f13.net

Hey, it's CCP. What do you think they'll do?  :-D

Anyway, I'm just going to fit my Purifier with cruise launchers and fly around blowing up ratting battleships.  :evil:

Stealth Bombers
Now faster, can fit four siege missile launchers, and also get bomb launchers (where bombs = mini-doomsday or ECM burst). Buy them in Jita now before the patch hits.

Just had a play with a stealth bomber and bombs on the test server.

Assuming I'm doing it right ... it feels like WWII submarine warfare, that's the only way I can sum it up - you sneak in, uncloak, drop a bomb and then make fastest (cloaked) exit possible as something explodes behind you.

That's pure awesome. I could do that shit all damn day.

Not for 20M an bomb, you couldn't.

I'd RMT for that. :)

Seriously, the 20M a pop bombs aside -- are there cheaper bombs? Could someone, say, put together a strike force of four of five stealth bombers, sneak in, obliterate some people, and then run away?

Or, in a more piratical fashion, some stealths come in, eliminate the mining escort in a single coordinated strike, then warp in haulers to run off with the loot?

One shot, one kill with stealths is crazy talk (even at 20M a shot), but I'd hope there's some way that a group of three or four can sneak around the edges of a fight -- maybe ambushing EWAR vessels or something -- with smaller bombs/torps/missiles/whatever.

You'd have to question the logistics of that: i suspect it would be easier and cheaper to fit x cruise missiles/torpedoes and just alpha-strike whatever you want to hit. Not as classy though.

They let you fit cov ops cloaks on them?

No, stealth bombers can only fit regular cloaks. Only force recons and covops can fit covops cloaks.

At least, currently. If they're changing that in the patch then holy fuck am I getting me a stealth bomber. They'd be like a covops with teeth.

What's the difference between a regular cloak and a covops cloak?

Given the changes, what are the odds of me forming a Wraith Squadron stealth bombers, tasked with hit-and-run assaults on EWAR platforms and occasional ludicrous acts of piracy?

Covops cloaks let you warp while cloaked. Regular cloaks do not.

In theory it sounds good, but the problem will be how to get through gate camps and into the system so you can do your hiding and shooting thing.

I have not flown one (yet) but as far as I know, you can enter  the system, are still cloaked from the warpgate jump, activate your own cloak, taxy away from the camp, align for warp manually and then warp.

That way you should be visible for only a very short amount of time.

You must decloak from the gate cloak before it will let you engage the cloaking device

However with a little bit of practice the amount of time you are visible on overview is really really small - to the point that the only way you can get caught is if something is within or gets within 2k of you to decloak you (in popular lowsec gatecamp systems this can be quite common due to the number of corpses which might not be displayed on your overview!) so it pays to change your vector once you cloak in case a fast inty got a bead on you

Obviously unless you are in a bubble or stealth bomber once cloaked you can just warp away

Can anyone answer my earlier question about skill reqs/new modules for the bomber stuff please?

Bombs cost 15-20M to make, are fairly sizable (one per cargo hold pretty much, so a bomber could hold two tops - one in the launcher, one in cargo), are immune to their own damage type, and have a 15 second 'fuse'. Bomb launchers are a seperate module, and they require a new skill for them (which has missile bombardment 5 as a pre-req).

And yes, I did mean cruise launchers. ;)

Ok, this will be going out in a dev blog at some point (hopefully - it's written, but it's being held up somewhere in the editorial process), but we're getting close enough to release that the info needs to get out somewhere, and this is probably the best place.

We were hoping to have special per-constellation distributions for existing complex sites. This will not make it into the initial Revelations 2.0 release. It will probably make it into a fix release soon after. Here's why.

Currently, when a site despawns, it respawns elsewhere in the same distribution. When the distribution covers five regions, this is not considered a problem, as there's several hundred systems it could move to.

When the distribution is a single constellation, there's usually half a dozen possible candidates. With a dedicated team of scanners and combat pilots you can keep the entire constellation clear of other Unknown signatures reasonably easily. This means that if someone finds an Unknown, chances are it's the plex you're after.

