iGame Radio

CCP and Bigfoot Networks will be presenting the Killer 2100 Plexplosion event throughout September. Participants can win prizes every day, including 30 PLEX, 30 T-Shirts and two Killer 2100 network cards. In order to participate you need to “Like” both the EVE Online and Bigfoot Networks’ Facebook pages. Two prizes will be awarded daily and winners will be announced on Facebook (presumably both EVE Online and Bigfoot Networks’ Facebook pages).

You can also participate to increase your chances of winning by visiting the CCP booth at PAX and signing up for the event.

CCP has launched the 13th expansion to EVE Online. Tyrannis opens up new avenues of player control within the MMOG with Planetary Interaction, which allows players to scan the surfaces of planets and place structures on them to develop planetary resources and profit from what they reap. EVE Online promises well over 65,000 planets for discovery. On June 8th, seeding of planetary command centers will commence, which will allow players to gather, process, and export natural resources and refined goods.

EVE Gate is the new web frontend and social networking platform for EVE Online, allowing access to in-game mail and other features. Available through any web browser, EVE Gate will give players the ability to manage their mail, calendar, contacts, corporations, and alliances without having to enter the game.

Both EVE Gate and Planetary Interaction are seen by CCP as the first step of a process to encourage players into greater interaction and community building, especially from outside the game client itself. CCP intends to provide more options for accessing the game API, for example, so players can continue to develop EVE-related programs.

CCP, developers of EVE Online, have announced that Tyrannis, their upcoming expansion, will be delayed one week to May 26th. A devblog post on the EVE Online site discussed the delay in some detail:

In our regression testing, we have identified scalability issues with the Planetary Interaction feature, which led to code refactoring that then needed further testing before being launched to Tranquility. Planetary Interaction is a unique feature in the sense that it is available to almost all players in the game providing opportunity for manufacturing for the masses, so ensuring that it runs smoothly on our cluster is of great importance to all.

The seeding of Planetary Command Centers, which is the feature that will allow players to create new planets, has been pushed back to June 8th. EVE Gate will also be released on May 26th, with its web access to EVE Mail, Calendar and revamped contacts, both in-game and on the web.

EVE Online also wanted to make sure that all players had ample opportunity to review the Planetary Command Center features, as it represents a huge addition to the MMORPG gameplay mechanics.

EVE Online, CCP’s space-opera MMO, has updated Dominion, their latest expansion, to version 1.1. This update redesigns all Mothership-class vessels into Supercarriers, which command the Minmatar fighter bombers in frontline conflicts. This update also includes a voice modulator called Voicefonts which will allow players to alter their voice, raising or lowering it, even switching genders to match their avatar state. Additional fixes and improvements are outlined in the EVE Online updates page.

EVE Online: Dominion was launched today, making this the 12th expansion for the free sci-fi based MMOG. New features in the game included sovereignty changes that intend to catalyze player relationships into closer conflict, doing away with the entrenched siege battles.

“Our goal for EVE is to maximize human interaction and then leverage it to make a more meaningful, interesting game,” said EVE’s Lead Game Designer, Noah Ward. “Dominion was designed to give players more tools to mold their experience with better means of communication and extra rounds of ammunition. Undoubtedly, the compelling intrigue we’ve seen in EVE will never end as pilots fight to bend the universe to their will.”

New features include unprecedented alliance control over territory, allowing them to change things to suit their goals and playstyles, the re-engineering of many ship classes, a new in-game browser and mail system, and some major graphic improvements to various planets, moons, and stars. More info can be found at the EVE features page.

Apocrypha, the tenth free expansion for EVE Online, has been deployed. Now you too can go flying through unstable wormholes in a desperate attempt to discover unexplored regions of space and yell “First!”! You too can be the first to discover hereto undiscovered bugs created during CCP’s shortened production schedule! You too can take advantage of staggering ship production and a re-imagined introduction for rookie starship pilots that will result in unimaginable amounts of wedgies!

Okay, I’m being bad. But, really, when you have to post these press releases all day long, you start getting creative.

