December 2010: Three year recap

Three years ago CCP Games released Trinity, the first EVE Online Expansion to include support to the Intel-based Macintosh computers. 7 hours after Trinity was released (damn workday schedules) I had downloaded, installed and paid for a year of EVE. I hadn't even logged in before I put up the first year. I had visions of ruling a space empire from the office in my newly remodeled basement, but I didn't really know how I would get there. For the first 4 months I did lots of missions. I didn't read the forums, I didn't talk to other players, I didn't get the multiplayer aspect of EVE at all. Then in RL my first daughter was born. I still played EVE, usually when she slept, or when my wife was nursing, but a lot less than the first 4 months. I also started putting my two cents out in corp chat - yes, the rookie NPC corp. Looking back I wonder how corp chat could be better for the new player - that corp chat filled with bitter vets who never want to MMO, alts training up for Capitals, and neutral RR/Cyno alts.

Not having a plan, or even a real grasp of what EVE was, I didn't even know to train skills for the first month or two. Then, when I did learn about skills, I started with the learning skills, and bought every skillbook I could afford (which was a lot of unrelated crap). Today, 44 million SP later (I didn't even realize you could use implants for months), you can see the mish-mash of skills slowly focusing into a decent combat-focused character. Just recently my leadership skills passed my industry skills - and I haven't trained an industry skill in over a year.

Eventually I figured out that the EVE forums were much better than the old Diablo forums were, even with all the trolling there was the occasional gem of useful information. I found out about EVEMon, and EFit, and Battleclinic. I learned that fitting a ship for missions (PvE) was very different than fitting a ship for combat (PvP). I was that player who kept thinking "I'm not ready for PvP, I just need a little more (skill/ship/module)."

After getting into a player corp (I had created my own, but who wants to be in a one-man corp in a multiplayer game?) I started to learn how much more there was to EVE, and started to plan for the game more effectively. That was, simply, the smartest thing I've ever done - to join a corp with other players (in my timezone). I've been in losec, nullsec, small alliances, big alliances, sovereign warfare, and NPC 0.0 (still my favorite space, TBH). Three years in and I have a plan for the future...

My 2011 Resolution is to complete my sub-battleship skillset. I want to have the skills trained to effectively fly any ship from any race smaller than a battleship. I've been working on that plan for a few months now (with the occasional distraction), and I have completed most of Gallente and Minmatar ships. I can fly all T1 and T2 Frigate- and Cruiser-class ships from both races (although I'm still working on support skills for some of the specialized ships like Logistics). By the end of the year I'm hoping to have T2 and T3 for all races, through Command Ships. Of course, this plan is subject to change, but it reveals something about how I like to play EVE - I like small ships, which means (usually) smaller battles and more deliberate planning for engagements. Battlecruisers V is first up - to be followed by the suite of skills required to effectively fly a missile boat. Once I can fit all the T2 missiles and shields, I'll pick up Caldari Cruiser V. That will make 3 races of full T2 ships completed. Next up will be T3 Minmatar and Caldari. Anyway, you get the idea. January is Battlecruisers V (two weeks of it, anyway) and then lots of missile skills. I'm pretty sure those missile skills will take me into March. Look for the next skill update then...

As for the industry alt, he is moving nicely into jump freighters now, with the occasional new science skill for a different T2 module invention path. This year will be about Jump Freighters for this toon, followed (eventually) by the Rorqual or Orca.

Finally, the super-sekret alt is still moving slowly towards Carriers, and self-sufficiency. I'd love to get one account paid by plex this year, rather than actually spending money on all of them...

NBSI: Not just for nullsec

The acronyms flying around EVE are as rampant as they are in the U.S. military. Fortunately for us, there is a wonderful compendium of definitions available at the EVE Wiki. On of my favorites, and one that creates much consternation, is the NBSI/NRDS balance. For those of you not in the know, NBSI (Not Blue Shoot It) and NRDS (Not Red Don't Shoot) are the two polar positions of most corporations and alliances in nullsec. Our corp was a nullsec corp for a while, and although we currently inhabit losec, we maintain NBSI in the losec pocket we call home. This makes it easy to watch local, which has become more of an issue since our steady presence has led others to the pocket, both looking for kills and a quiet place to explore losec. Making it perfectly clear - we are an NBSI corp in our pocket, and NRDS outside (unless in nullsec). This upsets some folks who are new to either EVE or the whole concept of losec/nullsec. We don't own the space we live in - but since right now we are calling it home, we consider the assets in that space to be ours, and we defend that space and those assets to keep others away.

I think the one difference in losec is that NBSI isn't an automatic target lock. In nullsec, there are no chances for second-guessing - if they are neutral to you they are an enemy - clear and simple. However, in losec, there is occasionally an opportunity for discussion, a choice to be made - do we allow you to continue to access assets in our home, or deny them? A lot of that choice comes down to the attitude, and (frankly) the mood of our combat pilots. But it never hurts to ask - and don't call it piracy or ransom. If we ask for ISK to use our space, consider that you are killing rats (and earning isk that we might earn) or mining rocks that our industry folks might want, thus you are taking isk from us - so a small (and believe me, we don't ask for lots of money) payment for rent seems reasonable to me. We aren't a pirate corp. Frankly we are a bit lost in our direction, but even as an industry corp we need to have free access to the assets in our space, whenever we want or need them, and your presense (as a neutral) is an impediment to our progress. Of course, if you like our area of space, and would like to utilize the assets, we might be recruiting - just hop into our public channel and see.

