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CSM July 2011 Prioritization Crowdsourcing

CCP Zymurgist — 2011-07-30T17:50+00:00

The CSM is asking you to take some time this weekend and vote for what you feel are the most important issues that they have raised to CCP. A list of these issues is available here, in the EVElopedia. Voting ends at downtime on Monday, August 1, so be sure to visit this thread and let the CSM know what you think should be prioritized.

New High Fashion Hits Noble Exchange

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-29T15:06+00:00

The various fashion houses of New Eden have released several new designs in the Noble Exchange! Ranging in price from 2,500 AUR to 4,000 AUR, these affordable pieces are not only gorgeous, but every fashionable capsuleer will want to add these fine items to their collections.

The following were added to the Noble Exchange on Thursday, July 28, 2011: Women's "Minima" Heels (black); Women's "Structure" Skirt (black); Men's "Sterling" Dress Shirt (black); Men's "Esquire" Coat (silver); Odin Synthetic Eye (gold, left); Odin Synthetic Eye (gray, left). Be sure to check them out in your nearest station today!

Click image to enlarge.

New EVE Online Column at MMORPG

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-28T17:40+00:00

Council of Stellar Management delegate White Tree has published his first article in a series of biweekly columns at MMORPG.com. The first article, "One Jump Home: At Gunpoint" can be found here.

Awakened Infomorph Spotted Across New Eden

ISD Eumaios Thelousses — 2011-07-28T00:23+00:00

During the past two weeks, an Awakened Informorph has been increasingly spotted in systems across New Eden. New and interesting developments have followed in its wake including increased Sleeper aggression, changes in Sansha strategy and the reported construction of new Drone structures in the Genesis region.

Last Tuesday the Blazing Angels alliance discovered an "Awakened Infomorph" on their directional scans during standard wormhole mining operations. Shortly after, a wormhole opened up in "the middle of the gravimetric site and sleepers came pouring out." stated Slade Nightstrum.

During last week's Sansha blockade of Jita in the New Caldari system, an Awakened Infomorph was spotted observing the battle between capsuleers and Citizen Astur.

Finally, reports from The Synenose Accord [SYNE] this past Saturday say they've spotted an Awakened Infomorph in the Promised Land and surrounding region. This region was once dominated by Bloodraider pirates. However their influence is being slowly displaced by an increasing Rogue Drone presence. Local and SYNE pilots have confirmed that "Rogue Drone hives are now appearing in the area. Visual analysis suggests that their sites are generally small-to-medium sized, off-grid, and in the medium-to-late stages of construction." Speaking to SYNE pilot Unit XS365BT, she let slip that there was "another Drone complex within the Dead End system" which she recently surveyed.

It is unknown whether it has been the same Awakened Infomorph in all three sightings. However its presence has been linked to unusual events.

GalNet References

Cmdr Baxter�s [SYNE] Report

Sansha's Nation Attempt Jita Blockade

Are you affected by the events in this article? Do you have information regarding another event in New Eden? If so, please contact us with any information that you may have.

Want to become a news correspondent with IC? We are recruiting.

Estimated 900 Billion ISK Stolen From Corporation

ISD Randolph Eustache — 2011-07-28T00:00+00:00

9IZ-HU, PERRIGEN FALLS - Last Friday, BigMaman, long-time member and director of the Solar Dragons corporation, claims to have relieved her corporation of about 900 billion ISK in assets.

After more than five years of loyalty, internal quarrels within the leadership were the deciding factors for her to betray her corporation. Having had access to all corporation funds and assets, capsuleer BigMaman was able to deal substantial albeit temporary damage to the Solar Dragons.

In a message to the Interstellar Correspondents, BigMaman explained that after joining the Solar Dragons in early 2006, she quickly advanced to the position of a director and participated in numerous operations with the corporation.

BigMaman also said that besides combat activity, most of the time her duties included "organizational and administrative work, management of [the] corporation, logistics, capital and supercapital building, espionage", as well as "POS management (sometimes [I maintained] about 50 POSes alone)."

The decision to betray her corporation was made after her long-time close friend and CEO MACTEP, who had previously been a great comrade, decided to dissociate himself from Maman and follow a less amicable course; "he has decided to show me his power and specify me my place (without any reasons on that)." She noted that MACTEP had hindered her from using the internal forums as well as held back and/or strictly censored important information regarding dire problems within the alliance.

As for Maman's "compensation fee", as she likes to call it, she took 350 billion in liquid ISK and between 400 and 600 billion in assorted assets as well as some capsuleer associates the corporation had hired for her for approximately another 100 billion ISK. The quantity of supercapitals she might have stolen remains a secret.

Even though she claims to have stolen about 900 billion ISK, BigMaman believes the damage she caused is not that big compared to what she could have done. Maman would have been able to disband both SOLAR FLEET and SOLAR Wing and believes she would also have been able to incite a coup d'êtat against one of the leaders. However, she states she "didn't have any reasons to cause [...] damage to an alliance and the constructed system. [Many of the] pilots [were] my good friends till now (and they [don't all] condemn me)."

When asked how she felt about the consequences for the corporation, she said "Everything that I've taken away - will be easily restored, within 7-8 months or faster. I think - I have given a good lesson to the person how to correctly behave with people."

BigMaman also mentioned that there were many people who had contacted her to show their respect and admiration and that she already had received offers from other alliances that would be interested in her work.

Solar Dragon CEO MACTEP refused to comment, saying the situation was "banal" and that there would be "no sense to speak about it."

