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ZAM News (full) http://www.zam.com/ ZAM gaming news rss feed Pandemic Legion Wins Their 3rd Alliance Tournament [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22595 It's one thing to win a 64 team tournament. It's another thing to do it three years in a row. Pandemic Legion won EVE Online's Alliance Tournament for the third time this weekend, solidifying them as one of the greatest alliances in EVE Online Alliance Tournament history. They did it by running over this year's runner-up, HYDRA RELOADED, who had employed the skills of an ex-Pandemic Legion player, Admiral Goberius, who was responsible for much of Pandemic's success in last year's tournament. To see how it went down go to the<a href="http://at.eve-ic.net/8/index.php?view=match&id=97"> Alliance Tournament page</a>. The Alliance Tournament brings together the best pilots of EVE Online's universe and pits them against each other in a 64 team tournament. To watch Pandemic Legion's rise to the championship, check out CCP's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ccpgames?blend=2&ob=4">Youtube page,</a> where the videos of the finals, complete with commentary, will be posted next week. Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:34:54 -0000 Alliance Tournament Finals Today & Tomorrow! [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22587 EVE Online's Alliance Tournament VIII is coming to a close and will crown a new intergalactic champion today and tomorrow. The Alliance Tourment collects all the greatest alliances in the EVE Online universe and pits their best pilots against each other in 64 team tournament. You can watch all the matches live today the 19th and tomorrow the 20th, from 14:50- 20:00 GMT, live and in eye-popping HD on the <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/events/alliances/tournament/t8/viewersd.asp">Alliance Tournament page</a>, complete with in-studio commentary with PvP experts. If you've never come in contact with EVE Online fandom, now is your chance. The dedication to this game is amazing. Still alive in the tournament are 2 time champions Pandemic Legion, and last year's runner-up, Circle-of-Two. To catch videos of all the tournament matches go to the Alliance Tournament's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ccpgames?blend=2&ob=4">Youtube page</a>. For a quick look at the tournament standings go to the <a href="http://at.eve-ic.net/8/index.php?view=matches&round=3">results page</a>.  Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:00:38 -0000 Alliance Tournment Video Results Are In! [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22495 64 teams. 1 winner. EVE Online's Alliance Tournement is underway and you can watch all of the first qualifying round matches on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/ccpgames">Youtube</a>. Each match even has commentary by some very capable EVE experts, who give you insight into what's happening during the battle. Thousands of people have tuned into see almost every match. Highlights include last years champ, Pandemic Legion, annihilating their opponents, Dead Terrorists, with almost no resistance. Honestly, it's a bit difficult to see exactly what's happening during the battles, but the commentary helps make sense of the chaos. The Alliance Tournament's second round can be watched live and in HD <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/events/alliances/tournament/t8/viewerSD.asp">here</a>, on June 12th and 13th and for the current tournament standings go <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/events/alliances/tournament/t8/schedule1.asp">here</a>. The Finals Studio Show will air on June 19th and 20th and will feature interviews with EVE's key developers and segments on EVE's creators, CCP. And don't forget to discuss the tournment at the <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=channel&channelID=422285">Alliance Tournament Discussion</a> forum. Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:01:32 -0000 EVE Online: Tyrannis Deployment Delayed [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22418 According to EVE Online's <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/">website</a>, EVE Online: Tyrannis' deployment was supposed to be today at 18:00 UTC, but EVE's quality assurance team has delayed the deployment of the new content. A new update about when players can experience Tyrannis will be available at 18:00 UTC. I guess getting planets ready to be mined by EVE's voracious community is a big job. Wed, 26 May 2010 15:28:08 -0000 Eve Online's Alliance Tournament Brackets Are Up [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22317 Forget the World Cup. Ok, well, don't forget about it, but make special note of another tournament that's happening this summer; one that features the best pilots in the Eve Online Universe blasting the hell out of each other. It's the Alliance Tournament, and it only happens about once a year. It's the best players from over 300,000 subscribers all fighting each other to determine who the strongest is. How can you not love it? Taking a quick gander at the brackets shows last year's tournament champion is back, Pandemic Legion. They'll be facing off against the Dead Terrorists, who after getting matched up randomly with the tournament favorite, very may end up becoming what they're name suggests. Also sticking out are the notoriously powerful and trouble-making GoonSwarm, who became famous for the supposed destruction of the alliance Band of Brothers. To check out the full brackets go <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/events/alliances/tournament/t8/schedule1.asp">here</a>. Wed, 12 May 2010 09:01:17 -0000 New Tyrannis Trailer Unveiled [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22278 The launch of the new expansion for EVE Online is less than two weeks away and to get the masses excited about Tyrannis, CCP has released a new trailer for the game, offering perspectives on war and the potentila playstyles that will be involved.