The assault of the Drifter fleet continues in Eve Online and this time they are threatening the communications network of the game. For those outside the bubble, this means that the fundamental way that chat has worked for years will be shifting for at least a short period of time. To understand these players need to know how New Eden, the galaxy of Eve, functions and how their communications network works.
The Scope, a news channel in the Eve universe, has been reporting on the attack via short videos published by the developers. Through this clever medium of communication fans inside and outside the game can see the evolution that Eve Online is undertaking. Things are shifting in the universe, and many new players are being drawn back by the call to action that is the Drifter threat.
New Eden is a galaxy divided into three main parts. There is highsec space which is a high-security area patrolled by AI-controlled factions that keep the peace. Outside of that is the null-sec space, which is where a majority of wars are fought as it is a lawless frontier with no AI presence until recently. The third area is not really an area, they call it Wormhole space, and it is a series of randomly connected zones that shift every so often. Most players interact with highsec and nullsec which is called Known Space in the game, whereas the Wormhole remains an endgame feat and is called Unknown Space.
It used to be that when a player dropped into Known Space from warm the game’s local chat channel would tell you who was there, what they were flying, and whose side of the galactic power struggle they were on. This sort of information is important for small-time players and big alliances as it is used in real time to decide whether or not to fight or flight from the area.
In Unknown Space, local chat would only identify players once they sent a message, and even then the information was limited. Big fleets would hide in Unknown Space easily and prepare for future battles. The big issue is that once you enter Unknown Space getting back is a little difficult so not many small factions would risk this.
The effect this had on the game was that Unknown Space felt dangerous. Anything could be lurking and waiting to strike, and this made Known Space a much safer place to be. After the most recent update from CCP Games, the chat system in nullsec will now be similar to Unknown Space. This will allow large fleets to move about secretively and make the nullsec region much more dangerous than in the past.
Many say this is the intention of the patch as with the recent alien invasion of the Drifters the threat of attack on highsec is increased. What this will mean for the politics of the game is still unknown, but many of the community members are worried and excited about the change. This will add a new level of strategy to the game and require prominent factions to do their own recon rather than relying on the chat service.
