EVE Online to drop "classic" graphics
Older version of game to be phased out.
Icelandic space-MMO iconoclasts CCP have announced that they'll be dropping support for the Classic version of EVE Online, which has simpler graphics than the Premium version and enables the game to be run on very low-spec machines.
In a developer blog titled "I can totally run that on my Amiga", an EVE developer explained that it was costing the company too much time and effort to maintain two versions of the game client, and produce two versions of every art asset. Freed of the need to support Classic, CCP thinks it will be able to push the game's graphics further in future.
When the next EVE expansion, Apocrypha, launches on March 10th, the Classic game client will be discontinued. This coincides with the release of the Premium version of the game for Apple Mac.
Although this will raise the minimum requirements for EVE, those with lower-spec machines shouldn't worry, since CCP will also release a version of the game they're calling Premium Lite. This should work on all but the most ancient graphics cards and scale well to low-powered machines, whilst not requiring CCP to support two discrete versions of its game.
It's all change for EVE this year, with the introduction of Tech 3 and new unexplored space in Apocrypha, a box copy arriving in shops at the same time courtesy of Atari, and a completely redesigned starting experience for new players. We'll be reporting on them all in depth in March.