For the last six weeks, EVE Online has been under siege by an extradimensional enemy known as the Triglavians. Recently, players were asked to join alongside the Triglavians and help them gain a foothold in the EVE universe. Many players accepted this challenge and fought alongside the alien invaders against the NPC empires and against fellow players. With the start of Zenith, the third quarterly update for EVE, the results of this invasion will begin to show.
In a late May update, EVE players were given the choice to side with the invaders or to drive them back into the abyss they originated from. In the weeks since, many battles have been fought in dozens of star systems, involving tens of thousands of players, with several key victories being earned by each side. Where the defenders won, the Triglavians were forced away and the systems were locked against them, preventing further incursions.
However, in areas where the Triglavians and their player allies were victorious, mysterious space stations began to appear in orbit around stars. These stations began to transform those stars, changing their appearance and causing space in their proximity to take on different characteristics, similar to what players have seen inside Abyssal Deadspace, the Triglavians home. An additional effect of the star systems being conquered by Triglavian forces has been the creation of automated defensive structures guarding the entrances to the solar system. These automated turrets make short work of players attempting to enter the system who dont have sufficient positive standing with the Triglavians, which is earned by helping them in their quest for conquest.
In the trailer for the Zenith release, a massive, ring-like structure can be seen being created by the Triglavians. It seems to have a singularity inside of it, which is similar to the graphical effect of the Triglavian weapon systems. The popular theory from many players is that the final fate of the stars in the centre of Triglavian-controlled territories is to be collapsed into singularities and used to power further Triglavian activities in the areas. There is no telling what effect Triglavian control of the stars could have on the EVE universe.
In addition to the ongoing storyline elements being deployed with Zenith, a new feature will be added to the game by way of a special event. A major overhaul is transforming the current Abyssal Proving Ground feature, which is currently only used by a small group of EVE players, into a way for players to find instant PVP action. Players can use special items to launch themselves into an arena where they will be pitted against other pilots in a deathmatch style contest. The winner of the fights will be tracked on a leaderboard visible by the entire game, and rewards will be handed out to players based on their standings at the end of the Zenith quadrant.
These battles will rotate through different scenarios on a weekly basis, with each scenario changing the type of ships allowed, the number of players allowed into the arena, and whether or not players can bring teams in. The first three formats have been announced, with more, scheduled to last through October, remaining a mystery.
This feature offers a way for players to find combat action and short session gameplay. Players will no longer have to roam the stars for hours to find people to fight with, only to either return empty handed or run into a fleet that is much larger than their own and die. Additionally, with the cancellation of the Alliance Tournament years ago, players who enjoy structured battle for prizes have been missing that element of the game. The Abyssal Proving Grounds offer a new platform for CCP- and possibly even player-run tournaments to happen within the game, and could make these organised tournaments a possibility again.
The Zenith quadrant launches today with both the next stage of the Triglavian Invasion and the Abyssal Proving Grounds, with more content releases coming through the third quarter of the year. 2020, while pretty much a dumpster fire, is nevertheless shaping up to be one of the most exciting years of EVEs recent history.
Read more:
The Next Stage Of EVE Onlines Alien Invasion Is Here - Kotaku Australia
- Downloads - Singularity Viewer - December 25th, 2016 [December 25th, 2016]
- What is Singularity (the)? - Definition from WhatIs.com - January 5th, 2017 [January 5th, 2017]
- When Electronic Witnesses Are Everywhere, No Secret's Safe - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Report: AMD Ryzen Performance in Ashes of the Singularity Benchmark - PC Perspective - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Do you believe in the Singularity? - Patheos (blog) - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Editorial Note From the Singularity Hub Team - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Discover the Most Advanced Industrial Technologies at Exponential Manufacturing - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 10th Letter looks at nature in the time of the Singularity - Creative Loafing Atlanta - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Donald Trump Is the Singularity - Bloomberg View - Bloomberg.com - Bloomberg - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Wearable Devices Can Actually Tell When You're About to Get Sick - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- AMD 8-core Ryzen benchmark show up on Ashes Of The Singularity ... - VR-Zone - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Robot Cars Can Teach Themselves How to Drive in Virtual Worlds - Singularity Hub - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Physicists Unveil Blueprint for a Quantum Computer the Size of a Soccer Field - Singularity Hub - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- How Robots Helped Create 100000 Jobs at Amazon - Singularity Hub - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Ready to Change the World? Apply Now for Singularity University's 2017 Global Solutions Program - Singularity Hub - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Singularity Containers for Science, Reproducibility, and HPC - Linux.com (blog) - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Families Finally Hear From Completely Paralyzed Patients Via New Mind-Reading Device - Singularity Hub - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- artificial intelligence: the fear of a technological singularity ... - ETtech.com - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Holograms Aren't The Stuff of Science Fiction Anymore - Singularity Hub - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- How the World Has Changed From 1917 to 2017 - Singularity Hub - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Preparing for the Singularity - Inverse - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Our Health Data Can Save Lives, But We Have to Be Willing to Share - Singularity Hub - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity merges with standalone expansion Escalation, no upgrade fee - PCGamesN - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Just Stand Inside this Room and it Will Wirelessly Charge Your Phone - Singularity Hub - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- AMD bundles Ashes of the Singularity with FX processors ahead of Ryzen's launch - PCWorld - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation being merged with the original game - PC Invasion (blog) - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Singularity - GameSpot - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- The roots of technological singularity can be traced backed to the Stone Age - Wired.co.uk - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Jide's new OS is like an Android version of Windows 10's Continuum - The Verge - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Jide Announces Remix Singularity: The Continuum Alternative for Android - XDA Developers (blog) - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- New Tech Makes Brain Implants Safer and Super Precise - Singularity Hub - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- One Android company wants to use smartphones to make PCs truly dead - BGR - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Remix tries its hand at the mobile-desktop hybrid OS with Singularity - Android Police - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Financial Leaders: Make Your Mark on the Future at Exponential Finance - Singularity Hub - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Remix Singularity is Jide's Android answer to Windows Continuum - SlashGear - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- AMD Radeon RX 580 Ashes of the Singularity Benchmarks Leaked 4K, Ryzen Combo, CrossFire and More! - Wccftech - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Damon Wayans Jr. Joins FX Sci-Fi Comedy Singularity - Den of Geek US - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- After Man? From Singularity to Specificity - Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) (press release) (blog) - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Why the Potential of Augmented Reality Is Greater Than You Think - Singularity Hub - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Damon Wayans Jr In Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen AI comedy - /FILM - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Ashes of Singularity: Escalation Gets an Update - CGMagazine - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Google Updates: Scuba, Singularity, SMS and suing - The INQUIRER - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Singularity Art Show Tonight In San Francisco! - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- Stardock celebrate v2.1 of Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation with a ... - PCGamesN - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Video: AI Is Getting Smarter, Says Singularity University's Neil ... - Wall Street Journal (subscription) (blog) - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- This Neural Probe Is So Thin, The Brain Doesn't Know It's There - Singularity Hub - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Citizen Science Means Anyone Could Discover Planet NineEven You - Singularity Hub - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Singularity University establishes new organisation in Denmark - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Singularity University opening organisation in Denmark - The Copenhagen Post - Danish news in english - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Does Zapping Your Brain Actually Help You Learn Faster? - Singularity Hub - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- What You Need to Know About Elon Musk's Plan to Fly People to the Moon - Singularity Hub - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Singularity: Explain It to Me Like I'm 5-Years-Old - Futurism - Futurism - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Singularity for PC Reviews - Metacritic - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Singularity (mathematics) - Wikipedia - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- See How This House Was 3D Printed in Just 24 Hours - Singularity Hub - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- NYC's Metrograph theater is running a sci-fi film series featuring Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and Metropolis - The Verge - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- 3 Exciting Biotech Trends to Watch Closely in 2017 - Singularity Hub - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- New Burger Robot Will Take Command of the Grill in 50 Fast Food Restaurants - Singularity Hub - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Are These Giant Neurons the Seat Of Consciousness in the Brain? - Singularity Hub - March 10th, 2017 [March 10th, 2017]
- How Fully Synthetic Complex Life Just Got a Lot Closer - Singularity Hub - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- Singularity University launches inaugural Canada Summit | BetaKit - BetaKit - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Singularity - Everything2.com - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Singularity (Game) - Giant Bomb - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation on Steam - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Approaching the World of Collaboration Singularity - CommsTrader - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Berkeley Lab's Open-Source Spinoff Serves Science | Berkeley Lab - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Beyond Politics: Innovating for a Sustainable Future - Singularity Hub - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Tune Into the Future of Fintech at Exponential Finance This Week - Singularity Hub - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Experts Weigh in on AI and the Singularity - Futurism - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Singularity | Mass Effect Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Quantum Computers Will Analyze Every Financial Model at Once - Singularity Hub - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Deloitte and Singularity University Extend Their Relationship To ... - PR Newswire (press release) - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation 2.3 update adds a new campaign today - PC Gamer - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Singularity and Docker | Singularity - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity gets a new fully-voiced campaign - PCGamesN - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- At Exponential Finance, the Singularity University Explores Visionary Applications of Blockchains - Crypto Insider (press release) (blog) - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Get It While It's Hot: Why Fintech Is a Goldmine for Investors - Singularity Hub - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Forget Police Sketches: Researchers Perfectly Reconstruct Faces by Reading Brainwaves - Singularity Hub - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Singularity Summit comes to SA | IT-Online - IT-Online - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- These 7 Disruptive Technologies Could Be Worth Trillions of Dollars - Singularity Hub - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]