I'm just going to say my peace now and be done with it as this post isn't in any particularly way related to me. A fellow blogger, whom I follow and enjoy reading, posted a rather interesting topic about account security and the prospects of banning through 'shady' business in the world of Eve. By shady I mean selling items and/or isk for real life monetary gain.
After reading the post and doing a bit of extra reconnaissance on those involved I felt it necessary to oblige Mail's request to spread the word and thus I am linking you to the very post in question. If this is indeed true then I can only hope the issue is resolved quickly.
I would throw in my opinion on the whole issue but in all honesty I can't see what good it would bring. Mail has said the best part of what needs to be said and the event speaks clearly for itself. I would hope that through this the people whom do violate EULA regulations take a chance to reconsider their actions as it has now gotten to a point where they ruin other people's game.
I can't assume they would give any thought to this though.
All the best.
Thursday 24 June 2010
Wednesday 23 June 2010
... And I shall use their bodies as steps if I have to!
Just a very quick post to announce a new milestone in my life as a capsuleer; I have now peaked at just over 500 kills lifetime! Not something of merit to the many 0.0 dwellers out there I'm sure but for a low-sec pirate I am rather proud of myself. I promised myself that I would reach this mark before I hit 100 losses and for a while I didn't think I would actually succeed and through some divine stroke of luck I have. I have all the many frigate hulls of mine that have died in a fire during this difficult process to thank, may they rest in peace... In space.
In other news I had a rather interesting ransom earlier today. I actually ransomed a pilot to give him a 'fast travel ticket' to his pre-specified clone vat. You can see a write up of this particular ransom here, along with all other ransoms that I have honoured (which is every single one of course) in that singular thread. The ransom I am referring to is the current latest on the board, posted on the 22nd June in case you have trouble finding it! This just shows that there is money to be made in piracy people, although this particular sum wasn't particularly juicy it is nice to enjoy a conversation with such a fine tempered fellow.
All the best, till next time pilots.
In other news I had a rather interesting ransom earlier today. I actually ransomed a pilot to give him a 'fast travel ticket' to his pre-specified clone vat. You can see a write up of this particular ransom here, along with all other ransoms that I have honoured (which is every single one of course) in that singular thread. The ransom I am referring to is the current latest on the board, posted on the 22nd June in case you have trouble finding it! This just shows that there is money to be made in piracy people, although this particular sum wasn't particularly juicy it is nice to enjoy a conversation with such a fine tempered fellow.
All the best, till next time pilots.
Friday 18 June 2010
EVE Blog Banter #18: You know what, I've still got the same damn shirt on!
Welcome to the eighteenth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by none other than me, CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed tocrazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
Based upon those that I have read in regards to this edition of the banter, I didn't begin quite in the same way most did. I wasn't invited to join the game, I had no prior contacts or friends who played the game (I did, however, have many who mockws it! The term 'excel spreadsheet' comes to mind.) Despite my fellow mmo players guidance to play something like Ultima Online or Final Fantasy XI (which I did try and do enjoy) I took the plunge into Eve... And got bored. I cancelled subscription and left Kishin to twiddle his fingers inside station. I eventually came back to Eve in October, randomly chose a corp advert in my home station and clicked apply.
I was most definitely among the lucky people in New Eden when I jumped on to ventrilo for the first time with the members of High House of Shadows. Not specifically a pvp corp I inquired about the prospect of some roams to the CEO and he gave the green light. I have never been a competitive person in any aspect of my life, I dislike confrontation so I can't really recall what led me to this desire, perhaps the boredom of missioning and mining. Things went well at first, I spent the days missioning low level missions to gain enough isk for a Rifter hull and the nights flying the low-sec systems with my corp hunting the villainous pirates that I had been informed of through what felt like tales of myth. Yes that's right, I was an anti-pirate. Admittedly this wasn't through personal choice, but by mandate of the alliance we were a part of; Republic Alliance. I've never had a liking for them or what they stand for, none the less I stayed on board purely due to the people in HHOS. Things came to a stand still for me when the majority of my friends moved to 0.0 and I still barely flew Rifters to any level of efficiency. I gained insight from Wensley of the Tuskers (at the time) and followed my heart towards getting 5 solo kills and joining the Tuskers!
