Sunday, October 28, 2007

The amazing Day of Darkness video

Back in mid-June of this year, I was referred to an amazing video. This masterpiece of motion and sound is the work of Dire Lauthris, while he was a member of the Coreli Corporation - a corp I used to be way back when before it split. The story is based on the "Day of Darkness" chronicle which tells the story of the enslavement of the Minmatar. This is fan creativity at its best. Enjoy!



Read up on it on the EVE Forums here.

Trinity 2 Ship Comparison Model Video

With Trinity II on its way very shortly, I thought I'd share with you the comparison video that shows the improvements we'll soon enjoy when CCP rolls out the Revelations III patch. By the way, see this interesting DevBlog post on the upgrade/update patch process.

I saw this video for the first time in an interview done during the 2007 Games Convention in Leipzig, which I wrote about in this post back in late August. It shows the before/after full 3D renders of 4 ships: the Prophecy, a pirate frigate, the mighty Vexor and finally the Thrasher.

I got the original video through the EVE Affiliate program and was allowed to share it with you here. I've uploaded it to Youtube (see embedded video below) for a quick viewing, but you can also download the full 55Mb version here on my Box.net account.



To really appreciate it you'll need to view the full version. Only then can you appreciate the leap forward EVE will undertake when Trinity II is completed.

Enjoy!

EON #009 - Table of Content

By now, most of you (who subscribe to EON) have received your issue or are about to - I got mine this past Thursday, upon my return from Atlanta.

For those who don't subscribe or who order issue by issue, and for subscribers who want a quick way to find content I thought it would be a great way to add the 'Table of Content' in a post, so that we can easily search for something using my blog's Google Search box (in the right column).

I may end up going back and adding a ToC for each past issue, so that we can do searches for every issue published so far. Call me crazy, but I hate loosing time looking for information (flipping through every issue), when I can easily search using this blog's search field!



Table of Content - EON 009
  • Page 6 --- E-ON Upfront (News)
  • 14 ---- Postcards from the edge (Screen shots)
  • 24 ---- In Crowd: Torfi Frans Olafsson (CCP Employee Interview)
  • 26 ---- Chronicles: Green Dreams by John Kastronis
  • 32 ---- In Character: Vegeta (Player Character Interview)
  • 34 ---- Alliance Profile: Agony Empire
  • 36 ---- Cover Feature: EVE: Ascension (Homeworld 2 mod)
  • 42 ---- Chronicle: Just Another Traffic Advisory by Nixon Bardsley
  • 46 ---- Alliance Profile: KIA Alliance
  • 48 ---- Testflight: Motherships (Nyx, Aeon, Hel and Wyvern)
  • 58 ---- In Crowd: Solveig Maria Magnusdottir (CCP Employee Interview)
  • 60 ---- Chronicle: The New Damage by Gauti Fridriksson
  • 65 ---- In Character: Chribba (Player Character Interview)
  • 66 ---- Insider's Guide: Being a CEO (Players Guide)
  • 74 ---- Insider's Guide: Fleet Operations (Players Guide)
  • 82 ---- Teh Funnies (EVE Humour)
So there you have it! This latest issue is the biggest so far with 82 pages, and it's full of great information, fun stuff, useful guides and great lore. A must for dedicated EVE players. Highly recommended that you order it or better yet, subscribe!

Have fun reading it!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Caldari Wyvern reviewed on EVE TV

Any episode of EVE TV, and ship review. This time it's the mighty Caldari mothership, the Wyvern. I really love EVE TV's new format and the splitting of the show into it's various parts. Makes it easy to jump to your points of interests.

