‘Retribution’ is hopefully a self-aware title for the latest Eve expansion, given the frequency with which the game’s playerbase seems to declare war on it. It’s the 18th add-on for the convention-breaking space MMO, and it concerns itself with bounty-hunting and crimefighting.

It calls the latter feature Crimewatch, which has a certain evening telly resonance that suggests no Brits were heavily involved in its creation.



Retribution will include the mandatory selection of new ships, including a new mining frigate for all new pilots, and there’s also a promise of better textures for some of the game’s metal steeds. Crimewatch sounds like the boldest, most significant change though, promising as it does ‘consequences’ for those who choose to flout in-game law. It won’t be the game itself that punishes wrong-doers, however – rather, their naughty decisions will be that much more publicly visible, thus enabling other players to know what’s been done by whom and, if they so wish, visit citizen justice upon their heads. So, in theory, rather than limiting choice it’s amplifying roleplaying. So folk can still troll and pillage and deceive, but they might get called out on it.

Interesting stuff. Whether it’ll be embraced or scorned by the community remains to be seen, but it’s good to see EVE definitely refocusing on the spaceship captain fantasy after its unfortunate diversions into overpriced pretend clothes.

Retribution lands on December 4th, and you can find more details here. Here’s a vid from the fanfest a few months back in which CCP discuss the ins and outs of Crimwatch.



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