Tech4 News is/was a community-driven initiative that grew out of CCP Dropbear's Arek'Jaalan Project and attempted to go some way toward filling this hole, but it is a challenging thing to maintain without CCP support.

I agree, Incursions in hisec go against all roleplaying, lore and storyline stuff. Its stupid.

It wouldn't be so bad if the plot developed a bit more. Right now they show up in system, wreak some havoc and then players win and they go away. What's the point? Why are they doing this? Maybe it's time CCP develop the plot a bit more on the incursion side. Perhaps it's time for Sansha to finally get a foothold someplace in highsec and have a few systems "fall" for the long term.

Just my two isk on the matter

It wouldn't be so bad if the plot developed a bit more. Right now they show up in system, wreak some havoc and then players win and they go away. What's the point? Why are they doing this? Maybe it's time CCP develop the plot a bit more on the incursion side. Perhaps it's time for Sansha to finally get a foothold someplace in highsec and have a few systems "fall" for the long term.

Just my two isk on the matter

Whether a person RPs or not any good game has to have an ongoing story, it is as much a part of the back drop as the nebula.

Join nullsec wars and make your own storyline. That's what makes Eve great for me. Players make history. Not devs and writers.

See evenews24. Thrilling tales filled with smack talk and butthurt, but severely lacking on actual story and plot. Only entertaining if you enjoy quality programming along the lines of Jerry Springer or pretty much any reality tv show.

Its much more entertaining to be a part of it. But each to their own.

Its much more entertaining to be a part of it. But each to their own.

If you had not noticed, CCP fired most of the Devs responsible for the backstory and moved the already created stuff to an external wiki. So yes, the backstory and everything related to it is officially dead.

Other mechanisms are also available to us. As Dropbear pointed out in the interview, the construction of Arek'Jalaan Site One: Antiquus in the Eram system is a great example. Over 30 billion ISK in materials was provided by players to construct what is essentially "roleplaying fluff". This proves that there is a strong interest in the more than just mindless PvP.

Even the previously complex Caldari/Gallente conflict has been turned into space-fascists (Heth) versus space-America (Gallente).

I'd like them to start with adding NPC ships going about their business. We can't be the only ones flying.

I agree, Incursions in hisec go against all roleplaying, lore and storyline stuff. Its stupid.

Lets walk down memory lane while we hug each other and remember what CCP is really capable of when mind is put to task: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjbwsyhJjUs

storyline contracted out to freelance null Alliance writers.

The whole storyline is in an appalling state after a long period of focus elsewhere.

your idiot if you think that. There is a logical reason why with the lore and the back story of Sansha. he is holding a grudge against the Empire States. Low Sec and 0.0 is just desert for him seeing that most run away from the incursion areas. Just because you think its stupid doesn't mean that there is actually a story behind it. Remember one thing....every story has an ending, reprieve, and then a new enemy.

Have fun kiddies

This is my last post.

Join nullsec wars and make your own storyline. That's what makes Eve great for me. Players make history. Not devs and writers.

Apocrypha: Wormholes and strange drones. Why are wormholes suddenly appearing? Who are the sleepers? CCP tell us!


The best thing though would to make the events in nullsec part of actual EVE lore.

Yes, but the history players make more or less involve things like:

-Allusions to one's mother and her alledged job in the world's oldest profession.
-Being called names of the homoerotic persuasion because you suck/you were lucky/you have friends with you, etc.
-Accusations of crying, whining, carebearing, blobbling, hotdropping, outnumbering, camping, ganking, griefing, sucking and, broadly speaking, being a horrible little person, because you shot them/were shot by them/couldn't shoot them/managed to avoid being shot.

Also CVA, longest established nullsec Amarr 'roleplaying' allinace, they don't even fly Amarr ships because their enemies brick-tanked EM/Therm and kept curbstomping them. If CCP wanted roleplaying to be viable you'd think they'd make the ships viable?

CCP keeps making trailers about what people get up to in Nullsec. Dominion trailer, I was there, Butterfly Effect... For some reason they don't seem to make trailers about people playing make-believe, dressup, or writing terrible fanfics on the forum.

CCP keeps making trailers about what people get up to in Nullsec. Dominion trailer, I was there, Butterfly Effect... For some reason they don't seem to make trailers about people playing make-believe, dressup, or writing terrible fanfics on the forum. Those who do participate in FW aren't roleplayers, they do it for fun and rewards. Mission runners fight on behalf of NPC empires, but they don't care about defeating 300 simultaneous pirate invasion fleets in Motsu, they just want isk.

