Omnis Arcanum of EVE

Short Break

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 07:32:00 +0000

I will be taking my Semester Exams next week so there will probably be a shortage of gaming and blog posting but I promise that once exams are over,the Fiction posts etc will start to roll out,since by then I will have approx 4 weeks of holidays,so see you then .
Also if anyone is interested, I have recently started painting Warhammer 40K models.
If you want to take a look,here is a link to my Flickr Page

So Fly safe guys.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Blog Banter 30: The Melting Pot

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:14:00 +0000

"With the Winter expansion possibly being named 'Crucible', it certainly is a melting pot of refinements and tweaks aimed at making the EVE experience smoother and more wholesome. If the developers suddenly found themselves some spare resources and approached you for an additional feature to include before release, what single concept would you pitch them and how would you implement it?

For bonus points, the one thing lacking from this "patchwork" of iterations is a cohesive storyline to package "The Crucible" together. How could this expansion be marketed to potential new customers?"

That is a tough question.
With crucible coming soon, there is alot of new features that we can look forward to. Some features have be covered by other blogs ,some have not. In this post, I will be covering features the I think will be able to make EVE just that little more fun than it used to be =D

First up is some parts of gameplay that have been overlooked by others, this features have potential be certain parts of EVE that is unique to EVE if it is done corectly. However this features are currently underused due to being bagged down by the current game mechanics. There are many of this features in game,but due to time constraint, I will only name afew.

Do you still remember the kill rights system? This system allows a player that has his ship destroyed to sort of be able to "take revenge" without concord interference.

Sure you may have a kill right on someone, but when was the last time you actually used it? Some time ago, another feature that is overlooked by many is the bounty system. It was supposed to allow players to have sub professions like being a merc and going after people with bounty on them. This is occasionally done, but I feel it should get some love from CCP.

Due to current game mechanics, it is usually not feasible to do things like going after targets with bounty (when stuff like high-sec Incursions give you better isk to time ratio), or for a newbie who got killed to go after his killer and use his kill right because said newbie would just lose his second ship.

So what happens if CCP changes this features alittle.

For example, concord can actually put bounty on the players themselves. This can be automated such that when ever an illegal attack is made, a certain amount is added to the player's bounty together with the sec status penalty. This will slowly accumulate which makes the said player a more valuable target to kill. Of course, steps must also be take so that this feature will not be abused by the players, such as no bounty for corp,alliance kills,selfdestructing etc.It will not be fool proof,but CCP should make it such that it will be more trouble than it is worth to kill yourself (somehow) to get the concord bounty on your character. Concord can also give players who hunted and killed players with bounties a sec status gain (slightly more than ratting,abit lesser than level four missions) since they are helping to weed out "criminals" for concord.
This could also see pirates killing people with bounty to gain sec status instead of ratting, only to spend the sec status on another well planned suicide gank, making the game alot more interesting and fun for parties involved.(most pirates prefer pvp to ratting right?)

Also by allowing the newbie to sell his kill rights to an experienced pvper, the pvper can hunt the pilot though out New Eden with impunity. There can also be a further bonus to encourage people to kill targets which they have kill rights for,such as granting bonus isk in bounties and double sec status gain. The newbie gets isk to cushion his lost, the bounty hunter gets a juicy target to kill and the pirate will constantly have chances to pvp. (as they say smart pirates don't go to pvp,the pvp goes to them)

Second of all, while I really like some of the quality of life changes CCP is making to the game, there are some pet peeves I would like to see.

1. Make it easier for players to switch between characters. Each account can have up to three characters, occasionally when we have to check some stuff on the other character, it gets annoying to have to relog to change to the second character, and relog to return to your main.
A new button can easily be implemented in the ESC Menu to allow smooth switching of characters.
To prevent abuse,maybe set a 1 min timer before you can use the switch button again.( you should still be able to relog if you don't want to wait out 1 measly minute).

2. More integration between all things EVE. What do I mean by that? For starters, it is really nice that CCP has released CAKs and with the new api many this get more convenient for the player and the player has the choice to select for a variety of 3rd party programs to aid their style of game play.
Why not take this one step further? Remember EVE Gate? It would be awesome it it gets twitter/facebook integration.
CCP can link items from their youtube channel there. Develop APIs to allow EVE gate to be modified by the player through the addition of plugins.
This means the third party devs can develop plugins to let you see your kill mails on EVE Gate for example. Need to run calculations to find out when you need to resupply your pos? Headover to EVE Gate and run your pos management plugin. What to know have much you have been spending, the amount of isk you have made through market transactions? You can now check EVE Gate and use your plugin to show the graphs about your isk usage.Want to plan your skill queue,or look for fits to use with a certain ship you are flying? Just check EVe Gate for the plugin and you are set.
Plugins will have to be submitted to CCP where it can be found in an app store style page for the player to choose from.This prevents malware,exposes the player community to more out of game tools,let devs who want to be paid for plugins charge (money or isk, maybe aurum ?) and has the benefits of having everything a player would possibly need all in one place, EVE Gate.
Players can also be given the choice to make and modify the layout of their EVE Gate page.
Want to change the color of your status bar,maybe change it looks? Or perhaps you think the calender is ugly and you want to change it to the one your corp mate has been telling you about? No problem, just get the template from the EVE Gate Applet store,add it to your layout and it's done.
With the EVE forums part of EVE Gate now, giving the option to tag friends,subscribe to forum posts or topics would also be neat. Maybe give the choice to tweet a forum post you find interesting directly from the forums itself.Maybe even add RSS for Devblogs (or EVE player blogs for example ;3).

The possibilities are endless (almost). If CCP is able to better integrate the game with the other services it provides and also modifying existing content so that it is more flexible to player generated content (plugins for example),it will make the EVE community a greater powerhouse than before with EVE Gate being the hub of everything we could possibly need when we play EVE.

As they say being a melting pot of ideas,I really hope crucible is going to be the pot that melts the bar of gold that marks another milestone in EVE's History. And not become the pot that melted from stress and heat that it will be subjected to. *Glares at upper management of CCP *

It is the little things that count,and though it may be small things such as adjustable UI for example,little things add up, every effort to make the game better, every mistake that screws up the game, this time the player base will be watching you CCP. In EVE your choices have meaning and they will make an impact.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Some bits for me in Winter 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:02:00 +0000

I have recently been very busy at school and kind of got a burnout from EVE Online.
I am currently away from the game ( skills are still training) and playing other games like World of Tanks, League of Legends, and the occasional Shogun 2 Total War and Company of Heroes.

I must say this will be a nice change of pace for me.

On to Stuff about EVE Online,many of you would have already read the new devblogs etc from CCP about the winter expansion.

I can only say it feels good that that CCP is actually able to pull up their pants and get the job done right.
In such a short time CCP went from being something bittervets complained about, to being a company where the player base actually respects (kinda) due to the changes they will be implementing. By all means this is great, CCP is listening to the player base and every thing is going along fine. I for one ( call be a wet blanket but I still say this) believe that if such an amazing amount of fixes and enhancements can be made to EVE in such a critical short time after the refocusing, what the heck happened all those months before the refocusing effort??

The second question I have would be, How long will this actually last?
Till CCP gets the income it needs to solve it's financial crisis? Till Dust514 or WoD is released and start earning them money? Till the greed in the upper management acts up again and screws everyone over?

As Mr Stan aka @freebooted has said on twitter.

I don't know how long this Icelandic Common Sense Epidemic is going to last, but I hope they never find a cure.

I do hope that this change in CCP is really for the better and not just a short term gimmick they are using to solve their current problems. Because if this is true, I can only say I will be dissapointed at CCP.

Not that I want EVE to have preferred treatment over Dust514 or WoD, They should be treated equally as with 3 games generating revenue, it means CCP will have the cash to make said 3 games better, which will also benefit us, the players. (Unless CCP decides to do a money grab again, but I won't go there now)

On the brighter side, I really like the way CCP does it's job now. Transparency means less surprise when the actual patch/expansion is out (as we know what to expect) but it also creates hype for the patch/expansion plus it keeps the playerbase happy to know that their game it being improved on to give them better immersion and bring up the quality of gameplay.

Speaking of immersion, I think CCP should continue to expand on their cash shop and WiS content.
However, no gameplay changing items can be sold,just vanity items should be in the store.(Coming from a wallet warrior that must mean something, game changing transactions will destroy EVE).
WiS should also be fixed. You have seen what happened when good ideas like Faction Warfare were introduced, implemented and left half-baked. So rather then let players complain about it in the future, It would be nice for CCP to try finish and bring the WiS elements up to the initial standards they had planned to finish and release. I really won't mind if it get worked on bit by bit in future patches and expansions. I just feel that CCP should not realease half-baked content anymore, instead try completing the released content before adding new ideas to the pot.

If I ever get the time, I will also write a detailed blog about the information the CCP has been posting on the Dev Blogs and on their youtube channel. Will also participate in the November Blog Banter.

As for WoT, I am currently considering 3 paths, one is to buy the KV and train up the IS line of tanks, two is to buy the PzKpfw IV tank and train up for the Tiger Tank, three to to get the SU 100 and push down the russian TD line,and save exp to get uralmash when it comes out.
What is your take on this?

As for the EVE Fiction, lets just say i'm knida stuck on how I want the story to progress so ideas are welcomed =D

-Kenza

ps.It's 1am in the morning when this is typed and published,so feel free to point out spelling and grammatical errors.

Fly Safe !!

Merchant of Death : Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:34:00 +0000

######

The buzz of activity in the hanger of the Federal Intelligence Office Station in Cat never stops.
At any single time there would always be two to three ships coming to or leaving the station.
Orochi felt he would have a hard time trying to find Talyn amongst all the other ships docked in the hanger, in the end, it would not be that difficult after all.

Out of the corner of my eyes, a ray of light caught my attention as I looked at the shiny golden hull of a Providence Freighter, one of the largest ships in the station docked on the far side of the hangers as her crew began to unload her supplies.

As I got closer to the ship, I saw Talyn speaking with some mechanics while pointing towards a big cargo container near his ship.
Talyn's eyes were brown. A Caldari at birth, his smooth hair and features looked more gallente then caldari which had let him mix into the crowd when he does his trade runs in the State and Federation.
His mouth forever poised at a smile from some joke only he knew.
There was a hard edge to Talyn,one that formed over the years of facing danger during his travels when he was a capsuleer in the State Navy.
While he masked it well,people meeting him for the first time could no doubt detect an intangible quality that commanded immediate respect.

" Oh,so there you are Mr Orochi," Talyn exclaimed." I was expecting you to turn up late."

" Since when have I even been late for our appointments," I replied as I reached out to shake Talyn's hand.

I followed Talyn as he began walking to the entrance of his ship. The mechanics went back to work as the two men made their way to the captain's lounge in the huge freighter.

As I took a seat on the plush couch, Talyn broke the silence.

" So I hear you lost your Raven to an ambush by the Guristas last month."
I straighten up surprised by what I have just heard.
" How did you know about that? I don't remember telling you about it."
" Lets just say there are people in the Caldari Navy who appreciates your work. Did you know you are on the list of the 1000 most efficient private contract capsuleers for the Caldari Navy?"
I was dumbstruck.
" I don't even know such a list exists in the first place," I mentioned.
" Now you do," Talyn grinned. " When they heard you lost the Raven while carrying out one of their tasks, they felt it was only right for them to compensate you."
I raised an eyebrow. Talyn continued.
" They hired me to send you your new ship. They are giving you a full deadspace fitted Caldari Navy Raven."
I was floored.Why is the state doing all this,it does not make sense.
" Why are they doing this Talyn?" I enquired.
Talyn remained silent.
" There has to be a tradeoff for this. What could the Navy possibly want from me to have to resort to all this gimmicks ? " I asked.
" Well..." Talyn's voice sound hesitant.
" There is a scientist which recently left the state research firm to join another research corporation in the Minmatar Republic. This scientist has knowledge of state secrets and the state hopes prevent him from telling others what he knows. The state wants to ensure he keeps the secret with him."
"Forever."