GalNet References

Original discussion log

Sansha Victory in Kador Prime

ISD Eumaios Thelousses — 2011-07-27T01:30+00:00

Sansha incursions in Kador Prime have become more frequent and violent as of late. Last week capsuleers defeated Citizen Astur and forced the retreat of Slave Ation09. On Thursday Slave 32152 arrived in Kador Prime in her Revenant class supercarrier and faced down a capsuleer fleet of over 100 pilots.

The capsuleer tried and tested strategy of using ECM against the Sansha wormholes was successful in closing only one of the conduits as the portals fell "below transit parameters." They soon resorted to using an unmanned transport full of explosives. This too was foiled by Slave 32152 as she took note and managed to lock it up.

Unlike some of the previous incursions, there was no Amarrian Protector present. Capsuleers previously had the aid of Ihsam Dasirel in an Aeon class supercarrier when battling Citizen Astur. This time however, the capsuleers had no such support. On the other hand, Slave 32152 had the support of a strong loyalist presence.

It was this presence which was one of the deciding factors in Slave 32152’s victory over the capsuleer force. Mid battle against Slave 32152 and her forces, the capsuleer fleet's entire logistical wing was warped away by a pilot named Priimmarry. "We were surprised by this betrayal when it was reported over comms," noted a member of the capsuleer fleet named Ammzi. "The traitor was quickly found and removed from the fleet by the FC." Unfortunately for the capsuleer fleet, it wasn’t fast enough and the damage had been done.

Speaking after the battle, Weynard II, a Friend of the Nation, regrets that "CONCORD prevents us from actively engaging other capsuleers or directly assisting the Nation's vessels." He further adds that Supporters can however "band together and sing the song of the Nation and prove our loyalty to Master Kuvakei."

"Remember how your strength faltered before the might of Nation." were the closing remarks of Slave 32152 as she left Kador Prime unscathed, leaving behind a field of capsuleer debris. Weynard II was "reassured to see how fast the capsuleer fleet scattered and what the lack of discipline in their ranks lead to."

EVE is Real Milestone Reached

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-26T21:27+00:00

It didn't take long, but the first EVE is Real sharing milestone has been reached and unlocked! Almost 1,000 images and video have been entered into the EVE is Real museum so far, and the first level of sharing has unlocked Aurum for the entire EVE Online community. A lot of Aurum, about 108,000 PLEX worth of Aurum. We hope to deliver 1,000 Aurum to the wallets of all active EVE Online accounts this Friday, July 29.

If you've not yet checked out the EVE is Real site, we encourage you to do so. Participate by uploading your EVE images and videos on the site, and then spread the word by sharing. Our next milestone will result in another 1,000 Aurum being distributed to every EVE Online player.

Lost Helios Full of Mystery

ISD Pareto Pol — 2011-07-26T20:11+00:00

J105934, Unknown – Capsuleer discovers Helios of missing researcher, but only learns of its mysterious origin after she blows it up.

For Corialis Wyr, what started as a typical exploration run into a rival’s wormhole territory ended with a bizarre turn of events. She was flying with her wingman Philgood, who scanned down a pack of six unmanned Helios ships in the wormhole. Just as they were about to try to steal them and take them home for Transmission Lost (LOST), their rivals Aperature Harmonics (AHARM) returned. They played cat and mouse for a while but eventually decided to withdraw back to LOST territory.

Something about those Helios ships lured Corialis Wyr back into AHARM’s home system. When she jumped through, she did not expect to be right on top of a fleet in process of closing the wormhole. As she warped away, she could see the wormhole closing, leaving her trapped and hunted. Her pursuers gave chase for a while, but in due course, she was able to evade them. Finally alone, she was able to scan down the six floating Helios' again. It proved to be too difficult to take the ships, as her hunters may return at any time... so she decided to shoot them, assuming they belonged to her rivals. The cargo, a single unit of Trinary Data was destroyed. An attempt at salvage puzzled her even further when she found nothing to be looted.

Enter recently defected Caldari scientist Hilen Tukoss. Ordinarily this event would hardly raise an eyebrow, however, after Dr. Tukoss contacted Corialis Wyr asking about the destroyed ships some questions needed to be raised. Dr. Tukoss found out about these ships through the CONCORD network, which shows them registered to Lianda Burreau. Dr. Tukoss seemed very interested in verifying the identity of the pilot listed as owner of these ships. It turns out that Lianda Burreau was a scientist working with Hilen Tukoss a few years back when wormholes were first discovered. Lianda was apparently on an expedition into the first wormhole when she disappeared along with her companions in a small Helios fleet.

When asked if Dr. Tukoss mentioned why he was interested in the ship, Corialis replied, "No, no one knows why he was interested." As to whether Dr. Tukoss was more interested in the data or in finding the missing pilot, Corialis said, "In his first communication, he did not mention either, he simply asked me to confirm the name and corp of the pilot whose craft I destroyed. He has never mentioned either Dr. Burreau or the data to me specifically."

We know from recent news reports that Dr. Tukoss has defected to Eram, Minmatar Republic space, with a Charon named Arek'jaalan. He seems to be building something inside the freighter, but no one really knows what.

What we do know is that whatever was in those six Helios' that Corialis Wyr shot down is of great interest to many.

GalNet References

Original discussion log

Sansha's Nation Attempt Jita Blockade

ISD Xenlogi Metis — 2011-07-26T19:28+00:00

New Caldari, The Forge – Late last week, Sansha's Nation vessels commanded by Citizen Astur invaded New Caldari and sieged the entrance gate to Jita.

On 21.7.113 at around 13:15 New Eden time, two wormholes formed in New Caldari close to the jumpgate leading into Jita and spewed out at least two dozen Sansha's Nation frigates.

Koja Tsutariba from the State Protectorate replied with an emergency request for capsuleer assistance in the surrounding systems.

Jita, the largest trade hub in New Eden, is usually bustling with as many as a thousand capsuleers. A number of these capsuleers answered the call within minutes, rushing over to New Caldari. Ice Shard was one of them: "I read [the emergency request] in local and was not afraid, it was a good challenge."

A quickly growing fleet easily dispatched the Sansha frigates, only to encounter approximately 20 Sansha battleships emerging from the wormhole. The capsuleer fleet, counting over 100 pilots by now, suffered some losses but killed the initial Sansha battleship fleet.

Additional battleships soon appeared, followed by a Revenant-class Sansha Supercarrier with Citizen Astur in command. The capsuleer fleet, lead by Grideris from Fleet Coordination Command, destroyed the battleships and also dispatched the Sansha supercarrier.

Ice Shard, scoring the most damage on the Revenant, seemingly enjoyed the fight; "It was fun, next time Sansha are welcome to Jita."

After and even during the battle, several people took the opportunity to salvage and loot the already destroyed ships, gaining some income without firing a single shot.

The purpose behind the attack on New Caldari still remains unclear as Sansha incursions continue to sprout along trade routes.

Capsuleers Successfully Drive Away Sansha's Nation Forces in Altrinur

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-26T01:23+00:00

Altrinur, Metropolis – A little over a week ago, Sansha’s Nation forces, under the direction of Slave Ation09, besieged the solar system of Altrinur in what appears to be a resurgence in incursion activity as of late.

Initial reports indicated that capsuleers were rallying to halt the Sansha's Nation invasion. The battle was a success as another Sansha's supercarrier was downed.

HardinSalvor, a fleet commander during the battle, described his fleet composition, "fleet composition was at about 110 vessels, so probably around 90 on scene. Vessel types were, in theory, scimitars, basilisks, scorpions, and tech one battleships and battle cruisers." When asked how the battle was fought, HardinSalvor replied, "Challenging.. The pilots in the fleet were expecting set Sansha’a Nation tactics, with known fleet compositions, we didn't know what to expect."

StyphonUK, a fleet member in the battle, described the tactics that were being used by the fleet, "Our main tactics consisted of firing upon the Super carrier until the number of non-capitals became too great. We then used our knowledge of Sansha’s Nation vessels to prioritise non-capital targets."

As the battle concluded, Slave Ation09’s super carrier was destroyed, along with the supporting Sansha’s Nation vessels. However, Slave Ation09 escaped back through the wormhole. StyphonUK described his feelings about Slave Ation09 escape, "It was a minor glitch to an otherwise excellent battle. Capturing his pod and finishing him off would have been the icing on the cake. We'll have to make sure he doesn't get away next time."

As Sansha's Nation incursion pick up again, it remains a mystery as to their end goal. But be assured that capsuleers from all over New Eden will band together to answer this threat, and maybe even make a little profit doing so!

GalNet References

Sansha Forces Attacking Altrinur

Mysterious Wormhole in Hebisa

Mystery Solved as Sansha's Nation Emerge From Wormhole

Incursions Offer Lucrative Salvaging Opportunities

Council of Stellar Management Crowdsourcing

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-23T21:26+00:00

The Sixth Council of Stellar Management is currently looking for players to assist with their latest round of crowdsourcing. Learn how you can help by reading their latest blog.

Eveisreal.net is now live

CCP Hekatonkheires — 2011-07-21T20:52+00:00

The EVE player experience museum is now live at www.eveisreal.net. This is our multi-purpose EVE memory repository and social sharing hub. It’s hard to put into words how meaningful the player creates stories/videos/images are. They prove that to many people EVE is very much real and part of their lives. The amount of love and insanity that goes into these creations is not something you’ll see often, as one server and one community means all kinds of weird and amazing things occur and get documented.

There are also incentives and contests to supplement it. Sharing your favorite moments will move the community closer and closer to unlocking a giant amount of Aurum for everyone to sample the NeX Store at their leisure. The contest portion is accepting entries now through August 18, with voting through September 1 to follow immediately thereafter. The first unlock is for the entire playerbase. Seriously, somewhere near 107,000 PLEX worth of Aurum.

So take a few minutes and poke around the EVE is Real site, maybe relive a cool moment from the history of EVE or make and post one of your own. For more detailed information, please check out this forum thread.

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.1 client update #4 to be deployed on July 21, 2011

CCP Zymurgist — 2011-07-20T17:19+00:00

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.1 client update #4 will be released during our daily downtime on Thursday, July 21. This update fixes several UI issues with the Macintosh client. A complete list of the patch notes can be found here.

The Return of the PLEX for Buddy Program

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-20T15:20+00:00

CCP is pleased to announce the return of PLEX to the Buddy Reward system. As of today you can once again send Buddy invites with PLEX as a reward type. As before, you have the choice as the sender of either 30 days of game time or a PLEX. The brief hiatus allowed us to measure the effects of PLEX on the program and we're happy to say the program is a pretty big success; lots of new players and lots of PLEX going into Buddy inviter's hands.

Get some EVE Online gear during the J!NX Super-Colossal sale

CCP Zymurgist — 2011-07-19T18:37+00:00

For this week only J!NX is running a Super-Colossal sale on T-shirts, Hoodies, and Accessories. This is a great opportunity to pick up some great EVE Online gear. You can see all the EVE Online shirts for $7 off here but don’t delay as this sale ends July 22.

