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'Eve Online' Gets Next-Gen Graphics Engine

by Rainier on Oct. 11, 2007 @ 5:44 a.m. PDT

CCP announced the upcoming Trinity expansion for its MMO EVE Online, which not only features a next-generation graphics engine, but will also include a myriad of content additions. As always, the next EVE Online expansion will be free to all subscribers.

Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. Supported by a vast player-run economy, EVE offers professions to choose ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. Your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. Complementing its lethal arsenal are thousands of modules and components, allowing for countless customizations. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE.

The new graphics engine leverages Shader Model 3.0 technology to enable rich dynamic range imaging, including bloom, shadows and enhanced geometric detail, while maintaining a high frame rate on supporting platforms. Visual changes entail remodeled and retextured ships, stations and stargates.

The Trinity expansion ushers in a host of fresh content and gameplay improvements to EVE Online. Upgraded content includes advancements in combat tactics and battlefield management, additional capabilities that lend greater depth to the pilot experience and multiple new Tech II class ships.

"CCP has been on a continuous quest to offer cutting-edge virtual world experiences to engage the most advanced users on the Internet," said Halldor Gudjonsson, chief technology officer of CCP. "With the launch of our next-generation graphics engine and gameplay improvements, we aim not only to enhance the in-world experience of our dedicated EVE players, but also to capture the interest of new gamers. While EVE Online has been arguably one of the most visually appealing MMOGs, the quality of the images enabled by our advanced graphics engine sets a precedent for visuals that blurs the line between a computer game and a movie."

The 'EVE Online: Trinity' expansion includes:

A new graphics engine:

  • All spaceships, stargates and space stations in EVE Online have been remodeled; each object is comprised of several million polygons and multiple layers of high resolution textures
  • Native Shader Model 3.0 engine
  • Environmental effects, such as shadows and nebula-based lighting models, tie graphical assets into the different solar systems of EVE Online
  • Ground-breaking visual fidelity, which blurs the lines between a game and a movie

Combat advancements:

  • Heat damage attenuation and repair while in space
  • Better drone management capabilities
  • Mid-flight bomb deployment capabilities along forward trajectories
  • Attribute Reassignment Modifier (ARM) scripts to modify bonus attributes of sensor boosters, dampeners and tracking modules
  • Eased transition from rookie to elite pilot with revamped New Player Experience
  • Fleet integration and enhanced management of fleet operations with EVE Voice

Content additions for Player versus EVE (PVE) gameplay:

  • Hundreds of new kill missions and a re-introduction of mining missions
  • Multi-frequency probe for more versatile exploration
  • Faction loyalty points store items

New Tech II ships:

  • Black Ops battleships - For undetectable infiltration and covert operations in hostile territory
  • Marauder battleships - Optimized for massive damage output to spearhead assaults in enemy territory
  • Suppressor Heavy Interdictor cruisers - A more lethal interdictor whose warp-jamming suppression sphere moves with the ship
  • Specter Electronic Attack ships - For quick propulsion lockdown and sensor suppression of enemy ships

EVE Online: Trinity Edition will be released this winter.

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