The Providence of Patching Penguins

As mentioned in "A Higher Gear" and now from CCP here and here we have the Incursion 1.6 patch being introduced tonight.

Weighing in at about 550Mb it is rather hefty, though as mentioned by CCP this will replace many files so the overall Eve Online folder size should only increase by 10Mb or so.

This is the part which concerns me:

This release introduces the new UI rendering framework CarbonUI into EVE. CarbonUI is an evolution of the existing UI framework, with a completely new rendering layer. The framework natively supports a number of effects and animations for UI elements, and rendering interactable UI onto objects in the 3D scene. This gives the EVE UI designers and UI programmers a range of new possibilities for creating exciting user interfaces in EVE going forward.


As mentioned previously I use Ubuntu linux to run Eve Online much of the time, so these wholesale changes are a potential threat to that operation.  CCP no longer support Linux officially but from the forums some other people use it so we shall see the difference on Wednesday (my time).


No doubt much bitching and whining exists on the official forum about these changes, I'm sure somebody somewhere is having a good old whinge about the sun coming up each morning, but CCP are required to upgrade the old and outdated interface to move forward etc etc etc.


In other news I have finally bought a freighter as I now have a need to move around bulk materials.  Previously the Orca was doing a sterling job but has finally become too small.  So taking the path of form over function the Providence is now proudly slightly bobbing from left to right and down a bit in the hanger.  No freighter on the market could do what I wanted in one trip so that was a wonderful excuse reason to avoid the god ugly Obelisk.


Behold the Providence!

Found Objects #1

Mizara's Doll

This doll is old and well worn.

It still smells faintly of brown sugar.

The New Currency of Eve

The Aurum, which is not a new car released by Toyota, is a soon to be introduced currency in Eve Online.  This will be the micro transaction currency which will have an exchange rate with our good buddy the ISK.

An amount of Aurum is created from a PLEX, which can be created from ISK or bought with real life money.  Then the Aurum is used to purchase the micro transaction items like clothes and other vanity items.

However these items can then be placed on the open market for sale at an ISK amount like anything else for whoever wants to buy it, even if they've never heard of Aurum or PLEX.

Will this introduce the frenzy of hat fanciers that currently exist in Team Fortress 2?

I hope so as viewing some pod pilot strolling down the promenade in their finest, while I imagine some Gilbert and Sullivan, is going to make major veins in the head of those brave forum warriors like Akita T bulge quite dangerously.

Will this change "The Game"?

It shouldn't as this doesn't look like it will, at least at this early stage, effect the internet space ships part of Eve Online as these are just vanity items.  Also the Aurum and ISK currencies have an exchange rate which can be modified should one or the other get out of control.

Essentially this will help Incarna and the addition of a new type of player.

This is probably not something I would be interested in, unless they introduce cats, as cats rule.

The Date It All Changes

Or not.

June 21st 2011 is the expected release date for the Captains Quarters to the live server.

Assuming it actually releases on that date of course.

Obviously the Captains Quarters doesn't add much to the game as it stands but it's a first step on the journey towards the space simulator that CCP craves.

Already the forums have turned the whining to eleven as poster after poster laments how their lowly computer will not run it properly, and they'll leave along with everybody else.

Everybody will not leave, most people who say they are leaving do not in fact leave.  Somewhere down the track they are usually exposed to be the hypocrites they certainly are.

CCP know what hardware the majority of players have, also the Steam service has some good figures on the hardware and software mix.  The Captains Quarters would not be introduced unless the vast majority of current Eve Online citizens could handle the expansion.

Some users will be left behind, this will be sad, but don't let their mindless thrashing distract you from the increasingly interesting path this game is taking.

Captains Quarters #2

In the latest Dev Blog CCP have released some more information about the new and improved Captains Quarters.

It looks better, with luck it will be ready for the June release date.

 I've included an image to the left, the Dev Blog has some others.

You'll notice in the image an ash tray.

Seriously!

Did the designer come from the seventies?

Can I also add a lava lamp, some shag pile and Barry White crooning away on the Hi Fi about how he's going to get with some ladies!

Actually a lava lamp wouldn't be a bad idea.

DUST514 News!

Visit http://www.dust514.com for the official CCP DUST514 web site.

It might even get some content at some stage.

Blueprint Image Update

Finally with the 1.5 Incursion patch we can now visually tell the difference between the original blueprint and a copy.

Looking at the image to the left the cruise missile blueprint to the far left is an original and the one to the right is a copy.  In general the copies look lighter and have horizontal lines.

Happy Days!

Way back on the 27th of December 2008 I wrote this article for the now mothballed Reapers alliance.

