Progression's Horizon

Happy New Yarrrr

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 22:42:00 +0000

Just wanted to throw out a quick post before a whole new year of explosions starts up. Also hooray I'm not dead yet!

Anyways, hope you all have a great New Years and yarr it up with some pretty balls of fire to kick it off right. I will be in for the night with the wife and son so drink an extra one for me.

Cheers to you all for reading, whether I'm ranting or just rambling, you guys are great and I would otherwise just be a crazy person posting words nobody sees.

Yarrrr
-Mem

Retribution Against the Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:51:00 +0000

I haven't posted much lately, same story as usual with few chances to play and not too much to talk about even when I do. But with Retribution quickly coming up for the winter expansion, I figured I'd do a giant (late) post of ranting about changes and proposed changes that will hit next (this?) season.

First up let's knock out a module you can find on Duality now. The Micro Jump Drive.

With this fit and a long spool up time, as you can see, a battleship has the ability to jump 100km in the direction they are pointed with a shiny new visual effect. Personally I think the art department could be doing that kind of cool stuff on other modules since this blinking probably won't see much action. Unless this somehow makes null fleets use different tactics, it's not a module that has a ton of utility in a fight considering it has spooled up by the time most fights are done.

You could sit 100km off a gate or wormhole and be able to warp into blaster range, sure. Perhaps a fleet of blinking Machs could be pretty hilarious. I don't know...I just have a hard time seeing the potential. This will also come with a bubble to counteract, although it can be scrammed from what I gather.

A predictable change but still a rather bad one is that Orca SMAs, previously unscannable and did not drop loot, do the opposite. Goodbye relatively safe hauling! The backbone of wormhole logistics is broken in the name of Unified Nightmares.

Next up, we have CCP Masterplan laying down the law with the new changes to Crimewatch.
TL;DR:
- No auto-aggro for dictors.
- NPC timer reduced to five minutes.
- PvP flags can be created after logoff.

That first one should make dictor pilots happy for obvious reasons. Aggro from NPC's won't affect a player the same as another player would, which I guess is alright. But even with that change, if they get scanned down and aggro'ed by someone then they will get a PvP flag despite not previously being in Pvp. A nifty new mechanic CCP wants to add will also be a safe log off that allows you to make sure you are gone from space before actually closing out the client. This would have come in handy yesterday when I got DC'ed in null, being chased by a nullbear blob and ended up deciding to wait to log back in....hour later and they still tried to chase.

Anyways, moving on we have the newer proposals of change that comes closer to my heart: EWAR. This time, CCP Fozzie throws out some static (okok, no more puns) with buffs and nerfs for each races respective ewar mechanic.

"Hello everyone. Another set of changes to get feedback on for Retri.
Since we're adjusting so many ewar ships between the disruption frigates and disruption cruisers, we saw the need to make some moderate adjustments to the modules as well as to other ewar ships to keep them competitive.

The reason these are being revealed near the end of our feature announcements is that we were investigating options for a more comprehensive ECM rebalance, however that will not be able to make it into Retribution. These changes are not the final solution for ewar by a long shot, they are incremental changes that will build towards the more complete changes we would like to make to the mechanics.

Here's what we currently have on our plate for Retribution:

ECM
*Reduce Optimal Range and Falloff of all ECM modules by 10%
*Add to the Optimal Range and Falloff bonus on ECM range bonused ships by 2.5% for the Blackbird and Tengu Obfuscation Manifold (bringing it to 12.5%) and 5% for the Scorpion (bringing it to 25%)
*Add four new racial sensor compensation skills that increase each type of Sensor Strength by 5% per level (Requires Electronics 4, rank 3 skills in the Electronics category)

Damps
*Increase Optimal Range of all Remote Sensor Dampeners by 20%
*Set the Damp strength bonus on Damp bonused ships to 7.5% per level

Tracking Disruptors
*Reduce TD base module effectiveness by 5%
*Set the TD strength bonus on all TD bonused ships to 7.5% per level

Target Painter
*Set the TP strength bonus on TP bonused ships to 7.5% per level for T1 and 10% per level for T2

We are aware of the effect the new skills will have on probing, and we're going to be keeping our eyes on it and have a few tricks up our sleeve in that regard.

We also want to reiterate that we are not looking at these ecm changes as a complete solution to the problems with that mechanic. It's a moderate change that we can make with the resources available for this expansion and that won't get in the way of our more comprehensive changes down the road."

Essentially, it is a way to encourage the use of bonused ships while penalizing the use on non-bonused ships. Damps might be slightly more annoying, but TPs are still...well about the same...and TDs are right there with TPs.

Now ECM. Many already feel that ECM is overpowered for the simple fact that it completely shuts down a ships ability to interact with anything outside its own hull. And I would agree with that if it wasn't for a few factors that are already in place.

1. ECM is entirely chance based. Each module has a chance, for each 20s cycle to potentially jam a target.
2. ECCM cuts that chance down significantly, while the remote version strengthens a ships sensors even further. Have you ever tried to jump through a hole and jam a Bhaalgorn that bemusedly shock neuts you down?
3. For pretty much every ECM bonused ship, their tank is dependent on these chance jams. More targets than you have jams? Good luck! The ECMgu is the only rather tanky one but gets jam strength that is laughable.
4. These proposals do little to affect things like lolpermajamming frigates, but takes ECM out behind the shed and shoots it in the head in regards to fleet engagements where you need to break logi chains or heavy tackle.

