I may be late in saying that for some of you, but for others it is nearly upon us. So far I have started the festivities by popping a TEST alliance Drake in lowsec. I also just hit 10 million SP \o/ I thought it would be a bigger deal back when I was younger, but I barely noticed. Funny how that happens. Otherwise, as with many of my New Years events, it'll be pretty lowkey for me. Although I finally get to spend it with my girl, so I'm pretty happy.
2011 has some awesome things in store for Eve pilots and I, for one, can't wait. Incursions, Incarna, and beyond, it'll be a great ride and plenty of more blogging to come. I'd also like to thank all of you for your support in getting this little writer off the ground. I've only been at it for three or four months now and I couldn't be happier. Already I am part of a cool podcast and have 48! subscribers (according to Feeburner). I keep forgetting to post those stats alot of you wanted so long ago, I'll get to it :P It's been a great year and the next will be even better. More progress on the horizon and more fun to be had.
For now, Happy New Years to you and yours. Be safe, New Eden.
-Mem
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
AHARM Eviction
*NINJA EDIT* So now I am starting to think and see that this whole post could just show me to be an idiot. I guess it's very possible to be a troll for propaganda since most of the links go to the wrong KMs. It seems R&K got spanked, not AHARM. I'll update when I figure it out and stop seeing double.
I may be coming down with the flu, so instead of having delirious rambles you care nothing about, I will be keeping them short. I'll finish the WH series soon, I promise.
An interesting story recently came to my attention that you may be familiar with from when the alliance Aperture Harmonics "abused" wormhole mechanics. I put quotations are it simply because CCP had told them it was fine, but everyone seemed a bit butthurt about it. Whatever, moving on. Well, for anyone that lives in wormhole space, these guys are the big dogs. I unknowingly ran into their home system myself not too long ago and stupidly lost a CovOps to decloaks. They and the Rooks and Kings alliance began to have hostile contact back in September, with fleets moving into AHARM's home system and trying to chain crash wormholes to reconnect after they were pushed back.
Well it seems that 3 months is enough time to take down one of the most dug in and biggest wormhole alliances. The two alliances have had intermittent skirmishes over the last few months, but R&K has recently and successfully evicted AHARM from their home system. Persistence and tactics prove themselves to be attributes R&K corps have in supply. AHARM's Class 6 Magnetar wormhole home had capital capable holes, allowing R&K to bring in Dreads with support necessary to bash POSes. All of them, 8 total.
Something like this is truly a feat and well executed. It is also one of the reasons I really do not want to live in a capital capable hole. You are able to produce capitals in any system, but only certain holes have the mass limits to allow them in and out. Keeping a level of control and a definite upper hand makes me more comfortable if anyone comes knocking on our door.
So what does this mean? Well at the moment, it simply means one of our biggest competitors is out of the running for a bit. I doubt they will let this stop them altogether. To my knowledge we are on good terms with AHARM, and I'm sure we would have had some fun ganking R&K if we had known, but wormhole space is lawless and everyone is a target. I am curious as to why an lowsec alliance (R&K) felt the urge to find and destroy AHARM, though. I know little about the politics between the two, but in general the two types of corps are not in frequent contact. We only kill in kspace if we get bored or decide we want a different twist to combat. So much effort just to drive a corp from their wormhole corp is interesting to my psychological analysis side. Maybe I just missed something.
In other news, after missing a carrier and a couple T3 kills due to being locked out in kspace, I finally got my Gila blooded. I logged in late, so I was at the tail end, but somehow still got 4th on the Nighthawk. There was a 3rd Proteus and a Guardian, but somehow the T3 got out of our bubble and the Guardian GTFO'ed as soon as he showed up for the fight. Saved his cruiser, that's for sure. These guys weren't so lucky and man it was the longest wait ever. They sucked at scanning and were ADD in ship choices. Arazu, Phobos, Helios, back to Phobos, etc. Fun times. I have to say, I love the Gila. Again, if I already said it. Drones and missiles are sexy and it tanks like a beast. I've taken it into fights, sites, and it shows its might.
I have also resurrected my Planetary Interaction productions for the good of the corp. I enjoy the clicky administration, but it seems it's getting hard to keep up with demand. I enjoy being an asset to the corp in more ways then just guns. Almost makes me miss my mining days. Almost. Carebear turned Warbear doesn't forget his roots.
So much for short posting.
-Mem
I may be coming down with the flu, so instead of having delirious rambles you care nothing about, I will be keeping them short. I'll finish the WH series soon, I promise.
An interesting story recently came to my attention that you may be familiar with from when the alliance Aperture Harmonics "abused" wormhole mechanics. I put quotations are it simply because CCP had told them it was fine, but everyone seemed a bit butthurt about it. Whatever, moving on. Well, for anyone that lives in wormhole space, these guys are the big dogs. I unknowingly ran into their home system myself not too long ago and stupidly lost a CovOps to decloaks. They and the Rooks and Kings alliance began to have hostile contact back in September, with fleets moving into AHARM's home system and trying to chain crash wormholes to reconnect after they were pushed back.
Well it seems that 3 months is enough time to take down one of the most dug in and biggest wormhole alliances. The two alliances have had intermittent skirmishes over the last few months, but R&K has recently and successfully evicted AHARM from their home system. Persistence and tactics prove themselves to be attributes R&K corps have in supply. AHARM's Class 6 Magnetar wormhole home had capital capable holes, allowing R&K to bring in Dreads with support necessary to bash POSes. All of them, 8 total.
Something like this is truly a feat and well executed. It is also one of the reasons I really do not want to live in a capital capable hole. You are able to produce capitals in any system, but only certain holes have the mass limits to allow them in and out. Keeping a level of control and a definite upper hand makes me more comfortable if anyone comes knocking on our door.
So what does this mean? Well at the moment, it simply means one of our biggest competitors is out of the running for a bit. I doubt they will let this stop them altogether. To my knowledge we are on good terms with AHARM, and I'm sure we would have had some fun ganking R&K if we had known, but wormhole space is lawless and everyone is a target. I am curious as to why an lowsec alliance (R&K) felt the urge to find and destroy AHARM, though. I know little about the politics between the two, but in general the two types of corps are not in frequent contact. We only kill in kspace if we get bored or decide we want a different twist to combat. So much effort just to drive a corp from their wormhole corp is interesting to my psychological analysis side. Maybe I just missed something.
In other news, after missing a carrier and a couple T3 kills due to being locked out in kspace, I finally got my Gila blooded. I logged in late, so I was at the tail end, but somehow still got 4th on the Nighthawk. There was a 3rd Proteus and a Guardian, but somehow the T3 got out of our bubble and the Guardian GTFO'ed as soon as he showed up for the fight. Saved his cruiser, that's for sure. These guys weren't so lucky and man it was the longest wait ever. They sucked at scanning and were ADD in ship choices. Arazu, Phobos, Helios, back to Phobos, etc. Fun times. I have to say, I love the Gila. Again, if I already said it. Drones and missiles are sexy and it tanks like a beast. I've taken it into fights, sites, and it shows its might.
I have also resurrected my Planetary Interaction productions for the good of the corp. I enjoy the clicky administration, but it seems it's getting hard to keep up with demand. I enjoy being an asset to the corp in more ways then just guns. Almost makes me miss my mining days. Almost. Carebear turned Warbear doesn't forget his roots.
So much for short posting.
-Mem
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Community Recognition
The Eve Online Facebook page had a pretty cool link yesterday. I was busy so I only just now noticed. It was an article written over on Ten Ton Hammer, an MMOG source for news, guides and more. Linky.
Basically, it says Eve is best. Specifically, in TTH's opinion our community is the best in the last decade. I can hardly argue with that. That's about half of my lifetime, of which I have played many, many games. There are few, if any, communities I have found that can equal the amount of involvement and camaraderie. Perhaps that's not true for everyone, but this is the first game I have been compelled to blog or podcast about.
So congrats to CCP for giving an environment that enables such a community and thanks to TTH for the award. And rock on, everyone.
