However the space loving studio learnt that it was ”something that was really emotionally important,” and reminded them how ”really connected” people in EVE Online are.
CCP recently announced they’re scaling back operations and want to focus more on what EVE Online has been all about from the beginning: spaceships and exploration, not walking about space stations.
”One of our strengths has been to collaborate with the community on the development of EVE… but I have to admit… that we have lost that connection in our ambitions to push on these three agendas at the same time,” explained CEO Hilmar Petursson. Those three agendas were EVE Online, DUST 514 and World of Darkness.
”The experience we’ve now gone through is getting back to the CCP which was much more focused on that, and that is what we hope to demonstrate now going forward,” added Petursson. The studio has reduced the launch day ambitions for their new World of Darkness MMO and instead has opted to have it follow EVE’s example of phased growth.
It’s in CCP’s DNA to work with the community, he added. ”I would call this more about going back to our roots,” he said – ”behaving like the company that people have come to love and respect, frankly.” Trouble with the fans began when CCP plans for micro transactions for stat changing items appeared - it led to huge in-game protests.
He revealed they steamed ahead with changes despite ”people inside CCP and inside the community that were calling this to be a great mistake,” and they learnt the hard way about ignoring the communities wishes. ”It’s very small things, which we disregarded as just some noise in the channel, when in fact it was something that was really emotionally important, and something that people are really connected with in EVE Online.”
Check out the full interview between Hilmar Petursson and Gamasutra. One major change to the space MMO has been allowing players to see their pilots as fully realised avatars able to stretch their legs aboard stations.