Interview with CCP Soundwave and CCP Flying Scotsman

CCP Guard — 2011-07-18T13:17+00:00

Tacticalgamer.com has published an article about Incarna and has an extensive audio interview with CCP Flying Scotsman, Lead Game Designer for Incarna and CCP Soundwave, Lead Game Designer for Flying in Space. The interview covers numerous hot topics regarding EVE Online, the Incarna expansion and the future of our universe.

Merchants Offered Dedicated Channel

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-18T11:25+00:00

Jita, The Forge � Capsuleers involved in trade have been offered a dedicated sub-system channel to discuss all matters related to New Eden�s markets.

The channel, named "SCC-Lounge", was created by Caleb Ayrania. He revealed what goes on inside the channel: �A lot of rather serious talks about New Eden�s market often go on, and we do try to offer a lot of help to upcoming merchants when they decide to try their legs in �the seas of maritime� trading.�

Caleb also told of his future plans for the channel, indicating that he wants to make it an "actual physical location within New Eden", enabling "capsuleers to come and hang and talk market business".

Chevalleis, a regular visitor to the channel, described a friendly atmosphere within: �There are a lot of other traders here, and we can exchange ideas... it's useful to hear older opinions.�

Incursions Offer Lucrative Salvaging Opportunities

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-18T10:46+00:00

The recent Sansha Incursions around New Eden have been met by overwhelming capsuleer fleets. The corollary to such large fleet engagements is the occasional loss of ships, this has given rise to 3rd party looting and salvage operations.

One of these pilots, who prefers to remain anonymous, was observed during the battle of Altrinur. When speaking to him, he was very confident that given proper piloting skills, �correctly manoeuvring [through a large fleet battle] is not dangerous at all".

He went on to reveal that he believed there was the possibility of retribution and war declarations, "but the fun and the income is worth it". He was reluctant to provide further information, fearful that should others "learn about [this], the harder it will be to earn a good buck".

Deterro, a pilot who has actively fought in multiple Incursions, revealed his "disgust" for pilots who would rather focus on profiting than actually helping out: "My stance against looting, or salvaging if you prefer, is that it should not be practised unless the loot is to be returned for no cost to the victim-pilot, should he be a member of the fleet.�

Salvage and loot income may be lucrative, however it may be so only because many pilots find the act deplorable. These Incursion fighting organisations already operate a group insurance plan to help defray the cost to pilots who lose ships. Some capsuleers believe it may be only a matter of time until they begin to deal with these salvagers as well.

Mystery Solved as Sansha's Nation Emerge from Wormhole

ISD Tedra Kerrigan — 2011-07-18T10:06+00:00

Hebisa, Metropolis - The mysterious wormhole in Hebisa has been closed by a Sansha's Nation Chimera.

After several hours of battering away at the wormhole with ECM and drones, capsuleers were taken by complete surprise when a small fleet of frigates belonging to Sansha's Nation emerged.

Reacting to the sudden threat, they fought back the first wave which was left stranded as the mysterious wormhole closed behind them.

Moments later, two more wormholes spawned on the spot, releasing first a lone frigate and then a small fleet of Tegmentum-class battleships.

The few capsuleers who had stuck out the boredom of watching a non-responsive wormhole were badly outmatched as Sansha's forces attacked them.

Soon more capsuleers, both loyalist and anti-Sansha arrived. Victory for the Sansha forces seemed assured when, without warning, the battleship fleet and its supporting frigates suddenly disappeared back into the wormholes.

Moments later, yet another wormhole spawned, spewing a lone Chimera-class supercarrier piloted by Slave Gelhan01. The capsuleers responded immediately, the fleet growing very quickly as capsuleers who had been en-route since the beginning of the battle finally arrived.

The Chimera was destroyed, but not before completing its apparent mission of closing the wormhole.

Mysterious Wormhole in Hebisa

ISD Tedra Kerrigan — 2011-07-17T19:33+00:00

A mysterious wormhole has been seen near the first acceleration gate of the Rogue Drone Infestiation Sprout in Hebisa.

The wormhole, which is similar in configuration to those used by Sansha's Nation in their incursions last year, appears stable yet cannot be jumped through from this end.

Capsuleers from all over New Eden have been attempting to close the wormhole by the use of ECM modules - a tactic proven effective aginst Sansha's Nation last year - for several hours, with little result.

While nothing has yet emerged, capsuleers have been recorded calling for reinforcements in case of an attack.

Morsus Mihi Changing Leadership and Direction

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-17T16:10+00:00

X-CFN6, Tribute - It appears that Morsus Mihi [RAWR] is currently undergoing drastic internal restructuring, with long-term alliance leader, Vuk Lau, facing calls for new leadership for the alliance's "lack of direction."

Morsus Mihi, once a cornerstone alliance of the Northern Coalition, saw its territory much reduced and the coalition effectively eradicated by a sustained assault from the so-named "Drone Region Forces" earlier this year. Previous statements from Morsus Mihi's leadership have confirmed that the alliance will be moving to the Blood Raider territories in Delve and turning to a pure combat focus in the future. A source within the alliance claimed that the industrial corporations within the alliance are �really not happy with the direction" they are taking.

Imperian, a leading FC in Morsus Mihi has said that FCs are now taking the lead role in the alliance leadership: �Vuk Lau stepped back and I am giving out the direction the alliance will go, together with a few other military personnel... I'd call it trimming the fat.�

A communiqu�, allegedly leaked from Morsus Mihi's internal communications network, includes questions from alliance members asking if they can "vote for a new more active leadership?� Vuk Lau responded: �No, but yeah RAWR will be lead in upcoming months by FCs with Imperian on the helm.� The internal communiqu� appearS to confirm the claims from the source within RAWR.

Vuk Lau denied any knowledge of the internal communiqu�. He did, however, go on to confirm that RAWR will not be assisting Razor Alliance in any evacuation or defence operations and also that upon relocation to Delve, RAWR may consider engaging in hostile combat with Test Alliance Please Ignore.

Neterti Axexut, diplomat for Drone Region Forces [DRF], recited their opinion of RAWR based on their own intelligence: �From what we have heard, there are a number of problems within leadership now - from residual issues about the prosecution of the last war to plans for their future.

�There was the Morsus Mihi leadership of old which were top notch and very focused. Then, due to a number of reasons, that leadership and natural aging, that leadership proved much less effective and their focus changed away from the things that made them effective earlier.�

As this article went to press, Imperian had left RAWR and joined Pandemic Legion, another indication that the alliance may be suffering with internal leadership problems.

GalNet References

Morsus Mihi - Evelopedia Entry
Morsus Mihi Reset Standings - 09.06.113

Share Your EVE is Real Content

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-15T20:42+00:00

We wanted to update you on the EVE museum piece, the Visualizer: we're just about ready to go for the early part of next week and wanted to provide links so you can start pre-loading your favorite stuff. As these memories/propaganda posters/epic videos are posted they go into a moderation queue, and we'll pop them over into the live Visualizer site for launch early in the week. The site itself is eveisreal.net, a temporary space to just make this project happen. We will move it over into EVE domains at some point in the future.

All that said, this is a pretty unique thing that we hope you'll contribute too. We have the Aurum rewards for the whole community and the image and video contests as incentives, but we'd really hope the project itself is just cool enough on its own merits to unlock some gems of EVE player creations.

The links below will allow you to enter your favorite images or videos a bit ahead of the crowd:

Image upload
- http://beta.eveisreal.net/fragments/image-contest/upload
video upload
- http://beta.eveisreal.net/fragments/video-contest/upload

More information about this can be found here.

Interview with EVE Online Lead Designers @MMORPG

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-15T18:35+00:00

In this written interview with MMORPG's Garrett Fuller, CCP Soundwave talks about EVE Online, the EVE Online: Incarna launch, and the extraordinary CSM summit held in Reykjavik recently.

EVE Online downtime on Friday, July 15, 2011

CCP Navigator — 2011-07-15T16:07+00:00

Tranquility experienced an unexpected downtime this afternoon at 15:45 UTC due to a database issue. We are in the process of rebooting the server and we expect to be online at 16:15 UTC

Update. The downtime has been extended to 16:30 UTC due to start up issues.

Extended downtime on Friday, July 15

CCP Spitfire — 2011-07-15T10:36+00:00

Tranquility will have an extended downtime on Friday, July 15 while we perform some work on the SQL server cluster. Tranquility will be offline from 11:00 UTC to 12:00 UTC.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Sansha Forces Attacking Altrinur

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-12T20:41+00:00

BREAKING NEWS � Sansha Nation vessels under the command of Slave Ation09 are currently attempting to invade the system of Altrinur.

At approximately 19:15 New Eden time, Slave Ation09, piloting a Revenant Nation super carrier, invaded the solar system with a fleet of supporting Sansha Nation battleships and cruisers.

At 20:00 in New Eden, a fleet of over 40 capsuleers warped to the hostile vessels and engaged the Sansha forces.

More than 100 capsuleers and rising from across New Eden are forming up in fleets in an attempt to destroy the hostile Sansha forces. Slave Ation09 mocked the capsuleers as they arrived in the system: �It's going to take more than a fleet of half a dozen pods to challenge me.�

Capsuleer Ammzi, who is currently fighting the Sansha forces in Altrinur seems upbeat about their chances of victory: �We have gained experience from previous attempts, we will do our best��

At the time of publishing the battle is still ongoing.

Capsuleers have Short Stories Published

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-12T11:03+00:00

Brapelille, Sinq Laison � Forty capsuleers that entered a fiction writing competition hosted by Max Torps have since had their stories published for all of New Eden to read.

The competition asked capsuleers to look at a provided image from New Eden and write a short story on how they interpreted the picture.

Max Torps explained why he organised the competition: �I'd seen some competitions before but felt that they focused more on capsuleer thoughts, opinions and feelings. I wanted to see another aspect to their creativity, their fiction writing.�

Max also revealed his delight at the number of entries he received: �What really made it take off was when it was announced on the New Eden News Network... 117 capsuleers took the time to sit down and write a story based on one image. I felt rather humbled but also very excited. It also made me determined to see the project through. I spent days reading each entry, many of them I read more than once!�

With permission granted from 40 authors to use their story, he is seeking permission from the remainding 77 as he believes that "it's only fair to allow those that have been out of touch a chance to be published too�.

Arcana Mortis, author of "Inspiration Strikes", one of the 40 so far published, expressed her delight at having the piece published: �It's pretty awesome, if I'd known that was going to happen I probably would have written something better though!�

Kail Toronus, author of "Inner Thoughts of a Vanquished Soul", another of the 40, revealed the need to submit his story: �I just love to write, I've been writing fiction stories for a long time now. So, when I saw the competition I knew I wanted to submit something.�

The winners of the competition were:

1st prize of 100 million ISK and 2 PLEX - Ichikhan for his story "On Rails of Golden Fire".
2nd prize of 75 million ISK and 1 PLEX - Lady Ariona for her story "Freedom and Slavery".
3rd prize of 50 million ISK and 1 PLEX - Neologia for her story "Concientious Objector".

On the back of the success, Max Torps also wished to announce that a similar competition will be revealed in the coming weeks, with the winner receiving two Pilot Licence Extensions, and one for each capsuleer who wins 2nd 3rd and 4th places.

