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: Returning EVE to the Crucible]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/20/eve-evolved-returning-eve-to-the-crucible/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/20/eve-evolved-returning-eve-to-the-crucible/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/20/eve-evolved-returning-eve-to-the-crucible/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

EVE Evolved title image
When EVE Online launched in 2003, it was a barren game without many of the comforts we enjoy today. The user interface was abysmally worse than today's (if you can imagine such a thing), players with cruisers were top dog, and practically the only activities were mining or blowing up miners. The culmination of years of hard work by a small indie studio, EVE Online sold almost entirely on its future potential. When I was introduced to the game by an excited friend in early 2004 during the Castor expansion, he encouraged me to get in on the ground floor because he believed the game was going to be huge. Years later, I find myself introducing the game to thousands of readers on the same premise.

EVE's continual success over the years transformed a fresh-faced CCP Games into a multinational game development giant. And yet, for all that growth and all the updates to EVE over the years, the fact that the game sells largely on future potential is still firmly embedded in both players and developers. Players subscribe not only because they like the game but because they want to support development to reach EVE's true potential. Two years with very little iteration on existing features sent the message that developers weren't trying to reach that potential, but it seems that trend is soon to be completely reversed. With the newly announced Crucible expansion, CCP will be adding countless small features, graphical updates and iterations that put EVE firmly back on the path to reaching its full potential.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at CCP's plans to return EVE to the crucible and reforge it into something awesome. Those waiting for the third part of my look at the new player experience can catch that in next week's column, as Kajatta is enjoying his final week in EVE before delivering his verdict.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Returning EVE to the Crucible

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Returning EVE to the Crucible originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>balancebomb-launcher-iibubbleccpccp-eveccp-gamesccp-soundwavecommand-shipcrucibledreadnoughteveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlineexpansionfeaturedfleetfleet-warfarefuel-blocksgraphicsmothershipnebulanebulaenewsnyphurpatchpvpsiegesiege-modulesiege-module-iistarbasestarbasesstealth-bomberssupercapitalsupercapital-nerfsupercapitalssupercarriersupercarrierstech-2tech-3tech-iitech-iiititantriagetriage-module-iiwarfarewarfare-linkswarp-disruption-field-generator-iiwinterSun, 20 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Captain's Log: The reverse slingshot effect]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/captains-log-the-reverse-slingshot-effect/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/captains-log-the-reverse-slingshot-effect/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/captains-log-the-reverse-slingshot-effect/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Captain's Log, Stardate 65056.3...

Hello, computer (and players)! The slingshot effect is a maneuver, shown throughout the Star Trek franchise, which allowed starships to move back through the time continuum. By traveling at a high warp factor towards a star with a large gravitational pull, the ship would whip around it and time travel. While this seemed to only exist within the realms of the IP, it looks as though Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Dan Stahl took us on a reverse slingshot course, giving us a glimpse into the future of the game. Before we returned to the original timeline, he made sure to write up everything we saw along the way for those who couldn't make the trip.

In layman's terms, for those of you who missed the news earlier this week, July's Engineering Report has been released. While this is a monthly publication that contains the development pipeline for STO, including some items that have been featured in past issues, there are always a few bullet points added that seem to spark a healthy amount of debate -- one of these includes the ability to auction off your in-game Emblems, a form of currency, for C-Store points that have been paid for with real money. For information on this, including a response from Cryptic's PR department, and more, read ahead past the jump for this week's Captain's Log entry.

Ensign, warp 10! Let's pull a slingshot maneuver of our own...

Continue reading Captain's Log: The reverse slingshot effect

MassivelyCaptain's Log: The reverse slingshot effect originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>academyauctionbugsc-storecaptains-logcaptainslogcrypticcryptic-star-trekcryptic-studioscstore pointsCstorePointsdan stahldan-stahldaniel stahlDanielStahlDanStahldevelopmentdine with the devsdine-with-the-devsDineWithTheDevsemblemsengineering reportengineering-reportEngineeringReportexplorationfeaturedfleet starbasefleetsFleetStarbasefoundryklingonlivestreammicrotransactionpatchesplutoQAseason-fiveseason-fourshipsslingshotsolsol planetsSolPlanetsspeciesst-onlinestar-trekstar-trek-mmostar-trek-onlinestarbasesstarfleetstfstoterritory controlTerritoryControltime travelTimeTraveltrek-onlinetribblewarpThu, 21 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Star Trek Online posts the latest Engineering Report]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/19/star-trek-online-posts-the-latest-engineering-report/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/19/star-trek-online-posts-the-latest-engineering-report/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/19/star-trek-online-posts-the-latest-engineering-report/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

With the launch of Season Four now behind the developers at Star Trek Online, the team is now focusing on what lies ahead for its Captains. The latest Engineering Report, a monthly forum post that is released and written by Executive Producer Dan Stahl, foreshadows some upcoming content that we will see soon[TM] and commits to the eradicating of bugs that recently came to life. There are even some new additions that are sure to bring some "healthy" discussions to the Cryptic forums.