I knew there was a catch to the Caldari Navy's suddenly generosity. An ominous feeling started to set in while I began to sip on the glass of spiced wine Talyn handed me contemplating the events that have just unfolded.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

An Idea for Dust514

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:43:00 +0000

I was thinking about Dust514.
Like us pod pilots, Dust mercenaries would also need modules such as weapons,armor and ammunition for their PVP activities.
So basically if NPCs sold the basic level modules, BPOs of higher meta items can actually be seeded to Dust players so that only they can produce it on their planets in 0.0 ( thus it will make capturing planets and holding the planets more meaningful as it lets the mercenaries produce their own weapons, with productions being Dust exclusive so only dust players can produce them and sell them)
However in order to integrate the Dust economy with that of EVE online where some parts needed for production used to make said items used by Dust mercenaries have to be produced in stations by capsuleers in EVE online.
This allows the flow of isk to occur between both games.
since mercenaries may lose all their equip with each death/recloning and be left with basic equip unless they have alreay bough multiple suits, which means it also need to be affordable to get multiples of them.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Long Day Ahead : Prologue

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:20:00 +0000

######

It's been 4 months since Orochi first joined the Capsuleer volunteer fleets to repel the sansha threat.

" Fire away," I said." I want all guns on that Romi."

Thunderous Booms went across the starboard as the 800mm Repeating Artillery Fired from the Tempest.
The shots hit the second Romi and took out the last of the vessel's shields and it was taken out by a friendly capsuleer in his Machariel.

" Sir, Duke says he has one tracking link on us, Elliot our chief gunner says it should be easier for us to hit them now."

" Roger Eddie," I replied the chief Engineer." Tell Duke I'm grateful for his assistance."

*Good Job Guys,* The sound of the FC buzzed on the intercoms. *align to Mesybier planet one we are calling it a day*

A quiet beep sounded on my neocom as I acknowledged payment for my services.

" Alright people," I broadcasted on the ship intercoms." Let set destination for Cat. We are taking a break from the Incursions and you all get to split an extra one million isk as bonus for the job well done."

I recalled the fights I had with the sansha. Their incursions was just like a defiant slap to the four empires. The amount of ships we had destroyed in the past few months was more than twice the number of ships the nation had left after the four empires went to war with the nation a century ago.
And how did the nation gather resources for their motherships. Having been involved in operations to take out the motherships, I am still unable to to understand how was it possible for them to be able to sustain the incursions even when we have dealt them such a heavy blow every single time.

A day after we had docked up in Cat, I woke from my slumber and saw the neocom blinking.
It was a message from Talyn. He wants to meet me at the hangers in morning at 6.
I looked at the time and began to get dressed.

This better be good, I thought as I took my coat and made way to the hangers.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Income Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:42:00 +0000

So the past few weeks I have been running missions and trying to earn isk to pad my character's wallet.
At first I started out by running lots of lvl4 missions but I figured that it would not work out,so I decided to try my hand at the incursions to see what the hype is all about.

Boy was I pleasantly surprised.
I was running Vanguard Sites which was paying around 10mil isk per site.
And the fleet I was running it with was completing sites ever 3 minutes.
I even tagged along for 2 MOM kills.
So within 2 nights with approximately spending 3 hours and 2.5hours grinding incursions respectively,I had made about 1 Bil isk.
My 1st Bil isk.
It felt too good to be true,really,When I first played EVE I believed I would make by 1st Billion through mining or running my lvl4 missions,and yet within two nights just by running Incursions,I already hit that target.

So I decided to expand on that idea.
Since Incursions are considered to be "new content" it would actually make sense to run them as often as possible to get isk from it.
However,unless you have a corporation fleet,chances are you will have to work with strangers to first form a fleet,and run the sites.
Then the fleet will build momentum and keep doing the sites till people have to log off.
When that happens the fleet may grind to a halt.
Just because it is unable to replace the DPS ship or the Logi Ship that has left.
Furthermore there have been times where you can go post in incursion channel to find fleets and not get a response for long periods of time.
I do have a plan which will increase the chances of getting into incursion fleets,but for now,lets talk about some other stuff.

So I made a new character and I will be training it up.
This character will have role-play elements being the sister of my main character.
My main character Orochi,is a brutor.
His sister however,is khanid.
Both of them do not know each other exists,and they both come from single parent families.

Role-play stuff aside,the reasons for this alt is actually the key to be able to be in a ship that can find fleets in incursions easily.

Fc's running incursions will usually need to look for Battleships ,Tech3 Cruisers and Logistic ships to join the fleet.

Training Battleships up will be less effective for me due to the long time investment needed to fly one properly.My main is also capable of flying Battleships,but you will see that "shiny ships" like the Machariel or Nightmares finding fleets easier,but they need even more time to train up,and substantial amounts of isk to buy and fit,so it's out of the options of a new alt.

Training T3 Cruisers is a good option.Because the alt is amarr,legion is the way to go.
I can get in to a legion alot faster than I can compared to a battleship,I would need less side skills to support the ship,However,T3 ships are expensive to fit,and may face the same problem with the battleships that is mentioned above.

