EVE Online
Update from EVE Fanfest 2018 : Project Nova is coming sooner than you think !
As PlayStation 3 exclusive shooterDUST 514was formally shutdown last twelvemonth , fans of theEVE Onlineuniverse were give hope in the anatomy of a personal computer - based successor prototype inProject Nova(previouslyProject Legion ) . This newfangled hired gun was playable at EVE Fanfest 2016 but never heard of since . Until now .
CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar took to the degree at EVE Fanfest 2017 yesterday in Reykjavík , Iceland to treat question from devotee and to confirm thatProject Novais still in maturation and that they are utterly committed to making their boots - on - the - groundEVEshooter .
Project Novawas first revealed as a PC title built on Unreal Engine 4 , a new effort by CCP of profit a footing on the ground - base fighting arena , something they currently do n’t cater to with other EVE mathematical product ( spaceship , space turret , and vsports VR experience ) . It would again be free-base around the idea of immortal New Eden mercenaries - fully embracing the lore ofEVE Online- and construct from the encyclopaedism ofDUST 514with the aim this time to simplify patterned advance and form survival of the fittest and to get into space ( battling on ships and station as opposed to just on planet ) alongside much faster and more precise combat . That was in 2016 and things have changed sinceProject Nova’sfirst playable reveal at last long time ’s Fanfest event .
Let ’s back up a import to look at how we got here . EVE Onlineis a singular and popular MMO , arguably the most unique and most hardcore of any MMOs . The spacefaring , social - focused MMO takes place in one monumental and growing shared universe . Everyone exists in that one universe as opposed to dissimilar servers or " shards " and players control everything . Everything !
From being able to manipulate the in - game market place and the economy through mining resources , steal them , or interfering with mining mathematical operation , to having spy make for undercover in counterbalance alliances for years , just to betray them once they earn bidding of key assets . The universe of discourse ofEVE Onlinelives and breathes base on what its fast and dedicated biotic community decide to do . And if you ’re a gamer , you ’ve no doubt heard of the engagement and surprise attacks that costs thousands of tangible - macrocosm dollar bill and that postulate week , if not , months of planning . For many , just show about the in - game , player - driven events is more interesting than the gameplay itself .
Project Nova will bring first-person shooter gameplay to iconic EVE Online starships
CCP decided to expand beyond the microcomputer - only spaceship biz into the console market with the 2013 release ofDUST 514 , a game that was curiously only playable on the PlayStation 3 ( when the entire EVE fanbase are PC gamers ) , but it connect to the largerEVE Onlineworld through the ability to settle control of planets and summon orbital strike from spaceship commanded by PC players playing the MMO .
It was an challenging idea and an exciting premise butDUST 514didn’t deliver on the basics : shooter gameplay and the factual connectivity to the larger EVE creation . So , people just did n’t act . It was boring . The next clock time around , CCP would bring a torpedo to PC based on their learnings . Project Legionwas announce but was give the sack in 2015 and replace byProject Nova .
Project Novais the latest codenamed title in ontogeny at CCP Shanghai ( where the peregrine - focusedEVE GunjackVR games are also made ) and was shown for the first time to the media and world at EVE Fanfest 2016 in Iceland . Since then , CCP has been radio dumb with only a few words here and there over the last yr reassert that the biz is being work on .
Here atEVE Fanfest 2017 , CCP was lastly quick to ply another update . They full understand there are a lot of interested player eager for unexampled entropy . During a New World chat with Game Designer Steven Clark before the curtain raising ceremony and keynote demonstration , it was hinted to me that things have change with the game and we can ask a mention during the outcome .
And the fans in attendance or watching the Twitch livestream got just that during the EVE Fanfest 2017 Keynote from chief man Hilmar Veigar , who says they are n’t quick to show more of the game until they really have something to show , but I managed to get a few more hints from having a tenacious chat with Jean - Charles Gaudechon , Managing Director CCP Shanghai .
“We’re still very much committed”
Gaudechon join CCP in 2013 and helped withDUST 514and thenLegion(which becameProject Nova ) . There is no official title decide upon yet for whatProject Novawill be called when it releases and it likely wo n’t be decided upon into the game is near done .
From instrumentalist feedback last year , Gaudechon express joy while telling me that read " a lot " from player feedback last year at Fanfest where they take in bank note of everything that was relevant , joking that " helicopters " are maybenotpart of the architectural plan .
undertaking Novaisn’t viewable or playable in any form at EVE Fanfest 2017 and the reason is that they want Fanfest to focus on main even more than before . More importantly forProject Nova , something Gaudechon says he and Hilmar are 100 % committed to ( they very much desire a run aground stage set game ) , they require the squad focus on the work . And there ’s a svelte modification on this front with them move from CCP Shanghai to CCP HQ in Iceland .
