Beach Heads
Utilized in Invasion Chapters 1 & 2
Initial design by Dylan. Implemented by Gregor
The early Triglavian Invasion content utilized a pre-existing deployment system called “tales.” This system automatically progressed content linearly for the whole server through a series of phases according to points accrued passively over time, as well as actively via completing spawned content. Typically, this process took a few days. Gregor and I wanted something less linear, but this was the strongest option available within our initial tight deadline.
Following a series of selection criteria, a solar system was targeted for invasion content. As this content was completed, it progressed through a series of escalating phases. Each phase increased the intensity of content available, applied system-wide buffs and de-buffs to players, but also spread it to the target’s “neighbourhood” and “fringe” (solar systems one and two gate jumps away, respectively). At any given time, there were three active invasion instances, allowing the player community to engage in a sort of “whack-a-mole” as they pushed the beach heads across the New Eden star cluster.
Click through the slideshow below to see how the content progressed
Please note: prior to release, our Narrative team utilized in-world conventions to assign more narratively-interesting names to any player-facing terminology. I have here stuck (generally) to the terminology we used in development, as these are likely much clearer to portfolio readers not immersed in EVE Online’s lore.
At the start, a beach head featured only a select few “escaping” scout parties. These were not standard-fare dungeons, but rather small fleets that roamed around the system, seeking out players to engage. The small size of these fleets meant that they served as a warning to the residents of the incoming threat, and gave a taste of the new and unusual AI logic fueling the NPCs.
During this phase, players could still mostly enjoy local content as per usual, but needed to prepare for eventual escalation. The exception to this were AFK and botting players. These low-interaction accounts often failed to react appropriately, and were typically the first casualties of a beach head.
Phase 2 increased the scouts and their reach—spawning them even out in fringe systems, where they greatly disrupted merchant vessels autopiloting between markets—and introduced core Invasion content, including a shift in gameplay balance thanks to system-wide player (and NPC) buffs. Vanguard escaping fleets were significantly more formidable, and featured both crowd control and self-healing mechanics.
At this stage players found core invaded systems to be quite dangerous for the unprepared. Stage 2 also introduced the Invasion’s version of traditional EVE Online dungeon content—locations that players could warp to, with enemies to defeat and sizable rewards to be gained upon completion. These were largely owned by Gregor, and were capable of spawning escaping content of their own depending on how players engaged the sites.
Stages 3 and 4 were the experiential climax, and progressed from scouting parties and strategic prodding to full-scale invasion and war. Escaping content not only increased in number, but difficulty as well, with large amounts of such content in the Fringe and Neighbourhood, and sizable Invasion fleets making normal gameplay in the region impossible. These stages also featured the final two content pieces of Invasion: Part 1.
A rare fleet occasionally spawned and served as a “white whale” of content. The group was elite, with stronger NPCs and the group’s composition optimized for survival. Their AI told them to call for help when engaged, run when they were losing, and find a quiet space to lick their wounds and return prepared—but if players managed to catch (and kill) them, these NPCs provided excellent loot well worth the time and effort.
Additionally, the capstone dungeon spawned during this time. In Chapter 1, this was the Triglavian World Ark—a dungeon I designed to introduce some elements of classic raid-style gameplay to EVE. It was a large arena site where we tested a number of experimental AI behaviors, mechanics, and content design techniques that we would later perfect and utilize liberally during Chapters 2 and 3.
During Chapter 2, this was replaced by Gregor’s “Observatory Flashpoint”—a dungeon that similarly served to test experimental AI behaviors (in this case “pick your side”) that would be key to later Invasion content. Once completed, these dungeons would disappear, sometimes for hours, making the rewards they offered extremely sought after and engagement with them content highly competitive.
Finally, the Triglavians retreated. A few roaming parties were left—stragglers defending the flanks. This stage could not be expedited through play, and remained for 24 hours. This offered players who had perhaps been rushed in the beginning an opportunity to engage in the easier content without the risk of sudden escalation. It was predictable, and ensured that anyone who had relocated specifically for Invasion content was able to enjoy something.
It also served as a cool-down period before the beach-head re-deployed elsewhere. It gave players the opportunity to breathe, to either ease themselves back into normal play or prepare for the next invasion. Either way, it provided some predictability to a content cycle otherwise marked by unpredictability and the unknown.
Players eventually tire of always reacting—while it is important to knock them off their feet from time to time, they need the opportunity to stand back up in between, to take measures that help them feel prepared. Otherwise, their sense of agency is lost, and the game has no meaning.