Training Logistic Ships (eg Guardian) will be a good choice.Being a T2 cruiser,it is slightly less skill intensive than the above two options.Also Logi 5 Guardian are quite popular in armor fleets and usually have less problems when trying to find a fleet.The price of the guardian is fluctuating around 95 to 155mil isk,which should be more affordable compared to T3 and Faction Battleships.
It also helps if you know players who build T2 ships where they may build and sell you one at a slightly lower rate compared to prices on the market.

So after running afew incursions in the guardian,any isk you earn will be profit,which can be used in implants(Slaves,Low Grade Slaves) modules(deadspace afterburner,INENAMs) so you take less damage etc.

However it will take afew months before I can effectively fly the guardian with this alt.
In the meantime,I will dedicate time to grind standing for all 4 factions(doing all tutorials in all 4 factions,in all 3 of their starter systems,which gives more Faction standings / difficulty ratio)

Followed by Running missions for Lai Dai,Core Complexion and Duvolle Laboratories.
For those who see this,yes I'll be doing it for the lvl4 R&D Agents.

My main account will also be pitching in with eventual plans of having all 5 characters on both accounts will have access to at least one R&D agent while this a and my main will try to get more agents since they will train up Research Project Management and let the other characters leach standings from them.

Will also be doing planetary interaction as once training for the guardian is complete ,I will be training up the needed science skills on the main alt followed by using the other 2 slots as alts for copying,manufacturing various trade skills and the skills to fly cov-ops and blockade runners.

The datacores will become part of the account's passive income as with stuff I will produce through planetary interaction.

Talyn has decent refining skills and can fly haulers and the Providence so he will become pretty important when I need to refind salvaged junk from missions or move stuff around.
Being able to semi-afk mine ore during lectures is a plus.Since it's isk I make while doing something else(I heard ice mining is alot more convenient so I may look into that)
I may also train him up for an Orca depending on my needs.

In the long haul,this will allow me to venture into T2 module production.
PI will be giving me some basic items I would need in quite afew types of modules I plan to build.I will have 3 characters which can efficiently copy from BPOs the blueprints I need to invent,copies of items I can build and manufacture said items plus the T2 modules to so I won't have to buy it off the market.

Talyn is already trained up for moving stuff.Then depending on how things turn out,I may or may not train up a station trader account.
The startup costs for invention should also be covered by isk from missions and incursions.

As of writing,I have Orochi training up for the Tengu and the main alt training up her frigate and support skills.

Long term will have Orochi maxing out existing skills while having the alt train up for the legion so blitzing lvl3 become alot easier.

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

Blog Banter 29: Immersion

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:09:00 +0000

"EVE Online is renowned for it's depth. Its backstory, gameplay and social aspects are all qualities that draw players in. What does immersion in EVE Online mean to you?"

This should be something many EVE players have heard about.
CCP has be repeating this over and over again.
They claim Incarna is an expansion to increase Immersion in EVE Online.

So what is immersion?

By definition,immersion is the state of being deeply engaged or involved in something,be it a hobby you have,or in this case our virtual life.

Immersion for me is the ability to be able to play and be who you want to be in EVE.
Unscripted,sandbox style gameplay.

Many games now days want to make their players feel the world they play in is almost real with many features to improve realism.
Thus many companies use the Social aspect to spread and introduce their product to a larger crowd.
But EVE has the right balance of it and that is what makes it unique.

People you meet,be it the guy who podded you because he can,or your corpmate that is there to lend a hand,the relationship you form with this people are one of the main reasons that further immerse you in your pod goo in EVE Online.

Compare fishing to EVE.

You cast your line and wait for fish to bite.(Ganking,Camping stations of war targets)
Sometimes you add bait on the hook to attract fish.(Bait ships for your targets to shoot at)

So from there on,many things can happen.

You could leave your line only to waste time as you didn't get any fish.(Targets are afk in station but you stupidly camped the station for 3 hours)

You get to catch a fish (Targets takes your bait,your gang proceeds to kill him)

The fish eats your bait and swims away (Bait ship is killed but target flees)

Or a big one will bite and snap your line,or worst still break your rod. (Your gang getting jumped on by the targets friends and losing your ship,or worst your pod)

Hardcore "Immersion"

However,we keep coming back for more.
Same with EVE Online.

That is immersion in EVE for me.

EVE online doesn't hold your hand.
It throws you in to a frantic mine field and expects you to find your way out.
It engages players of all walks of life.
Be it the guys who likes to pvp.
The wallet warriors who want to play the markets of EVE,industrialists who like to build items,people who sucker-punch other players through their plots and scams,adventurers who explore wormhole space in search of riches,the Trolls and many more.

Your Friendly Forum Troll

We are addicted to the thrill of the fight,the feeling of adrenaline pumping during pvp (eg. Big fish on hook)
It is a game that actually makes the player think for themselves ,what they want to be able to do next.The many options EVE shows us give us the feeling that we control our own path,and many more features to enhance the realism of the game.

Like I said earlier,EVE is not a game,it is our virtual life.
Which can be summed up by three words.
EVE IS REAL

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Sucks to be me :(

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:07:00 +0000

Just recently my main character has finished training up skills needed for me to properly fly T2 covops ships and I have also finished training up for my Caldari Raven and Tempest.
Having finished the three Wardecs our corp had (Recived 2 wardecs and we wardec someone else)
And having some isk left from running incursions awhile back,I decided,why not try running Lvl 4 missions?
I have the standings needed after all.I did not do them in the past as I did not have a battleship.
I bought the Raven,fitted it up and since I have been flying drakes before this,my shield skills are decent.

Pic of my new Raven

Day one with the Raven went pretty well I managed to run missions that had good bounties in them and made abit of isk.
Today however,while running a worlds collide mission,npcs managed to jam me out and elite frigates
scram the Raven.
After a good 3 or so minutes the raven popped.