Essentially it explains the manufacturing process and also how important reducing waste is, much of the information is relevant today, probably all of it.

Enjoy!

A Higher Gear

At the time of writing the Incursion 1.5 patch is due tonight, together with the long down time. I'll probably post about the fallout at some point in the future.

Coming up on the 31st of May is the Incursion 1.6 patch which brings the Carbon UI to EVE Online and establishes the framework for upcoming changes to the 3D user interface.

Following that in June we have Incarna 1.0 which I assume will be the Captains Quarters and typical with EVE Online patches some other stuff, though my guess would be not ground breaking items, just an opportunity to attach some changes/updates/exploit fixes to an already planned deployment date.

The amount of whining on the forums, especially the cess pit known as General Discussion is intense.  Funnily enough the pundits seem fairly split evenly on the topic of tonights patch, it seems they are taking an each way bet.

I would like to see agents change over time, much like an asteroid belt.  Should an agent get hammered for mission requests like those in Motsu then either the available missions are reduced or the quality of the agents/missions are reduced.

This would then force the mission runners to move elsewhere, it would also make it more difficult for the botting mission runners as their income would drop off and I assume this would be difficult to counter.

To balance this other agents in systems at least x number of jumps away would have more missions to offer, or the quality of the agent/mission would increase.  This would provide the same mission income in an area of a given size.

If CCP introduced this I think the internet would explode.

Do it.

A higher gear 190511 by Yosagi Yojimbo

Changes

Agents are changing http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=909

Other things are changing http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=910

One of the changes is something that will impact the manufacturers amongst you.  After the longest time of CCP saying they cannot make BPO's and BPC's look different as they are functionally the same in the database, they are making them look different!

Dancing in the streets and general mayhem.

The BPC's will have a washed out look apparently, a wonderful change and far too long in coming.

Agents will have their mission roles simplified and the barrier for entry reduced.  So check your favourite agent after the patch to make sure they still have the same job, you may be surprised.

The simplification will help new players more than the established ones as we've learned how to navigate the turbulent agent function waters.

The expectation is the mission hubs will disperse somewhat, also the expectation is this will concentrate even more mission runners around the good systems, typically 0.5 security status.  My money is on a general dispersion, with more good mission spots developing but less active pilots at each spot.

We shall see.

Art Wizardry

Recently I was introduced to the work of Phil Noto and his site http://philnoto.tumblr.com/

The image to the left is one of his, as are many more at the web site.

He appears to be some sort of savant as most days a new image is there, a high quality image.

Please visit, enjoy, and comment on his works.

It's just a jump to the left!

In my response to Blog Banter #25 part of my post mentioned how jump bridges should be changed.

Well CCP have obviously read my post (almost certainly not) and have decided to change the Jump Bridge system amongst other things.

Here is the post in question and what follows is a selection of text from that Dev Blog.

"The second and third changes will go in next month, with the main patch. We will be limiting the number of jumpbridges you can have in a system to one, while upping the fuelbay to 30.000 (3x) to avoid suicide among players who do logistics. We would suggest you start reconfiguring your jumpbridge network as soon as possible."


Essentially what this will do is force ships using a Jump Bridge network to utilise the local jump gates to access the next Jump Bridge device.


Or maybe not as Eve players are a resourceful lot and often find ways around these obstacles to life.


Reorganising the existing Jump Bridge networks will be a major headache for somebody who isn't me thankfully.  Fitting in those reconfigured networks within existing political boundaries should provide some opportunity for conflict.


All those shiny, expensive ships moving various things around ripe for the plucking, blockading jump gates between Jump Bridge systems.


It has the potential to be very interesting.


  

That's mine! This is mine!! It's all mine!!!

Ownership in Eve Online.

CCP, being omnipotent, have the ultimate power, they give with your subscription and they can take it away on a whim.

However CCP have a disposition for benevolence as this helps retain subscribers, being benevolent is good for business, at least towards the majority.

So outside of this powerful force the users dictate who owns what in New Eden to a large degree.  This ownership can be more easily dictated as we slide towards 0.0 space.

If somebody is in "your" space you can destroy, harass, move them on using various means.

Though they can attempt the same against you.

In high security space it isn't so simple.  I could declare war on a corporation to try and move them on but this costs money and may have unwanted consequences.

The current "fashion" is reporting a person as a bot.

I'm going to admit something here, something shocking, you may not recover from this information that I'm just about to tell you.

Ready?  Good!

Using my second account I sometimes perform missions and mine for minerals.

I know!

I can see the meeting now...

"Hi I'm Second Account"

"Hello Second Account", the room answers.

"I've been clean for 13 days, 12 hours and 7 minutes"

"Good on ya!", says the rooms occupants.

