When the American mission in Benghazi was attacked on Sept. 11, 2012, Steve Smith, one of those who would die, was in the Tactical Operations Center playing an interactive internet game called EVE - a futuristic science fictional role playing game that includes pirate space ships, mineral exploiting colonial empires, revolutions and high intensity graphics.
In GQ maggazine, Sean Flynn wrote "….As dusk fell over the American mission in Benghazi Netherlands Benghazi
He probably meant one of the Libyans patrolling the
perimeter. But there were nine other guards in the compound—five armed
Americans and four Libyans from the 17th of February Martyrs Brigade, the same
militia that had helped protect Stevens when he was stationed inBenghazi the
first time.
Almost two hours later, at nine forty , vile_rat typed: "FUCK. gunfire." He
logged off.
According to senior State Department officials, the agent in
the tactical-operations center saw, on the screen monitoring the main gate,
armed men swarming in. There were too many to count. He punched the alarm,
grabbed the microphone for the loudspeakers. "Attack! Attack!" he
yelled….
By Sean Flynn GQDecember 2012
Sean Smith Eve Gamer
From the Eve Sci Fi Gamer Program:
The Paradox of Democracy
The Gallente Federation is one of the largest star empires
ever to be seen in the New Eden cluster, surpassed in volume only by the vast
realms of the Amarr Empire. Yet even though its many regions are patrolled by a
large and powerful navy, the Federation is governed by the consent of its
peoples. Remarkably, the Gallente and their partners in the Federation founded
and expanded their empire according to the principles of democracy.
Additionally, the Federation has done much to enhance the standard of life of
all the peoples living within its borders, including migrants and exiles from
other empires.
The Federation might seem to be the one pure beacon of
freedom and justice in New Eden. Yet its history is not without dark episodes.
Gallente Ultra-Nationalism seized power during the turbulent period leading up
to the Caldari-Gallente War and contributed significantly to the embittering
nature of that conflict. The Gallente government has sometimes displayed
authoritarian tendencies, suppressing independence movements and exiling
dissidents. Federation foreign policy is viewed with a jaded eye even by their
Minmatar allies. Amarr and Caldari opinions on Gallente interventionism are
rarely expressed in terms suitable for polite company. The vastness of the
Federation includes poverty, criminality and outright depravity in its sweep.
In the end though, it is a free society where success is conceivable for every
citizen.
The entire race remained enslaved until the historic battle
of Vak'Atioth, when an Amarr invasion fleet was defeated by the mysterious and
powerful Jove Empire. The shock of this defeat swept through the Amarr Empire
and served as a spur for the gathering forces of the Minmatar resistance.
Almost as one, the Minmatar rose against their masters in what would become
known as "the Great Rebellion". Still reeling from their defeat at
the hands of the Jove, the Amarr were unable to quell the rebellion and gave
ground before Minmatar strike forces that attacked them with near suicidal
fury. The outcome was the wholesale ejection of the Amarr occupation forces
from Minmatar space and the foundation of the Minmatar
Republic
Outlaws and Vigilantes
One of the undoubted scourges of New Eden is piracy, a
rapacious criminality that has been present in some form since humanity reached
out to the stars. At first, bad enough, the pirates were mere mortals who
preyed on other mortals. Now there are immortal pirates who devastate and loot
mortals and other immortals alike. Many capsuleer pilots take to piracy, either
as a means to gaining wealth or, more darkly, out of sheer enjoyment of the act
of preying on those weaker than they. Most capsuleer pirates focus on the most
lucrative targets: other capsuleers plying their way across the trade routes of
low-security space and the outer regions.
Pirates are in particular an ever-present danger in
low-security space, those half-abandoned and practically lawless systems that
lie between the core empires and the outer regions. Nominally subject to law,
low-security systems are guarded only by static sentry guns around stargates
and stations, with CONCORD peacekeeper fleets concentrating on maintaining
order in the more populated or important systems of the high-security zones. As
these systems cannot be directly controlled by the capsuleer alliances, it is
rare that even the brutal frontier justice of the outer regions is visited on
low-security space with any consistency. Therefore the pirates flourish.
However, the pirates are sometimes opposed by bounty hunters
and so-called "anti-pirate" corporations or coalitions. Some
capsuleers actively hunt pirates for possible profit, while others band
together to try and bring order to sections of low-security space. Even so, the
pirates are many and the most powerful outlaws can command capital ships
capable of destroying starbases and other infrastructure. Only the most
determined can hope to fight against these pirate lords but some rise to the
challenge.
