REYKJAVIK, ICELAND and LYON, FRANCE – 24 February, 2009 – Atari and CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today confirmed details regarding the contents of the retail box version of EVE Online, coming to retailers in North America beginning March 10th, 2009 and in Europe and Asia Pacific regions beginning March 12th. The retail version of CCP’s award winning PC massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) will ship with a number of high value extras offering newcomers a rewarding first voyage into the incredible universe of EVE Online. The Peak Concurrent User (PCU) record for EVE Online ’s 260,000 subscriber single-shard game world has been broken three times in 2009, recently surpassing the 50k mark with 51,675 players online simultaneously, proving EVE’s long-lasting depth of gameplay and the importance of the players themselves in its success.

The EVE Online box will include all nine previously released expansions plus the forthcoming tenth expansion entitled EVE Online: Apocrypha which introduces numerous new features including unstable wormholes to explore and modular ships that pilots may tailor-build to suit their own specifications and needs. All subsequent expansions will be free of charge to all subscribers, continuing CCP’s commitment to offer free updates and expansions to its subscribers at regular intervals.

Breaking with tradition, the collection of extras will also include 60 days of free game time, a departure from the standard 30 days offered for most MMOGs, allowing players to sign up and get started without paying any subscription fees for the first 60 days of a new account. Alternatively, the included game time may be used to extend an existing subscription or be split into two 30-day codes known as “Pilot License Extensions” (PLEX) that can be sold to other players through the in-game market for in-game currency.

Players redeeming the code to activate a new account will also receive these special in-game items:

INSTANT WAR ACCESS: This certificate allows rapid access to organized combat (through increased standings), helping new players get into the action quickly.
EXCLUSIVE CAREER GUIDE: Accessed via the website to allow for dynamic updates, the guide includes insider tips and tricks.
VIP PASS: Use this card to invite a friend to try the game for 21 days. When that friend becomes an EVE Online subscriber, you will get an additional 30 days of free game time.
EXCLUSIVE IN-GAME SHIP: An exclusive new ship, the Interbus Shuttle, will allow players to fly in style with an increased capacity cargo hold to ferry those extra crucial items at high speeds.
Availability
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for EVE Online is $34.95/€39.99. Price in some regions may vary. Check with your favorite local or online retailer for availability and pricing.

About EVE Online
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. With nearly a quarter of a million subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. 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. Learn more and sign up for a free trial at www.eveonline.com.

Definition of Subscribers
EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.

About CCP 
CCP is widely recognized as an industry-leading pioneer of the single-server persistent universe architecture as the developer and publisher of EVE Online, the critically-acclaimed, science fiction-based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Utilizing a cross-discipline approach combining cutting-edge technology and artistic excellence, CCP is dedicated to providing vibrant, compelling products that transcend the boundaries of conventional MMOGs and facilitate social networking through virtual worlds. Privately held and founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1997, CCP’s international reach now spans the globe with offices in Atlanta and Shanghai as well as a base of operations in London. More information about CCP is available at the company’s website, www.ccpgames.com.

Ushra’Khan’s (UNITY) unconventional fleet configuration secures them a victory against Molotov Coalition (MLTOV).

Ushra’Khan: 1 Damnation | 5 Sacrilege | 1 Ishtar
Molotov Coalition: 1 Nightmare | 1 Bhaalgorn | 1 Damnation | 3 Rook | 3 Ishkur

The match opened with UNITY immediately attacking the recon ships fielded by their rivals, while MLTOV chose to start their attack against their opponent’s Ishtar. An early lead was granted to UNITY as they successfully destroyed two Rooks before MLTOV was able to respond with the elimination of the Ishtar.

MLTOV struggled for some time against a particularly studdorn Sacrilege, while they slowly lost each of their cruiser class ships. Eventually only their faction battleships remained, which despite persisting for a surprisingly long amount of time, eventually caved. The match ended with no further losses to the UNITY side.

After the match Seliah, team captain for UNITY, commented on the team’s performance: “Very well. I’m really satisfied of this setup. No one had brought Sacrileges before.” When asked if it was risky bringing an untested fleet setup to the match she said: “No, because it had been tested. Well, not in any official matches.”

Xonja 2zero, a team member for MLTOV, thought they had done well despite the loss: “I think for what we had and what they brought we did as best as we could. To be honest, I’m happy it’s over and we can go back to killing the unsuspecting eve populace.” 

Editors Note:  Elaborating a bit from our perspective.  The setup we went with was very, very powerful at a few things, and very weak against another thing.  Unfortunately, the setup our opponents brought today was just the thing that we had nothing to combat.  Ushra’Khan’s ships were passive armor tanked, meaning that the overwhelming capacitor warfare brought by the Bhaalgorn was nearly useless.  UK’s pilots have also got to be commended for skillfully avoiding the Bhaal’s other power, it’s increased stasis webifier range.

The Nightmare is a hard hitting laser based juggernaut.  Sadly, it was rendered nearly helpless by overwhelming tracking disruption, cutting it’s range from 50 kilometers to effectively 8.  With our electronic warfare taken out of the match nearly instantly, it was over before it even began.  Not helping matters, I (the Bhaalgorn pilot) managed to handicap himself even farther by mistakenly fitting an illegal module the night before, and said module was destroyed by the GM’s before the first shot was fired.  Although assured that mistake didn’t doom the entire operation right off the bat, I am still rendered nearly speechless from shame.

