EVE General Discussion

a simultaneous login tablet companion, that would be... amazing. maps, skill queue, trading, everything. like a kneeboard for irl pilots. ok, now i'm just dreaming

As someone who uses a tablet regularly, I can say that at the moment gaming on a tablet is no substitute for gaming on a PC, although that might change in the future. A touch interface is fine for most day to day use but for gaming, IMHO, it sucks.

Eve runs fine in most OS's & on most modern PC platforms, OS X is still supported, Wine allows you to play it on Linux with minimal setup.

Personally I'd say CCP is ahead of the curve when it comes to multiple OS support, most major developers treat OS X and Linux as the antichrist and only support Windows (8 is foul until you lose that godawful interface). It would be nice to see a native Linux client again though.

If I wasn't a gamer, a $400 Android tablet would easily meet all my needs, and I would very likely own exactly that.

Now why does that sound familiar.

Oh. I remember, now.

It's the same mantra recited by the Luddites when video cards were introduced. And LCD screens were just coming on the market. 1Ghz processors. RAM over 8 MB. Etc, etc, etc.

We wouldn't have the friggin' telephone, for that matter, if it was up to people like you with their closed minds and fear of change.

Mr Epeen

CCP recently indulged in a bit of self-congratulation following widespread media coverage of their 450,000th paid EVE subscription. Mainstream news outlets, including Forbes, actually remarked on the game’s success despite its venerability and outdated subscription model. EVE is proving unexpected staying power, growing steadily while other MMOs such as WoW have struggled to retain monthly customers.

All this attention might suggest the future of EVE is rosy and bright, but consider:

- The future of traditional x86 and x64 PC architecture is increasingly vague. Laptops have been outselling desktop systems for years, but tablet sales are gaining exponentially. A whopping 122 million ARM-based tablets and smartphones sold in 2012.

- Within two years, ARM devices will account for more than half of all personal computer sales.

- 97% of those devices will employ touch as their primary input. A full 50% will support gesture input and 10% will natively display stereoscopic 3D.

- The PC gaming industry has little appetite for Windows 8, as evidenced by leaders such as Valve Software. Valve is currently backing an aggressive transition to Steam for Linux, with a repository of 40 games and counting already available to open-source users. Valve is also throwing support behind Oculus Rift, a revolutionary developing virtual reality system.

All this points to something CCP isn't admitting: their flagship game title could soon become too damn inconvenient to play if it remains bound for all time to traditional PCs.

For the moment, EVE’s subscribers are loyal and (on the whole) pleased with the status quo. CCP just completed their 18th successful expansion, filling EVE with upgrades and goodies ranging from simplified combat functions to baffling trading cards. Players are heavily invested in EVE, emotionally, financially, and otherwise.

But ARM and other mobile technologies are maturing fast, with multi-core processors, dedicated GPUs, and beautiful multi-touch displays claiming long-established PC territory, both in performance and sales. As our PCs age, we will replace them with touch-based multipurpose tablets, hybrid smartphones, and lord-knows-what other concoctions of techno-wizardry. Those who do choose a traditional PC may find Windows taking a backseat to Ubuntu and other platforms. The fact that these devices refuse to run EVE-Online will not deter us from choosing the device suited to our increasingly busy and mobile lives.

What’s troubling is that, to date, CCP has offered almost no interest beyond traditional PCs. They pulled official support for Linux in 2009, citing low usage. Fanfest attendees went wild last spring when CCP purportedly demonstrated EVE being tested on Android. But nearly a full year later, with no updates, no announcements, and no beta, we’re no longer convinced. It’s become clear CCP will never support many of the bleeding-edge technologies we most covet – mobile computing, open source operating systems, stereoscopic 3D, touch and gesture input, and virtual reality.

I predict a tipping point, perhaps one to two years in the future, where EVE fans, torn between a device that suits their needs and a device that runs EVE, will inevitably cancel their subscriptions and embrace a new era of personal computing. CCP will trumpet new expansions, drop all the tweaks and player content their little hearts desire, and even lower subscription prices, but the damage will be done.

CCP has time to pull it together, but it’s understandably harder and less interesting than designing new battlecruisers or tweaking mining yields. Bringing internet spaceships to a new generation of devices demands a complete interface overhaul, perhaps even a full-scale client rewrite. But in EVE’s greatest challenge lies also its greatest opportunity. Mobile and open-source gaming platforms are bringing accessibility and exposure to untouched masses. If CCP can’t get excited about retaining existing gamers, maybe the prospect of millions of potential new subscribers will whet their appetite for the job at hand.

Traditional desktop PCs are being replaced by laptops. And that trend will continue also in gaming. This probably means that more and more people will play on smaller (≈15") screens but apart from that I don't think we will see much difference in gaming on the PC in the foreseeable future. Laptops are already quite capable gaming platforms (if you don't buy the cheapest ones) and I am very happy with my MBP.

The laptop is not going anywhere soon. It is too flexible and too good at what it does for that to happen. And the need for a proper computer in our homes will not decrease when more people work more time from their homes over the internet. In addition, the laptop will most likely adapt and transform into a hybrid device with keyboard, touchpad, mouse AND touchscreen input. Pure touch screen tablets will dominate mobility but laptops will continue to be the main personal computer in most peoples homes - in particular people that work with computer and/or like to play games.

The classical gaming rig will also still be there of course, but less people will find the need to have one as laptops becomes more and more powerful.