EVE Online
Webpages concerning "EVE Online"
|
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.
Wikipedia-Article "EVE Online"
| EVE Online | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | CCP Games |
| Publisher(s) | CCP Games |
| Designer(s) | |
| Engine | |
| Latest version | {{{version}}} |
| Release date(s) |  May 6, 2003 May 6, 2003 May 23, 2003 |
| Genre | MMORPG Space simulation |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T)  |
| Platform(s) | Windows  |
| Media | CD, FTP download |
| System requirements | |
| Input | |
EVE Online is a persistent world multiplayer online game set in space. It was developed by CCP Games and published by Simon & Schuster Interactive in 2003 (Simon & Schuster Interactive no longer publishes the game and CCP now offers the game client for download from their website). Players are spaceship pilots in craft of varied style and purpose.
EVE Online is set in a far away galaxy, governed by a hyper capitalistic economy. Like most MMORPGs, the game is open-ended, and new players can behave as they choose. EVE's economic design encourages new players to seek wealth as a source of both status and utility.
Contents |
Background
Quote from CCP's website, (Backstory)
"EVE - EXODUS
EVE takes place in a cluster of stars far from mankind’s original habitat, planet Earth. How far away, and whether or not that cradle of civilization still exists, is a mystery. Humans arrived through a natural wormhole and, gazing up upon an alien sky they had never seen, were completely unable to determine where this new world was located. From the New Eden solar system, where the gate of EVE once led to the old world, humans expanded in all directions at a furious pace, exploring and colonizing rapidly.
Then, unexpectedly and seemingly unprovoked, the EVE gate collapsed in an apocalyptic catastrophe of a scale never before witnessed by the human race, ruining the New Eden system in the process. Thousands of small colonies were left in complete isolation to fend for themselves, cut off from the old world. For millennia they endured, clinging to the brink of extinction, and only a handful managed to survive.
Of those that lasted, five were to rise up and become the major empires that, between them, hold the balance of power in the world of EVE. Today, they are known as the Amarr Empire, the Gallente Federation, the Caldari State, the Minmatar Republic, and the Jovian Empire. Additionally, the world is full of several small, independent factions and states.
For more than a century, the five empires have lived together in relative peace. They’ve continually strived to maintain this peace, as each faction realizes only too well the grave consequences of a massive inter-stellar war. Recent technological breakthroughs in FTL travel, and the ensuing increase in space travelers, have shaken, but not broken, the fragile peace... at least not yet."
There is a background movie included in the client which explains how Earth became overpopulated and eventually mankind expanded out amongst the stars, building their own stargates. However the stargate travel had reached its limit when the forces of humanity turned on each other, a wormhole in space was found and designated, EVE, it led to a system of stars known as New Eden. Colonists ventured to the system and lived in relative peace until the wormhole collapsed, New Eden was cut off from the rest of mankind and most of its supply chain, and entered a dark age, until society rebuilt itself and re-emerged. Originally, there were three basic races: the Amarr, a deeply religious race which enslaved the Minmatar, a mostly tribal race, and the Gallente, a democratic Federation comprised of many states. One of these was the Caldari State, which rebelled and seceded from the Gallente Federation, forming their own independent, highly capitalistic State, which is now the fourth major race (although the Caldari tie closely in to the Gallente). The fifth major race, the Jovian Empire, was not detailed in the movie.
Gameplay
EVE Online is different from many other MMORPG games as the player's character does not gain experience points by actions or by completing tasks. Instead, the player "trains" skills by learning skill points (in a specific skill) over time. This allows all players, regardless of their time commitments, to advance their characters' skills at a roughly equal (but not fixed) rate. Early choices may have significant implications months or years later when a patch introduces new content that may (or may not) benefit players equally. The skill training systems is connected with your attributes; Intelligence, Perception, Charisma, Willpower and Memory. The higher you have in these attributes the faster you train the skills that are connected with those attributes. There are of course skills that increase your attributes and there are also implants that can increase your attributes.
Players can choose a variety of tasks to complete in their time in the EVE universe, such as mining, fighting, running agent missions, hauling (transportation) and so forth. Players who devote more time or more thought into their endeavours can amass ISK — or InterStellar Kredits, the game's currency — at a considerably accelerated rate.
Another feature of EVE designed to level the playing field between players is the "security system". Every solar system in the EVE universe has a security status which ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. Systems with a rating of 0.0 are completely lawless, 0.1 to 0.4 have absolutely no protection by CONCORD but are covered by sentry guns (only at stargates and stations), 0.5 to 0.8 systems have moderate protection, and 0.9 and 1.0 systems are considered to be extremely secure. Any time a player commits an act of aggression in a system with a security rating at or above 0.5, CONCORD defense forces and/or stationary weapons platforms will immediately attack and destroy the aggressor (something known in EVE as "CONCORDOKEN"). Thus, less legitimate activities flourish in 0.4 and lower systems — which comprise most of the Universe — while new and/or less aggressive players play the game safe from PvP combat in 0.5 and above systems.
