Next major patch announced: Apocrypha

[Endie]

Like it says in the title, Eve will get the next upgrade - "Apocrypha" - in March:

http://www.eveonline.com/pressreleases/default.asp?pressReleaseID=52

EVE Online: Apocrypha Uncovers a New Version of the Universe Itself

Reykjavik, Iceland January 8, 2008- CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today announced the launch of the tenth free expansion for EVE Online, its popular science-fiction massively multi-player online game (MMOG). EVE Online: Apocrypha is the most ambitious EVE expansion in the game's over five year history and it coincides with the March 10th, 2009 release of EVE Online as a boxed product through a partnership with Atari.

The fabric of space itself will be transformed as vast, unpredictable wormholes open to connect previously unexplored regions of the universe to the stars of New Eden. The seeds of advanced new technology await inside of these cosmic anomalies for those brave enough to explore them. This infusion of technology will enable production of the most dynamic vessels ever – Tech 3 modular ships with an astounding amount of customizability that can fill any role from skirmish muscle to industrial support.

Furthermore, NPC agents in EVE Online: Apocrypha will be authorized to assign Epic Mission Arcs to the pilots of New Eden. These branching, far-reaching mission strings are full of meaningful stories and more intelligent and deadly adversaries.

In addition, we are offering an entirely reworked New Player Experience for those joining (or rejoining) the game – giving them better insight into how to thrive in a truly limitless universe. We’ve already launched EVElopedia—a great repository for information on all things EVE where our players are also building their own living history of the previous five years of Alliance warfare, political intrigue and nostalgic recollection

“Just this past week we broke our concurrent user record with 45,186 people flying unbound in the same game world at the same time—a huge percentage of our quarter of a million current subscribers and a true testament to EVE in our sixth year of operation,” said EVE Online Senior Producer Torfi Frans Olafsson. “Today is an unprecedented time to start playing, as you can get ahead of the curve before Apocrypha releases in stores and our hard work hits the server cluster. It’ll be easier than ever to get ‘lost in the wormhole’ that is EVE with what we have planned for the future of our expanding universe.”

Leading up to the release of EVE Online: Apocrypha and the boxed version of EVE Online in stores, we’ll be revealing more features on www.eveonline.com.

[schild]

TRAMMEL?!

Scratch that, I'm going with insane-o.

[Fordel]

Wait, they are going to put out an actual retail box?

 

[WayAbvPar]

Shit, that might be worth buying just for the manual!

[Moosehands]

Please have tech 3 use the alien tech skills, please have tech 3 use the alien tech skills, please have...

[schild]

Shit, that might be worth buying just for the manual!

That's going to be a heavy damn box.

[Phildo]

Nah, the instructional manual would just be a single-sided note card with installation directions.

[schild]

Nah, the instructional manual would just be a single-sided note card with installation directions.

And a picture of a bird being pushed out of a tree into space.

[IainC]

Nah, the instructional manual would just be a single-sided note card with installation directions.

Tangentially on topic, I cracked open the EvE CCG game the other day (I bought a bunch of liquidated stock ages ago but never got around to actually playing it). In classic CCP style, while the game was actually quite good, the way the rules were presented sucked arse and the card design was terrible. So, cool game with a terrible new user experience and awful UI.

[xorx]

So, cool game with a terrible new user experience and awful UI.

This quote should be emblazoned in 32 point font just below the words "Quantum Rise" on the splash screen.

[Sir T]

If you want the unreleased cards look no further than here

http://www.eve-tribune.com/index.php?no=2_5&page=8

A touch out of date but quite funny. Heres a random selection for the curious...

[NiX]

Wait, they are going to put out an actual retail box?

 

This will be the second time. If you look hard in enough EBStops, you WILL find a boxed copy still lying around.

[Thrawn]

The big question is, what do I start buying up now to profit when T3 stuff starts to come out? 

[MahrinSkel]

Morphite would be a good bet.  So would T2 mining lasers and drones (needed to mine it).  Watch for wild swings in T2 prices as they are first devalued, then everyone realizes they are 6 months of training away from T3 and they jump back up.

--Dave

[TripleDES]

The big question is, what do I start buying up now to profit when T3 stuff starts to come out? 

You'll figure out once this shit hits test server. Which I figure is already late to begin with, if they want it boxed and on shelf in three months.

[apocrypha]

They can't even come up with their own bloody names 

In addition, we are offering an entirely reworked New Player Experience for those joining (or rejoining) the game

What, again? Haven't they said that before every single expansion and patch in the last 5 years? Maybe they'll get it right one day.... 

[Pax]

So it wasn't all hurf blurf during Fanfest after all - I expect those T3 ships to be balanced and operational by May.
2011.

/rearranges alt training to cover probing skills asap

[lac]

In addition, we are offering an entirely reworked New Player Experience for those joining (or rejoining) the game

What, again? Haven't they said that before every single expansion and patch in the last 5 years? Maybe they'll get it right one day....