If you have ten scanning pilots, then any combination of signature radius and sensor strength that it's remotely possible for a normal player to find within say six hours will be run down very very quickly. Find the complex, complete it and it respawns immediately within the same constellation. Thirty minutes max to relocate it, and you can run it all over again. If it takes thirty minutes to run, that means you can run it on the hour every hour all day long, and with some PvP support you can camp out the constellation so nobody else can run it either. Essentially, it becomes a license to farm - and farm hard - for any well-organized force.

The only sensible solution here is some kind of respawn delay timer on the sites, so we can force them not to reappear for a defined period of time. This tool does not currently exist as this situation was not envisioned when the original distribution tools were written. Unfortunately, by the time this problem surfaced it was too late to get such a fundamental change to the system implemented in time for Revelations 2. Faced with the alternative between making these distributions hideously farmable and just disabling them for now, we opted to disable them.

Most of the hard part of the authoring work is already done - I have a list of all the candidate constellations and associated complexes, and all the distribution groups exist, they're just not populated. We're hoping to have the tools in place to implement these distributions soon after Revelations 2, but obviously I'm not making any promises on dates.

We're aware that this will have an impact on the way large alliances in particular are funded; that said, complexes were originally designed as high-end, challenging PvE content with good rewards, and not as alliance-level revenue generators restricted to approved pilots only and run mechanically day after day. We will monitor what effects this change has and re-assess our plans once we have the capability to resolve this issue - I'm not ruling out anything at this stage, although it's probable that we will do something to ensure that large-scale infrastructure projects based around existing complex sites will end up with some sort of special resource.

Hopefully this post makes it clear that this wasn't a decision we took on a whim, and that the available, realistic alternatives forced this particular outcome.

although it's probable that we will do something to ensure that large-scale infrastructure projects based around existing complex sites will end up with some sort of special resource.

Hello everyone,

I am here today to talk about one of the main features coming for Revelations 2, namely Upgradeable and Constellation Sovereignty.

As you may already know, sovereignty is being expanded and revised, and while the nature of some of the changes is under constant review, here’s a comprehensive summary of their scope.
Why?

This is the first question that springs to mind; why the changes?

This question is best answered or illustrated by explaining the changes themselves, but seeing as it’s an important question, and the technicalities of the changes long, it would be a good idea to address it first.

One of the philosophies here at CCP is to work in iterative processes, and as a part of that, we often release new content in batches; laying down the basics, monitoring it for feedback and building on that. This is true for Sovereignty; for which the underlying mechanics have seen review and change, and are now finally being expanded upon – something that was planned since inception.

In other words, now that the stepping stone is firmly set, we are hoping to consolidate the foundation and build further up.

The gameplay reasons and goals, which are the defining factor for any and all changes happening, are manifold; giving more goals (long and short-term) for players to work towards; better rewarding the dedication and work put into claiming your corner of space as well as expanding the field to the whole constellation rather than isolated pockets.

Hence, we are introducing the possibility of “upgrading” your sovereignty and work towards sovereignty on a constellation level, through investments in both time and equipment.

Allow me to explain.
Sovereignty Today

Claiming sovereignty of a system today consists of anchoring a starbase control tower in a system and waiting for the countdown to expire in order for sovereignty to go into effect.

Sovereignty is also only on a per system basis, meaning that the effects of having sovereignty do not go beyond that one system; there is no bigger picture and no special benefit in having sovereignty over more than one system in a constellation or region.
Sovereignty Tomorrow

While the scope and specifics of the changes are still under constant scrutiny, we are looking into putting limits to the claiming mechanics, which have been touched upon by TomB, but this would be the subject of another blog; I am merely mentioning it to give a better idea of what the whole picture is forming up to be.

What this devblog will talk about are the concepts of Upgradeable and Constellation Sovereignty.

So onto the nitty-gritty;
Upgradeable Sovereignty

As the name indicates, the idea is to introduce more levels of sovereignty; each will have different requirements in time, assets and territorial (or spatial) control.

The mechanics for claiming and loosing sovereignty in a system remain the same. It is also important to note that sovereignty changes are enforced during downtime.