And so ends the 6th Alliance tournement, for us at least.  Ironically, and somewhat agonizingly, is the fact that we were elimated in almost the same exact fashion last year, in the same quarterfinals match bracket.  Only this time, our losses come to the total of nearly 4 billion ISK, which is sobering.  Ultimately though, it’s not important.  The tournements are merely bragging rights, and we have no need to inflate our already massive intersteller egos.  We will keep fighting, and keep training, and maybe next year the luck will swing in our favor.

In a shocking turn of events, it was revealed sometime yesterday that the giant powerbloc known as Band of Brothers or “BoB” was mysteriously rendered helpless during a single critical act. 

Details are still not clear, and rumors are flying every which way, but the most credible variant of the story is that in which a very high ranking member of the executor Corporation Evolution betrayed his (now) former alliance mates and pushed the “Disband” button.  The power to disband an entire alliance, an alliance that has been working steadily at its goals for 5 years now, is held by extremely few people.  In the total membership (somewhere around 3000), only a handful have access to such powerful options.  

Our own DruzidelCastro explains in detail what this entails;

 Player made alliances hold sovereignty over whatever space they have control towers in. If their claim on sovereignty isn’t contested for a certain amount of time, they get higher levels of control. The higher it is, the more/better stuff they’re allowed to put on their control towers. Jump bridges allow regular ships to travel from one system to another that also has a jump bridge linked to the first one. This allows you to skip making 10-20 jumps (what would take half an hour in a battleship suddenly takes thirty seconds). They’re also handy for logistics, bringing in fuel for the towers and everything becomes a lot less hefty. Capital ships cannot move between systems using the stargates that subcapitals use. They need to lock onto something called a Cynosural field. There are two kinds of mods you can toss onto a tower but only one is really game breaking in this case: The cynosural field jammer. If a system is “cynojammed”, you cannot create a cyno field for capitals to jump to. This means that any offensive mounted on the towers in that system has to be done with sub capitals. Combine that with a jump bridge and you’re dealing with a hefty motherfucking fortress (jump bridges allow friendly capital ships to bridge into the system). Without sovereignty, none of that works. Without an alliance, you have no sovereignty. Not only are all of the super capitals that BoB were building now paused (super caps take weeks to build), but they’re wide open for anyone to attack… This should make for some interesting times, that’s for damn sure.

The galaxy has been sharply divided in opinion, some condemning this act as the lowest form of treachery, whilst others hail it as a righteous act to bring down a evil giant.  It is not yet certain what will happen in the coming months, but I for one, cannot wait to watch it unfold.

A Molotov Abso defending itself

ATLAS ALLIANCE vs Molotov Coalition

Reported By: ISD Clarity Brown

Molotov Coalition took victory in this hard-fought match against ATLAS ALLIANCE, though at several points it looked like it might have gone the other way.

ATLAS ALLIANCE: Claymore | Nightmare | 7 Phantasm
Molotov Coalition: Absolution | 2 Harbinger | 2 Hurricane | Ishkur | 3 Kitsune

ATLAS fielded their whole team right in the centre of the arena, eager to go toe to toe with the enemy. Molotov did likewise with its command ship and battlecruisers, but positioned its Ishkur and Kitsunes safely behind its heavier ships, where they would be either out of range in a good position to accelerate away from long-range fire.

J Johnson’s Phantasm was the initial primary target for the Molotov Coalition team and the first casualty of the match. ATLAS unleashed all their firepower on Kenneth McCoy’s Harbinger, taking him out of the fight shortly before Molotov claimed their second Phantasm kill from DaddyMassiveJr – the Phantasms seemed quite fast and agile to the onlooker, leading to speculation that they may have been nano-fitted.

White Aero lost his Phantasm to Molotov’s lasers as his team attempted to thin out the enemy Kitsune’s jamming them and reducing their firepower, successfully killing deltauk1 of Molotov. Xonja 2zero’s Ishkur was forced to retreat out to long range when she came under fire from multiple ATLAS Warrior II drones that proceeded to chase her all over the arena.

D0INK (Hurricane) of Molotov and Estoika Chonda (Phantasm) of ATLAS were the next kills. This put ATLAS very low on firepower, while Molotov retained substantial capacity to deal damage and still had quite a viable e-war squadron. Kerdrak was next, leaving only two other Phantasm for ATLAS’ team, along with the Claymore and Nightmare .

ATLAS were far from out of the fight yet, however. A few volleys of focused fire incinerated Jan Blackoak’s Harbinger, and Torashuu of ATLAS lost his Phantasm while teammate SauliusV (also in a Phantasm) killed off Aisha Pei’s Kitsune, followed by Splitter Macdung’s. This finally set the ATLAS Nightmare free to unleash its substantial damage potential against Nikita Bordinko’s Harbinger, melting the robust tier 2 battlecruiser. But Molotov moved into a close orbit around the battleship, attempting to confound its enhanced tracking, and killed SauliusV in the last remaining Phantasm for ATLAS.

With the last ATLAS cruiser down, Xonja’s Ishkur started moving back to the support of her alliance mates, and the Molotov Coalition pilots managed to crush the ATLAS Claymore piloted by DeddyMassive. ookke’s Nightmare was managing to track the Molotov Absolution at first, but slowly began to run out of capacitor, forcing the pilot to choose between gunnery and defence.

ookke managed to hold his ship together for a while, barely dealing any damage in an effort to hold on to the capacitor needed for his shields and perhaps deny Molotov the points for his death, but eventually, the ship imploded under the enemy fire, leaving Molotov with Xonja 2zero’s Ishkur, DruzidelCastro’s Hurricane and Alpha Plus’s Absolution holding the field.

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