I may just be a ~~bit~~ ~~pretty~~ very biased in this instance but since they are only proposals at this point I'll keep from flipping my lid entirely. Nerfbatting it may make lowsec pirates a little happier...I'll still fly it, though. ECM4LYF *insert ewar gangsigns*

Great jam session (oopsliedaboutpunslulz)
-Mem

EON Mag Issue 29

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:35:00 +0000

The new issue of EON is out and how could you not want to get it with a cover like that? It has all the details listed below and it's just one more great way to stay connected to everything Eve. They have a new store so go ahead and click here to get there. Do eeeeeet!

EON Magazine Issue #029
Crime & Punishment
Imagine Star Wars without Boba Fett, or even worse, Blade Runner without Rick Deckard. Now consider EVE and marvel at how we've muddled through the game for so long without a working bounty system. Thankfully that's going to change when Retribution is released, because as part of an all-new aggression system, fugitive recovery will be an honorable profession. We talk with CCP to find out exactly how.
New Ships
We take a look at the new ships that will be launching this December, from the shiny new destroyers that wouldn't look out of place in the seas of Das Boot, to the re-purposed frigates and cruisers that form part of the biggest ship re-balancing effort since EVE first went live.
The Science of EVE
Without being able to travel faster than the speed of light, getting about New Eden would be whole lot different than it is. Without warp gates we'd all still be trying to escape Genesis twenty years from now. So just how realistic is EVE's version of FTL travel? To discover the answers we asked a proper scientist to investigate.
Banter Management
Blogs have been a cornerstone of EVE community life for years, especially the ever-popular Blog Banters; in which EVE's greatest scribes ponder the burning questions of the day. As we begin a new series to compile the best of what the EVE blogosphere has to offer, we catch up on a year of happy posting.
Also in EON #029:
Rookie frigate Testflight
Chronicle: Fair Game
War Report: Delve 2012
Dropsuit fitting guide
Profiles of Genco, Verone and BTA
Hero Warship: Tengu
Faction Warfare guide
Postcards from the Edge
The latest CSM Report
...and lots, lots more

Cheers
-Mem

Transmission Lost Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 21:38:00 +0000

I have been a bit absent of late in my postings. In Adhc, it is usually summed by with "RL>Eve" and that applies to my writings as well. But I was recently in two back to back fights that I thought might be of interest, especially since it seems there are speculations about one of them already.

This was actually the second fight of the day, but in my opinion the better of the two. It all started as I was logging in to hear that we were scrapping with a small skirmish force of shiny hulls belonging to Transmission Lost.

As I was not fully aware of the full situation, I took control of organizing a backup force that was assembling on our static connection. As our initial forces pulled back, we were waiting for our logi pilots to join the now satisfactory force. We would at least equal the opfor's numbers or have a few more. But since they seemed to be getting less interested, I called for the fleet to jump and warp to their connecting hole.

That's when the fun began.

As I landed, I called an out of place Rupture primary quickly and watched it turn into debris. But it was a bit futile for the heavier ships since they either jumped straight away or waited until we melted half their armor off to do so. I called for a pursuit, but our logi pilots held back due to a range discrepancy between the two of them. As grid loaded on the other side, we were met with a considerably larger force than ours that was full of T3s, faction BSes, recons, Guardians and an Archon that had just arrived. With their bubble up, I called for a retreat back through the hole and to pull range for a defensive stance.

TL wasted no time in following and popping their bubble back up. That left a number of our pilots stuck inside it and so we dug in for a fight, whatever the result. I have to give a tip of the hat to our logi considering there were only two of them, one of which this was his first time doing it with adhc and they were getting harassed the whole time.

Out went the call for reinforcements to get their tails online. In the meantime, a number of us went down swinging to the wall of dps. This included a couple curses and my Sleipnir.

And to those who call our fits shit, I only have to chuckle. Is it because they aren't full of faction and deadspace or officer mods? My ASB Sleip tanked like a beast through all their dps as I watched my shields play ping pong. It allowed the logi time to try assisting in the reps, but not enough to keep me up. The only reason it went down? I ran out of charges. By the time it did, I was out of the bubble and able to get my pod safely away, at which point I had to relinquish FC temporarily.

It's not often I'm able to fly shield fleets, but I enjoy them when we do. So I headed home, debating what I would do. I have a couple other ship choices but nothing like a Sleip.

Cynabal it was, in the end.

I sped back to the fight and landed on grid, right next to the bubble that was still active. As I lit my MWD and burned out of enemy range I took up target calling again and set in for a long fight. Our numbers soon were backed by another pair of logi and more dps, not to mention our ace ECM pilots. As a primarily ECM pilot, I just love how much disruption it can cause and rage that comes from its proper use. TL had brought Falcons of their own...but they sat on the hole long enough for us to blap them both.

Anyways, we began alternating targets and nearly had a guardian down. That was when they brought in a solo Archon. Bad idea.

Why? Well we watched a stage change on the hole's mass. We had assumed it was only to stage 2, but that was soon proved false when their hole collapsed from some unknown smaller ship transiting.

This left their entire force stuck with us, in a bubble and we were just getting started. Immediately we set to getting a dread ready while I got a warpin out of line of the bubble's drag. I just love how fast I can move in shield fleets, have I said that before?

With the hole collapsed, TL would be looking to run and minimize losses. We had lost ships and I wanted as much blood as possible so a spreading of points was reinforced. A number of subcaps had begun to warp off, leaving their capital brother to die.