-Mem
Basically, it says Eve is best. Specifically, in TTH's opinion our community is the best in the last decade. I can hardly argue with that. That's about half of my lifetime, of which I have played many, many games. There are few, if any, communities I have found that can equal the amount of involvement and camaraderie. Perhaps that's not true for everyone, but this is the first game I have been compelled to blog or podcast about.
So congrats to CCP for giving an environment that enables such a community and thanks to TTH for the award. And rock on, everyone.
-Mem
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Incarna Revisited/Merry Christmas
Ok, firstly I'd like to apologize for that abhorrent post for the blog banter. I don't know what I was thinking, but I've been staying up til 5 am alot lately and it obviously impairs my judgement. So please extend patience as I reiterate what I should have in the first place.
Incarna, or amulation or walking-in-stations etc, is what Eve has on the horizon. It is coming soon and it will have quite the impact. New Eden is a universe driven by its inhabitants, namely us capsuleers. The community, as the squeaky wheel, often gets the grease for development and sometimes does not. Sure, the existing features need work. But something I noticed early on in Eve is that everything does get worked on. Perhaps it takes longer than some people want, but CCP is quite good about revamping things. Yes, it should be done right the first time, but you have to give them credit.
Which is why I think the last expansion has been a good step in the right direction for them. Focusing on doing it right and that will extend to Incarna. The question was how it would affect gameplay and the players. In the beginning, perhaps nearly not at all or to a small degree. I don't look at the short term, though, when I judge the feature. Giving a body to our capsuleer populace is huge. It's something that is epic in my mind simply because this universe is evolving and breathing more than any other game I can think of to date. It can feel like a second life at times. The complexity, depth, and fascination of it all can capture even the cynical.
Incarna will be the stepping stone into expanding our universe. To start, there won't be much more than pretty interiors and a few things to do. But what happens when the players get a hold of things and bring their collective intellectual might to the table? Eve is not what it was when it began and for its benefit it is so. Players were the ones who developed jet can mining, alliances, and so much of what we take for granted now. Who is to say we won't make a whole new part of Eve that can be enjoyed? I think it can even bring in players who wouldn't normally pick up Eve Online. First it will be station bound, but don't be so narrow minded. Those planets you fly by every single day...what happens when we roam those expanses? What happens if we are eventually able to board enemy ships and fight to overtake it? Why limit yourself to what is immediately available when Eve is a sandbox, not something to be stuck in a box.
There will be those who want nothing of it, but so what. That is what a breathing world is about; diversity. It is what drives the very workings of the game. Miners provide materials to be made into ships and guns that then shoot the miners who need more materials and so on. We all like something different. For myself, DUST 514 means little. I am in a wormhole, so fighting someone for a planet doesn't really make sense when it is a corp mate. Unless we just are doing it to annoy each other, which is fun too. Missioners can have a different scope of how they mission, traders play more angles, and fighters....well I guess we shall see how that turns out, yeah?
So, I am optimistic and think this will be epic. CCP is always moving forward and there are certainly growing pains. But I am a fan boy through and through now, so dig in boys and girls, it's going to be a fun time. Hopefully this satisfies things a bit more.
I also just noticed I hit post 100 with the blog banter. Whoa. That's pretty big for me, a personal achievement. I wish I had noticed sooner, because I wanted to do something fun for it. With the holidays and now that, I think I feel a contest/giveaway/somethingfunforall event coming soon. Stay tuned, won't you dears?
I will also be getting another bit of the wormhole series out too. Sorry that things have slowed down, but real life is priority for me some times more than others. But my readers understand, cuz I have the best. I also need to get back to some fun Pvp stories, don't I? That carrier kill would be a good one, and two days later we got another. That one I missed, why? Missioning in kspace. WTF yeaaa.....bad time to work on R&D agents amirite. I hope you all have enjoyed the podcast so far as well. I'm trying to think of how I will develop my segment. Noob advice...probably...interview...man i suck at those, but I'll try to improve...anything you want, lemme know. Depending on copyrights and all, it'll be And Now for Something Completely Different, John Cleese intro and all. That is if it won't get me sued into the grave. I am also working on convincing a corpmate to start blogging. I'm lookin' at you, Sao!
Wow, sorry about the wall o' text. Anyways, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. It is almost 2011, good things on the Horizon (eh?eh?xD)
Salut!
-Mem
Incarna, or amulation or walking-in-stations etc, is what Eve has on the horizon. It is coming soon and it will have quite the impact. New Eden is a universe driven by its inhabitants, namely us capsuleers. The community, as the squeaky wheel, often gets the grease for development and sometimes does not. Sure, the existing features need work. But something I noticed early on in Eve is that everything does get worked on. Perhaps it takes longer than some people want, but CCP is quite good about revamping things. Yes, it should be done right the first time, but you have to give them credit.
Which is why I think the last expansion has been a good step in the right direction for them. Focusing on doing it right and that will extend to Incarna. The question was how it would affect gameplay and the players. In the beginning, perhaps nearly not at all or to a small degree. I don't look at the short term, though, when I judge the feature. Giving a body to our capsuleer populace is huge. It's something that is epic in my mind simply because this universe is evolving and breathing more than any other game I can think of to date. It can feel like a second life at times. The complexity, depth, and fascination of it all can capture even the cynical.
Incarna will be the stepping stone into expanding our universe. To start, there won't be much more than pretty interiors and a few things to do. But what happens when the players get a hold of things and bring their collective intellectual might to the table? Eve is not what it was when it began and for its benefit it is so. Players were the ones who developed jet can mining, alliances, and so much of what we take for granted now. Who is to say we won't make a whole new part of Eve that can be enjoyed? I think it can even bring in players who wouldn't normally pick up Eve Online. First it will be station bound, but don't be so narrow minded. Those planets you fly by every single day...what happens when we roam those expanses? What happens if we are eventually able to board enemy ships and fight to overtake it? Why limit yourself to what is immediately available when Eve is a sandbox, not something to be stuck in a box.
There will be those who want nothing of it, but so what. That is what a breathing world is about; diversity. It is what drives the very workings of the game. Miners provide materials to be made into ships and guns that then shoot the miners who need more materials and so on. We all like something different. For myself, DUST 514 means little. I am in a wormhole, so fighting someone for a planet doesn't really make sense when it is a corp mate. Unless we just are doing it to annoy each other, which is fun too. Missioners can have a different scope of how they mission, traders play more angles, and fighters....well I guess we shall see how that turns out, yeah?
So, I am optimistic and think this will be epic. CCP is always moving forward and there are certainly growing pains. But I am a fan boy through and through now, so dig in boys and girls, it's going to be a fun time. Hopefully this satisfies things a bit more.
I also just noticed I hit post 100 with the blog banter. Whoa. That's pretty big for me, a personal achievement. I wish I had noticed sooner, because I wanted to do something fun for it. With the holidays and now that, I think I feel a contest/giveaway/somethingfunforall event coming soon. Stay tuned, won't you dears?
I will also be getting another bit of the wormhole series out too. Sorry that things have slowed down, but real life is priority for me some times more than others. But my readers understand, cuz I have the best. I also need to get back to some fun Pvp stories, don't I? That carrier kill would be a good one, and two days later we got another. That one I missed, why? Missioning in kspace. WTF yeaaa.....bad time to work on R&D agents amirite. I hope you all have enjoyed the podcast so far as well. I'm trying to think of how I will develop my segment. Noob advice...probably...interview...man i suck at those, but I'll try to improve...anything you want, lemme know. Depending on copyrights and all, it'll be And Now for Something Completely Different, John Cleese intro and all. That is if it won't get me sued into the grave. I am also working on convincing a corpmate to start blogging. I'm lookin' at you, Sao!
Wow, sorry about the wall o' text. Anyways, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. It is almost 2011, good things on the Horizon (eh?eh?xD)
Salut!
-Mem
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Blog Banter #23-These Legs Are Made For Walkin'
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!"
Forgive my lateness in writing this blog banter.
This topic is one that has generated many opinions on both ends of the spectrum. There are those that are exceedingly opposed and those that have waited quite a few years for this to come around. Myself, I haven't been in the game long enough to really be on either side of the fence. I hope this helps me be a bit more objective.
What is Eve? Well of course it is different things to different people, but essentially it is a space simulator. Or is a submarine simulator...sometimes it can get fuzzy :P The game allows its players to train up and fly any ship they want, choose any path they want be it good or evil. It has grown and developed over the course of nearly a decade, quite a lifetime as far as games go. There may not be millions of players, but the single shard universe does support tens of thousands. So is there room for ambulation?
Frankly, I do not see why not. Some are worried about how any crossover between ambulation and operations in space will negatively impact the experience, but really you don't know until it's been done. Such an installment, as long as it is polished and integrated smoothly, can be an asset to our New Eden home rather than a detriment.
Why? New blood. It can be something of a "portal drug" or ease one into our universe. I am not sure it will really appeal to anyone looking for hardcore avatar gaming like an FPS or the like, but if they come for that and then decide they want to fly and see what else there is, all the better. I think it also rounds out what Eve can offer.
-It may give a different twist for station traders. Hopefully it won't turn into something like a WoW city where people just stand around shouting their goods. But then, Jita local already is that.
-Perhaps it could give a bit of fun with in-station errands/missions.
-Although lacking Pvp to begin, a different realm for it could be quite interesting.
-The RP element can hardly be ignored, one that I have experienced more in Eve than most MMOs.
I'm not too sure it would entice older players back, but maybe it is the fresh breath that older players need to still be in game, but not necessarily out in space doing the same old same old. I am too new to really know how they might feel, or if they're too bitter for it to matter.
I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I’m not sure how the dynamic could be changed. It's one of those nebulous ideas that won't be too certain until it actually happens. Stupid post for a blog banter maybe, but my brain is fried since it's 5 a.m...I may edit it later :P
I did get my first carrier kill today, pretty sweet. But anyways, I'm gonna pass out and hope to review this when I am a bit more sane.
-Mem
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!"
Forgive my lateness in writing this blog banter.
This topic is one that has generated many opinions on both ends of the spectrum. There are those that are exceedingly opposed and those that have waited quite a few years for this to come around. Myself, I haven't been in the game long enough to really be on either side of the fence. I hope this helps me be a bit more objective.
What is Eve? Well of course it is different things to different people, but essentially it is a space simulator. Or is a submarine simulator...sometimes it can get fuzzy :P The game allows its players to train up and fly any ship they want, choose any path they want be it good or evil. It has grown and developed over the course of nearly a decade, quite a lifetime as far as games go. There may not be millions of players, but the single shard universe does support tens of thousands. So is there room for ambulation?
Frankly, I do not see why not. Some are worried about how any crossover between ambulation and operations in space will negatively impact the experience, but really you don't know until it's been done. Such an installment, as long as it is polished and integrated smoothly, can be an asset to our New Eden home rather than a detriment.
Why? New blood. It can be something of a "portal drug" or ease one into our universe. I am not sure it will really appeal to anyone looking for hardcore avatar gaming like an FPS or the like, but if they come for that and then decide they want to fly and see what else there is, all the better. I think it also rounds out what Eve can offer.
-It may give a different twist for station traders. Hopefully it won't turn into something like a WoW city where people just stand around shouting their goods. But then, Jita local already is that.
-Perhaps it could give a bit of fun with in-station errands/missions.
-Although lacking Pvp to begin, a different realm for it could be quite interesting.
-The RP element can hardly be ignored, one that I have experienced more in Eve than most MMOs.
I'm not too sure it would entice older players back, but maybe it is the fresh breath that older players need to still be in game, but not necessarily out in space doing the same old same old. I am too new to really know how they might feel, or if they're too bitter for it to matter.
I, for one, await Incarna with optimism. I would love to take Memoo out of his ship and just walk around. I like having an avatar I can actually use for something besides a mug shot. By the way, I'll be putting up screenshots of Memoo's new look since SiSi now has the Character Creator back up. Incarna is simply a natural progression for the constantly evolving universe of New Eden. Why not flesh it out with things like this? If players are afraid or hate change, they should choose a different genre. Eve isn't what it was 7 years ago and it won't be the same in another 7.
I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I’m not sure how the dynamic could be changed. It's one of those nebulous ideas that won't be too certain until it actually happens. Stupid post for a blog banter maybe, but my brain is fried since it's 5 a.m...I may edit it later :P
I did get my first carrier kill today, pretty sweet. But anyways, I'm gonna pass out and hope to review this when I am a bit more sane.
-Mem
Monday, December 20, 2010
Podcast is Live!
So, with much effort and dedication we have finally gotten our debut episode out to our wonderful listeners. Thank you all for your patience as we have taken longer than anticipated, but I hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoy talking :P
The New Eden Chronicles website is now live, so head over and check it out. For now that is the only place you'll be able to find it, the iTunes part will take a couple days to show up. Of course, we also have our Facebook page as well, so let us know how we are doing or if you are on Twitter, we have that too. It will be a bit rough starting out since it is new to some of us and kinks needs ironing, but I think we are off to a great start.
Thanks to Roc Weiler, of blogging fame, for the awesome music we are sporting. It's pretty epic. Now all I have to do is figure out what I'll be talking about on the next episode.
I have also taken out my new Echelon, something I didn't think I would do ever. It's great at hacking, even with my sad skills. I burned through 5 containers in a minute or two while we did Sleeper sites. Pretty nifty. I have also taken my Daredevil, gift from Kane Rizzel if you don't remember, into our home system and, with the help of a generous corpmate, fit it up really well. It even has a few faction mods, something I never thought I would fit onto a ship. But it's an awesome ship and, amusingly enough, I feel more comfortable using it in wspace than kspace. I even got it blooded last night, if you can call popping and podding a couple miners to be a true test. It's fast, tough, and shiny and I love flying it. I just hope it doesn't get blown up :x
The wormhole series will be back in a bit. With the holidays, the podcast release, and a new blog banter things are gettin' crazy. But stay tuned, it'll be a fun ride.
-Mem
The New Eden Chronicles website is now live, so head over and check it out. For now that is the only place you'll be able to find it, the iTunes part will take a couple days to show up. Of course, we also have our Facebook page as well, so let us know how we are doing or if you are on Twitter, we have that too. It will be a bit rough starting out since it is new to some of us and kinks needs ironing, but I think we are off to a great start.
Thanks to Roc Weiler, of blogging fame, for the awesome music we are sporting. It's pretty epic. Now all I have to do is figure out what I'll be talking about on the next episode.
I have also taken out my new Echelon, something I didn't think I would do ever. It's great at hacking, even with my sad skills. I burned through 5 containers in a minute or two while we did Sleeper sites. Pretty nifty. I have also taken my Daredevil, gift from Kane Rizzel if you don't remember, into our home system and, with the help of a generous corpmate, fit it up really well. It even has a few faction mods, something I never thought I would fit onto a ship. But it's an awesome ship and, amusingly enough, I feel more comfortable using it in wspace than kspace. I even got it blooded last night, if you can call popping and podding a couple miners to be a true test. It's fast, tough, and shiny and I love flying it. I just hope it doesn't get blown up :x
The wormhole series will be back in a bit. With the holidays, the podcast release, and a new blog banter things are gettin' crazy. But stay tuned, it'll be a fun ride.
-Mem
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Look Inside Pt. 3
(This post is part of a series that looks at wormholes and life within them. I will talk about everything from mechanics to perspectives and opinions on anything that relates to wormholes. The beginning is here and part 2 is here)
So we talked a bit about the types and levels of resources that wormholes offer. You'll have to forgive me as this is something of a stream of thought that may get redundant, it is my first series after all and I write them separately. But this post, I was thinking in the same vein as to wormhole environments.
