EVE Online: Apocrypha Going Live

The Sleepers are Awakening...

Probably the biggest EVE Online expansion to date is going live today. Servers went down for the update to EVE Online: Apocrypha at 03:00 GMT and are expected to reopen at 16:00 GMT 22f5 . First part of the massive free expansion (~1.4GB) is already available for download through the automatic patcher, with a subsequent smaller patch scheduled to be released when the servers reopen.

During the downtime, EVE's in-game news organization SCOPE is providing a feed of breaking news from the EVE universe. The backstory behind the new expansion is unfolding as we speak - so far there are reports of "massive casualties due to apparent natural phenomena" with a "large rescue operation underway". Based on the major new features of the expansion, this is expected to be somehow tied to the appearance of unstable wormholes throughout the EVE universe.

CCP has always had a rich set of lore to go with EVE, but this kind of unfolding storyline to "pass the time" during the downtime is a nice touch. It remains to be seen how exactly this story links to the EVE Online: Apocrypha Launch Trailer that was published earlier.

Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser in station (Gallente)

 

Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser (Minmatar)

 

Read on for the summary of the patch notes for the EVE Online: Apocrypha expansion.

Summary of Patch Notes for Apocrypha

(Complete and very long notes are available here)

Fixes, Changes and Improvements

CRITICAL

Our Classic client has been retired to make way for Premium Lite, bringing higher quality graphics to users with lower end PCs. With Apocrypha we discontinue support for ShaderModel 1, making ShaderModel 2 the minimum requirement (GeForce FX (5 series) or ATi R300 series cards or compatible) and discontinue the "Classic client" version of EVE, replacing it with "Premium Lite." CCP Zulupark provides full details in his blog, The results are in; EVE and ShaderModel support.A brand new Ramsan 500 has been added to our database server which allows us to have much faster storage. This means that we will see a number of improvements in the future that will shorten daily downtimes, result in faster expansion deployments, and reduce database lag. How MOZO is that!? CCP Mindstar provides much more in depth techno talk in his blog, Apocrypharrrrrdware!

World Shaping

Appearing randomly throughout New Eden, gateways to the unknown will open up access to thousands of new solar systems, new Tech 3 technology, new resources and deadly new enemies, The Sleepers, who have awakened to defend their space with deadly force. With new scanning mechanics you will eventually find these new areas of space which are rich in resources but are heavily guarded. CCP Whisper explains more in his blog, Building a new bridge to the stars.Wormholes will bring a whole new level of adventure and exploration for every pilot who dares to probe out an entrance to the unknown. CCP Abathur, in his blog, The darkness at the end of the tunnel , tells us about the laws of Wormhole space, the use of starbases, mass effects and Tactical Environments.

Ships

Custom build your next ship! New technology found in Wormhole Space allows players to research, manufacture and fly the next generation of cruisers. Thousands of combinations are possible due to the modular subsystem design Tech 3 brings to ship creation. Flying a Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser is also easier skill-wise than that of Tech 2 ships. Each ship you create can be used to provide more firepower, better defences and many more variations. CCP Nozh tells us more in his blog, Strategic Cruisers: a new breed.

Skills

Players can now schedule automatic training of multiple skills. The new interface offers filters, a graphical display of the total queue and the ability to pause or resume the queue at any point in its progress. The skill training system allows you to queue skills that will start training over a 24-hour period. You can enter in up to 50 skills in a queue, as long as they all start training within 24 hours. CCP Eris Discordia tells us why More Queue Queue is the way of the future.Character attribute distribution can now be rearranged in order to diversify or specialize skill training. This means that you can now reallocate attribute points once per year. CCP Flatboy tells us how neural remapping works in his blog, A Virgin Mind.

Character Creation and New Player Experience

Rebuilt from the ground up, the new player tutorial reveals the many career paths a player can embark on while arming them with the knowledge and gear necessary to start carving their niche in New Eden. The character creation windows are now simpler and easier to follow, attributes can now be re-arranged once per year and new player missions have been revamped to educate players on industry, business and military occupations. CCP Fear provides more details in his blog, Your Revamped Rookie - Part 1.

NPCs

The Sleepers lay in waiting beyond the wormholes, guarding resources and technologies considered to be of significant power and value back in known space. They will not give up their treasures easily as they are masters of teamwork and manoeuvring. Expect an enemy that works as a team, identifies your weaknesses and protects its own. Full details of the new NPC’s can be found in the blog by CCP Ytterbium, When evolution leaps forward.New AI will be applied to current Officers and the Sleeper NPC’s which allow them to prioritize and change targets at will. This makes PvE combat feel more like PvP. NPC’s will now repair each other, change targets based on offensive capabilities, logistics or ECM threat. CCP Incognito provides much more detail in his blog, How the AI pew pews the player.Pirate factions have switched to tougher ships in low security space to prey upon unsuspecting Capsuleers. Low security space will now see battleships appear in the asteroid fields.

Agents & Missions

Spanning multiple regions of space, new epic mission arcs will take players o 217e n a journey through all four empires beginning with character creation. As the story progresses and the rewards grow more enticing, pilots will be faced with the decision of which side to fight for in the final battle. CCP Molock tells us more in his blog, Should you choose to accept it.

Science and Industry

Pillage wrecks of ancient Sleeper ships and salvage relics of ancient technology! New Experimental Laboratories allow you to reverse engineer Sleeper relics to build the blueprints for manufacturing Tech 3 components. CCP Chronotis explains how this is all possible in his blog, How do I build a Strategic Cruiser?

Sound Improvements

An assault on all the senses! Improvements have been made to offer a crisper, richer sound experience, such as unique sounds for NPCs. We’ve set the stage for some amazing future improvements. CCP Real X gives us the low down in his blog, EVE Music - Getting inside Real X.

Graphics General

As part of our ongoing effort to bring cutting edge graphics to EVE’s players, almost every effect in game has been redone, from pulse lasers to gate warping and from shield hardeners to energy drain. In addition, almost everything within wormhole space is new, including the wormholes themselves and gorgeous new nebulas, which are a taste of things to come.Asteroid fields have been revamped and glorious new asteroids will appear in New Eden. From the huge Veldspar boulders down to the fine crystals of Crokite, the new stunning visuals are a joy to behold. CCP VanishingPoint tells us more in his blog, Miners Rejoice.

User Interface

There is no shortage of customization in EVE, from overview settings to ship fittings. Now players can export their favourite settings, catalogue them for easy reference and share them amongst corp mates. CCP Fendahl gives us a look at the new fitting screen in his blog New Fitting Screen in Apocrypha.

Mac

Graphics take a leap forward for Mac Users! The beauty of Trinity engine graphics shines through in the Apocrypha release of the Mac client.

Localized Clients

EVE Online now boasts complete language support in game, a new knowledge base, and expanded customer support team for our new localized Russian client. CCP Caedmon talks about the Russian and Japanese clients in his blog, Machine Translation's Bad, M'kay?

Miscellaneous

The notepad has had some key functionality added. Pressing "Home" goes to the beginning of the current line while "ctrl+Home" goes to the beginning of the first line. Pressing "End" goes to the end of the current line while "ctrl+End" goes to the end of the last line. "Page up" now scrolls up and "Page down" scrolls down.


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EVE Online: Apocrypha Launch Trailer