It was then we dropped the Revelation. The Archon was a tough nut to crack so we figured we might as well bring a hammer to help since we lost some of our neut power earlier in the fight. While he focused on some cap on cap lovin', we locked down the rest and readied our own bubble. It was a choice between saving his subcap wards or his own Archon and you can see how that ended.

From the implants in that Archon's head, I can see why it took a little bit to wear him down. Shiny.

BR report

A note bene on that report, notice that there are TL pilots on the adhc side. Probably due to smartbombs or some such. So while it looks like we had tons of pilots, in actuality it was simply that we had reships and they were hitting their own somehow.

On a more personal note, a while back we brought a fight to TL, decidedly lost and got an odd local chat (the first comment was a 3rd party wondering wtf was going on lol):

I took particular exception to the comment considering we brought the fight...we didn't pussy out. Left me confused, not raging in case that wasn't clear. So I hope this most recent run in is evidence enough that we bring it and we bring it hard.

Thanks for the fat lootz :D gfgf

We have fraps of the first fight of the day, but sadly none of this one. Another day, perhaps.

Here's to future brawlfests o7
-Mem

The Real Deal: RIP Vile Rat

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:13:00 +0000

Yesterday was a sad day in many ways. It was the 11th anniversary of 9/11 for us in the States and it was also the day that 2 coordinated attacks on US embassies took place. But why talk about RL tragedy on an Eve blog? It hit home for the Goons in a big way.

Many know Vile Rat because of his status in the Goons as their diplomat. He was one of the Mittani's right hand men in game and a friend out of game. I can't say much else because I honestly never took notice of anything related to Goons or knew much about the members. But from what I've read already and the outpouring of support, I think anyone can see VR was a good guy, father and husband.

It is times like this that the Eve community really shines and this time should be no exception. No matter what your views of RL politics, religion, etc. or any grudges you hold in game...senseless death like this is always tragic and it shows us how fragile life truly is, even in the modern era.

I do not want to drone on, so I will simply say: in whatever way you do such things, take a moment and remember a fellow Eve pilot.

If I find a link for donations for his family, I will edit this post so keep an eye out. Condolences and prayers to VR's family. Rest in peace, sir.

EDIT: (5:25:49 PM) directorbot@goonfleet.com/directorbot: My people, many of you have asked us to 'do something'. SA is going to be arranging a fundraiser for Sean's kids in the next few days and we will be plowing all the interested GSF/CFC/HBC folks into that fundraiser so our efforts are combined; until then, grieve. If you want to channel your rage and loss, save that motivation for laying a financial foundation down for Sean's kids to go to college.

*** This was a broadcast from the_mittani to all-all, replies are not monitored ***

EDIT2: There is now a fund you can donate to in order to support Vile Rat's wife and children found here.

-Mem

Blood of Valhalla

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 22:51:00 +0000

My son went down for a nap and I decided to see what was going on in the Eve universe. Usually during the day it is rather dead and I end up just looking at ship fits, haul a bit of gas or rock around, or talk to whoever is on at the time.

I did most of that this time. Although, thankfully I got on around the time a few corpmates were scanning out the last few holes in our chain. For a time there wasn't much to see or do. There were a few active and flying ships in one of the dead end holes, which we were hoping to catch and kill. Alas, nothing came of it.

But our attention was drawn a few holes over where we found a POS that was left entirely undefended. By that I mean it was void of defensive modules on the outside. That's just too tempting to pass up. If that wasn't enough, there was quite the list of ships inside the forcefield.

Two Revelations, a Chimera, a Charon, Nidhoggur, a bunch of T3s and a few others.

But they are being boring and annoying by shipping into and out of the Chimera multiple times, warping in and out of the POS and so on.

So I got bored. And then warped to their POS. And kind of shot at it in my Cynabal...cuz I can.

Even then it took them a few minutes to notice and react. The Tengu motored his way out of the shields and threw a few volleys at me. It tickled. Others reshipped and warped out or just plain logged off entirely. That's just plain disappointing. After all we knew they had skirmished with our friends in TRECI just this day, they had left their EC-300s 300km off the POS.

When he retreated I cut my engines to see what they might do. That was when one of our scouts mentioned combat probes that were right on top of us. Sneaky little things, those probes can be.

So I warped back to our connecting wormhole and jumped through, to see if they knew where it was and would follow me. Sure enough, the Loki was a couple minutes behind me and jumped through. I had been orbiting at range and when he broke cloak was too far to bump him. He wimped out and just cloaked anyways, even when all he could see was my Cynabal. Lucky for him since I had been joined by a cloaked Pilgrim.

It then turned back into a waiting game...which I again grew bored of and warped away. I made it all the way back to our home system before they did anything. And then it was a whole lot of things.

The Loki was joined by more T3s and then did some jumping. They all ended up on their side of it, though, and most of them warped off. However, a Tengu had not. That was when we sprung into action, with our scout grabbing an initial tackle. The rest of us piled on, including a very ballsy covert ops frigate.

What a tough nut to crack he was, too. We didn't have spectacular dps, but he was webbed down and apparently had polarized himself. He forced one of our cloakies out and decided to take a few shots at me instead. We ate away at his shields bit by bit until he was bleeding into armor. That was when his friends finally showed up again. Not before he was blown into oblivion.