EVE Online
CCP was founded in the summer of 1997 with the goal of
becoming a leading massively multiplayer game company.
With the launch of EVE Online in May 2003, CCP has established itself as one of
the leading companies in the field, winning numerous awards and receiving
critical acclaim worldwide.
CCP is dedicated to the development of cutting edge
massively multiplayer games. CCP is founded on the principle of pushing
the envelope and breaking
new grounds on all levels. CCP is not about making copycat products with
compromised quality. CCP is about making dreams become a reality.
Massively multiplayer games are virtual realities. They are about creating experiences unattainable in any other form of media. A virtual reality is about true human interaction and true human emotions in a living and evolving world. It is CCP's belief that massively multiplayer games are the biggest revolution in computer gaming history and CCP is dedicated to make the dream of a true virtual reality come into being.
CCP's mission is to attract and retain customers by providing top quality online entertainment. CCP does this by establishing and nurturing a trust relationship with customers both in terms of quality of content as well as quality of service.
CCP encourages respect, dialog, interaction and cooperation on a deeper level between its employees and customers than is common in online games. By this and through this CCP provides a unique way for improving the quality of its products and creates an inspiring and challenging environment for talent to thrive.
EVE Online is
set in space, in a far away future, in a world of unprecedented depth and
magnitude. Your aim is to establish yourself as a major mover and shaker,
trusted by your friends and respected by your enemies. Your means of accomplishing
this will lie in your business acumen, social skills, Machiavellian thinking
and cunning combat strategies. To back that up, you have access to an array of
sophisticated equipment, deadly weapons, state of the art spaceships and
connections to mega-corporations and crime syndicates.
EVE Online was
published in May 2003 and has been consistently growing since launch. EVE Online has won numerous awards and has
received critical
acclaim worldwide.
EVE Online is
in many ways different than other massively multiplayer games on
the market today. The setting is Science Fiction, whereas most current
offerings are Fantasy based. EVE does not employ sharding* or instancing** to
split content and resources between players. This means that all players can
interact with each other if they choose to do so. It also means that if you are
famous in EVE, you are known by the EVE community, not by the population of one
game server.
*sharding
The practice of creating separate copies of virtual worlds each of which can not interact with each other. Makers of virtual worlds often resort to sharding to reuse content or to increase scalability as each world is smaller and thus more manageable. EVE Online does neither.
The practice of creating separate copies of virtual worlds each of which can not interact with each other. Makers of virtual worlds often resort to sharding to reuse content or to increase scalability as each world is smaller and thus more manageable. EVE Online does neither.
**instancing
Similar to sharding but deployed on smaller content segment, like a dungeon. Two different parties of players appear to enter the same dungeon but do not see each other, as they are in their own dungeon (instanced space) and cannot interact with the other party. Makers of virtual worlds often deploy instancing to manage access to popular content and limit crowding. EVE Online does neither.
Introducing Our Core Technology Platform: Carbon
The Carbon Framework is a crucial component of CCP's
strategy. It is the foundation upon which our virtual worlds are built.
The technology was initially created by harvesting code from
EVE Online, code that had already been hardened through years of development
and real world use. We call this Battle Testing. This code has then been
refined and extended to serve the needs of other CCP projects.
What is in the Carbon Framework?
The Trinity Graphics Engine renders the stunning
appearance of our virtual worlds. Since 2003, it has powered the graphics of
EVE Online, and during this time has been constantly improved to maintain its
position at the cutting edge of graphics technology.
Ambulation Technology builds on Trinity to provide full
body animation, avatar movement, real world interior and exterior spaces.
Carbon Cluster Technology is the Peak Concurrent User
record breaking cluster framework that out-scales all other MMOs in providing a
single player universe experience.
Carbon Database Technology is common data
structures, maintenance systems
and support applications for our virtual worlds.
Our Single Code Repository is a consolidated
development environment within which the source for each of our games resides.
All changes are integrated into a common code base, instantly making available
the benefits of improvements to Carbon technologies for developers at each of
our studios worldwide.
The Carbon Build System works with the Single Code
Repository to produce deployable versions of CCP virtual worlds in just hours
instead of days.
The Carbon Technical Art Pipeline converts
visually stunning artwork into detailed models and textures that can be
rendered by Trinity. This optimized process represents ten years of experience
for both in-house and outsourced art production.