Also CVA, longest established nullsec Amarr 'roleplaying' allinace, they don't even fly Amarr ships because their enemies brick-tanked EM/Therm and kept curbstomping them. If CCP wanted roleplaying to be viable you'd think they'd make the ships viable?

Just to clarify matters, the CVA has never had an Amarr ships only rule, even in 2003.

I'm reminded of Plato's Cave with CCP Abraxas as the Puppet Master and CCP Drop Bear as the educator.

Even World of Warcraft can provide a sort of 'cultural distinction' between Alliance and Horde players, but for some reason this never happens in EVE.

Glad one of these threads showed up

When are you fleshing out the Enheduanni storyline CCP?

So with the rollout of factional warfare upgrades, player influence on NPC space has reached an all-time high, and this is only going to increase with the rollout of Dust 514, where (as I best understand it) "instant action" quick matches will take place between NPC corporations, with Dusties fighting for them.

For the better part of two years now, there hasn't been a single factional news update in the News Channels. Apart from the three that we received with the release of Crucible, Chronicles haven't been updated since Christmas 2010. Live events have stopped, and as I understand it, the one major NPC-PC collaborative roleplay organisation, Arek'Jalaan, is dead in the water, with its main representative, Hilen Tukoss, not answering his phone. Apart from a few new articles on the EVE wiki, content regarding the EVE universe has ground to a halt. We roleplayers have absolutely no idea what's going on in the universe we're a part of. We don't know what's happened to the storyline.

During the 2009 Caldari occupation of Gallente space, there were almost weekly news updates about the state of the occupation, which, given that at the time there were no mechanical rewards for system capture whatsoever, were at least somewhat of a reward for roleplayers on both sides, who could argue about the state of the contested zone and engage in various shennanigans. A lot of the most memorable EVE experiences for me have been when I was in space with other roleplayers - the last-ditch suicide defence of a gate against Amarrian slavers with Ushra'Khan, mercenaries who we'd become friends with coming to our aid in our corp's hour of greatest need, old enemies becoming new friends in a fight against the Sansha - these are the moments I remember most fondly.

What we, as roleplayers, want from CCP is simply an answer to two questions - do you plan to resume work on EVE Online's storyline, and if so, when and how? If CCP has no plans to orfurther storyline content, we'd much rather know the truth than wait in uncertainty.

also:
Theres a story?

I thought WE created the story (or that was the reason they were giving that they were pulling away from the story of EVE itself and saying we make the story so they dont have to)

also:
Theres a story?

I thought WE created the story (or that was the reason they were giving that they were pulling away from the story of EVE itself and saying we make the story so they dont have to)

Glad one of these threads showed up

When are you fleshing out the Enheduanni storyline CCP?

CCP publicizes nullsec the most, even if there are more players in highsec than their...I think having IC commentaries to player actions would be great. For example, a corporation that bases in this one lowsec system and pretty much as a monopoly on all industrial activity there is ruined by pirates.

Jovians... please? :)

They're all dead.

I've seen many complaints in the past about 'ridiculous stories' ("why would we care about a few dozen miners trapped in an asteroid?" "why are we hearing about a food riot in which five people were killed?") that were, looking back, a direct result of having to produce a constant outpouring of material. Look more for tidal movements and peak moments. It's about what can be done and done well.

See, when I finished the Empyrean Age book I picked up, I was a bit confused when it just ended on a cliffhanger. Heth invades Caldari Prime, Sarum returns, the Minmatar and Amarr are at war. Then I realized...That's basically where those storylines have been *since this book came out*.

That's just sad.

Most people dont play EVE for the story

Hey Red Overlord guy, "most people" don't play EVE in nullsec. Does this mean that nullsec doesn't matter?

Most people who dont play in null sec either do FW which is just dumbed down null sec or mine... nuff said tbh

Which still does not in any way mean that their opinions on EVE are any less valid than yours.

I've seen many complaints in the past about 'ridiculous stories' ("why would we care about a few dozen miners trapped in an asteroid?" "why are we hearing about a food riot in which five people were killed?") that were, looking back, a direct result of having to produce a constant outpouring of material. Look more for tidal movements and peak moments. It's about what can be done and done well.

Great thread with lots of goodpoasts!

Just wanted to add that the backstory is not only important to dedicated RPers, it's a vital part of EVE and should not be neglected like this. I've chosen not to think about it for now because of the huge holes and inconsistencies present in it.

- ship crews, both NPC and player ships, yes/no? Billions of truely dead people monthly?
- incursions, wtf?
- dynamic world?

etc.

I've seen many complaints in the past about 'ridiculous stories' ("why would we care about a few dozen miners trapped in an asteroid?" "why are we hearing about a food riot in which five people were killed?") that were, looking back, a direct result of having to produce a constant outpouring of material. Look more for tidal movements and peak moments. It's about what can be done and done well.

CCP keeps making trailers about what people get up to in Nullsec. Dominion trailer, I was there, Butterfly Effect... For some reason they don't seem to make trailers about people playing make-believe, dressup, or writing terrible fanfics on the forum. Those who do participate in FW aren't roleplayers, they do it for fun and rewards. Mission runners fight on behalf of NPC empires, but they don't care about defeating 300 simultaneous pirate invasion fleets in Motsu, they just want isk.

EDIT: Writers are cheap, in case you didn't know. We get paid by the word.

Busy times, so I missed this thread until now. And as it goes, I don't make decisions on this stuff even if I do get involved from time to time.

So, answer to question one, from my personal knowledge and work with the EVE Content and Storyline teams: yes, we intend to continue the storyline.

The answer to question two is more complicated (but you knew that). The when is really now and continuing. World news is being published and developed. But the pace is not necessarily going to be a continuous flow and flood. I've seen many complaints in the past about 'ridiculous stories' ("why would we care about a few dozen miners trapped in an asteroid?" "why are we hearing about a food riot in which five people were killed?") that were, looking back, a direct result of having to produce a constant outpouring of material. Look more for tidal movements and peak moments. It's about what can be done and done well.

The how is not entirely nailed down. There are traditional ways of doing it and other means that we really have to look at because they frankly let us do more with what we have in terms of resources.

I can say a couple of things about what I personally am doing and will do in terms of the storyline and related content

Number one: in my own work on web content I still have feedback on the content of eveonline.com on my personal roadmap. There are things that I do want, and intend, to address given time.

Number two: I and colleagues am working with the EVE Content and Storyline teams on a plan to give much greater prominence and focus to the EVE story and background. This sh... stuff will happen. We will be handling this better in the future and it will make a big difference. It's a longer term plan but it will happen.

Number three: I'm actually working, as a side project, on closing a significant hanging thread in the storyline. This is getting very close to fruition.

Number four: I continue to care about this stuff and argue for its importance and prominence. It doesn't take that much incidentally, contrary to some mythology it's really pushing at an open door.

These may not be the answers you were looking for but they are the answers I can give you.

Delegate Zero (AKA Abel Jarek )

lest that one Jove ship that works that gets discovered gets used to suicide gank a Hulk in Jita.

To be fair, I'm a hardcore roleplayer, but even I would use a Jove ship to suicide gank a Hulk in Jita if I had it.

I mean, come on dude, do you seriously expect us to believe that you wouldn't?

I wouldn't. I'd sell that sucker.

I heard a rumor, possibly on this forum, that a certain nullsec alliance is threatening to take over empire economy with some strange scheme involving war on a certain industry. But it's not officially endorsed by CCP so I guess it doesn't qualify for the strict requirements of *roleplay*. Sigh!

The storyline lost its relevance when players for the first time logged onto EVE back in 2003; players are the ones that has been writing the story for the game since.

The old introduction video hinted at it whereas the new introduction flat out tells you to shape your own path: dare to be bold, pilot.

This is the saddest thing in this thread.

The stories may be played out by the players, but who's telling them? Poorly written After Action Reports and techno-jargon drivel on EVE News 24 is hardly the pinnacle of good narration. I don't disagree that the players should be central to the story, but that doesn't mean it should be left in the hands of the sort of people who can only communicate in language that is only understood by a niche group.

Furthermore, you may have no interest in the lore, but it is a lure for many others. If EVE is only marketed at one demographic, it isn't much of a sandbox, is it?

After a little while we get infamous CCP Wall of Silence.

I am fine with having EN24, and I'd even settle with Massively or Mintchip, covering than have some british self-absorbed, self-entitled roleplayer(s) deliver us the battle report of the engagement in the system FUK-YU in the year blablabla. No offense.

I prefer to understand what the **** is going on than being put to sleep.

Oh, I do have a interest in the lore but I just don't care about it because storyline in a game like EVE is more about setting the stage than go on a merry adventure and that should be obvious to anyone.

Offence taken, please explain what you mean by "british self-absorbed, self-entitled roleplayer(s)".