Please note that the specific numbers and exact bonuses for each Sovereignty may change at release.

Also note that another blog detailing the exact nature of the outpost upgrades and improvements is forthcoming.

Sovereignty 0

This is the base level at which unclaimed systems are.

Sovereignty 1

This level is reached when a starbase is anchored and sovereignty is held for 7 days in the system.

Sovereignty 1 allows for:

    * 25% reduction in fuel usage to all starbases belonging to the sovereign alliance
    * Possibility of deploying an Outpost in the system
    * Anchoring of Capital Ship Arrays at starbases belonging to the sovereign alliance

Sovereignty 2

This level is reached when Sovereignty 1 has been held for 14 days in the system.

Sovereignty 2 allows for:

    * Anchoring of Cynosural Field Generator Array
    * Anchoring of Scanner Array
    * Upgrading an Outpost in the system to Tier 1

Sovereignty 3

This level is reached when Sovereignty 2 has been held for 14 days in the system.

Sovereignty 3 allows for:

    * Anchoring of Twinned Jump Bridge
    * Anchoring of Cynosural Field Jammer
    * Upgrading the Outpost to Tier 2
    * Ability to set the Outpost as Capital for Constellation Sovereignty

Sovereignty 3 in a system is also one of the requirements for Constellation Sovereignty, which will be explained right after Sovereignty 4 is detailed.

Sovereignty 4

This level is reached when:

    * A system with Sovereignty 3 has its Outpost set as Capital for 30 days
    * Constellation Sovereignty is in effect

Sovereignty 4 allows for invulnerability of the Capital system;

    * Upgrading the Outpost in the Capital to Tier 3
    * Starbase control towers, conquerable stations and outposts belonging to the sovereign alliance may not be attacked
    * Sovereignty in the Capital system cannot be lost (or contested) while Sovereignty 4 is in effect

We finally arrive to;
Constellation Sovereignty

Constellation Sovereignty expands the marking to the whole constellation, and requires;

    * Majority of the systems in the constellation to have at least Sovereignty 1 for the sovereign alliance
    * Ownership of three stations (Conquerable or Outpost) in the constellation for the sovereign alliance
    * One of the Outpost systems set as Capital (which requires Sovereignty 3)

These conditions have to have been held for at least 14 days in order for Constellation Sovereignty to come into effect.

Constellation Sovereignty allows for;

    * Sovereignty 4 in the Capital system
    * Fuel bonus upgrade from 25% to 30% to all starbases in the constellation belonging to the sovereign alliance
    * Faster claim – in 1 day – to Sovereignty 1 in the constellation for unclaimed systems for the sovereign alliance

All conditions have to be kept in order for the Sovereignty level, or status, to remain in effect.

Before we go further, let us detail the Capital system a bit more;
Capital System

The ability to set a station as Capital is only possible when the sovereignty of the system reaches Sovereignty 3, and once selected, it is not possible to change capitals until Constellation Sovereignty has been lost again. This makes for a tactical decision to be taken when choosing your capital because of what if offers.

Setting a station (and indirectly the solar system) as Capital enables for Constellation Sovereignty and starts the countdown for Sovereignty 4 in that system; the countdown is started even if Constellation Sovereignty is not yet in effect, however, Sovereignty 4 only goes in effect once all conditions for it have been met.

Sovereignty 4 is the pinnacle of Upgradeable Sovereignty – it transforms the capital into a castle’s keep, with Constellation Sovereignty acting as the walls; so long as it is in effect, the Capital system cannot be conquered or contested. It remains, however, accessible (i.e. anyone can travel through it) and may be raided (the capital station’s services may be disabled as on any other station).

This brings us to the next question everyone must be asking themselves; “how do we knock the castle down?”

Here’s how;
Bring in the Trebuchets

On a per-system level, the mechanics are the same; whoever has the most Starbases in the system has sovereignty after that the claiming period is over. Losing sovereignty, however, is a little bit different:

Sovereignty 1, 2 and 3

Losing sovereignty in a system of either of the levels means that the sovereignty of the system drops back to zero (Sovereignty 0) and has to be reclaimed from scratch; meaning that anyone reclaiming or conquering the system would need to start from Sovereignty 1 and go back up.

