Just a few days ago, CCP released the patch notes for the January release that hit Eve Online today. In the post, CCP revealed the new skins for Minmatar ships, a few changes to the new map, and some camera tweaks. Below are some highlights from the notes.
Tronhadar Ink SKIN!
Thanks to reddit user Mupoc of CO2, images of the new skin on multiple ships can be seen via his link on imgur.com.
After the patch hits, this new silver-bronze and blue skin will be made available on the following ships:
Breacher, Burst, Probe, Rifter, Slasher, Vigil, Talwar, Thrasher, Bellicose, Rupture, Scythe, Stabber, Cyclone, Hurricane, Tornado, Maelstrom, Tempest, Typhoon, Naglfar, Nidhoggur, Hel, Ragnarok, Hoarder, Mammoth, Wreathe, and the Fenrir.
New Map and Camera Changes
CCP is making a few tweaks to the new map:
- Removed star field
- Increased visible range of jump lines and markers
- Now shows constellation markers for selected region and solar system markers for selected constellation
- Now shows neighbor solar system marker for selected solar system and has added underlay on solar system markers
- Truncates color mode info on solar system markers if it is multi-line, expands on mouse enter
- Added label for new map
- Map bookmark markers optimization
Some other changes are being made to the new camera as well:
- Camera will now attach to an item on doing “Look At” in tactical mode.
- Pressing the Orbit Camera button while looking at your ship will now activate Chase Camera Mode for your own ship
- “Look at” animation speed has been increased by 100%
- Camera now stays on target for a few moments after it explodes
- “Look At” action can now be performed on objects far away by doing ALT+click, right-click menu, radial menu or Active Item window button. This is recommended for directional scanning as it centers the far-away object on the screen
- Triggering the tracking camera can now be achieved through the “Set as interest” action, either via ALT+SHIFT+click, right-click menu, radial menu or Active Item window button. Using this action in tactical mode will now rotate the camera in place
- Smoother camera transitions when performing “Look At” and “Set as interest”
- Marquee select can now be used to lock/unlock multiple targets by holding down cltr+marquee or ctrl+shift+marquee. ALT+marquee will now allow for drilling down into clusters
- You can now manually control the FOV of the camera in orbit mode by holding down ALT while zooming. The FOV is reset to auto-mode by resetting the camera (look at or pressing the orbit mode button).
Other Highlights
- Logistics Frigates may now enter small factional warfare complexes.
- Syndicate anchorable bubbles can now be bought and sold on the open market. (These bubbles are supposed to be smaller than their T2 variant but larger than the T1, while boasting much larger EHP)
- Tech 2 and Tech 3 Destroyers may now enter the mission “Cutting the Net”
- Sentry Drones will once again turn to face their targets while aggressing.
- The Armageddon now correctly applies its Nosferatu optimal range bonus as well as its falloff bonus
It seems that the January patch will be quite exciting as the ship skins and map/camera changes become available. For players of Eve Online, if you have not tried using the new camera system, give it a try, and comment in the box below with your thoughts. It is easily chosen by opening the options menu by hitting the ‘Esc’ key. In general settings you can choose to use the new camera, which also allows players to give the first-person, tactical, and orbit views a try. Hopefully this patch will address some of the issues seen so far with the new camera system, and lead to more players choosing it over the standard camera.
Update: The January update has been deployed, and the article has been altered to reflect this.
