Kotaku: Ccp

EVE Council Of Stellar Management Voting Ends Friday

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:00:00 MST

In my efforts to learn more about the pretty space game EVE Online before it suddenly turns into Deep Space Nine with the Walking in Stations expansion, I've been reading a great deal about the Council for Stellar Management, an organization of players, appointed by player vote, that bring important player concerns directly to developer CCP, acting on their behalf. It's basically the first democratically-elected governing body in a virtual world, to which players can submit their grievances and suggestions which are then passed on to CCP if deemed important enough to address.

The Council servers for a six month term, with the first group elected back in March. Now they're preparing to pass on their power to a new group of players, with elections ending tomorrow. Unfortunately you have to be an EVE Insider to view the candidates, but they've got a whole page full, with platforms running anywhere from eloquently crafted speeches to "I love you." Now there's a message I can get behind.

EVE Online Candidates Page - Voting Ends Friday the 21st (Registration Required) [EVE Online]

EVE Online Gets A Box

Stuart Houghton — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:20:00 MST

Even as CCP works away at its secret plans for FPS domination, much is still afoot at EVE Online.

This week sees not only the release of a major new expansion to the space trading MMO, but also news of the game's first proper retail release. In a box. And everything.

Atari will be giving CCP a hand with the distribution, rolling out boxed copies in North America, Europe and Asia in early 2009. The boxed edition of the game will include the latest client software, 60 days of game time and all 9 expansions released online since the game's inception in 2003.

UPDATE: As one or two readers have kindly pointed out, EVE did get a boxed release when it was first released in 2003. Please stop emailing now - Gmail is nearly full.

CCP and Atari announce retail box distribution of EVE Online[EVE Online]

CCP Teases EVE-like FPS, Console Strategy

Mike Fahey — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:40:00 MST

While EVE Online developer CCP is currently focused on getting their newly announced yet unnamed largest expansion ever ready for next March, they definitely have some new tricks up their sleeves aside from EVE and the White Wolf World of Darkness MMO. At their annual fan festival this past weekend, footage was shown of a "Halo-like" shooter that took place on a planet like earth, with weapons and buildings reminiscent of the space MMO's art style. There was also footage of a land vehicle driving across the planet's surface.

The folks at Eurogamer speculate that this new FPS title could be console bound, pointing to a future of EVE presentation at the event in which CCP heads Hilmar Petursson and Nathan Richardsson suggested a console strategy for the title, complete with a slide mentioning the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

CCP hints at EVE FPS News [Eurogamer]

EVE Online's Walking Expansion Adds Player-Made Shops

Mike Fahey — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:20:00 MST

I don't think I will be able to resist the call of EVE Online much longer. At CCP's Fanfest convention in Reykjavik, Iceland, the company has revealed further plans for the upcoming Walking In Stations expansion, which for the first time will allow players to get off of their ships and socialize a bit. Where will they socialize? In player created bars and shops, apparently. Players will be able to purchase blueprints, install them in empty sockets in space station promenades, and customize them with different NPCs, rules, vendors, and custom dialog. Space stations will also have mini-games available to play and wager on. It's so Deep Space Nine you'll think every inanimate object is secretly Odo.

In addition to shops and bars, players will also have captain's quarters on their ships, while corporations will have meeting rooms and recruitment offices.

It sounds like EVE is slowly turning into the kind of space MMO I have always wanted, and that's very, very dangerous to my free time. Hit up the link below for Eurogamer's exhaustive look at all of the new features being introduced.

EVE Online: Walking In Stations Hands On [Eurogamer]

Eve Online Gets Free Quantum Rise

Stuart Houghton — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:20:00 MDT

EVE Online has received its ninth major expansion - Quantum Rise.

The free download will bring a major rebalancing of industrial craft - including a new Capital ship, the Orca - customizable storefronts for traders, weapons linking and a certification system for pilots.

At the back-end there are graphical tweaks and server improvements that take advantage of the new StacklessIO code to streamline network usage.

