In Brief:
- In its Cycle 7 update, EVE Frontier (official site) gave an early look at ships designed by players and manufacturing built around materials.
- Testing starts right away on asteroid mining and the reworked flight model.
- The developers want a resource economy that shifts more and exploration that keeps going.
Developers outline future plans
The founder Q&A video for EVE Frontier’s Cycle 7 laid out big ideas for the game, among them ships that players design and manufacturing driven by materials. Both concepts are at an early stage of development. Even so, the team said they will form the base for later versions of the game.
Immediate testing will center on asteroid mining and the reworked flight model. The team chose to ship these mechanics early so players could give feedback, instead of holding them back until they were polished.
A new approach to manufacturing
“Digital chemistry” was one of the main subjects. At the moment, manufacturing runs on fixed recipes that call for specific ores in set amounts. Under the new system, players can use different ores according to their properties, which in practice means blending materials to produce items with varying traits. That could give the game’s industrial economy more depth and make rarer ores matter more.
Flexible ship construction
Building ships is set to change as well. Today’s modular parts are tied to particular interiors and attachment points. Over the long term, the plan is for players to put ships together from a range of structural sections, tailoring size and capability within the game’s physical limits. Players could also buy finished ships from Fenris Creations or other builders, which would support a marketplace.
According to the developers, bigger ships shouldn’t simply have better stats. They should play differently. Larger vessels might cost more to run and need more support, for example, while still filling important roles next to smaller ships.
Travel and exploration redesign
The team also wants players to move between systems without gates. Jump drives are being removed, so travel no longer starts out fast and powerful and instead builds up step by step. Players will unlock stronger travel options over time, which fits the game’s wider exploration aims.
The star systems themselves aren’t expected to change much, but what’s in them and the dangers they hold could, giving players a reason to return. System-level scanning tools are planned to improve exploration, and the team admitted that discovery tools have gaps right now.
Resource competition and automation
Competition over resources is part of the plan, including claiming valuable asteroids. The developers said there is currently too little counterplay, which makes PvP less engaging for players. One idea is environmental pressure that pushes players to defend industrial operations, such as feral drones that react to player activity.
Automation is on the roadmap, though players will need to progress before they can use it. The developers acknowledged that veteran players tend to strip starter areas of resources, which leaves new players behind. Digital chemistry might help here: low-grade materials would still be fine for basic tasks but would be inefficient for advanced industry.
Unfinished systems and player tools
Interfaces, social systems and docking were also discussed as work in progress. Players can expect better controls and adjustable settings for keyboard and controller play. The team is looking at social structures that could grow past fixed groups, and docking could let ships and structures interact.
Across the whole discussion, the aim stayed the same: give players linked tools to build their own designs, organizations and economies. The team said a lot of work is still ahead.