Between now and Season Five, we will see the introduction of the Duty Officer system, STF revamps, new gear sets, more Klingon updates, and the advancement of the Borg into Federation space. While it has been said that Season Five will most likely not be released until 2012, players can look forward to seeing major updates for fleets, a rework of how exploration works, more in-game species, and the introduction of fleet starbases. Make sure to take a look at the full report, as well as this week's upcoming Captain's Log entry, to read about these and other updates coming to a starship near you.

MassivelyStar Trek Online posts the latest Engineering Report originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bugscaptains-logcaptainslogcrypticcryptic-star-trekcryptic-studiosdan stahlDanStahldevelopmentengineering-reportexplorationfleet starbasefleetsFleetStarbasepatchesseason-fiveseason-fourshipsspeciesst-onlinestar-trekstar-trek-mmostar-trek-onlinestarbasesstotrek-onlineupcoming-patchesTue, 19 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Star Trek Online Ask Cryptic talks starbases, ground combat, and more]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/07/star-trek-online-ask-cryptic-talks-starbases-ground-combat-and/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/07/star-trek-online-ask-cryptic-talks-starbases-ground-combat-and/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/07/star-trek-online-ask-cryptic-talks-starbases-ground-combat-and/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

How would you feel about a cover system and/or first-person-shooter elements in your daily Star Trek Online diet? Producer Dan Stahl tackles the feasibility of both of those features -- and a host of others -- in the latest Ask Cryptic. The STO version of the community Q&A feature went live last night on the game's official website and boasts a large number of subscriber-generated queries ranging from integrated voice chat to a time table on the ground combat revamp to the addition of starbase functionality to the Foundry.

"We anticipate the next major feature to the Foundry being the ability for fleets to design and run their own starbases. This is a monumental addition to the Foundry, so don't expect it right away, but it is the next big thing for that feature," Stahl says.

Check out the full list of questions on the official STO website.

MassivelyStar Trek Online Ask Cryptic talks starbases, ground combat, and more originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ask-crypticcommunity-questionscover-systemdan-stahlfleetsfoundryfpsfps-elementsground-combatground-combat-revampsci-fistar-trekstar-trek-onlinestarbasesstothe-foundryvoice-chatThu, 07 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Rumored four-year, multi-trillion ISK exploit in EVE Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/11/rumored-four-year-multi-trillion-isk-exploit-in-eve-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/11/rumored-four-year-multi-trillion-isk-exploit-in-eve-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/11/rumored-four-year-multi-trillion-isk-exploit-in-eve-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


An exploit in EVE Online has come to light that may have some major repercussions for the game. Massively does not have solid confirmation on the details (and allegations as the case may be), as this has just come to light. The exploit was publicized on a third party EVE forum called Scrapheap Challenge, on Wednesday, December 10th. If this isn't a hoax or an exaggerated account of events, how serious an exploit might this be? Very serious, if the details listed prove to be accurate... The exploit was really a bug related to a network of player owned stations (POS) paired with a moon mining operation, which yielded far too much valuable material far too quickly. Four years and an estimated 2.5 to 3 trillion ISK later, the exploit was found and patched, and the offender(s) banned. Given the claimed amount of ISK involved, it's serious enough to potentially have an impact on the game's economy.

The individual who posted the details of this exploit remains anonymous, and has only identified him or herself as "anotherone", but tells a story of how the exploit came to be: "I would like to tell you a short EVE story. Today all of my EVE Online accounts were banned. I was sure this day would come. What surprises me is that it took CCP this long to catch up with me. Even though they knew about it." It's that last sentence that is sparking so much response from the playerbase -- anotherone asserts that this issue was actually petitioned to CCP Games back in 2004, and subsequently ignored.

Read on for more details on this economic drama.

Continue reading Rumored four-year, multi-trillion ISK exploit in EVE Online

MassivelyRumored four-year, multi-trillion ISK exploit in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bansbreakingbugsccpccp-gamesccp-wranglercommunity-managercontroversyeveeve-onlineexploitsforumsgame-mechanicsiskminingmoon-miningpetitionsposrumorssci-fiscrapheap-challengestarbasesThu, 11 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST