Eve Online has again been shaken recently by the discovery of a major exploit in which several very large player run corporations have been exploting and taking advantage of for some time.
Eve Online recently announced this in their press release (see below). There is also a massive discussion thread on the forums here.
There’s also an interesting thread on Scrap Heap Challenge here.
We have discovered an exploit involving starbases that made it possible for some players to gain an unfair advantage over others. We have taken measures to address this by removing the starbases used in the exploit. Additionally, assets gained from its use have been seized and bans levied against the players involved. We will continue to monitor the game for issues such as this one. We encourage players to create a petition if become aware of any activities which may permit others to gain an unfair advantage in the game.
Update by Customer Support:
On December 7th 2008, a date which will live in infamy, a petition from a concerned player alerted us to a serious problem with Starbase reactors. The petition had been filed five days earlier, a far longer waiting time than we can accept with our current queue status and we have now taken measures to fix that. We immediately started investigating the issue and found that there was indeed a problem and that it was being exploited to gain unfair advantages.
We discovered seven corporations with multiple Starbases set up for the express purpose of exploiting the issue. Three of those corporations were members of two alliances. We took immediate action against the offenders and banned over 70 accounts and destroyed all the Starbases run by the corporations in question. All the offending corporations are now effectively inactive as a result of our actions.
The corporations were producing high end materials for T2 production. Working with the Research & Statistics team we have established that the effects on the markets have been considerable and far reaching. The effects of our actions against the exploiters will also be felt on the market as the production of the materials has been cut substantially. However, supply should increase again once players have mastered the alchemy process.
We are still conducting operations to deal with this matter and we will keep you posted on the progress and results as things develop.
Update: 11th December 2008:
Here is an update on the investigation into the Starbase reactor exploit that we are currently conducting:
1. CCP has confirmed that this bug has been exploitable since February 2007. Changes to the Starbases code from launch until February 2007 are minimal and very unlikely to have caused the bug. So at this point we are working on the assumption that this bug has been exploitable since the release of player owned structures on November 24th, 2004. We will therefore focus solely on looking at Starbases data in order to determine who has been using this exploit, and for how long.
2. CCP has been able to restore older databases that show us that the bug has been exploited since at least January this year, but at a lower scale than in the last few months. The players involved then were the same ones that we found and banned recently. We are now working on restoring data from 2006 which will take us several days. It is uncertain if we will be able to have answers on that before holiday vacations.
3. CCP has been able to access data from our old petition system. We have been unable to confirm that a petition was filed in 2004, 2005 or 2006 pointing out this bug with Starbases. We urge anyone with information on who and when a petition on this issue was filed to contact us directly through the petition system under the Exploit Category. Alternatively, an email sent to community@eve-online.com with details on the matter would be much appreciated.
4. The full investigation will take several weeks. CCP will be in direct contact with the CSM to discuss this issue and we will provide information to the community as it becomes available.
5. We have done a thorough investigation on our staff members and CSM members and found no links to this exploit.
6. Our actions so far have included the eradication of 178 starbases that were exploiting this issue. Some had multiple reactors running in the bugged state. We have also banned all those we have found directly involved and all accounts we have found to be connected to those players. The investigation is still under way and will take a while to conclude.
We just launched LocoTV.com.au!
Loco TV is an on demand television station.
This means that you can watch the shows you want to watch, any time you want to watch them. The vast amount of our content is free to stream to your PC, TV or web enabled device. For instructions, check the How Do I Use It section. You will also be able to download our shows to your 3G phone, iPod or iPhone for a small charge (coming soon).
There are many places on the Internet that you can download and watch TV shows, but not like these. LocoTV film, produce and broadcast their own shows on a variety of different subjects and styles.
Aqualife Marine is a boating specialist located in the heart of Fremantle. They required a high impact website that would show case their beautiful boats and products to the public. The website is clean and very fast - with simple image transitions showing off the boats.The website is designed in XHTML and CSS - and is very fast and robust. The boat slideshows are used to showcase the boats themselves, while keeping the layout clean and easy to read.
The site is a good example of using the right amount of effects for the right purpose - without going overboard or complicating the site. The google map (showing location) is a nice and easy way to add some interactivity to the site and making it very easy for people to print out a custom direcition map to the showroom from their very own house.
GMS Consulting
GMS Consulting required a super fast and simple 1 page website to allow clients to download files and get an overall idea of their product. The site is designed in simple XHTML and CSS and is super fast.
We didn’t over-complicate anything about this site - it’s clean, simple and get’s right to the point. This is a great example of how a professionally coded and standards complient website can also be very cheap to setup and run.
Single page websites like this can start from as little as just $199- plus hosting - that’s unbeatable value! We’ll make it neat without much graphics like above, or with as many bells and whistles you need.
Dicks Deals Global is an import and export company based in Perth. Initially starting out as a E-Bay trader, the business became very sucessfull very quickly, and it was soon realised that to save thousands on E-Bay fee’s, the business needed it’s very own website which could handle transactions.
Zycon Pty Ltd suppliers of top quality Safety and Maintenance products to Industry. They pride themselves in being able to acquire and provide the latest developments, giving their clients the technology required to meet the demands of day to day business.
With a brand new website to coincide with their new products and services, Zycon now have a robust and professionally built web site to server as their on-line business portal. The website is a great example of how a professionally built and styled site can also be very affordable. Built without a databas, and clean XHTML and CSS code, the website is fast and stable.
Here are some very useful tips on successful website design:
Look and feel
Does it look right for the business and your customers. Will your customers find it an attractive and easy to use site? Would YOU feel comfortable making a purchase from it or does it look “fishy”?
Navigation
I like to use the “3-click rule” - if you cant find what your looking for in 3 clicks, then it’s just too hard. Make sure your website is simple and easy to navigate or people wont bother with it.
Website content - content is King!
You can have the flashiest and most advanced website available today but without content - it’s worthless. Fresh and relevant content will make your website an interesting and useful tool for customers, and will have them return time and time again. Do not underestimate the importance of good content - and make sure you have planned resources for managing this (or outsourcing it).
Read more
The Manor Group business needed a new website to show case it’s products and services. They needed a simple design with a strong focus on the companies main products and services streams.
The site also needed to focus on the competitive Perth home improvement market, and give the company an edge. As a virtual window to the company, we designed the site to be as clear, un-cluttered and direct as possible, leaving the customer with a strong and lasting impression.
The site shows photographs of work completed on Roof Restoration, Rendering, Window Restoration and Painting.
The site is easy to navigate and loads fast. Compiled in XHTML and using CSS styling, the site is a good example of a simple brochure style website that would suit many small businesses and sole traders in Perth, WA.
This web site was created as a community service for a local action group in Mosman Park. The goal for this site was to engage the local Mosman Park community to get involved in saving the local parks and reserves from development.
The site also features a discussion forum which allows the residents and viewers to actively participate in conversation with the site management and other concerned people.
The site is coded with XHTML and CSS standards and uses a simple database to run the forums. A contact form allows viewers to send messages directly to the town Mayor and the site also contains links to the council’s budgets and other public documentation.