At the time of its release, EVE Online was known for its highly detailed graphics (at the very least, for an MMORPG). EVE is played entirely on one large server cluster named Tranquility, and is not broken into shards or instances like many other MMORPGs, apart from the open test server named Singularity. All the players (not testers) are on the same server cluster and therefore in the same game-world. Whenever the server is down for maintenance, server load is redistributed according to how much traffic each system received during the previous play period. Therefore, unpredictably large numbers of players in one system tend to cause lag, and large-scale events (such as fleet battles) can be made impossible. On Sunday, December 18th, 2005, EVE Online achieved a new record for the maximum number of simultaneous players logged into EVE Online with 20,743 concurrent players on the same server. In recent months, EVE Online has been setting such records almost every week.
The servers have a scheduled daily downtime for maintenance between 11:00 and 12:00 GMT. EVE currently costs €15 / $15 a month (the European cost is higher as VAT is included). However, like other MMOGs, the cost can be reduced by paying for larger subscription intervals.
CCP purchased distribution rights back from Simon & Shuster in 2003, and now distributes the game client via free digital download.
Free 14-day trials for EVE Onlineare available at:
Those who are playing EVE Online already can send 14-day trials to their friends via the 'Buddy Program', available from the EVE Online website.
Criticism
- EVE's overall design philosophy favors people to be in areas where there are no police. You can play just fine in 1.0 <-> 0.5 security status areas and have real fun in them. But the most lucrative areas are of course the low security status area ie those of 0.4 and lower where there is no police. (Risk vs Reward)
- Newer players are normally focused on learning how to play, since the learning curve is steep. Furthermore, newer players need to spend time learning the neccessary skills for their character to be effective in combat.
- Defeat sometimes carries these penalties: the cost of one clone contract (according to most kill boards 30% chance), loss of all cargo and equipment (which may be destroyed when the ship is destroyed, or 'looted' by players nearby), loss of ship. Ship insurance is somewhat limited in that it will only cover the cost of the ship nothing else. Module insurance does not exist. This is some what akin to the death penalities imposed by many other MMORPGs. This gives the player something tangible to protect and care for rather than throwing it away on a whim because they get all their money back. In this respect, EVE-Online is the most brutal MMORPG when it comes to losing something. This gives some players increased adrenaline rushes when it comes to combat. However for other players, it can cause them to quit the game out of frustration at losing 'everything' they worked for.
Expansions
In this case, the word "expansions" is limited to major and official releases of new improvements to the game. CCP, the creators of EVE, update the game with new gameplay features and bugfixes once or twice every month. Therefore a lot of changes and additions are often made between "expansions". Since everyone is playing in the same universe (there is no sharding) all expansions/patches are free (mandatory) downloads.
Gemini
Gemini was not actually an expansion but is included here for the sake of accuracy. When EVE Online was released, the base was codenamed Gemini, version 1.00.0000.
Castor
Castor was the first major addition focused on refining current functions along with adding Tech Level 2. It also included conquerable space stations located in deep space.
Exodus
Exodus was released on 24 November 2004 and added new content such as player owned stations, multi-level-scenarios, new environments (ice fields and gas clouds), a new alliance system, new ships, better handling of conflicts, new market functionality, user interface improvements, and an updated in-game web browser. Prior to its official release, this expansion was codenamed "Shiva."
Cold War Edition
Cold War Edition added larger structures and ships, new environments, more user interface changes and new agent functionality. Newly added "COSMOS" constellations contain new in-space agents with story-driven missions and unique rewards. The expansion also contains an extensive new tutorial sequence and a storyline background introduction.
Red Moon Rising
Red Moon Rising is the latest expansion to EVE Online, and contained much of the content slated to be in 'Kali.' Red Moon Rising was split off in order to maintain a more regular patch schedule. It included many code optimizations and updates to combat, research, and manufacturing. This will greatly increase flexibility and content while greatly reducing server overhead. Red Moon Rising also improved the ship line-up by adding several new Tech Level 2 ships and rebalancing the existing Tech Level 1 ships. Added to the ship classes were Recon Cruisers (cruiser class ships designed to cloak and/or operate in support roles), Command Cruisers (battlecruiser class ships that grant bonuses to leadership), and Interdictors (destroyer class ships that can stop warp activation). Mining and manufacturing players have many new items, implants, and ships to use. Carrier, Mothership and Titan ship classes were added. Some of these ships utilize extra-large drones (or 'Fighters') as their primary weapons systems, and have many abilities focused on supporting fleets of lesser ships. Titans will additionally have special abilities such as wormhole generators and super weapons. Finally, NPC ships have received a significant overhaul, with new abilities and new ships. Red Moon Rising or 'RMR' was released on December 14 2005.
