This is how a massive EVE Online battle looks

Over 3,000 players take to the skies to wage sci-fi war

James Etherington-SmithJanuary 28, 2013

Over the weekend of 26 January 2013, mighty armies clashed in the EVE Online universe in what has been tentatively dubbed the Battle of Asakai.

As spotted by Velocity Gamer, 3,284 players (278 Alliances and 740 corporations) set the heavens ablaze during a 2-hour long space battle royale.

While player’s personal reports from the battle are trickling in, some harrowing details have emerged. As reported by Velocity Gamer, one EVE player lost a space ship worth US$800 (±R7,175) – a vessel worth a couple of months of play time.

With stakes this high, the battles seem that much more intense, although I’m not sure I could handle the loss myself.

Personally, I don’t know much about how EVE Online works, and the time investment required seems quite daunting – however, these epic space battle scenes make for a convincing argument for getting into CCP Games’ persistent space-world MMO.

Resident EVE fan Jan Vermeulen was consulted for insight into the subtle political and economical influences that lead to this mighty conflict, but he simply told me to “harden the f$%& up!”.

Check out a time-lapsed video of the battle below, with screenshots below that. Follow the link for detailed stats on the battle.