EVE Evolved
Tenacious Capsuleers,
As EVE edges ever closer to the Uprising expansion’s full release, various teams around CCP are working on continual investment into the underlying tech of New Eden. This commitment, known as EVE Evolved, ensures that EVE Online remains at the forefront of visual and sensory fidelity for now and into the future.
Furthering that story, another EVE Evolved release is now available on the Singularity test server. This time, there is a focus on audio and tech improvements, alongside even more upgrades to Photon UI.
Hearing is Believing
The headline feature in this EVE Evolved release are the improvements to sound prioritization on grid in EVE, marking the beginning of several coming audio updates. This means that sounds happening closer to you will be given priority over distant sounds.
This sound priority system will improve your gameplay twofold. For one, you can expect a more immersive, convincing soundscape as the thud of weapon fire pounds your enemies’ hull (or perhaps even your own!). This system will also serve to reduce CPU usage by about 75% during busy scenes, such as large battles, helping improve your overall performance during fights. That means it's time to turn the sound on, turn the volume up, and enjoy battles that are more immersive and dramatic, without sacrificing performance.
On the subject of performance increases, this EVE Evolved release will also introduce controller refactoring; a behind the scenes adjustment that significantly reduces memory usage for heavy, busy scenes, while providing improved load/unload times.
There is a mass test scheduled on Singularity on 27 September, so be sure to attend if you want to experience the magic for yourself! Until then, have a read of the latest dev blog that talks in a little more detail about how this all works.
Next-Gen Visual Performance
On the visual side of the upgraded sensory experience, AMD FreesyncTM is coming to EVE for those with a monitor, supported configurations and GPU that supports the technology. You can expect this to bring an end to screen tearing while delivering buttery smooth gameplay. Look out for a dev blog coming soon with the juicy details on just how this helps you!
UI Improvements Powered by You
The evolution of EVE’s user interface will also continue with the next EVE Evolved release. This iteration of Photon UI will upgrade the Neocom to the Photon style, while introducing a number of improvements, such as an enhanced compact window which gives you more control over how you see your inventories. Each of these UI elements will become much more readable, following the drone window updates that debuted earlier this month that already saw adjustments to controls and prior visibility issues. Everything underway with the Photon UI has been carefully planned to help modernize the EVE Online experience, guided by you.
Additionally, in October this version of Photon UI will become opt-out for the first time. This will ensure that players of a wide variety of playstyles, areas, and experiences are exposed to the UI. We will also be closely monitoring how you use Photon UI, capturing data that lets us understand and refine how the system works for you and your fellow players. But we need more than data alone. The more players that can give feedback, the better for the entire EVE community, so be sure to have your say on the EVE forums. Previously around 13% of pilots have opted into Photon UI. With the move to opt-out, we ‘re excited to get even more feedback as this new feature evolves with your input. And you can still opt-out of using Photon for the meantime, but please share detailed feedback on your reasoning. It will all help make sure Photon UI is the best it can be.
EVE Evolved – Forever Evolving
That’s not all for EVE Evolved this year. Later, with the Uprising expansion, you’ll be seeing a plethora of updates that help immerse you in the ultimate space sandbox MMO that is EVE Online:
- Turret audio updates – experience an incredibly immersive soundscape!
- New dungeon music – new backing tracks for your space badassery.
- AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution – further boost your framerate in EVE while improving performance.
- Screen Space Ambient Occlusion – improves the appearance of hangars.
- And more....
So, there’s a lot to look forward to in a short space of time! The future of EVE is a bright one and with the EVE Evolved you can be sure that EVE Forever becomes reality.
Once you’ve had a go with these features, be sure to give your feedback on the EVE forums to help direct efforts to where you, the players, want to see improvements.
