Topic: EVE Character Avatars to become mobile!
CCP has released an article in the E-ON magazine detailing how they are currently beginning work on creating a system where EVE's pod-pilots will finally be able to leave their capsules and walk around the stations they dock in using human avatars. As the bare-bones framework of this they are attempting to build a system with "Hyper-Realistic" human avatars, with a wide variety of expressions and gestures. People have been talking about adding this to EVE ever since the game first came out, but the company has now confirmed that it has staff working on it.
The project is obviously low-priority compared to other things in development, as well as being somewhat ambitious, so they estimate 12-18 months at minimum, making late 2008 the soonest it will arrive. But I'm sure anyone who has ever played EVE will be welcoming the prospect of this new addition, which from the RP point of view was all that was missing from EVE to make it the perfect RP setting IMO.
The head of the "Ambulation" prject has said in an interview that this feature will:-
...provide depth for the casual player and a playground for those who take roleplaying seriously. I come from a classic pen-and-paper role-playing background and feel that it's imperative that you have the option to perform actions and events that perhaps have no pragmatic economic value but enable people to emotion, power, tradition and history in the language of the EVE universe.
and has also given a few other comments like:-
We're quite authoritarian when it come to allowing EVE players to customise their characters to absurdity. There are virtual worlds out there that allow you to fit rubber ducks to your head and have hairy, bearded men in wedding gowns, but that does not fit at all with the backstory and setting of EVE and would do more damage than good in my humble opinion.
The general outline seems to be that they are going to set up an environment where human avatars can interact extensively and no combat is permitted and there is nothing of benefit to non-RPers to induce them to enter. If this project ever makes a full appearance in the EVE game, I know I'm going back to it and I also know I won't be alone. Just that pesky wait of probably two years now...
Because yes, the setting is great, but RP was hampered by the fact that two ships meeting in space is not.. Uh.. That interesting? 
