Happy Holidays From CCP Games!
Greetings Capsuleers!
It’s that wonderful time of the year again! The holidays are firmly upon us and as we head full steam toward 2016, we would like to reflect on what a wonderful year 2015 has been in New Eden.
Starting 2015 releases early with Proteus, and ending with Operation Frostline, there have been a lot of big changes in EVE over the last year including a brand new Sovereignty system, new NPC AI and the Drifters, a lot of new ships and updates from our art team Trilambda who always strive to keep EVE beautiful. We also had the first rounds of the Amarr Championships and we cannot wait for the finals at Fanfest 2016.
With so many incredible moments this year like the amazing efforts of broadcast for reps, Kelon’s amazing performance in the Amarr Championships, the ever reliable Hydrostatic Podcast, the wonderful cosplay at Fanfest and the amazing Euro Tour we decided to ask a few Devs for their favourite memories of 2015.
CCP Seagull:
My favorite thing this year has been all the passion people put in arguing with us over what EVE should be. I find it’s an enormous privilege to get to co-create this science fiction universe with people who care so much about it. To all of you who have chimed this year and given us your opinion, thank you for playing and thank you for making EVE with us. Happy holidays and see you all in 2016!
CCP Manifest:
Some of my favorite memories of the past year have been seeing a big rise in player-made EVE videos and their complexity, storytelling, and artistry—whether corp commercials, propaganda pieces, battle recordings, solo pvp vids or any of the other hundreds of awesome vids.
I definitely had one of those wow moments with one in particular: Scott Manley’s “EVE Online VR Video – The Ships and Factions of New Eden”. It captures the majesty of the factions on an epic scale and shows the ingenuity of EVE players and what they can do with even the barest of tools – in this case EVE Probe. Plus it’s a great overview of the New Eden landscape, very well written and produced, and a FREAKING 360 VIDEO, which is super cool to show people on your phone when they ask about internet spaceships.
CCP Punkturis:
Meeting chillbros from EVE Online is absolutely my favorite part of being an EVE Online developer. I was lucky enough this year to attend EVE Nottingham, EVE Fanfest and EVE Vegas where I got to meet so many people from different places and live their enthusiasm and love for our game. Words cannot describe how rewarding this is for me and how much it encourages me to work harder on the game. I very much look forward to meet everyone again in 2016 <3
CCP Mimic:
I am continuously surprised by the generosity of this Community and astounded that such ruthless players in-game are in fact the most caring and thoughtful people out of game. So many great player-driven movements and mini-communities exist, but one that has really stood out for me this year is the Care4Kids movement started by C4w3.
Hearing regularly about their progress from just a simple idea to pass the time in hospital, to full-blown Non-Profit Organization status and hearing about all the external media coverage they have been receiving in Sweden has been fantastic. The support from the EVE Community has been no less awe-inspiring and one of my personal favorites of the contributions players have made, are the coloring-book additions created by Rixx Javix.
Such a great addition to help these kids feel a little bit better and be introduced to the amazing EVE Online Community that all of our wonderful players have created. More can be seen here.
CCP Affinity:
This has been a great year! I had so much fun at Fanfest, Vegas and the LA player meet I had the opportunity to attend. I got to meet so many awesome players and chat about where we should take PvE in the future. My favourite part of 2015 has been involving players so much more in storyline. Storyline in EVE has taken a crazy, awesome turn this year and that is thanks to each and every one of you! From participating in events, coming up with crazy theories on who the Drifters are, creating podcasts and blogs, participating in the Amarr Championships. I am so thankful for each and every one of you and the enthusiasm you put in to the lore and your help in taking storyline to the next level.
CCP Falcon:
It’s difficult to know where to start when talking about all the cool stuff that’s happened over the course of 2015. From having the privilege to continue to be part of the storyline team and work on making it a whole lot more interactive for our players, through to all the awesome player gatherings and events we’ve seen this year, it’s just been one hell of a ride overall.
I think for me a few of the things that stand out are a great Fanfest with some amazing entries to the cosplay contest, the return of the Amarr Championships, Alliance Tournament XIII and all the meta and drama that surrounded it, and of course seeing the o7 show really take on a life of its own.
We also had the biggest EVE Vegas ever (holy shit, it was huge this year!), an incredible EVEsterdam, hosted by the wonderful Dierdra Vaal, and a rock solid return for EVE Down Under (I gotta get myself over there one year!).
I’ve also enjoyed watching the community evolve over the course of the last year too, with more video production, kick ass artwork, and of course the annual Pod & Planet fiction contest! While there’s been a few bumps in the road this year, I’m looking forward to seeing where we go in 2016 as the community matures and grows more.
We’ve seen some amazing charity initiatives this year from Care4Kids through to Broadcast 4 Reps, and the community has raised a healthy sum for charity through both player organized funding drives, and those held at EVE Vegas and Fanfest 2015.
I’m incredibly proud of what the EVE Community have achieved over the course of the last 12 months, and I love writing these end of year blogs because although it can be pretty challenging at times, I feel like leading the community effort for CCP is pretty much the best job out there.
Also, a special nod to the wonderful citizens of the /r/eve community and the glorious community over at #tweetfleet, you guys will always have a special place in my heart, and have kept me entertained to no end over the course of the last year!
PLEX for GOOD:
In 2015, the community once again delivered an unbelievable level of charity support through the PLEX for GOOD program.
After a devastating earthquake hit Nepal and the surrounding region in May, the community rallied behind PLEX for GOOD and raised an astonishing $103,650 for the Icelandic Red Cross, bringing the total amount that the EVE Community has raised for PLEX for GOOD close to half a million US dollars.
With the donation from the EVE Community being one of the largest that the Icelandic Red Cross received, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the President of Iceland came by to offer his thanks to the EVE Community for supporting such a worthwhile cause.
Player Gatherings:
Given the number of amazing events we’ve seen this year, it’s pretty hard to formulate a list of everything that’s been happening. We’ve seen some incredible player gatherings that have touched all four corners of the world, including the following cities:
- London
- Glasgow
- Houston
- Vancouver
- Austin
- Toronto
- Dubai
- Stockholm
- Adelaide
- Dusseldorf
- Melbourne
- Atlanta
- Tucson
- Bristol
- Denver
- Maryland
- Daegu
- San Diego
- New York
- Detroit
- Dublin
- Salt Lake City
Not to mention the amazing growth of EVE New England, the biggest EVE Vegas yet, a much larger EVEsterdam, the 10th Anniversary of EVE London and gatherings in Paris and Berlin as part of the Euro Tour.
We hope you’ve had as much fun this year as we have, and we’d love to hear and see your favourite moments from the last year on twitter, using the hashtags #EVE2015 and #tweetfleet.
If you'd like to check out how to attend player gatherings in 2016, keep a keen eye on the Out Of Game Events & Gatherings forum, as well as the amazing player created www.evemeet.net for information on upcoming gatherings.
Finally, from all of us here at CCP, we’d like to wish you all Happy holidays, and best wishes for 2016.
Stay safe out there over the Holiday Sason, and we'll see you all on the flip side for an awesome 2016!
- Team Murder Services