A Loki landed first, followed by a Scorpion off at 70km and more incoming. So I quickly looted the Tengu's wreck and called for everyone to jump out. As they did so I locked up the Loki and got his attention with a few good rounds of Fusion.

Then it was my turn to jump.

I began to burn off the hole and got ready for the party to come with me. They all piled after and apparently they decided they just loved me since I got red-boxed immediately. A Raven Navy and others added to the blob of hardware. My shields dropped to half, nearly causing me to think they might actually kill me. So I told the rest to get themselves out safely and continued my way off the hole. It was a bit slower than I would have like, being webbed and pointed and jammed at one point, but I kept shooting. Capless guns are so much fun that way.

It was an odd thing that happened next. I should probably mention my Cyclone is dual ASB fit. So when I saw it drop to half shields, I kicked in some tanking and it shot from half to full in one go. That must have discouraged them more than I thought it could because I was still boating my way 30+km off the hole and they started jumping out.

That fleet...jumping out...when all that was left was my Cyclone and abandoned drones. A nice WTFmoment right there.

I wasn't going to complain so I lit my warp drive up. I was still webbed but they had lost point on me. So I slid into the tunnel and went homeward with a hold of shiny faction loot.

We had some log ons of our own, hoping for a good old fashioned slugfest with the forces they had showed but in the end it just ended up with us shooting at their POS while they logged off and were generally pretty boring.

For losing a bil, I was thinking they would want blood in the worst way. Oh well, my Cyclone proved itself admirably and I had fun blooding it. Top damage no less.

So the next time I see comments like this:

[22:25:11] Cpt Solano > i remember when adhoc used to fight not gank
[22:25:21] Cpt Solano > no wait they used exploits wolololol
[22:25:31] MooCowofKow > aharm?
[22:25:43] Cpt Solano > same shit isnt it
[22:25:47] MooCowofKow > nope
[22:25:48] Cpt Solano > wh elite pvp
[22:25:53] Cpt Solano > all the same group
[22:26:00] KAOS Maximus > wait.. what is this?
[22:26:03] StrydeTaz > I remember when low sec pirates brought fights. instead of ganking freighters

I'll just start linking killmails that say otherwise. (That quote is entirely unrelated but was stated in a situation where 2 of ours killed a hauler. The other bits of ignorance are wholly amusing too and there was much more than that, but I'll leave it at snickering instead of explaining the stupidity.)

So, go out and blow something up. You don't need a lot of pilots. Just a lot of courage and disregard for your clone's well-being.
-Mem

Blog Tidy Up

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:12:00 +0000

I know most of you probably read my posts through an RSS feed, so this doesn't affect you much. But if you ever get the hankering to visit my site through a browser you may notice I've changed things up a little bit thanks to a bout of insomnia.

I don't know if it was mainly ignorance, laziness, Blogger changed or what but I had a lot of unnecessary stuff around here.

So I nixed my old page of blogs and now have a shiny feed on the right hand side. I pruned some that were dead links or hadn't posted in ages. Any that haven't but are still on the list have a special place and it means I WANT YOU TO POST AGAIN GUIZE!

I've also added a twitter feed on the left so you can stalk me even more if you want. The title is finally centered...omg that thing bugged me to no end ever since I started this so I finally edited the HTML myself since blogger has no option for it otherwise. Kinda changed the font too, but nothing is as I want it until I break down and just design a whole new site.

Headings were changed to be a little more creative, colors were played with, and overall width was increased because my goodness it was cramped before. What was I on for two years? I also have a new background that I'll implement shortly because my current one is boring and has been there for far too long.

In other news, the Wormhole Fundamental video series that I've been helping voice is still chugging along. There's a handy link to it permanently on the right there, if you ever forget the URL. We are up to 10 episodes or so now and still have topics to be done. If you have any suggestions for something you want to see done there, feel free to leave a comment here, on the youtube videos, on my twitter or in-game. We will only be fielding topics that are unique to wormholes so leave your capital-ship-building questions at the door.

In game, I have actually been able to get play time in more than usual lately. Thankfully, I have been able to keep my account active thanks to awesome corpmates and the power of PLEX. So my skill training has at least not faltered too much, allowing me to now effectively fly a Moros class Dreadnought. Pretty spiffy if you ask me, especially considering I used to think I would never ever fly a cap ship. I also grabbed T2 cruisers and battlecruisers for all races which makes small gang work so much more fun. Now I'll be working on perfecting some Int/Mem skills that have been waiting and maybe even drones. Sad that a Gallente drone user doesn't even have T2 sentries or heavies. Whatevs.

This recent spurt of playing and being able to blog again is refreshing to me. I've missed it and for a while I was burnt out on Eve and anything related. Hopefully this will last but I do have RL to attend to much more now since I have my first job out of college and my son just keeps growing up.

I guess you could say I just prefer to see it all as..*puts on sunglasses*...my progression's horizon.

Yeaaaaaaaah
-Mem

Wormhole Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 06:16:00 +0000

I will warn you now, this post is a bit of a venting on an Eve pet peeve I've developed through living in wormholes for nearly 2 years now. If you don't care about anyone outside your corp or enjoy being a jerk, feel free to stop reading. And thanks to insomnia, it'll be a surprise if it's even coherent for the rest of you.

My motivation for this post comes from yesterday after getting crashed out of my home system, something that pissed me off quite a bit. It is a straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back kind of thing, but opens up a potential discussion for those that call themselves wormholers.

