EVE Fanfest: A Wealth of Announcements (Page 3 of 3)
Although no demonstration was available during the speech, Sharma promised crystal clear quality with virtually no impact on game performance. Vivox runs its own servers for all chat - including EVE - and thus, server-side, the changes mean virtually nothing in terms of performance.
The Vivox servers also mix all sound in real time locally and shoot when audio stream back to all users. Sharma mentioned that the time it typically takes to mix and send back is less than the human ear perceives, so the effect is of talking in a crowded room. Furthermore, mixing on the server means the voices all blend together rather than clipping off as often happens in other voice solutions.
At the moment, players can have 200 other players in one room, although in the beta they had only gone as high as 90 and they plan to charge a $10.00 flat fee per year for all service.
In the future, Sharma noted that CCP is following their traditional route of getting the basics right and then fleshing out the content as the community wants. There is much more Vivox can do and likely will in the future.
Vivox could provide a desktop client for players to chat with others who are in the game. He even took this further by using his network to call one of the developer's cell phones. The only development question here is security and design.
Vivox also supports 3D audio so that players can ascertain where the speaker is in reference to themselves. He noted, though, that this may be a bit odd given the game takes place in ships that use radios to communicate. Although, who is to say what kind of fancy radios they'd have in the future since knowing where people are without having to look was a feature the fans seemed quite interested in.
Another neat idea, one Vivox is currently developing, is voice fonts. These modify the speakers voice to sounds like something else. A few companies have done this - at E3 one of our writers tried a product that transformed her voice into that of a small child - but Sharma was not impressed with their efforts. He envisions a system where based on a small voice sample, the computer can make subtle changes to the person's real voice that better reflect their character in the game. For example, in a fantasy MMORPG, a guild leader who is an elf will have a more powerful, but Elf-like voice, that nonetheless bears some resemblance to their own (for variation among players). These kinds of innovations may or may not ever make their way into EVE, but they're definitely a step in the right direction for players who find real voices in games to have a negative effect on immersion.
Concept to Reality
Asgeir Jon Asgeirsson, an Lead Concept Artist for EVE, kicked off the day on a mellow note with an art presentation. He was joined on stage by Art Producer Benjamin Bohn. At first, it seemed like a terrible idea: an artist with a tablet sketching mostly silently in front of an auditorium of people. Yet, as time went by, Asgeirsson showed where EVE gets its inspiration. He'd draw briefly, then flick on a photoshop layer and take the audience step by step from the initial concept of a ship through to the final piece of art. By the time he was done, his hand-drawn (and Photoshop manipulated) piece of concept art might well have been a 3D model for all the difference the untrained eye could see.
Asgeirsson's presentation started slowly, but by the end, the audience hung on his every layer reveal with gasps and applause as the ship he drew became more and more complete.
Serenity Now - CCP in Asia
Kjartan Emilsson, the Managing Director of CCP Asia, concluded the morning presentations with an update on CCP Asia and their parallel universe Serenity.
Serenity launched in August after four months work by 20 translators. Their open beta in June had 1.5-million users, but generally in China that does not necessarily mean much for the final product. Now released, they have 100,000 players and 20,000 subscribers, which is not altogether unlike Tranquility (their English server) just after launch.
To date, the game has been dominated by intense alliance warfare. In China, there are super-guilds that transcend all online games. A few have taken up a foothold in EVE and the result has been intense PvP that has even gone so far as guild leaders paying people (with real money) to fight for them, quite the twist on the secondary market.
Based out of Shanghai, they intend to develop CCP Asia partly as a support office. They're building a new office and hope to have 30 employees in six months. They are recruiting people who are fluent in both English and Mandarin so that they can house support for Tranquility and Serenity without issue.
Next Article: Revelations II & III, More Presentations and Fanfest itself!
Two articles and over seven-thousand words later and I still have a lot more to report on from EVE's Fanfest in Reykjavik. Check back soon for a final article on the Fanfest itself, the afternoon presentations from Creative Director Reynir Hadarson on the Nature of Evil and Senior Producer Nathan Richardson on EVE's 10 Year Plan, Revelations II and III and whatever else I can fit in.
...and there has been a horrible sequence events that leads to all my photos being locked in the camera.
Oddly, EVE is just about the worst company for having screenshots online, so for now, we're stuck with the same 10 images in each article
ooo i want a guild leader that'll pay me, so i can just fly around and kill things and be like, 'sorry honey, have to go to work', flip on the computer and get to killing!
Whoa...avatars in EVE?? This is the only thing that's stopped me from continuing to play this game. I just need more than just a headshot and a ship that looks like two dozen others out there.