Sovereignty 4

Being particular to the Capital system, this sovereignty level has two specificities;

    * Sovereignty 4 may only be lost if Constellation Sovereignty is lost by the sovereign alliance.
    * When losing Sovereignty 4, the system Sovereignty is downgraded to Sovereignty 3 rather than being completely lost.

This of course entails that Capital system invulnerability is no longer in effect.

Constellation Sovereignty

In order for Constellation Sovereignty to be contested one (or more) of its required conditions has to be denied, meaning that if the sovereign alliance;

    * Loses its majority claim of the systems in the constellation, or
    * Does not have control of 3 stations (Outposts or Conquerable) anymore, or
    * Loses ownership of its Capital station

The Constellation Sovereignty becomes contested.

Unlike system sovereignty, Constellation Sovereignty does not drop back to zero the next day; it rather goes into a contested mode for 7 days, which is called the grace period.

During this grace period, Constellation Sovereignty remains in effect, as do its bonuses; the defender then has the opportunity to recover that which he has lost, or expand further in the constellation to meet the recovery conditions.

The recovery conditions that the defender has to fulfill are;

    * Sovereignty over the majority of the systems in the constellation, and
    * Control of 3 stations (Conquerable or Outposts) in the constellation, and
    * One of the outposts set as Capital (if none of the controlled systems have Sovereignty 4)

At the end of the grace period, if the defender is meeting all of the recovery conditions, his claim to Constellation Sovereignty remains intact. If the conditions are not met, Constellation Sovereignty is lost but the individual system sovereignty claims in the constellation remain in effect, except for Sovereignty 4 in the Capital system which is downgraded to 3.

It is worth noting that the grace period cannot be reset or extended; the 7 days are fixed and any sovereignty or influence shifts during that time is not taken into account; only the evaluation (last) day is taken into account.

It is also important to note that the days are counted from downtime to downtime rather than from 00:00 (midnight) to 00:00.
Use Cases

A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.

So, in an effort to better illustrate the contents of this blog, here are two (three actually) possible scenarios for the colonization and attack/defense of a constellation.

Figure 1 - Claiming Constellation Sovereignty (http://www.eve-online.com/flash/devblog/const_sov.htm)

Figure 2 – Conquering and defending Constellation Sovereignty (http://www.eve-online.com/flash/devblog/const_sov_war.htm)

The links require for JavaScript to be enabled, and will open windows with simple flash slideshows. Simply use the "Next" and "Previous" buttons to browse through the slides.
In Closing

These changes are just as huge as the first introduction of Sovereignty, and we are very much aware of that fact; much work, discussions, test scenarios, tweaking and tinkering has been done for everything listed above, and we sincerely hope you’re as excited about the changes coming in as we are in bringing them out!

Oh, and before we part, allow me to introduce myself; I am LeMousse and it’s a pleasure meeting you all :)

Sooo... after all the talk we are back to POS spam? Nice.

[ 2007.06.14 15:17:52 ] CCP Oveur > Syril: I'll get you something better, I'll get you Revelations II next week
[ 2007.06.14 15:20:21 ] CCP Oveur > You should see a news announcement later tonight about Rev II

EVE Online: Revelations II to be Deployed June 19

CCP announces release date and features for its latest free expansion

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND – June 14, 2007 - CCP, the world's largest independent game developer, today announced that their upcoming free expansion, EVE Online®: Revelations II, will be released on the massive Tranquility super-computer cluster on Tuesday, June 19th.

Revelations II is the seventh free expansion for EVE Online and includes important improvements and additions.  New players will appreciate a completely revamped New Player Experience where rookie pilots begin their adventures in EVE within a protected area to learn the essentials of gameplay within a protected environment at their own pace.  For the more seasoned pilots and alliances, the broader Sovereignty scope, improved Corporation and Alliance management and introduction of Heat will be most important.