EVE Online: Free Quantum Rise Expansion Launches [Wired]

EVE Online Enters Empyrean Age

Mike Fahey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:20:00 MDT

The latest expansion to CCP Games' deep space MMO EVE Online has just gone live, bringing space-miners, space-moguls, and space-fighters alike into the Empyrean Age. The expansion focuses on two of the most important aspects of any MMO, storyline and PVP, introducing factional warfare, a system of militia ranks, system occupancy, combat zones, and factional warfare bases for players to capture and control. Each of the factions now has a corporation open to all pilots to help coordinate war efforts.

Along with all of the healthy player killing comes an entirely new region called Black Rise, which contains 49 new star systems and 40 new stations, many of which are already sworn to a specific faction.

It sounds to me like folks hungry for some ship-on-ship PVP might want to sign up for their umpteenth free trial of EVE Online.

Empyrean Age Features Page [EVE Online]

EVE Online Convenes Real-World Elected Council

Owen Good — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:00:00 MDT

Iceland. It's where all the cool kids go to have a summit. Reagan and Gorbachev rapped about nukes there in 1985; 20 years later, the Supreme Metal Council condemned the overuse of the devil horns hand-signal. And now something billing itself as EVE Online's democratically elected government will meet there, probably because it's too far for Something Awful to show up and grief the shit out of it.

The Council of Stellar Management — which sounds like something from Dilbert — was formed by EVE developer CCP back in March, and now the two bodies will meet to discuss issues both real- and virtual-world pertaining to the game. The CSM's nine delegates and five alternates serve six month terms and were elected back in March. Developer CCP is based in Reykjavik (holy shit I spelled that correctly the first time).

They rep a gamer community approaching 250,000, according to CCP which bills the stellar managers as "the first democratically-elected governing body in a virtual world."

"The CSM will empower players with a formal communications channel to directly impact the development of their society as it grows more and more advanced," a release says.

This looks more like community outreach than actual lawmaking in an online world. That said, I really hope most of these delegates roleplay it for all it's worth, like the Galactic Senate in Star Wars or something. And if you play EVE and you've gotten scammed or fallen for the old can bait trick and you're pissed, write your delegate!

Council of Stellar Management [EVE Online]

EVE Online Celebrates Five Years With A Surprise

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:30:00 MDT

CCP's EVE Online fans have a "surprise gift" in store for current subscribers who log in after May 6th, to celebrate the game's five-year anniversary. Ooh, what is it?

The MMO biz is a capricious one, and most online games tend toward a naturally short lifecycle. Five years is a big deal for EVE, which distinguishes itself through both its aim to develop a realistic player "society" and its sophisticated in-game economy - they were the first MMO I'm aware of to hire a real-world professional economist in Dr. Eyjo Guðmundsson to manage it, and since then other virtual worlds and online games, such as Gaia Online, have followed suit. Many critics, like the PC gaming mavens of Rock Paper Shotgun, believe the industry can learn a lot from EVE.

Full release follows the jump, in which CCP has delineated what it considers EVE's "milestones" over its five-year run.

EVE Online Celebrates Five Years of Unprecedented Achievements in Online Gaming
The unique Sci-Fi MMO celebrates its 5th year of non-stop growth with an anniversary gift for subscribers

REYKJAVIK, Iceland—(BUSINESS WIRE)—CCP, one of the world's leading independent game developers, this week celebrates the five-year anniversary of its leading sci-fi massively multiplayer online game (MMO), EVE Online. What began as a highly advanced game, requiring a tremendous amount of skill and dedication from its players, has evolved into a fully functional, complex society that continues to attract loyal, active players. To commemorate EVE Online's five-year anniversary, current subscribers will receive a surprise in-game gift upon logging in after May 6, 2008.

Since its inception, EVE Online has achieved milestones in online gaming every year. Highlights include:

2003

May 6, 2003 - The highly anticipated EVE Online goes gold and comes out of beta to launch to the public.

August 13, 2003 - EVE Online earns CCP a place as a finalist for the prestigious 'Develop Industry Excellence Awards' in the category 'Best Online Development Studio'.

