Greetings Capsuleers!
EVE Fanfest 2016 is less than a week away, and pilots are already beginning to arrive in Reykjavík from across the globe for three days packed full of presentations, roundtables, events and parties.
Here at CCP, preparations have been underway for several months now and we’ve been working on bringing both attendees and those watching at home an action packed celebration of every aspect of New Eden.
Regardless of what you’re interested in, be it fleet warfare, piracy, industry, PvE, the fine art of piloting a Valkyrie fighter, building your own empire or destroying someone else’s, we’ve got content for you here in Iceland this year.
So without further interruption, let’s get down to business in this monstrous blog that highlights many of the goings on over the Fanfest week.
The Fanfest 2016 Schedule
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PDF Download Link for the Fanfest 2016 Schedule
You can find an overview of this year’s schedule in the image above, and for the second year running we’re also using the free Guidebook app to provide a fully comprehensive schedule on your mobile device. It also includes session descriptions, maps and places of interest, information about our Fanfest partners and the discounts on food and drinks they're offering for this Fanfest, along with the ability to plan your own schedule for the Fanfest 2016 sessions that interest you.
You can get it by downloading Guidebook, which is available for both Android and iOS and entering the redemption code “evefanfest2016”. You can also view the schedule in Guidebook on the web.
If you already have the Guidebook app installed, you can simply scan this QR Code from within the app to get instant access to the guide:
For those of you travelling from outside the EU, fear not – Harpa will be equipped with free Wi-Fi for all Fanfest 2016 attendees, so you’ll be able to access Guidebook at the venue even if your roaming data services don’t work in Iceland.
This year we’ve also organized the schedule a little more based on subject matter, including Development, Art, Community, Player, VR, Developer and Engagement presentation tracks to make sure that sessions that relate to certain areas of Fanfest cross over as little as possible for maximum enjoyment.
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Where do I register when I arrive?
Given how busy Fanfest registration at Harpa can be, we’re once again offering early Fanfest registration with our friends at Centerhotel Plaza.
On Monday and Tuesday morning, you’ll be able to register for Fanfest 2016 and pick up your access passes from 13:00 to 17:00 in preparation for the start of Fanfest on Thursday.
For those pilots who’re experiencing their first Fanfest and are new to Reykjavík, here’s a handy map showing the location of Centerhotel Plaza in relation to the Fanfest 2016 venue, Harpa.
For those of you who are either arriving later, or would prefer to pick up your Fanfest passes directly from the venue, you can do so at Harpa on Wednesday from 10:00 – 17:00 and on Thursday, starting at 09:00.
Onward to the Keynotes!
After the success of last year’s re-scheduling of the main keynote presentations and the positive feedback we received from attendees, we’ve decided that we’ll follow the same scheduling practice this year and keep the keynotes and announcements to the start of Fanfest so that there’s the rest of the event to talk about what’s been announced, and what’s coming.
Thursday, April 21st – 12:00 UTC – Opening Ceremonies & Updates On New Eden
We’ll kick off Fanfest at noon on the first day, an hour after the o7 Fanfest Live stream starts, with the Opening Ceremonies and Updates on New Eden. This Keynote will give an overview of what’s been happening at CCP over the course of the last year, and how we’ve progressed from last Fanfest to this one. Fronted by CCP Hellmar, the CEO of CCP Games, with a couple of guest speakers, there’ll be information on EVE Online, EVE: Valkyrie, and a whole host of things that CCP are currently working on.
Thursday, April 21st – 14:00 UTC – EVE Online Keynote
Hosted by CCP Seagull and a number of guest speakers including CCP Fozzie and CCP Larrikin, the EVE Online keynote will follow at 14:00. With a feature tour of what’s coming in the EVE Online: Citadel expansion just a few days after Fanfest, plus what’s coming up over the course of 2016 in the run up to next Fanfest.
Saturday, April 23rd – 17:00 UTC – Closing Ceremonies
On Saturday, we’ll wrap up Fanfest with a recap of the event, as well as information about what EVE fans can expect in the next year regarding community events that are coming up and EVE Vegas 2016, along with the dates for Fanfest 2017. We'll also have a special guest, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, who will be joining us to close out another epic annual celebration of all things New Eden.
But wait, there’s more! (a lot more!)
This year, Fanfest offers an extensive variety of developer, player and third party presentations to make sure that there’s always something for everyone.
From the staple Game Design Panel and Ships & Modules presentation, to a glimpse into the Art of creating Citadels, and roundtables on IP development, ISD, player gatherings, structures, tech art and the vast economy of EVE, there’s a myriad of topics and subjects to be briefed on and discuss.
All the major sessions for Fanfest 2016 also have their own dedicated roundtable hosted at some point after the main presentation, so that players can discuss content and pose questions to the developers involved in specific areas of gameplay.
