EVE Online: Rubicon Features New Ships, Deployable Structures and More

Tonight on a Twitch livestream, CCP Games announced EVE Online‘s 20th free expansion, Rubicon, due to go live on 19th November 2013.

The presentation was hosted by Community Developer CCP Guard and featured an overview discussion with Senior Producer Andie ‘CCP Seagull’ Nordgren and some specific details from designers CCP Rise and CCP Fozzie.

During the announcement, the EVE Online: Rubicon site went live and provides some highlights of what the expansion will include. The theme behind Rubicon is as follows:

The immortal pilots of New Eden have begun openly defying the Empires. It is a step irrevocable, fraught with dire consequences, yet imperative, as it sets in motion the beginning of their journey toward autonomy, control and a new age of the capsuleer.

Highlights include:

• Deployable Mobile Structures (see below for screenshots and details)
• New ‘Sisters of EVE’ faction ships (see below for frigate & cruiser screenshots)
• Ship rebalancing including transforming Marauder ‘Bastion’ mode battleships
• Player control of hi-security customs offices
• Interbus Ship Identification System (a clear progression-based tech tree)

The stream itself featured numerous work in progress art shots and some discussion which I have included below.

CCP Guard presents the announcement of EVE’s 20th expansion…

  He is joined by EVE Online Senior Producer CCP Seagull… 

CCP Seagull talks about the roadmap for EVE with a view to the next “three or four expansions” with a view to giving them “an unprecedented level of control of the universe.”

 CCP Seagull: “What would happen if capsuleers were not bound to the known universe.”

CCP Seagull: “Neither players nor capsuleers will be able to predict where this is going.”

CCP Rise and CCP Fozzie join CCP Guard…

Four deployable structures will be released, separate from starbases, in the first steps toward new non-legacy structures. These structures will be affordable and mobile.

Siphon Unit

The siphon unit will act as a resource leech to be positioned outside an enemy starbase shield. It will then steal resources from active harvesting processes such as reactions or moon mining arrays. They will be destroyable and the stolen goods recoverable, but require active player intervention.

Depot

This structure will be a mobile home base which can function as a storage unit and provide a fitting service. This will no doubt be a useful device for wormholes and mission-runners.

Also discussed but not pictured were a “deployable automatic tractor beam and looting device” to assist the professional site/mission-runner and a “deployable temporary short range cyno jammer” with an effective range of somewhere between “100 to 70 km.”

CCP Fozzie also explained that warp speed mechanics were being revisited. The warp speed will now affect acceleration and deceleration of ships as well as the top speed, significantly influencing time to warp.

A variety of Tech II ships will be rebalanced for Rubicon.

Marauders

The Tech II Marauder-class battleships, specialists in PvE sites, will now have the ability to deploy into “bastion” mode, immobilising them, but giving them e-war immunity and a huge boost to defences.

They will animate, with several aspects of the ship “transforming”. The front topside panels of the Kronos pictured above can be seen lifting with underlighting visible beneath.

When not in Bastion mode, Marauders will enjoy a reduced jump drive timer, enabling them to operate a Micro Jump Drive practically once per minute.

Interceptors

The Tech II Interceptor frigate class will be granted warp interdictor bubble immunity to promote their ability to scout and tackle unhindered.

Their hitpoints will be reduced slightly and they will not be receiving any combat buffs as they are intended to be highly mobile for scouting, tackling etc.

CCP Rise commented that this means Interceptor “wolfpacks will mean a completely different thing now, you can just burn through.”

Interdictors

These were mentioned but little detail regarding specific revisions was covered. CCP Fozzie indicated that they would be a big beneficiary of the warp speed changes and that there would be “more to come.”

CCP Rise added that the art for interdictor bubbles is being reworked.

Electronic Attack Ships

CCP Rise explained that these were relatively unloved because “capacitor recharge and lock time made them difficult to use” so this would be addressed and that he would be doubling the range on secondary e-war effects, bringing them closer to Recon-class ships in capability.

CCP Guard commented that they would become “supertacklers.”

New Missile Launcher

These new ships will be made available and will fit the Amarr/Gallente faction model, meaning that they will have Amarr resistance profiles but Gallente drone capabilities.

They will be central to the exploration theme and will be designed for that purpose.They will be able to fit CovOps cloaking devices.

Certificate System Revision

The existing certificate system is being replaced with a more streamlined, intuitive and user-friendly system as depicted below.

There will be a new “mastery” concept making skill-based goals clearer.

Interbus Ship Identification System

A skill and ship based technology tree will clearly display character ability and piloting ability through a new system as depicted below.

Character selection process revisions were also mentioned but details were vague.

The final announcement was that Twitch streaming services are being integrated into the EVE client to better enable EVE’s growing army of streamers to deliver content.