EVE Online: Odyssey Preview Part One – Surfing the ‘Spacescape’

There is less than a week to go before the launch of EVE Online‘s 19th free expansion, Odyssey, which is set for launch on 4th June 2013.

The expansion is a significant milestone for CCP Games in a number of ways; not only is Odyssey the first release in EVE Online‘s second decade of its persistent single-sharded existence, it is also the herald of a new developmental era in which CCP say we will see grander, more ambitious themed changes than the previous era of glorified patches and fixes.

New information has materialised on the official Odyssey expansion page which answers a few of the questions raised by the earlier, detail-lite edition. I’ve pored over the new info and the associated devblogs, as well as spending a little time on Singularity – the public test server running the Odyssey expansion (although not necessarily the final version).

Here are some of the highlights and my reflections:

The New “Spacescape”

If you were hoping for new regions of space, you’ll be disappointed. The newness promised here is actually found in the numbers behind resources and will not be immediately evident by simply viewing the environment.

It’s not all that glamorous, but – as with many things in EVE – seemingly inconsequential tweaking and rebalancing can often cause sweeping, fundamental changes to the social landscape. Changing the value and location of space rocks is important; as rebalancing specialist CCP Fozzie says:

“Mining is perhaps the most iconic economic activity in EVE. It symbolizes the ideal of our perpetual machine principle of game design, that destruction should always provide opportunities for creation, and creation opportunities for destruction.”

In a pair of devblogs, he explains how the careful redistribution of harvestable resources will encourage a shift in player behaviour. He hopes that miners will be increasingly welcomed into the ranks of combat-focused null-sec organisations and that previously undesirable areas of New Eden will become hotbeds of mining activity.

Another interesting change which might have broad social and behavioural ramifications is the introduction of a new system allowing the criminally-minded the means to repair their security status and re-enter high-security space once again. This should generate some heated opinions on the forums.

Next: Exploration Rebooted?

EVE Online: Odyssey Expansion Preview

• Part One – Surfing the ‘Spacescape’
• Part Two – Exploration Rebooted?
• Part Three – Polish, Tweaks and Balances
• Part Four – Conclusions