Kali
Kali is the codename for the the fifth expansion. With it coming new Factional Warfare and Combat Organization like introducing Medals and Certifications which are to be awarded by Eve into corps and alliances. Contracts system and combat boosters will be implemented including the new arrival of Tier-3 Battleships and Tier-2 Battlecruisers. (As Red Moon Rising (RMR) has taken over Kali's place, Kali has been pushed back to Q2 2006).
Server Infrastructure
Single world
- Goal: no sharding
- Separate China "cluster" when expanding there (due to Chinese laws)
- Player concentration in safe space
Growth and Instability
EVE Online is currently growing at a rapid rate, reaching a record of 15 000 concurrent players on 22 September 2005 [1] and another record of 20 000 just three months later, on 18 December 2005. This rapid growth has out-run CCP's gradual hardware introduction and software optimisation plan, and the server cluster is currently straining at the 'glass ceiling' of its underlying 32-bit architecture. In the days after the release of the Red Moon Rising content patch, which included many underlying changes, the single server cluster EVE runs from, 'Tranquility', saw extreme lag and frequent system-wide crashes because of this low margin of error. During these events CCP's CEO, Hilmar Pétursson, wrote a developer blog explaining to the userbase the problems facing EVE, and what CCP were doing to resolve them [2]. Underlying this change is the switch from 32-bit architecture to 64-bit architecture, necessitating a cluster overhaul in the near future. When this is completed EVE will offer increased performance to a wider audience.
Hardware
Current
Future
Gameplay Jargon
- 0.0 - Zero Zero refers to all space not controlled by NPC empires. There are no consequences for destroying other ships and no NPC protection of any sort. Player empire building is largely conducted in 0.0 space.
- AB - Afterburner, commonly known as.
- AF - Assault Frigates class ship; Tough and powerful, these Tech 2 frigates have similar offensive/defensive capabilities to standard cruisers, but are slow in comparison to some other frigates. They are still much faster than cruisers and especially battleships, however.
- BB - Blackbird, a Caldari type of cruiser specifically designed for use in electronic warfare.
- BS - Battleship class ship; large, expensive and slow, these versatile and powerful ships tend to be set up to deal with other battleships. This can make them vulnerable to smaller ships.
- Can - cargo container.
- Carebear - A player who avoids combat. Used as a pejorative, though less frequently than it once was, as it is now seen simply as aversion to danger, which can be considered a smart move depending on circumstances.
- CCP - Acronym for Crowd Control Productions, the developer of EVE Online.
- Concordokkened, or less frequently Concorded - Attacked and destroyed by Concord (the NPC Eve-online police force) for performing aggressive actions in empire space. The noun Concordokken describes this situation, a reference to Street Fighter's popular Dragon Punch (Hadoken).
- Corp - Corporation. Corporations are similar to Guilds in other MMOGs, but include roles to assign areas of responsibility as well as shares used to vote on important decisions. Corporations may form official groupings known as Alliances, which are the basic political unit in the outer territories.
- Frig - Frigate class ship; The cheapest class of ships which makes them a good(and often the only) choice for new players. Not be underestimated, they can give bigger ships a run for their money if used in large groups.
- Gank - Destroying another player's vessel in a very short time, ideally before they realize what is going on. A Gank ship configuration is one focuses as doing as much damage as possible at the expense of defensive measures. Can also refer to multiple ships ganging up on a single ship.
- HAC - Heavy Assault Cruiser class ship; These Tech 2 cruisers are specially designed for tanking as well as good offensive capabilities. Many players consider them nearly the offensive equivalent to a battleship, and their superior mobility in comparison means that they are often used in offensive operations.
- Highsec - High Security space. Ships traveling in Highsec are protected from being destroyed by other players. Any ship that does attempt to do so is destroyed very quickly, although suicide attacks have been known to succeed.
- Implant - A fairly expensive device implanted into the brain to further enhance players attributes and skills. These are lost if you are "Podded".
- Indy - Industrial class ship; mainly cargo ships. Slow, weak, with only one weapon mount in many cases, these are only generally used with escorts.
- Inty or Ceptor - Interceptor class ship; They are one of the more widely used elite frigates. More expensive than a normal frigate but their high speed and agility makes them difficult to destroy by larger ship classes.
- ISK - Inter Stellar Kredits, EVE Currency (also the ISO code for the currency of Iceland, where EVE is developed).
- Jet-Can - Jettison Canister. This refers to the cargo canisters created whenever a player jettisons items from their ship. These can last anywhere from 1 to 3 hours before timing out.
