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EVE Online: Apocrypha

New Minimum Requirements

With Apocrypha, EVE bumps up the minimum requirements to require a Shader Model 2.0-compatible video card. Beyond that, the requirements are still very low and when set to low settings the client runs on surprisingly poor hardware. Yet like with so many other MMOs, hopping around alone with just a couple of ships on screen at stargates is nowhere near as taxing as a real large scale battle. Therefore the YouGamers minimum has been set considerably higher. It's the bare minimum we estimate is needed for participating in real PvP combat at low or medium settings.

The YouGamers recommended system is what is needed for the same at maxed out visual settings - and in fact, if you end up in truly large scale battles, no system available today will run them smoothly at maximum settings. In large fights there is plenty of lag related to the server side of things (CCP is getting better with it) but the client also has limitations - when you have 500+ ships on screen and everyone opens fire, any computer will choke on all the fireworks if the visual settings are maxed.

Maximum settings, runs fine in mid-sized fights on YouGamers recommended system.

Medium settings, looks passable and runs fine in mid-sized fights on YouGamers minimum system.

New Shiny Bits

While the major graphical revamp is already old news - it was part of Trinity expansion last year - Apocrypha completes the renovations by replacing rest of the old models with new high resolution versions. The most visible improvement caters to miners who spend their time hugging asteroids as Apocrypha includes completely new models and textures on all types of rocks and ice that dot the belts. There is now also a lot more variation between individual asteroids, so the belts look much better. Other notable visual upgrades include completely redone warp effects, stargate jump effects, warp disruptor bubble effects, POS shield effects and general overhaul of all graphical effects related to weapons and active ship modules (shield hardeners, shield boosters, armor repairers and so on). The only unfortunate exception is missiles - they still look pretty much the same, and they still do not fire from visible launchers - perhaps CCP will get to them for the next expansion.

Unfortunately the graphical renovations ended up replacing the cool effect of a jump bridge or jump drive activation with the new generic stargate effect. Weapon effect upgrade quality is also somewhat uneven - Minmatar autocannons and Amarr lasers are quite nice while Gallente railguns are more muted. There are also some minor bugs with some new effects - cloaked ship may end up visibly uncloaked on your screen while actually still flying under cloak (with the module clearly active) and tractor beams may randomly end up pointing to a wrong direction before properly grabbing the wreck you are targeting. Cosmetic flaws, but betray the fact that Apocrypha is yet again an EVE expansion released just a tad unfinished.

This Trinity trailer, while already old, still showcases the current graphical quality of EVE very well.

There Is Sound in EVE?

"There is sound in EVE?" is a running joke among the playerbase as the effects used to be quite crude and the soundtrack was usually turned down so one could listen to voice comms, but yes, EVE actually does have sound. Apocrypha reworks the whole sound code and improves effects greatly - assuming you move the camera right next to your ship to hear them. This is another prime example of unfinished stuff - all sound effects are completely drowned out when you pull the camera to a normal distance from your ship - the location where any sounds are picked from is tied to the camera, not your ship and there is no option to choose which one you want to use. This is especially deadly when flying a cloaked ship - cloak deactivation sound used to be the first indication that you are about to be shot into teeny bits and it's time for a hasty exit. Now the first indicator tends to be the first (and only) salvo that slams to your ship - especially as the visible cloak effect itself can sometimes end up in a bugged state.

These issues with the sound code are fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but they are something that keeps bothering you constantly as you play. Until the problem is fixed, EVE is effectively a game without sound effects and it also "hides" all the great improvements made to the actual effects as you can't hear them.

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: GameplayPage 3: Gameplay, cont.Page 4: Gameplay, cont.Page 5: Apocrypha FeaturesPage 6: Visuals and PerformancePage 7: Summary, Scores

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