Ward's Proteus is set up to deal with this ("I'm going to put on a GM shield extender, or when we go through there I'm going to get wasted!") making his ship virtually impossible to kill, letting us witness the Sleeper offensive in safety.

Continue reading Massively's Apocrypha expansion hands-on: The Sleepers

Massively's Apocrypha expansion hands-on: The Sleepers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online developer explains new AI for the Sleeper race

James Egan — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, PvE, Races

One of the major new features to EVE Online's forthcoming Apocrypha expansion is the introduction of an ancient race of NPCs called the Sleepers. They're a breed apart from any NPCs ever seen in EVE, largely because of their AI. They react intelligently to threats, focusing fire on primary targets but diverting their attacks to counter whatever else they're faced with. They can 'spider tank' or protect and even repair one another as combat ensues. Added to their tactics is evasive maneuvering, making the Sleepers even deadlier.

We recently showed you video footage of the Sleepers in action and while taking them on will, in some cases, be a daunting experience, this is not to say that they can't be defeated. EVE developer CCP Incognito wrote on the forums, "If you try to use the same-old, same-old tactics against Sleepers then you will have problems. Think out of the box and you will win." CCP Incognito's comments were in the context of his dev blog on the new AI, which discusses the challenges that the Sleepers will pose for players seeking fragments of their advanced technology. More than anything, the AI revamp is designed to make PvE more like PvP. Anyone planning to venture through EVE's wormholes should abandon their mission-centric ship setups and be prepared for PvP; that's what fighting the Sleeper NPCs will be like -- fighting other players.

Continue reading EVE Online developer explains new AI for the Sleeper race

EVE Online developer explains new AI for the Sleeper race originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video shows EVE Online's Sleeper NPC race in action

James Egan — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Expansions, Previews, PvP, PvE, Races

The ancient NPC race in EVE Online known as the Sleepers will soon come into conflict with EVE's capsuleers in the Apocrypha expansion, only a few weeks from now. Explorers willing to discover wormholes and take the risk of engaging the Sleepers within will be able to obtain some of their technology, provided they manage to survive the encounter. This could bring wealth by selling the tech outright, or reverse engineering it to create EVE's strategic "Tech III" cruisers -- modular ship designs based in part off of Sleeper technology.

CCP Games has said that the Sleepers will be unlike any NPC type that pilots in the game have ever faced, and that was no exaggeration. Their AI makes fighting these particular NPCs more like fighting other players. That is to say, they react to immediate threats and change their tactics to counter what's thrown at them, to some degree. The video embedded below (captured on the Singularity test server) shows what the Sleepers are capable of against a mixed fleet of players -- with capital ships no less -- that had great difficulty withstanding the ancients.

Check out the raw power of the Sleepers in fullscreen HD, with their sizzling blue beams and warheads absolutely melting battleships and any other threat that demands their attention:

Continue reading Video shows EVE Online's Sleeper NPC race in action

Video shows EVE Online's Sleeper NPC race in action originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online developer explains how to build Tech III strategic cruisers

James Egan — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Crafting, Making money

For many players of massively multiplayer online titles, the crafting side of these games is especially appealing. Quite a number of EVE Online's players are drawn to the crafting side of this particular sci-fi MMO, and those in large corporations and alliances have learned how their collective efforts can allow them to produce vast quantities of items and reap equally vast sums of ISK.

EVE's crafting system is also very much the backbone of the game. Almost every ship and module used by players in the game was created by another player. Those who are into the combat aspects of the game are reliant upon the producers to supply their tools of destruction, and that destruction in turn creates demand (and fuels profits) for EVE's industrialists. It's an interesting bit of symbiosis (despite that animosity towards those on the other side of the fence) that keeps New Eden thriving.

Continue reading EVE Online developer explains how to build Tech III strategic cruisers

EVE Online developer explains how to build Tech III strategic cruisers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online to introduce new NPC race with Apocrypha expansion

James Egan — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Lore, News items, PvE, Races

PvE gameplay in EVE Online can be profitable, but blasting apart NPC ships can also get repetitive after a while. Anyone who's run a solid week of missions knows this all too well, and the combat dynamic between players and NPCs is something CCP Games will start remedying in the next game expansion: Apocrypha.

EVE dev CCP Ytterbium's dev blog "When Evolution Leaps Forward" has some big news about what's in store for players as of March 10th in Apocrypha. The devs tasked with revamping the game's PvE experience are making some substantial changes to the distribution of bigger and badder NPCs. They're also introducing a new NPC race to New Eden: the Sleepers, an ancient race with technology beyond what is currently available to players, but whose secrets can potentially be unlocked.

Continue reading EVE Online to introduce new NPC race with Apocrypha expansion

EVE Online to introduce new NPC race with Apocrypha expansion originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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