Offence taken, please explain what you mean by "british self-absorbed, self-entitled roleplayer(s)".

Perhaps I should speak in old shakespearian for effect?

So with the rollout of factional warfare upgrades, player influence on NPC space has reached an all-time high, and this is only going to increase with the rollout of Dust 514, where (as I best understand it) "instant action" quick matches will take place between NPC corporations, with Dusties fighting for them.

For the better part of two years now, there hasn't been a single factional news update in the News Channels. Apart from the three that we received with the release of Crucible, Chronicles haven't been updated since Christmas 2010. Live events have stopped, and as I understand it, the one major NPC-PC collaborative roleplay organisation, Arek'Jalaan, is dead in the water, with its main representative, Hilen Tukoss, not answering his phone. Apart from a few new articles on the EVE wiki, content regarding the EVE universe has ground to a halt. We roleplayers have absolutely no idea what's going on in the universe we're a part of. We don't know what's happened to the storyline.

During the 2009 Caldari occupation of Gallente space, there were almost weekly news updates about the state of the occupation, which, given that at the time there were no mechanical rewards for system capture whatsoever, were at least somewhat of a reward for roleplayers on both sides, who could argue about the state of the contested zone and engage in various shennanigans. A lot of the most memorable EVE experiences for me have been when I was in space with other roleplayers - the last-ditch suicide defence of a gate against Amarrian slavers with Ushra'Khan, mercenaries who we'd become friends with coming to our aid in our corp's hour of greatest need, old enemies becoming new friends in a fight against the Sansha - these are the moments I remember most fondly.

What we, as roleplayers, want from CCP is simply an answer to two questions - do you plan to resume work on EVE Online's storyline, and if so, when and how? If CCP has no plans to orfurther storyline content, we'd much rather know the truth than wait in uncertainty.

...and why if hulkageddon becomes the year round norm would lore mandated concord not find new and more aggressive ways to combat the problem?

You are entitled to enjoy your content however you wish. If EN24 or Mintchip is how you prefer to get your coverage, that's fine - they do a perfectly good job of catering to their audiences. But there are other audiences who also deserve to be catered for.

Offence taken, please explain what you mean by "british self-absorbed, self-entitled roleplayer(s)".

And who are they? Irrelevant players that pace back in forth in their rooms whose impact on EVE is insignificant because they *never* undock? When they are not whining about WiS or lack of clothes.

Like above but british, I guess.

Excellent, thanks for establishing yourself as a bigoted troll (further evidenced by all your recent posts). Now you've got the sweeping generalisations and casual racism out of your system, perhaps the people with informed opinions can get on with having a proper discussion. Nice of you to drop by though.

Irrelevant players that pace back in forth in their rooms whose impact on EVE is insignificant because they *never* undock?

Says the forum troll alt.

I undock. :(

Not to shoot at things, but to probe things down to shoot at which reminds me.

I'd just like to clarify something that has been bothering me for YEARS. Role-playing is not a very complicated idea, and it can in fact be separated into two very easy to understand concepts. There are roles, and to participate, you choose a role to play and play to that role. Very simple. EVE is a sandbox, and in that sandbox we are encouraged to seek out our own careers; be it mining, industry, pvp, or pve (and that is just some of the overarching, basic roles we play when we are flying around in internet spaceships). Thus, anyone playing EVE seriously MUST adopt SOME role to play, so all of you 1337 PVPer's flying around null and every single pirate ganking any ship anywhere ARE ROLEPLAYERS. You may not consider yourself an RPer, but you cannot play EVE without playing into the role you have chosen for yourself. Period. You may disagree, but just like ganking miners is still PVP (even if they aren't fighting back) playing EVE in any sense other than as a screensaver REQUIRES Roleplaying.

Oh, and all you supposedly "relevant" players "who matter" crying about how you dont care about the story, I should also assume you would like your ships to be grey boxes spitting smaller grey projectile boxes? I mean, all those sexy ships...that comes from the story, from the background, from the CULTURE that was created by CCP. You kill the story, and nothing in the game really matters, aside from spreadsheet ****.

Come on really? You're in way over your head and have no idea what you're talking about. But of course, you're such a shining beacon of eloquence so you cant be wrong

(Hint: your wrong)

Intergalactic summit that way ---->

I'm talking to you though. What led you to believe "RPers" dont undock? And that we're all British. And where did you get the idea that only we are the ones who are self-righteous assholes in EVE? Last I looked it was pretty much everyone.