A little over three months after I set off alone to become a pirate I succeeded and joined the Tuskers. I would fill in the large gap of time there but it's all available via my blog which began the very day I quite High House of Shadows. In terms of the banter I would say that I differ in most as I never engaged in the activities of a PvE player in any true way. I've never gained any tangible amount of isk through anything other than piracy and as far as knowledge regarding anything in the realms of Eve's industry goes I am incredibly limited. I've had a stab at trading; it went poorly. I've tried missioning; didn't make it to level 3 missions. I've tried mining; didn't get past a Scythe. My entire life in New Eden has been riddled with frustration through isk difficulties and lack of knowledge about the environment around me. Heck, I didn't even do any of the tutorials to help me out bar the mandatory one. I jumped into Eve, fall on my face and crawled for 5 months straight. Then when my application to the Tuskers was accepted, I picked myself up, dusted myself down and finally felt at home with the life I led.
I won't say that I didn't have fun before the Tuskers as the groundings of my knowledge as a pvper came from pilots such as Masquitar and Sagantor, what I can say is that I've definitely expanded on my skills and knowledge since then. I command fleets with pilots whose skill points out-rank me five fold, I am confident in performing any task given to me by an FC without fail and I am able to make a positive income through my life as a pirate.
I'm still ridiculously young and many parts of the game hold an enigmatic quality to me, such as 0.0 warfare and wormhole life, yet the more I read blogs about them, watch videos and enter into those environments I realize they aren't for me. Piracy is my place in Eve and will continue to be until I see fit otherwise.
On May 6th 2010, EVE Online celebrated its 7th Anniversary. Quite a milestone in MMO history, especially considering that it is one of the few virtual worlds out there to see its population continually grow year after year. For some of you who've been here since the very beginning, EVE has evolved quite a lot since its creation. With the expansion rolling out roughly twice a year, New Eden gets renewed and improved regularly. But, how about you the player? How has your gaming style evolved through the years or months since you've started playing? Have you always been a carebear, or roleplayer? Have you only focused on PvP or have you given other aspects of the game a chance - say manufacturing. Let's hear your story!I've never written a single blog post related to the blog banters that CrazyKinux kindly instigates but I have read the majority of them since my dive into the world of Eve blogging. In honesty I thought that only those in the blog pack chosen by Kinux could actually write these, though my naive vision and tentative nature washed away and I realize that as with many things, it's all a means to make the community grow. Thus I have decided that from now on I shall put my all into future banters and what better a beginning could I ask for than to ramble on about my life in New Eden? That being said, lets begin.
Based upon those that I have read in regards to this edition of the banter, I didn't begin quite in the same way most did. I wasn't invited to join the game, I had no prior contacts or friends who played the game (I did, however, have many who mockws it! The term 'excel spreadsheet' comes to mind.) Despite my fellow mmo players guidance to play something like Ultima Online or Final Fantasy XI (which I did try and do enjoy) I took the plunge into Eve... And got bored. I cancelled subscription and left Kishin to twiddle his fingers inside station. I eventually came back to Eve in October, randomly chose a corp advert in my home station and clicked apply.
I was most definitely among the lucky people in New Eden when I jumped on to ventrilo for the first time with the members of High House of Shadows. Not specifically a pvp corp I inquired about the prospect of some roams to the CEO and he gave the green light. I have never been a competitive person in any aspect of my life, I dislike confrontation so I can't really recall what led me to this desire, perhaps the boredom of missioning and mining. Things went well at first, I spent the days missioning low level missions to gain enough isk for a Rifter hull and the nights flying the low-sec systems with my corp hunting the villainous pirates that I had been informed of through what felt like tales of myth. Yes that's right, I was an anti-pirate. Admittedly this wasn't through personal choice, but by mandate of the alliance we were a part of; Republic Alliance. I've never had a liking for them or what they stand for, none the less I stayed on board purely due to the people in HHOS. Things came to a stand still for me when the majority of my friends moved to 0.0 and I still barely flew Rifters to any level of efficiency. I gained insight from Wensley of the Tuskers (at the time) and followed my heart towards getting 5 solo kills and joining the Tuskers!
A little over three months after I set off alone to become a pirate I succeeded and joined the Tuskers. I would fill in the large gap of time there but it's all available via my blog which began the very day I quite High House of Shadows. In terms of the banter I would say that I differ in most as I never engaged in the activities of a PvE player in any true way. I've never gained any tangible amount of isk through anything other than piracy and as far as knowledge regarding anything in the realms of Eve's industry goes I am incredibly limited. I've had a stab at trading; it went poorly. I've tried missioning; didn't make it to level 3 missions. I've tried mining; didn't get past a Scythe. My entire life in New Eden has been riddled with frustration through isk difficulties and lack of knowledge about the environment around me. Heck, I didn't even do any of the tutorials to help me out bar the mandatory one. I jumped into Eve, fall on my face and crawled for 5 months straight. Then when my application to the Tuskers was accepted, I picked myself up, dusted myself down and finally felt at home with the life I led.