My Raven's wreck... :'(

Had I know that the battleships would jam I would not have done this mission. Yet there was no mention of this in the mission reports.
http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=WorldsCollide4segu
I guess my luck has finally ran out,since this is the first ship I lost in 7 months (other one was the one that needed to to be destroyed in the tutorial mission)
Probably EVE's way of telling me that I should not be doing missions.
Got the Bear gods angry lol.

Will be running more incursions to get back some isk,and try out exploration in my Hound or Cheetah.

On the bright side,I need some help with choosing what ships I should train for next.
I'm eying either getting skills for T3 Cruisers or Command ships.
This are 4 I have shortlisted.
The Tengu,Loki,NightHawk or Sleipnir.

Hopefully when I have skills for this ships they will last longer than 24 hours unlike the raven above.

Sometimes it sucks to be me as my corp is almost empty when I play since my timezone happens to be UTC+08:00 .
Not to mention I am most likely one of the poorest members in my corp(in terms of liquid isk) since i have less than 43mil isk

Then again,I am really happy that I'm in my corp,because they are a bunch of great guys who have helped me through alot in my journey in EVE.At the times when the corp is on however,that's when the fun begins.

Edit: Thank You Alan for giving me your spare Raven and modules to fit it ,really appreciate it :)

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Aniversary Post :)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Yes,it has been awhile ,but amidst crappy internet issues,lack of time etc,this blog has not seen a post for some time.
However,today is the blog's anniversary and it has been around for 1 year.
So some updates.
You may already know that the blogpack is no longer being maintained on Crazy Kinux's site and has moved to Rixx Javix website,I shall try my best to maintain this site,but time is really not on mine side with school and RL stuff tying me down.
Gaming wise,I have plans to start a YouTube channel and s live-stream channel that shows streams of me playing games such as Minecraft,League of Legends,Shogun II Total War or World of Tanks.(EVE is too slow pace to stream) how ever this is just an idea for me to munch on.
Recently I have been alot more active in Games such as World of Tanks,where I'm trying to climb the Russian Tech Tree and unlocking higher tier Tank Destroyers.

My current TD,moving on to SU 100 soon

League of Legends is also being a big time sink for me.
EVE Online however,still takes up a decent amount of my time.
Just last week,my corp and I were running Incursions,and I must say,they really make you decent piles of isk.in less than 2 hours the group of us(10 people) each made approx 200mil isk.
And there is also news that my corp is planning on wardeccing griefer corps for PVP Training.
Kyros has also gotten quite a hand full of skill points in leveling skills to 5 which means he is actually alot stronger than he used to be.
Kyros also has very decent skills to fly caldari and minmatar battleships,where one is used in incursions,while the other is used to run lvl 4 Missions.
I am still trying to make more isk each day,though I have given up on PI
An alt for station trading is currently being trained so i should be able to dip my hands into that aspect of EVE soon.
However,if you know ways to make isk and what to share,feel free to tell me =D

Also,if you happen to play World of Tanks,feel free to pm my your ign so that this noob can add you to his friends list.

I will also try to post more often when possible =D

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

Free Arum for all

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Check your emails guys apparently due to some milestones being reached on EVE is Real websitewe are getting aurum,free.
So is this a PR move by CCP,or just something you expect from CCP?
Tell me what you think in comments below.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

New Incarna Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:43:00 +0000

And a Parody

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

Carebear Wardec Survival:Different side of the gun.

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:27:00 +0000

It had been some time since my last "proper post",to update you guys,my corp has just managed to kill some stuff we wardeced.
DPB used to be wardec by others,but not anymore.
We have actually initiated some very successful wardecs against other corps.
some kill mails
A Megathron kill and Another Megathron kill in one day =D
I don't know about this but it seems every time the corp gets in to fights,or gets killmails,I am almost never around :(

On aside note,I am currently getting up an alt character for station trading.
Should be fun,and I will have more stuff to blog about now that i do not just run missions,but actually learn how to pvp.

Amount of iskies in my mains wallet doesn't seem to be able to keep up with the expenses of the wardec,then again i'm just 3 months into the game and need to find more income generating activities to participate in.

To be honest,I still have one or two posts which I wrote while my exams where going on.They have yet to be completed so i have yet to post it.

One is about the MicroTransactions and the riots that happened,I will update the post and touch up on it before it is posted.

The second post is actually a fanfic/continuation of my previous story about my 2 characters in EVE.
I may or may not post this till I am satisfied with it.

So as always,Kenza signing off.
Fly Safe !!

Back from Exams

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Now that my real life exams and all have been taken care off,you will see me bloging alot more often .
There are quite afew posts which I wrote during the Jita riots,haven't been posted as it it not completed,but I will post it soon,and I will update that post so that information is up to date.

I will also be adding more posts under the Carebear War Dec Survival tag,only this time,our corp is not being held at gunpoint,we are holding someone else at gunpoint.

So do lookout for the posts that should be coming along soon

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

Real Life Shitstorm

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:48:00 +0000

So i basically have some Real Life stuff i need to solve now,so for the next week or two,i will not be able to get any posts in.
I seek your understanding.

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

The Slippery Slope that CCP is currently going down,all for $99.

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:39:00 +0000

'You are charging people who work for free to make your game better you asshats'

I was originally going to make a post about me finally saving up USD$99(that's $140 Singapore dollars,16 year olds like me don't have much allowance ) for an Apple app developer account and gonna outline what I am going to do in the form of an EVE utility app as part of my hobby ,but with this nefarious post , I am probably going to put a hold on getting an Apple app developer account,and if the proposed changes do go through despite more than 18 pages full of forum hate,let's just say I would rather save up my allowance and spend my spare time doing something else.

Over the past few years of reading up on EVE and about 3 months into the game,I can only say the game is pretty amazing.

No,not you CCP .
-.-
I mean The Game.
EVE Online and the Community who plays it,this is what makes the game awesome.