Wormholes are different for more than just being void of stargates. Inside the unknown, quite a bit is different. There are no rats to farm because there are no asteroid belts. Any asteroids you find will be at gravimetric sites and thus must be scanned down. There are also wormhole effects, "spacial phenomena" that can affect just about anything. For example, a Black Hole effect reduces missile velocity, lock range, falloff, and drone control range, but boosts inertia and ship velocity. Each effect is different, but not all wormholes will have an effect and you can even warp to those effects. How do you know if one does? There are a couple ways, the simplest being to look around. The effect has a certain look to it and you will learn to know them each once you are around them more. One of my previous posts with screenshots displays an effect and this shot is a Black hole:
As I mentioned above, wormholes do not have stargates which means you have to bookmark them when you are transiting. An important fact that I have forgotten a time or two. Wormholes connect to everything from null and highsec to other wormholes and you can determine where it goes by the wording. For example, if it "leads into unknown space" you are most likely going to a C1, C2, or C3 system whereas "deadly unknown" is a c6. The color can also tell you. But, beyond things like that, the easiest way is to use Static Mapper and Dotlan Maps. (Protip: Put Staticmapper into your trusted sites list for the IGB and it will automatically pull up the system you are currently in) They give you great information as to how many jumps and kills the system has and potential static links. A static is a wormhole that will always open up to a certain kind of system. A C1 with a C2 static is one that has a link to a C2 everyday. If you collapse that link, a new one will reappear instantly. Quite handy, those static links are. I mentioned in the beginning of the series that these wormholes collapse after a certain amount of mass transits, a tricky situation if you get stuck on the wrong side. A good way to know what sizes you are dealing with can be found on the Uniwiki. One of the great things about having a hole open up to null sec is ninja ratting. I have just done my first bit, finding a dead end system with good rats (even a faction battleship!) and taking our time to get bounties and sec status without worrying about blobs.
Another "environmental effect" is that there is no local chat unless someone speaks there. So you cannot get free intel on who is in system or how many. Your best friend is your Directional Scan and when you live here, it becomes an obsessive habit to use. It only has a 14 AU range and can't see cloakies, but it is invaluable in what it can do. Often we find targets with Dscan without ever dropping probes, giving us even more tactical advantage.
I love the advantages of a nullsec environment like being able to drop bubbles and use capitals. But you cannot hotdrop in wormholes and you cannot claim sovereignty in them. (Protip: If you ever see a territorial claim unit it's a trap) You also can't take a capital through a hole unless that hole can handle the mass, something reserved for upper class wormholes. Quite frankly, after spending much of my time in Kspace in my Eve career it is also easy now to say that wspace is some of the prettiest you will find in the game. Effects give a nice variety as well as being pretty cool and regular WHs can even give variation to the eye candy.
My brain is fried from finals, which are done and I am home on holiday wootwoot, but I think I covered what I wanted for the most part. As it is the holidays, I'll try to keep the posts up but no promises. Oh and post 100 is very close! I can't believe it...I wonder what I should do for it. Perhaps another first, as in a contest for goodies? Hmm...hehe
So, are you liking the sound of wormholes yet?
-Mem
So we talked a bit about the types and levels of resources that wormholes offer. You'll have to forgive me as this is something of a stream of thought that may get redundant, it is my first series after all and I write them separately. But this post, I was thinking in the same vein as to wormhole environments.
Wormholes are different for more than just being void of stargates. Inside the unknown, quite a bit is different. There are no rats to farm because there are no asteroid belts. Any asteroids you find will be at gravimetric sites and thus must be scanned down. There are also wormhole effects, "spacial phenomena" that can affect just about anything. For example, a Black Hole effect reduces missile velocity, lock range, falloff, and drone control range, but boosts inertia and ship velocity. Each effect is different, but not all wormholes will have an effect and you can even warp to those effects. How do you know if one does? There are a couple ways, the simplest being to look around. The effect has a certain look to it and you will learn to know them each once you are around them more. One of my previous posts with screenshots displays an effect and this shot is a Black hole:
Another "environmental effect" is that there is no local chat unless someone speaks there. So you cannot get free intel on who is in system or how many. Your best friend is your Directional Scan and when you live here, it becomes an obsessive habit to use. It only has a 14 AU range and can't see cloakies, but it is invaluable in what it can do. Often we find targets with Dscan without ever dropping probes, giving us even more tactical advantage.
I love the advantages of a nullsec environment like being able to drop bubbles and use capitals. But you cannot hotdrop in wormholes and you cannot claim sovereignty in them. (Protip: If you ever see a territorial claim unit it's a trap) You also can't take a capital through a hole unless that hole can handle the mass, something reserved for upper class wormholes. Quite frankly, after spending much of my time in Kspace in my Eve career it is also easy now to say that wspace is some of the prettiest you will find in the game. Effects give a nice variety as well as being pretty cool and regular WHs can even give variation to the eye candy.
My brain is fried from finals, which are done and I am home on holiday wootwoot, but I think I covered what I wanted for the most part. As it is the holidays, I'll try to keep the posts up but no promises. Oh and post 100 is very close! I can't believe it...I wonder what I should do for it. Perhaps another first, as in a contest for goodies? Hmm...hehe
So, are you liking the sound of wormholes yet?
-Mem
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
We Interrupt...
This regularly scheduled program to bring you news from New Eden.
So, the next update is finally out and the much anticipated removal of learning skills has been implemented. Feels good, doesn't it? I like seeing all my attributes in the 20s and with an extra remap no less. I have to say, thank you CCP, you made my holiday with that alone. The new ship, the Echelon, looks pretty nifty too. Not that I'll use it, simply that I like moving parts on ships and CCP gets it quite well. Although it has exactly one slot. One. It's pretty quick and all, 500 m/s or so but that is no incentive to utilize it. Oh well, station bling is fun too.
As for what I spent my points on, I spread them around. I didn't have many since I never took them to V, but I had enough for some of my needs. I filled in some holes in my core that are embarrassingly lacking. I worked a bit on some offensive skills, but mainly I brought the training for Caldari Cruiser V from 23d down to around 14 if I remember correctly. That is before I remap of course. I will be using this free remap to its full advantage, but right now I want to use my extreme Int/Mem map as best as I can. So I am continuing to train some core skills and electronics. When I'll switch....I'm not sure. I just don't want to rush myself into a remap and regret it later.
This rebate made Mech's life much easier as well. Mining Foreman V was cut down from 11d to 4d and a few other skills were given a hand up as well. He will be remapping soon himself and getting into an Orca probably somewhere in January. I am pretty excited for it and I know he is too. Then it's on to combat for him. For now I have to be patient with them both.
Back to finishing finals for me. Today, I have my last one and then I am free from this nightmare of a semester. I get to relax and do stuff. Memoo is stuck in our staging area...still. I am trying to kick corpmates' butts into action to extricate ASAP, but we shall see how that goes.
So, what'd you end up using your points on? Has the update given you any new ideas or plans?
-Mem
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Look Inside Pt. 2
(This post is part of a series that looks at wormholes and life within them. I will talk about everything from mechanics to perspectives and opinions on anything that relates to wormholes. The beginning is here.)
Today we are talking about resources. Resources are the basis of any operation and absolutely critical to success in each and every one. Whether it is ISK, ships or minerals they are all vital. All the more so when you are living in a place that is essentially an island.
As a rehabilitated carebear, this is something that I still enjoy and something that is quite interesting to me in wormholes. I've mentioned before how I have taken opportunities to mine in wspace, trying out different forms like gas mining as well as conventional minerals mining. It's amazing the extent that the fields can reach. They are massive deposits that take quite a while to harvest, but are worth quite a bit more than Empire ores. You are able to find the rare ores that are usually reserved for nullsec and do it from home.
With the Tyrannis expansion, PI opened up a new venue for carebears. A miniature version of moon mining that now allows players to control the market is a different way, producing POS fuels and components for all sorts of products. I finally just got my own operations under way, tearing down my Empire colonies and relocating into our system. The sheer quantities of raw materials waiting to be harvested is amazing. Good thing I already have the "Stupid Carebear" title if my corpmates read this :P On my first planet, one extractor set to a 24 hour cycle can bring in more resources than my Empire colony set to shorter cycles. Not only that, but the threat that DUST 514 potentially brings to my colonies is non existent. The only people populating the planets alongside me are corpmates. Talk about secure.
When you are a corporation that needs to be as self sufficient as possible, those two sources are important. We can save money and make our own fuel as well as saving money and giving ourselves advantages with our own production lines if we choose. There are wormhole corps entirely dedicated to destroying Sleepers and putting their loot to use in Tech 3 production and others that simply mine to their hearts content to take back to Empire and make massive ISK. Sleeper loot itself is a resource to be collected and a profit to be made. All these resources keep the cycle going. For corps like us, we seek them out to keep ourselves able to go out and make pretty explosions in the dark expanses. You never know what the next connection will hold and it is always best to be prepared.
