Fanfest 2015 - Day 3 in review
Fanfest, the annual, incredible EVE celebration in the land of fire and ice, has seen a fantastic third and last day on March 21 with in-depth information about the new structures, beautiful art, detailed discussions, and of course a huge amount of feedback and excitement!
A summary is ready with some news and announcements of this last Fanfest day.
Full rework of structures in space
The beauty of EVE is ever evolving and improving. The recently introduced set of rendering improvements (called “V5” shaders”) gave us impressive new graphics. Already planned is the next level of spaceship rendering (called “V5++” shaders) that will bring additional details, new materials, and eye candy such as improved dirt/rust layers.
Heavy backend optimizations
Rewriting parts of the backend system is going well. This long term project will, for example, considerably improve server performance when a player changes locations in space or upon entering/leaving a battle location. Expect more information on this in the coming months!
Improvements to the AI
After some quiet, but considerable improvements to the backend content design tools, the future now holds improved NPC Artificial Intelligence (AI) with behavioral patterns, more sophisticated reactions to players and the environment, as well as the possibility to specify improved NPC group/swarm behavior. This will allow more interesting and clever NPCs.
Art & Graphics
The Art and Graphics panel was brimming with shiny space art! We saw a redesigned Chimera and a new Caracal model. We saw preview concepts of the Caldari and Gallente tactical destroyers “Jackdaw” and “Hecate”. New propulsion booster animation, temporal anti-aliasing, new bombastic ship explosions and improved space clouds … all the beauty of EVE is going to be even more beautiful!
Security
Optional two-factor authentication for EVE websites and the account management will become available in April 2015. We also learned that the most skilled character that was ever banned so far had 181 million skillpoints - don't be the next record holder! Please also be aware that buying ISK is strictly forbidden – if you require quick in-game cash, use PLEX instead.
Cosplay
We also saw impressive costumes and cosplay during the whole Fanfest 2015. Huge thanks to all the participants of the Cosplay competition and everyone else who spiced up Fanfest 2015 with their inspiring presence!
Fanfest 2016 - April 21 to 23
Fanfest 2016 will be held from April 21st to 23rd in Reykjavik. Reserve those dates! If you are going to visit Fanfest (recommended), if you are watching EVE TV together with friends (also a great option), or if you are watching the stream alone, remember: the best ship in EVE is friendship!
Also availlable are the summaries of Fanfest 2015 Day 1 and Day 2.
Of course there was a lot more going on during Fanfest 2015 than mentioned in these high level summaries. Watch for updates and session recordings on CCP's YouTube channel.
Thank you all for such a fantastic Fanfest!
