EVE Online is an MMO with a dedicated community of "Capsuleers" who roam the open space of New Eden using all manner of spacecraft, taking advantage of the game's sandbox nature by choosing what they would like to specialize in: Mining, trading, piracy, and far more. Since releasing in 2003, the niche game has grown in scale to the point that its developer, CCP Games, can leverage it to try and make a difference. The current third phase of its "Project Discovery" initiative has players working on COVID-19 research.
However, only so much of what goes on in EVE Online is actually dictated by its developer. Players have built huge communities and ecosystems with nearly two decades of continuity to build upon, and like other long-running MMOs like RuneScape or World of Warcraft this means those users have a certain degree of freedom to do what they want. For many, that means taking part in wars over territory, resources, and status. Game Rant spoke with members of CCP Games about how EVE Online has changed, and its most recent intergalactic war. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: To start with the basics, what is EVE Online?
Bergur Finnbogason, Creative Director: EVE Online is a community-driven sci-fi spacefaring MMO. The game is hosted on a single shard server, so all the players are interacting with the same shared universe set in the star cluster of New Eden. As EVE Online is a sandbox game, players can carve their own path and unique playstyles. Space exploration, asteroid mining, production, market trading, and piracy are just some of the many avenues.
Q: How has the game changed since it began? How has CCP Games' approach to developing content changed?
Finnbogason: For many years, the game received two expansions per year. These would introduce new features around a particular theme, whether it be new industry mechanics, providing hostile systems to explore through wormholes, or giving players the opportunity to build their own stations.
Most recently we introduced the Triglavian Collective with the ‘Into the Abyss’ update, where players could venture into a survival-based exploration scenario. This evolved to see the Triglavian forces invade New Eden, and players would decide to either side with the established empires or the Triglavian Collective. This invasion lasted for over a year and reached its climax on October 13 of October, whereby the Collective conquered 27 systems in New Eden that were shut off from the rest of known space.
EVE and CCP have both grown and adapted. We find ourselves in a unique position to have a persistent universe that is over 17 years old. There is a delicate balance between introducing big, new features while also nurturing and maintaining the existing ones; we recognize that our core community is still in need of regular updates to keep the meta fresh.
At the start of 2020, we introduced Quadrants as a new development strategy for EVE Online. Quadrants are an opportunity to bundle updates with many different features. Each Quadrant also has a theme, and gives us something to drive towards together as a company. Most importantly – it gives our players something to do and look forward to.
Q: What are player numbers like for the game on average? How much has it changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Sæmundur Hermannsson, Brand Director: Part of our focus for the last year has been on the new user experience, and we have seen promising results with continued iteration. The COVID-19 pandemic has, of course, had a major impact on the world, with more people finding themselves at home. Video games have become an ever-increasing source of escape, and EVE Online is no different. As quarantine and lockdown became more common, we did see an increase in activity and new players.
However, we do not feel it is appropriate to celebrate a growth of the community due to consequences of a global pandemic. Instead, we are humbled that we are in a position to help people get through these challenging times.
Q: What has it been like to foster a community that creates its own content, such as the battle held for Chappy78's birthday in June and the development of Molea Cemetery?
Dan Crone, Community Developer: Chappy’s Birthday Bash came about due to an outpouring of goodwill from the community for a player with a terminal illness who wanted to spend his last birthday in EVE enjoying a massive brawl. Over 2,000 people showed up, the majority of whom had never heard of Chappy just 24 hours before, to give him the most memorable party they could with hours of explosions and fireworks at the sun in Tunudan.
The Molea Cemetery was also created by a player as a roleplaying endeavor, a place to inter the bodies of characters left drifting in space after battles. It’s since evolved into an in-game memorial site at which players can leave remembrances of friends who passed away in real life.
Both of these stories have a somber genesis, but EVE Online players found a way to create something truly wonderful out of them by coming together to express friendship and solidarity. The depth of compassion and camaraderie that players share is immensely gratifying, but also very humbling for us at CCP.
EVE players also celebrate the anniversaries of significant in-game events or real-world holidays. A popular event is the annual year-end snowball fight in the system of Luminaire, and recently the two sides taking part in the Triglavian Invasion came together at the conclusion to celebrate the hard work they’d put in over the last three months with a fireworks display in the system of Kaaputenen.
