7.1 What are the basic system requirements?
System requirements for EVE-Online
7.2 What kind of Internet connection is required?
EVE is designed to run on a 56Kbps modem. Naturally, better connections will enhance game performance, but dial-up users are still able to play and enjoy EVE.
7.3 How is Internet latency handled?
Having been designed from its earliest stages specifically as a MMOG, most of the game systems are devised to minimize network traffic and the effects of lag. This high-level approach makes EVE relatively unaffected by Internet latency.
- 7.4 How is the game logic implemented in EVE?
EVE uses a special Stackless version of Python for both the server and the client. This makes for a much simpler creation of game logic than what was available in the past. The control structures provided by Stackless allow for a more “procedural syncronous” model, rather than an “event driven asynchronous,” or thread pooling.
In more simplified terms, this means that a large number of actors can perform tiny tasks without the added complexity or overhead of the other two execution models. Our game logic scripters are thereby freed from many of the mundane tasks associated with models that don’t benefit from the control structures provided by Stackless. The creative process of writing interesting game behavior is no longer bogged down by software or system limitations.
This approach also means that making changes to the game is much easier than it has been historically. Many improvements or tweaks can be added even when the world is online and going strong without the need to reboot the servers. This process is called a hot fix.
Please help us support Stackless Python and the excellent contribution it is making to online gaming.
7.5 How are the servers set up and how does the server architecture work?
There is a centralized server cluster, located in London, with several proprietary proxy (slave) servers. The proxy servers have dedicated bandwidth to the central cluster. The proxy servers take some of the load off the game logic servers in the cluster by doing data integrity checks and virtual multicasting, making them – in a sense – a software router.
This server architecture, together with clever game design, allows us to have more players, distributed over greater geographical distances, together in the same world, breaking records held by our predecessors in the MMOG genre.
7.6 What about the graphic engine?
A list of features only goes so far in describing how EVE looks. To get a feel for the interface and the outstanding artistic beauty of the game that is a tribute to our graphic engine’s capabilities, please have a look at our screen shot section. These screenshots have not been manipulated or altered in any way, but are actual shots taken from our engine and what you will see when you enter the world of EVE.
Our goal has always been to make the game look realistic and pleasing to the eye. Sometimes this requires advanced techniques and high-power 3D processors, sometimes it is just a question of simple tricks in the authoring process.
The graphic engine is based on DX9c with GEForce 256 as a minimum hardware requirement. Through a powerful Python-programmed API and Maya, the artists at CCP have tools that enable them to easily realize their visions and gives them greater flexibility and freedom in creating graphics of cinematic quality.
