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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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E-ON Magazine issue 20 hits the shelves

Brendan Drain — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST

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

The magazine industry is a behemoth, catering to practically every hobby there is. No matter how obscure the hobby, you're sure to find a magazine on the shelf all about it. While there are plenty of magazines dedicated to gaming, only a few MMOs have their own dedicated magazines. Despite the rise in popularity of web-based publications, there's something special about having a physical magazine you can flip through. Since I am a massive nerdy fan of EVE Online, each issue of the quarterly E-ON magazine feels like a proper treat. The production values are very high, and it's pure EVE from cover to cover. The publishers even go so far as to include advertisements for EVE corporations and services rather than paid ads for other games or gaming services.

Issue 20 of the magazine was released last month, but the postal fairy decided I had been naughty and didn't deliver it until this week. I've spent the majority of today reading this magazine all about internet spaceships, and I've loved every nerdy moment of it. This quarter's issue has a strong focus on the impact of EVE's recent Tyrannis expansion and its planetary interaction feature. In addition to a guide on setting up planetary harvesting infrastructure, the magazine's editors ask whether Tyrannis was everything we hoped or a missed opportunity to breathe new life into the planets of New Eden. Other topics discussed in this issue include EVE's controversial Council of Stellar Management, the history of the alliance tournament, and a look at the new rebalanced supercarriers.

Skip past the cut for a breakdown of what you can expect in E-ON issue 20 and my impressions from reading it.

Continue reading E-ON Magazine issue 20 hits the shelves

E-ON Magazine issue 20 hits the shelves originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E-ON Magazine issue 19 hits the shelves

Brendan Drain — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Lore, MMO industry, Hands-on

In Autumn 2005, EVE Online became one of the only MMOs out there with its own dedicated print magazine. Under contract from CCP Games, MMM Publishing has worked tirelessly ever since to produce EVE's official magazine "E-ON." Four times per year, we're blessed with a dose of the latest and greatest things from New Eden in a comfortingly solid format. The magazine covers everything from strategy guides and ship fitting advice to sneak peaks at upcoming expansions, interviews with CCP staff and incredible fiction set in the EVE universe.

E-ON differs from other game magazines in that they don't any make money from advertising. In an effort to keep the magazine all about EVE, they've taken the unusual but apparently successful route of publishing full-page adverts from in-game corporations and organisations. Advertisers buy space in the magazine with ISK, the in-game currency, and adverts must be for strictly in-game purposes. The ISK is then used to pay volunteer writers, who create most of the magazine's content and produce important things like guides from a true player's perspective. There's even a scheme in the works to reward advertisers with discount coupon codes for the magazine to gift their corpmates. Now nearing their fifth year of publishing, E-ON issue 19 has recently been released. As usual, this issue is absolutely packed full of everything we've come to expect from the mag.

Skip past the cut for a run-down of what you can expect in issue 19 of E-ON Magazine.

Continue reading E-ON Magazine issue 19 hits the shelves

E-ON Magazine issue 19 hits the shelves originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Contest lets EVE Online players get their name in print in E-ON magazine

James Egan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Contests

While Massively's own EVE Online contest is off to a great start this week, we also want to point out something of interest happening on our friend CrazyKinux's site. Have you ever wanted to see your name in print in E-ON, the official EVE Online magazine? Well now is your chance. CrazyKinux is running a contest where EVE players can make their predictions about how the game will change in 2010 or what will happen in New Eden in the next year. If your prediction lands in the top 10 entries, your submission will make it into print in E-ON magazine in January -- plus you'll also receive a free contributor copy of that issue.

The contest is called "The Oracle of EVE" and will run through November 30th. It'll be judged by CrazyKinux and E-ON editor Richie Shoemaker (aka Zapatero). Check out the announcement post over at CrazyKinux's Musing which explains in greater detail how you can take part. Obviously they're looking for submissions that are well-written and entertaining, but also concise. Entering is quite simple -- just write your 2010 prediction on your own blog and link to it in the comments below "The Oracle of EVE" announcement post. Good luck to any Massively readers that decide to take a shot at this.

Contest lets EVE Online players get their name in print in E-ON magazine originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue

James Egan — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online

E-ON is the official magazine of EVE Online, released quarterly and one of the most focused sources of EVE content out there. We've spoken with E-ON in the past and a few of us on the Massively staff are regular readers -- our EVE columnist Brendan Drain has been an E-ON contributor himself. The Spring issue of E-ON is now shipping and although it doesn't have the instant gratification of clicking on a hyperlink, there's some excellent content there that we really want to mention to our readers and in general point out that E-ON has a lot to offer EVE Online players.