Whenever a player is planning to hold such an event, we encourage them to get in contact with our community team. We are able to use the platforms at our disposal to get the word out so as many players as possible can take part.
Q: From what I understand, an ongoing war against Goonswarm's Imperium is the continuation of a 2016 event called "World War Bee." Could you explain the backstory on this?
Crone: At the conclusion of World War Bee (also known as the ‘Casino War’), a coalition called The Imperium, led by the Goonswarm Federation, had been driven out of their space. After several months in the wilderness, they re-established themselves in the southwestern Delve region of the map.
Their old territories in the north were divided amongst the constituents of the Money Badger Coalition (MBC), which dissolved after their goal of displacing the Imperium was achieved.
In early 2017, TEST Alliance Please Ignore (TEST) relocated to the regions adjacent to Delve, right next to The Imperium. TEST and the Goonswarm Federation have a long and complex history. Once allies, relations broke down leading to what is known as the Fountain War of 2013. TEST was also an integral part of the MBC, which just ousted the The Imperium. Despite the simmering tensions, the two groups settled on a formal non-invasion pact: Incursions into each other’s territory was permitted for fun and content, but attempts to seize territory would be in violation. Although they would remain uneasy neighbors, the pact held up.
Wars routinely flare up in EVE, and control of different regions change hands regularly. However, there had not been “total war” engulfing all the major player groups of null security space (or nullsec, outside the range of NPC police forces) on the scale of World War Bee since that conflict ended.
In the ensuing years, The Imperium would consolidate its hold on Delve and expand into nearby regions, rebuilding fleets and developing inter-regional infrastructure in the space they controlled, possibly even exceeding their previous strength. Meanwhile, TEST would settle into their space and form a new superpower known as Legacy Coalition with several alliances in the vicinity.
Sometime in Q2 2020, rumors began circulating that Legacy Coalition had secured the support of PanFam (their former allies in the MBC) and Winter Coalition to go to war against The Imperium. This new super-coalition would become known colloquially as “PAPI.” Towards the end of June the leader of TEST, a player named Vily, announced they decided to end their non-invasion pact. Total war was coming back to EVE, and New Eden was on tenterhooks.
At the beginning of the war, The Imperium consisted of some 45,000 characters while PAPI boasted over 85,000. This conflict is now referred to as World War Bee 2 by PAPI and World War Bee by The Imperium (who prefer The Casino War, and therefore consider this to be the first World War Bee).
Q: Is the war purely player-driven? Or has CCP Games played a hand in setting things in motion?
Crone: EVE Online is a true sandbox. CCP provides the box of sand and the spades and buckets, but it’s up to our players to decide what they want to do with them - will they build their own sandcastles, so to speak, or hit other kids over the head with the spade and take theirs? Development on EVE continues however, and CCP adds new tools into the sandbox which our players employ in endlessly inventive ways.
Ultimately, we see our role as that of a groundskeeper, not a curator. The initial conditions for this war were set solely by the emergent gameplay of millions of players over the last 17 years.
Q: What is the significance of the Keepstar dropped in Goonswarm territory? Was its infiltration what sparked the conflict?
Crone: The Keepstar was part of the ongoing war started in July, and became the catalyst for the recent record-breaking battle in the system of FWST-8. After months of territorial gains by PAPI, they have advanced up to the border of Delve. “Fortress Delve,” as it has been referred, is a heavily-fortified region consisting of some 97 individual solar systems. Despite being heavily outnumbered, The Imperium are indefatigable and tenacious, enjoying the homefield advantage.
PAPI’s immediate strategic goal is to deploy a Keepstar inside the region to act as a forward operating base for their fleet. To explain its significance, I have to familiarize you with a few concepts:
All solar systems in EVE are connected via stargates, typically used to travel from one system to another. The biggest ships in the game, capital ships like carriers and dreadnoughts as well as supercarriers and Titans, also have the ability to use built-in jump drives to traverse long distances. This allows large fleets of powerful ships to appear at the scene of a battle with just a few minutes' notice. What’s more, Titans also have the ability to act like a mobile stargate and teleport, or “bridge,” large fleets of smaller ships to distant systems near-instantaneously, bypassing the slower process of sending reinforcements through regular stargates.
Keepstars are the largest player-owned structures in EVE. They’re the only structure that allow supercarriers and Titans to dock inside and provide safe harbor. For PAPI, who are invading Delve, successfully deploying at Keepstar in the heart of their enemy’s territory is a crucial strategic objective.
