Eve has been around since mid-year of 2003 and, since then, their player base has only grown. CCP takes pride in releasing a free expansion each year. They also keep their servers in tip-top shape, although this means an annoying downtime of usually an hour a day. The world of New Eden -
Eve- is a very wide universe that is comprised of easily over 5,000 solar systems and, with the release of
Revelations, the map adds another 500 solar systems in the form of eight new regions. The G.U.I. immerses the pilot in their surroundings and allows players to feel the ship that they are piloting as if it were an extension of their own body, which is needed, seeing as
Eve lacks the ability for a player to walk around in stations or on planets. This causes the player to lose that certain connection that they feel with their character, a feeling of direct involvement and influence. That feeling is, however, quickly shattered when the player realizes how massive and dangerous
Eve can be.
Each system in Eve carries a security rating. These security ratings tell a player of the dangers that may be waiting for them on the other side of a jump gate. The security ratings range from Empire (safe space) to Low security (dangerous space) and finally ending in Alliance space (outlaw territory). While the average new player will dabble here and there in mining and NPC hunting, they will quickly learn that the best route to take in Eve is teaming up with other players. Players do this by creating and joining corporations that they can then form into larger groups called alliances. This allows players to focus on a common goal and fill the emptiness that space in Eve can leave in your soul. Whether its NPC hunting, Mission running, Exploration and survey encounters, Mining, Researching, Manufacturing, Player versus Player combat, Market trading or Pirating, everyone can find something to do in Eve.
Revelations also brought Eve players many new additions and changes. The Escrow system had been abolished and replaced with a more advanced Contract system. With Escrow, you just threw up whatever you wanted to sell and hoped it brought in your asking price. With the new Contract system, a player can sell, item exchange, auction and assign courier missions for an item as well as make loans to other players. This gives much more control to players and makes it much easier for corporate leaders to delegate tasks.
Combat organization in Eve has also received a new face. The old gang system allowed for you to issue gang invites to as many people as you wished and there was no control other than you screaming. The new combat system replaces the non-existent gang system with the hierarchical fleet system. In the system, you can have a gang that can hold a max of 50 players. After you have achieved 50 players, you then get the option to turn your gang into a fleet. You may then split the gang into different squadrons and assign a squad commander for each squad. The total max gang size is 256 members: 1 Fleet Commander, 5 Wing Commanders, 25 Squad Commanders and 225 Squad Members. Along with the new combat system, CCP also introduced a new section for the G.U.I. which includes a revamped gang interface. The interface is fully equipped with quick buttons that issue various commands to your gang on the fly.
The new contract system that CCP introduced wasn't the only major thing to change the market in Eve after Revelations. The successful launch of the Invention system means that players can now manufacture Tech II ships, modules, drones and ammo without the original blueprints. Players will have to take advantage of their research and mission agents in order to gather the materials and data needed. The player will then have to obtain decryptors and data cores in order to make use of the data obtained and make a successful blueprint copy of the Tech II item. The downside to the Invention system is that it will be a lengthy process and the blueprint copies produced will be well below efficient. This is in an effort to drive down the player driven costs of Tech II items and to give newer industrialists a chance to break into the market.