EVE Online plans to introduce a mechanism of limited free access.

As the executive producer of CCP Seagull has announced from November, each player will be provided for each main character with an additional “alpha” -clone, available even with an unpaid pilot’s license. An ordinary clone, which has all the gaming capabilities, will be called an “omega” slope and will automatically turn into an “alpha” at the end of the subscription.

The alpha clone will have limited access to skills and ships (racial ships are available in a class before the cruiser and modules of the first technological level), and also will not be able to activate the drive hyperspace beacon and masking systems.


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The decision to provide unlimited access to CCP Seagull explained with the recent upgrade of the Tranquility computing cluster, which allowed to increase the number of pilots simultaneously participating in a battle.

The shocking sudden news (even the CSM Council, which the community of players represents in the SSR, was brought to the public statement two days before) was nevertheless generally favorably received by the main mass of players.

Probably the Human Protein Atlas project will receive even more “freelancers” if, of course, the Discovery project is available to alpha players.

I'd add: in such moments, it becomes a pity that CCP missed Tony Gonzales. Such a change in gameplay, reflected in the ENT, for example, in the form of a conflict between successful capsuleers and those who flew out of the constant license race, but suddenly got the opportunity to fly in, say, an “illegal” and defective alpha clone could become the basis of a book much more epic than "The Age of the Empire."

PS Official post from CCP Falcon: forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6614316

Questions about returning players:

Q: If I previously played Eve, do I need to do something to activate the alpha clone?
A: No, all inactive accounts will be automatically converted and receive alpha clones.

Q: What happens if I enter the game with an alpha clone while being in a ship requiring an omega clone?
A: You will be allowed to control the ship until the next entrance to the dock, but the skills mastered by the character and not included in the list available to the alpha clone will not affect the characteristics of the ship.

Q: What happens if I enter the game with an alpha clone, but there are modules on my ship that require an omega clone?
A: These modules will be de-energized as soon as you enter the game.

Q: What will happen if the skills that require an omega clone are in the line for mastering my character?
A: Mastering skills will be suspended. You will need to manually remove these skills from the development plan and re-start the development, or pay a subscription.