2004

April 26, 2004 - EVE Online breaks the 10,000 peak concurrent users threshold, with 10,396 players logged in at the same time in the same world, thus confirming the viability of the "one world" game vision.

2005

September 22, 2005 - In a little more than two years, EVE Online surpasses the 70,000 active subscriber mark.

2006

September 14, 2006 - EVE Online implements the massive improvements to its hardware infrastructure, enabling the capacity for up to 50,000 concurrent users.

November 11, 2006 - CCP merges with White Wolf Publishing, Inc., the world's second largest developer of offline role-playing, strategy and collectible card games, to become one of the industry's largest independent developers of virtual worlds.

2007

June 26, 2007 - CCP appoints the first Ph.D. economist, Dr. Eyjo Guðmundsson, to monitor and report on the status of EVE Online's economy, track political trends and follow the value of EVE's in-game currency, interstellar kredits (ISK).

November 16, 2007 - EVE Online's subscriber base shatters the 200,000 mark.

2008

March 9, 2008 - EVE Online sets a new peak concurrent user (PCU) record of 42,711.

March 19, 2008 - CCP announces the formation of the Council of Stellar Management (CSM), the first democratically elected governing body in a virtual world. Elections for the CSM began on May 5, 2008.

"As the EVE universe has evolved into a sophisticated society, it has attracted and maintained the interest of highly skilled, enthusiastic players at steadily increasing growth rates," said Nathan Richardsson, executive producer at CCP. "Looking ahead, CCP is focused on making EVE Online even more immersive and invigorating, and advancing the online gaming industry as a whole."

The next free expansion of EVE Online, called EVE Online: Empyrean Age, is slated to launch in summer 2008 and will give players the opportunity to support one of the four major empires with the introduction of Factional Warfare.

About EVE Online

Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With over 220,000 subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more and sign up for a free, 14-day trial at www.eve-online.com.

Definition of Subscribers

EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.

About CCP

CCP is recognized internationally as an industry-leading pioneer of the single-server persistent universe architecture as the developer and publisher of EVE Online, the critically-acclaimed, science fiction-based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Utilizing a cross-discipline approach combining cutting-edge technology and artistic excellence, CCP is dedicated to providing vibrant, compelling products that transcend the boundaries of conventional MMOGs and facilitate social networking through virtual worlds. Founded in 1997 and privately held, the company is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, with offices in Atlanta, London and Shanghai. More information about CCP is available at the company's website, www.ccpgames.com.

EVE Online Source Code Leaked, No Worries

Mike Fahey — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:40:00 MDT

The source code for CCP's EVE Online has been popping up on torrent trackers all over the place this week, leading to players worrying about the security of their accounts, as well as having the peace, sleep-inducing serenity of their mining efforts disturbed. CCP assures everyone that the leak will have no adverse effects on the EVE community.

"The server-side interface used by the client is carefully protected to ensure that no abusive or unwanted information is transmitted to, or from the internal EVE server systems. Nothing the EVE client can do can affect the game state, no advantage can be gained by manipulating the EVE client, no advantageous or disadvantageous information can be transmitted to other EVE users by altering the EVE client."

CCP is still mum on how the source code was accessed, so feel free to make up your own story. Mine involves romance, intrigue, and the movie guy voice saying, "The only thing hotter than their love...was her betrayal."

CCP plays down EVE leak [Eurogamer]

EVE Online Gets New Faces, Places

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:30:00 MDT

If you're at all interested in EVE Online, and can remember back to June 2007, you'll remember CCP's Magnus Bergsson saying that women don't want to be spaceships. What they preferred (and I'm guessing a lot of people who aren't women also preferred) was to interact with people face-to-face. Nearly a year later, then, here's CCP's way of addressing this: they're adding not just full-body player avatars to the game, but also interior maps for the space stations, in which you can wander around and hang out with other players. Sounds trivial, but should add a lot of depth and personality to a game that's been lacking a little in both. More details on these and more in the excellent interview below.
CCP's Torfi Frans Olafsson On The Future Of Eve [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

