Directors' Letter July 2024

First off, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks for all the incredible feedback and stories you’ve shared about EVE Online: Equinox. This is the fourth consecutive major expansion since we reinstated our biannual release schedule, and marks a significant milestone in our ongoing mission to grant you more control and agency over New Eden. 

Your engagement and insights are invaluable, grounding our efforts and inspiring us to push the boundaries of what’s possible. We are committed to giving you more ownership, agency, and meaningful ways to leave your mark on the universe. 

Sovereignty in Space 

Owning space in New Eden should matter. It's not just about holding territory but about having real influence and control over it. We're working toward unifying the mechanics of claiming and owning space, taking valuable lessons from our experiences with Factional Warfare. 

Central to this evolution are the orbital skyhook and sovereignty hub. These tools are becoming the core of how you manage your claimed space, providing you with more autonomy and strategic options. Additionally, we see immense potential in integrating workforce management, opening even more avenues for you to shape your dominion. 

Ongoing Rejuvenation of Nullsec 

We plan on spending quite some time in nullsec, adding more content, gameplay opportunities, and balancing both the economy and the meta. While we are happy with the current state of the released mechanics and eagerly waiting to see how it all pans out, we’re also taking a closer look at skyhook raiding in collaboration with the CSM, who have been instrumental in the process. We firmly believe that all of the mechanics, the updated combat sites, escalations, and upgrades will combine to provide a much stronger nullsec ecosystem. However, rubber needs to meet road - it’s not all just theory crafting. We are keeping a close eye on all the changes to the overall economy, the LP currencies and stores, as well as wormhole ISK faucets and presence of dreadnoughts. 

A New Hue for New Eden 

Seeing the incredible player-created ship SKINs has been nothing short of amazing. Your creativity surpasses our wildest imaginations, demonstrating the limitless potential of free expression. Since SKINs were first introduced, it has been our dream to enable everyone to display their own colors with pride and make their visual mark on New Eden. 

We completely understand the concerns that the SKINR tool has raised, and we are reacting to and actively improving the Paragon Hub user experience, rolling out updates throughout the summer based on your feedback. New colors and patterns will continue to be released outside of major expansions, and we’re closely monitoring the market and pricing to ensure accessibility. Our commitment is to continually expand the capabilities of the SKINR tool, enhancing your ability to personalize and express your unique identity. 

In the meantime, PLEX and components from the AIR Daily Goals can contribute toward your ambitions with SKINR, and of course, all the elements are tradable on the player-driven market, including many components and patterns that are not available in the Paragon Hub. 

The next order of business is to unlock the power of SKINR for organization SKINs and to expand Corporation Projects to non-members. In the future, EverMarks will allow pilots to unlock corp SKINs, providing further means to express unique and social identity.  

Challenge Yourself Every Day 

With the latest changes to the daily challenges, we want players to undock and engage with the universe, to spend more meaningful time in space while contributing to the economy through creation, contribution, and destruction. We will continue to explore more opportunities to enhance regular gameplay habits, as well as reintroducing unique Halcyon Dawn SKIN rewards.    

In addition, ongoing efforts to balance roles will enhance your choices about what to fly, depending on your chosen activities, much like the popular changes made to carriers during Equinox. This will further our ambition of making ships more distinct and increasing the diversity of ships performing specific roles in space. 

Corporation Projects have empowered leaders to mobilize their members with purposeful tasks that advance their collective goals. We're committed to expanding these capabilities, adding more conditions to create new and diverse objectives. 

For the rest of the year, we'll focus on creating goals that extend beyond your corporation. Our planned changes will facilitate recruiting new members and contracting work to external corporations, both within your alliance and beyond. Furthermore, our objective is to introduce new contribution methods and conditions that foster a more dynamic and interconnected community, and we look forward to expanding on this soon.   

Grounding New Eden 

Speaking of interconnections, EVE Vanguard continues ushering in a bold new chapter in the ongoing saga of EVE Online with its first-person shooter experience set in New Eden. The EVE Universe is living and breathing, filled with inhabitants that make it a rich, real and meaningful experience, and we are building on an ecosystem shared with EVE Online, EVE Valkyrie, EVE Gunjack, and of course the pioneering DUST 514. Vanguard takes place on far-flung planets, filled with natural beauty, hostile denizens, and planetary colonization efforts enabled by the advancement in orbital skyhook technology from the Upwell Consortium. The Deathless Circle is advancing the development of Vanguard mercenary clones, and with your support, they’re making significant strides. Whether you're stepping into New Eden for the first time or a returning veteran, everyone starts on equal footing in EVE Vanguard, with no one having a head start.  

By deploying to planets, completing contracts and eliminating your rivals, you will gain power and influence. As the game grows, your domain grows, stretching from planets into space. 

The skyhook will play a crucial role as the bridge between EVE Online and EVE Vanguard. Learning from previous iterations of shooters in New Eden, we are determined to avoid past pitfalls, and the First Strike playtests have provided invaluable insights to refine and improve the game. These monthly events have been instrumental in solidifying the game's foundation, building a strong community of dedicated players, and rigorously testing our server infrastructure, hotfixes, and performance benchmarks. 

We are now transitioning to a more focused testing and development approach through our Founders’ Program, collaborating with the community to explore key themes and build toward a major update in November. Beyond that, we plan to open Steam Early Access, with exact timing to be announced later. In the meantime, you can wishlist EVE Vanguard on Steam. For a high-level view of our future plans, check out the latest roadmap: 

We invite community members interested in expanding New Eden and welcoming new players into the world you've helped create to take the first step and join the official EVE Vanguard Discord.   

One of our goals is to deepen the gameplay loop with more content that strengthens the connection between EVE Online and EVE Vanguard, adding more compelling reasons to spend time in New Eden, and we are actively seeking input from the community to help us get this right. For a deeper dive into the vision for EVE Vanguard, check out the latest In Focus segment.

A Shared Journey 

The future of EVE Online is incredibly exciting. We are committed to continuing the path we are on, enhancing your experience with more control over space, deeper customization options, and engaging gameplay across all facets of New Eden. From unifying ownership mechanics and expanding Corporation Projects to enhancing SKINR and evolving EVE Vanguard, we are dedicated to making 2024 a year of unprecedented growth and innovation. 

Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. Together, we will continue to shape the EVE Universe, making it richer, more dynamic, and more engaging than ever before. 

Fly safe 

CCP Rattati & CCP Burger