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><img style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 2px;" src="http://www.zam.com/Im/Image/166170.jpg" alt="" /> <a href="http://www.zam.com/video.html?video=361" target="_blank">The trailer</a> kicks off with a massive battle scene and evolves into the perspectives of three individuals, one wanting a paradise for her own, another talking about his benevolence to his trusted allies, and the final one talking about building an empire. The video ends with this teaser for players: <blockquote> "You are much more powerful than you think. Creation is so precious and greed so destructive. Your choice WILL make a difference because all these worlds are yours." </blockquote> If you are unfamiliar with what the expansion has to offer, <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/tyrannis/" target="_blank">the game's official site</a> offers this tidbit: <blockquote> Tyrannis expands the universe of EVE Online in ways never before imaginable. Within New Eden, pilots will now be able to descend on planets, construct colonies and harvest their hidden treasures. Beyond New Eden lies EVE Gate, a central portal for the EVE community to interact, organize and communicate even when they are not in game. Tyrannis introduces new platforms and new technology, setting the stage for even bigger things to come. </blockquote> Players can also learn about <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/tyrannis/eg_overview.asp" target="_blank">Eve Gate</a> and how players can now interact with the game on <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/tyrannis/pi_overview.asp" target="_blank">a planetary level</a>. Tyrannis is scheduled for release on May 18.  <a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Thu, 06 May 2010 12:03:17 -0000 EVE Online Tyrannis Site Now Up [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22143 The official feature site for the upcoming EVE Online Tyrannis expansion is now live. The new site is a great place to get in-depth coverage on all the exciting new features for EVE's free expansion coming May 18th. The biggest feature is the new ability to mine planets for their valuable resources. Mining is so important that new skills have been created for those wishing to capitalize on the lucrative mining opportunities. Planetary Interaction will also be the first peek into seeing how EVE Online will interact with its ambitious sister MMO, Dust 514. The other big addition is EVE Gate, which lets players manage their characters, contacts, EVE mail and EVE calandar from any computer with an internet connection. EVE Online doesn't even need to be installed on the computer. It's a way to make EVE Online more accessible and give players the ability to communicate with each other outside of the game. Check out more at the <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/tyrannis/default.asp">EVE Online Tyrannis website</a>. Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:59:54 -0000 EVE Online Alliance Tournament Signups Today [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=22080 About once a year, EVE Online hosts a 64 team tournament to decide who the greatest pilots in the universe are. It's called The Alliance Tournament, and it's a chance for alliances to etch their names in EVE's 7 year long history. Signups for alliance spots in the tournament <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/events/alliances/tournament/t8/">went live</a> today and go to April 23rd. The Alliance Tournament isn't for every group of players, however, especially not those who are thrifty with their in-game currency. Every alliance wishing to enter must pay a 2 Billion ISK sign up fee just for the chance to snag one of the coveted tourney spots. If an Alliance isn't accepted for a regular tourney spot, they will be refunded their sign-up fee and have a chance to buy one of 16 tourney spots that will be auctioned for a starting bid of 1 billion ISK. Sixteen Tournament spots will be reserved for competitors from last year's Alliance Tournament, including two-time winner Pandemic Legion. The Alliance Tournament entrants will be announced on April 26th and the first round will begin on June 5th. The tournment will be covered by <a href="http://eve-online.tv/">EVE TV</a> and various in-game radio stations. Check out the <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/events/alliances/tournament/t8/format.asp">Alliance Tournament page</a> for more details. Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:05:20 -0000 GDC 2010: EVE Online Tyrannis Preview Video [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=21853 Throughout its lifespan, EVE Online has constantly found a way to bring new players into their fold. Whether that's through amazing trial plans or constantly updating tutorials, the developers at CCP are always giving their old and new players alike something new to sink their teeth into or experience. With the upcoming arrival of DUST 514 looming in the horizon, EVE Online's dev team has refocused their efforts into helping players establish connections with the planets that they've flown around so many times in the past. With the brand new look given to them in Dominion, each pilot can now meddle with the affairs going on on a given world. At GDC 2010, we had the opportunity to speak with one of the CCP leaders to learn more about our new planetary affairs, and you can discover those secrets with us by watching our EVE Online preview video! Just keep your eyes moving past the break to explore all the new information.