Remember how I said there are 97 systems in Delve? Well, capital ship fleets based out of a Keepstar in FWST-8 would be able to reach 71 percent of those systems in a single jump. This “supercapital umbrella” would then be on standby to support PAPI forces that are conducting offensive operations. Should a PAPI fleet of smaller ships be attacking some vital infrastructure several jumps away and are met with resistance by The Imperium, PAPI would be able to bridge in reinforcements. Not to mention the psychological impact of just knowing that your enemy has a massive force nearby that can project power over virtually your entire territory.
Being such a critical threat to the security of their region, the Imperium is turning out in force to destroy any Keepstar that PAPI attempts to set up. As of the time of writing, PAPI have attempted three times to anchor a Keepstar, and The Imperium have destroyed each one, although not without incurring significant losses in doing so. However, A fourth Keepstar has successfully anchored.
Of course the Imperium has its own formidable force of these giant ships, but due to the value of these assets and the all-or-nothing nature of their usage, the leaders of both sides are hesitant to instigate a toe-to-toe slugfest.
Q: What is the end goal of the current conflict? Is there some greater incentive to it?
Crone: PAPI have indicated they’ll be satisfied with nothing less than complete removal of The Imperium. Among their stated reasons is the desire for conflict after a protracted period of stability and relative peace in nullsec regions. For The Imperium, their goal will be to hold onto hope that PAPI’s offensive runs out of steam. I would assume they’re relying on putting up such a fierce resistance that members of the attacking forces get demoralized with the lack of progress, burn out and stop. Then, they could kick off a counteroffensive once PAPI’s numbers are down.
However, the politics of EVE Online are just as complex and sophisticated as its strategic gameplay. All the parties involved have clashed before, in some cases stretching over a decade. Personal grudges have even manifested between some top leaders from both sides, and no doubt this is contributing to the motivation.
Of course, to the victor go the spoils. Delve and the neighboring regions of Querious and Period Basis – all Imperium territory at the beginning of the war – are fertile space with abundant resources to be exploited.
Q: How is the war expected to change the universe of EVE Online going forward? Will CCP be incorporating its aftermath into some part of the game?
Crone: This is incredibly exciting because the outcome is so uncertain and rests completely in the hands of our players. No matter what happens, it will have a significant impact on the strategic and political landscape of EVE for years, possibly decades, to come.
If PAPI is victorious, The Imperium - one of the most powerful and influential player empires to ever exist - would be wiped off the map. However, it wouldn’t be the first time The Imperium was driven from nullsec; they’ve been beaten before and risen again. Imperium is made up of some passionate and resilient players with an especially strong esprit de corps. They would likely have to withdraw to low-security space as they’ve done in the past, and fall back on their political prowess rather than their military might to rebuild alliances before venturing back out to reclaim some space of their own. No doubt with a score to be settled one day.
Should The Imperium hold out against PAPI, manage to push them out of Delve and reclaim their territory, then it will be interesting to see if they stop at their old borders or if they press the advantage to end this conflict in an even stronger position. Not to mention, they would also relish any additional punitive humiliation they could dish out as a response to being invaded.
In both scenarios, the question of what may happen with the patchy and disparate super-coalition of PAPI is the elephant in the room. If they are victorious, will its various constituents feel the spoils are divided fairly? Or will the knives come out? In the event they lose, will they go back to their home regions and turn their swords back into ploughshares? Or will there be acrimony and turmoil resulting in new conflicts?
When I said for “decades to come,” it was not an exaggeration. You can directly or indirectly trace the conflict we see today involving tens of thousands of players to the “big” wars of the early days of EVE, which involved mere hundreds of players. Some of the player groups (and many actual players) facing off in this war have been fighting in various guises and iterations since 2006. All wars in EVE Online eventually end, but they are never truly resolved.
If and how we commemorate this war remains to be seen. EVE Online is a truly emergent experience, and whatever we do it will be a reaction to something that occurred organically. Will “the moment” of this war be another enormous, decisive battle like the Bloodbath of B-R5RB? Or will it be an underdog story like the Siege of C-J6MT, where a handful of scrappy defenders held on against impossible odds and turned the tide of the war? We won’t know what that moment is until it happens, and when it does we’ll look for the most appropriate way to celebrate our player’s accomplishments.
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EVE Online is available now on PC.