I won't say that I didn't have fun before the Tuskers as the groundings of my knowledge as a pvper came from pilots such as Masquitar and Sagantor, what I can say is that I've definitely expanded on my skills and knowledge since then. I command fleets with pilots whose skill points out-rank me five fold, I am confident in performing any task given to me by an FC without fail and I am able to make a positive income through my life as a pirate.
I'm still ridiculously young and many parts of the game hold an enigmatic quality to me, such as 0.0 warfare and wormhole life, yet the more I read blogs about them, watch videos and enter into those environments I realize they aren't for me. Piracy is my place in Eve and will continue to be until I see fit otherwise.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Part 1: An Eyepatch On The World.
I am a pirate. My life involves around killing and plundering my little black heart out, but as my fellow corp mate Valgore wisely suggested; 'It is useful to know the life of your enemy'. I'm paraphrasing here as the exact words escape me but the message is nonetheless resolute. With the concept ringing in my mind I spotted a quarterly economic report in the Eve News sidebar that I usually peruse and then promptly ignore when the words 'null-sec' are chimed. I haven't read any of these before, nor am I in any way competent at reading the economic landscape of New Eden. With that being said, I have a few things to make comment upon based on my readings.
For those that haven't seen this or read the newsletter yet you can find it here. I suggest having at the very least a read of the 'Demographics' and 'Wormhole Space and Tech III Ships' sections as I draw most of my realizations from them (all those mineral graphs admittedly bored me silly!) I am going to attempt to read this economic newsletter as only I could; not as a miner, industrialist, null-sec dweller but as a pirate.
First on the list is the entire population of active accounts being logged into Eve. When I joined Eve Online the provided graph (labelled Figure 1) shows that there was on average 300,000 active accounts; this obviously correlates to the beginning of the third quarter in 2009 and continues through up until the first quarter of 2010. It is obvious that expansions fuel account activations for understandable reasons yet something bothers me about it all. I became a denizen of low security just before the influx of new people arrive to New Eden thanks to the Dominion expansion. Active accounts rose to 350,000 at this point (and could well have improved now due to Tyrannis also) yet I did not notice a change in low-sec life. I might even be as bold as saying things got a little worse, though my move from Molden Heath to Verge Vendor may have an effect upon that belief. Where did all these new pilots go then? CCP address this shortly after and the actual reality was somewhat surprising to me. Apparently, there has been increase in wormhole population by nearly 8%! Take note that null-sec is the focus of the 'population distribution' section in this newsletter with a splash of empire thrown in for good measure. I do however worry what the statistics for low-sec are now!
Another interesting musing of mine is in the 'ship types used' section that also resides within the 'Demographics' bracket. Firstly that the Hulk is the most piloted ship in Eve. That speaks volumes in itself surely? Secondly that the Kestrel is the most popular Tech I frigate in commercial use, just out-doing the Rifter hull. Who knew that the Rifter wasn't number one? Perhaps the most worrying revelation of the research and evidence provided is thus; "There is an obvious shift away from Tech I, low-tier fighting ships to Industrials and Mining Vessels, with a moderate increase in capital and Tech II fighting ships." In this one sentence all my worst imaginations are summed up and realized. More Industry and mining combined with less Tech I, specifically low-tier (as stated) vessels being fielded in space shows a clear move in focus of younger pilots when a life in New Eden is considered. This is an issue that clearly needs addressing I feel, a balance needs to be struck right? The increase in Tech II and capital ships also bothers me; the life of a frigateer only gets tougher it seems. I also feel that the sheer amount of capital ships being fielded is far too numerous for what they are designed as, the number stated being 14,202 pilots flying capital vessels with the most common being the Obelisk at 2,219. With only five times more Rifter pilots than Obelisk pilots in the game (and less than capital pilots collectively!), it is becoming apparent that 'shipping up' seems to be the best way to survive now.
I had planned to do this in a singular marathon wall of text, though with an hour already gone by and my killboard beginning to go stagnant I feel that it would be best to split these blog entries up. I hope some of you take interest in my perception of the economic climate of New Eden and I look forward to some discussion of your views. As with any such thing, the only hard facts lie in the statistics and my views are subjective to my lifestyle in the game. I want low-sec and small-scale combat to flourish! I would most certainly like to hear opinions of these reports from dwellers in all the corners of New Eden and with that having been said; reply!
For those that haven't seen this or read the newsletter yet you can find it here. I suggest having at the very least a read of the 'Demographics' and 'Wormhole Space and Tech III Ships' sections as I draw most of my realizations from them (all those mineral graphs admittedly bored me silly!) I am going to attempt to read this economic newsletter as only I could; not as a miner, industrialist, null-sec dweller but as a pirate.
First on the list is the entire population of active accounts being logged into Eve. When I joined Eve Online the provided graph (labelled Figure 1) shows that there was on average 300,000 active accounts; this obviously correlates to the beginning of the third quarter in 2009 and continues through up until the first quarter of 2010. It is obvious that expansions fuel account activations for understandable reasons yet something bothers me about it all. I became a denizen of low security just before the influx of new people arrive to New Eden thanks to the Dominion expansion. Active accounts rose to 350,000 at this point (and could well have improved now due to Tyrannis also) yet I did not notice a change in low-sec life. I might even be as bold as saying things got a little worse, though my move from Molden Heath to Verge Vendor may have an effect upon that belief. Where did all these new pilots go then? CCP address this shortly after and the actual reality was somewhat surprising to me. Apparently, there has been increase in wormhole population by nearly 8%! Take note that null-sec is the focus of the 'population distribution' section in this newsletter with a splash of empire thrown in for good measure. I do however worry what the statistics for low-sec are now!
Another interesting musing of mine is in the 'ship types used' section that also resides within the 'Demographics' bracket. Firstly that the Hulk is the most piloted ship in Eve. That speaks volumes in itself surely? Secondly that the Kestrel is the most popular Tech I frigate in commercial use, just out-doing the Rifter hull. Who knew that the Rifter wasn't number one? Perhaps the most worrying revelation of the research and evidence provided is thus; "There is an obvious shift away from Tech I, low-tier fighting ships to Industrials and Mining Vessels, with a moderate increase in capital and Tech II fighting ships." In this one sentence all my worst imaginations are summed up and realized. More Industry and mining combined with less Tech I, specifically low-tier (as stated) vessels being fielded in space shows a clear move in focus of younger pilots when a life in New Eden is considered. This is an issue that clearly needs addressing I feel, a balance needs to be struck right? The increase in Tech II and capital ships also bothers me; the life of a frigateer only gets tougher it seems. I also feel that the sheer amount of capital ships being fielded is far too numerous for what they are designed as, the number stated being 14,202 pilots flying capital vessels with the most common being the Obelisk at 2,219. With only five times more Rifter pilots than Obelisk pilots in the game (and less than capital pilots collectively!), it is becoming apparent that 'shipping up' seems to be the best way to survive now.
I had planned to do this in a singular marathon wall of text, though with an hour already gone by and my killboard beginning to go stagnant I feel that it would be best to split these blog entries up. I hope some of you take interest in my perception of the economic climate of New Eden and I look forward to some discussion of your views. As with any such thing, the only hard facts lie in the statistics and my views are subjective to my lifestyle in the game. I want low-sec and small-scale combat to flourish! I would most certainly like to hear opinions of these reports from dwellers in all the corners of New Eden and with that having been said; reply!
Thursday 10 June 2010
King Rat
So lately I've not really had any particularly exciting feats to talk to all you wonderful people about and due to this my blog has been gathering a few cobwebs. I have fallen in and out of love with about every frigate on the planet because none are the Dramiel that has been gathering cobwebs in my hangar, much akin to this blog, until my skills finally tick over to the point were I am ready to fly it.
Why have I been so hungry for the Dramiel and so lack-lustre in my appreciation for all the other frigates I have access to? Well I'm going to pin this one on my buddy Kirith and his killing spree in his new toy, so let's all point and make mean faces at him for making Kishin sad... I didn't think you would, but it was worth a shot regardless. As of an hour ago I officially keyed it into my brain on how to tell Tech II drones to 'kill that' and 'assist this', which before was a mystery. I can comment though that I could command a fleet of Tech I drones as if a orchestra conductor leading the way to musical brilliance. I swear there is some irony in there somewhere.
The biggest punching bag for my frigate anger would be the legendary Rifter as I've consistently died in every one I've undocked from Hevrice V and I'll admit it was beginning to get old. Now Valgore is going to do some sort of victory dance over this which in my mind will look something similar to...