GalNet References

Original competition
Stories published so far

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.2 deployment postponed

CCP Spitfire — 2011-07-12T10:13+00:00

Due to technical reasons the deployment of EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.2 patch has been postponed. We will announce the new date for patch deployment in due course.

Thank you for your understanding.

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.2 will be deployed this Tuesday, July 12

CCP Navigator — 2011-07-11T16:04+00:00

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.2 will be deployed during an extended downtime this Tuesday, July 12. The downtime will begin at 11:00 UTC and we expect it to be completed at 14:30 UTC. The Incarna 1.0.2 patch focuses on fixing issues introduced with Incarna 1.0.

Caldari scientist's defection causes stir amongst sections of capsuleer community.

CCP Dropbear — 2011-07-11T16:00+00:00

ERAM - The defection of Zainou scientist Hilen Tukoss has provoked calls for sanctions against his new employer Eifyr & Co. in addition to the offer of a 750m ISK bounty for his assassination.

Only a day after giving his interview to The Scope, former Zainou employee Hilen Tukoss issued a communication to the Intergalactic Summit. Titled Arek'Jaalan, the release notified the capsuleer community of his intent to establish two communications networks:

"I'd like to establish a series of communication networks to enable a greater flow of information between various capsuleer individuals and organizations. This network serves the specific purpose of unifying capsuleers with an interest in researching and discussing Sleeper technology and history, Talocan technology and history, Wormhole Space exploration and archiving, as well as any matters that relate to those."

For his actions so far, including this latest offer, Tukoss has been met with some strong responses from the small subset of the capsuleer community that frequents the Summit. Despite the well-wishers and offers of support, Tukoss' release was quickly followed up by two others of a decidedly more antagonistic nature.

Lai Dai partner Lai Dai Infinity Systems (LDIS) issued a call for capsuleer sanctions against Eifyr & Co. products. Although this cause is unlikely to garner widespread support without increased publicity and pressure, the communication is understood to have rattled some Eifyr & Co. employees and investors nonetheless.

"A widespread capsuleer boycott on Eifyr & Co. products is the absolute nightmare scenario. Eifyr depends to a significant extent on capsuleer income to sustain their other projects," said a senior consultant with Irukemi Financing, a hedge fund that specializes in biotech products across the empires.

In addition to calling for a boycott of Eifyr & Co. products, LDIS CEO Dex Nederland also advised against participation in the Arek'Jaalan project.

"All State loyal corporations and capsuleers should minimize their trade in and use of Eifyr and Co. products and avoid supporting the Arek'Jaalan project."

Despite these actions, LDIS has not yet promoted the idea that capsuleers should actively work against Tukoss or his followers, although their press release arguably set the stage for more violent condemnations.

In another conversation on the Intergalactic Summit, capsuleer Vikarion of the State Trade Consortium offered a 750m ISK bounty for the permanent death of Tukoss, and double that for his successful capture and return to Ishukone for trial under State and Corporate laws. Vikarion offered the following rationale in the same communication:

"Hilen Tukoss-hnolku had many options besides treason. He could have moved to another corporation. He might have appealed to higher authorities. He could have asked any Caldari loyalist for employment or funding. I personally would have been happy to contribute billions towards pure research, which is what he claims to want. And yet, he chose instead to spit in the face of his country and aid its enemies."

Both the LDIS boycott and bounty contracts are expected to reach limited numbers of capsuleers, but that has done little to assuage the fears of some.

"So far, Tukoss has probably only reached a few hundred capsuleers at most," said one participant in the Arek'Jaalan project, "with even less actually getting directly involved in the sharing of research and information. He will have to raise that number significantly if he really wants to affect the sort of changes he speaks about. At this early stage, any kind of well-organized resistance could slow that task down considerably, or even kill interest in it entirely."

Given his recent actions it would appear that Tukoss is trying to build a capsuleer coalition; an understandable goal for someone who has made as many enemies as he has. Yet in addition to that overarching problem, it seems Tukoss now must also fight for attention and goodwill in the few public arenas open to him, such as the Intergalactic Summit.

If the varied, and at times violent, capsuleer reactions are any indication then the honeymoon of positive attention and PR for Eifyr & Co. is waning, and the reality of increased tensions is making itself hard to ignore.

Fantastic Frigfry Friday Fun

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-09T03:52+00:00

Amamake, Heimatar - A monthly event has been created that sees capsuleers fight each other for fun in frigates.

The event, which is also known as "Frigfry Fridays", will be held on the first friday of each month in the Amamake system. Jude Lloyd, event organiser, explains why he has picked frigates to be the chosen vessel: “I see an under-appreciation for frigates, I love frigate warfare and I knew it was simple enough that people might actually participate.”

Jude confessed to being pleased after the first event that was held last week, saying it "went well". He also added that as well as "solo pilots" turning up there were "even a few gangs".

MrWhitei God, a pilot who was present last week, appears to have enjoyed the break from his duties: "As a Heretic Army member we take living in Amamake very seriously. So to take some time off... to battle in frigate class ships is a change."

Jude Lloyd concluded that the event would continue as long as capsuleer participation remained.

GalNet References

Frigfry Friday

Scope Feature Article: Interview with Hilen Tukoss

CCP Dropbear — 2011-07-09T03:27+00:00

ERAM - As reported in an earlier article, the Caldari scientist Hilen Tukoss appeared to have defected to the Minmatar Republic along with hundreds of his research staff. Speculation about his intentions was put to an end a short while ago, when Tukoss formally joined with Eifyr & Co. He spoke with The Scope only a few hours before joining Eifyr to explain why he had left the Caldari State.