Then we all go out for Gelato.

Anyway.

While missioning, on a mission I've received from an agent, I have had somebody drop into the mission space, and demand I leave my own mission!

A few times mining I've had other miners, either already in the belt, or those who arrive later, demand I leave the belt as it's theirs!

Every time I chuckle and do whatever the hell I want.

Recently while the second account was mining away with occasional input from me to change asteroids or dump the ore local chat starts up with my guy being accused of botting.

Fine, whatever, I don't care, I continue mining.

So a cruiser turns up at the belt in the same corporation as theirs, attacks and dies in the attempt.

That was a good day.

EVE Blog Banter #26: You don't get a second chance at a first impression

Welcome to the twenty-sixth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's topic was proposed by @KatiaSae of the much praised "To Boldly Go" blog. Katia asks: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As an astrophotographer, I've found it in the stars and planets of New Eden. Where have you found it? Perhaps you've found beauty in the ships we fly? Maybe it's the sight of profits being added to your bottom line? Or maybe it's the pilot portraits you see in the comm channels? Where ever you've found it, write about it and post an image." Don't be afraid go beyond the simple visual aspects of EVE as well. Is the EVE Community in itself a thing of beauty? What makes EVE the game, the world, the Community, so appealing to you?

I started playing Eve Online in 2007, this was after the upgrade to the ship graphics but before the planet upgrade.

Visually Eve is stunning, especially now, in my earlier days I would sometimes just fly around and look at the objects in the Universe just for the pleasure of it.  I'm sometimes envious of the new player who is able to be enthralled in wonder at the environs of New Eden, but as they say you don't get a second chance at a first impression.

I suspect that veterans of the game don't appreciate this visual quality, and I'm probably guilty of this also, as we need to be zoomed out in battles, fill the screen with boxes for chatting or information, and speed from one task to another not stopping to enjoy the view.

The planet upgrade improved the game for me as previously they were a muddy image hanging in an endless sea.  Now they add greatly to the appeal of the game, especially with moving cloud patterns etc.

The game design is another area of beauty as it allows a larger than normal amount of freedom.  I can fight, trade, travel, mine, manufacture, invent (for a given value of invention), as I see fit.  Some limitations exist for all these options but no game is infinite in scope.

Is Eve Online the most visually stunning game out there?  I don't know, probably not, but as I'm not able, nor do I want to, play every game out there it hardly matters to me.

Eve Online has a good balance of visual appeal and realistic computer requirements, some games in the past, Crysis comes to mind, have tried far to hard for stunning and have forgotten about the bulk of their potential audience.  MMO's need to appeal to a large audience, both in their subject matter and the ability of interested parties to actually play the game, Eve Online does well in both criteria.

What makes Eve Online appealing to me?  All of the above to be honest.  Essentially I'm playing an improved version of David Braben's Elite, as an MMO with a chat client built in, what's not to love!

The Beauty of EVE lies within its Community.

List of Participants:

1. CrazyKinux's Musing: Beyond nebulas and shiny ships
2. Freedom: the beauty in EvE » A Mule In EvE
3. Achernar: The bike and the barbecue
4. where the frack is my ship?: Blog Banter 26: Love at first sight
5. BlogBanter 26: EVE … beautiful … « One capsuleer against all
6. Blog Banter 26 « Mad Haberdashers
7. » Blog Banter 26: Beauty of EVE – To Boldly Go To Boldly Go
8. Down By Law: Blog Banter #26: "The Beauty of EVE" (OOC)
9. Blog Banter #26 – Beauty « Roc's Ramblings
10. Banter #26: Beauty is in the eye of the markets | Diary of a Garbageman
11. Progression's Horizon: Blog Banter 26- Carry It With Us, Or We Find It Not
12. Blog Banter 26: The Beauty of Eve « A Scientist's Life in Eve
13. Freebooted: BB26: The Beauty Between the Lines
14. Eve Opportunist: EBB #26 : Beauty is destruction.
15. Blog banter #26: EVE shines, and not just visually « Diary of a Pod Pilot
16. Blog Banter 26: Everybody is Pretty - Learning to Fly
17. BB26: Beauty, in certain conditions | A Missioneer in Eve
18. Dying in Lowsec (One Hauler at a time)
19. EVE Blog Banter #26 – Beauty « Evehermit's Blog
20. EVE A to Z: The Beauty of EVE
21. Blog Banter 26: Beauty In A Bottle « A Lush In Space
22. EVEOGANDA: Blog Banter 26: The Ballet of Battle
23. BB26: Sometimes the sum of the parts … | Morphisat's Blog
24. Anymore...?