Our Lightweight Authoring Tools provide CCP
outsourcing partners with the ability to view their work as it would be
rendered by the Trinity graphics engine, including lighting and special
effects. These tools vastly reduce the amount of time it takes to integrate
outsourced work into production builds.
Middleware components are carefully chosen and
integrated into our solutions library to complement CCP's proprietary technology.
You can read more about the Carbon framework and CCP's Core
Technology Group in this EVE Online dev blog post: Carbon and the
Core Technology Group.
The Carbon Framework is used by CCP to create virtual
worlds, and not intended or available for licensing.
Introducing New Eden
The world of EVE Online centers on a dense cluster of star
systems connected to one another by a vast network of stargates. These gates
allow for near instantaneous travel between linked star systems, of which there
are over 5,000 in the network. The core of this cluster, called New Eden by its
inhabitants, is controlled by four major empires that constantly vie with one
another.
These core powers are the Amarr Empire, Caldari
State Minmatar
Republic
Empire of Religion and Slaves
The Amarr Empire is a vast star empire that controls more
regions of the New Eden cluster than any of the other core empires. The Amarr
began aggressively expanding beyond the confines of their home star system over
2,000 years ago, conquering and enslaving several races in a crusade known as
the Reclaiming, before encountering the Gallente Federation and the Jove
Empire. A disastrous attempt to invade the Jove Empire triggered a rebellion by
Minmatar slaves, resulting in the formation of the Minmatar
Republic
The Amarr Empire, together with satellite states the
Ammatar Mandate and Khanid Kingdom Caldari
State
Megacorporations and Militarism
The Caldari State Caldari
State
The relatively small fleets of the Caldari
State
The Paradox of Democracy
The Gallente Federation is one of the largest star empires
ever to be seen in the New Eden cluster, surpassed in volume only by the vast
realms of the Amarr Empire. Yet even though its many regions are patrolled by a
large and powerful navy, the Federation is governed by the consent of its
peoples. Remarkably, the Gallente and their partners in the Federation founded
and expanded their empire according to the principles of democracy.
Additionally, the Federation has done much to enhance the standard of life of all
the peoples living within its borders, including migrants and exiles from other
empires.
The Federation might seem to be the one pure beacon of
freedom and justice in New Eden. Yet its history is not without dark episodes.
Gallente Ultra-Nationalism seized power during the turbulent period leading up
to the Caldari-Gallente War and contributed significantly to the embittering
nature of that conflict. The Gallente government has sometimes displayed
authoritarian tendencies, suppressing independence movements and exiling
dissidents. Federation foreign policy is viewed with a jaded eye even by their
Minmatar allies. Amarr and Caldari opinions on Gallente interventionism are
rarely expressed in terms suitable for polite company. The vastness of the
Federation includes poverty, criminality and outright depravity in its sweep.
In the end though, it is a free society where success is conceivable for every
citizen.
Tribalism and Liberty
The Minmatar Republic
The entire race remained enslaved until the historic battle
of Vak'Atioth, when an Amarr invasion fleet was defeated by the mysterious and
powerful Jove Empire. The shock of this defeat swept through the Amarr Empire
and served as a spur for the gathering forces of the Minmatar resistance. Almost
as one, the Minmatar rose against their masters in what would become known as
"the Great Rebellion". Still reeling from their defeat at the hands
of the Jove, the Amarr were unable to quell the rebellion and gave ground
before Minmatar strike forces that attacked them with near suicidal fury. The
outcome was the wholesale ejection of the Amarr occupation forces from Minmatar
space and the foundation of the Minmatar
Republic
The Social Universe
The EVE universe is inhabited by many peoples and diverse
personalities, the most varied of which are the capsule pilots in their
self-made societies. The core empires are controlled by powerful men and women,
sitting at the apex of corporate and government power structures. The destinies
of trillions living on the planets of the Amarr Empire, Caldari
State Minmatar
Republic
Capsuleer technology is in use
in all the empires and there are independent pilots from all the major races.
While some capsuleers choose to remain loyal to their home empires, many have
taken very different paths and operate beyond the core and often beyond the
law. Fame and fortune can be found as a loyalist, to be sure, but the most
notorious and well-known pilots are very often outer region warlords, pirates
or freedom fighters. Some capsuleers have even found fame with the extreme
opposite of loyalism, advocating anarchy and libertarian posthumanism. Yet
others have taken darker paths, supporting the outlaw cartels of the Angels,
Guristas and Serpentis. Even Sansha's Nation has its capsuleer adherents.
