EVE Online’s Fractured Skies gives new pilots free practice ships and starts a new HUD beta

EVE Online's latest expansion, Fractured Skies, is mostly aimed at people who have just started. The full notes went up on Steam on 6 November, and the headline feature is a set of free practice ships for new pilots.

These AIR Academy ships come already fitted, so a newcomer can try combat, exploration or mining without first learning EVE's famously deep fitting system. There are 13 to start with, eight for combat, four for exploration and one for mining, and you can claim ships from any faction whatever your character's background. The catch is that they are training wheels: you can hold one at a time, they only work in the Exordium starter region and the Abyss, and they can't be traded, salvaged or taken out through the stargates. A button opens the market with the normal version of the ship and its fitting if you want to buy the real thing.

The career program that teaches the basics now lives in the achievement system, with 78 achievements in all, including a few hidden ones that only give hints. Early combat missions have been cleaned up so the overview shows less clutter.

Further on, there is a new kind of rig that gets stronger the more matching modules you fit, four new community campaigns tied to the ongoing Drifter story, and a long list of balance changes. A redesigned HUD is also available to try as an opt-in feature preview in the client settings, starting with the panel at the bottom of the screen that shows capacitor, modules, shields and armour.

EVE has been running since 2003, and the EVE Online game page covers how its player economy links to real money.