EVE Online News

Performance-hungry Capsuleers,

During the keynote at this year’s Fanfest, we announced that AMD FreeSync™ support would be coming to EVE Online. In the October release we are delivering on this promise and enabling AMD FreeSync™ by default, giving you a smoother gaming experience (if you have a supported system), at no additional performance cost! This all comes as part of the EVE Evolved initiative, as we continue to invest in building better foundations to support EVE’s future.

[h3]A whole new frequency of fun[/h3]

While a computer has various components, there are two main parts that are mostly responsible for getting an image to your eyes: A graphics card (GPU) and monitor. These are typically connected through a HDMI (or alternative) cable.

For many years, your graphics card would send an image to the monitor 60 times a second. This is known as the ‘frequency,’ with 60Hz being extremely popular. In the last decade, there has been a huge increase in screens that offer higher refresh rates, with 120Hz or above becoming increasingly adopted in PC gaming.

It’s not hard to see why. Higher frequency screens can offer players a far smoother and more enjoyable gaming experience, provided, of course, that the game they’re playing can render the frames required. While you may have an 120Hz screen, for example, you won’t really feel the benefit if the games you’re playing only render at 60 frames per second.

This concept is not new and has existed for a long time, with not much changing since older CRT monitors were popular. It is a simple, tried, and tested solution that is reliable, but does have some downsides when used with modern technology.

[h3]A match made in screen space - balancing the framerate of the screen and New Eden[/h3]

The main problem with having a set frequency between the GPU and your monitor occurs when a game can’t render enough frames. For example, if you have a 120Hz screen but the game can only render 50 frames per second there are only 2 choices:

• If you have vertical synchronisation (V-sync) turned on, which is the default for EVE, then frames would get repeated, or dropped as required to match the screen refresh. This can give a ‘stutter’ effect, due to the mismatch between the screen frequency and the number of new frames from the game. It is most noticeable on anything that is moving quickly in-game.
• If you have V-sync turned off, the frame will render as soon as it can. This will usually result in the image having a ‘tear.’ This typically looks like an abrupt line in the image.

The ideal solution then is to move away from having a set monitor frequency (like 120Hz) and to vary it, matching the frame rate the game is rendering at. In a perfect situation, this means the monitor will only display a new frame when there is something new to display. Resulting in reduced juddering at lower framerates, along with eliminating the tearing that could happen with V-sync being disabled.



As you may expect, the technology behind this is quite complex. Compatible screens often have a limited frequency range in which they can vary the refresh rate, with 40 to 80Hz being common, although some modern screens boast much wider ranges. There have also been different tech standards for approaching this problem in the last few years, with AMD FreeSync™, Nvidia® G-Sync® and VESA DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync all being methods that tackle the problem in slightly different ways.

[h3]OK, I’m in. How do I enjoy this newer technology?[/h3]

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support is built into Windows 10 since May 2019. When running this Windows 10 version or above, you simply need to make sure you have a compatible GPU with the latest GPU drivers installed, along with a screen that supports variable refresh rate.

While we have worked with AMD to ensure AMD FreeSync™ functionality, any technology that supports VRR is usable; G-sync users will also benefit from this upgrade. If you wish to control functionality of this feature, then the control panels from AMD, Nvidia and Intel all offer options related to how variable refresh rate works.

The result? Capsuleers can now soar through space with the smoothest of framerates.

Fly Smoothly and see you in New Eden!

Enterprising Capsuleers,

PLEX is the heart of New Eden’s vast empyrean economy, providing utility, style, or simply wealth to any pilot – and there’s no better time to grab it than today, with a 15% flash sale on select PLEX packages from 1-3 October!

You can use PLEX to purchase Omega time (unlocking doubled training speed & access to training advanced skills), obtain services like Multi-Character Training (MCT) or Skill Extractors in the NES, purchase SKINs and character apparel, and can also sell any quantity for generous sums of ISK on the market.

Head over to the EVE Store and enjoy all the benefits of PLEX at a discount while you can!

Competitive Capsuleers!

A lot has happened since our last Alliance Tournament check-in, so let us get you up to date with what's already taken place, and what's coming up!

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[h2]Trials and Main Tournament entry[/h2]

All the teams that didn't get direct entry into the Alliance Tournament this year submitted silent bids to buy into the tournament. This has given us a list of teams that will be battling it out in the arena over the next few weekends in the Trials Tournament!



The seven Minmatar tribes will be sponsoring the entry of one of the teams listed above, earning their way in through combat and a little bit of flag flying.

Each team is part of a group of six (and one group of five) where they will be playing at least twice and – if they win a sponsorship through the redemption arc of the Nefantar – up to 10 games!

