EVE Online Hits Mac and Linux Tomorrow; Next Expansion in December, Human Avatars in 2008

The online and event-filled universe of EVE Online will expand to include Mac and Linux players tomorrow, November 5. Support for both platforms are part of the Revelations 2.3 patch, which contains several bug fixes and optimizations. In anticipation of the update, developer CCP has provided a full list of the changes, as well as Mac and Linux system requirements. The expanded userbase of Mac and Linux users marks the latest in CCP's efforts to increase subscriber numbers. "The population of Iceland is 300,000," communications director Valerie Massey told Shacknews earlier this year. "We have about 200,000 EVE players. So our goal is to get [beyond that]." This all leads up to the Trinity expansion, which is slated for an early December launch according to GamesIndustry.biz. Along with new content, Trinity packs a number of graphical enhancements, such as normal and specular mapping for all of the game's spaceships, though it will not feature Direct X10 support. The next substantial update to the game, referred to as The Ambulation Project, will introduce human avatars to the game and is hoped to increase the number of female EVE players. Targeted for a 2008 launch, the possibilities of player-maintained bars and clothing shops will add yet another layer to the game's vast economy. CCP is also in the process of constructing a new server designed to eliminate lag. Once complete, the installation will rank among Europe's most powerful supercomputers.