So if you are a carebear at heart or simply enjoy the idea of making tons of ISK, wormhole space just might be the place for you. It takes alot of work and dedication, but with a corp as close as family and the right tools anyone can conquer it. It's unknown space, not impossible space.
Sounding at all attractive yet?
-Mem
Today we are talking about resources. Resources are the basis of any operation and absolutely critical to success in each and every one. Whether it is ISK, ships or minerals they are all vital. All the more so when you are living in a place that is essentially an island.
As a rehabilitated carebear, this is something that I still enjoy and something that is quite interesting to me in wormholes. I've mentioned before how I have taken opportunities to mine in wspace, trying out different forms like gas mining as well as conventional minerals mining. It's amazing the extent that the fields can reach. They are massive deposits that take quite a while to harvest, but are worth quite a bit more than Empire ores. You are able to find the rare ores that are usually reserved for nullsec and do it from home.
With the Tyrannis expansion, PI opened up a new venue for carebears. A miniature version of moon mining that now allows players to control the market is a different way, producing POS fuels and components for all sorts of products. I finally just got my own operations under way, tearing down my Empire colonies and relocating into our system. The sheer quantities of raw materials waiting to be harvested is amazing. Good thing I already have the "Stupid Carebear" title if my corpmates read this :P On my first planet, one extractor set to a 24 hour cycle can bring in more resources than my Empire colony set to shorter cycles. Not only that, but the threat that DUST 514 potentially brings to my colonies is non existent. The only people populating the planets alongside me are corpmates. Talk about secure.
When you are a corporation that needs to be as self sufficient as possible, those two sources are important. We can save money and make our own fuel as well as saving money and giving ourselves advantages with our own production lines if we choose. There are wormhole corps entirely dedicated to destroying Sleepers and putting their loot to use in Tech 3 production and others that simply mine to their hearts content to take back to Empire and make massive ISK. Sleeper loot itself is a resource to be collected and a profit to be made. All these resources keep the cycle going. For corps like us, we seek them out to keep ourselves able to go out and make pretty explosions in the dark expanses. You never know what the next connection will hold and it is always best to be prepared.
So if you are a carebear at heart or simply enjoy the idea of making tons of ISK, wormhole space just might be the place for you. It takes alot of work and dedication, but with a corp as close as family and the right tools anyone can conquer it. It's unknown space, not impossible space.
Sounding at all attractive yet?
-Mem
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A Look Inside
(This post is part of a series that looks at wormholes and life within them. I will talk about everything from mechanics to perspectives and opinions on anything that relates to wormholes. Part 2 is here, part 3 is here, and Part 4 is here)
So my work seems to never end. This is my last week of school and the projects and papers never seem to end. I just got a smaller one done so my reward is writing to my dear readers. See, you ARE important! It'll be another beast of a post so buckle up. We finally recorded our first episode for New Eden Chronicles, so be on the look out. I'll of course let you know when it lands. In the meantime, send us mail and head to our page to say hey. Oh and btw, you may notice the badge in the upperleft corner. Indeed, I am now on Twitter as a part of the Tweetfleet, something I never thought I would be sucked into for long. But that's social networking for you :P
As far as ingame things go, I'm finally back in my home system. When were you ever gone? Yes, well I haven't said anything since it's all been hush hush and I may still need to keep some details to myself. But basically, our corp acted on some outside intel and set up in an upper class wormhole that has a static to an even higher class wormhole with the intention of it being a staging area. Only we found the intel was bogus AFTER the tower was onlined. Interesting welcome party too in our system.
The tower was 1 min away from being online when 2 Russian Legions decloaked and engaged our handful of battleships. I was naturally in my Scorp and comms lit up as I got my jams going. It was intense and 2 more Tengus joined the fray. I was thankfully getting successful jams over and over, missing one or two. Our 2 Scorps took the brunt of the surprise as I slowly had my armor melted and we could only hammer through one Legion's armor. We never broke them, but they also never broke us. Just as I hit 99% structure the tower went live and pushed the aggressors outside. My heart was in my throat and we were safe. Relatively.
The Ruskies retreated for a few minutes, only to have our cloaky call a Moros on Dscan. lolwut? It seems they were in the mood to hit us for realsies. We only had 12 hours of stront, plenty to deal with them. They soon got to work and had fun for a while. As fun as POS bashing is, although it's interesting being on the inside for once. The tower online with half shields as it was so they were making easy headway. But their hole had been destabilized in the process and they didn't even reinforce us. Certainly a party in these higher class holes. We spent the rest of our time repairing shields and onlining modules.
Besides that, I am slowly making my way into Recons with little detours of needed skills. Mech is getting closer to Orcas and I can't wait. It is taking him longer because I am filling out his core rather than just being able to sit in an Orca. I am also waiting out the skill reimbursement for his benefit and even have plans to put him into HACs after the Orca train. Quite the little squad I have cooking.
But I am also here to get into wormholes. I think this will become something of a series, my first! :D
I will talk about everything from mechanics to perspectives and opinions on anything that relates to wormholes. Since this post is already so long, the real meat of things will start in the next. For now, my opinion!
I found an interesting statement in the CSM Meeting Minutes from back in September 2010. The CSM is meant to represent the entirety of New Eden, and unknown space is still within those parameters in my mind. For those that are too lazy or can't find it, the comment was:
[ 17:24:06 ] Meissa Anunthiel > I totally understand the objective, but I believe it won't accomplish reduced cost (pos fuel, logistics), and I'll make more profit, so that's cool with me on a personal level, but I'm not sure it'd be well received. [/end]
[ 17:24:20 ] Mynxee > dv go
[ 17:24:40 ] Dierdra Vaal > there is one thing that will change: people who live in wormholes will not feel they have to go to k-space to build their T2 ships. end
[ 17:24:45 ] Meissa Anunthiel > !
[ 17:24:50 ] Mynxee > meissa go
[ 17:25:33 ] Meissa Anunthiel > People aren't "supposed" to be living in wormholes, I don't think upsetting the balance of the rest of the universe for wormhole people (in this one particular instance) is justified. You want to live there, well, more hurdles to you. They have to go
[ 17:25:53 ] Meissa Anunthiel > back to empire to buy fuel anyway, being able to do everything in there is not good for the ecosystem... [/end]
It seems we wormholers have no advocate or voice. We aren't even seen as "real" entities. More hurdles to me? Srsly? Perhaps CCP didn't intend for us to live here, but it has happened and it is a very valid play style. So being shoved aside as some worthless minority chafes. While intentions guided original implementation, application has come into effect and quite frankly, should be what now controls the situation. We live here, so throw us a bone mkay?
I have stated before that wormhole life is the endgame for me. Why? Simple, you get all the benefits of nullsec without the blob filled dramafests and endless wars. There's no politicking or need to worry about neuts and reds. For Adhoc, if you aren't in the fleet or in the corp you are red and thus earn the business end of my missiles and jams. It's simple. It also is a far more dynamic environment and one that allows for situational control. Is Jita too far away to be worthwhile? Roll the hole until you get a closer connection. Connecting systems dead and boring? Roll til you find new friends to play with. And boy do we.
The hole also makes sure only certain amounts of mass comes through. If you have a small hole and worry about home defense, just make caps in your own system and it means you have them but nobody else can bring any inside. Our respect is earned by those who are willing to give us a good fight or aid us in our own. However, ADHC has next to no blues so being one is pretty significant.
Those are some of the points that drew me to my new home and continually keep the game interesting and new. Sure, you can mission until your eyes bleed, but to what end? You can mine and it does have a good application for production. But why not mine in a place that can be safer than null and much more so than Empire? And the minerals are richer here, a plus even for a reformed carebear myself. I have a new title "Stupid Carebear" simply because I went on about it to the corp. I got to try out the "Rokhtopus" mining vessel and can use my skills for the good of the corp.