Here's the skinny: A corpmate had been scouting around our scanned out wormhole chain to see if anyone was out and about. Most of the systems were dead, but farther down there seemed to be some sort of party between Bite Me Inc. and another corp. With a very good potential for combat or at least crashing the party in some way, we assembled a small fleet that was supported by a couple Guardians. Nothing to write home about, just a force that would be enough to smash something and leave.

So we begin to make best speed through the chain toward the target system, with some new logons following us at their convenience. We had transited about 3 systems when someone typed into fleet that there was most likely an unscanned hole in our home's static with the corp QUL living in it. It was unconfirmed that there might be a cloaky HIC around as well, but instead of worrying about unconfirmed things we kept on to what we saw as a sure fight.

Until someone called on comms that a hostile fleet landed on our static link. With an Archon. And a Bhaalgorn and T3 support. WTF.

They kinda missed us if they were looking for a fight. But of course they weren't and they proceeded to throw the Archon back and forth to kill our hole. For no reason. They must have watched us transit through, waited, and then done what they did to be complete dicks. That is the only reason I can find even after a day of thinking.

If they had wanted a fight, they would have done this when they saw us in that system and crashed us in with them to slaughter us. We hadn't poked at them at all, so it wasn't retaliation for anything in the day's events.

Pure, unmitigated dickish move.

This was the second time in 3 days that one of our fleets has been crashed out of our home system shortly after leaving it by forces that obviously couldn't care less. It is actions like that which burn me into a short temper and make me want to table flip.

I have no problem with crashing holes. It is one of the things that makes WHs awesome when you can be strategic in limiting opfor abilities or becoming all the more reclusive. We have fought QUL before and every. single. time they will crash the hole behind us and proceed to stalemate or force us to retreat with capitals and marauders. It's smart in many ways, but crap like what they did here had no strategic value. It only served to screw us out of going home and there was no way we were going to be dumb enough to engage a force that could shut us down and pick us apart just because they were there.

Oh and that target system we were going to before it all? We decided to go back to that original idea....until we found out that had crashed too. /facepalm

So without much other choice, we headed out into kspace and I ended up logging in Jita. Btw, you know you've been in wormholes way too long when you get to Jita and rightclick, only to have a small panic attack wondering why you don't have a BM to the station. xD

Anyways, my whole point with this post is to say: Don't be a dick. If you're going to close a hole, do it to force a fight or even out odds or to get a better chain to explore. I have no patience for people who do it just to inconvenience others without provocation. It's also a bad idea because if you piss off ADHC one too many times...you may find we come a knockin' months later. Just sayin'.

Perhaps I'll make this a running thing too...lol. Wormhole Etiquette, aka what pisses Memoo off.

Cheers
-Mem

Versatility: Amarr Victor!

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:19:00 +0000

It has been a couple of months since my last entry into the Versatility series. This time we have the shiny Amarr. Remember, any stats given for these fits are set as "All Vs" in EFT.

Since the whole spin of this series is versatile ships, I'll start off this segment with one of the most versatile ships in Eve...IMO, of course. There is the logically standard fit of full lasers with point and web Legion, like a monster Zealot. You can also fit it in the fashion of a Sacrilege, with heavy missiles. My personal favorite(s) is what I affectionately call the Mini-Bhaal.

[Legion, Mini-Bhaal]
Heavy Pulse Laser, Conflag M
Heavy Pulse Laser, Conflag M
Heavy Pulse Laser, Conflag M
Dark Blood Medium Nosferatu
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Medium Cap Booster, Navy Booster 400s
10MN Experimental Microwarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor II
Stasis Webifier II

1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Corelum C-Type Energized Thermic Membrane
Heat Sink II

Legion Propulsion- Chassis Optimization
Legion Defensive- Augmented Plating
Legion Offensive- Drone Synthesis Projector
Legion Electronics- Energy Parasitic Complex
Legion Engineering- Capacitor Regeneration Matrix

Drones to choice.

It functions as a multi-tool. You can apply reasonable dps (409) while giving good neuting power with your nos and neuts. The nos will mitigate capacitor loss, as will the cap booster to keep your power on. The drones will keep constant dps on even if you are low on cap and you can hold something down pretty well. While a Curse can be fit with an armor tank and have much better range, the sizable tank on a Legion means it can handle brawler fights that are common in wspace. Curses are best when left as shield ships. Faction it up even more for better performance.

I have about 5 other variations for this, ranging from cap stable full neut boat to a lighter neut power, 200k EHP dual tackler meant to make sure a target never leaves and yet another that is the mini-bhaal with a repper. So as you can see, the Legion has dozens of useful combinations just like the Tengu...that one will come later ;)

But you came for lolfits and lolfits you shall have!

Need a lasery boomstick but have to contend with a Pulsar effect and low on ISK? I give you, the Shpoc!

[Apocalypse, Shpoc]
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L
Mega Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Gamma L

Large Shield Extender II
Invulnerability Field II
Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Extender II

Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Capacitor Power Relay II
Damage Control II

Large Core Defence Field Extender I
Large Core Defence Field Extender I
Large Core Defence Field Extender I

Don't count it out just yet. This puppy has a nice 103k EHP tank while kicking out 611 dps at about 30km and is even cap stable. Not bad for something that is rather hideous.

I'll keep the battleship theme going with the Bhaalgorn. It is now a staple of wormhole life, as it can singlehandedly screw a triaged carrier and is hell for any subcap. So if you have stupid amounts of ISK and want something that is as ridiculous as it is pretty awesome, I give you the Pimpmobile.

