CCP Gnauton bring us an update on the module renaming, the original Dev Blog can be found here.
Dev Blog: What’s in a name?
Hi everyone,
I'm CCP Gnauton, one of EVE's Senior Writers. I'm currently spearheading an initiative to rename those of EVE's modules and implants whose names have been deemed too confusing by a fearless cross-departmental cadre of game designers, UI designers & content developers. A first iteration of this project already went through (as I'm sure all you missile users out there are aware of), but went lamentably uncommunicated by us. That's mostly my fault, and by overloading you with information on the whats and wherefores of this next iteration, I hope to somewhat make up for my error.
So, first a few words on why we're doing this. It's no secret that EVE's complexity holds great appeal to the dedicated gamer (or indeed anyone who appreciates a living breathing interactive system, even if they don't participate in every aspect of it), but it's nonetheless true that there are certain things that add to this complexity in a meaningful way and other things that simply befuddle and obfuscate for no real reason. Needlessly complex item names, we've come to firmly believe, are among the latter. There simply is not much inherent game value in having to do a Show Info every time you can't remember whether the Voltaic Nanite hardener is better than the Radioisotope one, or whether the Hardwiring – Inherent Implants 'Lancer' G1.5-Alpha goes into slot 6 or slot 7, and what kind of bonus it gives again, and how much of that bonus you get.
That said, in light of some passionate feedback we received in the wake of the first iteration, we've decided that we need to be more conscious of retaining the flavor of the old names while adding functionality. You will therefore find that many of these modules have retained parts of their earlier names while still conforming to the new naming standards.
So without further ado, here's what we've changed this time around. These changes are already in on Singularity, and will hit TQ in March.
A note to begin with: we've come up with a standardized global scheme for Meta Level 1-4 modules, so by looking at the name you should be able to tell at a glance where the item falls in the Meta pecking order. It goes like this:
Meta Level 1: Upgraded
Meta Level 2: Limited
Meta Level 3: Experimental
Meta Level 4: Prototype
This will, in due time, be applied to every Meta level 1-4 module in the game, and except where otherwise noted, has been applied to all module groups mentioned in the list below.
Skill Hardwiring
All Skill Hardwiring implants in the game have had their names changed to conform to this format:
[Corporation][Implant Group Name][Skill/Function Name][Two-Letter Flavor Acronym]-[Slot Number][Percentage Bonus]
As an example, the Hardwiring – Inherent Implants 'Lancer' G0.5-Betaimplant, which fits in implant slot 7 and gives a 2% bonus to the Controlled Bursts skill, has now become the Inherent Implants 'Lancer' Controlled Bursts CB-702 implant. Hardwiring – Eifyr and Co. 'Rogue' HY-2.5, which goes in implant slot 6 and gives an 18% bonus to Warp Speed, is now Eifyr and Co. 'Rogue' Warp Drive Speed WS-618.
Armor Coating/Armor Hardener/Armor Plating Energized/Shield Resistance Amplifier/Shield Hardener
Every module that boosts either armor or shield resistance has gone under the knife. In addition to adapting them to the global Meta 1-4 scheme, we've replaced the words "Reflective," "Reactive" and "Magnetic" with the modules' relevant damage types (EM, Explosive and Kinetic, respectively).
Assault Launcher/Heavy Assault Launcher/Standard Missile Launcher/Siege Launcher
This is perhaps the most extensive and potentially controversial change we've made in this iteration, because it goes beyond individual modules and all the way into module (and market) groups.
Please make sure you disseminate this information among your corporation and alliance mates as widely as possible.
We have changed the missile launcher names as follows:
Heavy Assault Missile Launchers have become Assault Missile Launchers
Assault Missile Launchers have become Light Missile Arrays
Standard Missile Launchers have become Light Missile Launchers
Siege Launchers have become Torpedo Launchers
The general idea here was to change the name of each launcher into something more generally descriptive of its function and the type of ammo it is able to fit, and more specifically to erase the counterintuitive assault launcher/heavy assault launcher dichotomy that's caused its fair share of confusion in the past.
Scripts
All scripts in the game have had the word "script" added to their names, so a simple market search for "script" will now bring up all scripts available in the game, irrespective of market group.
For a comprehensive list of every item name change made so far, please point your browsers to this EVElopedia page. This central name change portal will be updated as and when more module names get changed, and we will split it up and make it prettier in future iterations. Note that in places where the New Name column is blank, the module's name has not been changed.
