One giant, horrifically expensive space ship destroying another, while its crew erupts in gleeful laughter. Yep, that sure looks like EVE Online. Starting today, you can get the first issue of a new comic-book series based on the infamous sci-fi corporate warfare MMO for free.
One week after declaring they will build an in-game memorial to the ships lost at the colossal Battle of B-R5RB, Eve Online publisher has decided to go whole hog and erect a monument, in real life, to all EVE Online players. Anyone who is an active player on March 1 will get his or her name engraved on it.
Ah, there you are. I was wondering when EVE Online's insane space battle would catch the attention of Next Media Animation—aka the Taiwanese cartoon shop regularly pumping out videos of controversies and calamities in the West.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--n5fzilAV--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/19e2ogxsv1ye1jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--85YGkRHU--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/19e2ogxsv1ye1jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Kt2MuxKg--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/19e2ogxsv1ye1jpg.jpg, (large)])
EVE Online will erect a memorial to the 21-hour, all-out space battle that spanned Monday and Tuesday, commemorating the loss of 75 Titans—the largest ship in the spacefaring MMO. The total damage done may translate to more than $300,000 in real money, but it is the loss of the Titans that defines the Battle of B-R5RB.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--WNQVvqmm--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/19dyswninbpeijpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--CZhac7E6--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/19dyswninbpeijpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--R2oZz9yS--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/19dyswninbpeijpg.jpg, (large)])
Yesterday's humongous space battle in EVE Online—by far the largest in the 10-year history of the spacefaring MMO—is estimated to have destroyed roughly $284,000 worth of war materiel. That is a real-world value, too. The fighting got so big that the Associated Press sent a war correspondent.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1F5gadAS--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/19dv6i1bheh08jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--oMkZ9rok--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/19dv6i1bheh08jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--rNnG9xtx--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/19dv6i1bheh08jpg.jpg, (large)])
One week after this monstrous galactic throwdown in EVE Online, the sci-fi MMO is the scene of another humongous space battle—and it's all because of a missed bill payment.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--_uvXGUed--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/19d1lsn37mhp8png.png, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--cbSqfD2v--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/19d1lsn37mhp8png.png, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--i4dvJXuc--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/19d1lsn37mhp8png.png, (large)])
What you see in that image is a Doomsday weapon, a superlaser that can only be fired from a Titan, the largest and most expensive ship in EVE Online. More than 50 of them were present yesterday for an enormous, quintessentially EVE capital ship throwdown between the two biggest coalitions in the spacefaring MMO.
Does this count as government aid? Because EVE Online has an actual ruling body that meets in Iceland IRL. The game's publisher is asking players to donate Pilot License Extensions (PLEX) to fund relief to the Phillippines as it recovers from Typhoon Haiyan, and will match $15 to each donation, up to $75,000.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--lxpLbMf9--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/194ukn0vmpjnrjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--VSX1soNG--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/194ukn0vmpjnrjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--AZKbCABZ--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/194ukn0vmpjnrjpg.jpg, (large)])
This isn't even a trailer for a game. It's a pitch to sell some EVE Online merch. And while it doesn't make me want to part with my cash, it does make me want to get everyone else out of this house for a minute so I can run around with some Transformers going "pew pew pew pew pew".
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--DjGjgOqF--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/192snig1sbygjjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--xfetD-_E--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/192snig1sbygjjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--6QsUv06_--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/192snig1sbygjjpg.jpg, (large)])
EVE Online is known for being a video game universe where players come first. Their alliances, decisions and protests change the shape of the fictional galaxy and the huge multiplayer game it lives in. And starting next year, the player-driven sagas of CCP’s hit MMO will be providing the fuel for a new comic-book…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--rOML9oKi--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/192i7yghw61y6jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--WNyJ3Zhl--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/192i7yghw61y6jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--LntoOvt---/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/192i7yghw61y6jpg.jpg, (large)])
EVE Online is a big, big game about big, big ships. The ships are bigger than even the biggest competing sci-fi starships. But still, it's not all that common to see them looking this nice.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--lubFTaGm--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/1929z9yayw06wjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--czYWlS3J--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/1929z9yayw06wjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--5kcw5VXO--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/1929z9yayw06wjpg.jpg, (large)])
This is by far my favorite type of story to cover on weekends: The EVE Scandal! They're fun because they tend to involve big-ass space ships or wads of in-game currency that convert to mind-boggling sums in real life. This latest allegation features both.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--qgVLPxC---/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18vj0jh7g6p86jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--nPwWhizL--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18vj0jh7g6p86jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--DAnDm2Jc--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18vj0jh7g6p86jpg.jpg, (large)])
The Battle For 6VDT-H may be in need of a snazzier title, but just about everything else about the engagement - the largest space battle in internet history (and by lame default world history) - is fascinating stuff.
If you caught last night's record-breakingly massive EVE Online space battle but weren't quite sure what was really going on, check out this fascinating recap written by a player who was there. (Via PAR)
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--mOGxhbbm--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18tcphumzb6vqjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--QTeMq_t7--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18tcphumzb6vqjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4MUzw3WF--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18tcphumzb6vqjpg.jpg, (large)])
I don't play EVE Online, but even I understood the gravity of this ambush takedown of an immensely expensive Revenant ship, one of apparently only three in existence. PCGamesN's detailed breakdown makes sense of the jargon and of the encounter, which sounds like it left some bruised feelings in its wake.
As compensation for its "longest downtime in quite a while," EVE Online is giving active accounts 50,000 unallocated skill points. Trial accounts got an extra week. "If you hear of someone doing or planning something bad, even if it’s your friend, we do have the PLEX for snitches program," publisher CCP said.
EVE Online publisher CCP said in a statement that "at no time was customer data compromised or accessible," during a DDoS attack that brought down EVE and Dust 514 this weekend. "We will be looking at ways to compensate players in both EVE and DUST for the outage," CCP added.
EVE Online says it has taken down its Tranquility server cluster—housing the MMO itself and companion game Dust 514—because of "a significant and sustained distributed denial-of-service attack." Tranquility has been down for 16 hours. At this time, not even EVE's web site is reachable. Follow EVE's Twitter for more.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--hKGMJU06--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18lyimbw0rmafjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--TiCKHO1V--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18lyimbw0rmafjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--sbFmZruD--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18lyimbw0rmafjpg.jpg, (large)])
EVE Online is getting a television series, thanks to a partnership between the MMO's publisher and an Icelandic filmmaker, and it will take its inspiration from the stories EVE players left on a website honoring the game's first decade.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--j4pgGZLM--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18rahcuiqysx6jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--dhVTdYOa--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18rahcuiqysx6jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BxtlXtVm--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18rahcuiqysx6jpg.jpg, (large)])
This morning, Reddit user Itsatrapski posted several images of a major battle—like 2,800 players—raging in the space MMO EVE Online today. YouTube user deusxverra followed with this video capture of the battle, described as terribly one-sided, so you can get an idea of what this conflict looks like in real time.