This issue's cover story is "The End of New Eden" by Jim Rossignol and is an inquiry into the dreaded question of when the game will finally run out of steam. Sad as it is, all MMOs end eventually. Or do they have to?

The E-ON cover story looks at how different EVE is from the other MMOs running. Since EVE is really all about what happens in New Eden, an open sprawling galaxy where players do what they choose, the game isn't necessarily tied into expansion zones, new classes, certain quests or raid bosses. In other words, EVE doesn't suffer from the pitfall many MMOs do in that players quickly progress through the new content and then have nowhere else to go. EVE is unique in that it's a setting -- sometimes a harsh setting -- where PvP and PvE exist side-by-side and players determine their own path. Perhaps it's that freedom that's been a draw for many players so far and "The End of New Eden" looks at the prospects for this attraction continuing in future years. As there will be no EVE Online 2, it's all about one continually evolving setting and the possibilities this brings, and Rossignol's article is well worth a read.

Continue reading EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue

EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Careers Guide available as free download

James Egan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Guides, Professions, PvP, PvE, Roleplaying

A major strength of the sci-fi massively multiplayer online game EVE Online is that there are no classes and certainly no professions that a player is locked into. EVE's professions are freeform, but this can lead to new players being unsure about what to do (or be) in the game. The title's developer CCP Games is attempting to remedy this. One of the resources that complements EVE Online's New Player Experience in the Apocrypha expansion is the "EVE Careers Guide", which introduces new players to the gameplay possibilities in New Eden. It's largely put together by Benilopax of Warp Drive Active: Industry podcast fame and Richie Shoemaker (aka "Zapatero"), the Editor of E-ON -- the official magazine of EVE Online -- who we've interviewed at Massively in the past. The EVE Careers Guide is a PDF file with interactive links throughout to navigate between sections, providing a comprehensive look at the game for rookie pilots.

Zapatero welcomes new players to EVE Online, explaining the game in broad terms: "Many have found their own path in EVE by taking turns that are wildly divergent from what its makers envisaged. EVE is about relationships, prejudices, trust, greed and creativity more than it's about spaceships, trade and combat. New Eden is a very human universe, and with almost 300,000 people making up the population, it's a very dynamic one. Yes, it's harsh and uncompromising, frustrating and callous, but it's also illuminating in scope, vast in stature and utterly unique."

Continue reading EVE Careers Guide available as free download

EVE Careers Guide available as free download originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E-ON offers 100 million ISK reward for your best EVE Online screenshots

James Egan — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, EVE Online, Contests, Making money, News items

E-ON, the official magazine of EVE Online, is running a contest where your best screenshots could net you 100 million ISK for each shot they publish in the April issue. E-ON editor Zapatero, who we interviewed in November, said what he's looking for on the E-ON blog, 'Postings from the Edge':

"What we're after are your screenshots. They can be of ships mining, travelling or fighting. They can be pilots tending to starbases, searching for wormholes or epic battles against Sleeper ships. In fact they can be of anything from inside New Eden, they just have to be good-looking images. The very best that we receive will be published in the edition of EON that's out next month."

Continue reading E-ON offers 100 million ISK reward for your best EVE Online screenshots

E-ON offers 100 million ISK reward for your best EVE Online screenshots originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero Part 2

James Egan — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Interviews

I read E-ON so I know you've really got your finger on the pulse of EVE, but given the magazine's quarterly publishing schedule, how do you meet the challenges of covering a game that's always evolving?

My finger isn't on the pulse at all. Never has been. I just know where to find the pulse when I need it.

It's difficult to be topical and obviously the magazine could be seen to date quite quickly, but I don't feel that aspect detracts from the the magazine at all. If anything it enhances it. I've always likened E-ON to a snapshot of EVE. Each issue captures EVE in a moment that will never exists again. For example, in the first issue we published a profile of a much-loved EVE fansite called EVE-I. Soon after publication EVE-I went down and never returned. (It actually went down before publication, but the admins assured me it would be back.) At the time it was slightly embarrassing that the we had a glowing profile of the site and some people on the forums found that amusing, but as time has gone by and memory has faded, EVE-I has been forgotten by all but the oldest veterans. The point is that the site is no longer active, it no longer even exists.... except in E-ON.

