General Discussion

At New York Comic Con, Managing Editor Jon Wood caught up with CCP designer Matt Woodward to talk about the recently announced EVE expansion, "Empyrian Age".

Yesterday, MMORPG.com news Manager Keith Cross talked about EVE Online and their Ambulation project that will eventually see players  able to get out of their ships and interact as characters rather than as space ships. While that’s all fine and good, and will undoubtedly add a lot to the sandbox game, but we’ve heard about Ambulation before. Turns out that there’s a new kid on the block that we haven’t talked about yet and that’s exactly why I sat down with EVE designer Matthew Woodward at NY Comic Con.

When CCP launched their last expansion, Trinity, players were treated to all kinds of new stuff, not the least of which was a major graphical upgrade that saw the realism of EVE kicked up a few notches. This time, with the announcement of the follow-up expansion, Empyrian Age, the developers are adding to the story of the game and the depth of the universe by starting a great war between four empires.

Read it all here.

Ah, the ever-promised faction warfare.

If they pull it off, I might have to start playing again.

Can't wait! 

I just don't see this bringing a lot of people into the PvP game of Eve.  I think that the people who want to PvP already are and the people who don't want to PvP aren't.  This to me seems like it's just expanding the PvP for the PvPers and that's great, but as I said, I just don't see it bringing many non-PvPers into PvP.

It reminds me the concept which should be in Warhammer Online - pick a faction, do missions and PVP for it, die for it . The others will do it on the opposite side, flags changing everywhere constantly.

Looking forward to it. All for Amarr!

You called the next expansion both "Empryian" and "Empyrian".

However, the correct name is "The Empyrean Age".

Copy-paste, anyone?

Hey, the long awaited Factional Warfare!

When this and "ambulation" goes live EVE Online will not only be an entirely more advanecd game but will likely canabalize a large portion of the player base from games like SWG and EQ2.  Can't wait! 

I've been looking forward to Factional Warfare for years, it's the only expansion which matters to me. Empryian Age, what a great name for an expansion.

Originally posted by mindspat

Hey, the long awaited Factional Warfare!

When this and "ambulation" goes live EVE Online will not only be an entirely more advanecd game but will likely canabalize a large portion of the player base from games like SWG and EQ2.  Can't wait! 

Very doubtful.  Sure SWG has a "space" interaction facet, but EVE plays nothing like it.  I fail to see how a point and click, space based, player driven economy, pvp biased game such as EVE has any comparison to EQ2 either.

Reading the reports about "Ambulation" I get the impression that social interaction will be limited to chat channels and a handful of emotes.  No "ambulation" combat.  No handguns.  No light sabers.  Nothing to do but chat. So I get the impression it will be nothing more than a 3D chat channel.

Eve is still dominated by pvp, and rightly so.  That is its roots.  I'm not for one second suggesting that they change that.  However, shoe-horning in factional warfare won't actively attract pve players into lower sec space in the game. 

On the contrary, it may in fact, help to drive pve based players away from the game if factional warfare spills into "high sec" space.  Now.....if you're wanting an alternative to SWG's space combat...........people are starting to look at Jumpgate Evolution......but that's a different story entirely.