Andrew Groen’s Empires of EVE: A History of the Great Wars of EVE Online – a compendium that chronicles the ever changing alliances, wars and political intrigue as told by the players involved throughout the game’s 15 year history – will be receiving a second volume in May 2019.
Empires of EVE: Volume II is a non-fiction book that covers the player run corporations and alliances that govern the volatile Null Sec region of New Eden. By interviewing the people behind the in-game capulseers, Groen is able to paint a complete as possible picture of the major battles, betrayals and shifting ownership of Null Sec region that the game has become known for. Volume I covered the events up until the end of 2008, with the alliance Band of Brothers finally collapsing. Volume II picks up at the end of Volume I and covers the events from 2009 through 2016.
Volume II is intended to be a standalone edition, meaning readers won’t have to read the first volume to understand the nuance and gravity of the events depicted. It will include a “full and concise crash course” of EVE Online’s gameplay mechanics and broad history so that non-players can dive in and enjoy the modern era of EVE Online intrigue.
Empires of Eve Volume II comes in a few different tiers as available on the KickStarter page:
$10 USD provides a digital e-book copy (PDF, e-pub etc)
$25 USD provides a soft cover physical copy and digital e-book.
$50 USD provides a hardcover physical copy and digital e-book.
$80 UD provides hardcover copies of both Volume I and Volume II as well as e-book versions of both.
Having personally read through Volume I with my wife, I can attest that Empires of EVE is a fascinating and captivating look into one of the most complex and intricate long running MMORPGs. Full Disclosure: I immediately backed the $50 USD tier on KickStarter because there was no way I was going to pass up the chance at a hardcover copy of Volume II.
Just a small reminder that the latest expansion to CCP Games’ Eve Online, Lifeblood was released yesterday. With this latest expansion Capsuleers living in high-security space receive two brand new forms of PVE content with the release of Resource Wars and Forward Operating Bases. Alongside the release of these new modes, CCP has also made a balance pass to the post of the ships Free To Play Alpha Clones can fly, with most ships except the Vexor receiving a damage buff.
Previously I covered all of the big announcements made at the EVE VEGAS convention a few weeks ago. The primary focus of that event was to promote and announce the then-upcoming changes from Lifeblood. It was also announced that in December free to play players will receive a bump in the number of skill points that they can use, provided that they subscribe for at least a month to train them. This means that players who subscribe for only 30 days can fly up to Battleships for free – unlike the current Alpha Clone restrictions that limit them to Cruisers or below.
Users on Steam can create an Alpha Clone account for free, the EVE client is only about 4. 5GB and will run on most modern computers with no problems, given that the game is 14 years old.
Here is how CCP summarizes the brand new Resource Wars co-operative gameplay mode:
“Tensions are escalating in New Eden, and the battle for resources opens up new gameplay options! The Resource Wars offer tiered, short session co-op gameplay, as well as multiple player roles and strategy.
Find the Mining Expedition sites and fill your Empire’s haulers with as much mined ore as possible in the time allowed, while staving off any hostile attacks. Certain rare asteroids can increase the rewards available for these sites.
Join the Resource Wars and fuel your Empire’s ambition!”
A shot of my Venture mining frigate before entering Resource Wars.
A shot of my Venture mining frigate being shot at during a Resource Wars match.
Here is how CCP describes the brand new pirate faction Forward Operating Bases that are hidden throughout high-security Space:
Blood Raider and Guristas pirate bases have been spotted in High-Sec Empire space! Assemble formidable fleets with other players and go in for the kill. Be wary though, as the pirates will launch their own fleets in defense of their structures.
Rewards include ISK shared out among victorious attacking forces, as well as blueprints for faction structure modules.
This evening marked the kick off of CCP Games’ bi-annual official fan gathering in Las Vegas Nevada. At EVE VEGAS 2017 CCP announced a number of new changes coming to EVE Online with the release of the Lifeblood Expansion in two weeks, as well as some teases in regards to content coming further down the line.
Changes to existing Upwell Structures, the addition of 15 million Skill Points to Alpha Clones (free to play players), new Player Vs, Environment shipyards and “resource wars” are just a couple of the highlights. If you don’t have the time to watch the nearly 3-hour archived stream from earlier today – here is everything announced during the Eve VEGAS 2017 Keynote:
EVE VEGAS 2017 Charity Initiatives:
CCP Partners with Able Gamers to raise funds for the victims affected by last Sunday’s attack.
