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EVE Online: GDC : Kali Preview
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Noah C. Ward, a designer on the next EVE expansion, let us in on a few secrets from this popular Icelandic MMORPG. We learned about the faction system planned for Kali, the current subscriber numbers and their planned graphic overhaul.
| Noah Ward of CCP Games is building an expanded PvP experience for the games next expansion, codenamed Kali.
The designer, who joined CCP Games in August of 2004, has helped put together the factional warfare system that is the headline of Kali. It comes at a time of record popularity for the online space-MMORPG. Noah recalled subscriber numbers in the forty-thousands when he first hit Iceland. Since then, this beta-tester turned designer has seen their customer base triple, currently at over 120,000 paying players. |
You can read the full article here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
the full article link just takes you to the site's main page
Make of it what you will.
Sorry, link fixed.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
This article just explains why CCP just has been doing so well. They are dedicating an expansion to just help people get into the PvP of the game, now thats listening to your customer base.
The whole idea of it sounds very good, and I'm glad they are planning on revamping the graphics.
I think this will help out a lot of people get over grinding issue so many complain about. I think that right now there is a farly big gap between secure space life and low security life. Like it is stated in the article it takes A LOT of "foreknowledge" to survive in low sec space and to participate in corporation warfare.
I think that this is a great idea, it will allow people to work on their PvP skills while being prepared for it. Because a lot of people complain that they do badly because people always catch them with their pants down (mining and such). Well now you can practice PvP without worry that you will not be ready. Another imporant thing is that loot is a suplemental thing, this will not be grinded like PvP system was in WoW because there is no point since you can get something better.
If you tried EvE and got tired because you could not get into whole PvP thing I would recoment you to check it out again after Kali comes out.
Graphics update is nice (heh it always is), but to me game looks great as it is, but if they want to make even more pritty I am all for it!
Wow, this is all truly awesome. A great game getting better.
Damn it I miss playing EVE... I hope to get back online in time for that new expansion *sigh*
Best game ever - EOD.
And how much is this huge expansion gonna cost us? Not a damn thing.
Kinda makes one wonder why blizzard is gonna charge $40 for their burning crusade xpack doesn't it.
Full system scanning sounds crazy.. replacing the old map with it sounds laggy to..
Factional warfare to gain loot.. hrmm I liked the idea before but making it sound like its for newbs kinda turns me off, also having to leave my corp to join an npc one to do it doesn't sound great either... I hope they allow whole corporations or Alliances to join for one side or another.
More graphics sounds great though!
I have to imagine you will not leave your corp....doing so would defeat the entire PvP emphasis of the game.
I'm also sure that the Faction elements will be staggered to allow n00bs and vets to gain loyalty points and loot.
The only downside I see is that it currently sounds a lot like an expansion of the whole "agent" system, which I think is kind of lame to start with......I view agent missions as more of a grind than mining....at least in the sense that I can easily mine or PvE in low sec and make more ISK than I can running agent missions.....and they are a bit redundant....
sweet that just might be the answer I've been looking for in this game pvp is so hard wth no real way to test out your set up and such
The new graphics engine for the game will be much more than just better programing. In addition to taking advantage of things like High-Dynamic-Range Lighting and Self-Shadowing, the update will feature completely new high poly models and high resolution textures.
The Devs gave a little peak at this at the second annual EVE FanFest last fall (video archives available here) and recently at the first ever EVE Gathering in Las Vegas (Dev chat podcast available here) - including showing this teaser.....
Holy Cow, they made the Vexor look awesome!!1
These are the best comparison shots of the current Vexor model I could find:
Vexor Side View
Vexor Rear Iso View
There are rumors that the new engine may require DirectX 10, but since there has been no official confirmation, and since CCP plans on releasing the update well before Windows Vista (required for DX10) ships, it will probably just need a decently capable DX9 graphics card.
As far as factional warfare goes, from the information provided so far, I have this vision:
-Players will be able to sign up for a particular NPC faction or corporation. They will not actually have to join it, nor will a player corp's members have to work for the same faction.
-A sort of mission will be generated based on the current progress of The War. Players will be sent to the battle ground as a unit to meet other players of the opposing faction. Each side may have NPC allies to assist them.
