
Once again confirming the theory that the ludic universe is continually expanding, the devs from CCP are frantically preparing for the public release of Revelations II this coming Tuesday. This will be the seventh free EVE Online expansion, ever since their space MMO launched with a Big Bang in 2003, and it once again brings a wealth of notable features detailed on the official website's Patch Notes section - or below, if you don't have an EVE account to access it:
- Heat - Adding a new dimension to space combat in EVE. The ability to boost performance of ship modules can mean the difference between life and death, but not entirely without risk.
- Broader Sovereignty Scope - Sovereignty concept broadened with intermediate goals and four different tiers: Territory, Protectorate, Province and Constellation Capital.
- Revamped New Player Experience - Optimization and streamlining of the tutorial vastly improves how new players are introduced to EVE Online, making it more fun and easier to start their alter ego existence in space.
- Need for Speed - Significant CPU and dogma optimizations that set the groundwork for full Vista support slated to be introduced in a future expansion.
- Structure Warfare Enhancements - A number of new features expand the opportunity for strategic operations.
- Improved Corporation and Alliance Management - The addition of vital tools and roles necessary to command and conquer.
- Agent Mission Improvements - The introduction of Level 5 Agents add the most challenging Player-versus-Environment encounters yet.
- Expanding the Frontiers of Exploration - Rare NPC spawns and other opportunities abound for greater solo exploration as well as increasing the chances of discovering in-space encounters and hidden deadspace pockets.
- Anti-Fleet Warfare - Discover new tactics for dispersing large concentrations of ships. An "optimized and streamlined" tutorial sure does sound like a welcome change for new players, who can give it a shot by downloading a free, 14-day trial version from EVE-Online.com (look for the "Try Now" button smack in the middle of the page). As for veteran players, they should take into account that the deployment of Revelations II - planned for June 19 at 02:00 GMT - is expected to last around 24 hours. So they might want to set long training skills prior to the "blackout".