[Bhaalgorn, Pimpmobile]
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Shaqil's Modified Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Shaqil's Modified Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Damage Control II
Draclira's Modified Heat Sink
Draclira's Modified Heat Sink

Vizan's Modified Heavy Capacitor Booster, Navy Cap Booster 800
Domination Stasis Webifier
Domination Stasis Webifier
Domination Warp Disruptor
Cormack's Modified 100MN MicroWarpdrive

Vizan's Modified Mega Pulse Laser, Multifrequency L
Vizan's Modified Mega Pulse Laser, Multifrequency L
Vizan's Modified Mega Pulse Laser, Multifrequency L
Vizan's Modified Mega Pulse Laser, Multifrequency L
Draclira's Modified Heavy Energy Neutralizer
Draclira's Modified Heavy Energy Neutralizer
Draclira's Modified Heavy Energy Neutralizer

Large Egress Port Maximizer II
Large Egress Port Maximizer II
Large Trimark Armor Pump I

'Augmented' Ogre x2
'Augmented' Hammerhead x2
'Augmented' Hobgoblin x1

It's a bit light with 161K EHP, although with the new T2 plate buff you could get a bit more out of it. But it spits out 1138 dps while also sucking over 3k cap and has 30km point and webs. A force to be reckoned with indeed. This also assumes Talisman implants, Pasha implants, etc.

But if you are thinking "I never fly battleships, you fool! They're for chumps!" and yet still want to blow a stupid amount of ISK on something, I have just the one for you. The Damnation is know for being a hard nut to crack and if you spend the money, it can be nigh impregnable.

[Damnation, wtf?]
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Draclira's Modified Armor Thermic Hardener
Draclira's Modified Armor EM Hardener
Draclira's Modified Armor Kinetic Hardener

Corelum A-Type 10MN Afterburner
Republic Fleet Target Painter
True Sansha Stasis Webifier
Cormack's Modified Sensor Booster

[empty high slot]
Black Eagle Drone Link Augmentor
Small Tractor Beam I
Salvager I
Armored Warfare Link - Passive Defense
Armored Warfare Link - Damage Control
Cynosural Field Generator I

Medium Trimark Armor Pump II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump II

Wolf-Rayet Star Class 6

'Augmented' Hobgoblin x5

Assuming All V's, slave set, ZMH2000, ZET3000, ZMS1000, and Akemon's ZET500 for implants, its own leadership and command bonuses this 737k EHP normally and 1265K EHP in the Wolf-Rayet Class 6. Obviously the highs are an afterthought and the mids are rather optional on what you put there.

Now I know very few of us can or would really want to do the last two fits. Too much ISK and in most cases too much risk. Well, that's ok because you can go cheap and still have fun. The new tier 3 ships are known for being glass cannons that can fit battleship size guns. Why not give the opfor a confusing few minutes of baiting fun with the Baitacle!

[Oracle, Baitacle]
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II

Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Disruptor II

Dual Heavy Pulse Laser II, Scorch L
Dual Heavy Pulse Laser II, Scorch L
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

With a respectable 84k EHP, it is cap stable so it can constantly deal out that impressive 220 dps and still hold a target or two down.

And now we come to our last fit of insanity. While small and odd, even the Amarr in all their arrogance and hate will have to give a bow of respect. Another ship that will give the opfor a WTF moment that will prove their downfall

[Guardian, Battalian]
Large 'Regard' I Power Projector
Large 'Solace' I Remote Bulwark Reconstruction
Large 'Solace' I Remote Bulwark Reconstruction
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Scorch M

Corelum A-Type 10MN Afterburner
Shadow Serpentis Warp Disruptor

1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Centum A-Type Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Centum A-Type Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Coreli A-Type Thermic Plating

Medium Ancillary Current Router II
Medium Ancillary Current Router II

Hornet EC-300 x5

It doesn't look like much and by itself it is more of a stupid fit than a funny one. But think...a cloud of these, tankball repping each other while still applying dps. The opfor would see a giant fleet of Guardians, wondering where their main fleet is and then wondering why the Guardians are targeting and OMGWHYAREWEDYING! Hehe...hehe....hehehehehehehe...*cough*

Having fun yet? I definitely am having a blast with these.
-Mem

SUPERBONUSFUNTIEMZ:

[Curse, Hot 'N Heavy]
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II

Y-S8 Hydrocarbon I Afterburners
Small Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400
Invulnerability Field II
Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II

Imperial Navy Heavy Energy Neutralizer
Medium Diminishing Power System Drain I
Small Diminishing Power System Drain I
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile

Medium Ancillary Current Router II
Medium Ancillary Current Router II

Hammerhead II x5
Vespa EC-600 x5
Warrior II x10

You'll need at least a 3% PG implant for this but the faction heavy neut gets an 88km range while still delivering nearly 300 dps, 31k EHP and actually pretty cap stable. So that annoying Falcon that is sitting at range? Neut him dry and let someone chase him down to die. Enjoy!

Small-gang Shenanigans

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 22:33:00 +0000

The summer heat takes its toll on many activities, even an indoor one like gaming. Although in this respect it takes the toll by drawing the moon-tanned, mouse clickers out into the world to enjoy sun and fun. Thus it is natural to see a smaller number of pilots in Eve to kill. It also means you have less pilots to help you kill what you find.

