In a genre dominated by World of Warcraft, which is a complete and total behemoth of the arena, any MMORPG that actually manages to attract monthly subscriptions to it is laudable and incredibly resilient- it means that the MMO is offering a viable niche, or alternative, to World of Warcraft, that people are willing to pay for.

One of the games that has survived in a WoW dominated world all this time has been popular space MMO EVE Online, which still requires a monthly subscription for you to be able to play it. However, that will now be changing- this November, with the release of the new expansion, EVE Online will become free to play.

There will be caveats, naturally- free players will be able to play the game indefinitely, but they will find a lot of skills locked from them. Since skills determine what all you can do in the game, including what all ships you can fly, they will generally find themselves playing a more limited game than paying subscribers, who will continue to have full access to everything that the game has to offer.

Developer CCP are emphasizing that in spite of all of the restrictions, free players will be able to mine, explore, run missions and take part in the game’s huge fleet fights- so the bulk of the game’s baseline content will be available to them. Subscribers who stop paying will find access to higher abilities locked, and free players who start paying will find all abilities unlocked.

Given that EVE‘s world, and everything within it, is entirely based on player agency and action, making EVE a truly emergent game, it remains to be seen how a potentially larger player base, which this move will doubtless attract to the game, will change what happens in EVE. One thing is for sure, it will be an exciting time to be an EVE player in the coming months.

There really is no other MMORPG in the market like EVE Online. It’s been around forever, and in spite of the ups and downs and changes that the MMORPG segment has seen, it has continued to truck on with a core, dedicated, highly engaged fanbase that keeps paying every month to continue playing the game- the game which is simultaneously a thrilling future space sim, as well as a scary, dystopian picture of what happens when capitalism goes unchecked.

It’s been noted multiple times for the huge megabattles that often take place in it- you know, the kind of massive confrontations that actually end up making mainstream news, due to the sheer number and actual monetary damage involved. Well, the upcoming Phoebe update for the game might finally be putting a stop to them, because of the way it is changing how long distance travel will work.

Essentially, it will now take time to travel from one end of nullsec space  (where the battles happen) to another- this changes things because now, you can’t immediately respond to any slight provocation that might have gone wrong, leading to more time to actually talk things out before breaking into an all out war. You know. Like how real world politics work.

“We want to make it more viable for more smaller sub-capital and even capital engagements to happen without the threat of the entire universe showing up,” the developers noted.

“Nullsec is stagnant and needs a change. Big fights are cool, but they’re crowding out more accessible and more frequent smaller ones,” they added in a blog post.

You can check out the full range of changes the Phoebe update brings with it here.

World of Darkness, an MMO title based on the classic tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, that has been in development ever since 2006, has now been cancelled by developers CCP, and as a result of the booting of this long running project, 56 people at the development team have lost their job.

All 56 people, CCP suggests, have been given severance packages and job placement assistance, but the long running project has finally come to an end and will have definitely hurt the people who had been working closely on it for so long.

“The decision to end the World of Darkness MMO project is one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make,” said the company’s chief executive Hilmar Pétursson.

“I have always loved and valued the idea of a sandbox experience set in that universe, and over the years I’ve watched the team passionately strive to make that possible.

“I would like to give special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the World of Darkness MMO a reality, especially the team members affected by this decision. Their considerable contribution to CCP will not be forgotten, and we wish them well.

“To our current and former employees and fans of World of Darkness, I am truly sorry that we could not deliver the experience that we aspired to make.

“We dreamed of a game that would transport you completely into the sweeping fantasy of World of Darkness, but had to admit that our efforts were falling regretfully short. One day I hope we will make it up to you.”

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

CCP, the company behind EVE Online and its companion shooter DUST 514, has instituted a series of layouts specifically around the World of Darkness project, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Speaking to the website, CCP spokesman Ned Coker said, “CCP today made strategic adjustments to the staffing on the team working on the World of Darkness project in Atlanta that resulted in the elimination of approximately 15 positions at the company. The change was due to our evaluation of the game’s design and ongoing development needs. While this was a difficult decision, CCP remains committed to the franchise and our promise to make a compelling, rich, and deep World of Darkness experience.”

The careful wording of that makes it clear that the EVE team was not affected by this round of layouts; EVE Online remains one of the most profitable, rich, deep, complex, and popular subscription based MMORPGs currently on the market. World of Darkness is CCP’s next major project, so it will be interesting to see how it all comes out. CCP, however, remains confident in the game.

DUST 514, the companion shooter to CCP’s massively popular EVE Online, today got the latest in a series of monthly updates. Uprising 1.7 adds innovative new weapons, an overhauled vehicles system, a new battlefield mood that should get you pumped, and major changes to Factional Warfare that should bring the shooter closer to the lore of EVE.

Of note should be the new vehicles system- the old one has been a sticking point for players, and this new one has been modeled to allow for better handling and control, along with also allowing for the possibility of customizing and retrofitting vehicles. In addition to this, there are, of course, new weapons, a new volcanic mood that changes the tone and intensity of the game to that of fiery lava, and and a plethora of changes to Factional Warfare, which include the addition of friendly fire.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more updates on the game.

CCP’s long promised updates to the free to play shooter that ties into EVE Online, Dust 514, are now finally live. The updates, collectively titled Uprising 1.5, focus on new and expanded Corporation Roles as well as a revised New Player Experience and the all-new Squad Finder.

Among the tweaks to the core gameplay experience that Uprising 1.5 brings are included a new, revised player experience (which includes a completely redone tutorial, and rewards that are granted in the form of militia dropsuits, vehicles, weapons and modules), a Squad Finder, which will list any open squads for the player to join, and new roles for the corporations (CEOs and directors can now distribute specific roles to other members within the corporation. The roles that can be assigned are: Accountant, Personnel Director, Terrestrial Combat Officer and Terrestrial Logistics Officer).

Dust 514, the free to play firs person shooter, ties directly into CCP’s other, much bigger game, EVE Online; it aims to expand the experience. Stay tuned for more coverage.

About Eve Online:

CCP is the world’s most successful independent developer of massively multiplayer games, and has been praised for its artistry, game design and unique player-driven, infinitely scalable storytelling narratives.

CCP is the creator of the critically acclaimed science-fiction game EVE Online, which is celebrating its unprecedented tenth consecutive year of subscriber growth. EVE Online is a massively multiplayer science-fiction universe in which hundreds of thousands of players carve out empires through galactic fleet battles and the use of economic warfare.

CCP are also working on a PlayStation 3 exclusive, Dust 514 which will connect to the main Eve Online universe. The beta was kicked off recently.

What do you guys think of this awesomeness? Let us know in the comments section below.

Via Reddit.

We think not, as a new developer diary has vehicle game designer Ryan Thorton of CCP Blam talking about the game’s vehicles. This includes vehicle fittings, specialized vehicles and some of his favourite drop-ship features.

Thorton also gives some insight into how players are using vehicles in the beta along with tips on how outfox them and bring the pain.

Of course, a new bevy of screenshots has also been released showing the vehicles in various scenarios. Not to mention full-scale war in progress but that’s another matter. Tanks, drop-shops, Warthog-like machine gun-mounted vehicles – and that’s only a taste of the total amount of artillery within the game.

Check out the developer diary below:

Steps like this could make the PlayStation 3 a key console, believes Cevat Yerli, the boss of Crytek. “Sony making that game is a great step forward, and they should be applauded,” said Cevat Yerli to MCV. “If Sony embraces free-to-play as a major way for PlayStation, that could be the key console.”

Dust 514 developer’s CCP also believes that Sony is now more aggressive.

“Last generation I was at Xbox and we were having our arses handed to us. And Xbox was the one that was trying to do crazy things with Xbox Live and so on.

“Five years later, things have changed and now Sony is being more aggressive. It is a cyclical business and it feels like we’re coming around to another big turn again,” says David Reid, marketing guy at CCP games.

It will be interesting to see how Sony changes the market with games like Dust 514 and whether they can regain the number one platform holder, something they have lost this generation.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news and updates.

Master and commander

Just remember, we can’t all be top dog at once.

Much like in MAG, some players will be able to elect themselves as unit commander, thus granting them an RTS like view where they can order other players and place various structures around the map. They also need to manage resources as well though, so great power will indeed come with great responsibility.

Evolving landscapes

Don’t get too reliant on that aircraft, as it might not be backing you up in the next match.

As Dust 514 is set in the ever-changing world of EVE Online, it means that the maps you fight on are constantly evolving. Though the topography of each planet remains stable the structures and subsequent cover available will change based on how commanders choose to place their buildings and structures, making every battle a fresh experience.

Unbound territories

As the fighting in Dust occurs on EVE Online planets, there aren’t set maps as such. Whilst this may alarm more conservative FPS players, it does mean that the scope for map variety is almost limitless. Without set maps, the action could be happening any time and anywhere, resulting in a truly spontaneous style of combat.

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