The EVE Online BOOT.INI Problem Explained

Mike Fahey — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:20:52 MST

Back on the sixth, popular space MMO EVE Online released their Trinity update, which added an all-new (and quite dazzling) graphics engine, with the unfortunate side-effect of deleting some XP users' BOOT.INI file, effectively stopping their PC from booting. While a "We're so sorry" and a fix would have sufficed, the director of the EVE Online software group Dr. Erlendur S. Thorsteinsson has posted a dev blog explaining the bug in great detail, from origin to fix to helping customers get their PCs up and running again by calling in external tech support like the Geek Squad. While the explanation basically amounts to irresponsibility on the team's part and lack of diverse hardware - which is really inexcusable - CCP showed some real class in fixing the issue, which could explain why they have a fan base so loyal they actually fly to Reykjavík, Iceland to hang out with them.

About the boot.ini issue [EVE Insider Dev Blog - Thanks Tyson]

EVE Going Online For Linux and Mac

Mike Fahey — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 09:00:51 MDT

No game has recreated the vast loneliness of outer space better than CCP Game's EVE Online. Now, thanks to a partnership with TransGaming Inc., the universe is about to get a lot less lonely as Mac and Linux users will be able to log in and shoot mining lasers at floating rocks endlessly by the end of this year. TransGaming is a company that specializes in portability products that allow for games to be ported across multiple platforms without having to redevelop.

"We're pleased to extend our relationship with TransGaming, as the company's expertise allows us to deliver the most innovative MMOG to more platforms," said Halldor Fannar, CTO of CCP Games. "By integrating TransGaming's excellent technology, we are able to keep our laser-focus on evolving EVE Online, while simultaneously expanding the EVE universe to even more players."

While Linux users can already play EVE using Cedega, the game will now be released the Windows to Linux converter built in. The Mac version will utilize the Cider portability engine. I just hope this doesn't ultimately result in less rocks for me to shoot at.

CCP Games and TransGaming Partner to Bring EVE Online to New Platforms
Reykjavík, Iceland, Toronto, Canada - September 11, 2007 - CCP Games, one of the world's largest independent game developers, today announced a partnership with TransGaming Inc. (TSX-V: TNG) , a leading developer of software portability products for the electronic entertainment industry. The strategic relationship will enable CCP to deliver its popular massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), EVE Online, with Linux and Macintosh platforms later this year.

TransGaming provides technology and expertise to deploy games across a range of platforms without the need for redevelopment and still maintaining the high quality of gameplay and allowing users of different platforms to play in the same perpetual online universe. As a result of this partnership, CCP will be able to expand the reach of its Sci-fi MMOG to new groups around the world.

As an element of the partnership, EVE Online and TransGaming will share quality assurance as well as technical support responsibilities but TransGaming will lead partnership and OEM opportunities for the Linux version of EVE Online. The two companies will work hand-in-hand to ensure all releases go smoothly, creating a transparent integration of the original EVE Online code with each platform.

TransGaming first introduced Linux users to EVE Online through Cedega, a software product that allows Windows games to run on the Linux operating system completely transparently and seamlessly. It was the popularity of this solution that indicated the strong demand for further integration between CCP Games and TransGaming. Later this year, EVE Online will be released for Linux with Cedega directly integrated into the game and on Mac through TransGaming's Cider portability engine.

"We're pleased to extend our relationship with TransGaming, as the company's expertise allows us to deliver the most innovative MMOG to more platforms," said Halldor Fannar, CTO of CCP Games. "By integrating TransGaming's excellent technology, we are able to keep our laser-focus on evolving EVE Online, while simultaneously expanding the EVE universe to even more players."

"EVE Online has always ranked highly with our Linux users and there is significant demand for it among other platforms, including the rapidly growing Mac base," said Vikas Gupta, CEO of TransGaming Technologies. "As EVE takes place within a single-server persistent universe, it's vital that the game is identical in every way across different platforms. This challenge is what makes the partnership with CCP both important and rewarding."

EVE Online is available for download now at www.eve-online.com.

EVE Online Hires Full-Time Economist

Mike Fahey — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:00:58 MDT

Countless economists all over the world right now are looking out their little economist windows, dreaming of balancing figures and charting trends in some other, more wondrous land than the one we live in. Now Dr. Eyolfur Guomundsson is living that dream, as EVE Online creators CCP hire him on to be the in-world lead economist for the game. Over the years countless third parties and individuals have took it upon themselves to track the financial development of MMO world's, but this marks the first time a gaming company has actually appointed someone dedicated to the task themselves.

After attending a conference on experimental economics in 2004 at which former lead EVE designer Dr. Kjartan Pierre Emilsson spoke, Guomundsson became fascinated by the way the economics of the game forced players to think in a more real-world business way. Three years later and here he is.

As the lead economist for EVE, my duties will include publishing economic information to the EVE-Online community. My duties will also be to coordinate research cooperation with academic institutions as the academic world has expressed quite an interest in doing research on this phenomenon

Once again another fascinating development in the game I just can't learn to enjoy. Michael Fahey

Move Over, Greenspan [EVE Insider Dev Blog]

CCP Launches EVE TV

Mike Fahey — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:20:14 MDT

The folks from CCP and EVE Online magazine publishers MM Publishers Ltd. first got together to create an online television station in order to broadcast their 2006 PVP tournament live over the internet. Now EVE TV returns as a full-on internet television show, promising weekly news from in and around the EVE universe. Hosted by live anchors SpiralJunkie and StevieSG, they'll be joined by a core reporting team as well as countless in-game correspondents to deliver in-game news such as economic reports and player battles along with real-world interviews with developers and players alike.

"EVE Online has always been testing the boundaries of online gaming with its massive online universe, so it was a natural progression that such a dynamic and active virtual world had its own TV station." said Magnus Bergsson, CMO of CCP Games.

This news makes me even more depressed that I just cannot get into this game. I try and I try and for the life of me just can't find that hook that snags me and draws me in. I love space. I love MMOs. Hell, I enjoy mining. Why can't I love you, EVE Online? Anyway, check out the first episode of EVE TV here. Almost guaranteed to be your number one source for interviews with Icelandic people. Michael Fahey

EVE TV LAUNCHES

The world's first Virtual World Television Station Dedicated to an MMO Goes Live

London, England and Reykjavik, Iceland - June 25th, 2007 - MMM Publishing Ltd, the producers of E-ON the official magazine for EVE Online, and CCP, one of the world's largest independent game developers and creators of EVE Online, have launched EVE TV. EVE TV is a weekly on-demand Internet TV broadcast dedicated to the virtual universe of EVE Online (http://eve-online.tv).

EVE TV is dedicated to reporting on EVE Online's ever-growing virtual society, the very latest in-depth news, in-game skirmishes, market trends, human interest stories, exclusive interviews and game-related features in a professional and entertaining weekly production. SpiralJunkie, EVE TV's lead anchor, is a veteran of the EVE Online scene and is ably assisted by the infectious enthusiasm of StevieSG. The dynamic duo are backed up by a first-rate reporting team, FortunaFive, Fangtooth Kasumi and Beefy Fiddler, not to mention a widespread crew of in-game correspondents, all providing the latest in EVE Online news - both in and out of the game - in real time. More information on EVE TV's presenters can be found at http://eveonline.tv/aboutus.aspx.

EVE TV was originally formed to broadcast from the EVE Online Alliance PVP Tournament in 2006, during which more than 10,000 EVE fans tuned in to the live, double-weekend broadcasts. EVE TV has been transformed into a weekly news-style broadcast of life in EVE Online's ever-changing virtual world. The service is hosted through Jalipo, the first online marketplace for TV and video.

"EVE TV is the next level in ground-breaking virtual media," commented Oliver Skelding, MMM Publishing's Managing Director. "It's a world first, providing communication to a community on a scale never before seen, giving players a platform to communicate with each other beyond mere web forums and podcasting. EVE TV is focused on player-led news and events and provides unparalleled access to behind the scenes information about the game. EVE TV is designed by the players, about the players, for the players."