A Devout People
The undoubted rulers of the Amarr Empire are the True Amarr,
a race that rose to power over their home planet of Athra, known to the modern
world as Amarr Prime, through a religious crusade called "the
Reclaiming". In the course of the Athran Reclaiming, the True Amarr
conquered, enslaved and eventually absorbed the Udorian people. Additionally,
they gained a powerful subject people that became known as the Khanid, from the
Amarr for "little lords". While the Udorians were absorbed entirely
into the True Amarr culture, the Khanid retained their ethnic characteristics
and aspects of their own culture. Valued by the True Amarr as warriors, the
Khanid came to occupy a relatively high status within Amarr society.
When the Amarr went into space and explored their home
system, they discovered a disabled stargate and were able to reverse-engineer
much technology from it. Once warp and jump technology were available, the
Amarr began to spread out from their home system and establish colonies around
nearby stars. Over several centuries, the Amarr spread across a vast domain,
sometimes encountering other races. Without exception, the fanatical Amarr
conquered and either enslaved or exterminated these races. Their Khanid
soldiers were always at the forefront of such invasions, such as the conquest
of Mishi IV, the home planet of the Ni-Kunni.
In the years following their
enslavement, many Ni-Kunni earned their freedom and their children were born as
free subjects of the Empire. The Amarr Empire's enslavement of the entire
Minmatar race provided an enormous influx of new slaves that accelerated the
emancipation of most Ni-Kunni. Today, almost all Ni-Kunni are free subjects. As
a result, Amarr capsuleers are drawn from three bloodlines constituting the
free peoples of the Empire: the True Amarr, Khanid and Ni-Kunni.
Servants of the State
The Caldari State
In general, the Deteis are considered by outsiders to
epitomize the Caldari qualities of efficiency and cunning, while the Civire are
regarded as tenacious and straightforward in their dealings. While there is a
certain amount of truth to these stereotypes, members of the two bloodlines are
far more concerned with their identities as defined by the State, their
megacorporation and their family than ethnic differences. This has meant that
the Achura have found little difficulty in adapting to the Caldari way of life,
as they are taken at face-value by other Caldari as citizens of the State.
The first after the mysterious Jove to make use of the
hydrostatic capsule, Caldari captains are prevalent throughout New Eden and
have traditionally made up the largest proportion of independent capsuleers.
The Caldari combination of militarism and capitalism has led to many of its
people adopting the life of the capsuleer. While some of these pilots choose to
serve the State as loyalist paramilitaries and militia pilots, many others go
into business for themselves, become mercenaries, or end up as pirates and
alliance fighters in the outer regions of the cluster.
A Vast Diversity
While it embodies the principles and ideals of its Gallente
founders, the Federation is made up of several different peoples living within
the only classically democratic empire in the New Eden cluster. Aside from the
ethnic Gallente, the major member races of the Federation are the Intaki,
Jin-Mei and Mannar. The Intaki and Mannar were founder members of the Gallente
Federation, and are well established throughout its territories.
The Intaki in particular have a talent for administration
and diplomacy, and have produced several noted Federation Presidents. The
Mannar are by temperament a loyal and determined, even stubborn, people, and
provide a significant proportion of the intake of the Federal armed forces. The
Jin-Mei are a more recent addition to the Federation and have had some
difficulty adapting their traditional caste system to the libertarian ways of
the Gallente political system. In addition to the home races, the Federation
plays host to a very large Minmatar population and significant communities of
other races. The Federation's relatively relaxed attitude to immigration and
its undoubted freedoms have proved attractive to many able to make the journey
from their home empires.
A considerable number of capsuleers are trained in the
Gallente Federation every year and many go independent upon qualifying. Most of
these capsuleers had tended to be either Gallente or Intaki, but a large number
of Jin-Mei have begun to take up the challenge of the captain's life in recent
years. Capsuleers of Federation origin are very diverse indeed and while some
join the Federal Defence Union militia, many take up their own affairs
immediately, whether in business or in less peaceable activities.
The Seven Tribes of Matar
The Minmatar race is made up of seven major tribes but the
republic that emerged after the Great Rebellion was founded by only four of these:
the Brutor, Krusual, Sebiestor and Vherokior. A fifth, the Thukker Tribe, chose
to pursue a nomadic life apart from the Minmatar
Republic
Indeed, the discovery of a surviving population of
Starkmanir within the Ammatar Mandate was the trigger for momentous events that
led to the Empyrean War, and the subsequent return of the Starkmanir and many
Nefantar to the ancestral worlds of the Minmatar. Today, with even the nomadic
Thukker accepting political union with the Republic, the Seven Tribes of Matar
are once more united.
