MOM-AI supports the New player experience

CCP is always at the cutting edge with EVE Online. Graphically and in terms of gameplay, the Icelanders are no match for anyone else. In the past few years, we have been able to admire several iterations of the AI in-game and with the revised New Player Experience, a new AI-supported tutorial is being added as of today, which makes the decision to play EVE much easier. I had the opportunity to put it through its paces in advance…

The AIR station is attacked and before the new player realises what is happening he is already in the escape pod somewhere in space. Here the basic controls are learned and soon the player is exactly where he should be after an introductory tutorial: At the career agents. With the completion of the last career agent, the player is then sent on to Sister Alitura and only then released into the sandbox of EVE Online.
The progression planned by CCP, which actually makes sense, is therefore as follows:

Basic Tutorial > Career Agents > Sister of EVE Epic Arc.

To ensure that exactly this progression is adhered to, there is now an additional AI routine – the Multitasking Operational Manager – AI or “Mom-AI” for short.

The clou: It recognises exactly when the player tries to leave this path. Instead of invisible obstacles or impregnable NPCs as we know them from other computer games, CCP is taking a completely new approach here. In cooperation with the Institute of Pedagogy Reykjavik, the team responsible has found a way to better keep players on this new-player experience.

MOM-AI acts quickly and does not allow itself to be negotiated with. There are three escalation levels and they increase each time the player does not react:

Level 1: She addresses the player by his full name

Level 2: Depending on the player’s location and nationality, she fades in either a wooden spoon or slippers.

Level 3: She takes control of the player’s capsule and flies to the destination on autopilot.

The completely new and revolutionary approach exactly reflects the reality of many EVE beginners, who, according to a study, are mainly late pubescent young men of Generation Z who live in their teenage room at home with mum and dad. So they are used to having their laundry done and their day oriented around someone telling them what to do.

The first tests have already been made and successfully completed. For around 80% of new subscribers, the Mom-AI intervened and steered them onto the right path. This way, the new subscriptions could be increased by 50%.

Fortunately, the Mom AI is just a bad April Fool’s joke. I wish you a good start into the coming EVE year and hope that we will be spared one or two jokes.

Fly safe
Jezaja