Hands-on: EVE Online

Earlier today, Crowd Control Productions announced that its massively multiplayer game, EVE Online: The Second Genesis, has gone gold--development is continuing on the server side, but a finalized version of the client software has been sent off for duplication in advance of the game's planned release on May 6. The servers for the beta test remained operational today, and we tried out the latest version of the game to see what changes have been made in the last few weeks.

EVE's world is huge--there are thousands of star systems to explore and tens of thousands of space stations and bases scattered throughout those areas. Because only a fraction of that vast number of areas is currently inhabited by players, outer space in the world of EVE feels markedly empty at this early stage. There were 3,000 to 4,000 players logged in during our recent play sessions, and even cruising around the newbie areas, we found that many stations and asteroid belts showed little sign of player activity.

One of the changes we noticed is that the new player tutorial has been beefed up and expanded a great deal since our last play session. EVE offers some basic tips for cruising around the universe, as well as a number of lessons on how to manage the many options available while inside of the space stations. You will be able to learn how to transfer cargo from ships to your hangar space, refine mined ore from asteroids into valuable minerals, and use the game's marketplace to buy and sell commodities. The tutorial also introduces you to one of the game's nonplayer character (NPC) agents, who offer more tutorial missions for you to learn the basics. Four tutorial missions are offered currently, ranging from simple courier missions to mining operations to a search-and-destroy mission. Once the tutorials are finished, the game introduces you to another NPC agent, who offers more difficult and lucrative missions for those who aren't quite ready to freelance.

Another change we noticed is that the prices of lower-level frigates have been reduced, making it a lot faster and easier for rookie pilots to get a better ship and accumulate wealth. With the money earned from the tutorial missions, new players won't be stuck for long with the boring task of mining asteroids before they can afford a higher-level ship, opening up more gameplay possibilities.

EVE's community of players remains friendly and helpful. Many veteran players are present on the chat channels, offering useful advice to new players who feel a little lost in EVE's vast world. Players from the same corporation are able to communicate with one another using the game's in-game chat, even if they aren't in the same immediate area. The chat interface also includes a tab to make it easy to chat only with players in the vicinity.

With that said, EVE still has a number of hurdles to overcome in order to have a smooth launch in early May. Though noticeably less severe than before, some problems still exist with EVE's stability, and the game crashed a couple of times while we attempted to dock with a station. Players also had a difficult time navigating this morning, as the onscreen icons representing distant jumpgates and space stations did not appear. After some helpful advice from fellow players, we were able to get around the universe using the ship's scanner functions to pick out destinations. It's also worth noting that some features are still absent, such as computer-generated missions at the space stations (aside from those assigned by NPC agents) and the ability to use the game's jukebox to play MP3s. Also, the in-game browser, meant to allow you to browse Web sites of player-created corporations, still only displays simple text.

As it stands, EVE Online is arguably the most graphically impressive massively multiplayer game on the market. It also offers an impressive array of gameplay options for players. However, the developers at CCP still need to address the game's last remaining technical issues in order to ensure a smooth launch--scheduled for just two short weeks away.