As there are likely to be a few games in each group where two teams could win, a tiebreaker mechanism has been set up. In the case of a tie, if a team brings a Minmatar Hull, they are given bonus points for their team. Then, should a second tie-breaker be needed, the score achieved across their games will also be considered.

As dictated by tournament tradition, to decide the brackets for the Trials Tournament and the Alliance Tournament, CCP Convict and CCP Zelus did a short broadcast to share the information simultaneously with all the teams. But, rather than using a bingo ball machine like last year, the team's fate was decided by a marble run! You can catch the Twitch VOD if you want to see it yourself here.

The Trials will be broadcasted for us by EVE_NT on the CCP Twitch channel over the next two weekends. The first match each day will be starting at 15:00 UTC for the first 3 days and 16:40 UTC on the final day of the Trials on 9 October. The Trials will feature up to 65 matches of competitive combat and explosions for your enjoyment!

Given the unique format of the Trials Tournament, you can find a link to the schedule as a Google sheet here.

Image created and provided by Jeronyx

[h2]Alliance Tournament Match Weekends[/h2]

The winning entries from the silent bids and the direct entry teams give us the list of our 25 teams below:



The seeds and subsequent brackets for the Main Tournament were also decided in a marble run, the results of which can be found on Challonge here.

The teams which win through to the Main Tournament from the Trials will be added to those brackets once the Trials have concluded. The format for the Main Tournament is the traditional format we've all come to know and love, so on the weekends of 12-13 November and 19-20 November be ready to tune in for even more explosions!

[h2]What comes after the Trials?[/h2]

Once the Trials Tournament is over we'll have another update for you all, declaring the winners along with the updated brackets for the Main Tournament, the match schedule, as well as the Flagship Declarations (Team captains can register their Flagships here) from each of the teams.

Information about prizes for this year's Alliance Tournament will be coming at a later date.

We'll see you all for some explosive action this weekend and next starting at 15:00 UTC on CCP TV!

Decisive capsuleers,

Tensions continue to mount as the empires fight over the legacy of the Triglavian Collective’s invasion of New Eden. The race is on to gain understanding and advantages with the potential to shift the balance of power and catapult New Eden toward new & unprecedented frontiers. Not only those involved in Factional Warfare, but all capsuleers are called upon to take part – from combat pilots to explorers, industrialists, and more. This is your moment to make a difference!

In recent months, each of the empires have sounded a clear call to action, exhorting their respective militias’ capsuleers to assist in capturing and holding territory key to their ongoing efforts. The Amarr and Minmatar are currently pursuing Triglavian Stellar Transmuter technology, with the Caldari and Gallente focusing their attention on separate unidentified tech initially recovered by EDENCOM from a hidden Triglavian installation on the surface of Athounon V. Both represent vital research targets for the respective empires.

The foundations have been laid, the stage is set, and the curtains have risen on EVE's next chapter. Two research races that will determine the future of the cluster have commenced in the empires’ turbulent warzones, with outcomes decided solely by you – the capsuleers of New Eden.

[h2]RIGHTFUL REWARDS[/h2]

In order to inspire capsuleers with reasons to assist them beyond loyalty alone, and the resulting need to make it worthwhile to side with them over their enemies, the victorious empire in each race will be distributing special blueprint copies of newly developed navy exploration frigates and battlecruisers to their projects’ most valuable contributors!

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[h2]ATHOUNON STARGATE CONSTRUCTION RACE[/h2]

In recent weeks, both the Caldari State and the Gallente Federation have initiated construction of new stargates – intended to directly link the Athounon system to secure locations in their own well-defended borders and enable the secure extraction of technology from the storm-cloaked surface of Athounon V.

This is happening right now, with both sides attracting capsuleers to aid in their efforts by engaging in direct action and contributing material resources to their construction sites in Athounon – making it imperative that all available capsuleers act immediately to support their favored empire!

Capsuleers can get involved by fighting for Factional Warfare control of Athounon, which requires membership in an empire militia. Alternatively – or additionally – you can gather resources at key mining sites prospected throughout the Serthoulde constellation which are open to militia and non-militia capsuleers alike.

The two stargates thus far have only made progress toward completion while Athounon has been under the full control of their respective factions, assembling at a constant rate while the system is secure. Consequently, faction militia engagement in and around the system is essential to securing victory.

You have the power to decide whether the Caldari or the Gallente complete their stargate first, so take up arms and harvest and deliver resources to your faction’s stargate in Athounon to hasten their completion!



[h2]STELLAR TRANSMUTER RESEARCH RACE[/h2]

If your loyalties lie with the Amarr Empire or Minmatar Republic, you can get involved to further their causes in understanding and benefitting from the Triglavians’ stellar harvesting and engineering methods! Since the Amarr Empire's construction of prototype Stellar Transmuters in the Amarr-Minmatar warzone, the Republic Militia has continually rallied to retake territory and interfere with Amarr operations.

