Team Super Friends has published a dev-blog about the new War mechanics and new modules, which I will cover in more detail below. Since I have recently joined an industrial corp, Aideron Robotics, which is focused on making things (making things go BOOM is in our portfolio as well), I will try to focus on the crafting side of EVE Online in the next couple of posts. I also think that the EVE blogging scene is dominated by PVP related blogs, so it seems to be a good idea to write about something else

Armor Adaptive Hardener I - Low slot. You can use only one such mod at a time, and only Tech I version will become available in Inferno. This hardener will adapt to the incoming damage received in each cycle. Overheating will make the mod adapt faster. this kind of technology reminds me of the Borg More meta versions will follow if this becomes successful. IMHO a must have mod for armor fleets - just like the Damage Control mod.

Extrinsic Damage Amplifier I & II - Low slot. Works for all drones, but will not work for fighters or fighter bombers. I don't know why, but the icon suggests drone recycling. Stack penalties apply, so mixing this one with a bunch of Sentry Damage Augmentors rigs is probably not the best idea. Tech 2 version will be inventable from Tech 1 BPCs. Can't wait to lay my hands on the BPO of this!

Small/Medium/Large/X-Large Ancillary Shield Booster I. Mid slot. A shield booster that gives a better boost than its normal counterpart, and can also use Cap Charges as fuel. When you run out of cap charges, it will automatically switch to eating your capacitor, just like normal shield booster does.

MagSheath Target Breaker I - Mid slot. A must have for fleet engagements. Has a chance to break all incoming target locks based on the overall number of the number of players targeting your ship. The greater this number, the better the chance of activation. The new module has two penalties: considerable sensor resolution debuff and it breaks your own target locks as well upon successful activation. This module cannot be fitted to capital ships.

Small/Medium/Large Overclocking Processor Unit I & II - A rig that increases the CPU, 'nuff said. Hits shield regen rate as a side effect.

Light & Medium Web Drones -  what name says. These drones have huge sginature radius and are paper thin.

Capacitor Battery update - Capacitor Batteries now have an anti-vampire effect that will deflect part of the Energy Neutralizer and Nosferatu effects back to the agressor.

How to get the new shineys?

Only the drone damage mod will be seeded as Tech I BPO. Everything else will spawn as BPCs in exploration sites around the k-space. BPCs will vary from 3 to 50 runs and will also drop from officer and commander spawns. This is to prevent flooding the market by greedy industrial pilots such as myself. This gives exploration a bit more sense.

Developers also consider moving some of the new modules to LP stores, which would bring some fresh perspective into how modules come into the game. I like the idea, but if the diversification becomes too great, CCP might end up having to dumb-down the game again at some point, seeding all the items as blueprints from NPCs.

Wait, where is my Micro Jump Drive?

It is just around the corner. According to the dev-blog, CCP has a working prototype, but they were unable to get it working well enough for a production release. The same applies to Salvage Drones, although the graphics assets for both are ready. This means we will probably see them in the Inferno 1.1 or whatever CCP calls the next update.

Just a month ago we were stunned with the beautiful login screen of Escalation to Inferno, and this afternoon CCP has pushed yet another patch to Singularity, bringing this burning vista. Great job guys!

If you are interested in giving Inferno a go before it's released, feel free to read this very short and handy guide to Singularity (at the bottom of this post).

Revamped Inventory:

• Managing corporation items in a station
• All item management from POS structures done in space on grid
• All Inventory management in space (wrecks, opening other ship locations, etc)
• All Inventory management in stations (items, ships)
• This change does NOT affect the ASSETS window itself

This is a big change: inventory is now hierarhic. The top node is your active ship (with all bays as subfolders). The next two nodes are Items and Ships. The right part of the window is the usual icon grid that we are used to. To move items, simply drag them to the appropriate tree node on the left.

The new Inventory window will show the spinning pinwheel when loading items from the server. Good news is that it is also possible to filter the assets easily. The built in filters work great, but don't trust the "valuable" filter too much - it doesn't show faction items for example. You can of course build your own filters, so this should not be a problem.