Feature article by Juralen Kaala

It's after 9pm when I arrive at my destination in Metropolis. I'm surprised to have found a direct shuttle out to Eram so late, but the captain tells me all of the crews with Eifyr & Co. docking licenses are pulling extra hours. Business has picked up, he says.

This would be because only a short while ago, one of Zainou's scientists, a man by the name of Hilen Tukoss, decided to load up a Charon freighter with a lifetime's worth of research and disappear to the other side of the State-Republic border with it. Tukoss' freighter (he calls it the Arek'jaalan) had more than just scientific documents and materials, however. Also aboard was his entire research team.

This much The Scope has learned from other reports, and although they remain unconfirmed, I quickly learn that the rumors are true when I arrive at his personal quarters.

Inside I am met by Tukoss and at least ten other people; a Deteis, some Civire and Achura. They smile as I enter, but then quickly return to the work laid out before them on dozens of monitors that fill the room. Each screen shows the view of a Charon from a different angle.

Without a word, Tukoss walks me past the monitors to the hangar balcony. Staring out I can start to see the whole picture. A Charon is being slowly and carefully gutted, and then rebuilt from the inside out. Hundreds of people are crawling over the hull like insects as they weave in and out of view. Working calmly and yet with a great sense of purpose, I can see them directing teams of M-TACs, and overseeing countless nanoassembly arrays as they tear something down, or build something new.

One might expect to see a Zainou scientist installing research facilities and reconfiguring the majestic grey expanse before me into some kind of scientific forward operating base. I certainly expect to see as much.

Instead, however, I see a lake being slowly filled with water. Soil and plants being laid. Homes, distinctly Caldari, slowly taking form in a ring around the water. It all looks like a small Caldari suburb, except it's inside a Charon.

Not a word has been said, but Tukoss seems to have already answered a few of the lingering questions. He's come here with others, clearly, and from the way they are building homes as if they have been planning it all their lives, they intend to stay.

Walking back into the quarters, we take a seat to begin the interview. Tukoss speaks freely the whole time, despite any number of individuals coming and going through the area. It seems anything Tukoss has to say to me, he is comfortable sharing with whoever else has chosen to follow him. Perhaps it is an intentional divorce from the management style he left behind, but then, there are more important questions to ask. I begin with the obvious.

Why did he leave?

"I came here due to a disagreement," Tukoss begins to explain. "Zainou's research efforts in certain areas have become exclusively focused on applied science."

I ask Tukoss why he has such a disregard for applied science. I can tell from the way everyone present in the room turns to watch for his answer that it's one of those questions you never ask the boss, if Tukoss can even be called that.

"Because it's a meaningless term. To understand why, you have to take a wider perspective. Applied science? All science can be applied, eventually."

More important, he adds, is that the increasing focus on "commodification and weaponization" constitutes a threat to "the sense of discovery that lies at the core of science."

Reluctant to focus on anything specific in his railings against a vaguely-defined "scientific community," Tukoss almost seems unsure himself why he came here, or at least unwilling to revisit the issue. Perhaps he is just waiting for the right tactical moment to spill the sordid details, but from the way the subject strains the atmosphere, it feels closer to a victim's reluctance to revisit the trauma.

It is hard to tell exactly where the Deteis scientist is going. Perhaps he is even playing it all as it comes, but then his next steps seem as carefully organized as the procession of scientists behind us.

"First, we have to lay foundations," he says, gesturing back over to the Charon. "Then we have to reach out to the capsuleer community.

"What I see, in my research, is a conspiracy of apathy towards true investigative science. When it comes to the study of wormhole space, the capsuleers are the only ones really achieving anything."

So this is about wormhole space and the Sleepers? The Deteis just nods this time. I leave him plenty of room to add to the answer, but he won't be drawn.

We move on to Eifyr & Co. - the Krusual-backed biotech company that invites just as much speculation and rumor as its Caldari counterpart. Tukoss' choice to leave one infamous workplace for another suggests that he still intends to continue research at the cutting edge.

"Eifyr has long held my respect," Tukoss admits. "Their approach to research is very different to ours. The best way I've heard it put to me is that they'll find answers first, and then start looking - very broadly - for problems they can fix with them. So they might say, for example: We think this material has many valuable properties, so we intend to research it. When they discover something new about it, they will then start thinking about what applications it could have, if any, and then return to discover anything else they can. It's a wholly different approach.

"It's kind of like that old stereotype about Minmatar ships being held together by duct tape. There's a kernel of truth to every stereotype, and here it would be that Minmatar scientists and engineers are very good at finding a hundred uses for the same thing. So for them, applied science is less important. They can often get more out of one discovery than we can get out of a dozen."

Effusive in his praise for his new hosts, it's hard not to notice the similarities between Tukoss' enthusiasm and that of Minmatar refugees beginning their new life in the Federation and Republic. He gives the impression of someone who has come home, a scientist who has been set free. When he talks about the past, it's mostly in the context of how much better he thinks the future can be.

Our time is running low, so before things end I decide to let him know what's coming with that capsuleer outreach idea of his. They are going to want to know more, I explain; about his research, about his old life in the State, and about the Sleepers. Is he ready to open those floodgates?

"I doubt anyone could be," he says. "I suspect though, that I will lean more on them than the other way around. As for the questions they'll ask, it's a difficult situation at times, yes. What do you say when a known Sansha loyalist asks about your research? If you turn him away, how do you know he won't just send someone less obvious to get the information? Trust in the capsuleer world is a dangerous thing, but also essential."

