Today is probably the closest thing to a rebirth in the six-year history of Eve Online, the ambitious, complex, and notoriously user-hostile science fiction MMO. Right now, as I type, an update is being applied to the server (note the singular, as everyone who plays Eve Online is on the same server!). That update is the free Apocrypha add-on, which contains a lot of stuff for advanced players, such as wormholes to new solar systems, a new type of DIY modular starship, and an advanced story arc that progresses through all four factions rather than limiting itself to one corner of the game's massive galaxy. You can read through all the new features here.

But more importantly, Apocrypha changes the way new players are introduced to the game. From the developer's blog:

For the past few years, the process of creating your character has been a multi-step process with a lot of choices. Choices that were intimidating, to say the least, for anyone who had never played EVE before...For Apocrypha, we simplified this process. We eliminated choices that had no effect on you whatsoever and moved these choices to a more appropriate time where you could make an informed decision...These choices, all important, are better made once you have a true understanding of how things work in EVE. Once you know what you want to do, what you want to fly and so on, that is when you should decide on your career and skills. And it is better that you understand what the attributes do, before you start fiddling with them.

As someone who was unceremoniously dumped into those choices when I started play Eve Online last month, I'm in a position to say, from first hand experience, that it's about time. I hope the initial round of missions and the tutorials are revised as well, since those are equally important in terms of making new players feel welcome. Eve Online is a remarkable game in many ways, and it's about time the developers met players half way.