Revamped Faction Warfare:

• LP for kills
• Bunkers are now infrastructure hubs
• LP for all FW actions (capturing complexes, capturing infrastructures hubs, etc)
• New FW front page
• Consequences for capturing systems/regions (benefits for you, grief for your enemy)
• Capturing FW system affect SOV ownership

Graphical changes:

• New missile launchers and launch effects
• New missiles, trails and explosions
• New Stealth Bombers
• Manticore
• Nemesis
• Purifier
• Hound
• Amarr V3
• All sub capital Amarr ships, excluding T3 cruisers.
• 14 different skintypes have been added to the Character Creator. This allows all bloodlines to have a wide range of skincolors.

I really like the way the V-threed Damnation looks now. Missile effects in few words are simply kick-ass. Good job art departament!!

Also by the look at the remodelled Cloaked Bombers you can finally tell where all these t2 materials go This change and the Deimos model change back in Crucible add a lot to the immersion factor of EVE. I hope that other t2 ships are going to get some distinctive features as well.

Did I mention that new missile effects are gorgeous?

War changes

• Updated Kill Reports (aka Kill Mails)
• New war cost
• Corp CEO/Director declares wars, no voting required
• Alliance wars transfer to corps leaving
• No automatic war retraction by aggressor
• Wars last for week by default
• Either side can offer surrender in a war
• The defending side can get allies to help
• There is a place for people to find prospective allies/clients
• Players can now more easily track the war in the War Report
• All corps have publicly viewable war history

New modules & drones

• Drone Damage module (Extrinsic Damage Amplifier)
• CPU Rigs (Small/Medium/Large Processor Overclocking Unit)
• Fueled Shield booster (Small/Medium/Large Ancillary Shield Booster), using Cap Boosters as charges
• Light and Medium Web drones
• Adaptive Armor Hardener

The Adaptive Armor Hardener is a very curious mod, because it is different from shield Invulnerability Field:

1. You can only fit one such mod
2. It adapts to the incoming damage each cycle
3. Overheating shortens the cycle, thus making it quicker to adapt

It's giving the armor tankers an interesting twist, both for PvE activities (less hardener swapping) and PvP activities (strong omni tank which is able to adapt to specific damage type). This hardener will quickly become a "must have" mod just like Damage Control.

How do I test these goodies myself?

A very short guide to Singularity

• Just make a copy of your main EVE folder, name it "EVE Test" or something that lets you know it's SiSi client
• Make a link to eve.exe on your desktop
• Right click that link, choose Preferences
• Add /server:singularity after eve.exe, make sure there is a space between .exe and /

This allows you to play with the new content, but also allows participation in mass tests scheduled by the CCP every few weeks.

Why participation in mass tests is good for you?

• Because you help CCP develop better EVE.
• Because for each test you get free 2M SP on Singularity for your testing pleasure.
• Because it's a win-win secnario.

A player nicknamed 'sarmatiko' has released an unofficial preview of the new models. The video is available on youtube:

I am also not surprised, that CCP will release new V3 skins for Amarr ships, to match the Gallente and Caldari skins released in Crucible. CCP has released an official preview:

I am however a bit concerned, that we will probably still have to wait for the Minmatar ships to receive the V3 love. I just hope that the delay means they will look even more awesome.

If you own an iDevice running iOS 5 or 5.1 you might have seen this window when trying to update or download an app from the App Store:

And if you've seen it, you've probably seen it more than once. So what does this error message really mean?

It means that you have a corrupted sqlite db file. Who would have thought? Unfortunately this is a known bug and has been happening to users all over the world. So far Apple did not fix the issue, but thanks to the internet, some clever folks have found & shared the solution on apple.com community forum.

EDIT:Apple has adressed this bug in IOS 5.1.1

If you are experiencing the problem above, just go to Settings -> General -> Software Update to update your device to iOS 5.1.1

If for whatever reason you can not/don't want to update your device, follow the tutorial below.

The tutorial is based on the forum info, but has some screenshots, which should make it even easier.

Pre-requisites

iOS version <= 5.1 (bug has been fixed by Apple in iOS 5.1.1 and above) - but jailbreak is not required!

The guide

1. Download iExplorer from their creator's website: http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/

2. Install iExplorer to your PC or Mac

3. Run iExplorer

4. Connect your iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad to your computer

5. Close iTunes if it starts automatically

6. Click "Mount iDevice" in the iExplorer window. You should now see list of files in the sandbox part of the device storage:

7. Browse to "Media" ->; "Downloads"

8. Find the file "downloads.*.sqlitedb"

9. Delete the file mentioned in 8.

10. Close iExplorer

11. Disconnect the device

12. Press the top "On/off" button and keep it pressed until "Slide to power-off" appears. Once it does, move the slider.

13. Wait for the device to shut down

14. Press the "On/off" button and wait for the device to boot up.

Done! The bug should be gone.

.

Credits

Writing this guide was possible thanks to just_jeepin and ya1950 posts on Apple Support Communities forum.

This is not my first break, and probably not the last. It also means I will be getting back at some point, possibly around Inferno release or shortly after.

Until then, fly safe o/

PS. Aideron Robotics is a great corp - they understand that RL comes first. Looking for a new corp? Apply now

Let's see which items from the list are already available in the current beta:

• Ship re-balancing and changes to ship skill tree (racial battlecruisers and destroyers)

As you can see, there is no changes here yet.

• Drone iterations

During the mass test I was unable to visit Drone Regions, but as you can see on the map, true sec has already been adjusted:

• Incursion iterations

Vanguards ISK payout in high sec has been slightly adjusted (-10%). Additionally, blitzing is no longer possible; all ships need to be destroyed before next wave spawns. The waves themselves have been randomized, so they are not easily predictable anymore.

• Improved HUD

The new HUD now has e-war indicators above the gauge, but is still a little buggy. Once you dock and undock, the new HUD will be... gone. According to CCP this is a known issue and workaround is to open PI screen and then closing it - HUD will be back.

The mass test, as usual, included a fair amount of pew-pew:

Now approaching its tenth year, the EVE Online player community has matured into an intricate and multi-faceted society viewed with envy by other game developers, but is frequently regarded with suspicion by the wider gaming community. 

Is this perception deserved? Should "The Nation of EVE" be concerned by its public identity and if so how might that be improved? What influence will the integration of the DUST 514 community have on this culture in the future?

[Unrelated and random bonus question sponsored by EVE News 24: What single button would you recommend be included on an EVE-specific keyboard?]

Social aspects of massive multiplayer games are a very broad topic. It's actually the foundation, upon which such games are built, so this could easily be a good topic for Ph.d. in Sociology or Psychology.

One Nation

EVE Online player community is a huge pool of personalities, playstyles and individual treats. The whole community can be divided into alliances, power blocs, groups based on different play styles (with PVP dominating over other types of gameplay) or game world geography (high sec, low sec, nullsec, WH). While opinions will most likely vary, based on which groups a given player belongs to, some of them will be the same for the majority:

• Microtransactions are bad, mkay?
• This is an aftermatch of the famous monoclegate, which has changed EVE, CCP and the playerbase as well. Players have united to defend the game they play, love and care about (even if they play merciless killers in said game). EVE community often unites when the changes proposed (or already introduced) by the CCP are not good for the game. It seems as if players knew the game better than the devs. No other MMO developer relies so much on player feedback as much as CCP relies on EVE community. Even if sometimes devs seem to ignore player feedback, they will more often listen to it before (sometimes after) introducing some game-breaking features. If CCP did not care about playerbase opinions, there would be no CSM and we would have 256 monocles to choose from right now. Secondly, many game design changes have been revisited if player feedback did not approve them.
• Boosts are good, nerfs are bad.
• This does not unite the community as a whole, but rather specific groups who will suffer from a nerf, or from a boost instead. Whining in groups is always better than whining alone.
• CCP should focus on spaceships
• Majority of players play EVE for spaceships, not for avatars, and this is the message that constantly reverberates throughout player feedback. CCP  has shifted their priorities accordingly, but also given the avatar gameplay new, meaningful focus.
• We are not carebears; everyone else is
• Dominated by males, EVE community has typical features of a testosterone-based group. Players like to boast about their achievements and don't mention their failures.
• We are elite PvPers
• see above;
• EVE is a hard game but we have mastered it
• It is not as hard as it seems, but CCP views it as something that can be marketed, and most casual gamers will likely be overwhelmed with the vast world of EVE. And males who play EVE with more or less success can boast about it. See testosterone comment above.