The most notable features of Revelations II include:

    * Heat – Adding a new dimension to space combat in EVE.  The ability to boost performance of ship modules can mean the difference between life and death, but not entirely without risk.
    * Broader Sovereignty Scope - Sovereignty concept broadened with intermediate goals and four different tiers: Territory, Protectorate, Province and Constellation Capital.
    * Revamped New Player Experience – Optimization and streamlining of the tutorial vastly improves how new players are introduced to EVE Online, making it more fun and easier to start their alter ego existence in space.
    * Need for Speed – Significant CPU and dogma optimizations that set the groundwork for full Vista support slated to be introduced in a future expansion.
    * Structure Warfare Enhancements – A number of new features expand the opportunity for strategic operations.
    * Improved Corporation and Alliance Management – The addition of vital tools and roles necessary to command and conquer.
    * Agent Mission Improvements – The introduction of Level 5 Agents add the most challenging Player-versus-Environment encounters yet.
    * Expanding the Frontiers of Exploration - Rare NPC spawns and other opportunities abound for greater solo exploration as well as increasing the chances of discovering in-space encounters and hidden deadspace pockets.
    * Anti-Fleet Warfare – Discover new tactics for dispersing large concentrations of ships.

New loyalty point rewards from mission running are crazy - faction modules (& ammo) for loyalty points + dogtags + T1 module.

If the prices don't self-adjust, everyone is going to be flying faction-fitted ships within a month.Great for mission runners (like me!), not-so-great for ratters & so on.

Stop skimming and keep reading!

They're changing from offers to a 'shop' anyway - you get to see all rewards, and you save up LPs to buy the ones you want.

Also, points will now be stored (& pooled) at Agent-corp level, rather than agent-specific (so all loyalty points for the Imperial Amarr Navy from multiple missions will be shared, or all Guardian Angel missions, or whatever).

NB: This is your non-0.0 content. :)

How is it "sweet goodness"?  The same 4000 LP's still buys you the same crappy 2 mil implants.  The only advantage now is that you can transfer your LP's as you go up agent levels, as you build up your faction, whereas before you lost the 3000 LP from the L1 agent and the 10,000 LP from the L2 agent.  Incidentally, 13,000 LP doesn't do much, the good stuff requires hundreds of K of LP or even millions.

How is it "sweet goodness"?  The same 4000 LP's still buys you the same crappy 2 mil implants.  The only advantage now is that you can transfer your LP's as you go up agent levels, as you build up your faction, whereas before you lost the 3000 LP from the L1 agent and the 10,000 LP from the L2 agent.  Incidentally, 13,000 LP doesn't do much, the good stuff requires hundreds of K of LP or even millions.

It's not bad, from what I can see - except that all of the "expansion" content is for the big 0.0 alliances - nothing really for the little gangs (which, IMHO, is what this game should be about: a large number of smaller gangs carving out their own niche, not everyone dog piling into single huge alliances).

That is a ton of stuff. I skimmed it, so I might have missed it but it doesn't look like they are allowing player owned POSs with research stations to be rented via the research windows. Damn it.

Same as it ever was; if yer in an uberguild, its an expansion, if you're not, its a patch.

How is it "sweet goodness"?  The same 4000 LP's still buys you the same crappy 2 mil implants.  The only advantage now is that you can transfer your LP's as you go up agent levels, as you build up your faction, whereas before you lost the 3000 LP from the L1 agent and the 10,000 LP from the L2 agent.  Incidentally, 13,000 LP doesn't do much, the good stuff requires hundreds of K of LP or even millions.

Ratters get their encounters with 10% commander spawn rates.
New loyalty point rewards from mission running are crazy - faction modules (& ammo) for loyalty points + dogtags + T1 module.

If the prices don't self-adjust, everyone is going to be flying faction-fitted ships within a month.Great for mission runners (like me!), not-so-great for ratters & so on.

3) POS changes are geared exclusively for small entities - they favor defenders greatly and allow them to dig up into defensive war for months. It means smaller entities no longer need RA/BOB protection and approval to build up - they can tell big guys to fuck it and watch them spend months just to get that one constellation down.