In the sci-fi MMORPG EVE Online, the developers blew up an entire sun on November 2 at exactly 6:00 PM, and our author Mark Sellner was allowed to be there live in the front row. Together with the culprits, meaning the developers, he observed the “absolute destruction” and was thrilled.
EVE Online will officially launch its latest expansion, Uprising, on November 8; however, a lot happened in the world on the 2nd. Players were warned in advance through in-game news that something terrible would happen in the Turnur system on November 2 at 6:00 PM our time.
Despite the threat of a massive disaster, 1,800 ships were present when the timer ran out. I didn’t know what would happen either. Together with the developers, I sat in a Discord channel and watched their stream.
Right in front, directed at a sun, was a large laser. Surrounding were player ships, and I was explained what was actually happening.
It was only at the fan festival in May that EVE enchanted us with this new trailer:
A scientific experiment completely fails
One of the four NPC factions has revived technology from an ancient alien nation and is now testing it in a low-sec area of a hostile empire. Low-sec, by the way, refers to areas in EVE where there are hardly any rules.
This means that players regularly shoot at each other here and destroy their valuable ships forever. The developers told me that some ships had already been reduced to rubble on their way here.
Then it was time. At exactly 6:00 PM, the laser beam intensified, and I was completely blinded by a white-blue screen. Only when the blinding light subsided did I see what happened. The entire sun practically imploded.
It is still there, but it pulsated white and definitely no longer looked like a sun should look. Everything around was also shredded. The ships of the present players were burned down to 5% of their hull strength, their shields destroyed.
Turnur 1, the only planet in the system, was also scorched. All player stations, buildings, and even the space station around burned or were completely destroyed. Chaos immediately broke out, as no one could escape. The stargates in the system were also no longer functional.
Players react completely differently – Showing what EVE is all about
The over 1,800 trapped and burning players in the system reacted completely differently. Some heroes immediately started flying to the planet and the space stations to evacuate the NPCs living there.
But it wouldn’t be EVE if all players were so kind. A large part of those present tried to find easy victims among the burning ships, and a huge battle immediately broke out, with everyone shooting at each other to exploit the situation to their advantage.
About 15 minutes after the big bang, the stargates became operational again. This means players could flee from the system, and others could jump in. Almost immediately, some smaller player fleets jumped into the chaotic Turnur system and destroyed everything that could still fly.
They were only interrupted by other fleets that had the same goal and didn’t want to let their loot be taken from them. Some clever pilots used this to escape.
All of this happened within minutes, and I was right in the middle of one of the probably most chaotic situations I have ever seen in an MMORPG. In total, after an hour, 599 ships were permanently destroyed. It not only looked amazing, but it also felt really good.
Players reacted completely differently, some with treachery, others with compassion, others with profit motives. Situations like these clearly demonstrate why EVE Online can still hold its ground after many years.
Event changes the system – and forever
The developers told me during the action what this explosion means for the players. The sun Turnur and the planet Turnur 1 will remain changed forever. But it’s not only that which is changing for the players.
Two similar devices have been detected in the EVE universe; pilots must now figure out how to stop these cannons and prevent two more systems from being destroyed.
Furthermore, there will be even more gameplay-relevant changes in Turnur, which we cannot discuss at this point. There will also be more events that will finalize the new expansion Uprising.
The event was part of the “narrative story arcs” announced at the fan festival, aimed at actually telling and continuing the story in the game and bringing new systems into the MMORPG through events like this rather than through patch notes.
What do you think of such an event? Are you as gleeful as I am and do you enjoy something like this? Or do you feel sympathy for the 599 destroyed ships, despite the warning? Would you also like to be there live for such a big boom? Or maybe you belong to the players who lost a ship? Feel free to write to us in the comments here on MeinMMO.