Fanfest also includes a record number of player presentations this year. EVE is all about community. It’s about our pilots, the content and rivalries you guys produce, and the conversations you create and engage in as you wage war with each other or collaborate to build empires that stretch for light years.
With presentations from a wide range of pilots, including Chessur, Max Singularity, Makoto Priano, ExookiZ, Steve Ronuken, wolfpack10 and Quantum Delta, one of our most prolific EVE: Valkyrie streamers and most skilled fighter pilots, there are presentations that range in subject matter from the life of an FC, to honing your skills as a solo and small gang pilot and how to be a better Valkyrie pilot, giving Fanfest attendees a wide range of topics to choose from.
In addition to this, we have several third party presentations and roundtables over the course of Fanfest, including a session with the University of Staffordshire, the UK’s top Game Design and Programming University on how to get into the gaming industry, as well as presentations from MMOS on Project Discovery, and an analysis of the Economics of War by the University of Ghent.
Be sure to check the schedule thoroughly, as there’s a wide range of content available over the course of these three days, covering every aspect of New Eden.
The YC118 Amarr Championships Finals
Every year Fanfest has a headline event on Friday evening to prime attendees for the legendary Fanfest Pub Crawl. This year is no different.
With a history of Chess Boxing, the Dev Quiz, Worlds Collide, and the EVE of Destruction MMA showcase, we come to one of the most important headline events we’ve ever had for Fanfest.
This year, two teams representing Catiz Tash-Murkon and Aritcio Kor-Azor will fight it out live, on stage, broadcasted across the globe to all our twitch viewers. This best of five fight will conclude the YC118 Imperial Succession Trials, with players deciding the fate and future of the Amarr Empire, and dictating who will be the next heir to take the golden throne of Holy Amarr.
For more information on the Amarr Championships, be sure to tune into the Opening Ceremonies, the EVE Online Keynote and the event itself, which takes place at 17:00 on Friday evening.
Fanfest Silent Auction & Cosplay Contest
As announced in the last few days, we also have the Fanfest Silent Auction running, to assist with fundraising for Barnaspítali Hringsins, the Icelandic Children’s Hospital, as well as the annual Fanfest Cosplay Contest, the results of which will be announced live on stage at the start of the YC118 Amarr Championships Finals.
EVE: Valkyrie & EVE Tournaments
The traditional EVE Fanfest tournament is back again this year, with prizes to be won in the ever popular sit and go format that we've enjoyed at Fanfest and EVE Vegas for three years now.
You can also test your mettle and piloting skills in the Fanfest EVE: Valkyrie tournament, with the chance to win some mind blowing prizes by competing against fellow attendees to see which team comes out as top-gun.
More events during Fanfest!
In addition to all this at Fanfest 2016, we’ll also have areas set aside for both Project Discovery and the University of Staffordshire where attendees can head on over for a sit down and an informal chat with staff from both the University, and from Massively Multiplayer Online Science, the co-creators of Project Discovery.
There will also be a huge hands on area this year where Fanfest attendees will be able to play EVE Online, EVE: Valkyrie, Gunjack and other brand new exciting projects that CCP is currently working on. Be sure to check out if you want to see the latest developments on projects that are currently in the works at CCP offices across the globe!
But what if I can’t make it to Fanfest?
More and more, we want Fanfest to become a celebration that isn’t just enjoyed by those who choose to come to the land of Fire and Ice, but also those members of the community who can’t make it out to this frozen volcanic rock in the middle of the North Atlantic.
This year, for all those who can’t make it to Fanfest in person, we’re kicking down the door and bringing Fanfest to you. Right in your own homes. Whether that’s at your desk, or into your living rooms where you can chill with a beer and watch all the major announcements, it’s going to be streamed completely free, in HD, through the CCP Twitch channel.
Starting Thursday April 21st at 11:00 UTC, you’ll be able to join CCP Guard, CCP Mimic and a whole cast of player and developer hosts as we bring you every major announcement and presentation from Fanfest 2016, including a live broadcast of the finals of the YC118 Amarr Championships Finals.
Alongside the stream, there’s a whole host of ways to get involved with Fanfest 2016 at home both in twitch chat and on social media via facebook, twitter and instagram, with contests and giveaways where you can win PLEX, SKINs and a whole host of other goodies. Be sure to share your photos, screenshots and experiences on #eveisreal and #evefanfest to show off how you're enjoying viewing Fanfest!
More than ever before we want to bring Fanfest to those who can’t be here in person, so you’ll want to be tuned in to our twitch channel and watching out for CCP Leeloo and CCP Tara, as well as listening to our hosts on stream for competitions and giveaways all through the course of the Fanfest 2016 broadcast.
Here’s a quick rundown of the sessions you’ll be able to watch on our twitch channel. You can also find this schedule directly below the Fanfest 2016 live stream on our twitch channel for easier viewing too:
Note: All times are in UTC (EVE Time)
Thursday:
- 10:45 – Stream Starts!
- 11:00 – Welcome to o7 – Fanfest Live
- 12:00 – Opening Ceremonies & Updates on New Eden
- 13:00 – Speaking with the Community
- 14:00 – EVE Online Keynote
- 15:00 – Valkyrie: Assaulting the Senses
- 16:00 – A History of the Great Empires of New Eden
Friday:
- 10:45 – Stream Starts!
- 11:00 – Game Design Panel
- 12:00 – Ships & Modules
- 13:00 – Project Discovery
- 14:00 – Live Concept Art
- 15:00 – NASA – There is no lull
- 16:00 – Care 4 Kids
- 17:00 – YC118 Amarr Championships Finals
Saturday:
- 10:45 – Stream Starts!
- 11:00 – Art & Graphics Panel
- 12:00 – Social Scientists Study: EVE Online
- 13:00 – Structures
- 14:00 – Art Of Citadels
- 15:00 – EVE: Valkyrie Tournament Semi Finals
- 16:00 – EVE: Valkyrie Tournament Finals
- 17:00 – Closing Ceremony
- 18:00 – Stream Wrap Up
YC118 Amarr Championships Community Draw!
This year during Fanfest, we'll be doing something new for all those people who're playing EVE over the course of the festivities.
In celebration of the YC118 Amarr Championships Finals, House Kor-Azor and House Tash-Murkon have provided an Avatar class titan as residence for each of the finalists competing on their behalf. These have been placed in orbit of Oris, in the system of Amarr, right outside Amarr VIII (Oris) – Emperor Family Academy.
From downtime on Tuesday, April 19, through to downtime on Tuesday, April 26th, we will be monitoring the system of Amarr, and every pilot (character) who enters the system between the server starting up after downtime on the 19th and the sever going offline for downtime on the 26th will be entered into a prize draw.
We'll draw names and annouce them on Friday, May 6th,the Anniversary of EVE Online.
While simple, the prizes will be substantial:
- 1st Place – 120 PLEX – 10 years of training time
- 2nd Place – 36 PLEX – 3 years of training time
- 3rd place – 12 PLEX – 1 year of training time
Be sure to stop by Amarr for your chance to be included in this draw!
MOAR!!1 What else is happening at Fanfest?!
We’re not done yet, there’s still more to come!
Along with the main event of Fanfest itself, there’s also many supplementary events that are happening across Reykjavik both in the run up and during Fanfest itself.
Fanfest Beer Uncasking at Bryggjan Brugghús
Location: Bryggjan Brugghús
Time: 18:00 – Monday, April 18
Join us at Bryggjan Brugghús where we’ll be uncasking the three Fanfest 2016 beers that will be on sale at this bar exclusively throughout Fanfest 2016.
This year, the brew master at Bryggjan has put together three unique beverages for us that will be available bottled and on draft.
Safety Off – Red Ale
A classic red-ale. Red ales are usually malt forward with a light bitterness to counter the malty sweetness. This red ale has roasted barley which gives the beer a slight chocolate /coffee flavor while the Caraaroma malt gives the beer a hints of caramel. To counter this sweetness the beer has a variety of American hops. The beer clocks in around 5.5% giving it a high drinkability.
Need Reps – Pilsner
A Czech style pilsner with German noble hops. Pilsner malt is 95% of the malt bill giving the beer a biscuit like flavor. This is a straight forward 5% pilsner for the people. Low in bitterness and high in drinkability.
IPA – Hops Success
An American style IPA packed with American hops. This IPA is around 6% with Columbus, Citra, Centennial and Amarillo hops. The Citra and Amarillo give the beer a tropical aroma with a punch of bitterness in the end. The beer is also dryhopped with Amarillo and Ahtanum which increases the tropical citrusy aroma of the IPA.
EVE Fanfest Texas Hold 'em Poker Tournament
Location: Bryggjan Brugghús
Time: 13:30 – 17:30 – Wednesday, April 20
Get ready for a poker tournament with over 60 Billion ISK in prizes to be won, hosted by EVE Down Under organizer Bam Stroker. With EVE themed cards and chips at the bar that's exclusively selling the Fanfest 2016 beers, this is sure to be an event to remember.
For more information, you can see this forum thread.
A Game of Balls – Fanfest 2016 Player & Devs Football!
Location: Reykjavik FC's Indoor Handball Court
Time: 11:30 – 14:30 – Wednesday, April 20
Join CCP Puck and the rest of CCP FC again this year, for another player and developers football afternoon that will hopefully go better for our players this time around! It's about a 15 minute walking distance from CCP HQ, which makes it way more accessible than the place we booked last year.
This year the format will be different, so be sure to check out the forum thread from CCP Puck here!
EVEoke at HURRA! & #tweetfleet at The Dubliner
Location: HURRA! & The Dubliner (conveniently next door to each other)
Time: 21:00 – Wednesday, April 20
Join both players and developers as we take over two bars that are conveniently placed next door to each other for the player organize #tweetfleet meet, and the CCP organize EVEoke night, where both players and devs alike will be up on stage to stretch their vocal chords. You all know the expression “herding cats” in EVE, now you’re going to hear what it’s like for them to sing!
CCP accepts no responsibility for hearing loss resulting from terrible karaoke.
Fanfest 2016 Charity Evening with Developers & CEO
Location: Kolabrautin Restaurant – Harpa
Time: 20:00 – Thursday, April 21
Moving back to the famed Kolabrautin Restaurant on the top floor of Harpa, this charity event is organized to raise funds for Barnaspítali Hringsins, the Icelandic Children’s Hospital specializing in providing long term care for children who require treatment for a variety of health issues including cancer and diabetes as well as cardiovascular and neurological issues.
Join a whole host of CCP developers, and Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games, for dinner and drinks as part of the Fanfest fundraising events. If you don't already have your ticket for this event, there are a couple left and you can pick them up here, on the Fanfest Eventbrite page!
The Fanfest 2016 Pub Crawl
Location: Starting at Harpa
Time: 21:00 – Friday, April 22
The legendary Fanfest Pub Crawl in its twelfth iteration! Come join a whole host of CCPers and Icelandic guides as we take groups of players on a tour of the hottest bars in Iceland, starting with beers at Harpa, before taking a short walk downtown for a night of drinks and conversation on all things New Eden.
All Pubcrawl attendees will receive a custom Fanfest Pub Crawl Shot glass, Icelandic Beer and Brennivín to start out with at Harpa. At the end of the night, the entire pub crawl will fleet up at the final destination to gather for a toast of epic proportions!
If you don’t have tickets for the Pub Crawl yet, there’s still a few on sale at the Fanfest Eventbrite page!
Sisters of EVE (Friday day tour and Saturday party access)
Location: Departs from Harpa
Time: 09:00 – Friday, April 21
We realize that not everyone coming to Iceland wants to discuss the intricacies of ship fittings or market dynamics. We invite players to bring their wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, or just friends, to accompany them on the trip to Iceland and participate in this excursion that takes place during the Friday of Fanfest. Not only that, but Sisters of EVE pass holders are invited to join in at the Party at the Top of the World on Saturday night!
For full details and to buy tickets, check out the SOE Tour page on the Fanfest Website!
Reykjavik Excursions Tours
EVE Fanfest 2016 has teamed up with Reykjavík Excursions for the two official tours of Fanfest – the Golden Circle Tour and the Blue Lagoon Hangover Trip. Reykjavík Excursions will be in charge of selling tickets and organizing these two trips and are able to offer Fanfest attendees the best available price.
Reykjavík Excursions is also offering Fanfest attendess discounts to all their tours around Fanfest, including the Flybus that travels between Keflavík Airport and Reykjavík.
Check out the Reykjavík Excursions, for further information and details on how you can book your tickets to see the amazing scenery of the Land of Fire & Ice.
Party on top of the World
Location: Harpa
Time: 20:00 – Saturday, April 23
As if Fanfest wasn’t enough, we end the 2016 festivities in style with Skálmöld and The Permaband Space Jam bringing down the house at Harpa. This is an event that truly must be experienced to be appreciated as we pack out Harpa for drinks and celebrations at the conclusion of another epic celebration of all things New Eden.
We’ll see you next week!
Count them down! Six days to go, and CCP are going to be here to welcome every one of you to Reykjavík once again for an epic week of updates, partying and spaceship shenanigans.
As with many of you, Fanfest is the highlight of the EVE calendar for us every year, giving us the chance to showcase everything that’s going on, and coming up in New Eden.
Don’t hesitate to engage with developers and partners at Fanfest, discuss everything and anything, get your feedback heard and just hang out with our amazing community. We’re here for you guys just as much as you’re here for Fanfest, and we’re looking forward to seeing familiar faces and new ones alike.
For those of you at home, strap yourselves in and tune into o7 – Fanfest Live, where we’ll be bringing the excitement and fun of Fanfest directly into your homes through the power of the intertubes, with giveaways, contests and more stream content than we’ve ever broadcast at Fanfest.
We’ll see you soon!
EVE Universe Community Manager & Fanfest Program Director