EVE at PAX: EVE Online To Have Third Revelation

Written by: Nelson Kyle Thachuk

On November 11, 2006, CCP hf., developers of EVE Online, and White Wolf Publishing Inc., creators of the World of Darkness franchise, merged to create the company informally known as CCP|White Wolf. Naturally this raised questions about the future of EVE Online and the possibility of a World of Darkness MMO. The merger did not disappoint: EVE Online is doing better than ever and a World of Darkness MMO is currently in pre-production. CCP|White Wolf was actively recruiting for World of Darkness at the Penny Arcade Expo.

Everyone at CCP|White Wolf kept a tight lip about the World of Darkness MMO, but they were more than happy to talk about EVE Online. So much so, that I had the opportunity to talk with Valerie Massey, Public Relations and Communications Director, Noah Ward, Lead Game Designer, and Oscar Garza, Organized Play Coordinator, about Revelations 3.0.

Revelations 3.0 is essentially going to be what Catacombs was for Dark Age of Camelot: a graphics overhaul. All of the artwork is being reworked: higher poly-count models, new textures re-created at higher resolution, and support for DirectX 9 – which allows for more eye-candy without pushing the system requirements. The team will also be delivering DirectX 10 support down the road, but it won’t be available at the release of Revelations 3.0. Trinity, the graphics engine driving EVE Online, is also getting a major overhaul.

The system requirements for Revelations 3.0 are not expected to be raised, but if they are it will be very minimal. Revelations 3.0’s art assets will have a staged release tentatively consisting of two stages: the first will be ships, gates and stations and possibly some space debris, the second is the remainder of space debris, avatars and station interiors. Stage 1 of Revelations 3.0 is expected to release between November and early 2008. Stage 2 will be released later in 2008.

Faction warfare, strictly structured Player vs. Player combat, will also be introduced in Revelations 3.0 and CCP|White Wolf considers it one of the ways they’re going to bridge the gap between new players, casual players and hardcore. Though EVE Online isn’t considered “newbie-friendly”, the team at CCP|White Wolf is working hard to make the game inviting for new players. Included in this plan is a function that allows players to look for recruiting corporations and for corporations to advertise that they’re looking to expand their ranks.

EVE Online continues to strive, even through political rough patches, the boom of World of Warcraft and internal investigations. The title’s success is often attributed to its mature player-base, but after speaking with everyone I can guarantee you that it’s the dedicated people behind the game and its strong and opinionated community.