Screenshot from Project Nova (Unreal Engine 4 Engine, PC) from EVE Fanfest 2016
" The melodic theme is really to get close to the good MMO on PC ever done,“says Gaudechon referring to bringing the shooter devs in close link to those who know the EVE universe comfortably . This move will help with the"MMO layer … to make it truly boot on the terra firma in New Eden because that ’s very much the goal . "
How Does Project Nova Connect To EVE Online?
Does that meanProject Novawill be even more embedded within theEVE Onlinelive universe thanDUST 514was ? Not at all , at least at the commencement . Gaudechon acknowledges that this feature of speech was a drawback onDUST 514 , how it didn’tfeellike an EVE secret plan at times , but their anteriority is to make a great game first withNovaand go from there . It ’ll have " plausibly less " links to EVE in terminal figure of unmediated connectivity .
" The understanding for that is , first it need to be a great hitman . It call for to be a game that fend on its two legs before we start suppose into that . And it can grow that way , absolutely ! And should rise that way , secretive and closer to EVE , but it has to work out standalone . It has to be an awing product for what it is .
So the first affair for me is to make it a gunman within New Eden which make sense from the traditional knowledge , from the moral reasons for you to be defend - like all the stuff from who you are , what you do - we need to know that . And at CCP we always like to have a little flake of debate on why you ’re doing this , et cetera . So we involve to know this stuff then we can go on take in more and more necktie with EVE . "
Project Nova May Not Be Free-to-Play
WhenProject Novawas described during EVE Fanfest 2016 , it was touted as a destitute - to - play PC crap-shooter but as suggest to us by everyone at CCP we spoke to about the undertaking , that may not be the case anymore , again , dedicate more reason as to why CCP is n’t showingProject Novaanymore until they have a more concrete product .
" There ’s nothing to herald on if it ’ll be free - to - bid or not , it ’s not a bad framework . As you could see , EVE [ Online ] successfully transitioned to it and it was actually really secure . There ’s a direction to make free - to - play study … it ’s an option for sure . "
Project Novahasn’t changed much in direction , but it ’s sure as shooting change in caliber and polish from what they were quick to talk about in 2016 . As for timelines , CCP will only relinquish this one when it ’s quick . They ’re not sharpen on a escort and if they have object in judgement , ifProject Novaneeds more time , it ’ll get it .
Long-term, Project Nova will likely connect more to EVE Online
Gaudechon explicate that they are n’t blind to the buff asking for more info though but they do n’t desire to start buzz too ahead of time , something they know they ’ve done before at CCP .
Some of the key thing from last class ’s special Project Nova showcase stay on very on course , like the mixed bag in playable environments beyond major planet surfaces .
" One of the big decision made already was again , this sense of ' how much can this palpate in EVE ? ' so , on the earth , absolutely . But ships is really everything for EVE , correct ? So , if you may be at heart , on top , or anything around [ on ] really landmark or placeable ships . "
Could Project Nova Have Single-Player or Co-op Modes?
Project Novahas only been seen as a multiplayer game , with a 6 vs. 6 PvP competitive mode playable at EVE Fanfest 2016 and a credit that it can go up to 16 vs. 16 at the time . Does a narration hunting expedition or cobalt - op mode fitProject Nova ? " It actually does , " says Gaudechon who obviously ca n’t confirm ifProject Novawill feature exclusive - player or atomic number 27 - op at this time .
" I ca n’t remember if we touch on this last class but it does n’t have to be just PvP is fundamentally what I could tell you today . And I imagine there is , you know , not in a linear story because New Eden is not about linear story anyway . So it ’s more kind of your write up , your fib with other people , your Acts of the Apostles and what you do matter in this world . These are things that are really key to EVE which needs to be really key to Project Nova in that case . dead . It should be , I retrieve , just PvP.
We ’re not talking about the launch ambit . Things can still change but yeah , there ’s way for more than just PvP. "
CCP is still figuring out the optimum player counts . “I would say more the festive , but no , it really depends on the game mode,“Gaudechon jokes . And in term of the class - based system and progression , the goals is to give player more choice .
" The decision you make really weigh in who you become in the game and what you fight for . "
The squad ca n’t give a unbent solution on the specifics of what this means in terms of unlocks but it " could be " thing like arm and armour unlocks . “It has to matter"was the message being emphasized .
As for when you could anticipate to hear more ? " It would n’t be two years " says Gaudechon . It could be EVE Fanfest 2018 or maybe not . We ’ll seeProject Novawhen it ’s ready to be shown .