That's it for now. Comments and constructive feedback are of course most appreciated, and I'll close this by reiterating what I've said before in the comment threads: our goal here is not removing EVE's flavor, it's improving EVE's usability. We have a deep and abiding love for our property's depth and flair, and we don't intend to harm it in the slightest. We just want to make things a little more accessible.
Until next time,
– CCP Gnauton
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Hey i have an idea, lets change all the names for those who have been playing this game for 8 years + to fuck with there heads and make them learn the same things over and over again so the newer players who will have as hard of a time learning the new names as the old names ( IT TAKES TIME TO LEARN NAMES ) … CCP IS FULL OF BRILLIANT IDEAS!
Who learns the names? is not secret the first thing u look forwards is the meta level of a named module. this is a good change.
Who cares about meta levels, have you taken a look at Domination Invulns (meta 8) vs meta 2 level ? works for frigates yay!
Open up your hangar, switch the view tot hat spreadsheet mode, add the meta level column, sort by metal level. Pick through all the metal 4 stuff and reprocess the rest.
Seriously that's what I do every time I come back from Noctising a haven. Having the names actually mean something is really going to help.
Veteran players, such as yourself, need to take to heart the phrase you have been telling newbie players for years: HTFU
Consider it "leveling the playing field".
Stop whining. Grab a Vaggy, kill some stuff, and let off some steam.
Terrible changes… Really terrible, the names are in no way interesting. All it down is make modules more boring and less mysterious. Maybe its just me but even the implant changes are terrible.. maybe change them but your taking away the wonder of them and making them boring…
I wish to clarify, consistency is good.. but keep it interesting
fail ccp is fail.
Although launcher changes are nice. especially assault launchers.
"taking away the wonder of them"
As in "that's a big pile of implants with funny names there, I wonder what the hell these things do?"
He's right mate,
People don't give credit to the movie score for making a movie, but that is the canvas on which the film is painted, in the same way eve's backstory is the canvas for the player driven events the universe supports. Take away the canvas and the results are unpredictable.
Small effort change for CCP, but big headache for all of eve's players and community software developers.
U want to make things easier for who exactly CCP? Your players or yourselves?
Dont do it.
Fagridge Mcfaginton makes a brilliant point.
"eve's backstory is the canvas for the player driven events"
Ignore the twats who just want an easy game that dosen't require planning and concentration. The richness of Eve comes from its complex granularity. As it is, the game has far too many dumbasses, changing the names for simplicity is just a bad idea.
Who are you trying to impress?
If you were just a tad mroe stupid it would be a crime for you to breath, god damn.
I like the Script search thing. Spent a lot of minutes asking around for what script i need for a certain module simply because i forgot the illogical name for it. The meta names make a lot more sense too, easier to work out, specially when you are looking at the variations.
In the long run it will make things easier to remember, so i like this change.
+1 i don't know how many times I've bashed my keyboards letter while searching for a @#$!!! scipt in the market place or where its hidden by clicking the frigging mouse a couple dozen times in frustration
This might help a tiny bit with retention for the NPE. I'm indifferent about it however, those crying against it need to HTFU.
I thought eve was not meant to be easy… It was part of what made it unique….
But there's a difference between "being hard" and "being unneccessarily confusing".
I think the old module naming was counter intuitive and against all common sense and I welcome every single change.
Even the questionable assault-missile launcher thing makes more sense than before.
making more noob friendly is going to kill eve bro. wtf man i like the old names and this kind of discourage people to not look at the info to see the meta level and the rest of the info. wtf ccp make this game more hardcore
If your definition of Hardcore is making naming conventions that confuse the frack out of new players, then I think you're on a completely different page than EVERYONE ELSE when we say, "EVE is Hardcore".
Feel free to ask around if you'd like to know why the rest of us consider this game Hardcore. Hint – it doesn't have to do with the naming conventions… 😉
MY issue is that most of their "better" anme conventions just add MORE shit when you search, when ebfore i could easily find the specific module i wanted, lets say cold-arc AB's, now i have to search afterburners adn get a shitton of crap i dont care about.
How about we make eve more hardcore by making space less safe and putting more emphasis on pvp, not just by making the game more annoying.
no I think we should make the game more hardcore by adding ship skins like this: http://dl.eve-files.com/media/1202/20120209023127…
Epic
Yes, please. Moar Hello Kitty. If for no reason than to keep that UI Dev. . . whatshername. . .happy, I hear she's a huge hello kitty fan.