Yes, they've added extra missions and rewards and cleaned the whole thing up in previous patches. It's good to see they keep it up. With an easier learning curve and a good wiki they'll eventually scare off fewer players.

Will these 'unstable wormholes' work like exploration content and disappear when mined empty or will they be static once found?

[Nevermore]

So if you enter the wrong unstable wormhole, will you end up in the Alpha Quadrant or in Peacekeeper space?

[Predator Irl]

I wonder if T3 ships are going to stay race specific, or will you be able to make Hybrid ships?

[Murgos]

Epic quest lines?

I really hope that actually reads out as, "Blobs of hi-sec mission runners making forays into low-sec and no-sec in billion isk PVE fits."  Because then it's epic for both play major groups 

I'm seriously debating starting my account back up just to help cut down the time to fly the T3's, before I quit I could fly inties and recons and all the Gallente BS so I have to think I would still have at least 4-6 months of training ahead.  I don't have time to play for reals though and probably won't for a while.

[Goumindong]

Epic quest lines?

Nope, its just mission arcs that have branching resolutions and that can continue if you fail the mission.

I wonder if T3 ships are going to stay race specific, or will you be able to make Hybrid ships?

They will stay race specific. It would be impossible to create hybrid ships in that manner and have a modicum of balance.

I mean, excuse me while i fly my damage bonused, range bonused, shield resist bonused, t2 minmatar shield resist pulse cruiser with 5 highs(all guns), 6 meds and 4 lows...

Yea, ain't gonna happen.(True Khanid ships based on their descriptions would be so ludicrously overpowered)

[tazelbain]

If its alien tech, the ships should be bellow to alien races.

[ajax34i]

Totally speculating, but it sounds like the "unstable wormholes" will be their version of instanced PVE content, maybe a la WoW raid instances.  They seem to talk a lot (more) about enhancing the PVE aspects of EVE, whereas before their focus was always PVP / the sandbox.

T3 ships, my impression was that we won't have complete freedom to just pick the features that we want (x high slots, y amount of powergrid), but will instead have to put together bricks that always have negative side effects to go along with the useful stuff they add to the ship's stats.  My fear is that T3 will be worse than T2; for example, try as I may, there might just not be a way to put together a T3 ship that's as fast/good an interceptor as a Crow, and I'll be better off flying a Crow if I want to intercept.  CCP may be looking to keep T2 ships viable by making sure that the niche roles T2 ships have can simply NOT be achieved with a T3 ship.

[Grand Design]

Totally speculating, but it sounds like the "unstable wormholes" will be their version of instanced PVE content, maybe a la WoW raid instances.

The lack of instancing and sharding is a major feature of EvE and I doubt they are changing that.  Unlike most MMO developers, CCP at least understands that 'massive-multiplayer' does not refer to revenue streams, but to the game world itself.

[eldaec]

EVE does use instances, but the design avoids making it look retarded and obvious.

The unstable wormholes are (I suspect) just a new type of object to probe down, which act as a gateway to t3 resource nodes (and possibly other things as well).

[MahrinSkel]

Dunno if this is relevant: A few years ago I was talking to a few of the CCP guys about the "New regions" (which became the Drone Regions) and how there were already wars being fought over the areas considered likely to be connected to them, and how alliances on the far side of the map wouldn't really have any access.  One of the things that came up in that conversation was the idea of "transient gates", that would connect fixed points of the new regions to changing points in the old 0.0.

--Dave

[FatuousTwat]

T3 ships, my impression was that we won't have complete freedom to just pick the features that we want (x high slots, y amount of powergrid), but will instead have to put together bricks that always have negative side effects to go along with the useful stuff they add to the ship's stats.  My fear is that T3 will be worse than T2; for example, try as I may, there might just not be a way to put together a T3 ship that's as fast/good an interceptor as a Crow, and I'll be better off flying a Crow if I want to intercept.  CCP may be looking to keep T2 ships viable by making sure that the niche roles T2 ships have can simply NOT be achieved with a T3 ship.

Has there been any confirmation that the building blocks are going to be anything but aesthetic?

[Grand Design]

EVE does use instances, but the design avoids making it look retarded and obvious.

Where?

[Pax]

Mission/deadspace pockets, I suppose.

[Grand Design]

Ahh, missions are instances.  Deadspace, I would say, are not.

[TripleDES]

Missions do happen in deadspace. But I thought you could probe people out in deadspace? So it's more your personal grid in the solar system, I'd figure.

[Goumindong]

Eve doesn't use any instances. Deadspace is just a grid with special qualities. You can be scanned down and killed in them.

[Jayce]

Missions do happen in deadspace. But I thought you could probe people out in deadspace? So it's more your personal grid in the solar system, I'd figure.

I think if you're scan someone out in deadspace the warpin dumps you out on the acceleration gate.

[Goumindong]

Missions do happen in deadspace. But I thought you could probe people out in deadspace? So it's more your personal grid in the solar system, I'd figure.

I think if you're scan someone out in deadspace the warpin dumps you out on the acceleration gate.

Which you can then use and go kill them.