eve oNLINE - iNVASION

The Triglavians — a shadowy alien race living in the dangerously unpredictable Abyssal Deadspace pockets — have begun an invasion into the New Eden star cluster. Players are called to action to defend the empires of New Eden, and drive back the emergent threat.

In May 2019, my team released the first chapter of a year and a half long, multi-expansion narrative arc for EVE Online. Invasion permanently changed the landscape of EVE Online's game world and greatly expanded the game's mechanics, content delivery systems, and authoring tools. It also contributed to the highest monthly active user count EVE had seen in approximately half a decade.

The team consisted of my co-designer and I, two engineers, two QA, and a producer.

When we were first tasked with the project, were informed that it was likely to be a three-part release arc, and so my co-designer and I set about the project as multiple releases that would build off of each other. Many of the features that we wanted to implement were large enough shifts to established paradigms that we decided the best approach would be to first introduce each of them in small, bite-sized pieces. This enabled us to ensure player sentiment and interactions reflected desired goals, and also gave our engineers the capacity to reinforce and polish underlying structural work before we applied a feature more liberally.

The full portfolio piece for this project is currently being compiled. What is provided here in the meantime is a basic overview.

Chapter 1

Released: 28 May 2019

The Triglavian Collective have begun to exert influence on systems within the high-security regions of New Eden. Escalating system-wide effects have been observed and Triglavian forces are roaming these systems in varied fleet sizes and compositions. Rumors spreading from capsuleer expeditions into Abyssal Deadspace indicate that these first waves of Triglavian vessels may be the vanguard of a larger invasion force yet to reveal itself.

Chapter 1 used existing tools to craft a series of semi-scripted roaming beachheads where invaders disrupted player activity and spilled out into neighboring star systems until dispersed. As their influence grew, the systems’ aesthetics changed and nearby players received positive and negative status effects designed to temporarily shift the balance of player options.

Escaping Content

Most of EVE Online’s content is restricted to "dungeons" - dynamically spawned locations in space. Players can completely ignore this content if they do not wish to interact with it: a dynamic that did not feel appropriate to an invasion scenario. As such, we adapted existing AI behaviors to build "escaping" content, where specified NPCs left the dungeon they spawned into, roaming the star system to engage players wherever they might be. This made invaded areas dangerous to the careless player, disrupted player shipping lanes and created dynamic gameplay where the players and NPCs engaged in cat-and-mouse hunting scenarios.hs of their release.

Classic Dungeons

We also designed and built three traditional, carefully crafted combat dungeons, culminating in the epic "World Ark" fight that signaled an invasion's peak. We experimented with complex dungeon logic, implementing mechanics to encourage creative gameplay and create meaningfully dynamic terrain.

Throughout the summer months, we adjusted balance and expanded content. We distributed entry-level variants of Invasion content separate from the beachheads to serve as onramps for new players and hesitant veterans. They were incredibly popular, becoming EVE’s most-completed content within six months of their release.

A player-run wiki page outlining the first two chapters of the Invasion release arc.

Chapter 2

Following the initial success of Invasion, my team was tasked with crafting a follow-up Fall release. For this, we focused on expanding player agency in the narrative and experimented with persistent changes to the world. Just as we did for Chapter 1, my team supported the expansion post-release with content updates, balance changes, and even traveled to player-gatherings to engage our users, promote the content, and receive feedback.

Persistent Structures

Leading up to the official November release, we distributed a new dungeon which, at its conclusion, had the potential to leave behind a persistent NPC-built structure. This "Stellar Accelerator" could be destroyed by players at any time, but emitted mechanical balance shifts to the entire solar system while it lived. In this way, players could collectively choose to alter or maintain the rules of their shared play area.

New Player Options

For the full release, we expanded the existing Triglavian ship line, providing players wishing to fly the invading race's unique ships an exciting new option. This "Zirnitra" ship was specifically designed to counter and destroy large capital-sized vessels and player-built structures, dealing more damage the longer it focused on a target and working the racial mechanics into an enjoyable niche of the gameplay economy.

Pick-Your-Side Content

We also developed a dungeon to showcase the Zirnitra. In this content experience, players were given a choice to progress down multiple paths, choosing to either fight the Triglavian invaders or turn on the empires that sought the players' aid. In either case, Zirnitra-class ships (and their empire counterparts) would appear on the field, fighting either against or alongside the players, showcasing the power they could bring to bear.

The teaser for Chapter 2 and other game updates.

We did not explain what the invaders were up to, or how their stuff functioned. Therefore, when their structures remained long after the NPCs building them (and even the invasion itself) had been repelled, their curiousity and sense of dread led them to explore. This is a discussion on our official forums where players are trying to understand and guess at the purpose (mechanical and narrative) of one such structure.

Chapter 3

For Chapter 3, my team reworked the whole Invasion feature set, building off of early experiments and implementing entirely new systems.

Pick-Your-Side Expanded

We enabled players to ally themselves with either the invading forces or the Defense Initiative. Dungeon and escaping content was developed for both, and NPCs dynamically tracked allies and enemies among players and other NPCs, aiding those who regularly sided with their faction. Players often found themselves in the center of large brawls where NPCs and players fought in mixed fleets, all made possible by incremental testing of AI developments throughout the year prior and careful analysis of their impact on server load.

Non-Linear Narratives

Instead of beachheads that deployed content as the invasion linearly progressed, we implemented a branching tree of distribution scenes built upon a tug-of-war. As content for one side was completed, their influence over the system increased. This altered local content distribution, escalating conflict to a peak before finally settling into a permanent state of victory for one side or the other.

Persistent Structures Perfected

As influence moved between the two factions, victorious NPCs dynamically deployed persistent structures. This built upon work proved out by Chapter 2, and included localized buff arrays, faction-focused gun platforms, and even resource strip-mining rigs. These reshaped the systems they were deployed in, often became beloved members of the local community, and their destructible nature enabled players to continue shaping the region long after the invasion moved on.

Dynamic Rules of Engagement

If the invaders progressed toward victory, local police found it difficult to enforce the law and zones that were previously safe allowed PvP gameplay. This was huge for EVE, as these elements had never changed in the game's 17 year history. A previously quiet and peaceful system, and the first to fall, became the most active combat site in the game for over a week, with tens of thousands of player ships destroyed in days. This week is now known by players as the Raravoss Bloodbath.