Whew, laborious to consider it, however this will probably be my final information submit for RPS for the foreseeable future. Fitting, then, that it’s about going massive and loud and blotting out the heavens themselves with explosions. Eve: Aether Wars is a collaborative tech demo/stress take a look at run by Eve Online builders CCP and cloud networking techies Hadean, researching new methods to cram much more gamers onto a single shared MMO server.
The first Aether Wars event ran throughout Gamescom earlier this yr, and squeezed 3,852 gamers right into a messy free-for-all dogfight, leading to a powerful 88,988 spaceships exploding. This time they need a full ten thousand on August 18th. Players are invited to sign up and join in free on the appointed day of the rumble. Below, a video about precisely what CCP and Hadean are attempting to realize right here, plus my very own farewells.
The earlier Aether Wars was, unquestionably, extra a tech demo than game. Players casually spawned, exploded and respawned inside moments of one another, getting an opportunity to lob a couple of surprisingly enormous missiles round every life. The spectacular factor is that it ran easily, even with large partitions of missiles streaking throughout house. Shots danced and stuttered a bit, however that felt extra just like the server back-end buckling than something on the person finish. It was a far cry from Eve Online’s time-dilated mega-fights, the place it will probably take ages for actions to bear outcomes.
As they are saying within the video, they’ve confirmed that they will cram that many gamers right into a single dwell occasion. “The focus now is much more about making a game that’s fun to play” says Hadean’s severe suit-man Rashid Mansoor. If nothing else, the clip they present of Aether Wars: Phase 2 has me intrigued, with fight this time going down in a smoky nebula affected by Titan-class ship hulls. I’m hoping for a barely extra structured team-fight. Of course, this being house fight the place everybody’s in the identical ship, it’s nonetheless a numbers game, however a probably spectacular one.
The Greatest Outdoors Fight begins on August 18th, 6pm BST. You can join your (free) ticket to the rumble on the Eve: Aether Wars page here. Shoot a couple of ships for me, would ya?
And as for me, it’s been an incredible nearly-two-years manning the RPS information desk, and I’m glad so lots of you have got loved my work. I’m not going to be disappearing solely from RPS – my Modder Superior column will probably be persevering with, and I’ve received some further options ready within the wings. Still, should you can’t get sufficient of me, or simply need to see what I’ve received deliberate subsequent, give me a comply with over on Twitter. It’s been wild, and I’ll be again on Monday with a deep dive on Half-Life mod-turned-monstrosity Sven Co-op.