Starting today, however, the situation has evolved. Sequential activation of the prototypes has begun, and all capsuleers loyal to either empire are urgently called to aid their faction’s efforts now!

You can help either the Amarr or Minmatar by engaging in Factional Warfare activities in Turnur and surrounding systems in the same constellation, with additional hotspots emerging in Egmar and Vard in the coming days.

You can also engage in hacking at special exploration sites in the same systems in order to loot and deliver encrypted research data to your chosen empire, which will aid them in gaining the advantage before the opposition!

If you are a member of either side’s faction militia and enter the corresponding exploration site, there will be friendly NPCs that allow you through and may well defend you against opposition or non-militia interlopers! Be warned, those not in a corresponding faction militia will be attacked by these guards.

Every moment that your empire is in control of the system gets them to their goal faster – their fate is in your hands! By gathering and delivering research data and being victorious in the warzones, you will help your empire gain access to the coveted technology first!



If you’d like to learn about these kinds of events and what goes into them, check out the recent stream on CCP TV that goes into depth on capsuleer driven events as part of the new narrative arcs in EVE.

As the empires align once again down an uncertain path, none can say what the future may hold – but through your actions, the fates of empires and the hopes of worlds will be decided; aid your favored faction as they pursue new understandings, and fight for a future of your own making!

Welcome back pilots to the Community Beat!

Can you believe this is already the 25th issue of the Community Beat?! Fifty weeks ago we started on a journey to help introduce players to the myriad of EVE’s community resources, in-game events, out-of-game gatherings, developer chats – anything and everything!

Let’s get to it!

[h2]If You Build It…[/h2]



We’ve featured YouCaldarian before, but he’s at it again making amazing – and incredibly detailed - ship models. Check out his latest Tengu, complete with the Exoplanets Hunter SKIN. We’re not quite sure how YouCaldairan managed to level Caldari Starship Engineering to VI – but we love the results!

[h2]Alliance Tournament Getting Closer![/h2]



New Eden’s premier competitive PvP tournament: The Alliance Tournament, is just around the corner. This week CCP Zelus and CCP Convict took to CCPTV for the live seeding of the Tournament bracket. Each year a different groups sponsors the Alliance Tournament, and this year the Minmatar Republic have taken that mantle.

For teams that didn’t bid directly into the competition, the Minmatar have setup a very unique play-in tournament called the Trials Tournament. Teams are broken down into different groups, representing each of the seven Tribes, and the winners of each group stage proceed to the main Tournament in November. Second place teams from each Tribe go into a redemption pool for one final shot at glory.

Mark your calendars because the action kicks off next weekend, October 1st & 2nd!

[h2]Strategic Looks[/h2]

The Loki, Proteus, Tengu and Legion belong to a special class of ships called Strategic Cruisers. Unlike most ships, these ships change their bonuses based on which Subsystem is equipped. Different Subsystems also change the ships appearance. If you come across one of these ships in space and you need to decide whether to run or fight, it’s incredibly helpful to know what you’re up against. Thankfully for us, Mazzic Karde put together a Visual Strategic Cruiser Identification Guide!



For those wanting to go even more advanced, he’s got a follow-up guide for identifying turrets and launchers. Commit these to memory and you can know exactly the type of ship you’re up against – potentially before the fight even starts. Use your superior EVE knowledge to eek out a victory, or perform a dashing escape.

[h2]Burnin’ for you![/h2]

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While working for mission agents, occasionally pilots will run across “Burner Missions” - incredibly high-value missions with no penalty for declining. , occasionally pilots will run across “Burner Missions” - incredibly high-value missions with no penalty for declining. Players familiar with these sites often run missions exclusively for these, while others choose to skip them entirely. If you fall into that latter category, Erstschlag has made a compelling case as to why you should overheat out of your comfort zone and tackle these head on!

[h2]In Space Nobody Can Hear You…Add[/h2]

There’s so much great content this week! As we learned in the Uprising Announcement, updates to Factional Warfare are coming in November. While not exclusively PvP oriented, there is quite a lot of PvP content for all levels of play. Many pilots have said it’s a great way to dip your toes into PvP, and we tend to agree.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Some of the most rewarding fights come down to perfect execution, and in the above video capsuleer Hookk perfectly diagrams a well-crafted engagement. From the killmail alone the fight would seem completely mundane, but these inside looks show just how much EVE knowledge & understanding your fleets capabilities can do. He also includes some fleet lexicon, so in your first fleet you can sound like a seasoned vet!



That’s it for this week, space friends! Head on over to the EVE Online Forums to let us know what you thought of the Beat this week, or if there’s anything you’re interested in hearing about moving forward.