What can I say? I like to fish and you took the bait.

So in fact you didnt have anything at all important to say. Or you're backing out. Either way, good show old chap. Moving on!

They're all dead.

I've seen many complaints in the past about 'ridiculous stories' ("why would we care about a few dozen miners trapped in an asteroid?" "why are we hearing about a food riot in which five people were killed?")

I totally agree with the sentiment that the lore should set the stage for player interaction. Individual players can take or leave their personal involvement in the lore, but as has been said repeatedly in this thread, anyone pretending to fly a spaceship is part of the narrative world and it's just the way the grand story is told that needs focus.

Goonswarm's Permageddon provides a perfect opportunity to explore how the world beyond capsuleers would react to the mass destruction of mining fleets and the economic ramifications. Lore-based coverage of the events could be delivered in Scope reports, Chronicles and other forms of audio and video. Either the Goons (and other participants) wouldn't care and would just carry on with their gameplay, or more likely they'd quite enjoy the attention and play up to it (read: try to break it). Either way it would be the perfect collision of a demographic not usually associated with the lore and events that could generate some interesting fiction.

Everyone is a winner.

The only complaint we had about that news story was that once we'd moved the stuff there was no system by which to distribute it to those in need in place. The supplies sat in our hangars rather than disappearing from the game and leaving us with a sense of satisfaction in a job well done.

Stories like that can be a useful baseline for the RP side of things - but in that particular case it would have worked a lot better if, for example, an NPC buy order had been set on that station for the various needed supplies to provide a direct and immediate conclusion to the RP effort[..]

How do roleplayers continue to enjoy EVE when they are a tiny minority and ridiculed by almost everyone else all the time? I imagine being a roleplayer in EVE must feel worse than being a solo miner in goon-infested hisec.

There really is no need to try to pigeon-hole and stigmatise people who embrace the fiction of an MMO. We're all part of the same MMO ecosystem. If you pretend to fly a spaceship, that's roleplaying-lite. You're not really a spaceman are you? You're just playing the role of one in an MMO. To some degree, everyone is an appreciator of the fictional content and therefore a roleplayer. Shower as much as you like, that's the dirty truth.

The Dev response is appreciated, but it wont mean jack until we get action on words.

People were pretty exited when Dropbear did the live events presentation at EVE Vegas. People were exited when the Incursion live events went down. People were exited when Arekjalaan began.

All the above and every bit of story players have even been secondarily involved in have one thing in common.

After a little while we get infamous CCP Wall of Silence.

I mean, come on, during an ongoing live event, the main Dev leaves CCP and the only way we find out is when he actually tells us on external forums? Thats ******* unproffessional CCP, its nothing but ****** customer service.

Especially becuase alot of people put a great deal of time and their own personal ISK into the project and its now been effectively wasted.

Sort yourselves out CCP

Fact is, whenever a roleplayer sticks out his nose somewhere, he is mocked. That can't feel good?

This is absolutely true. I wasn't stating what should be, only what is. Fact is, whenever a roleplayer sticks out his nose somewhere, he is mocked. That can't feel good?

For the record, real, in-character-speaking roleplayers make me chuckle as well, just because it seems so out of place in a game where most people don't do roleplaying other than in the "lite" sense you described.

This is absolutely true. I wasn't stating what should be, only what is. Fact is, whenever a roleplayer sticks out his nose somewhere, he is mocked. That can't feel good?

I agree, Incursions in hisec go against all roleplaying, lore and storyline stuff. Its stupid.

This is absolutely true. I wasn't stating what should be, only what is. Fact is, whenever a roleplayer sticks out his nose somewhere, he is mocked. That can't feel good?

For the record, real, in-character-speaking roleplayers make me chuckle as well, just because it seems so out of place in a game where most people don't do roleplaying other than in the "lite" sense you described.

Eve lost it's storyline years ago.

It is more of a mash up nowadays.

If people don't seem to get involved with the storyline, it's because there's no storyline for them to get involved with.

Non-RPers got involved with the Emperor trials back in 2003. More than that, people who normally couldn't care less about "RP fluff" cared about the identity of the next Emperor.

Non-RPers cared about collecting the remains of the dead Jovian dude as well, and they also cared about the outcome of the Federation presidential election (although that particular event was botched more than Botchy McBotcherson's Botcher of the Year contest).

Non-RPers cared about the return of Sansha Kuvakei too. Unfortunately it's becoming increasingly apparent that the people who don't care about these things are CCP.