Tickets to this year’s EVE Vegas sold out before last year’s event even ended.
Folks from Saudi Arabia, Spain, Singapore, Australia and Europe made their way to VEGAS.
EVE VEGAS exclusive Incursis, Thorax and Megathron.
Blade Runner 2049 Charity Screening
Stream Charity Shirts Available
Two Charity Raffles @ EVE Vegas Event:
Blue: Every skin available except alliance tourney.
One of every piece of apparel in New Eden
15 Years of Omega Time – 90,000 PLEX
Red: Fan Fest Experience 2018
Return Flight
Hotel
VIP Studio Tour
All Access Pass
Fan Fest Goes On The Road
2019 will have several Fan Fest events around the world instead of one big one in Iceland:
West Coast NA – EVE VEGAS
Smaller Eve Fan Fest in Iceland
East Coast NA Event TBA
Eve Down Under
Fan Fest Tickets 2018 Available Now
Resource Wars
Empire mining sites hidden from view have been discovered by the pirates.
Short session co-op PVE gameplay.
Multiple Players Roles / Strategies
High-Security Sites
As Capsuleers we aren’t sure what the Blood Raiders are up too but they will be placing Foreword Operating Bases in High Sec with the release of Lifeblood.
Guerista’s Pirates are also setting up Sotiyo Class structures in High Sec as well.
Alpha Cone Adjustments
The promise of Free Eve brought new players to the game. Concurrent player counts spiked at launch and new players are trying the game at higher rates.
CCP wants the free experience to be valuable enough and deep enough that there is no requirement to subscribe to be rewarding.
Want returning players to come back as alphas and feel powerful and useful to corporations.
More skills coming for Alpha Clones. In December a significant amount of Skills will be added.
Tech II – Small and Medium Weapons
Can now fly Battlecruisers
Can now fly Battleships
All Faction Ships Allowed Now (no longer locked in)
20 million total skill points available to Alphas.
Characters in Alpha stop training at 5 Million. Any skills trained in the Alpha set after 5 million are available if subscribed and used regardless of account state.
Moon Mining & Mining Changes
Moon go is the needed resource for Tech 2 ships and modules.
Carve the moon, pull the chunk with a tractor beam and then destroy it to create a new asteroid field.
Each moon has one beacon and only one Refinery can be placed at a beacon.
The extraction process can take anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks. Corporation has exact control over how this happens.
High-grade ore can be found in Moon Ore – double the yield of regular ore but their spawn are random.
A ledger containing everyone who mined from the explosion and only available to the owners of the refinery.
Every character has their own mining ledger.
Reactions now have a similar interface to other industrial processes.
Future of Upwell Structures
Updates that will occur after Lifeblood Expansion – Upwell Structures 2.0 in 2018.
The biggest reworking of Upwell Structures to those structures already deployed early next year.
Four major pillars:
Active / Inactive state – Active when only when at least module is online. Inactive has no armor reinforcement cycle.
Complete rework of the existing “reinforcement system”. CCP has to balance Attackers Vs. Defenders. Shield vulnerability is 24/7, 2 days later is the next fight chosen by the defender. The final fight will be on both a date and time chosen by the defender.
Combat Overhaul: Adding burst projectors to Upwell Structures –Void bomb is being removed from structures.
Moon Mining in Wormholes and High-sec.
CCP wants player feedback on how they can continue to enhance existing structures.
Over the weekend CCP Games held their semi-annual in-person gathering of capsuleers with over a thousand EVE Online players coming together in Reykjavik, Iceland to hear about the future of Eve Online. Held over three days this year’s fan fest brought with it the announcement of the next three major content releases for EVE, the introduction of a new line of deployable structures and the tease of some mysterious content due out later this year.
The May Content Drop
Blood Raider Shipyards
Interactions with NPC pirate factions are about to escalate quite a bit with the addition of the Blood Raider Shipyards with in the May 9th release. This hostile Amar offshoot will begin deployment of their own shipyards which are similar to the player owned Engineering Complexes in design. Only a limited number of these shipyards will be deployed across New Eden at a time and upon destruction, a special blueprint for one of the Blood Raider Capital ships will drop, This means that competition from other players will be fierce for this highly coveted loot.
