Performance Improvement
CCP is working hard on improving performance in EVE Online with the July 2018 that was deployed this week. You can read the full dev blog for the July 2018 performance patch right here.
CCP made a bunch of adjustments to rendering of missile effects so that LoD settings now apply across missiles as well as other in-game effects and models. What this means is that missiles now have a reduced affect on both client and server load, reducing the slowdown in large fights involving these projectiles.
It’s actually a really interesting read to learn about the changes CCP made, I strongly recommend it if you’re interested in the technical aspects of EVE.
New Referral Program
With the July 2018 update, CCP has also been making backend changes to EVE Online to reduce overhead and make some minor balance changes in-game. One such manifestation of these changes is a new referral rewards program for active players.
The new program has some major differences to the old one, and has the potential to have a significant affect on the in-game economy for certain items. Here’s how the new program works:
A user refers a new player to EVE Online and unlocks the potential for three rewards:
- The first purchase a user makes, the referrer is awarded to 24 hour skill accelerator
- If the user purchases PLEX, the referrer receives a Skill Extractor
- If the user applies Omega gametime through a non-PLEX method, the referrer gains 250 PLEX.
As you refer more users, special rewards like 2000 PLEX and unique in-game items can be unlocked as well. E-mail based deliveries of referrals have been disabled due to GDPR requirements though.
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that our referral program offer for EVE Online has disappeared from the site, but rest assured, we’re working on bringing it back with this new system. The new version will work very similar to our old referral system, just with rewards adjusted for the reduced ISK value of the individual rewards.
What this means is that the previous rewards for referring users have been effectively halved on an individual level. The interesting aspect of this is the potential impact on the in-game economy. In simple terms, PLEX volumes on the market could be negatively affected, leading to an increase in PLEX prices per unit. However, because we don’t know the volumes of PLEX generated through referrals, this outcome is only speculative, and may not sustain over the long-term. This also means that the volume of Skill Extractors will increase, leading to a drop in price for these items.
We’re going to bring back the referral program for our readers, but we want to wait until PLEX and Skill Extractor prices stabilize first, we just don’t know when that will be.
General News
CCP also released a variety of bug fixes and game changes for the July 2018 update. One such change is a general increase in character limits for player biographies and corporation descriptions. A bucnh of ship balance shifts and general UI changes have been thrown in too. Check out the full patch notes for the release right here.
If you happen to be the more visual type of learner, CCP has a new video discussing their plans for future development over the next couple months, check that out below.
The video includes information on the recent CSM results, with the first summit to be held in September. There’s info on the first balance passes on Into the Abyss, including two new Mutaplasmid types, as well as an Abyssal loot balance pass to be more rewarding at all difficulties, especially lower tiers.