Living in unknown space also means a closer connection to those you live with. You really do become a family, at least that's how I feel about ADHC. Teamwork is essential and vital to your survival and success. You could just blob people...but that's less of an option when you have to worry about mass limitations and logistics. Space is a premium.
So, hopefully this series will show you a few new things about wspace and perhaps even give you the urge to check it out. It may not be for everyone, but it is my natural habitat now. I love it here. I do miss friends in Kspace so I do come out to play. I do want more friends and targets in wspace, but only those who are willing to accept the risks.
For now, I'll leave you with these tidbits while I run my head through a wall with schoolwork.
-Mem
So my work seems to never end. This is my last week of school and the projects and papers never seem to end. I just got a smaller one done so my reward is writing to my dear readers. See, you ARE important! It'll be another beast of a post so buckle up. We finally recorded our first episode for New Eden Chronicles, so be on the look out. I'll of course let you know when it lands. In the meantime, send us mail and head to our page to say hey. Oh and btw, you may notice the badge in the upperleft corner. Indeed, I am now on Twitter as a part of the Tweetfleet, something I never thought I would be sucked into for long. But that's social networking for you :P
As far as ingame things go, I'm finally back in my home system. When were you ever gone? Yes, well I haven't said anything since it's all been hush hush and I may still need to keep some details to myself. But basically, our corp acted on some outside intel and set up in an upper class wormhole that has a static to an even higher class wormhole with the intention of it being a staging area. Only we found the intel was bogus AFTER the tower was onlined. Interesting welcome party too in our system.
The tower was 1 min away from being online when 2 Russian Legions decloaked and engaged our handful of battleships. I was naturally in my Scorp and comms lit up as I got my jams going. It was intense and 2 more Tengus joined the fray. I was thankfully getting successful jams over and over, missing one or two. Our 2 Scorps took the brunt of the surprise as I slowly had my armor melted and we could only hammer through one Legion's armor. We never broke them, but they also never broke us. Just as I hit 99% structure the tower went live and pushed the aggressors outside. My heart was in my throat and we were safe. Relatively.
The Ruskies retreated for a few minutes, only to have our cloaky call a Moros on Dscan. lolwut? It seems they were in the mood to hit us for realsies. We only had 12 hours of stront, plenty to deal with them. They soon got to work and had fun for a while. As fun as POS bashing is, although it's interesting being on the inside for once. The tower online with half shields as it was so they were making easy headway. But their hole had been destabilized in the process and they didn't even reinforce us. Certainly a party in these higher class holes. We spent the rest of our time repairing shields and onlining modules.
Besides that, I am slowly making my way into Recons with little detours of needed skills. Mech is getting closer to Orcas and I can't wait. It is taking him longer because I am filling out his core rather than just being able to sit in an Orca. I am also waiting out the skill reimbursement for his benefit and even have plans to put him into HACs after the Orca train. Quite the little squad I have cooking.
But I am also here to get into wormholes. I think this will become something of a series, my first! :D
I will talk about everything from mechanics to perspectives and opinions on anything that relates to wormholes. Since this post is already so long, the real meat of things will start in the next. For now, my opinion!
I found an interesting statement in the CSM Meeting Minutes from back in September 2010. The CSM is meant to represent the entirety of New Eden, and unknown space is still within those parameters in my mind. For those that are too lazy or can't find it, the comment was:
[ 17:24:06 ] Meissa Anunthiel > I totally understand the objective, but I believe it won't accomplish reduced cost (pos fuel, logistics), and I'll make more profit, so that's cool with me on a personal level, but I'm not sure it'd be well received. [/end]
[ 17:24:20 ] Mynxee > dv go
[ 17:24:40 ] Dierdra Vaal > there is one thing that will change: people who live in wormholes will not feel they have to go to k-space to build their T2 ships. end
[ 17:24:45 ] Meissa Anunthiel > !
[ 17:24:50 ] Mynxee > meissa go
[ 17:25:33 ] Meissa Anunthiel > People aren't "supposed" to be living in wormholes, I don't think upsetting the balance of the rest of the universe for wormhole people (in this one particular instance) is justified. You want to live there, well, more hurdles to you. They have to go
[ 17:25:53 ] Meissa Anunthiel > back to empire to buy fuel anyway, being able to do everything in there is not good for the ecosystem... [/end]
It seems we wormholers have no advocate or voice. We aren't even seen as "real" entities. More hurdles to me? Srsly? Perhaps CCP didn't intend for us to live here, but it has happened and it is a very valid play style. So being shoved aside as some worthless minority chafes. While intentions guided original implementation, application has come into effect and quite frankly, should be what now controls the situation. We live here, so throw us a bone mkay?
I have stated before that wormhole life is the endgame for me. Why? Simple, you get all the benefits of nullsec without the blob filled dramafests and endless wars. There's no politicking or need to worry about neuts and reds. For Adhoc, if you aren't in the fleet or in the corp you are red and thus earn the business end of my missiles and jams. It's simple. It also is a far more dynamic environment and one that allows for situational control. Is Jita too far away to be worthwhile? Roll the hole until you get a closer connection. Connecting systems dead and boring? Roll til you find new friends to play with. And boy do we.
The hole also makes sure only certain amounts of mass comes through. If you have a small hole and worry about home defense, just make caps in your own system and it means you have them but nobody else can bring any inside. Our respect is earned by those who are willing to give us a good fight or aid us in our own. However, ADHC has next to no blues so being one is pretty significant.
Those are some of the points that drew me to my new home and continually keep the game interesting and new. Sure, you can mission until your eyes bleed, but to what end? You can mine and it does have a good application for production. But why not mine in a place that can be safer than null and much more so than Empire? And the minerals are richer here, a plus even for a reformed carebear myself. I have a new title "Stupid Carebear" simply because I went on about it to the corp. I got to try out the "Rokhtopus" mining vessel and can use my skills for the good of the corp.
Living in unknown space also means a closer connection to those you live with. You really do become a family, at least that's how I feel about ADHC. Teamwork is essential and vital to your survival and success. You could just blob people...but that's less of an option when you have to worry about mass limitations and logistics. Space is a premium.
So, hopefully this series will show you a few new things about wspace and perhaps even give you the urge to check it out. It may not be for everyone, but it is my natural habitat now. I love it here. I do miss friends in Kspace so I do come out to play. I do want more friends and targets in wspace, but only those who are willing to accept the risks.
For now, I'll leave you with these tidbits while I run my head through a wall with schoolwork.
-Mem
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Return to Normalcy
I am not yet there for the full return, but I am close. Finals end next week so I am slowly dying from everything I have to do til then. Between schoolwork and ingame events, writing has taken a backseat. Sorry about that...life happens I suppose.
Lots has been happening in our little wormhole home. There have been multiple times I log in to find we just had a massive fight and I missed it all. *le sigh* And I mean big. The reports are always borked, but whatever you get the idea. There are usually multiple rounds of fighting and both sides getting stomped. Oh well, I am happy to have the fights I get into and we certainly look for them everywhere. We have even gotten into a lot more roaming in lowsec and bashed another POS. That always makes for interesting situations when most of my corpmates have forgotten mechanics that apply. There was also, apparently, a Golem that came into our home...and talked in local saying (s)he? was just passing through. We don't keep local up, so she disappeared pretty quickly. If you go into a wormhole, especially when you know it is occupied, never talk in local. You are giving free intel and alerting them to a threat that anyone worth their guns will exterminate. Especially when you're in a Marauder that makes our KB look so good.
I have also had my chance at using the Noctis. What do I think of it? It's the sex of salvaging vessels. Even with it only trained to the first level you have a 32km range on tractors and it's hard to keep up when it blows through wrecks like they aren't there. One Noctis can salvage faster than people can kill, something much appreciated in wspace, where the less time exposed the better. Speaking of new ships, it seems CCP is giving us another. The Echelon eh? Personally, I see it being about as useful as the Zephyr...which is not much at all. Perhaps it'll be useful for the Incursions...but it's too fragile and not worth risking just for being a dedicated hacker. So I hope you like station bling! I'll have to come out to kspace to redeem it I suppose. The longer I am in wspace...the less I like doing that. I feel so exposed and vulnerable, ironic isn't it? Fighting is less fun, as well, when everyone runs away and then smacks that we are nothing but carebears. You have noticed my negative sec status yes? I also find that I desire less and less to kill Sleepers as I once did. We can get a bit bloodthirsty and I have embraced it. I am anxious to get into a Falcon or Rook soon to be of more utility. Although, I have been loving my bomber. It has so many uses and packs a punch. I have gone into structure twice, but have yet to lose my little Garrote.
