Tag: eve online

Posts about a massive multiplayer online game EVE Online by CCP hf.

New “Borg” Monocle in Inferno 1.2 (updated)

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , , ,

Don’t bother checking in the official patch notes, because you will not find it there. A closer inspection of the the Market interface however will reveal yet another monocle for EVE Online characters:

With the latest release of new (added to the game in Incarna 1.1.1, but not released until recently) items, the prices of items in NeX store are much more sensible and well within the “micropayment” range. I hope this new monocle will continue the same trend; affordable micropayments will likely bring CCP a bit more revenue, while keeping the EVE community calm. Remember: greed is only good for Ferengi (and Ferengi’s place is in Star Trek Online).

This new Combat Ocular might have been as well released to Tranquility by mistake. In any case, players who are still waiting for meaningful avatar gameplay can rest assured that Team Avatar is still there.

Update (14.08.2012)

According to the patch notes, CCP has removed the new monocle in Inferno 1.2.4:

“A black monocle that was unintentionally released has been removed and characters who had it equipped will have their portraits flagged for re-rendering.”

The item however still displays in the market window (unless patch notes mention a different black monocle).

 

Business opportunity on Mining Barges and Exhumers

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , , ,

Inferno 1.2 is bringing some serious changes to mining in EVE Online. CCP is going to buff Mining Barges and Exhumers to be much more resilient in Inferno 1.2. The complete list of changes in  Inferno 1.2 is available for reference in my recent post about it.

Known facts

This increased resilience will come at a price. Mineral price. I have reviewed the blueprints of all Mining Barges and Exhumers on Singularity and found out that both ship classes will use considerably more materials to build. I have compared the changes in the table below:

All the data come from build 7.43.401066 on Singularity.

Current Mining Barge blueprints on Tranquility Mining Barge blueprints in Inferno 1.2

Exploit concept Business opportunity concept

At first it made sense to me: to build a ship that can withstand more damage, more material is required. But the table in the previous paragraph clearly shows, that the change can be speculated (best with Procurer). For this to work, one needs to prepare before patch is deployed. Simply build as many Procurers as possible, using a high ME blueprint, or just buy as many Procurers as possible from the market. After Inferno 1.2 is deployed, all these ships should be reprocessed (perfect refining is required to maximize profits). This will generate about 20 to 50  times more minerals than used for their production before patch. You can sell them for profit after Inferno 1.2 has been deployed.

Please close this loophole before Inferno 1.2 deployment! This is crucial. The idea of changing the amount of minerals used for manufacturing of Mining Barges might seem great from roleplaying point of view, but from design point of view is flawed and will create a very powerful exploit for players to (ab)use.

Entity saves the day

This is not an exploit. Where has my mistake been? Extra Materials of course. Some blueprints require more materials than the item itself contains – these are called Extra Materials. So by using Extra Materials rather than changing the amounts on the blueprint itself, CCP actually prevented the exploit which I was initally so vocal about.

One thing I *should* have done before posting this kind of information was VERIFY it further. This brings some other interesting idea:

Show Info should show difference between “Required Materials” and “Extra Materials“. It currently shows the sum of both.

Speculator’s market

You always speculate at your own risk. EVE Online changes a bit with every update, and it is often possible to make some ISK on these changes. There is always some risk involved: either CCP rolls back the change, or if too many players speculated, prices fall because of market saturation.

Inferno keeps on burning: Inferno 1.2 (updated 01.08.2012)

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , , , , , , ,

With the Alliance Tournament X now behind us, we have winners, we have runner-ups, and we have CCP preparing another installment of Inferno. Yup, the art departament is still working to improve the most important part of EVE: the spaceships.

