EVE


Online gaming will never be the same

By WILLIAM BARKER

Who ever said that Icelandic game developers can't shake it with the rest of the world? No one? Oh good, because European developers Crowd Control Productions (CCP) has got some seriously impressive coding going on behind closed doors in Iceland's capital: Reykjavik.

Eve, as it is called, is a massively multiplayer online RPG, or MMORPG. There are elements of strategy thrown in there, but not just for good measure. Players start the game after logging on to CCPs servers where they will create a character and get a bog standard spacecraft. Players will make money in a variety of ways: trading, mining, research, intelligence, bounty hunting and even piracy.

Players can form squadrons, then perhaps groups, maybe even huge companies. This is where things get interesting. Players will then be able to make huge spacestations, massive mining operations on planets and moons and even set up manufacturing plants.

Of course you will also be able to fight.

You don't have to band together to form massive conglomerates either. You could take the Boba Fett path and become the most dangerous and revered bounty-hunter in Eve's persistent universe. Hire your sought-after killing skills to companies, individuals - whoever has the cash.

CCP has treated death quite diplomatically in Eve. If your ship is destroyed in battle, or perhaps you were under the influence and smashed in to a class 7b asteroid, a small escape capsule will be left behind. These are rescued and taken to space stations or planets. The penalties for destroying capsules is extremely severe, say CCP. A good thing too, as no one wants to lose their highly skilled pilot.

Visually, Eve is looking damn good - not much more needs to be said, just look at those screenshots. There are five classes of ships: Frigates, Cruisers, Industrial ships, Battleships and Titans. All of these look amazing.

CCP commented that combat will not be like your traditional space combat sim. Rather, high-tech, long-range weapons will combine with tactical awareness to give players thrills. Defensive systems such as jamming and hacking equipment will also come in handy - "Chewie, jam their transmissions!" A beta test is due for the end of 2001 so expect this title to hit in 2002.

The only thing left to say is: we bow down to you CCP! This game is going to be huge.