At QCon London 2026, EVE Online Technical Director Nicholas Herring is scheduled to explain how the game’s observability approach aims to identify important traffic—including real-time interactions that may express player personality—while controlling the cost of collecting and storing telemetry. The conference abstract names head-based sampling, dynamic and deterministic sampling, and exponential moving averages (EMA) as session topics, but it does not disclose the production rules or results.
What is the EVE Online sampling presentation about?
QCon London describes a 50-minute session in its Distributed Tracing track, scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at 11:45 GMT in Whittle at the QEII Centre in London. The listed speaker is Nicholas Herring, whose conference biography identifies him as Technical Director, Eve Online at CCP Games. QCon London’s session page provides the official schedule and abstract; the speaker page provides his listed role.
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The abstract frames the challenge around a distinctive quality of multiplayer games: real-time interactions can express users’ personalities. It says the session will discuss instrumenting New Eden, EVE Online’s universe, “to identify the traffic that matters, even the ‘fun’ parts!” The stated aim is performant observability in what the speaker characterizes as a 20-year-old legacy system running alongside modern technologies. That age description is the speaker’s framing, not an independently measured age claim.
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What does “head-based sampling” mean?
In distributed tracing, a trace records related operations as a request or activity travels through a system. Head-based sampling makes the keep-or-discard decision near the start of that trace. At that point, the system does not yet know whether the trace will later contain an error or unusually slow operation, so it cannot choose traces based on those eventual outcomes.
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Tail-based sampling works differently: it decides after a trace has completed, when later errors or latency may be visible. This makes outcome-aware selection possible, but requires waiting for trace data and managing it before the decision. OpenTelemetry’s sampling overview explains the general distinction. The QCon abstract specifically names head-based sampling; it does not say EVE Online uses tail-based sampling.
| Approach | When the decision is made | Can the decision use later errors or latency? | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head-based sampling | Near the start of a trace | No; those outcomes are not yet known | Can limit collected data early, but may discard a trace before its eventual importance is apparent. |
| Tail-based sampling | After the trace completes | Yes, if the completed trace contains those signals | Can select based on outcomes, but requires holding trace data until the decision. |
This is a general comparison, not a description of CCP’s implementation. Sampling reduces the volume of telemetry available for storage and analysis, but also narrows the traces available when investigating system behavior. Splunk’s 2020 tracing slides recommend full-fidelity traces where possible, head-based sampling if sampling is necessary, and avoiding sampling between services; that is dated general guidance, not a claim about EVE Online’s architecture. Splunk’s tracing slides provide that recommendation.
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What topics does the QCon abstract name?
- A “100% Head base sampling ecosystem.” The abstract uses this wording, but does not define what “100%” means operationally. It should not be read as proof that every trace is retained.
- A blend of dynamic and deterministic sampling techniques. The page identifies both approaches as topics, but does not explain their rules or how they are combined.
- The “blessing and curse” of the Exponential Moving Average (EMA). EMA is named, but the abstract does not say which signal is smoothed or how the result affects sampling.
- Observing “fun” without breaking the bank. The stated problem is to identify meaningful traffic, including the interactions the speaker calls fun, while keeping observability costs manageable.
How might sampling relate to observing player interactions?
The session abstract connects two concerns: the system needs observability that performs in a legacy environment, and the game’s real-time interactions may carry information about player personality. That makes the sampling question more nuanced than simply collecting less data: a policy must control telemetry volume while retaining traffic useful to the team. The abstract does not define a technical test for “fun,” explain how player activity is classified, or state which events or traces are retained.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesIt also does not disclose the actual sampling rates or rules, the data signals used by an EMA, the storage or cost figures, or measured outcomes. Those implementation details should be treated as unknown rather than inferred from the session title. The official page establishes what the speaker says the talk will cover, not a transcript or independent verification of EVE Online’s production design.
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When and where is the session?
The QCon London listing schedules the session for Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at 11:45 GMT, in Whittle at the QEII Centre in London. It is listed under Distributed Tracing and has a duration of 50 minutes. The reviewed session page does not establish whether slides or a recording are publicly available.
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