Wyvern (Episode 18)

Caldari WyvernImage courtesy of the EVE Online Player Ship Gallery.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Web Wars EVE and John Galt Games Teaser

This just came across my Google alerts. Seems that there will be a major announcements at this year's EVE fanfest regarding a new game (??) WebWars: EVE. The developer is Texas based John Galt Games. That's about all the information I have except this article that I uncovered. The post is from Trey Ratcliff's blog, Stuck in Customs, which mentions an interview in the Financial Times about the capitalistic inner workings of EVE
If anyone has more info, I'd love to know!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Warp Drive Active Episode 17th is out

Seems that they've been left out of their mental institutions again. Urban Mongral and Winterblink are at their best (or worst depending on who you ask) in this hilarious latest EVE Online podcast.

Be warned that enormous amounts hilarity and debauchery are a click away. As always, this one's better appreciated when in a slightly tipsy state of mind.

You've been warned!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

EVE Ship reviews on EVE TV

I missed the last two EVE TV broadcasts and only watch them earlier this week. As many viewers, I was happy to see the move to the free format. I don't mind the commercial, and must say that the cast and crew are getting better with every show.

One of the reports I always look forward to is the ship review. And since EVE TV now splits the shows into its various parts, each ship review can be accessed directly. Here listed below are the links to the last 4 ship reviews.

Amarr
Abaddon (Episode 16)

Amarr AbaddonImage courtesy of CCP.

Caldari
Eagle (Episode 14)

Caldari EagleImage courtesy of the EVE Online Player Ship Gallery.

Gallente
Eris (Episode 15)

Gallente ErisImage courtesy of the EVE Online Player Ship Gallery.

Minmatar
Wolf (Episode 17)

Minmatar WolfImage courtesy of MotherMoon.

I plan to link new reviews as each new EVE TV Episode is released. Enjoy the clips!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Heading to Atlanta...

...for TeclcoTV that is, not CCP North America! I'll be at the Georgia World Congress Center for the next three days for the trade show, to meeting with clients and look for new ones. And since I'll be walking distance from the convention center, I'll have a chance to visit Atlanta.

Unfortunately, since I'll only be there on for a short time, I won't have a chance to visit the new offices of CCP North America since it's not exactly close to where I'll be staying. Well at least we've got this article over at TenTonHammer, with some great photos of the opening day.

Maybe next time I'll have more time.

EON Issue 009 on its way soon

A new issue of EON is on it's way! And this one will be the biggest ever; 84 beautiful pages! Here's a brief overview of what to look for:

EVE: ASCENSION
Anyone who has played one of the Homeworld games will remember its epic fleet battles, with hundreds of fighters, corvettes and battleships trading laser fire across the billowing folds of deep space. Well now, thanks to the efforts of a small team of coders and artists, the massive EVE universe is being condensed, blended and trimmed to fit the mechanics of one of the best real-time strategy games ever made. EVE: Ascension will be the result of EVE and Homeworld's coming together, and we chat with the project leader about the stresses, strains and ambitions behind EVE's biggest fan project


NEW FICTION
More pages in this issue means we've been able to squeeze in more fiction than ever before - three epic stories on the dangers of terraforming ("Green Dreams"), gate maintenance ("Just Another Traffic Advisory" - yes, it's hard work keeping those highways open) and having ideas above your station ("The New Damage")


INSIDER GUIDES
Two massive guides, one on how to lead your corporations and alliances, the other detailing the duties and responsibilities one must have in mind when on fleet operations. So whether you lead from the front, or attack from the rear, there should be something in this issue for you ;)


TOURNAMENT RECAP
E-ON#009 has unofficially been dubbed 'The Verone Issue', as not only did the Veto leader pen a guide to being an effective CEO (above), but also helped out with a look back on all the group stages of the recent Alliance Tournament, which if you missed, you can catch up with here.