First off: Eyecandy

This time tha Art Department has redone some of the most beautiful vessels in New Eden: Angel Cartel ships. To the contrary of what people say, they now look a bit brighter than the existing skins. The amount of detail resembles that of V3 Serpentis and Federation Navy. The only thing I dislike so far is the light shafts: in vacuum there should be no light shafts, because there is no atmosphere that could scatter the light. To art departament’s defense however: it does look cool. It is just completely unrealistic. As usual, it will be best if you have a look yourself (video on youtube)

V3 Dramiel 01 V3 Dramiel 02 V3 Daredevil 01 V3 Daredevil 02

V3 Cynabal 01 V3 Cynabal 02 V3 Machariel 01 V3 Machariel 02

Angel pirate faction has a few more non-flyable ships, and they have received the V3 facelift as well. If you are interested, this post unveils some of their mystery: Mysteries of New Eden pirate ships.

Inferno 1.2 is not just visuals; there is much more to be had

Ship balancing

So far it’s been unclear which parts of this dev-blog will make to Inferno 1.2 release, but the Inferno feature page mentions mining barges and attack frigates. On a side note, I would not call Procurer’s EHP boost to battlecruiser battleship levels “Minor”. Mining Barge rebalance will make ganking a tiny bit harder (but increased sig radius will make them easier to hit with big guns -> Tier 3 BCs FTW), while improved cargoholds on Retriever and Mackinaw will likely make them preferable to Hulks, which are going to remain top-of-the-line state-of-the-art king of the hill. Or rather king of the rocks. Or space debris. Whatever. The official dev-blog regarding Mining Barges is now available here.

    • All Barges and Exhumers get a EHP boost (Hulk and Covetor – smallest, Skiff and Procurer – largest)
    • All Barges and Exhumers have their cargohold reduced and get an Ore Hold instead
    • All Barges and Exhumers have their signature radius increased to BC levels.
    • All Barges and Exhumers need much more components to manufacture.
      WARNING – possible mineral multiplication exploit! UPDATE: Exploit has been made void by CCP by adding the new additional minerals as Extra Materials
    • All Exhumers have their 7,5% shield resist bonus reduced to 5% per level of Mining Barge skill
    • All Exhumers (including Skiff) get 50 m3 of Drone Bay and 50 Mbit of Drone Bandwidth
    • Procurer gets a 15k m3 Ore Hold, and 5% per level to shield HP
    • Skiff trades it’s Mercoxit harvesting and +2 Warp Strength boni for a substantial EHP boost
    • Retriever gets a 20k m3 Ore Hold (and 5% more per Mining Barges level) and +1 low slot
    • Mackinaw loses it’s ice harvesting bonus for a 25k m3 Ore Hold (and 5% per Mining Barges level) and +1 low slot
    • Covetor gets 4% mining yield and 3% Ice Harvester duration reduction per Mining Barge skill level
    • Hulk gets 3% mining yield and 5% to shield resist per Mining Barge level, and an additional 3% mining yield and 4% Ice Harvester duration reduction per Exhumer skill level
    • New mining rigs for Ice and Mercoxit harvesting (only one can be fitted at a time)
    • Rookie ships get various bonus to combat and ewar (10% to 30%), but still lower than Tech I frigates – dev post on forums
    • Rookie ships get a EHP boost, more low and med slots
    • Executioner, Atron, Slasher and Condor have been rebalanced – dev post on forums
Tech I Mining Barges - Updated 01.08.2012
Tech I Mining Barges – Updated 01.08.2012
Tech II Exhumers - Updated 01.08.2012
Tech II Exhumers – Updated 01.08.2012

   * * *

Skiff in a maximum yield configuration
Skiff in a maximum yield configuration
Atron, Executioner, Slasher, Condor rebalanced
Atron, Executioner, Slasher, Condor rebalanced

Source: https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1685237#post1685237 Please mind this is raw static data mined from test EVE Online client. Stats might change before they are deployed on Tranquility. If and when they do, I will update this post.

Update: Technetium balancing 

New Alchemy reactions, that allow bypassing Technetium with other moon minerals.  I’d never knew I’m going to say this, but well… THANKS, MITTENS. And a “Good Job!” badge goes to CCP Fozzie for tackling a problem long overdue.

CCP Fozzie has posted an update to the initial plan (ratio change from 20:1  mentioned in the dev-blog to 10:1) – see this forum post.