Even though the seven tribes are once again in union, the Minmatar
Republic
Capsuleers and the Grand Strategy
In the inky depths of the outer regions, new powers rise and
fall as alliances and coalitions of capsuleers struggle for dominion over star
systems, constellations and entire regions. Politics is key to the forging of
alliances and the grand coalitions that make possible the control of large
swathes of the cluster by capsule pilots. Their enemies? Other capsuleer
alliances waging war to control resources, invade whole regions or simply to
eliminate a hated foe. Brinkmanship, espionage and statecraft all have their
place in the politics of the grand strategy. Yet, in the end, war is so often
the means by which the political aims of corporations and alliances are
realised in the outer regions of New Eden.
Industry, War, Comradeship
When independent capsuleers began to appear in New Eden they
rapidly joined together with like-minded pilots and formed the first capsuleer
corporations. These corporations were as diverse in purpose as the capsuleers
making up their membership. Corporations mine, manufacture, research and trade.
Corporations explore, setup starbases,
manage colonies and build outposts. Corporations wage war, engage in piracy,
fight for freedom, build empires and serve them with their loyalty. When a
pilot joins a corporation they become part of a small society or band of
comrades. The corporation is the essential building block of capsuleer activity
throughout New Eden. Operating independently or in alliances, the capsuleer
corporations have made space their domain, and their pilots' ships travel and
fight across all the stars of New Eden in pursuit of their various goals.
The New Powers
In the early years of the capsuleer era, many corporations
realized that even though they could call on many pilots it would be necessary to
ally with other capsuleer groups in order to control the outer regions. As
swiftly as the idea arose, the capsuleer alliances were born. At first, the
alliances organized on regional lines according to pacts between their member
corporations. Some organized councils to govern their affairs, others were
unashamedly military dictatorships. Some were little more than pirate
coalitions, others were dedicated to political ideals such as democracy and
free trade. These early alliances rapidly grew to control their various
regions, and as rapidly fell to fighting with their neighboring alliances or
dissolving in vicious civil wars.
The various faction and conquerable stations of the outer
regions constituted the power base of the alliances until the technology of
starbases became available to capsuleer corporations. These were swiftly spread
across space and CONCORD
Swords for Hire
Many capsuleers operate as mercenaries across New Eden, in
conflicts ranging from small corporate wars to the cluster-spanning campaigns
of outer region alliances. Mercenaries operate as individuals for hire,
corporations on contract and even as alliances fighting in the grand conflicts
for payment in coin,
resources and territory. Every aspect of the mercenary life is present in some
form in New Eden.
Mercenaries can be found as often in CONCORD CONCORD
Outlaws and Vigilantes
One of the undoubted scourges of New Eden is piracy, a
rapacious criminality that has been present in some form since humanity reached
out to the stars. At first, bad enough, the pirates were mere mortals who
preyed on other mortals. Now there are immortal pirates who devastate and loot
mortals and other immortals alike. Many capsuleer pilots take to piracy, either
as a means to gaining wealth or, more darkly, out of sheer enjoyment of the act
of preying on those weaker than they. Most capsuleer pirates focus on the most
lucrative targets: other capsuleers plying their way across the trade routes of
low-security space and the outer regions.
Pirates are in particular an ever-present danger in
low-security space, those half-abandoned and practically lawless systems that
lie between the core empires and the outer regions. Nominally subject to law,
low-security systems are guarded only by static sentry guns around stargates
and stations, with CONCORD peacekeeper fleets concentrating on maintaining
order in the more populated or important systems of the high-security zones. As
these systems cannot be directly controlled by the capsuleer alliances, it is
rare that even the brutal frontier justice of the outer regions is visited on
low-security space with any consistency. Therefore the pirates flourish.
However, the pirates are sometimes opposed by bounty hunters
and so-called "anti-pirate" corporations or coalitions. Some
capsuleers actively hunt pirates for possible profit, while others band
together to try and bring order to sections of low-security space. Even so, the
pirates are many and the most powerful outlaws can command capital ships
capable of destroying starbases and other infrastructure. Only the most
determined can hope to fight against these pirate lords but some rise to the
challenge.
Engines of Creation and Destruction
Economic power and industrial might are as crucial to the
capsuleers of EVE as to any other society that has sought to impose its will on
history. The space-industrial economy of New Eden is increasingly controlled by
the capsuleers, who produce and use a large proportion of its vast output.