Some Quotes from the forums:

We, the community, give you products that your game is missing.
We, the community, fill voids that you have over looked.
We, the community, give you free publicity.
We, the community, add value to your game.
We, the community, should NOT have to pay you for our free services, hard work and dedication and labors of love and passion for this game if we are not making a profit of legal tender.

EVE Online doesn't have best community awards because of what CCP does. EVE Online has best community awards because of what WE do.

Don't ruin that and don't patronize us. It's just rude and bad business.

-Arydanika
Wrecking Shots
Wildly Inappropriate.

and another quote below.

Seriously, dear CCP: This is the worst idea I ever read from you. You gonna charge people who donate their spare time and skills for making tools, that the game itself should provide in the first place. And when they try to lower the hosting costs with some ad syndication, you gonna charge for it?
The EVE community has grown so big over the last years that you need a decent dedicated server to run a useful web application for EVE players. Hosting costs are usually several 100 bucks per year. And now CCP is going to charge additionally for using their private property? Come on. EVE would not be the game it is now without 3rd party tools. You already participate on that!

On the other hand: what the non-commercial license is for? We agreed to the EULA, your terms of service and all the other lawyer yadda-yadda when we signed up for the game and for the API Keys. Why do you need another license agreement?

I run a small website with some tools for my corporation that make use of the EVE-API. The tools are tailored to our needs and probably not useful for anyone else. Why would I need a license for it?

Sorry CCP, this is really bullsh*t.

Shir Akeena
Panta-Rhei
Butterfly Effect Alliance

In essence CCP,sure you want to protect your IP rights,but getting people to agree to this new license is going to result in many of your current 3rd Party Devs pull their work from the internet.
Further more,you are also going to discourage future innovation from the player base.
EVE Online claims to have player immersion.People develop 3rd party tools to makeup for the lack of tools that EVE SHOULD ALREADY HAVE out of good will,this is immersion.Players giving back to the game through methods outside of the actual game itself. But now you,CCP,comes along,generalize the 3rd Party Devs,and want to charge them for their work,just because you can.

What happened to littlethings4lyfe ?
You claim you guys are working hard to make things better and more convenient for us,the people that play EVE.
But have you considered what will happen if the 3rd Party Devs decide to remove their stuff.
Is there any CCP version of Dotlan,EFT,EVEMon or Jump Planner?
NO!
So how can forcing the people who gave this applications to the EVE community to remove their stuff,or add to their burden of hosting their sites by making them pay an extra $99 be good for anyone of us?

Please consult CSM in the future and stop PISSING OFF YOUR CUSTOMERS,I guess that is nuff said.

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!
(podkill any CCP Devs you see,not that many still play the game anyway)

'You are charging people who work for free to make your game better you asshats'

-Quoted again for the sake of quoting

Guides updated

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 06:55:00 +0000

Some of the guides have just been updated,do read
=D

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Sunday FanFic: The Endless Void

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:18:00 +0000

It has been almost 3 months since Kyros had graduated from Pator Tech School as a full fledged capsuleer.

Time had passed quickly…

In-fact,when you are immortal,time…time is no longer a factor…

*Beep* *Beep*

Kyros roused from his slumber.

His Neocom was flashing as he moved to grab some coffee.

‘Aura, read new notifications’ Kyros walked to his armchair with a lukewarm cup of coffee.

*Beep*

Ardorele Minaeghe has a new mission for you in Luminaire.

Your buy orders have been completed.

Your corporation inbox has 1 new mail

*Beep*

Reclining in his armchair Kyros took out his data pad and read the mail.

Weekly Corp Meeting
At 22:00 EVE time we'll start with the weekly corp meeting of this week. Please meet aboard Pride’s ship beforehand so that the meeting can start on time.

Kyros closed his eyes and attempted to make sense of what he saw when Aura Beeped again.

‘Talyn wants to speak with you,he is outside your captain’s quarters’

‘Let him in’.Kyros muttered,looking at his Neocom,it’s 20:00 EVE Time,more than enough time to ensure he does not miss the meeting again.

Kyros stood in his hanger,looking at his new Drake being fitted,all the way behind the hanger,was his first Rifter,alone,and unattended.

‘The blueprint research is going along smoothly as you predicted’.Talyn stood behind him.He has never seen Kyros so silent.’You know,you have been working too hard’.’We have made more than enough isk to last us for the next few months Kyros…’

‘yes I suppose’,Kyros sighed.

‘What system do we move all this to?’

‘Sankkasen VIII,Moon 10,before Tuesday’.’Ensure it arrives on time’.

‘Will do’.

As both capsuleers walked along the hangers in Oursulaert,Kyros passed the forlorn looking Rifter in his hanger.

‘Remember when I first met you Talyn?’ Kyros said ’When I saved your Hulk from those pirates in this little Rifter’.

‘Yup’,Talyn recalled as he absentmindedly stroked the hull of the Rifter.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,no amount of tetanus shots will save you’,Kyros chuckled.

‘Trust in the Rust as they say’,as Talyn hastily retracted his hand from the ship.

‘Kyros’,‘I have found a wormhole corp that is recruiting’,Talyn expressed’ I have applied to join them’.

Kyros remained silent…

‘Do you not know what this means’? Talyn said,gritting his teeth in the process..

‘I guess I can only wish you all the best then,my friend’,’FlySafe’.Kyros turned away.

He heard the soft beep as Talyn exited through the doors of his captain’s quarters.This should not be happening,and yet,right before him,his best and only friend is leaving him.To explore the unknown.

Glancing at his Neocom,it’s almost 22:00 EVE Time.