-G
OMG if they get avatars i think this may be the game i play FOREVER, i love what eve online has done with there flying portion of the game,...so i know as soon as avatars become reality its all uphill,we can expect some amazing things to hapen ,when we can walk around the stations,next will be planets,..then misions on planets..,.smaller land vehicle ,cities,itll be an amazing game and will dominate sci fi mmo at that point,..and i am sure it probably already does ,but it will make others who dont like flying around in a spaceship come and play too, like me,
also i would like to coment on the pvp in asia , someone said , a few replies back that they would love to be payed by there guild leader to go kill pvp for them,..well taht wont hapen in non asian marckets,..those guys over there are too serious about there games and just take it too far,..i know if the people in america where put on the asian servers(with exceptions of course) they would be anialated, you just dont see super guilds in america lol just not wirth our time, i play to have fun, with a side order of pvp,..not vice versa ;) talk to you guys soon i am sure :P
Well that sucks...
I regretfully like Eve, though I don't really play it anymore, the game has become to rife with ganking/griefing/scammers/liars/asshats etc... choose your own description. I love the ideas presented and the viable avatar has been something the community has been asking for quite a while. I don't agree with the segment that wants to use them for FPS action.
The one thing that would bring me back full time, would be to create a separate server to allow those of us that just want to enjoy the game without the afore mentioned baboons. If PvP is your thing then have at it but don't expect everyone else to share your view. I will eventually allow my "subscriptions" to lapse since the game lost the fun factor long ago and I am merely hanging on for old time sake.
Guess what EvE is a PvP game be it in combat or PvP in the markets.
I have to agree with the above poster that Eve is PVP based like it or not. PvP serves as a reasource drain on the economy to keep it in balance, and the economy is something very vital to the game.
If there is one critism I have to the game is that there is no way for new players to catch up with Vets. Also the learning skills are a pain, why should a new player need to spend their first 6 months of the game optimizing their next few years of playing.
Oddly, EVE is just about the worst company for having screenshots online, so for now, we're stuck with the same 10 images in each article
Aye, but the fans pick up where they left off:
Official Fanfest Video and Pictures resource Thread
EDIT: I just realized you wanted screenshots of new game content, not pictures of the fanfest itself. Oh well, leaving it up there anyway.
Guess what EvE is a PvP game be it in combat or PvP in the markets.
I really don't know what a PvP game is anymore. The line between what is and is not PvP has been blurred into incoherence over the years, especially in CCP's mind. To say that I can go for entire months on end without encountering anything that resembles a human being, and saying its PvP, is a bit absurd unless you take a very broad view of what PvP may be.
However, I do know what a ganking, griefing, scamming, lying, and asshattery game is. If that is what a PvP game is, or needs to include, then EVE shouldn't be a PvP game. In fact, I'd say that if a PvP game includes ganking, griefing, scamming, lying, and asshattery, then EVE is, in fact, not a PvP game, simply because there are a lot of good qualities still in it (but maybe not for long) to warrant consideration.
Now about:
That's a great post.
As it turns out, it is me who is at fault for the images. My apologies, but they did in fact provide a press kit. I am so used to a CD everytime I go somewhere that I entirely forgot about the letter with the information for their online kit. It is found now, so the final article will be full of new Revelations and other screenshots/art.
Screens and Concept art : Press Kit screens and art @ EVE Vault
Excellent article, Dana! It's some of the most detailed coverage of that day that I have seen so far. Looking forward to the next installments!
I really don't know what a PvP game is anymore. The line between what is and is not PvP has been blurred into incoherence over the years, especially in CCP's mind. To say that I can go for entire months on end without encountering anything that resembles a human being, and saying its PvP, is a bit absurd unless you take a very broad view of what PvP may be.
However, I do know what a ganking, griefing, scamming, lying, and asshattery game is. If that is what a PvP game is, or needs to include, then EVE shouldn't be a PvP game. In fact, I'd say that if a PvP game includes ganking, griefing, scamming, lying, and asshattery, then EVE is, in fact, not a PvP game, simply because there are a lot of good qualities still in it (but maybe not for long) to warrant consideration.
A PVP game is any game where your actions can directly effect other players, whether good or bad. So dominating a market region is PVP, competing for mining resources is PVP, hiring a merc corp to disrupt a rival corps operations is PVP or blowing up passing ships for their cargo is PVP.
Ganking should be reduced with the HP increase coming out. Griefing is used far too much as an excuse for people just being lazy. Scamming an lying there is nothing wrong with as it's easily avoided if you just spend the minute amount of energy required to pay attention. Asshattery happens in all MMO's, difference with EVE is if someone is being an asshat, you have the option to blow the living crap out of them.
I really don't know what a PvP game is anymore. The line between what is and is not PvP has been blurred into incoherence over the years, especially in CCP's mind. To say that I can go for entire months on end without encountering anything that resembles a human being, and saying its PvP, is a bit absurd unless you take a very broad view of what PvP may be.