-In order to win, some kind of condition must be met. This can obviously be complete destruction of the opposing forces, but has not been mentioned yet what kind of other "objectives" there will be (i.e. destroy/protect this structure, secure area, etc...)
-The outcome of the battles will have some kind of global effect on The War's progress, including the changing of security status of contested systems, and maybe sovereignty. At the moment, it is said that factions not engaged in The War (NPC pirates and player alliances) will not be able to affect the world in the same way, so sorry, you can't take sovereignty over Yulai or Sansha space.
-Player's performance in these missions will grant them, in addition to loyalty points, ranks and medals within the faction. These will be visible in their profile to anyone, and eventually visible in the EVE forums. Player corporations and alliances will also have the ability to grant similar rank and medals within their organizations.
With the rewards from factional warfare, I foresee CCP finally combining loyalty points (from normal missions, too) with a sort of black market, where you can select from a choice of items that you might not be able to get elsewhere. Also, war conditions for player corp wars may also get included, as it seems partially necessary for factional warfare.
Kail will also have Contracts and the new Seamless Map. Actually, these are two feature that I have been looking forward to for the longest time. I just hope they put useful information in the map, like gang locations within systems, enemy sightings, way-points, etc. Might make these ships actually feel like they have some kind of sensors, rather than just windows/camera drones to peer through.
There has been mention of squadrons (hierarchical divisions in gangs with their own sub-chats and listed objectives, handy with the seamless map, too) which I really hope make it into Kali as well, since if factional war is going to be cooperative, there needs to be more organization tools in the game to do it right.
o no this can not be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what would happen to the best part of the game the empeire space and all the poitals with the allicnes (bad spelling) no no no. there would be two sides to the game witch is not good. it will loss so much of what is has got
As to Factional Warfare:
-That it is fully optional is very bleh. That it is avoidable I would expect, but that it is like a pvp flag checkbox annoys me greatly as it totally goes against the spirit of EVE. It's not like you would be locked into any role or side. There are some 40 factions in the base EVE universe. More if you count the ones the playerbase has invented.
-I just keep telling myself that it is going to be lame, like agents 2.0, so I might be pleasantly surprised.
Contracts System - This could be very much a non-event, or it could be totally revolutionary. I really have no concrete ideas on what it's gonna look like.
New Map - Don't know much about this one. Maybe the gfx upgrade will make certain modules of the UI not take up so much space. I wish they didn't all need to be big boxy rectangles, especially the scanner. I also wish I could turn off or shrink the input boxes on chat windows, or that they would just get rid of local for aesthetics and gameplay, and substituted something else. I think this may include new gangleader tools. Maybe.
New Gang Tools - Pure awesomeness, and totally needed. Everything that happens on EVE is based on squads and I am lucky enough to have found access to at least one good one. It will be nice to have two separate gangs which can coordinate directly. People think it is for fleets, but it is just as important for us skimishers, pirates, privateers, mercs, industrialists, assorted unwashed and imperialists.
Not FOR noobs... FOR everybody. It's just supposed to help people get into the PvP aspect of the game. (( IE:: get people the feck out of Jita!! ))
Personally, this sounds awesome! I think I've heard a few others say that as well...
The graphics update is un-necessary, but will be great! Factional wars... I knew "Red Moon Rising" stood for something!!
CCP is, once again, making every other gaming company out there look bad!! They love their customers sooo much that they just give them the next [kick ass] expansion! How are SOE and Blizzard still in business? Go CCP!! Eve FTW!
SobaKai.com
There are two types of people in this world - people that suck... and me.
I'm kinda freaked out
LAAAAAME!!!
But as long as they either keep the combat system the same or make it even more difficult, I'm all on the hype bandwagon!!!
I can pwn if I want to, I can leave my pants behind...
...
They are not making the game itself easier, like by a redesign. They are simply making it easier for new players to find the info and gameplay they want. Planned are an integrated wiki help system, even better tutorial, and a corporation registry and recruitment system, among other projects.
.. they found that the actual experience – especially in PvP – required a lot of foreknowledge..
It always does in a mature game unless it's shallow pvp. This is what keeps me in a game. I've been playing a year, and I still don't know everything. Once I do, I'll play something else, because boredom isn't far behind.
I won't have that problem in Eve for a while, if ever. Making info easier to find and more complete is definitely something that would be good for the game.
Nice article by the way. Dana rocks! I am a fan.
-Viza