Some of you may have heard about the re-organization that is ongoing within EVE development led by CCP Unifex. A part of this re-organization is the formation of a group of developers within a larger segment called EVE Service Quality.

EVE Service Quality includes Customer Support, Community Relations, Virtual World Operations and now a dedicated group of EVE ‘Live’ developers. Some of these developers will be familiar to you as parts of the old Engineering teams Gridlock, Sleeper Cell, Pi and Riding Mower. The EVE Live team is led by CCP Zulu and has the specific mandate to work on raising the quality of your experience playing EVE.

I am CCP Masheen, I have worked on teams BFF and Pi since 2010. Together, myself, CCP TomB and CCP Highlander will be identifying, researching, testing and prioritizing those issues which adversely affect your EVE experience so that EVE Live developers can work on improving them.

We are kicking the year off with a focus on Client Performance, how the client behaves and areas where we could show it some love. Over the past year Team Gridlock and EVE Operations have refined and overhauled both the server software and hardware to reap huge performance gains. This year, in the name of making your EVE experience even better, a series of client optimizations are on the way.

We are looking for the type of issue that might not normally be reported. For example:

This happens because it takes a few seconds to summon all the ships and display them on your EVE client. However, the initial appearance that the hangar is empty can be a little scary if you’re not expecting it. So, perhaps what we could do is add some way of letting you know that the list of ships is being fetched so that you don’t panic momentarily and since it may have been a while since one of our clever people took a look at the hangar code, we can check to see if there is any way to speed up the process.

If you would like to promote something which you believe is worthy of a performance tune-up please tell us in the comments what things about the client you would like to work just that bit better, but… for-the-love-of-CONCORD…be specific!

Including a summary of your PC’s vital statistics is extra helpful and clicking ‘Like’ on the posts of other players whose suggestions you support will help us to determine how popular improving something would be.

Developers in the EVE Service Quality group are already working on client optimizations to the Overview (yes indeed), more about that exciting development in an upcoming Dev blog.

It’s time to start planning how you’re going to get to EVE Fanfest at the end of March and we’ve got some tips for you!

There’s basically one way to get a Fanfest ticket, and two recommended options when it comes to booking your flight and accomodation.

Fanfest tickets:

Fanfest tickets can be purchased on the EVE Account Management page. Early bird tickets are available until the end of January, and group tickets are available for groups of 5-10 at a discount price. Note that for the first time in Fanfest history, you can now book various Fanfest activities, on the account management page, at the same time you purchase your ticket, which will save you precious time in Iceland.

Plane tickets and accomodation:

1. Conveniently book your flight and hotel room in one go with the package deal provided by our partner, Icelandair.

2. Book your own flight through a travel search engine such as Dohop.com, and then book your hotel through our hotel partner, Center Hotels.

We look forward to seeing you at Fanfest 2012 in the new amazing venue.

CCP Tyr, the high priest of partying, took CCP Guard to Harpa, the new Fanfest venue, where YOU will be partying at the end of March.

Join the discussion thread right here.

The third EVE Online novel, EVE: Templar One, is available in stores all over the place including, of course, ebook versions

It picks up many threads of the EVE: Empyrean Age novel and reveals much about the first DUST 514 technology including some surprising EVE fiction reveals. 464 pages of politically-charged, action-oriented, mystery-unraveling, character-driven sci fi goodness that’s approachable and compelling and positively guaranteed to broaden your experience as a capsuleer as the NPC universe around becomes more familiar. We celebrate Tony Gonzales and the players that inspired him to write this epic novel and look forward to the evolution of this new technology he speaks of!

You can read more about EVE: Templar One at the above link or in TonyG’s dev blog.

Join us March 22^nd-24^th at the newly-constructed Harpa Conference Center for Fanfest 2012 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Tickets are now available, with special Early Bird Pricing if you buy before January 31^st. Here are some of the highlights of the 8th annual celebration of EVE Online:

The Future of EVE Online – Be here for exclusive announcements and presentations about the future of EVE Online. Sit in on roundtables and discussions with the developers to give your input on the current direction of the game and the road ahead.

Contests and Events – Poker and PVP tournaments, the Silent Auction, Live Agents and all the fun extras return in 2012 to challenge and entertain you throughout the festival.

One Universe / One War – Get the inside scoop on the revolutionary team-based shooter, DUST 514, exclusively at Fanfest 2012. Event attendees can look forward to roundtables, playable demos, and a chance to compete against fellow gamers in live matches. Every attendee will also receive a DUST 514 beta key!

Pubs and Parties – Sign up for a Pub Crawl with your favorite dev, rock out at the Party at the Top of the World, or head into town to bar-hop with your buddies. The night always comes alive in Reykjavik.

Inspired by Iceland – See the sights with fellow EVE fans! Golden Circle Tours and the Blue Lagoon Hangover Party will show you sides of Iceland that may very well surprise or amaze you. Event tickets are currently available on the account management page, and you can even buy them with PLEX!

Early Bird Specials

Early Bird Admission Tickets for the event are 100 USD, but that price won’t last long! After January  31^st, tickets will return to their normal price of 125 USD. Fanfest Admission Tickets are available here.

For more information, visit the Fanfest 2012 site. We look forward to seeing you in March!