When you are in wormholes, finding fights or ganks can be difficult. Most days you will probably be left with people AFK in their POS, others that will POS up the second they sniff danger, or the opposite extreme where you will find yourself overwhelmed by multiple capitals and a blob of Proteii.

Even a small gang of T3s seems to intimidate most into yapping in local about unfairness, so back to t2 and faction it is!

Lately, we have been tooling around in the nullsec links we get in our chains since the rest of the holes are dead. And it's always fun to screw with nullsec residents. Playing in a space that has local also means we have to think differently about getting fights or finding things to kill. More often than not, nullsec dwellers will station up and trash talk til you leave. But sometimes, you have better luck. I usually avoid them, but ADHC does the occasional roam as well.

While I usually stick to ECM platforms or a support role in one way or another, I have been taking my Cynabal out. I have flown armor fit ships for so long that I got accustomed to the slow alignment, slow turning and slow top speeds. So jumping into the nano, shield fit Cyn?

Omg, did I just insta-warp? Holy crap I can chase things! Weeeeeeeeeee!

It got bloody first with a couple of gas miners a scout found. They must have had eyes, because it didn't take long for them to run from their cloud to a connecting wormhole. Our Sabre was able race them to it and pop a bubble up, trapping them so we could say hi. A little bit of me always twinges at killing such defenseless things, but how else are we supposed to get our C540!

Then it was out to nullsec. A corpmate had apparently been taunting residents by sitting in a Drake in space. He called for people as they scanned him down. Getting over to assist my friends is much easier in this Cyn. I could get used to it.

As he calls out point on a Drake that came with another Drake to dispatch him, we spike local and engage our drives. Of course it is then that he gives a bit of surprise at seeing a Tengu arrive behind is T1 brothers. As soon as I load grid, I single out the Tengu and point him. Spooling up my 425s I spit Hail into the cruiser until his actively tanked shields buckle. Too bad that nice faction didn't drop. Oh well, we drop his two brethren as well. We then retreated to the unknown with smiles.

Rolling around with few pilots and ships that don't have brick tanks means fights are decided on pilot skill and intel. I love those kinds of fights since I think ADHC excels at them.

Which leaves us with a gank we achieved today. It was another nullsec venture that culminated after an hour of waiting on the part of our heroic scout. Initially our interest was piqued when miners were spotted on D-scan with cans out. Of course, even with only one unknown in local they disappeared into the caverns of their station.

So, hoping to let them warm to our presence we warped a HIC to the site and logged him off. With enough time gone by, we hoped they would come back out like little hermit crabs coming out of their shell after a bump. And so it was done.

Until our scout then noticed drones out in space elsewhere.

He quickly narrowed it down to a Golem, Machariel, Megathron and Talos running an anomaly. I guess the locals had gotten used to us, just not our initial targets. This was better for obvious reasons.

Warping in under cloak, he set up warpins and noted that the Machariel was sitting still apart from the others. If we were to get them all, we would need a two pronged force. But we still needed to get our HIC online and over there before they decided 2 was too many of us and warped off. It was also decided that we needed at least a solo logi to deal with the incoming dps of the pilots as well as NPC rats. Turns out I can fly an Oneiros pretty well ;)

Without much other in the way of choices, we went for it and hoped for the best. And by went for it I mean our little Anathema pilot decloaked to hero tackle the Golem. Naturally, the others scattered as soon as we spiked local like crazy which left us with only a Golem. So our numbers were a little heavy to only take him down but it was successful nonetheless. Not bad on the loot drop side of things either.

So even if you find yourself spinning around with only one or two friends in corp to play with, get out and get blown up. Buy a dozen Hurricanes and take on anyone you find because it sure does beat not doing anything or deciding Eve isn't worth playing for summer.

Then share you stories, that's the best part of all.
-Mem

CSM7's Latest Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 16:36:00 +0000

I don't usually post about the CSM minutes because, well, it takes so friggin' long to read them. I'm lazy, you see.

But a thread has popped up in our corp discussing the latest round of minutes and a few things got my ears pricked up that could affect many things in Eve and wormholes specifically.

Now, much of what goes on in the minutes is just proposals and conjecture. It's not set in stone and most of it doesn't go beyond these discussions. This edition seems to be focused a lot more on proposals of new ideas and less about working on what is already there. And of course, there's plenty of "When does nullsec get love instead of FW." Oi..

A New POS Functionality

The first thing that really pops out is the discussion about POSes. There's quite a bit on it and some of it is rather surprising.

"Seleene said, "I want to cloak my secret pirate starbase." Greyscale said that might be a possibility, then shocked the entire room by mentioning offhand, "I really, really, really want to let you put a jump drive on them." The whole room erupted into smiles. He then continued, "Not just right click cyno jump, but you put a beacon down and it takes something like 48 hours before you jump." He wanted to do this to allow small gangs to have a roaming base." (emphasis mine)

Uhhh...what? I mean, it sounds neat and all but I think that's just a little on the weird side unless they really developed the idea properly. But that's hardly the most interesting bit.

The thing that really has me worried, if this idea gains any traction, is the idea of turning POSes into what is essentially a small station, no forcefield, ships will dock there and oh yes...they want to allow players to anchor them anywhere. Anywhere. Want more than one POS on grid? Why not! Want to anchor one at an extreme deep safe, 40 AU away from anything? Go for it! And don't forget the aggression timers and station games that would result from this.