With that, Tukoss rises, extending his hand. "More work remains," he offers apologetically. On our way out, he stops me at the door, and takes his turn to ask a question, but this one is obviously rhetorical.

"Do you know what our problem is? We can measure success and failure, but we can never measure lost opportunity."

Tukoss offers a genuine smile as the door closes between us. I make my way back into the station lobby, past the throng of reporters, hecklers and well-wishers, and back on to one of the many shuttles that brought them here.

Modelling Contest Winner Announced

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-07T21:41+00:00

YFN-UN, Syndicate � The winner of season II of the Sami Sabik Modelling Contest has been announced as Nausea, member of Veto Corp.

On being victor, Nausea said: �It still takes a little getting used to, that I managed to take the crown in the end, but it feels amazing and strangely satisfying.� Fame has come with a price as Nausea conceded that there have already been a few capsuleers eyeing up her title "with a hungry gleam�.

Revan Neferis, organiser of the series, expressed her feelings at how season II had concluded: "It outmatched season I tenfold in matters of challenges, prizes and show. It was so far one of my best events.�

Revan confessed that there would be a season III in the near future. Even though a date is yet to be decided for it, she said it will "come sooner if the capsuleer interest continues to be as it is�.

GalNet References

Finalists announced
Winner announcement

EVE is Real

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-07T16:04+00:00

Almost everyone who has played EVE Online has a story, a story that weaves itself into the fabric of our lives and makes EVE real to everyone who experiences it. EVE is more than a game. Join us as we begin to share stories with one another. Read our latest blog about how you can and why you should participate, and then whet your appetite with your new "I Was There" trailer. This is a true story. What's yours?

CCP and Nexon Announce Strategic Partnership for EVE Online in Japan

CCP Manifest — 2011-07-07T15:21+00:00

CCP and Nexon Co., Ltd. today announced an agreement to bring a fully localized game client and product services for CCP’s award winning science fiction virtual world experience, EVE Online, to Japan this fall. Read more about it in this press release.

Caldari scientist defects to the Republic.

CCP Dropbear — 2011-07-07T04:05+00:00

ERAM - The Scope is receiving reports that Zainou Biotech scientist Hilen Tukoss has fled his home station in Otosela and defected to the Minmatar Republic alongside almost two hundred and fifty other research staff.

Although these reports remain unconfirmed, locator agents place Tukoss in Eram, Metropolis, at the Eifyr & Co. Biotech production plant. Both Tukoss and Eifyr & Co. representatives have refused invitations from Scope reporters to comment on the rising speculation.

On condition of anonymity, a civilian trader who works in the area reported seeing a large fleet of capsuleers escorting a freighter through Uemon, followed by a "heated exchange" over local comms between members of the capsuleer fleet and a member of Ishukone Watch.

This information corroborates another anonymous report, this time from a Republic customs official, who claimed to have scanned a freighter arriving in the system of Eram with almost 250 Caldari civilians aboard.

Ishukone has issued a press release which summarily refuses to discuss matters of internal corporate security, a policy the company has maintained throughout the last several dozen years.

Little is known about the research agenda of Hilen Tukoss, Program Director of the Otosela Neuropsychology Center. The nature of his work, as with much of Zainou's top research projects, remains a tightly guarded secret.

Buddy Program Update: PLEX Reward Ending July 7

CCP Fallout — 2011-07-06T14:56+00:00

The PLEX reward option for the Buddy Program will be going on temporary hiatus as of July 7, 2011. This means no new PLEX based invites can be sent after that date. This is a planned part of the experiment to measure the effects of the program on the PLEX market and to find new ways in which we can evolve the Buddy Program for our players. The program looks to be very successful initially and will likely return within a few months.

Players can still send Buddy invites normally after July 7, but the only reward option will be 30 days of game time; as before.

For more information about this change, please see this thread.

CCP and CSM joint press conference held on Tuesday, July 5

CCP Navigator — 2011-07-06T14:42+00:00

MMORPG has published an article detailing the recent press conference held by EVE Online Senior Producer, CCP Zulu, and Council of Stellar Management Chairman, The Mittani. Details of the conference can be seen by clicking here.

EVE University Celebrates 2000 Members

ISD Stephan Lau — 2011-07-05T20:52+00:00

Aldrat, Metropolis - EVE University celebrates reaching 2000 members.

Zeroniss, Media Manager for EVE University, was very pleased that such a high number of members had been recruited, but emphasised that it was business as usual: "Realistically it's quite a big thing, but no more daunting than say, last week when we had 1900 members."

Zeroniss believes EVE University to be "one of the few corporations in New Eden that while exploring a wide variety of content, is still very friendly and welcoming for new capsuleers". She added that the membership landmark also emphasises the "need for an expanding infrastructure" as more pilots require "more resources, more teachers and more staff".

Chrysler Cruiser, a new member, told how for him the University is "a good experience".

To celebrate the 2000th member joining the corporation, EVE University will be allowing students to open up a question and answer session with University staff, concluding with a "student Vs staff" combat session.

GalNet References

EVE University members list

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.1 client update #3 to be deployed on July, 5, 2011

CCP Navigator — 2011-07-04T16:53+00:00

EVE Online: Incarna 1.0.1 client update #3 will be released during downtime on Tuesday, July 5. This update fixes issues with support for ATI Crossfire GPU configurations and simulated cloth in Captains Quarters. A complete list of the patch notes can be found here.

Results of CCP and CSM Summit

CCP Navigator — 2011-07-02T16:39+00:00

An extraordinary meeting was held last Thursday and Friday in Reykjavik to address player concerns regarding recent events involving CCP and EVE Online. Click here for a full report.