Here’s more from the press release:

Apocrypha’s improvements include these highlights and more:

• The sudden appearance of unstable wormholes in space, making the universe 41% larger and much more dangerous. On the other side, a first acquaintance awaits to a formidable NPC group that guards the key to the next level of technology. This unknown, uncharted space allows for a true sense of exploration for those brave enough to grab hold of the dynamic new scanning mechanics.
• Strategic Cruisers come with the introduction of ancient technology into production. These modular ships allow for an extravagant level of customization and versatility.
• The first Epic Mission Arc joins an enhanced new player experience to guide fledgling pilots toward the opportunities space has to offer. This massive branching set consists of dozens of missions that are guaranteed to forge any soft-shelled rookie into a battle-hardened veteran.
• Massive sensory improvements for every player: an upgraded sound engine, brand-new animations for almost every effect in game and beautiful original assets in wormhole space.
• A newly designed skill queue allows EVE’s unique character progression system to truly shine and Neural Remapping provides an opportunity for players to refocus their development as they so choose.
• We are releasing our Premium Graphics client for Mac users and introducing Premium Lite as our new lower-end graphics suite for a more beautiful experience all around.

Go to EVE Online: Apocrypha for a full list of features and more.

CCP, creators of EVE Online, announced last year that they would be releasing EVE Online as a retail version as well as digital download. Well, they just released a PR that details some cool extras that one gets with the retail box.

From the PR:

Breaking with tradition, the collection of extras will include 60 days of free game time, a departure from the standard 30 days offered for most MMOGs, allowing players to sign up and get started without paying any subscription fees for the first 60 days of a new account.

Players redeeming the code to activate a new account will also receive these special in-game items:

1. INSTANT WAR ACCESS: This certificate allows rapid access to organized combat (through increased standings), helping new players get into the action quickly.
2. EXCLUSIVE CAREER GUIDE: Accessed via the website to allow for dynamic updates, the guide includes insider tips and tricks.
3. VIP PASS: Use this card to invite a friend to try the game for 21 days. When that friend becomes an EVE Online subscriber, you will get an additional 30 days of free game time.
4. EXCLUSIVE IN-GAME SHIP: An exclusive new ship, the Interbus Shuttle, will allow players to fly in style with an increased capacity cargo hold to ferry those extra crucial items at high speeds.

In conjunction with Atari, the retail version of EVE Online is scheduled for release in North America on March 10th, and Europe and the Asia Pacific regions beginning March 12th. The MSRP is $34.95/€39.99.

 

Host Omaha Sternberg continues her Gaming Macworld 2009 series, covering Macworld Expo 2009 from a gamer’s perspective. Featuring an interview with Ned Coker of CCP and Blair Yakimovich of Transgaming about EVE Online, the new expansions, going to retail market, and what it’s like to maintain a Mac port. And are the rumors true about CCP leaving Iceland? Also, an interview with Keith Yankee of NEC about the giant 42 inch curved screen, and what advantages it has for gamers.

Check out the podcast by clicking the player above or downloading from the rss feed.

Actually, I flew in from Macworld Expo 2009 a couple of hours ago. I just finished getting back from eating. Macworld was awesome, tiring, worrying, stressful, and full of surprises. Despite the fact that there wasn’t even a poor excuse for a game pavilion this year (game companies were scattered all over the place), and that several of the stalwarts that we associate with Mac games (Aspyr Media, MacSoft), weren’t there, there were still a significant number of gaming companies, both software and hardware, attending.

I chatted with CCP (EVE Online), Transgaming, Codeweavers, Freeverse, Feral Interactive, Software MacKiev, Ambrosia Software, and VMware. I also talked to some on the hardware side, including NEC about their giant curved screen (a new iteration is due out soon), and i2i Stream about the application of their technology to gamers.

All in all, I have a ton of interviews that you’ll be hearing over the next week or two, and Corey and I are set to do a recording tomorrow with a full overview of what Macworld was like…I’ll get it posted by tomorrow evening.

BTW, Feral Interactive, what was with the Feral t-shirts with the BioShock logo on the backs? They were all wearing them. I asked one of them why, and he said, “Well, we’re all just big fans of BioShock, we just wanted to wear our BioShock t-shirts today.” Yeah, and you’re publishing Black & White 2, but I didn’t see you wearing t-shirts with that logo on the back. Hmmm. A ton of food for thought there.