Capsuleers mine asteroid belts and moons for vital resources. They exploit
planets through their colonies and build starbases and outposts, in order to
refine minerals and create exotic new materials. These pilots research their own
creations and construct them in nanoforges controlled by sophisticated
blueprints. The capsuleer market sees trillions of ISK in transactions every
day, with goods ranging from ore to battleships changing hands in vast
quanities. This economy is the engine that drives EVE's never-ending cycle of
creation and destruction.
Buying Low and Selling High
The capsule pilot has access to a
sophisticated network of regional markets on which goods as simple as unrefined
ore and complex as mighty capital ships can be bought and sold. Every day on
the capsuleer markets of New Eden there are hundreds of thousands of
transactions, millions of items changing hands, and trillions in ISK passing
through the network. With few exceptions, anything that can be used by
capsuleers can be bought or sold on the market.
Traders find many opportunities to buy
goods in one region and sell in another. Even systems relatively close to one
another provide potential gains for those willing to ship goods from one market
to another. The major hubs provide anything that a capsuleer could want, with
Jita holding the crown as king of market hubs. In Jita, the ISK flows like
water and capsuleers make fortunes trading on the fine margins that exist in
this most active of marketplaces.
A significant alternative trading system exists
in the contracts system, where capsuleers can offer bundles of items and also
auction goods to the highest bidder. Some of the rarer and more expensive goods
are typically found on offer in exchange and auction contracts. However, this
is the dark and risky world of EVE. The buyer should beware, and take care to
check the price of market goods and the details of any contract. Many capsuleers
make a good living preying on the gullibility of casual buyers.
Factories in Space
Independent pilots having been building their own ships,
equipment and ammunition since the dawn of the capsuleer age. The vast array of
Tech I, II and III items available to use
can all be manufactured in the factory facilities of space stations, outposts
and capsuleer starbases. Many of the rarer ships and items can be constructed
using blueprints given as rewards for loyalty or
seized from the wrecks of pirate vessels.
In most cases, every stage of the supply chain can be
satisfied by capsuleer industry. Raw materials are refined and processed into
fuel, minerals or advanced materials. Processed materials can be used to
manufacture advanced ships and equipment. Mighty capital ships can be assembled
using enormous and complex components produced by capsuleer industrialists.
Even the starbases and outposts used by capsuleers can be built through the
industrial processes made available to them.
Capsuleer industry even reaches into the realm of
pharmaceuticals, with enterprising individuals and corporations manufacturing a
range of chemical boosters. Such combat drugs are very popular with advanced
pilots and their advantages ensure that the purest boosters command high prices
on the market. The thirst among capsuleers for maximizing the potential of
their ships is also responsible for the ingenious ship rig industry. Using
salvaged materials, many canny industrialists manufacture devices that can be
used to jury rig ships in many different ways. The industrial output of
capsuleer manufacturers is enormous, meeting the demands of an economy of
celestial destruction generated by the never-ending struggles of immortal
warlords.
Stripping the Heavens
When capsuleers first went into space, the most readily
available resources were found in the tumbling asteroids that swarmed in belts
in every system of New Eden. The mineral riches to be found in the belts,
particularly in the relatively pristine outer systems, were high indeed. The
ores extracted from these rich fields were swiftly used to fuel the burgeoning
space industries, and asteroid belts remain at the heart of the capsuleer
economy. Early technologies were limited to relatively low-yield mining lasers,
often mounted to ships that were not even specialized in mining. The technology
of mining improved as time went on, with the Tech II revolution affecting
mining lasers and their yields as it affected other areas of capsuleer
endeavor.
Even more important than the improvement in narrow-beam
mining lasers, was the development and release of an entire class of
specialized mining ships. The mining barges, and the high-yield strip miners
they could wield, enormously increased asteroid mining yields. Tech II versions
of these barges branched out into specialized mining such as the extraction of
Mercoxit ore and ice-harvesting.
The expansion of mining into ice fields, in search of
advanced fuels for starbases and capital ships, was not the only advance in
resource harvesting. Those manufacturing illegal boosters for the capsuleer
market required large quantities of various chemicals found most abundantly in
certain interplanetary gas clouds. The technology of gas harvesting was quickly
developed and put to work extracting these useful chemicals. When wormhole
space was found to contain large clouds rich with rare fullerenes, the gas
harvesters found a new resource to collect and a new market to sell into.