Here is how CCP’s site about the May Release describes the Blood Raider Shipyards:
“Blood Raider shipyards provide a unique opportunity for capsuleers from across the cluster to assault Blood Raider manufacturing facilities and military staging points,salvaging blueprints that will allow the construction of formidable Blood Raider capital vessels.”
Three New Blood Raider Capital Ships
Those lucky enough to survive the Blood Raider Shipyards PVE events will be rewarded with one of three brand new Capital blueprints that they can either use to manufacture one of these three new ships or sell for large amounts of ISK on the marketplace.
Pilots in New Eden have multiple ways that they can upgrade their account from the free-to-play Alpha tier to the subscription based Omega clone status. Some of these involve giving CCP real money (typically between $15 – $20CDN a month depending on the amount of game time subscribed), earning enough in-game ISK to purchase a Pilot’s License Extension (PLEX) for an additional 30 days of game time or earning PLEX through the refer-a-friend referral links.
Another entirely second premium currency currently in exists in EVE Online called Aurum which is used to purchase cosmetic items in the “New Eden Store”. Basically, CCP will be retiring Aurum entirely with the May release and making PLEX granular. Instead of purchasing a single PLEX item that can be redeemed for the in-game time, Pilots will be able to purchase PLEX in smaller chunks and spend it on a number of existing services including re-customizing their character, optional apparel, extending their subscription time or donating it to a friend. Don’t have enough ISK to buy the entire 30 days right away? Save up PLEX in smaller chunks until you have the 500 needed for 30 days by storing the new granular PLEX in your accounts PLEX Wallet.
This is how CCP explained the changes to PLEX, their official developer blog on this change has an entire breakdown of the coming changes and an FAQ for existing players:
“Currently, PLEX is rather large. By always existing as a one-month chunk of subscription time, PLEX can be cumbersome to buy and trade. We think it would be great if it could be broken into smaller units that fit your needs rather than always being bound to the size of 30 days. With that in mind, our first planned change is to convert every existing PLEX into 500 PLEX. After the change, anything you could get for 1 Plex from CCP will instead require 500 Plex. This new PLEX granularity will allow us to sell smaller PLEX packages, and allow you to trade whatever amounts you like with each other.”
New Introduction Movie:
The Winter Expansion: Unknown PVE Events In Empire Space
CCP is hard at work preparing a brand new expansion that will see new dynamic Player Vs Environment content come to New Eden. Specific details about this expansion were kept vague during the Fan Fest keynote and really any talk about the expansion’s existed that happened to come up during any panels.
What little we do know can basically be summed up nicely in CCP’s own words:
“We are going all-in with the EVE Online winter expansion. Using all new capabilities (dynamic PvE etc.), we will create amazing new content in the universe. The heart of this expansion will be all about new content: New challenges, new rewards, new aspects of EVE to learn and explore in Empire space. Stay tuned for more info.”
So Much More
(Image via CCP Games)
There was so much more information shared during the Eve Fan Fast keynote address and the almost six hours of daily content streamed on CCP’s Twitch channel over the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. If you’re a veteran capsuleer or simply feel like the world of New Eden might be interesting after reading this nearly 1,000 word summary of the major announcements I highly recommend giving some of it a watch. Not only is CCP’s dedication to their now 13 year old MMO so apparent but the EVE Online community is some of the passionate players I’ve ever shared a server with.
It wasn’t all flashy trailers & keynote presentations either – everything from lectures from real scientists, to community driven concept art panels to insights into the largest player run economies in gaming were available through CCP’s Twitch stream. EVE Online is a vast sandbox and clearly CCP has a lot of changes planned over the next year that will continue to evolve the content and user experience of Eve Online.
World of Darkness creators White Wolf have returned to the realm of video games with a pair of interactive stories available on Steam, iOS and Android devices. Modeled after the old “choose your own adventure” stories from the 80s & 90s either Vampire The Masquerade: We Eat Blood and Mage The Awakening: Refuge provide players with a certain degree of autonomy with regards to how each tale unfolds.
White Wolf CEO Tobias Sjogren had this to say about these latest digital titles:
“We know we can create great entertainment as well as serve the responsibility any content creators have helping the audience reflect on the world around them. These games show we are keen on trying new formats and that stories in World of Darkness doesn’t shy away from tough questions or contemporary issues.”