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><hr /> <a href="http://www.zam.com/video.html?video=336">embed</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:33:25 -0000 Tyrannis Expansion Will Give You Control of Worlds [EVE Online] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=21663 <img style="margin: 6px;" src="http://www.zam.com/Im/Image/157879.jpg" alt="" width="536" height="133" /> CCP has announced that Tyrannis, the next EVE Online expansion, is coming in Summer 2010. According to a <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=733" target="_blank">dev blog entry</a>, the expansion focuses on the exploration and industry of planets. You'll be able to survey for deposits of minerals, build infrastructure, and more. As CCP t0rfifrans puts it, "ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS." Combat won't be enabled on these planets in Tyrannis, but that's coming in future expansions to connect EVE with <a href="http://www.zam.com/game.html?game=288" target="_blank">DUST 514</a>. You can read more about Tyrannis after the jump.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><blockquote> Hi there. It‘s that time of year again. CCP‘s developers have finished planning and preparing and have started work on the next expansion for EVE Online. The exact release date will be announced later, but let‘s say that it will happen before the summer solstice. What‘s in the package? For a long time we have had people asking us for more options to build up their own infrastructure. It‘s something that comes up frequently at Fanfest, in past CSMs and during casual conversations with players. There seems to be some deep Freudian desire to erect something monumental. To make stuff. To create something new. At last Fanfest we announced our plans to allow you, the pod-pilots of New Eden, to shift your foci away from the heavens for a moment, onto the planets. In Dominion, we gave the planets a facelift, updating the graphics with beautiful landscapes, awe inspiring deserts, peaceful Ewok-friendly green worlds and violent burning lava fields. But that was just eye candy, right? Well, not quite. In our upcoming expansion, Tyrannis, ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS. OMG did you say all of the planets!? That‘s right, you will finally be able to survey for juicy deposits of minerals and other goodies, build infrastructure to harvest them, store them, process them and launch them into space. Build complex networks of facilities and fine tune them for optimal production. All in a very massive single shard sandboxy way as only EVE can provide. And it‘s not just the terran planets. It‘s ALL OF THEM. The gas giants, the lava planets, the ice worlds, the water worlds and even the elusive plasma planets. Each type with their unique properties. Maintaining facilities on gruesomely hostile planets will be tougher and more demanding, but the rewards may be so much more “onturning.” More will be revealed in upcoming blogs and on our test server, Singularity. Make note however that Singularity is a test server, primarily intended for testing of code in development and nothing is final until it hits Tranquility. All graphics, UI, balancing and mechanics are subject to change, iteration and polish... Is there combat on planets? No, not in this expansion. This expansion is about exploration and industry. When something goes bad or breaks it is because of the owner‘s mismanagement, and when things are awesome and perfect, it is because of skill and hard labor on part of the player that runs the facilities. In future expansions you will be able to project military force for attack and defense of planetary installations. That will be where DUST 514 will connect with EVE. But DUST 514 will not be coming out at the same time as Tyrannis, so that is at a later date. EVE Gate In September last year, a <a title="EVE Gate devblog" href="http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=704" target="_blank">devblog</a> by CCP Caedmon introduced our new Web Frontend into EVE Communication codenamed COSMOS. It was later branded "New Eden". In the agile spirit of CCP, we have since renamed it and decided on the final name which is EVE Gate, which makes sense because it is your gate into EVE. Clever, eh? EVE Mail, Calendar and Contacts EVE Gate will allow you to interact with EVE through a regular web browser. At first, we are giving you communication and collaboration tools. You will be able to access your EVE Mail through a browser, we are adding a calendar both in-game and out of game and are upgrading and streamlining our contacts and standings system. There is also a system for posting updates for players, corporations and alliances. More details on those changes will follow in blogs to be released in the coming weeks. EVE Gate is a foundation which we are architecting in a way that allows us to build deeper interaction with the game itself in future iterations. Overall improvements We are working on other optimizations and improvements throughout the game, as usual with our expansions. A task force is working on <a title="Anti Fleet Lag!" href="http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=728" target="_blank">reducing fleet fight lag</a>, often working deep into the night chasing action around on TQ, while another team is developing an advanced simulation environment for load testing on our local servers. There is a sense of excitement in the air here at CCP. Today our development teams finished the first of their three week sprints, ending in a demo where we saw parts of the both the planetary feature and EVE Gate already running, with mocked up UI and graphics. Our engineers, artists and designers are deeply committed to continue to deliver a compelling EVE experience to all of our players, deepening the game with exciting new functionality while iterating, polishing and improving existing systems and code. We truly look forward to delivering Tyrannis to you. Soon. </blockquote><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:53:07 -0000