However, I do know what a ganking, griefing, scamming, lying, and asshattery game is. If that is what a PvP game is, or needs to include, then EVE shouldn't be a PvP game. In fact, I'd say that if a PvP game includes ganking, griefing, scamming, lying, and asshattery, then EVE is, in fact, not a PvP game, simply because there are a lot of good qualities still in it (but maybe not for long) to warrant consideration.
I don't know where in the EVE universe you are, but ships are all over the place. Unless your way out in 0.0 space where no one has claimed yet, or just play at way off peak hours. Most locals in Min space has anywhere from 2-3 to over 100+.
EVE is one of the most PVP games I have seen in all my MMO's/years playing. They kind of encourage infiltrating and spying on other corps for gain. You go to most .5 and below area's and you can always find corps in a war. And someone is always trying to get an upper hand by spying, or buying info to do that. Hostile takeovers of Corps is allowed, and such.
Ganking, Greifing, Scamming, Lying, are ALL in EVE. Been many nights in a small gang doing some mining when some pirate (player not rat), comes in either trying to steal from us or trying to blow up our mining ships.
Now on to the article...
I like the fact they are going to put in Avatars. Now when the RP part of the Alliance takes place we can do it normally. Adding Bars and such to stations would be cool.
FINALLY a corp that listens to the gamers asking for Linux and MAC clients.... I mean, come on all you others, intel now has a chip in a MAC, lets get moving. There are a lot of gamers out there that want's Linux and MAC clients so they don't have to have 3 computers sitting around them.
Voice - Another item on the list of gamers so they don't have to have a another server sitting somewhere and worry about keeping it going. I for one keep a Vent server running for my corp. This is a nice added item to gamers all over.
Corp logo - Not a bad idea, nice first step into the having your ship painted. Thats one thing that bugs me about most MMO's you can just look at someone and tell what race/class they are just by looking at them, and even in EVE, you look at a ship and can tell if it is tech 1, 2 or tech 3, etc. Nice to be able to paint your ship whatever color and someone not able to tell what you are just by a look.
Nice to see that sometimes a gameing corp actually listens to it's gamers. They may not be the biggest kids on the block, but at least they are in a class of their own.
Terrible misconception.
Time spent learning skills only impacts diversity in options when fitting ships. While there are certain skills which provide an "advantage", these skills are readily accessible to new players early on in EVE.
Just because someone has 20million skill points does not mean they are capable of utilizing them all during combat. Focusing and streamling character skill development will ensure that less then 3m-5m (3-5 months) skill points will make you as capable as the "veteran" in anything you could fly.
To the original topic, all I have to say is, "Yay." I am stoked about the direction EVE is headed for sure!
Yes this is terribly common misconception.
I had 2 million skill points when I became viable in pvp....skill points just allows you to utilize yourself further...like by allowing you to fly different kinds of ships and fitting different types of equipment on them. In group fights actually not even half the pvpers use the largest gunboats but rather frigates and cruisers....and 95% of fights in eve is alliance vs alliance with hundred(s) involved.
If there is one critism I have to the game is that there is no way for new players to catch up with Vets. Also the learning skills are a pain, why should a new player need to spend their first 6 months of the game optimizing their next few years of playing.
I think he is actually talking about the "Learning Skills". Dont spend 6 months doing learning skills then. I do one here and there, and my ship and skills are just fine. Learning skills are dull.
I am glad there is a linux and mac client in the works, now I can get rid of windows finally. Games are the only thing keeping me in Windows, and now that they are getting away from MS only clients, I can make the switch!
Great screenshots, cant wait until the new patch hits!When i first played this game i thought it was the greatest thing that had ever been come up with,
from the looks of things to come. In another ten years i will be saying that again.Alas Ive become sceptical
of such promising endeavors and in no way expect this to all happen very soon.
In case you still haven't got it, mail pann at ccpgames.com and ask for the press/media kit. By some strange reason they had the media kit password protected.
Guess what EvE is a PvP game be it in combat or PvP in the markets.
I think this is the beauty of eve-online. The freedom to do as you please. A real lawless space universe. However, you usually don't get scammed or ganked beyond repair unless you are extreamly dumb and bad with your money. I like that CCP doesn't mind Scamming in the game. This is why you don't trust others with your money (Just like real life) you won't want to hand billions of dollars to some shadey bank dealer in real life, so why would you do it in eve? If you have alot of money and items on you that you can't afford to replace and no friends with you, why would you go to the ghetto knowing you could get it all jacked? You don't. This common sence street knowledge applies to EVE Online as well. It's called being smart and using your brain. You gotta try it sometime.