White Wolf Publishing was formally a subsidiary of Eve Online developer CCP games before being sold to publisher Paradox Interactive in October of 2015. Mage The Awakening: Refugee and Vampire The Masquerade: We Eat Blood represent the first time in over a decade that World of Darkness has been brought to life in digital form. Both interactive stories are available as a bundle for $10.99 CDN.
CCP Games has rolled out a new major update to EVE: Valkyrie on both Windows PC and PlayStation VR that introduces Wormholes to the multiplayer space dog fighting title. Wormholes are essentially weekly challenges that will introduce players to advanced encounters and gameplay types that will test their piloting ability. Each wormhole encounter will feature a different rotation of available ships, visuals that will help differentiate them from one another and special Wormhole only loot that may be available for a limited time.
Here is how CCP described Wormholes on their developer blog:
“Each wormhole also comes with its own pre-selected set of Ship Loadouts, which will automatically be assigned to your Launchtubes when you enter. Everyone gets the same set of Loadouts, fully upgraded, whether they normally have access to them or not. This provides an excellent opportunity for pilots to try out Loadouts that they might not currently have access to, or rarely fly, but also gives each wormhole its own distinct feel – its own little meta-microcosm.”
Wormholes are available in a separate matchmaking queue and these limited time events do not affect a pilot’s overall standings such as leaderboard rank, kill-death-ratio or other stats but players will still earn XP while participating in Wormhole events.
Also newly available is the Leagues Alpha system – Valkyrie’s answer to ladder matchmaking where players are placed in a specific pool. No longer constrained by your pilot rating players will find themselves assigned the rank of Emerald at the beginning of their League Alpha career and have a chance to ascend through the aptly named Sapphire, Ruby and Diamond ranks. CCP also wrote a blog about the basics of the League Alpha feature on their official Valkyrie league.
They give players more opportunities to be promoted within the Leagues
Seasons provide definitive end points where rewards can be given
Most importantly, Seasons can offer a clean slate so that cumulative data is not a governing factor in measuring our best pilots
In many ways, the alpha release of the Valkyrie League can be regarded as a Season in itself. Once the alpha is underway, we can see how the systems are holding up and then more accurately plan our first true Valkyrie Season.”
EVE Online developer, CCP,. has sent out a reminder to everyone who may have ever registered for a trial for their MMORPG – EVE Online – to remind ex-trial players that that their account has been upgraded to Alpha Clone status with the release of the Ascension expansion.
The world of New Eden can seem like a daunting place full of danger and just too many different statistics for new players to grasp. This is part of the reason I’ve covered Eve Online: Ascension as much as I have – the New Player Experience and Alpha Clone status allow even the freshest of capsuleers to start their life in New Eden without getting overwhelmed.
So, make sure to check out some of the feature briefs re-produced from the recent promo email that CCP sent out.
Regarding free accounts:
Fly totally free or subscribe for total freedom. The choice is yours withEVEOnline‘s new Clone States. Active subscription accounts are now called Omega Clone accounts. Inactive accounts and all trials (active or expired) have been reactivated and upgraded to Alpha Clone accounts.
Alpha Clones
– Zero monthly fees
– Standard training speed
– 21 ships per character
Omega Clones
– Regular monthly fee
– Double training speed
– 326 unique ships to fly
The brand new EVE Online Portal App that app that allows Capsuleers to check-in on various activities while away from New Eden:
“We are pleased to announce that EVE Portal, the EVEOnline Mobile app, has been released as an open beta for both Android and iPhone. This first iteration of EVE Portal will include base level of functionality, with more to come in the future.”
Rounding out the reminder sent out by CCP is an abreivated list of featued added in Ascension:
New Character Sheet – with better organization, more intuitive skill overview, and support for the new Clone states.
Command Bursts– are similar to auras and point-blank area of effect (PBAoE) skills, providing Armor, Shield, Information, Skirmish, and Mining bonuses.
Other features and updates include:
– Fitting Simulator
– More Activity in Asteroid Belts
– Tactical Destroyer Balance Pass
– AoE Generators for Titans
– Explosion and Wreck Renovation
– Capital Ship Rebalance
– P.A.N.I.C. Button for Rorquals
EVE Online developer CCP Games has revealed details about the 2017 EVE Online Fanfest to be held in Reykjavik Iceland from April 6th through 8th 2017.
