Equinox in Focus: Personalized Ship SKINs

Creative capsuleers!

EVE Online: Equinox, the first major expansion of 2024, is rapidly approaching! This third installment of the Equinox in Focus series shines the spotlight on the new abilities to create bespoke ship SKINs, coming with the release of the expansion on 11 June. Read on for all the details and tune in to CCPTV on 23 May at 16:00 UTC to get even more in-depth information on the new SKINR for ships and to see it live in action.

With the Equinox expansion, the SKINR tool will be extended to ships, empowering you to fly your true colors, express your unique identity, and unleash your creativity through the design of personalized, custom SKINs. The possibilities are vast: from adorning your own ships or strengthening the collective identity of your corporation or fleet to embarking on a new career in New Eden, generating income by either selling your masterpieces in the Paragon hub or by specializing in seeking out and selling rare design elements.

When Equinox and SKINR for ships launch on 11 June, there will daily login gifts for 7 days offering amazing design elements to fuel your creations and sequence binders to help you get started in producing SKINs. Don’t miss the opportunity to get a head start on taking your EVE experience to a new creative level!

CREATIVE CONTROL AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

The new SKINR interface introduces a robust palette of design elements for your custom creations. These consist of basic and metallic nanocoatings in a wide variety of colors, as well as a selection of overlay patterns. Each SKIN design consists of five customization slots, four for nanocoatings and one for patterns. SKINR for ships can be found through the NEOCOM and is accessible anywhere in space, not just in stations.

The design studio offers unprecedented customization options and is where capsuleer creativity will truly explode. You will be able to move, rotate, and resize patterns around the hull, and apply different colors to separate sections of the ship, meaning that the smallest of variations applied through these tools will result in different, fascinating outcomes and designs. These options will open the doors to almost endless varieties of unique and distinctive creations.

Paragon will supply all capsuleers with a starting library of nanocoatings and patterns, with more available through the new Paragon Hub, on the market, and around New Eden through event rewards, daily goals, loot, and more. Design elements will have different rarities and drop rates, presenting opportunities for enterprising pilots to acquire and sell them for a healthy profit, or create rare and desirable SKINs that may fetch an even more handsome price in the Paragon Hub. Designs can be given unique names and even added to custom SKIN lines that you create.

Using SKINR, budding designers will be able to craft their own SKINs for almost any ship in EVE, except the capsule, Tech III, and special edition ships. Up to five designs can be saved at a time for modification or sequencing later, with the ability to save more designs coming in the future.

BUILD YOUR DESIGN EMPIRE

Once the design is ready, it must be sequenced into a SKIN license to be applied to a ship. Each sequence has a certain cost based on a tier system using PLEX as the primary currency. The sequence cost is based on the rarity and quantity of design elements used, and the sequencing time is based on the SKIN tier and your skill level. Specific skills that will be introduced with new skill books in Equinox will allow bulk and faster sequencing, so some training might be in order! These skill books can be quickly purchased directly from the skill window.

Before design elements can be used in SKINR, they need to be activated. Some are limited to a certain number of usages, while others can be used an unlimited number of times, but keep in mind that sequence binders are required when sequencing SKINs that use unlimited design elements. Paragon will supply all capsuleers with a certain quantity of these to get started, but more can be purchased on the market, acquired through events, or looted.

Sequencing SKINs for different hulls is linked to clone status, meaning that Alpha clones are limited to Alpha pilotable hulls, while Omegas can sequence for all ships. In simpler terms: If you can fly a ship, you can also sequence a SKIN for it.

Once a SKIN is ready, it will be added to the new collection, where you can activate it for your own ship or sell it through the Paragon Hub.

YOUR STYLE AT A GLANCE

An integral part of the SKINR experience is the Paragon Hub, providing a platform to showcase designs and find the ideal look for your fleet. The interface is easy to navigate, and the hub provides opportunities for budding designers to make a name for themselves, not to mention untold riches. As well as being a venue to buy design elements, the Paragon Hub allows SKIN sellers to list their creations for sale and choose either PLEX or ISK as their currency, as well as the length of listing, which determines the basis for the SKINR service fee and Hub listing costs.

At launch, the Paragon Hub will only contain sequenced (player made) SKINs, while prime (CCP made) SKINs will continue to be available through the New Eden Store and the EVE Store. Prime SKINs will also feature patterns, effects, and colors that are not available through SKINR, so the increased creativity afforded by SKINR will dovetail with the continuing presence of stunning prime SKIN offerings in New Eden.

A new Collection interface is also being introduced, giving you a comprehensive overview of the sequenced SKINs and design elements that you own. This also features new SKIN icons, each displaying the SKIN adorning the correct ship, giving you a proper visual representation. Navigate your collection to seek inspiration for your next design as you browse your design elements or seamlessly choose the perfect SKIN for your upcoming adventures.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

SKINR for ships launches with the Equinox expansion on 11 June. This is the first iteration, and the tool will see exciting updates and upgrades in upcoming releases and expansions. There are already plans in place to add the ability to share designs, more features tailored to groups and corporations, as well as many more design elements and options.

The introduction of this new tool is sure to cause an avalanche of new and amazing SKINs, as SKINR empowers the capsuleers of New Eden to craft their unique identity and make each ship a true statement of expression.

For more in-depth information about SKINR for ships, don’t miss the upcoming live stream on CCPTV on 23 May at 16:00 UTC