PLUS
Mothership Testflight - Profiles on KIA Alliance & Agony Empire - Interviews with t0rfiFrans & 'The Mother of CCP' - Chats with Vegeta and Chribba - The latest news about EVE and CCP


FREE SUBSCRIBER GIFT - POSTER-SIZED 2008 E-ON YEAR PLANNER

Looking forward to it. If it was to arrive before Fan Fest it would be even better since at least I could console myself reading through it.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

10 sites for every new EVE Online Player

With more and more players joining the ranks of the capsuleers, I thought I'd put together a list of sites that I believe anyone considering playing EVE should have bookmarked. Now, this is not a an exhaustive list, but simply the 10 most valuables sites to help you get through the first few weeks of playing without too much difficulty. Anyways, I wish I had known about these when I started!
  1. EVE Online Player Guide (online version)
  2. New Character Creation Guide
  3. Character Attributes & Skills Guide
  4. EVEMon - A great tool to plan your skills
  5. EVE Fitting Tool - Know thy ship
  6. EVE Guides
  7. Grismar's EVE Wiki - very useful
  8. EVE Ships Wiki - also useful
  9. EVE Files - The greatest of all EVE database
  10. EVE Tribune - To stay on top of the news
  11. Warp Drive Active - Cause sometimes laughing is a great remedy
  12. Battleclinic.com - "The" largest and most comprehensive support sites for EVE-Online
[EDIT: Somehow I forgot Battleclinic.com in there! My bad!!!]

Ok, so that's 11 [EDIT: now 12!], but you can't blame me for WDA, it has to be a regular stop for any EVE player that pretends to know something.

Well, there you have it. This should help anyone trying to learn the complexities of EVE and give himself, or herself, a edge. If you think I forgotten a sites that's been helpful to you when you started, or still is, then please let me know!

As I leave you, here is a quote that sums up very poignantly what it's all about: "EVE is like a sandbox with land mines, deal with it!"

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

My best EVE Online screenshots

Well I'm back, tanned, rested and ready for some fun! After going through about 500 emails, both personal and professional, and over 300 posts in Google Reader, I'm now pretty much up to date.

Which brings me to todays posts, EVE's beautiful vistas and the screenshots I've captured over the 3 years I've been traveling its universe.

With the upcoming Trinity 2 upgrade almost upon us, and the various news articles we've read over the last few weeks, I thought I'd share with you my favorite screen shots. Over the last 3 years, I've captured and have loaded on my Flickr account no less than fifteen-hundred screen shots in 2 sets (overall set and favorites set), which have gathered altogether about 7000 views to date.

So here below are my 10 favorites. It'll be interesting to see the difference between these and the ones I'll take when Trinity 2 has rolled out! Which one's your favorite?











Saturday, October 06, 2007

Gone off to Cancun for a week


Well I'm off again for another week, though this time it's for pleasure. Taking the family to Cancun, Mexico for some R&R at an all inclusive resort. So no updates for another week. Looks like October is going to be another slow month in posts. Will have to play catch-up when I get back!

See you in a week, fly safe till then!

Friday, October 05, 2007

EVE Online Speedlinking for October 5th

A quiet week, if not for some interesting news.
Enjoy!!

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Just received my copy of The Art of EVE

This past Monday was my 36th birthday and as a gift my wife got me a copy of The Art of EVE, which was delivered by FedEx this afternoon. Man, what a beautiful book! The packaging was more than sufficient and the book was in mint condition. Can you guess that I'm a nit picker!!

Suffice to say, the first thing I did when I got home was to open the package, unwrap the plastic, slide the book out of its casing and start flipping through the pages. I've gone through it once for a quick review, but I plan on taking my time and enjoy this work of art. I'll post a review once I've given it a good read, in the mean time I thought I'd give you a look at the table of content.
  1. Building the Universe
  2. Bringing EVE to Life: Flesh to the bones
  3. Ships, Weapons & Modules: The toys of the elite
  4. After the Fact: From Second Genesis to Third Revelations
  5. The Future
So stay tuned for the review!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

CCP opens North Americans offices

Looks like our favorite Vikings are busy continuing the North American expansion.

They plan to hire 100 new employees over the next year. Read the article over at Gamasutra!