The learning skill change is coming up and I am still wondering where I will stick those few skill points. This will certainly help my alt tremendously and I can't wait. He is closer and closer to getting into an Orca every day. And now I am thinking, after Orcas, he will be a HAC pilot. Maybe. What are you using the SP for?
I am thinking I may start explaining wormhole life a bit better in future posts. What I need from you all is, what do you want to know? What is obvious and what is a little more vague? I will do my best to maintain opsec for the corp, but I'd love for more people to come to wspace.
-Mem
Lots has been happening in our little wormhole home. There have been multiple times I log in to find we just had a massive fight and I missed it all. *le sigh* And I mean big. The reports are always borked, but whatever you get the idea. There are usually multiple rounds of fighting and both sides getting stomped. Oh well, I am happy to have the fights I get into and we certainly look for them everywhere. We have even gotten into a lot more roaming in lowsec and bashed another POS. That always makes for interesting situations when most of my corpmates have forgotten mechanics that apply. There was also, apparently, a Golem that came into our home...and talked in local saying (s)he? was just passing through. We don't keep local up, so she disappeared pretty quickly. If you go into a wormhole, especially when you know it is occupied, never talk in local. You are giving free intel and alerting them to a threat that anyone worth their guns will exterminate. Especially when you're in a Marauder that makes our KB look so good.
I have also had my chance at using the Noctis. What do I think of it? It's the sex of salvaging vessels. Even with it only trained to the first level you have a 32km range on tractors and it's hard to keep up when it blows through wrecks like they aren't there. One Noctis can salvage faster than people can kill, something much appreciated in wspace, where the less time exposed the better. Speaking of new ships, it seems CCP is giving us another. The Echelon eh? Personally, I see it being about as useful as the Zephyr...which is not much at all. Perhaps it'll be useful for the Incursions...but it's too fragile and not worth risking just for being a dedicated hacker. So I hope you like station bling! I'll have to come out to kspace to redeem it I suppose. The longer I am in wspace...the less I like doing that. I feel so exposed and vulnerable, ironic isn't it? Fighting is less fun, as well, when everyone runs away and then smacks that we are nothing but carebears. You have noticed my negative sec status yes? I also find that I desire less and less to kill Sleepers as I once did. We can get a bit bloodthirsty and I have embraced it. I am anxious to get into a Falcon or Rook soon to be of more utility. Although, I have been loving my bomber. It has so many uses and packs a punch. I have gone into structure twice, but have yet to lose my little Garrote.
The learning skill change is coming up and I am still wondering where I will stick those few skill points. This will certainly help my alt tremendously and I can't wait. He is closer and closer to getting into an Orca every day. And now I am thinking, after Orcas, he will be a HAC pilot. Maybe. What are you using the SP for?
I am thinking I may start explaining wormhole life a bit better in future posts. What I need from you all is, what do you want to know? What is obvious and what is a little more vague? I will do my best to maintain opsec for the corp, but I'd love for more people to come to wspace.
-Mem
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Why We Are Boss
Quick post for the day. I logged in at the tail end of this engagement and I'm rather pissed I wasn't on earlier.
ADHC at its finest.
It's ok though, since later I got in on this.
Also..this is hilarious
As was this xD
Yea...we got this.
-Mem
ADHC at its finest.
It's ok though, since later I got in on this.
Also..this is hilarious
As was this xD
Yea...we got this.
-Mem
Friday, December 3, 2010
Positive Run for a Negative Status
Tonight was a different turn of routine for some of the corpies. We left the wormhole for a few hours. *gasp* I know, I know Kspace is scary right? After a small introverted inspection, I am amused how quickly my perceptions in Eve have changed since I moved into wspace. It makes me think that perhaps I should have been here long ago, as natural and comfortable as it is for me now. We see Kspace as something less desirable because of local, gate mechanics, sec hits...everything you get to avoid in wormholes. Many people see null sec as "end game" in Eve, but it isn't that way for us. Wormholes is how it should be played and learned. The average wormholer is more capable in many ways, in my humble opinion, than most Kspace inhabitants simply due to the nature of the environment.
Anyways, back to the action. We rallied in our highsec system and got everyone shipped into cheap T1 cruisers. We weren't suicidal, but we were aiming to trade them for good kills. Nothing like a good lowsec roam in throw aways. Initially it was a very small gang, but that grew a bit when word got out. So we headed out for the nearest Pvp hub, hunting along the way. What better place to start the night than Amamake itself. There had been a few neuts along the way, but nothing interesting enough. When we were on the gate heading into Ama, however, our FC decided to start small. A criminal vexor had dared to share our space, demanding his own end. He looked at me funny...he deserved fiery death. So we unleashed our fury on him as he predictably jumped into Ama with our backup tackle. I hadn't locked him in time, so I was able to jump in as well. Breaking my cloak on the other side, our tackler was working on the dirty scum as I laid down some meltage with my jammers. That's when things got really interesting and it all happened at once.
First, I took a sec hit. My first ever with Mem and it drew the ire of the gate guns. Being former Uni, I am usually on the other side of the fight. So stupid me was burning at our target as he was speeding away. In a Blackbird, gate guns are death, or nearly so. At the same time, a Jag had engaged the fleet and a Minnie gang had landed on the other side of the gate. Our tackle valiantly held his ground, bleeding armor at alarming rates. I was not close enough to get any reps on him...yes I had medium reps...and he lost the tackle, but picked up the Jag as the fleet beat his face inside out. I was able to get a cycle off just as I was warping. The gate guns hurt....alot. So I bounced to a station on accident in my rush...taking more fire...and then finally on to planets and new BMs I dropped for bouncing. In hindsight, that Vexor was a bad choice, but it was still alot of fun. We didn't even lose anything.
So now I'm flashy, bouncing around Ama when I see local. Someone said hi..to me? Oh! My wonderful friend and fellow blogger, Laedy. We had a good convo as I waited out my GCC...now I see why pirates want it shorter :P Can't wait for her to get some posts out again. After everyone was ready and I had repaired, we headed off. Moving through adjoining lowsec, we pushed on in our hunt. A few systems away, we had it. We sat on gate while our impromptu scouts worked the system. Lo and behold, a vile cousin of the Vexor scum jumped into us. The Ishtar was immediately called as target and we got to work. He stood no chance since the fleet was all together this time and promptly melted to our glorious T1 fire. The best part was he was flashy, so no sec hit and no gate gun fire, except for him.
We were quite happy with our luck, an hour or so in and we had two good kills. But it was hardly over. We were here to practice and practice would continue. Our FC had afk'ed, leaving his second in command for the Ishtar kill. He came back in time for us to head home, since it was extremely late. So we regrouped and set destination. It seems, in lowsec, when you are stirring the roost it pulls in attention. This was quite evident when we ran into a Ice Fire Warrior gang and a mix of neuts on a lowsec gate, leaving us in a Mexican standoff situation. Moving meant vulnerable points we couldn't handle. We could take them, but with heavy losses we didn't want. So instead, we locked them all down and waited to see who blinked. They smacked in local...apparently we are carebears? Come to our hole, we'll show you a few things...and admitted they wouldn't GCC. So we played gate games, jumping back and forth to see who was with whom. While on Kourmonen side of the gate, with the pack staring us down as we hugged the gate, an Apoc warped at range. A mix of my colorblindness and the mass on my overview meant I failed to see the yellowbox that went red. He sniped down my dear Distant Illusion in cold blood. My new family doesn't take kindly to that and his brood didn't seem to react as they jumped his newly flashy self. Grave mistake, my friend. It was too easy for them to get under guns, grabbing tackle and burning him into dust and ashes. I was avenged, a warning to those that face us. Trading a BS or a Blackbird? Dumb choice.
