If you've been following the news surrounding CCP's Sci-fi MMO, EVE Online, then you're probably aware that last weekend the Tranquility cluster and web servers that house EVE Online and DUST 514 sustained a DDoS attack. In response to EVE servers being hit with prolonged downtime on Sunday, June 2nd and Monday, June 3rd CCP developers are sending players a gift of in-game skill-points.
It's the astounding 19th free expansion to hit EVE Online and Odyssey promises to change the way that players see the universe.
Among the many changes coming to CCP's long running sci-fi MMO, the Sensor Overlay system will inform players of deep space anomalies, the clues to content that will make breadcrumbing such an expansive game environment much easier. Which means players will be able to find something to do much closer and much more often.
A sickness is spreading across the eclectic, alien-terraformed lands of San Francisco and St. Louis. In Defiance, players will already have noticed that some humans are suffering from a mysterious, terrible affliction.
Today marks the day when the plague fully hits Defiance and kicks off the latest cross-media event that promises to once again link the game and television show.
As stated in a press release today, the new content includes:
"The Plague Sieges – an all new game mode, 8 new emergencies, 2 new pursuits, a new data recorder, and an all new mission series that runs from June 10th to 17th."
We asked Trion senior designer Trick Dempsey about the event to discover just what lies ahead.
From 02:05 UTC June 2nd, CCP noticed a significant DDOS (Distributed denial-of-service) attack on their servers. They immediately deployed a crack-team of specialists to look at the problem. From 03:07 UTC, they decided that the best course of action was to take the servers offline completely while they attempted to resolve the issue. They momentarily brought the servers back up that afternoon (14:51), but took them down again shortly afterwards, after learning more information.
To some, space is an unforgiving void full of danger. But to intrepid explorers, it’s a source of unlimited mystery and wonder. With Odyssey, EVE Online’s 19th expansion, due to land on June 4th, CCP is aiming to satisfy that desire to venture into the unknown.
With the spacefaring MMO heading into its second decade of operation, it’s fair to say that EVE is riding the crest of a wave of success. The previous expansion, Retribution, was met with thunderous applause at EVE FanFest back in April, earning executive producer Jon Lander a standing ovation from fans and becoming the most successful expansion to date.
As Lander heads on to focus on CCP’s mobile efforts, the baton has been handed to lead game designer Kristoffer Touborg and senior producer Andie Nordgren. But there’s no sign of a change in direction – the focus remains on building out the sandbox in a way that provides new features while encouraging the style of gameplay that EVE Online has become famous for.
As I came in to land at Keflavik International Airport, I stared intently out of the small cabin window. Partly out of fear – I’ve never been a great flyer, and I was consciously trying to avoid clawing holes in the arm-rests. But also partly out of fascination – as our plane followed the shoreline, no fields or forests came into view. Instead, I was confronted with rough and craggy black rock formed from solidified lava flow, tightly blanketed in a thick green moss. It seemed primal, barely post-creation, and utterly alien to anything I’d seen before.
It’s in this remote location that CCP held its annual EVE FanFest, inviting players from across the world to meet developers, renew friendships and, above all, celebrate the game. For five days the city of Reykjavik became the nexus of culture surrounding spaceships and the pilots that fly them. Stories were traded. Alliances were discussed. Pacts were forged. And many, many beers were drunk.
It's not every day that I get to try something as special as this. Announced today at EVE Fanfest, as part of a special EVE keynote in front of thousands of fans, CCP gave us a glimpse of another window into the universe of New Eden.
Named internally as EVE VR, the independent Icelandic studio has put together a dogfighting-style space combat sim, featuring intense multiplayer battles across a cluttered asteroid field. Fighters are launched from two opposing factional ships, ensuring a constant flow of action with little downtime.
It’s too easy to forget just how audacious CCP is as a company and just how successful it has been in pushing the envelope.
EVE Online has had continued growth across its 10 year history (as of May 6th) and now boasts over 500,000 subscribers. Those who are quick to detract (because, let’s face it, some people just do) would say there are bigger games; which is true. However, no other MMO has seen such consistent advancement in its player base across such an extended period.
Joining EVE in the New Eden universe is DUST 514, now in open beta on the PlayStation Network for the PS3. DUST, and its unique existence as a game within itself and as a living companion to EVE, exemplifies how CCP doesn’t just walk off the beaten track, it blasts away from it.
I joined Jon Lander, executive producer of EVE Online and Halldor Fannar, Chief technical officer for CCP Games to look back on the past 10 years and discern what is next as CCP enters its second decade of exploration.
MMO conventions are an incredible experience. There’s the chance to catch up with friends you’ve only spoken to online, grab some exclusive merchandise, and ask the developers that question you’ve had bugging you.
