Last month, the legendary single-server sci-fi MMO EVE Online beat their own Guinness World Records for biggest ever videogame PvP battle and the most concurrent participants in a multiplayer videogame PvP battle. With almost 10,000 players taking part, the battle was the culmination of years of tension. Following an unmissable EVE Online interview series we ran a couple of months ago, our Head of Content, Alex, sat down once again with the geniuses behind the legendary sci-fi MMO EVE Online.
Once more, EVE’s Creative Director Bergur Finnbogason and Brand Director Sæmundur Hermannsson gave us the inside scoop on the battle as well as changes to the beating heart of New Eden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdoQzmzg2XY&feature=emb\_title&ab\_channel=EVEOnline
Alex @ MMO Games: We couldn’t start this EVE Online interview in any other way than congratulating you on your two Guinness World Record awards. What can you tell our readers about the biggest PvP battle in gaming history?
Bergur: Like so many wars, it followed from a truce pact expiring and the build up of so many emotions. The PAPI forces were trying to get a beachhead in the home of the Imperium Alliance. In their fifth attempt, PAPI managed to set up a foothold, and this has changed the dynamic of the war completely. But when someone invades your home, you’re willing to put everything on the frontline. Who knows what will happen now that they have this infestation in their region?
Sæmi: This is another amazing achievement by the community. We are in an eternal arms race with EVE players; as we upgrade Tranquillity, they bring in more players. Every two to four years, there has been another world record and that trend will likely continue. What’s amazing is if you compare the sentiment and thoughts surrounding breaking these world records with the last time we did so in January 2018. Seeing the excitement and positivity within the EVE player-base, it’s a testament to the maturity of the community, to our infrastructure investment since then, and to all the things we’ve doubled down on.
“This is not only one of the great wars of EVE Online, but it’s becoming one of the great wars of the modern era.”
Sæmi (continued): We want to give the biggest shout-out to all the community who’ve helped with this; streaming experts like Brisc Rubal who are continually calling out and explaining to the player-base the amazingness that we’re living in. Yes sure, there’s some lag, but with the scale of these battles, it is literally impossible to not have it with the software and hardware that exist today.
Alex @ MMO Games: With so many players involved, cooperation and teamwork were clearly the heroes of the hour. That said, did you witness any individual acts of heroism or skill from players that you thought were deserving of commendation?
Bergur: We owe a lot of gratitude to the people reporting on the battle on both sides. In addition to the team at CCP who are going through and recording the battle, those players really are our eyes and ears on the battlefield. But you know, it’s a war of endurance – how long can you keep your troops rallied? There’s a huge Cold War aspect of this conflict. It is amazing to see, on both sides, the incredible rallying by the leaders of the community. But truly, there are so many players with crucial roles on either side: Take the fleet commanders figuring out new hypotheses – so many beautiful minds applying their genius to problem-solving within EVE – and creating plans so detailed that they are essentially whitepapers. So, I can’t in good conscience call out a single individual. But instead, I want to give kudos to the amazing player-base who are running this, planning this, dreaming this, and fulfilling it. This is not only one of the great wars of EVE Online, but it’s becoming one of the great wars of the modern era.
Sæmi: It takes a village to raise a child. There are so many people feeding into this war to make it happen; so many. Yes, there are the fleet commanders, but there are also the logistical people, the propaganda people doing 14-hour streams, the behind-the-scenes generals, the miners preparing the materials for the warships. How can you call out any single individuals or even single groups when entire alliances are feeding into this? Like a country feeding a war.
“…so many beautiful minds applying their genius to problem-solving within EVE!”
Bergur: Not to mention the operational specialists who maintain the access lists, I mean holy hell… that is complicated during war! Who has access to who, to what? Who can you trust? Who can’t you? Who is on a grey-list? Or think about the I.T. people in the big alliances who write software to make sure messages go out at the right moment in the right order. You don’t want to send someone out to buy billions of a resource that’s going to arrive a month early or a day too late. It’s epic!
Alex @ MMO Games: An unthinkably complex logistical odyssey! Some of the write-ups online are, as you say, more detailed than those of the most famous historical battles. In the latest quadrant, New Eden is in a state of reconstruction from the ashes. How are the various factions coping and what lies beyond the Eve of Destruction?
Bergur: We’ve just had another really massive release where we’re shaking up a lot of meta for the game. We’ve upgraded the Encounter Surveillance System and the Dynamic Bounty System (DBS). As well as a few smaller, well smaller-massive, things that went out.
Sæmi: The Tuesday release we’ve just had was basically a small-to-medium sized expansion. We had a complete rework of null-sec income generation and there has been a lot of interest and excitement around it. We’ve had a crazy beautiful update to supercarriers, “Vat Out of Hel” – a cheeky cultural reference to the legendary Meatloaf. And an amazing visual update to the beating heart of New Eden, Jita. It now feels more than just a station, it feels metropolitan. Social media is going crazy with people flying around, taking screenshots, and finding Easter Eggs. It has such a beautiful sci-fi vibe to it, and it’s testament to the craftmanship of the art team. Oh, and there’s more coming for the holidays.
Alex @ MMO Games: And beyond that?
Sæmi: We’re making an effort not to make any grand promises that we can’t keep so you’ll have to wait until January and talk to us again.
Alex @ MMO Games: It’s a date. Here are some softball questions for you instead then. Have you always been sci-fi fans? Do you have any sci-fi literature favourites that you draw from in your work with EVE Online? And where do you fall in the Star Trek/Star Wars debate?
Sæmi: Ooff!
Bergur: You’re calling these softball questions? Well…
To find out their surprising answers, stay tuned to the articles section of our site where we have another special upcoming EVE Online interview on the game's unexpected inspirations. MMOGames.com is committed to bringing you all the freshest, funniest, and most insightful MMOG news. If you enjoyed this content, why not share it with your community? And make sure that you never miss our updates and exclusive giveaways by following and favouriting us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