Players are part of the game now

I have focused on feedback and the player-dev relationship, which in many ways is unique for EVE Online. And I have done so because I think it goes deeper than just that. CCP has created a game world. But this is a statement true for 2003 through 2005, where there was not enough players to complete the economy and fill the world. but players slowly replace the NPCs and become... part of that world. No, EVE is not real and we don't jack in to a Matrix of sorts (although the game indeed feels real at times). What I mean is that New Eden is not complete without its population anymore. CCP could shape this world the way they wanted when they first created it in 2003, but right now the world can (and will) push back on CCP as well, because players are now a part of it.

Relationship status: It's complicated

The relationship CCP and EVE players have forged overt the years have been a long and a bumpy ride, but it's also quite unique in the gaming industry as such. The fact that for 10 years straight EVE playerbase has been growing steadily is a telltale sign that the way chosen by the CCP is a good one. This fact also indicates, that Crowd Control Productions has a lot to its name.

Did you actually understand the banter's topic, Rox?

Yes I did This long introduction had a purpose.

Unfortunately the PVP nature of the game, and the fact that over 90% of players are male also causes some misconception about what EVE Online is about. The recent events of Mittanigate would suggest to the outside world, that EVE Online is a game, which goal is to harass other people to the point they commit a suicide. Whatever the reasons behind Mittani's behaviour were, and despite the fact that he actually apologized to his "victim", the image of cruelty sticks. Is EVE online a cruel game? For an unprepared soul, it can be, yes. But for a seasoned player dealing with it is just part of the game. Moreover, CCP is using this image to market their game.

I will always emphasize, that EVE has a white side as well - it offers an unscripted experience of players creating the events and being part of a single open sandbox they inhabit. Most reviews of EVE written by people who only played the game for a little mention this very often. The same can be heard from veterans, so it is close to the truth.

Sorry, no Bonus!

EVE is a unique game, and I don't think it requires a specific keyboard (or mouse) like some other games do. The multitude of actions to choose from in most MMOs make things such as this:

more than just a weird piece of hardware or some twisted nightmare of a gaming gear designer. This can actually be useful for other MMOs, but not for EVE Online.

But if there ever was an EVE specific keyboard, it would probably look similar to this:

But it's all history now, because after this tweet:

I have applied, been screened, and in the end allowed to join Aideron Robotics, the corp which brings you Aura, an excellent EVE API client for Android. I will be joining an army of industrialists, who fuel the war machine and build ships for those who make things boom. The more ships you guys destroy, the more ISK I make, so keep 'em coming! My inner businessman is looking forward to Hulkageddon V and changes introduced in Escalation to Inferno: both will drive mineral prices crazy (they have become quite high already - market warriors already make profit from the coming changes).

Czar has received a lot of attention with his model: from Hilmar Veigar, the CEO of CCP, from the LEGO CUUSOO team, Massively, Kotaku and from a variety of players, including CSM representative, Seleene.

If you like the idea, please go support it. Once you did that, spread the word!

PS. I used to be a large LEGO Technic fan when I was a kid, and if this set makes into shops, I'll just go and buy it.

UPDATE: Not long after Rifter model broke 4k supporters, an individual called Guindel replied with a LEGO model of his own - an Einherji fighter. It seems that Minmatar ships and LEGO bricks go together quite well It is also one more proof, that EVE Online is one of the most emergent MMO games, letting people with creative talents contribute to the game and its community.