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somewhere is having a good old whinge about the sun coming up each morning, but CCP are required to upgrade the old and outdated interface to move forward etc etc etc.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.