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, 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

22nd Blog Banter: Loyal til Underverse Come

Welcome to the twenty-second 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!

This month topic is brought to us by L'Dene Bean of Nitpickin's who asks: Why, and how did you pick your corporation? Is your loyalty solid or just until a better placed organization "recruits" you. The shorter version:  Who holds your Unshakable Fealty and why?

This is something I believe is important in New Eden. A corporation, as a conglomeration of pilots with similar goals, can be a safe haven in the harsh universe that is Eve. I was in one other corp before I joined the University, a small and extremely new one. I may not have experience jumping around in different corps, but that is for good reason. Trust.

It is something that is hard to earn in Eve, and earn it you must. A corporation depends on trust in its pilots to want the better of the group, than to be plotting its demise and robbery. My place in the Uni and the four months I have dedicated to it have certainly given a solid community and it has earned my loyalty. Of course, as my recent post has shown as well as events I don’t talk about, there is drama even in the Uni. With so many pilots in one place, that is inevitable. But that hardly means I don’t love this corporation. The dedication, generosity, and just plain ole’ good camaraderie I have found is something I value. There are pilots I am proud to fly with any day.

I have flown in many fleets in my time at the University and I always find it interesting the kind of dimwitted smack talk that greets us in a variety of solar systems. I have been called a sheep, I have heard our FC’s called amateur and incompetent, how apparently the directors are using noobs as an ISK farm for their private titan fleet and POS towers. This is amusing, as stupid as all of it is, since it is entirely conceived out of some ill begotten grudge or misunderstanding. The Uni has generously fostered new players for 6 years. That’s nearly as long as the game has been around and I believe CCP owes the corp a bit for the number of subs that continue to roll in thanks to the continued education. That in and of itself can garner loyalty. When someone outgrows them, they are welcome to leave. And they are welcome back at any future time. It’s a haven in the harsh place that is New Eden.

This is not to say, however, that I will remain with the Uni forever. I have mentioned before that I have plans to move on, but I am still a loyal alum. Eve U is a great establishment and I find it sad that so many only see it as a noob farm or some pithy derivative. It allows those new to the game to have a source of knowledge and patient understanding, instead of lost trying to get a handle on the game while someone sits outside the noob station and ganks them, leading to ragequits.

The corporation has its place in my history, but it is not somewhere I can stay forever. The SOP limits me in my endeavors and I’d like to make new friends. I may return and I will always be happy to help the Uni when they need.

Going back to the first question of why I picked the Uni is pretty obvious. I was lost in the ocean of New Eden, not sure what to do or how to do it. I was actually directed to the it by my brother. He had started playing a month earlier than I and he is the reason I got into Eve. He told me about what the Uni is and the things they do for new players. It was an opportunity that was not to be wasted in my eyes. Besides, it’s nice to be on Ubercado’s side, not in his meat locker. There are great directors, great students, and great times in the Uni. It holds my loyalty, just as will the next home I choose. I do not choose a corporation without first knowing who they are and how they operate. One must be careful and choose wisely, else they jump from corp to corp and become dismayed. Trust and loyalty is hard earned in Eve, just as in life. If you earn it from me, there are few reasons you will ever lose it.

So for those of you that are new and would like a good corp to begin in, take a look at the University. Take a look at any corp you like, and make it a good look. There are a plethora out there and there are a lot of great ones to enjoy and that will fit your needs. For those of you more seasoned player, what got you where you are? Are you happy?

I’m not sure I have much more to say without being redundant. Who holds your fealty?

-Mem 

PS: I finally fixed the time on my posts so it stops registering two posts in the same day when I put them up. About time, I know. :P

Other blog banters to go read:

The Elitist
Evil Silents
A Merry Life and a Short One
Being Knee Anderthal

Blog Banter #21

Welcome to the twenty-first 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 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!

This month topic comes to us from @ZoneGhost who a few month ago asked "Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?" Is it? I'd like us to explore this even further. Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is? Can one successfully make a living in these unsecured systems where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws? What's needed? Or is everything fine as it is?

  As this is my first Banter, go easy on me :P

  This has been a pretty hot topic lately. In the slew of issues players have called to be revamped, low sec life has been a big desire for quite some time. As a young pilot, I have a bit of a grasp on why but perhaps not as much as the older veterans and those that actually live in lowsec.  I have visited it a good amount, but I have yet to base any operations from lowsec.

  As for the first point, I think Low Sec has become the red headed step child of Kspace. In Empire, you have your trade hubs, beginning systems, and a place where players have a degree of “security”. In Null Sec, you have massive alliances in an eternal struggle for sovereignty and the ability to amass great wealth. Low Sec, however, has little attraction. There are a few things I can see “broken”.

  As an industrialist and miner, there is no appropriate draw to even want to mine in lowsec. The minerals found there cannot justify the risk in taking expeditions to extract them. A pilot could make more money with far less risk staying in Empire or join a good alliance in null sec and make big money there.

  

  Another issue I would think, would be the rather long timer for GCCs in low sec. I have read pirate blogs and I talk to pirates in game that obviously run into this on a regular basis. So why would a cooldown that is so long be of any use? Obviously, they are fine with taking the hit but to have to sit in a safe for so long is rather laborious. I wouldn’t say it makes pirates less viable but it’s a bit less attractive to have to do that all the time. 

  As for whether or not it’s profitable, just ask any pirate. For such a profession, it is often feast or famine. But I have seen enough gate camps with wrecks littering space that I know it has to be profitable in some respect. I know pirates want this so they have people to shoot at more often, since woe be their chosen career. I hear too often that pirates want carebears to have less going for them. I, frankly, think there's a place for everyone in Eve so while making low sec more viable is the right way to go, why should it include cutting down on someone else's experience at the same time? A pirate's life, let's face it. is hard. And for good reason, since they choose to go against the law. Take pride in the difficulty you overcome instead of whining to make it easier. But I digress.

  

  As for what might be needed, I like the idea a blogger had a while ago. I cannot for the life of me remember who wrote about it, so if someone knows, leave a comment or Eve mail me. Their idea was systems dedicated to pirates and those dedicated to the goodies like bounty hunters or something. But I think the idea of havens has some merit. As of right now, the only way pirates can really lay claim to any low sec system is by presence. Whether it’s gatecamping constantly or ganking everyone possible, they simply have to make it known that this is their space and you shouldn’t mess with their terf. An idea I have had lately that reminds me of Freelancer is perhaps making a module that is capable of shutting down a gate altogether for a limited time. One time use, long cooldown or whatever the downside may be. This can trap prey in your system, allowing an interesting twist to small gang warfare. Which is another thing that could be focused on for low sec. Make small gang warfare more attractive and tenable, rather than blob fests rolling through. Not sure how to work that one out yet. I have also heard others talk about allowing a once-a-year security status reset, kind of like remapping. 

  But as I said, since I am a young pilot I may not be able to give as deep a solution or understanding. There are certainly those that are doing their best to rebuild what low sec should be. Mynxee has certainly taken the reins on this one.

 That’s my few cents. What do you think? For those of you that frequent low sec space, what would you want better, added or gone?

-Mem