... But I have fallen smitten to the shield tanked Rifter. Yes. No web, just a scram, and some other mods to pad the thing out. the fit is as thus:
King Rat
H: 125mm Gatling Autocannon II x 3
H: OE-5200 Rocket Launcher
M: 1mn Afterburner II
M: J5B Prototype Warp Scrambler
M: Medium Shield Extender II
L: Damage Control II
L: Nanofiber Internal Structure II
L: Gyrostabilizer II
R: Projectile Burst Aerator I
R: Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
R: Small Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer I
Pros
This thing is fast. It kicks at 1263m/s with max skills, mine hits just over 1300m/s which is great. Bear in mind this is without heat.
Cap stable at 86%.
Very fast align time due to lack of armour plate.
128 dps (would be improved with Tech II Rocket Launcher)
5470 ehp.
Cons
No web to dictate range as easily.
Large signature radius for a frigate.
Susceptible to neuting.
I've been loving this fit and the cheeky explosive rig I threw on there really helps with those Warrior swarms us frigate pilots have learned to fear and also plays well against common conception of the Rifter using armour tanking.
This is by far the genuine way I think CCP designed the Rifter to be fit up like, it just performs better than the many armour tanked Rifters that I used to swear by. I'm a torn man with both my classic 200mm plate Rifter sat in hangar and the other floating in space. I'll let you know which one is the victor in the end.
Why have I been so hungry for the Dramiel and so lack-lustre in my appreciation for all the other frigates I have access to? Well I'm going to pin this one on my buddy Kirith and his killing spree in his new toy, so let's all point and make mean faces at him for making Kishin sad... I didn't think you would, but it was worth a shot regardless. As of an hour ago I officially keyed it into my brain on how to tell Tech II drones to 'kill that' and 'assist this', which before was a mystery. I can comment though that I could command a fleet of Tech I drones as if a orchestra conductor leading the way to musical brilliance. I swear there is some irony in there somewhere.
The biggest punching bag for my frigate anger would be the legendary Rifter as I've consistently died in every one I've undocked from Hevrice V and I'll admit it was beginning to get old. Now Valgore is going to do some sort of victory dance over this which in my mind will look something similar to...
... But I have fallen smitten to the shield tanked Rifter. Yes. No web, just a scram, and some other mods to pad the thing out. the fit is as thus:
King Rat
H: 125mm Gatling Autocannon II x 3
H: OE-5200 Rocket Launcher
M: 1mn Afterburner II
M: J5B Prototype Warp Scrambler
M: Medium Shield Extender II
L: Damage Control II
L: Nanofiber Internal Structure II
L: Gyrostabilizer II
R: Projectile Burst Aerator I
R: Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
R: Small Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer I
Pros
This thing is fast. It kicks at 1263m/s with max skills, mine hits just over 1300m/s which is great. Bear in mind this is without heat.
Cap stable at 86%.
Very fast align time due to lack of armour plate.
128 dps (would be improved with Tech II Rocket Launcher)
5470 ehp.
Cons
No web to dictate range as easily.
Large signature radius for a frigate.
Susceptible to neuting.
I've been loving this fit and the cheeky explosive rig I threw on there really helps with those Warrior swarms us frigate pilots have learned to fear and also plays well against common conception of the Rifter using armour tanking.
This is by far the genuine way I think CCP designed the Rifter to be fit up like, it just performs better than the many armour tanked Rifters that I used to swear by. I'm a torn man with both my classic 200mm plate Rifter sat in hangar and the other floating in space. I'll let you know which one is the victor in the end.
Sunday 6 June 2010
Alliance Tournament VIII
Just to let all of you guys know, the Tuskers will be present at this years Alliance Tournament and our first match will be against HUN Reloaded at 3:40pm Eve time. The alliance is of course the Tusker Bastards, formed between ourselves and fellow pirate corporation the Bastards.
I hope you all plan to watch this and cheer us on, for all stats pertaining to past and future matches check here and to actually watch the matches live at their posted time then check it out here.
Things have been somewhat slow recently, so hopefully I'll have something a tad bit more exciting for you all now that I have finished my university exams and can play moarrr Eve!
I hope you all plan to watch this and cheer us on, for all stats pertaining to past and future matches check here and to actually watch the matches live at their posted time then check it out here.
Things have been somewhat slow recently, so hopefully I'll have something a tad bit more exciting for you all now that I have finished my university exams and can play moarrr Eve!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)