This 3 day gathering allows EVE Online capsuleers to gather and discuss their shared interest in massive multiplayer internet space ships. Attendees will be able to partake in panels, a live-streamed keynote, meet their favorite CCP dev and join in on a pub crawl in Iceland.
Fanfest tickets are quite pricey – costing $227 USD through EventBright for those who are interested in pre-ordering. Purchasing a ticket grants attendees access to all of the on-premise events as well as CCPS large party held at The Top of the World and an exclusive Fanfest goodie bag. In order to attend Fanfest attendees must be over the age of 18.
CCP will take EVE Online free-to-play on November 15th with the launch of the Ascension expansion. Alongside a skill limited Alpha Clone free-to-play state Ascension will bring changes to NPC mining belts, brand new industrial arrays allowing miners to have a brand new home among the stars and brand new ship explosion animations that looks pretty awesome.
For more information check out the official FanFest website.
CCP Games VR exclusive space shooter Eve Valkyrie is going to be released as a console exclusive for PlayStation VR this coming Tuesday. Ahead of the game’s launch CCP & Sony have released a launch trailer featuring some of the characters from the game’s single player offerings.
EVE Valkyrie is CCP game’s attempt to bring the long running Eve franchise to the action flight genre. Utilizing a VR headset, like the PSVR or Oculus Rift, players are thrust into the boots of a clone fighter pilot aboard one of the larger ships within the Eve universe. While the game does feature several “single player missions” that are aimed at allowing pilots to learn the mechanics rather than to tell a cohesive narrative.
The heart of Eve Valkyrie is the Player vs Player combat – a number of modes have been since the game’s launch on PC including a carrier attack mode, a trench mode as well as new maps. The game was originally exclusive to Windows PC and has yet to make the (faster than light) jump to other platforms like Steam.
An upcoming update for the PlayStation VR version will allow cross-platform play with the Windows PC version.
As an EVE Online player I pretty much squealed at the Gurista emblem on one of the pilot’s jackets.
CCP Games has unleashed the launch trailer for their immersive spaceship combat title EVE: Valyrie which is exclusively available for the Oculus Rift.
Owen O’brien, the game’s executive producer, reflects on the journey the team has been on to bring the game to market. He remembers trying on his first modern VR headset three years ago and how the technology has advanced since then.
“I’m incredibly proud of what the team here in Newcastle have created, but what we have built is not an end in itself. Rather, it’s a basecamp to start from. Where we go from here is up to you. We want this to be the best competitive multiplayer game on the VR platform. But we don’t get to decide that. The players do. “
Eve: Valkyrie takes place in the same universe as CCP’s long running EVE universe, in the game players take the role a Capsuleer, one of the elite few who are able to use the Capsule technology to single handedly fly technologically advanced starships. Death isn’t the end for a capsuleer – upon death their consciousness is transferred to a new clone body with all of the memories and experiences that the last incarnation had.
If you’re a sci-fi fan and don’t own a rift it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch this trailer – it’s narrated by none other than BattlestarGalatica veteran Katie Sackhoff!
EVE: Valkyrie is currently bundled with the consumer version of the OculusRIFT. If you didn’t get your hands on a launch unit the game can be purchased through the Oculus Store for $59.99.
I didn’t pre-order an Oculus Rift, but I do want to own the EVE: Valkyrie Founder’s Pack. What can I do?
After Rift pre-orders end on 28 March, the only way to get EVE: Valkyrie will be via the EVE: Valkyrie Founder’s Pack, which will be available for purchase on the EVE: Valkyrie website, through Oculus Home, and from select digital retailers, at a price of USD $59.99.
CCP Games have released a new developer diary video for Playstation 3 exclusive DUST 514. The MMO crossover is still scheduled for a launch in late 2012, and you can still sign up to be considered for the beta at www.dust514.com/beta.
“Part two again features the creative minds behind the game – Producer Thomas Farrer and Art Director Richard Dimond – this time focusing the discussion on the deadly mercenary soldiers in the game. The video also touches on the fitting system, which allows players to equip and utilize different sets of armor, weapons and more on the battlefield.”Read More