It would mark the end of our night, however. My noobship made me nervous so I reshipped to a Caracal with a few modules to make it home. Another first and a good preview if I get into a Cerberus. 75km range? Surprising and rather awesome. We finally made it back to good ole' wspace and home where I fully fit my new toy. A good night and good practice for us. Hopefully we get more chances like this every now and again. So now I have a few hours before I need to be up to interview and then go to class. Today we record! I'm quite excited. This idiocy is going to be addressed, among other finer things. Stay tuned.
Long post is long. Sowwy.
-Mem
Anyways, back to the action. We rallied in our highsec system and got everyone shipped into cheap T1 cruisers. We weren't suicidal, but we were aiming to trade them for good kills. Nothing like a good lowsec roam in throw aways. Initially it was a very small gang, but that grew a bit when word got out. So we headed out for the nearest Pvp hub, hunting along the way. What better place to start the night than Amamake itself. There had been a few neuts along the way, but nothing interesting enough. When we were on the gate heading into Ama, however, our FC decided to start small. A criminal vexor had dared to share our space, demanding his own end. He looked at me funny...he deserved fiery death. So we unleashed our fury on him as he predictably jumped into Ama with our backup tackle. I hadn't locked him in time, so I was able to jump in as well. Breaking my cloak on the other side, our tackler was working on the dirty scum as I laid down some meltage with my jammers. That's when things got really interesting and it all happened at once.
First, I took a sec hit. My first ever with Mem and it drew the ire of the gate guns. Being former Uni, I am usually on the other side of the fight. So stupid me was burning at our target as he was speeding away. In a Blackbird, gate guns are death, or nearly so. At the same time, a Jag had engaged the fleet and a Minnie gang had landed on the other side of the gate. Our tackle valiantly held his ground, bleeding armor at alarming rates. I was not close enough to get any reps on him...yes I had medium reps...and he lost the tackle, but picked up the Jag as the fleet beat his face inside out. I was able to get a cycle off just as I was warping. The gate guns hurt....alot. So I bounced to a station on accident in my rush...taking more fire...and then finally on to planets and new BMs I dropped for bouncing. In hindsight, that Vexor was a bad choice, but it was still alot of fun. We didn't even lose anything.
So now I'm flashy, bouncing around Ama when I see local. Someone said hi..to me? Oh! My wonderful friend and fellow blogger, Laedy. We had a good convo as I waited out my GCC...now I see why pirates want it shorter :P Can't wait for her to get some posts out again. After everyone was ready and I had repaired, we headed off. Moving through adjoining lowsec, we pushed on in our hunt. A few systems away, we had it. We sat on gate while our impromptu scouts worked the system. Lo and behold, a vile cousin of the Vexor scum jumped into us. The Ishtar was immediately called as target and we got to work. He stood no chance since the fleet was all together this time and promptly melted to our glorious T1 fire. The best part was he was flashy, so no sec hit and no gate gun fire, except for him.
We were quite happy with our luck, an hour or so in and we had two good kills. But it was hardly over. We were here to practice and practice would continue. Our FC had afk'ed, leaving his second in command for the Ishtar kill. He came back in time for us to head home, since it was extremely late. So we regrouped and set destination. It seems, in lowsec, when you are stirring the roost it pulls in attention. This was quite evident when we ran into a Ice Fire Warrior gang and a mix of neuts on a lowsec gate, leaving us in a Mexican standoff situation. Moving meant vulnerable points we couldn't handle. We could take them, but with heavy losses we didn't want. So instead, we locked them all down and waited to see who blinked. They smacked in local...apparently we are carebears? Come to our hole, we'll show you a few things...and admitted they wouldn't GCC. So we played gate games, jumping back and forth to see who was with whom. While on Kourmonen side of the gate, with the pack staring us down as we hugged the gate, an Apoc warped at range. A mix of my colorblindness and the mass on my overview meant I failed to see the yellowbox that went red. He sniped down my dear Distant Illusion in cold blood. My new family doesn't take kindly to that and his brood didn't seem to react as they jumped his newly flashy self. Grave mistake, my friend. It was too easy for them to get under guns, grabbing tackle and burning him into dust and ashes. I was avenged, a warning to those that face us. Trading a BS or a Blackbird? Dumb choice.
It would mark the end of our night, however. My noobship made me nervous so I reshipped to a Caracal with a few modules to make it home. Another first and a good preview if I get into a Cerberus. 75km range? Surprising and rather awesome. We finally made it back to good ole' wspace and home where I fully fit my new toy. A good night and good practice for us. Hopefully we get more chances like this every now and again. So now I have a few hours before I need to be up to interview and then go to class. Today we record! I'm quite excited. This idiocy is going to be addressed, among other finer things. Stay tuned.
Long post is long. Sowwy.
-Mem
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Sometimes You're the Hammer, Sometimes the Nail
Lately I've been the nail in reference to RL. It is the last 2 weeks of the semester and I'm getting drilled into the ground with work I need to make up, more new work, psych experiments for extra credit and getting ready to record the podcast tomorrow. That one I am rather worried about, since I haven't had time to gather all the info I need quite yet. Stress and more stress. I've still gotten my chances to beat people up in wspace, but I need to do it less as it gets down to the wire.
The new Incursion patch already has 2 additional patches, but by this time nobody should be surprised. Takes a couple seconds to update, wooptydoo. I am liking the probes overview setting, it makes my life infinitely easier since I didn't want the hassle of doing the edits on my Mac when my last one failed to work. So now I can switch quickly, a blessing in wspace. The new changes are much appreciated and I have yet to explore them fully. I need to get back to kspace and get in my Hawk for the first time ever. Training my rockets up to T2 will come along eventually, but for now their new buff should make it fun to run around.
With all the changes, people naturally talked about them in comms. Today they were talking about oddities and I finally got back to reading my RSS feeds which had a post about weird things in Eve as well. In the same vein, I've always wondered why there are shiptypes that apply to all races. Destroyers and Battlecruisers are first in my mind. Why is it that one has to train up for HACs or cloakies within the respective races, yet these ships can be used across the board? Destroyers are little more than frigates with extra guns, yes. Battlecruisers are essentially cruisers bigger brother, ok. And yes, you have to have the lesser ships of that race trained, but why the exception? Idk....random idle thoughts when I'm staring at a wall vacantly.
This was quite a ramble. I feel like I do that too much as of late. I want direction and something interesting when I write, not random drivel like this. I do alot of "zomg we blew up dis one dood and it was phun!". I can't quite put my finger on it yet, but I need something...more. I guess life really is just getting overwhelming if I can't write something thought provoking for a couple weeks.
Well, here's to getting back into a better groove.
Hope your holiday months are going well.
-Mem
The new Incursion patch already has 2 additional patches, but by this time nobody should be surprised. Takes a couple seconds to update, wooptydoo. I am liking the probes overview setting, it makes my life infinitely easier since I didn't want the hassle of doing the edits on my Mac when my last one failed to work. So now I can switch quickly, a blessing in wspace. The new changes are much appreciated and I have yet to explore them fully. I need to get back to kspace and get in my Hawk for the first time ever. Training my rockets up to T2 will come along eventually, but for now their new buff should make it fun to run around.
With all the changes, people naturally talked about them in comms. Today they were talking about oddities and I finally got back to reading my RSS feeds which had a post about weird things in Eve as well. In the same vein, I've always wondered why there are shiptypes that apply to all races. Destroyers and Battlecruisers are first in my mind. Why is it that one has to train up for HACs or cloakies within the respective races, yet these ships can be used across the board? Destroyers are little more than frigates with extra guns, yes. Battlecruisers are essentially cruisers bigger brother, ok. And yes, you have to have the lesser ships of that race trained, but why the exception? Idk....random idle thoughts when I'm staring at a wall vacantly.
This was quite a ramble. I feel like I do that too much as of late. I want direction and something interesting when I write, not random drivel like this. I do alot of "zomg we blew up dis one dood and it was phun!". I can't quite put my finger on it yet, but I need something...more. I guess life really is just getting overwhelming if I can't write something thought provoking for a couple weeks.
Well, here's to getting back into a better groove.
Hope your holiday months are going well.
-Mem
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