Building Better Capsuleers
Ambitious Capsuleers,
The Gateway Quadrant comes to an end this November, and we’re happy to bring you a summary of what’s been accomplished in the areas of the new player experience in EVE Online, as well as some details on what’s to come in the future – both near and far. Take a stroll through the various additions and improvements EVE has seen during this Quadrant, and look forward to what’s next!
LAUNCH OF THE AIR NPE
The new AIR NPE has brought a powerful first adventure to new players, with a 30% increase to the average length of a player’s first session in EVE, and a massive uptick in NPE completion rates! Since its release, the AIR NPE has seen a number of fixes and some polish – and in November, we’ll be introducing animated Aura, Vesper, and Balin for an even more engaging experience.
Work is underway to introduce a mining mission in the first half of 2022, introducing players to the fundamental cycles of the EVE Online economy - the first step in a longer plan to iterate.
Farther down the line, look forward to continued building on the narrative experience of the NPE through additional content, providing new players an engaging and enjoyable series of adventures!
UPDATES TO SKILL PLANS
The introduction of Skill Plans has brought increased interactions with skill training with thousands of skill plans created. Since the rollout, Skill Plans have seen various fixes and refinements, such as improved tooltips and explanations, as well as visible required time for skill levels without needing to check tooltips.
In the November release, look forward to being able to drag ship fittings into a Skill Plan to automatically populate it with the fitting’s required skills. Corporation Skill Plans are coming to players in December, along with a new Skill Plan Manager role that enables corporations to create, save and share specialized plans with their members – providing a strong foundation and framework for new recruits. In addition, players will be able to import and export Skill Plans to and from the clipboard.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CORP FINDER UPDATES
Through observing what works best, we’ve learned that some Opportunities are more effective than others at helping players find their bearing in the vast world of EVE and will be building heavily on that knowledge as time goes on. In November, another testing phase will begin building data for the purpose of bringing players individually personalized content recommendations based on their activities and preferences in the future.
New Landmark-based opportunities are also on their way, giving players opportunities to travel to and visit various interesting locations around New Eden and become better immersed in the world of EVE.
Additionally, look forward to various Corporation Finder improvements in November, with updates to some filters and functions and more specific corporation ads - allowing for improved player-corporation matchmaking.
ACADEMY REVAMP
Thus far, the EVE Academy page has provided a marked improvement to players’ early experience in EVE, with more than 90% of respondents reporting that the page has helped them find their path in the vast world of New Eden. Players have spent more than one year combined watching the various EVE Academy videos, and the Academy site in general has maintained a very high level of engagement.
Since release, six new videos have been published – and based on feedback from players, new resources and information, including skill plans, AIR, PVP roles, a link to the Fiction Portal, and more.
In November, look forward to the first phase in the revamping of EVE Academy, promising iterations on content and improved resources for all players – as well as the final Career video, focusing on PVP. The new Academy site will also see various new content, teaching players about a selection of specific ships, with a comprehensive page explaining the vital info that goes into flying your ship coming a bit later.
The Gateway Quadrant has brought significant improvements to EVE in across various areas, and we’re looking forward to continuing this path, bringing new and older players alike improved experiences and all kinds of engaging and enjoyable content as we approach the next year of EVE Online.
To join the player discussion, please head on over to the official thread on EVE Online forums.
See you in space, and fly safe!