More naming changes

This time it will touch (change) the F.O.F. missiles. Some implant descriptions will also be re-formatted to be in line with other implants. For details – see this dev blog

New player experience

The tutorial instructions are now more intuitive, more informative and make EVE easier to grasp for new players. If pretty labels are to make EVE more readable, then so be it.
Complete dev blog about the new player experience is available here.

  • New market search now shows items in groups:

Update: Incursion changes

According to a forum post by CCP Affinity, Override Transfer Array sites will be made a bit easier.

Update: Module changes

Reinforced Steel Plates II armor plates will finally have more HP than Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I (Meta 4) (see screenshot). Unfortunately, Faction versions remain unchanged – their fitting requirements are greater than Meta 4, but the amount of HP is the same.

Update: Fittings now save ammo and fit rigs

According to a dev-blog by CCP Punkturis, saved fittings will finally fit rigs as well as modules (which they saved but did not fit, even if these rigs were available in the hangar). More than that, fitting will now save ammo, so younger pilots will know exactly what to take with them for a roam.

 

The day Aideron Technologies was born

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , ,

With the recent changes to Faction Warfare in EVE, rewards for participation in FW have been increased considerably. Because of that, Aideron Robotics directorship is planning to enlist with Gallente Federation in an effort to mount additional pressure against the Caldari militia and reap the rewards. This has a side effect on the Industry Program, which has been effectively pushed out to a new sister corp, Aideron Technologies.

Aideron Robotics will still have a small industry wing for people who would like to contribute to both FW and production, but the majority of industrial tasks (and planning) will be done by Aideron Technologies.

For those interested in joining Aideron, the good news is, we are still recruiting, and there will be one recruitment process to both corps. During the interview new characters will be assessed and players will receive a proposal to join one of the corporations (or both, if player owns more characters). To apply to Aideron, please visit our forum: www.aideronrobotics.com. If you are considering Aideron as your new home, this Seismic Stan’s column about Aideron Robotics on Guild Launch will be a great source of information about our day-to-day operations.

UPDATE

Aideron Robotics and Aideron Technologies do share common roots, but are completely separate corporations. If you would like to apply to Aideron Technologies, please contact Razeu or TheAhmosis in game.

What happens in New Eden, stays in New Eden

Lukas Rox Blog Banter, EVE Online, Games , ,

This post is a reply to Blog Banter 37: The Line in the Sand

EVE Online sits on the frontier of social gaming, providing an entertainment environment like no other. The vibrant society of interacting and conflicting communities, both within the EVE client and without, is the driving force behind EVE’s success. However, the anonymity of internet culture combined with a competitive gaming environment encourages in-game behaviour to spread beyond the confines of the sandbox. Where is the line?”

People are usually different in real life when compared to their online persona. The difference is the mask that most people “wear” in real life, which hides some traits and properties our society might not like. Society requires certain behavior patterns, and will reject those who don’t accept them. Some kinds of behavior are considered okay, some are considered wrong, but each have consequences. While people usually have only one indentity in the real life society, one can have multiple identities on the internet. It is much harder to escape responsibility in real life than it is online. If a person crossed the line and it resulted in social rejection by the community, all one needs to do is to establish a new online identity. Granted, full anonymity on the internet is more less fiction (unless one is a serious VPN user), but usually only the governments and security services have the means to establish real identity behind an online persona. Normal people have rather limited means* to do so, and that’s why people still feel generally anonymous online.

* Google, Twitter -> Facebook

How does above apply to EVE Online?

To answer this, first question to ask would be what kind of group is EVE Online community? Blog Banter #35 would be a very good starting point to answer it. Becasue of the sandbox nature of the game, EVE community is one that generally accepts almost any kind of behaviour in the game itself. Players are even encouraged to play bad guys. Each player can have up to three alternate characters (alts) per account, so assuming multiple identities is as easy as changing ships. Where does that lead? It allows the darkest parts of human psyche to the surface. Some players deliberately exploit this, playing as dirty as the game allows, but the community generally accepts this, because that’s the main reason to play a sandbox game in the first place.

What if conflict leaves the sandbox?

It’s wrong, but not so bad, when it ends on threats against another player (or his family). For CCP, as well as some of the playerbase (and me too) this is the line: threatening other players is a bannable offense and CCP will swiftly punish the offender with a lifetime ban. The EVE Community as a whole however is rather tentative towards this kind of things, because “it’s just words”, and some players will still see nothing wrong with that. Since for some players this is already wrong, and for some this is still right, conlcusion is, that RL threats is one of the “gray areas”. Real problems arise if we are talking about  harassment in real life. Beating someone up IRL for something that happened in game is so far wrong on the scale, that no one questions it. Why would anyone resort to such extreme means? Because they bought most of their ISK with real money? Maybe because they really value their virtual posessions? Or maybe because they are ******** in real life people with issues in real life, just like they are in the game. The list of possible reasons is quite long. Why? Because even though New Eden is a virtual world, time investment is real. In this sense, EVE is real.

It is worth mentioning, that there is many more gray areas, than just insulting each other. Corporation warfare should only exist in game, but wars tend to leak from the game as a part of emergent gameplay. It is not uncommon for one warring party to DDoS websites and tools of their opponents*, such as Teamspeak/Ventrilo servers in order to gain an extra advantage (or, simply, just for griefing purposes). The anonymity and specifics of a DDoS attack make it hard to provide actionable evidence. As a counterexample, Aideron Robotics CEO stated once that Aura will never be used for metagaming, i.e. as an intel gathering tool. Even banning or locking out opponents from the use of Aura is considered out of line and will never happen.

* see this post on Fiddler’s Edge

Personal experience

I have experienced different kind of harassment in EVE Online. I made a stupid mistake: being a CEO, I have posted my mobile number on the corp forums, so members could contact me when I am not online. Unfortunately, one of the members was experiencing some personal problems and would keep calling me to talk about his “issues”. I would probably turn a blind eye to that,  but because of time zone difference, that guy was calling me in the middle of the night! After two weeks or so I have chosen to lock that person completely out. I have shut down my mobile number for two months (had to buy a prepaid card in the meantime) and blocked all of this person characters in game. However because this was likely not intentional, I did not report this to CCP. Did he cross the line? For me yes, because he has used (abused) my contact information for different purposes than expected. Of course one can say it was my fault in the first place, as my mobile number should have never be posted online.

So there is no line?

As you can see from the examples above, there is no universal line. If we have drawn a line for each person, we would get a gradient instead, from white to black through a lot of lighter and darker shades of gray. The anonimity of the internet and the possibility to create multiple identities in the game unfortunately doesn’t help, because players can quite easily escape the responsibility. The fact, that others have different standards doesn’t mean everyone should do the same. As a character and as a person you have a choice. EVE is just a game, and it should always remain that way.

For me, the line is clear: what happens in New Eden, stays in New Eden.

EDIT:

When I was reading other Blog Banter entries I remembered one more instance when someone actually got bruised up for his transgressions in a virtual world. A friend of mine took over an IRC channel when we were still at high school. Four thugs caught him when he was going back home and beat the hell out of him for… taking over that IRC channel. So if you wonder if virtual conflicts can turn into real world struggle, then the answer is: yes, definitely.

All hands, battle stations!

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , , , ,

In about 3 hours Aideron Robotics will be at war. We have received a war dec from a small, 2 man corp. It doesn’t mean this foe can be underestimated. To the contrary.

Small corp targeting multiple industrial corporations will have plenty of targets to choose from, making it easy to score kills of opportunity. The War History of Praetorian Cannibals shows a lot of industrial and exhumer kills (not to mention unfitted battlecruisers). Second reason, why 2 man corp can pose a serious threat is neutral reps/boosters. The fact that a single pilot shoots guns doesn’t mean he is all alone: he can have a neutral Tech III boosting alt, or a bunch of neutral Logistic(s). Or both.

Thanks to War History, War Reports and new Killmails introduced in Inferno, players are easily able to view all past wars waged by an entity, along with the kills associated to them. Since killmails have been already stored in each pilot’s combat record, CCP had all the data they needed to fill the War History. Even back to the times long before Inferno! This is invaluable source of tactical knowledge, so THANK YOU FOR THESE AWESOME FEATURES, CCP!