Mining and resource harvesting are not limited to
spaceship-mounted systems. The first capsuleer starbases were dedicated to
running automated mining arrays that extracted many useful materials from the
moons they orbited. Even now, after starbase capabilities have been expanded to
running factories, laboratories and shipyards, many thousands of moons continue
to be mined by harvesting systems based on industrial starbases.
Immortals Descending
For many years the capsuleers were prevented from
establishing planetary holdings, the core empires being extremely wary of
allowing the rogue immortals such a direct presence on their planets. The
special technologies of colonial development were even withheld to such a
degree that capsuleers in the outer regions could not practically establish
colonies on planets that were of no importance to the core empires. This
changed in mid YC112, with the signing of the CONCORD Planetary Development
Treaty.
Since the outbreak of the Empyrean War in YC110, and the
recruitment of capsuleers into militias that fought directly for the empires,
it had become clear that the capsuleers were increasingly important to the
future of the core empires. More pointedly, the empires had been at war with
one another for nearly two years and perhaps saw an opportunity to access the
vast wealth of the capsuleers by levying tariffs on orbital import-export
movements. Negotiating among themselves through CONCORD
Given the means to finally extend their influence to the
planets below, the immortal pilots sent down command centers and built
industrial colonies extracting and processing all manner of raw materials.
Swiftly grasping the possibilities of this new planetary industry, the
capsuleers built up supply chains and established factory planets where they
produced the most advanced items available using planetary technology. That
planetary industry finally unlocked the ability to manufacture sovereignty
structures, starbase components and fuel items was especially gratifying to
industrialists and empire builders across the capsuleer diaspora.
If the core empires had hoped that allowing a presence on
their planets would tie the capsuleers closer to their interests, they may have
been over-optimistic. Many capsuleers chose to take the technology of colony
management and use it in the outer regions or deep in wormhole space. In the
end, planetary industry served to increase capsuleer independence and
self-sufficiency.
Knowledge is a Weapon
EVE is a world of lost and rediscovered sciences and
technologies, still recovering from a cataclysm that destroyed entire
civilizations and plunged New Eden into a dark age. Today, many technologies
have been recovered, and spaceships warp across star systems and jump between
the stars. The means to exploit the resources of entire planets and wage war on
a scale terrifying to imagine, let alone behold, are under the control of both
empires and individuals.
The liberating science of cloning and the capsule allow the
independent pilot a degree of freedom and
power unimagined a scant few hundred years before. Not all science or
technology has been recovered however, and many mysteries await the intrepid
explorer in the darkness between the stars, in the strange zones of deadspace
and in the weird realms of wormhole space. Science and technology were once
lofty goals in themselves, now they are simply means to the ends of the
ever-warring capsuleers.
Capsuleers in the Laboratory
Capsuleers use some of the most advanced technology in
New Eden, their very existence relying on the powerful combination of cloning
and capsule technology. As such, many capsuleers take a keen interest in
research and development of new technology. Using laboratories on stations,
outposts or even starbases, research-minded pilots improve their blueprints,
reverse engineer ancient technologies and even invent more advanced designs.
Many research corporations exist and often work with manufacturing and
exploration concerns in mutually-beneficial arrangements.
Capsuleers are also able to perform minor research tasks on
behalf of the various R&D corporations aligned with the core empires. In
return for undertaking such work, pilots receive datacores that can be used in
their own research or sold on the market. Fully exploiting the fruits of
wormhole exploration also requires specialized researchers able to
reverse-engineer the strange technologies that can be recovered from the wrecks
of the Sleeper drones standing guard over the ruins of their mysterious
civilization.
The Fundamental Designs
Capsuleer ship technology is largely based on designs that
have long served in the navies of the core empires, and the basic equipment
used by capsuleers reflects similar origins. The standard ship and module
designs are often referred to as "Tech I", derived from
"Technology Level I". While some of these vessels are typically the
province of those pilots starting a career, many Tech I designs
are used by veteran combat pilots and are among the most dangerous ships that
can be encountered. The ships and equipment available at Tech I can be
considered foundational designs and there are many variations.
The navies of the empires have a number of modified designs
that can be acquired by capsuleers who are regarded as sufficiently loyal. Even
such ships make their way onto the markets, however, and capsuleers of less
certain loyalty, who are simply rich enough, are commonly seen in ships the
empires might prefer to remain more exclusive. The various outlaw and pirate
factions also have a number of designs based on foundational ships, together
with some original designs that are entirely unique. These too are often
acquired by pod pilots and used in the service of capsuleer interests.