- Jet Mining - Asteroid mining operations involving one or more miners jettisoning a non-secure cargo container for a hauler to bring to a nearby space station.
- Lowsec - Low Security space. Refers to space that is still considered owned by Non-Player organizations, but without the explicit protection against other players afforded in High Security, besides sentry guns.
- MWD - MicroWarpDrive, a module that radically increases ship speed but with certain drawbacks.
- Nerf - the losing of functionality or damage dealing capability of a weapon or gameplay mechanic. An example of this would be the recent missile nerf (changes).
- Owned - Generic gaming slang referring to a scenario where a player or any other target is destroyed or significantly damaged in a very efficient manner. Often used to refer to a humiliation.
- PC - Player Character, opposite to NPC
- PDU - Power Diagnostic System. Originally Power Diagnostic Unit, the name was changed but the abbreviation had stuck. A module that increases shield and capacitor recharge rate along with bonuses to shield HP, powergrid and capacitor capacity.
- Pirate - A player who engages in piracy against other players. ie. "Tackling" another players ship then demanding a sum of money, or some expensive items, in exchange for their freedom.
- Pod - Escape Pod. 4 metre long capsule which contains the player's body, pods are designed to allow players to easily control ships without need for a crew and survive ship destruction. Pods are also equipped with a powerful brain-scanner that can instantly scan the brain. While this process also instantly kills the old body, it also allows the consciousness to survive by transferring it to a new clone in the case of a capsule breach.
- Podding - Destroying another players capsule after having destroyed his ship. Since implants are destroyed and new clones can be expensive or cause experience loss if the clone isn't good enough, this can be a great way to deliver maximum damage to ones enemies.
- POS - Player owned starbase. There are no non-player-owned starbases per se. These structures can act as bases and are crucial to the manufacture of certain advanced items. They must be built around a moon. They are expensive to maintain, requiring a great investment in time and money, but are very tough to destroy.
- Rats - NPC pirates. A term to distinguish NPC pirates from player pirates.
- RCU - Reactor Control Unit gives a bonus only to powergrid using CPU in return.
- Stabs - Warp Core Stabilizers, each one of these nulls the effect of 1 'point' of Warp Scrambling effects. Also abbreviated as "WCS".
- Tackle - To immobilize another ship through the use of various electronic warfare modules (webifiers, warp disruptors). A ship outfitted for this is a "Tackler".
- Tank - Refers to the absorbtion of incoming damage. Setting a ship up for maximum defense is referred to as a Tank setup and is usually done at the expense of offense and versatility. The act of tanking is absorbing damage to a greater degree than otherwise possible.
- Timesinks - Monotonous activities required for player advancement (i.e., mining).
Ships
- Main article: EVE Online/ships
Ships in the EVE universe are organised into a variety of weight classes, with each weight covering a broad variety of ship class.
The enormous scale of some of the newer vessels in the Eve universe can been seen in this image: [6]. Using the Caldari fleet as an example, the small vessels in the top right of the chart are frigates, along with the shuttle and destroyer. Moving counter-clockwise around the Caldari fleet, the next four vessels are cruisers, while the following is a battlecruiser. Following the battlecruiser are the two battleships, then the carrier, mothership, titan, frieghter, three industrials, and finally the Dreadnought.
![[6]](http://www.eve-files.com/media/12/eve_chart-rmr.jpg){kind=link}
- See EVE Online/ships for a full list of ship types.
Awards
- PC Gamer Sweden: Best Online RPG 2003
- SuperPlay GULDPIXELN 2003: Online Game of the year
- 2003 Gamespy Best Graphics
External links
Official
Third party
- EVE-news.com - Online EVE-news magazine
- EVEnews - EVE news fan site
- EveGate - EVE Online News & Interviews
- Eve DB - EVE Online Database of items
- EVE Radio - A radio station by and for the players
- EVE Alliance Wiki (Under new management, not yet completely up)
- EVE-Search.com - unofficial EVE forums search engine
- EVE-Files.com - unofficial hosting for EVE related files
- EVE-Offline.Net - EVE Fan site
- BattleClinic.com - Kill board and Item database
- EveGeek.com - Info and calculations for numerous things related to EVE
- Eve-Zone.net - A resource for comparing the specs of different ships
Articles & Stories
- All about EVE (PDF): A personal account of Jim Rossignol's experiences in EVE, written in the New Games Journalism style. Originally published in PC Gamer UK.
- EVE-Pirate.com: Stories and articles from pirates in eve, first and main piracy related community-site (blog influenced).
- The Big Scam: A memoir by a disgruntled ex-player dealing with the game mechanics
- Trust Me: Article discussing trust in gameworld economies, contrasting EVE Online with Second Life and using the example of the 'Interstellar Starbase Syndicate' venture [7].
- Warp Drive Active: Comic Strip