What about you? If you are a losec (not pirate) corp, do you deny assets (missions/rats/rocks/plexes) to neutrals in the area of space you call home? Better question is, does anyone read this thing?

Our CEO for a while considered having us announce in local, when a neut appeared, that it was NBSI and they should evacuate with their assets intact. I think that's certainly a nice way to play, but shouldn't most people in losec already be worried when jumping into a dead-end system with 15 in local?

Blog Banter #23: Who enters the new incarna(tion) of EVE...

Welcome to the twenty-third installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so 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 to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

With Incursion giving us glimpses of what Incarna will have to offer (the the Character Creator), this month's topic, by @Minerpewpew, comes just at the right time. He asks "What are your thoughts on how Incarna will effect the current EVE Online social dynamic?" I'd like to see this questioning go a bit further. How will this affect EVE's player base? Who will Incarna attract? New players to the genre? Seduce old players back into the game? Will we see new players come in that will never leave their station? Please explore to the best of your abilities!

EVE has seen a lot of changes this year, which may make it more appealing to the more mainstream MMO players. Incarna, due (last I recall) this coming summer, is the crown jewel of these changes. The ability to interact in some fashion with others in stations makes a level of EVE accessible to those familiar with the 1st person MMOs, where face to face interaction isn't a static picture next to text. Many people feel that Incarna will actually attract more real women to EVE (not G.I.R.L.s). I think that may be true at first, but unless they are able to find a path and place to deal with the inevitable darkness that exists just under the shiny face of EVE, they will be quick to arrive and quicker to leave. The roots of EVE are a social game - so many players actually just log in to chat it's like a glorified MSN sometimes. That aspect, in conjunction with interaction brought about with Incarna, will open up a new world of EVE with a different class of players. The ability to remotely manage Planetary Interaction, manipulate markets, and other activities that can (hopefully) be run whilst meandering the halls of a station seem to be activities targeted for this class of player.

Incarna may seduce some old players to return, but I don't expect a larger return than any other major expansion, and I don't expect that Incarna itself will be an incentive for those players to stay. Those players weren't EVE players who missed the interaction of others - they are players for whom the game lost it's luster, or just got busy in RL. What Incarna may do for some small number of older players, is open up EVE to their spouses, and by extension open up play time for them again. I have one friend who is married, and his wife is becoming interested in EVE with the new character creator, which has given him the leeway in their busy life to re-subscribe and start playing again.

I don't believe Incarna alone will attract a large new playerbase. Like any expansion, it will attract some old, and some new subscriptions. The difference may be that the new subscriptions to EVE will be less interested in blowing up spaceship pixels, and more interested in building relationships and products in the virtual world we call New Eden.

The Easterly Wind...

Much as the mythical nanny Mary Poppins, I drift where I must, with the winds of change. This entry will be as disjointed as a mountain breeze, moving from one direction to the next based on the ease of movement. The winter is an unsettled time for me, often a time where I look back on unfinished business or activities that have fallen by the wayside, and this unsettled nature seems to be stronger this year than in some of the more recent years. Perhaps it is the vast number of changes in my game and personal lives this year, perhaps it is merely the lack of standing snow in my yard. Either way, I think that many changes will be coming over the next few months, both in EVE and without.

I have started looking, again, for a new home (or an old one). I am not quite ready to move on, but I will have consolidated my most valuable assets in Empire NPC stations again in the next few weeks, and restocked on my favorite hulls and fittings, and should be ready to set off again where the wind blows, by early January. It doesn't hurt that my industry alt should be close to flying an Anshar by then either - making some of my logistics a bit easier early in the new year.

With the windfall of skill points coming, I find the dilemma of what to do with them all continues to gnaw at the back of my mind. By my calculations I could train up any skill that is Tier 8 or lower to V instantly, maybe even two of them if my math is correct. The running joke on the EVE online forums is that everyone and their mother will have Battleship V - but that's not on my short list, since I am focusing on Battlecruiser or below skills exclusively. This week, regardless of those points, I will have all small and medium turret specialization skills to IV, and I finish of Medium Autocannon Specialization IV. It may (finally) be time to train up the missile and shield skills I've managed to avoid for so long, and finally give in to the mob and fly the Drake, fit correctly with a full T2 configuration.

I find in my hangar a veritable fleet of Assault Frigates - mostly Enyos. I'd love to know if anyone has a "favorite" fitting for this ship, my current favorite (which may be even more useful now) is below:

[Enyo, Goddess Fury]
Damage Control II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Initiated Harmonic Warp Scrambler I

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Rocket Launcher II, Foxfire Rage Rocket

Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I


Hornet EC-300 x1

Which drone in an Enyo is always a question in my mind, but the added DPS of a Warrior II vs. the intermittent jam from an ECM drone seems to be a toss-up. I switched up the rockets to T2, along with using Void after the improvements to the ammunition recently. On paper it's much meaner than my previous fit, below:


[Enyo, Standard Blasters]
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Scrambler II

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Small Nosferatu II

Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I


Warrior II x1

With about 3-4 different fits for this ship in my list, I will fit up a few different ones and see how they do, wherever the wind takes me this winter...