Also while the renaming of the mods etc is less "uber 133t", it's alot less confusing and would have save me alot of ISK and frustration in Jita back in the day, keeping me from buying the wrong stuff to failfit ships with.
anyone who thinks that this is BAD has some autism spectrum disorder and needs to away or get laid more often.
Meh, seriously, there are bigger issues no ?
Sure, but think of how little effort this takes – simple name changes that might take someone all of minutes to actually implement, yet it unifies modules in a way that might actually make sense to new players. In terms of effort vs. reward, it's a no-brainer to do it
Ya, more killboard database nightmares ahead. Last few patches have turned a steady and reliable killboard documentation system into a total free-for-all. Get that shit together.
oh noes think of all the spreadsheets tears… quick let me grab my tear jar
Bunch of friggin whiny mod-name role players. Keep the simple stuff simple. Eve is vast and complex enough without having to waste my time with "interesting" names that have zero relation to wtf they are. Good job CCP. Now I can play the game for a few more minutes each day rather than hitting show info or referring to a spreadsheet list of implant names.
Why is people who have no real point automatically try to attach a stigma to anyone that is counter to what they feel? Just because somebody doesn't want the module name changed doesn't categorize them as a role player. Generic names feel lazy, EvE is a game that requires thought and creativity from fitting to management to combat. The game itself should reflect the player base and it's mindset.
I like the changes but I think the launcher names are terribad.
Light missile launcher vs light missile array…. i dont think enough separates these two
I was really happy about everything until:
"light missile array" right next to "light missile launcher"
what the fuck is that ccp?
light assault missile launcher would be better
Yeah, that one seems to be rather confusing.
You could have gone with something like "Rapid Light Missile Launcher".
Seriously, the missile launchers didn't need to be messed with to that extent. I will even go so far as to say the the Meta renaming for launchers is a little overboard, but then again, I use almost exclusively missiles, so…
How about "Light missile launcher cluster"?
So we'll be flying around in AM Drakes then — why change this??
I'm going to miss the name on my current HAM drake. "Moon over my HAMmy" lol
It will make sorting loot for meltdown and resale a lot faster. Me Gusta.
+1 THIS!
Makes my carebear habits up in high-sec that much easier when I'm grinding out L4's. lol
CCP need to stop dumbing down eve. The first thing to do would be to translate all item name into the adequat ascii code, and then translating this code as binary in order to make sure this game differenciate those who care about the game and those who dont.
Just dont touch the target painters!
P.W.N.A.G.E must remain!
Oh, good point. Keep the Target painter names. +1
I personally don't like the decision, the myriad of names is what gives the game that all important feeling of being within a universe more than a game. Standardizing names makes the modules feel lazy and fake in my honest opinion.
We would never call a Pilgrim 'Amarr Force Recon', a Dramiel 'Angel Cartel Frigate', or a Arbitrator 'Amarr Mining Cruiser'
Some clubs have ridiculous costs to joining. In Eve, extreme complexity kept the dumbasses away. Anyone too lazy to look at the infos should be playing WOW or that Jedi simulator suckage.____
Eve being extremely deep with difficult associations was a strong factor of my playing the game. I do not want the game to be easier, it just lets the twelve-year-olds into the club.____
Eve should be as hard as a Mensa entrance exam.____
But, I digress. I wanted to vote up the idea that Ship Names should not be fucked with. No, I wont emo-quit over it, but I always thought the ship names was a very cool part of the game.____Please leave ship names alone!____Thank you all, my Eve brethren.
BRILLIANT! I LOVE THIS CHANGE! CCP FOR PRESIDENT!
Cleaning up the Engrish of eve. A task as great as anything odysseus faced.
Bad communication isn't skill. Eve Engrish and derp descriptions can gtfo.
CCP – catering to dumb people because there are more of them.
Thums UP!
I LIKE this change!
I dont like the new meta names but the new implant names are awesome!
bout fucking time !
what an abomination
Why bother standardizing the names when the different meta levels don't have standardized bonuses/benefits?
Over all, I think this renaming will streamline market transactions and database searches. Kudos CCP for making things better.
…on the other hand, they're making it easy for the noobs. I'll play the bittervet card and say that they should have it just as hard as I did! lol
Seems Island join the EU . . . every thing in every region will get the same name . . . no history, no different development will be spare . . . all the same . . .
aye, change the meta names as long as there is an intelligible scheme to them. But do not screw with the ship names. Also, so torp launchers will now fire cruise missiles as well? No confusion there.
nice nice..