‘Aura,drop a message and tell Pride I won’t be attending the meeting later.Tell him to go on without me…’

Kyros took a sip from the bottle of malted whiskey as he slumped down into his armchair…

(To Be Continued…)

First Time I’m writing a FanFic so do give me some advice =D

References to In-Game characters and NPCs are not intentional :P

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Interesting Character Bios Part:1

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:58:00 +0000

Flying around New Eden I would usually do "Show Info's" and look at other people's Bios.
So today I will showcase one such bio here.

***

Faction statements:

The Amarr pray for God.
"God says I'm better than you, so just stop fighting back."

The Caldari pray for Money.
"I don't need a fast ship, I can hit you from here."

The Gallente pray for Peace.
"Just wait 'til i get in range..."

The Minimatar pray their ships don't fall apart.
"Hold on, as soon as I find a heavy, rusty thing, I'll kill you with it."
***

Props if you know the Character with this bio =D

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

Missions

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Short post here,Kyros has finally gotten access to Lvl 4 Agents =D
This means I can start to farm missions soon(need some basic drone skills,then train and fit a T1 Raven to run missions).
Hopefully I can start to earn enough for a plex,which will allow me to start a second account.
:P
Recently my corp also recruited a few new guys.
It's good to finally have some new guys around in teamspeak.
So I guess one of the main reasons they are staying is due to the feeling of being a family the the corp gives us.
Everyone in our corp are used to people helping each other and offering to help others in our corp.
I guess that is one reason why almost everyone in our corp knows each other and why we usually come out stronger after each wardecc we face.
The fact that my 4 week holiday just started means I should be able to game alot longer.
You should see more activity from me after I return from the holiday resorts(due to crappy wifi)

-Kenza
Fly Safe !!

Skill Planning Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Wed, 25 May 2011 11:52:00 +0000

Finally I get some time to post here.Loads of stuff happening in real life :x
Anyway,skill training for my character Kyros has finally been sorted out.
Like how Stalin had modernized Russia with his 5 year plans,I have built on the concept and came up with priorities for Kyros and his skill queue.
As Kyros is a relatively new character,the only way for him to catchup with older characters is to specialise.
This means I will not be able to fly that shiny Vagabond I have been drooling over in Jita and that I may have to run from the likes of pvpers,but in the end,I will be able to catch up with some of the older characters in EVE.
The main things for my case is the self-discipline to carry through this skill plan,and to try make as big an isk cushion I can.This is so when I finally move to pvp,or wormholes,I have the iskies needed to afford the ships i will surely lose.

The Plan 1/5:
The plan will focus on getting Kyros in to a Raven with skills to fit the ship with T2 modules(BCUs,T2 Cruise Missiles etc) .
This is important as I will most likely be running L4s to build up my wallet.
Using EVEMon (link is at useful tools),a skill training plan has been made to get me in to the Raven.
Part of the skill training also includes bringing up and maxing quite a chunk of skill points in Drones.

(EVEMon Estimated time w/ +3implants & 1Remap ~53 Days)

The Plan 2/5:
This part of the plan will focus on bring up the side-skills that Kyros has.
Mainly skills in Electronics, Mechanic and Engineering.The goal here is to max out all skills I will need for pve (and pvp in the future).
As a further bonus,I get around 103 days shaved off the Training queue due to implants and Remaps as I will be pushing my stats to mainly intelligence and perception.
Word of caution,use remaps wisely,you only get one remap a year,and you cannot get any accumulated if you have at least 1 remap left.

(EVEMon Estimated time w/+3implants(may get +4implants) &1Remap~498 Days)

Lengthy skill queues are usually very troublesome,and you can't effectively train for,say,a HAC,if you already remapped your stats to somethingelse,as that usually means that you will take a longer time to train up the ship skills compared to if you have balanced stats.
However,lengthy skill queues are usually able to make the most of your remaps(since you only get 1 remap a year)hence,if you really do plan to remap,it is a good idea to take some time out,sit down and think about what you want your character to be able to do in the near future,when you are absolutely sure about what you want,then make the remap,and stick to the plan at all costs.
(Also pray that anything you have planned to do does not get Nerfed by CCP till you can pay of the time invested to training up those skills */me crosses fingers*)

I will be sharing the other parts of the plan soon when I get time off from my busy schedule,as I also have exams coming soon,please forgive any inactivity :3

Keep Gaming and Keep Owning!
-Kenza o7

Fly Safe !!

New articles in the Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sun, 15 May 2011 09:33:00 +0000

Another pair of solid articles from the writer of the Rifter Guide
@wensley has recently posted 2 more articles namely about Range and Tracking( Click Here ) and another article about Overheating Modules( Click Here ) has been posted by Xola Zuni.
Do check it out.

Other articles from him include Why I Hate ECM Drones and Rock,Paper,Scissors (Write up about Projectile Ammo)

So do you have any good articles you would like to share?
Or have you read some that are not in the guides?
Feel free to leave the links in the comments section.
I believe that knowledge is power,hence this is a small project to list good articles so that new players like me and you readers will have a huge resource to make reference to when you need it.

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Carebear Wardec Survival: The GriefWar Trend

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sat, 14 May 2011 04:41:00 +0000

Remember my previous post on May 9?
Pat on the back if you can guess what happened.

Well?

Those that said "another wardec" your correct.
Thing is my corp keeps getting this one week wardecs.
Not that we can't operate under a wardec,or our industrial department stops (that is what our alts are for) but it seems to get annoying that after they wardec us,and we kill a few of their ships, they stop hunting us altogether,then what's the point of the wardec?

Another thing I would like to mention is that I am not allowed to say what my corp's name is.
That's one of the reasons why if you read previous posts,I do not give out the names of my corp,corps that wardec us,or post any killboard related stuff.

Yes,occasionally I may post information like what ships we form up in,what happens during fleet actions,or systems we went to when we get attacked and chased(last few wars was different cause we are the ones that chased them) but that will be the limit of information that I can post.