Now let’s have my locator agent find that sleazebag who wardecced us 😉

Science and fiction of Camera Drones

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , , ,

According to this old EVE Chronicle, the image capsuleer pilots see when flying their ship comes from Camera Drones. These tiny robotic crafts orbit their mother ship and let it’s pilot see the surrounding space. The forementioned chronicle also mentions that Camera Drones are using “a combination of an attractive magnetic force and repulsive electromechanical force” for navigation. While this explanation is enough for non-techie people and small children, it seems to lack any real Science to it.

When I read that chronicle for the first time, I said out loud “what a bullsh*t”. While most of the EVE Online IP is really great and in many aspects is even more realistic than Star Trek or Star Wars, which are icons of  modern science fiction. Camera Drones just don’t fit in this otherwise very high-tech universe.

In an universe, which has room for things as advanced as Sotiyo-Urbaata drive and brain implants enhancing human abilities and allowing them to pilot ships with thought alone, something as low-tech as Camera Drones hits a discordant note. The first solution that comes to my mind is a computer projection of ship’s sensor data directly into pilot’s visual cortex. The first paragraph of the chronicle actually nails it: “The first method tried, and the one the Jovians first used (and sometimes still do), was to use the data from wide range of scanners to paint a realistic view of the ship’s surroundings in the mind of the captain.“

First off, this would explain the changes in the image quality as the EVE Online client was evolving. Jump from pre-Trinity engine to current V3 graphics could easily be explained from RP perspecitve as a simple “firmware upgrade” to the Sensor Visualization Computer. This system is also impervious to simple ECM, because it would use input from many different types of sensors. It would also make room for graphical effects of EWAR, such as greying out entire screen when being ECMed, or blurring ships out of range when Sensor Dampened.

It would not create unnecessary explanations such as “combination of an attractive magnetic force and repulsive electromechanical force” or the fact that ships carry lots of camera drones, which is extremely ineffective waste of cargo room in space-constrained environments such as starships. I can also think of several real life and in-game mechanisms that would make Camera Drones VERY ineffective:

  • Omnidirectional ECM to jamm the control signal from the ship to Camera Drones
  • Targeted ECM to jamm Camera Drone receivers on the ship
  • EMP smartbomb would instantly fry the electronics of any Camera Drone in range
  • Other types of smartbombs would shatter Camera Drones to pieces
  • Other crafts could launch a cloud of tiny drones programmed to target and destroy Camera Drones
  • The speed and range of Camera Drones would have to be almost infinite to accomodate the way we use them in game
  • Fuel? Energy source?
  • Magnetic forces do not work well on distances which we see in game (100 km; but when you zoom out as much as possible, you’re watching your ship from nearly 300 km)

To sum up the above, the amount of technology needed to explain Camera Drone abilities and durability is higher than direct projection into visual cortex. Scientists are already able to tap into visual cortex to recover images directly from cats brain.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLb9EIiSyG8″]

A reverse process is proposed to project images into the brain of the blind by using retinal implants.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSdmWbItsvU”]

This is the technology which already exists today (although it is still years from being ready for clinical use; it is  challenging to transmit and process the amount of information necessary to create a high resolution image; retinal implant capable of processing this amount of information would dissipate enough heat to damage the surrounding tissue). But since New Eden’s capsuleer pilots already have their brain wired with technology, visual cortex projection should be rather simple.

Dear CCP

The world of New Eden is one of the things that got me hooked with EVE for this long. Please, consider changing this piece of lore. EVE Online physics might be unreal (submarine vs Newtonian), but improving upon EVE’s already great Intellectual Property should be one of the priorities. Now, who should I talk to about this? 😉

Mobile apps for EVE Online on iOS and Android

Lukas Rox DUST 514, EVE Online, Games, Mobile, Tablets , , , , , , , , , ,

companion-apps-all

» For Windows Phone 8 apps, please go to this post «

This post is a synergy of my interests. If you are a returning visitor, you have most likely noticed that I write not only about EVE Online, but also about all things mobile: tablet PCs, mobile operating systems and so on.

Smartphones have changed the mobile phone market forever: almost half of all the mobile phones nowadays are smartphones. With CCP giving the community an API to access the in-game information, it was just a matter of time until first EVE related third-party apps have arrived.

Most of the Apps available for the two biggest smartphone platforms, namely Android and iOS, can be divided into three large groups:

  • character tracker
  • market tracker
  • industry helper

Majority of these third-party apps are free, but some of them use ads and donations to cover developer’s costs.

Unfortunately I neither own a Windows Phone 7 device, nor have a working emulator of it, so this review will not cover WP7 apps. Sorry!

It is also worth mentioning, that CCP has plans to deliver their own mobile applications for DUST 514 and EVE in the near future. Developers did not reveal any specifics besides Neocom app for DUST 514, which will run on PS Vita and will deliver almost full interaction with the game, except for the core FPS gameplay. Neocom for PS Vita is said to allow managing fittings, accessing market and so on.

Read more about CCP plans for mobile devices:

Since this post is rather long, please click “Continue reading” –>

Read more

JAVA EVE API Reader update

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games, Programming , , , ,

I have just uploaded a new version of JAVA EVE API Viewer, which contains some bug fixes and a brand new Inferno 1.0 data dump.

(The Inferno 1.0 static data will become obsolete by this time tomorrow, because CCP will deploy Inferno 1.1. CCP  has postponed the rollout of Inferno 1.1. I will update the Static Data as soon as it is available.)

If you use Linux or Mac and are looking for an EVE Online character tracker, my App should meet your needs.

You can choose to download a ZIP archive, or launch the App directly, using JAVA Web Start.

Download API Reader Launch JAVA EVE API Reader

Ship re-balancing makes my recent post outdated

Lukas Rox EVE Online, Games , , , , , ,

A few hours ago CCP has published a dev-blog about ship balancing changes, which we have already heard before Inferno. TL; DR: all Tech I frigates are getting a specific combat role. This is a change from the tiered ship approach we’ve seen over the past years. Instead of putting ships in tiers, each better than the previous one, Tech I vessels will have specialized roles instead, much like their Tech II counterparts do.

  • Interception: Executioner, Condor, Atron, Slasher. Small, agile ships meant for stopping other ships dead in the water
  • Snipers: Navitas, Bantam, Burst The Navitas will become a drone boat. The Bantam will replace the Merlin as the railgun based sniper. The Burst will most likely become a mobile artillery platform, drone boat or a mix of above.
  • Missile lobbers: Inquisitor, Breacher, Kestrel, Tristan. Offer decent tank and speed.
  • Support exploration frigates: Magnate, Heron, Imicus, Probe. These ships will become even more specialized, with possible bonuses to mini-pofessions like hacking and archaeology.
  • EWAR disruption frigates: Crucifier, Griffin, Maulus, Vigil. Crucifier will be re-shaped to become a miniature Arbitrator. All ships will be specialized in EWAR and combat disruption.
  • Rookie ship boost: with the new looks, rookie ships will become very versatile ships, but not nearly as good as any Tech I frigate.

New ship! It’s one of the things that always make me smile in EVE: new ships. Since Navitas and Bantam will no longer be mining frigates, ORE will introduce an ultra-mobile mining frigate for new miners as well as experienced ones, who are mining in a hostile environment.

The new mining frigate does not have a name yet, but I’m sure CCP will come with something cool, like “Carebearmobile” or “Veldnaught” 😉 I personally vote for “Ius” -> see Ius Primae Noctis.

Barges will not have tiers anymore – instead, they will have a balance between EHP and mining output.

  • Procurer and Skiff will sport battleship-like EHP, but their mining output will be the lowest.
  • Retriever and Mackinaw will have less EHP than the above, but will mine more minerals in each cycle. They will also sport biggest cargoholds.
  • Hulk and Covetor will mine the most, but will have about as much EHP as they do right now, making them most vulnerable.

The EHP boost will also make my post about tanked barges void.

CCP has also mentioned that Barges are getting specialized cargoholds, similar to the ones on Rorqual and Orca.

All this will be coming to Tranquility in the 2012 Winter Expansion.