Archives by Day

EVE Online: Trinity

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Online Multiplayer
Publisher: CCP
Developer: CCP

About Rainier

PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

Advertising

As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.





'Eve Online: Trinity' Cripples WinXP Systems

by Rainier on Dec. 6, 2007 @ 5:55 a.m. PST

EVE Online: Trinity expansion not only features a next-generation DX10 graphics engine, but will also include a host of improvements that run the gamut from content to gameplay, giving you shiny new ships to play with, hundreds of new and exciting things to do with them, and a range of tweaks and fixes.

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.

The release of the Trinity expansion fortifies EVE Online’s position at the forefront of three-dimensional game graphics, creating a breath-taking cinematic experience during actual gameplay. In order to achieve its visual goals, CCP developed a new graphics engine, architected for Shader Model 3.0 and above. In this first showcase for the new engine, all ships, stations and stargates have been reconstructed. EVE Online: Trinity employs advanced lighting techniques and complex surface materials to make these highly detailed models even more realistic.

“EVE Online players always inspire and amaze everyone at CCP, and it is invigorating to see our subscription numbers surpass 200,000 as we prepare for the Trinity release,” said Hilmar Veigar Petursson, Chief Executive Officer of CCP. “We’re pleased that advances in graphics technology allow us to present the world of EVE Online as we had always envisioned it. We look forward to sharing the Trinity edition with the fast-growing, dedicated community that shares our passion to remove the barriers that constrain virtual worlds from meeting their full potential.”

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

New Ships:

Technology evolves to supply the demanding needs of space warfare. As Tech II equipment becomes more affordable, so does its adaptation to unique roles and opportunities for both fighters and industrialists alike. Trinity offers the following new Tech II ships:

  • "Black Ops" Battleships
    • Equipped with short-range jump drives, these warships are intended to fulfill infiltration and covert operation missions. Its small onboard jump portal generator is a massive resource drain, limiting its offensive firepower and restricting its defenses. But the primary role of the Black Ops battleship is to open secret pathways for friendly forces into hostile territory that cannot be detected by conventional means.
  • "Marauder" Battleships
    • Intended for spearheading assaults deep into enemy territory, the Marauder is one of the most lethal anti-ship platforms in its class. With extra utility slots, bigger sublight propulsion drives, and a larger cargo hold, they are capable of operating alone for extended mission durations. Most importantly, its few turret slots are optimized for massive damage output to complement any utility configuration. Yet despite this versatility, the Marauder is not without weaknesses: reduced sensor strength leaves her vulnerable to EW attacks, and no matter what her defense configuration is, she cannot withstand focused fire for long.
  • Heavy Interdictor Cruisers
    • With interdictors increasingly becoming priority targets during fleet engagements, this class was destined to evolve into a more durable variant. Enter the Suppressor, which fulfills the same mission as its smaller counterpart, only with more lethal implications: its warp-jamming suppression sphere moves with the ship, effectively creating a dynamic trap that can evolve with battlefield conditions.
  • Electronic Attack Ships
    • Crammed with the most advanced electronic warfare equipment ever mounted on a frigate-sized hull, the Specter was designed for one mission only: fast propulsion lockdown and sensor suppression of enemy ships. Unfortunately, to make room for all that jamming gear, some of the armor plating had to go.
  • Jump Freighters
    • These celestial behemoths are the first Tech II capital ships, and they will take you anywhere you want. They can use both EVE's own stargates and their own jump drives, which gives them the ability to travel both through secure space and the 0.0 badlands. Of course, to go anywhere you want, you have to be prepared, which is why these ships have both increased hit points and increased speed and agility. at the cost of cargo capacity.

New Content:

The universe of EVE is always expanding, and Trinity brings more depth and immersion to the pilot experience with numerous content additions for PVE gameplay:

  • New Agent Missions
    • Hundreds of new kill mission sequences have been added across all agent levels and races, including new courier and exploration mission challenges. Mining missions are back, offering contracts for miners to both earn LP and prospect for new ore types.
  • Exploration Enhancements
    • The multifrequency probe is now a much more versatile tool for explorers to use in investigating cosmic signatures and anomalies hidden among the stars.
  • Faction LP Store Items
    • Splinter factions such as Mordu's Legion and the Thukker Tribe now offer their own unique weapons and rare modules in return for your un- compromising loyalty.

New Improvements

Warfare drives the evolution of combat mechanics in EVE. New opportunities for advanced tactics and battlefield management are implemented in Trinity:

  • Heat Focus:
    • Attenuation is now factored into the damage of modules surrounding overloaded slots. With the proper resources onboard, heat-damaged components can also be repaired in space. Tech I items have higher thresholds for heat damage than before, and in emergencies, offline slots now serve as heat sinks to keep overloaded modules running longer.
  • Drone Mutations
    • The drone regions will yield named variations of existing models ranging in capabilities from above T1 to slightly beyond T2. The introduction of drone bandwidth will give ships room to carry additional drones onboard while still limiting the total number that can be flown in space. Improvements to the client UI will make drone combat management more intuitive.
  • Booster Entrepreneurship
    • Eight new booster production regions have been added to low security space, creating new trade and manufacturing opportunities for the legal combat performance enhancing aids. These products have no drawbacks, decent benefits, and will require mykoserocin gas mining and starbase resources to produce.
  • Bomb Trajectory
    • Bombs can now be deployed in mid-flight along forward trajectories, giving cloaked bombers enough time to escape the blast radius under impulse thrust.
  • Attribute Reassignment Modifier (ARM) Scripts
    • Similar in activation to charges, these reusable code instructions dynamically modify the bonus attributes of sensor boosters, dampeners, and tracking modules. But net gains in one bonus attribute results in a net loss for the other. For example, an ARM script that codes for a faster lock time results in reduced targeting range.
  • General Improvements
    • Kill mails will no longer be delivered by EVE mail and will instead be stored as a log in the character sheet UI; a revamped New Player Experience has been implemented to ease the rookie transition from mortality to becoming an elite pilot; EVE Voice now offers Fleet Integration and an improved UI for managing fleet operations; plus numerous optimizations in our Core Technology as part of our ongoing Need For Speed initiative.

EVE Online: Trinity expansion will be available on December 5, 2007.


More articles about EVE Online: Trinity
blog comments powered by Disqus