The Morphite Revolution
Not long after the rise of the independent capsuleers, the
properties of a rare mineral derived from Mercoxit ore were fully explored and
a technological revolution began. It was realized that the mineral - now dubbed
"Morphite" - had the remarkable property of altering and enhancing
every other mineral, compound or alloy with which it was joined or combined.
The applications were particularly exciting in the space industries and rapid
development of a class of high-performance frigates called "interceptors"
followed the discovery. Advances in ship technology were accompanied by
parallel advances in ship equipment and other systems.
The applicability of Morphite was so widespread that it
required a new category for the technologies developed using the remarkable
mineral. Technology Level II or "Tech II" was born and new ships and
equipment continued to be developed by applying Morphite and advanced materials
sourced from moon-mining to the foundational Tech I designs. Capsuleers adopted
Tech II ships and equipment with alacrity, their appetite for advanced
technology fuelling the research and development of new designs by empire
R&D corporations able to call on the services of the immortal pilots. The
interceptors were followed by many other advanced designs.
Capsuleers were soon using heavily-armed assault vessels,
sophisticated command ships, highly-advanced reconnaissance cruisers and many
other specialized ships. Standard equipment designs were also substantially
improved and Tech I workhorse ships could be transformed into formidable
engines of destruction using Tech II modules. Moreover, the impact of the Tech
II revolution on the capsuleers went beyond ships and equipment. The need for
advanced materials spurred industrial expansion, as capsuleers established
moon-mining starbases in orbit around thousands of moons across New Eden. These
starbases would become the foundation of the first wave of territorial control
by capsuleer powers.
An Ancient and Powerful Science
In early YC111, a terrible disaster destroyed the inhabited
world of Seyllin I, leaving it a shattered husk of a planet. This cataclysm was
but a symptom of a profound space-time event that caused large numbers of
unstable wormholes to emerge in the New Eden cluster. While unstable, and prone
to collapse after a certain period of time or if destabilized by excessive
masses passing through them, the wormholes could be entered safely by most
spaceships. The capsuleers lost no time in exploring these new gateways in
space and found that many of them led to completely unknown star systems.
The systems of wormhole space, or "W-space", were
found to be highly varied and often washed by strange radiations and other
effects from cosmic phenomena. While these effects could often affect ship
systems they were not the most interesting discovery to be found beyond the
wormholes. W-space also contained the apparently abandoned and ruined remains
of an ancient civilization, with technology that seemed to correspond to
artifacts of the so-called "Sleepers" found by archaeologists in the
New Eden cluster. Unfortunately for some early explorers much of the Sleeper
technology in W-space remained active, particularly the legions of immensely
powerful drone guardians that would attack on sight intruders disturbing their
sleeping domains.
After some skirmishes, many capsuleers got the measure of
these deadly wardens and were able to destroy them. It was soon discovered that
the Sleeper's drone guardians were constructed using advanced technologies
unknown to the science of New Eden. Salvaging from the wrecks of the Sleeper
drones yielded much useful material for investigation. Explorers soon found
that the sites of their structures could also be hacked to gain access to
datacores and special tools used with the ancient technology. When
archaeologists also found that many relics from the Sleeper ruins could be reverse-engineered,
the blueprints for a whole new technology lay before the capsuleers.
One problem might have been sourcing the highly-advanced
fullerene-based polymers used in the ancient technology. But W-space met even
that need, as gas clouds rich in the necessary chemicals were discovered. It
was clear the Sleeper civilization had taken advantage of the abundant
resources of these strange systems and capsuleer explorers were able to follow
suit. When all the elements of the ancient science were pieced together it was
found that a remarkable new class of adaptable spaceships could be developed.
Using a combination of subsystems that could be easily swapped in and out,
"Strategic Cruisers" represented the newest, third level of
technology and ushered in "Tech III ".
From Frigates to Titans
A wide array of spaceships await the aspiring pilot in
EVE Online. From the nimble frigates to the mighty titans, the range and
scope of spaceships is considerable. Each of the major factions has a full
range of vessels filling all the key roles in any fleet, while maintaining
their own specialisms and preferred weapons. Spaceships can be found locked in
combat with others, mining valuable ores, hauling trade goods,
salvaging the wrecks of other ships, and even hacking into arcane technologies
from lost civilizations. Spaceships are the instruments of creation and
destruction across the cluster, and their capsuleer pilots are considered to be
among the elite of New Eden.
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