"EVE Online has always been testing the boundaries of online gaming with its massive online universe, so it was a natural progression that such a dynamic and active virtual world had its own TV station." said Magnus Bergsson, CMO of CCP Games. "EVE Online is a universe run by its inhabitants and as such produces epic and diverse events that need to be reported in the same way they are in real life. EVE TV is the ideal medium for such reporting as it offers independent and timely information to the players and CCP itself."

World of Darkness MMO In 2011?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:25:26 MDT

We haven't heard much about the proposed Worlds of Darkness MMO that was first announced last year when Eve Online developer CCP and White Wolf Publishing merged. Judging from the information the folks at Eurogamer pried out of CCP marketing director Magnus Begsson, we won't be hearing much for awhile, much to the chagrin of Nosferatadors (pretty ugly) around the world.

Speaking of a release date, Bergsson said, "We don't know yet. We're not really hiding any information about it, we just don't know yet. The actual design and exactly how it's going to be is being created right now, so when we actually know all of that we can guestimate how long it's going to take. These games typically take four to five years to make. I don't think this is going to be any different."

Judging from that, the earliest we'll see the game released is 2011, placing it squarely after the robot holocaust of 2009, which itself presents a problem.

I've always been a big Vampire: The Masquerade fan. Sixteen years ago I ran a local Atlanta BBS that had a running RPG on it. Hell, I LARPed for chrissakes, but that was years ago. Just not that guy anymore. Could the game eventually rekindle my dark passions? Does anything sound more stupid than the phrase 'dark passions'? Michael Fahey

World of Darkness MMO in "4-5 years" [Eurogamer]

White Wolf Merges With CCP

Mike Fahey — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:40:31 MST

Vampires in Space! Vampire the Masquerade creators White Wolf Publishing and Crowd Control Productions, the minds behind EVE Online, announced this past weekend that the two companies have reached a merger agreement. White Wolf will be producing EVE Online strategy guides, novels, card games, and role-playing systems, whilst CCP will help bring WW's popular Worlds of Darkness setting online.

White Wolf holds a special place in my heart, having helped me meet lots of amazingly interesting (and ultimately psychotic) goth girls in the early 90's. The type who call themselves Anastasia and Jezebel but are actually named Pam and Bridget - both lovely names, but in decidedly ungloomy ways. I can't say much about EVE Online other than I really would like to get into it, but every time I try to play it I fall asleep. It's like sleepy time tea.

If all goes well with this merger, look for EVE Online LARPing in the near future. I'm gonna be an asteroid! Michael Fahey

CCP and White Wolf Games To Merge [Slashdot]

Eve Online Interview Covers Expansion, Eve Vista

brownlee — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 08:00:24 MDT

Eve Online is a game I desperately want to love: an MMOG that doesn't involve playing a bearded midget dressed only in his Underoos. I gave the two week trial a shot: I loved the imagination behind the universe and my Shodan-like ship A.I. But after the initial novelty wore off, I realized that most of my time was playing Eve Online was actually spent in another room entirely, reading a book. I guess that's swell for multitaskers, but I like games that actually require me to be around to play them.

Still, a lot of Eve Online fans should be interested by this Firing Squad interview with senior producer Nathan Richardson. One of the subjects touched upon are details about the upcoming expansion for Eve, including a slew of graphics improvements, better management of corporations, more organization tools for combat and better situational awareness. A lot of spreadsheet stuff, in other words. There's also going to be a Direct X 10 Version of Eve, called Eve Vista... you know. Eventually. Florian Eckhardt

EVE Online Interview [Firing Squad]

EVE Online's Free Two Week Trial

lsmith — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 10:00:41 MST

After I return from my holiday (which will consist of a trek to the frozen tundra of Northern Michigan and a return to the Jurassic-period internet they call 14.4 dial-up), I'm going to take the plunge into EVE Online via the 14-day free trial program they are offering. Mark Wallace's well-documented ~~coverage~~ adoration of the game, coupled with their new patch and player freedom have at least made me decide to take the plunge and check it out - it helps that the first 14 days are free, too.

EVE Online Free Trial [EVE Online]