Basic system requirements

Minimal hardware:

•  CPU: PIII - 450 MHZ or higher.

•  RAM Memory: 128MB (256MB for 2000/XP).

•  Hard Drive Capacity: 1 GB.

•  Connection: 56k modem or faster.

Operating System:

•  Windows 2000.

•  Millennium, WinXP.

•  Please note that Windows 95, 98 and NT are not supported.

•  DirectX 9.0 or later.

Video cards:

•  GeForce 2 or better.

•  ATI Radeon 7200 or better.

•  Matrox Parhelia.

To check whether your card meets these requirements check with your card manufacturer:

Minimum screen resolution

•  Minimum screen resolution for EVE is 1024×768.

Sound

•  Audio hardware must be Direct Sound compatible. For optimum performance, use latest drivers available.

Recommended system for optimal performance:

•  Processor: P4 1GHz+.

•  RAM Memory: 256MB or higher.

•  3D Accelerator: 64MB or higher video card.

Required Internet connection

EVE is can run on a 33.6KBPS modem, and has been tested to be the fastest MMOG running on a 56K modem. Naturally, better connections will enhance game performance, but dial-up users can and are playing on such connections.

Internet latency

Having been designed from its earliest stages specifically as a MMOG, most of the game systems are devised to minimize network traffic and the effects of lag. This high-level approach makes EVE relatively unaffected by Internet latency.

Game logic implementation

EVE uses a special Stackless version of Python for both the server and the client. This makes for a much simpler creation of game logic than what was available in the past. The control structures provided by Stackless allow for a more “procedural synchronous” model, rather than an “event driven asynchronous,” or thread pooling.

In more simplified terms, this means that a large number of actors can perform tiny tasks without the added complexity or overhead of the other two execution models. Our game logic scripters are thereby freed from many of the mundane tasks associated with models that don’t benefit from the control structures provided by Stackless. The creative process of writing interesting game behavior is no longer bogged down by software or system limitations.

This approach also means that making changes to the game is much easier than it has been historically. Many improvements or tweaks can be added even when the world is online and going strong without the need to reboot the servers. This process is called a hot fix.

Please help us support Stackless Python and the excellent contribution it is making to online gaming.

Server setup and architecture

There is a centralized server cluster, located in London , with many custom proxy (slave) servers. The proxy servers have dedicated bandwidth to the central cluster. The proxy servers take some of the load off the game logic servers in the cluster by doing data integrity checks and virtual multicasting, making them – in a sense – a software router.

This server architecture, together with clever game design, allows us to have more players, distributed over greater geographical distances, together in the same world, breaking records held by our predecessors in the MMOG genre.