Another thing is,my promise to you,readers of Omnis Arcanum of EVE.
Even though i can't guarantee you I will post weekly,I will try my best to post at least once a week.
I will also ensure that I make quality posts.(anything less will not be posted till I improve on the content in it)
Comments wise,I would like to have more feedback from you guys.
Constructive Criticism will allow me to improve on my style of writing.
Be it the way I spell some words in the post,acronyms and abbreviations I use,or the general design of the blog(those that read the blog from the very beginning would know there used to be music that was auto played,i removed it so readers viewing the blog will have a better experience.)
As for readers that are reading this through RSS feeds,feel free to post/comment if some posts in the feed reader gets cut off,or if images are not showing correctly,that way,i will be able to try fix some of those problems on my side.
I will also try add at least one image to each post,so that the posts look like blog posts and not some Microsoft Word/Pages Documents.
The comments section is also versatile in a way that it allows you to comment through Google Account,Live Journal,Type Pad,AIM,OpenID or you can just put your name(and link to your site) or just comment as anonymous.
I know most of you just comment as anonymous,but it would be nice if you just add a a nickname,otherwise what happened in the video below may happen here.

Just replace Zhang with anonymous and you will see the potential problem i'm facing :P

You can also contact me through Twitter @Kenzamaclahanan

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Carebear Wardec Survival:They just keep coming.

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:29:00 +0000

It's been a while now since i last posted,(i don't think there's anyone who bothers to read this blog,anyway) we got another wardec again immediately after the previous corp retracted their wardec.
so this should be interesting.
Also if you noticed,i no longer record how long the wardecs are active,but all wardecs i experience wil likely fall under the Carebear Wardec Survival tag.
So back to the wardec,apparently the new corp that wardec us actually gave us quite abit of fun.
We got a few kills from them,they almost got some of ours.
To tell the truth,if they though we were easy to kill cause we seem to look like an industrial corp,they are wrong,as with each wardec,we are learning,and who says carebears got no teeth?(Dentures maybe?)
Again as with such corps, they typically have multiple wars in the same time ,so we actually had to go hunt for them,since they were hunting for targets in amar space.
The corp pvp lessons are also underway.
Overall,i feel the corp is moving along at a nice pace.
Slowly but surely,i'm making baby steps in this juggernaut of a game but,progress is progress.
And if anyone reads this post,what are your take on highsec wars?
Have you experienced one,declared one?
Also how/what should new corps do when faced with this?

-Kenza

Fly Safe !!

Blog Banter 26:EVE a beautiful place? You must be kidding me.

noreply@blogger.com (Kenza) — Sun, 01 May 2011 09:43:00 +0000

Welcome to the twenty-sixth 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's topic was proposed by @KatiaSae of the much praised "To Boldly Go" blog. Katia asks: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As an astrophotographer, I've found it in the stars and planets of New Eden. Where have you found it? Perhaps you've found beauty in the ships we fly? Maybe it's the sight of profits being added to your bottom line? Or maybe it's the pilot portraits you see in the comm channels? Where ever you've found it, write about it and post an image." Don't be afraid go beyond the simple visual aspects of EVE as well. Is the EVE Community in itself a thing of beauty? What makes EVE the game, the world, the Community, so appealing to you?

How can EVE even be a beautiful place?
2 years ago,i first chanced upon EVE.Back then,i read articles about scams and what not happening in EVE,the fact that everyone says the game has an extremely difficult learning curve made me strike EVE off the list of Games i wanted to play.
From that time on,i saw interesting articles about EVE,which lead to me doing some reading about EVE for a period of 1 year.
Finally,when i ran out of games to play(either they were too repetitive,or i keep getting pwned .ie FPS games),i decided to just try EVE for 'lols' and made a trial account.
That was what hooked me.
This is no ordinary game,this is a game that makes the gamer THINK.
It didn't spoon feed you,basics of the game (goal,final objective),all of this are determined by the players.
I then took a break for my major exams,and then i jumped back in again,met my corp,and have fun everyday.

There is beauty in this cruel world.
That beauty lies in the way the game pits the intellect of one gamer against another.
People are always coming up with new exploits (one of the first,most ancient exploits in EVE is actually JetCan mining,i'm serious xD ),thinking of how to fit ships better,breaking standards ( remember maelstrom fleets,and how it evolved to HAC fleets,then Drakes ?)

The beauty of EVE is that there is evolution.
Sure,other games evolve over time,but how many evolve due to player actions?
With each expansion,there will surely be market spikes as players manipulate the markets.
Enterprising players were also the ones who brought about the concept of trade hubs.
CCP did not designate systems to be trade hubs,the fact that players themselves noticed certain systems have centralized locations with high traffic,started selling stuff there.
When more people heard about such systems,they moved there to compete with sellers there.
With more people selling stuff in one system,competition pushed down prices,resulting in more people frequenting the said system to buy stuff.
With higher demand,more sellers are attracted to sell stuff there,leading to more people buying stuff there,and the cycle continues(resulting in places like Jita) which was named a market hub over time.
(anyone remember what is the name of the main system/hub that was eventually replaced by Jita when several stargates were repositioned?)

EVE is also beautiful because it has a very dedicated blogging community,and also an active #Tweetfleet community

CCP also makes pretty trailers which is a plus point (note i used pretty,not beautiful)

Overall,EVE will not be everyone's game.
It's just like dipping those fries you bought a Burger King in to your chocolate icecream.
Some won't even eat it,while others(like me) love the taste.
Same with EVE,it was never beautiful or ugly,it's just how we play and experience EVE.
Those that quit,prolly feels the game is crappy.
But those of us that log in for the adrenaline rush,to speak with friends we made all over the world,or just log on to release our inner Yarr/Carebear.
I believe we all agree EVE is nice,otherwise,why the hell would we even be subscribing to it every single month.

-Kenza

More posts will be added soon (/me pokes @crazykinux )

Updated: