EVE Online’s free-to-play switch, engineering complexes arrive with Ascension on November 8

EVE Online’s world-changing Ascension update has been formally dated: November 8th. That just a week after the company will close out the EVE Vegas convention in Nevada, and of course, that day is important to Americans for an entirely different reason.

So far, CCP has outlined Ascension’s changes to mining, subscriber rewards, and the new player experience, which is being revamped yet again in preparation for swarms of newbies. Its headline feature, of course, is the “clone state” system that effectively transitions EVE into a hybrid free-to-play title with an optional sub, one that has concerned some players over its potential for abuse but is being welcomed by even our own EVE columnist for its potential to rejuvenate the game.

This afternoon, the studio built out its plans for Ascension with promised details on engineering complexes that will add massive research and manufacturing bases to rival existing citadels. Think of them as the biggest factories in all of MMORPGs.