It's a similar story with the "Darwin's Contraption" movie, which we previewed in Issue #005, and maybe the EVE: Ascension mod (#009) will never see the light of day, but in E-ON all these great fan projects can be celebrated for their efforts, if not their achievements.

As for the ever-changing nature of EVE, it's precisely because EVE never stands still that there are always deep seams of material to mine for content. I actually feel that we could do an issue of E-ON every six weeks, perhaps monthly, but I'm not sure my superiors share that view because it's a fair bit of work that goes into design and production and MMM are a very small outfit, but there certainly is never a problem filling an issue with words -- quite the opposite.

Continue reading Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero Part 2

Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero Part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero

James Egan — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Interviews

EVE Online is a deep and complex game, and even those who've played EVE for years find there are still facets of gameplay they've never mastered. This is compounded by the game's unique nature as a massive galaxy primed for exploration and domination by its players, whose actions and machinations affect one another in a single setting that's never quite the same from one day to the next.

EVE is always evolving, both in terms of the dynamics between players and the game itself, seen as a whole. But unlike most MMOs, EVE Online has an official magazine, called E-ON, which has kept pace with how the game and its player efforts have changed over the years. To flip through the E-ON back issues is to see the documented evolution of EVE Online. In fact, E-ON manages to stay ahead of the curve due in part to its access to CCP Games, but mostly through the efforts of the players themselves whose writing talents make up the entirety of E-ON. The man behind E-ON is Richie Shoemaker, aka "Zapatero." He's the one who's been guiding the publication along since day one, and ensuring its content digs beneath the surface of the game. He's interviewed EVE's players and developers alike, but it occurred to us... Zapatero has an excellent perspective on the game yet is rarely interviewed, himself.

Massively recently caught up with Zapatero in between his continent hopping, and got him to tell us a bit about his approach to covering EVE and what the player community is capable of creating.

Continue reading Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero

Massively interviews E-ON editor Zapatero originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A snapshot of alliance life in EVE Online

James Egan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

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

Roughly 1400 EVE Online players took part in the E-ON Alliance Survey in February of this year, organized by E-ON's Editor, Zapatero. "The survey was conducted to research the nature of alliances, 0.0 conflict and the capabilities of alliances or coalitions to ever mount a serious challenge to the entirety of 0.0 space," Zapatero writes. While those results provided a grounding for a few E-ON articles, they've otherwise remained inert on Zapatero's hard drive since then. Since the survey was created with anonymity in mind, there is no revealing information about any particular alliance and thus no harm in releasing the information for everyone to see. Zapatero's prepared the results as a pdf summary report as well as a spreadsheet (files hosted by Chribba.)

The questions asked were fairly comprehensive, ranging from individual motivations to play as part of an alliance to collective achievements and failings (and everything in between). Though the alliance map and the motivations driving its constant shifts will change over time, Zapatero's provided an interesting look at how EVE's alliance players approach the game. Check out his "New editions, old additions" post over at the EVE Online site for more background on this project and its aims.

A snapshot of alliance life in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Empyrean Age factional warfare map included with newest E-ON issue

James Egan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:30:00 EST

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

EVE Online's latest dev blog comes from Zapatero, one of the staff at E-ON, the quarterly magazine all about EVE. Our own Massively columnist Brendan Drain, aka Nyphur, has been a past contributor to E-ON, which should give you an idea of how in-depth some of the articles are. The magazine is a useful resource for any serious player of the game and the fiction is pretty solid as well, it's just a shame that there's a few-month gap between each issue's release. Maybe it was that wait that pushed him over the edge, but rumor has it one of the Massively writers snapped and bought every back issue of E-ON, but we think that he's unhealthily obsessed anyway.

Zapatero writes that E-ON is about to celebrate its third year in operation with the release of issue 12, which will ship on July 4th. As a bonus to readers, it will include a free poster of the Empyrean Age New Eden star cluster, to aid players who have enlisted in factional warfare. The map was created by Council of Stellar Management (CSM) delegate Serenity Steele, who also brought EVE Strategic Maps (a book of star charts) to fans of the game. The free poster map will include region names and outposts. Faction warfare-enabled regions will be highlighted and the security status of each system will be color-coded. For those who actually have EVE Strategic Maps, the poster is cross-referenced with the book, although Zapatero states that the map will be useful on its own. He outlines what will be in issue 12 in his dev blog; if the content matches up to what the E-ON staff has put out in past issues, it should be worth checking out.

Continue reading Empyrean Age factional warfare map included with newest E-ON issue

Empyrean Age factional warfare map included with newest E-ON issue originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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