My god, it’s full of ore!

February 10, 2008

EVE Online has me in its clutches. Again. I've played this game off and on since release over two years ago. If you want a hardcore space simulator this is the top of the line. It can be extremely brutal and tedious, but like an abused spouse I keep coming back, assuming the problem is on my end. This time it'll be different, I'll say, Dr. Claw promising to get Inspector Gadget next time. And indeed the game has improved significantly since my last inspection. There's been a huge graphical update, prices on ships have plummeted, and I've been wise enough to do research on the message boards before diving in. So, missile launcher in hand, my universe awaits.

What brought EVE back to my attention was their "Trinity" graphical update. Every ship, station and asteroid in the game has received a full makeover with new textures, models and shaders. Your pimp ship now looks even pimper as it takes on the colors of the system it's in. I can still run the game at max detail and get a perfect frame rate while I ogle the self-shadowing. What they haven't touched are the planets and warp effects. At a distance the planets still look great. I'm mining around a Jovian right now that could easily have come from a NASA shot. But that's at half a million kilometers away. Up close it's kind of blurry and noticably outdated compared to the ships that pass through it.

Yes, through it. When you're warping around the solar systems you'll go still go right through planets and moons. Clipping matters in delicate ship-to-ship combat, so why are we constantly ghosting through giant celestial bodies? Warping looks the same as it did years ago: your ship travels through a translucent tunnel while the camera shakes a little bit. This was revolutionary back on the day, but it's gotten old. Various effects like missile launches, autocannon firings and EMP bombs look as cool as ever, happily. And the nebulae are incredibly hot thanks to a new cloud technique. You can have your own Wrath of Khan-esque dogfights in there.

I'm teaming up with GekkoKammen to mine the universe dry and build some cool ships in the process. He's a close quarters Gallente slugger and I'm a long distance Caldari missile launcher. We're the odd couple... in space.