"UAxDEATH asked about if POSes would be restricted to one per moon, and CCP Greyscale said that they wanted to allow them to be anchored just about anywhere. He would have an exclusion zone around gates and stations, but would allow them anywhere else. Two step asked if there would be a one starbase per grid limit, and CCP said no. They want to allow people to build little "cities" of starbases. Greyscale said, "I want to make a major industrial outpost in nullsec a little constellation of small structures and ships flying between them. This makes CCP Ytterbium unhappy because they would be untidy." (emphasis mine)

Double face palm-tastic

I must be the only one who is already tired of the siege put into taking down a system of POSes. Endless siege would result from something like this and could screw wspace up royally. Corps would erect 10 POSes on grid and make 8 of them into death-stars. It wouldn't matter if you brought a cap-blob or not, they would melt.

Not to mention, scouting in wormholes depends on what you can see and determine through what you find. You have no local so how will you ever know if players are gearing up to defend their system against you, if they are afk, or simply aren't there at all?

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, can we just fix the crack in it? ie. Roles management.

I could go on, but I don't want to belabor the point.

Conflict Drivers

"Seleene added to this that personal animosity is the best conflict driver in EVE, not resources or space. Currently things are like a bunch of fat people fighting over how gets to eat first at the ‘all you can eat’ buffet, no one will starve, it is just the question of who is first in the line. [...] It could be said that people are perhaps ‘too’ comfortable at present and even though resources (such a moon materials) are tempting, they are not tempting enough to ignite a war."

Despite the fact that Seleene has been decidedly absent after being elected, I have to agree with him on this. In the minutes, he is the one primarily asking if nullsec has to wait 18 months to get seen to even though CCP is busy with FW. But no matter what changes has been made or incentives added to fight over territory, it never lasts for long. The large entities smash through and control the majority of a resource and then things calm down. When everyone has access to plenty of ISK...why fight? Drama is what will really get wars going. People also need to remember that summer will always be slow. Wait til Winter when the wars kick back on.

There's a host of other things in the minutes like DUST and New Player Experience, but those are the things that interested me for now.

If you make it through the minutes then you are a real trooper. I don't think I have the patience since it is more painful than reading EO forums.
-Mem

Creative Anarchy: A Blog Banter

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:31:00 +0000

First of all, I have to thank Seismic Stan for keeping me on the list for these. I haven't done one in ages because I either forget to check my old school email or plain old forget. But here we go!

Blog Banter 38: Dogma

In his recent "That's just the way it is" post on Jester's Trek, blogger Ripard Teg posits that the established EVE player-base has come to accept many of EVE's design idiosyncrasies, rarely questioning their purpose or benefit. Conversely, he also suggests that new players might not be so forgiving of these "quirks". In an interview with Gamasutra, Senior Producer CCP Unifex describes EVE Online's developers as "relatively hands-off janitors of the virtual world", underlining that he has only four content developers but "a lot" of programmers and engineers.

Has a culture developed where CCP has started to take player effort for granted - expecting the "social engine" to fulfil tasks that might otherwise be CCP's responsibility? Or should this culture be embraced as part of "emergent gameplay" with these quirks accepted as the catalyst for interaction?

Eve has been praised many times for being a wide open sandbox that allows players to really define how the game evolves. Mining into jetcans and alliances are just a couple things that Eve pilots created out of desire or necessity.

With an MMO that last lasted almost a decade now, it is hardly surprising that the devs are more hands-off. Although I'm not sure it's entirely true that they are with the implementation. Their latest iterations on the game, fixing what is already there, has been a good thing and something the players have wanted. In that regard, I suppose it is player driven and not actually adding anything new...but the effect is the same.

In this regard, I don't think they've taken player effort for granted. I think they've learned to cultivate it and learn from it. They have taken player suggestions and developed them into full game content. Bethesda's release of Skyrim...now there was a company that relied too heavily on the player base to mod thing and improve the game for them. I love that game, but that's real apathy.

I think players accept some of the "quirks" of Eve because it gives character to the universe without making it detrimental to play. It's almost a part of the territory with the immense freedom of Eve Online. I think keeping the innovation that can come out of quirks is a good thing. Making sure that they don't make it harder to get new players in or ruin existing elements is something all players are rather vocal about, so I think it is safe to say that CCP has a good thing going.

Perhaps I am too optimistic or simply don't see an issue with these "idiosyncrasies". Do you? Stan has done a far more in depth analysis, so I won't blather on.

-Mem

Worldwide Web of Whiners

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:45:00 +0000

I'll go ahead and warn you now: this post will be long and pretty serious. It's about gaming, but not Eve specifically. The short of it? I'll be talking about bigotry in the gaming world. I may get a little..heated and graphic for which I apologize in advance.

CrazyKinux, the blogfather of the Eve blogosphere, linked an article on his Facebook today that I absently clicked on to see what it was about. Little did I know what I was into then.

In the world, there has always and will always be bigotry in one form or another. Which is why it is hardly surprising that it is so prevalent in the digital world. Thus the Internet Fuckwad Theory. What am I babbling about? The vile and unmitigated hatred directed at women gamers.

To which my question is this: W. T. F. is wrong with you?

When I was growing up, a woman gaming was like the holy grail. If you could find a chick that could beat you in Mortal Kombat then you proposed on the spot. So how is it that the perception that women have no place or right to be in the gaming world has become ok and almost expected? Something's not right.

Some light smack talk as a ribbing between friends to push each other to keep up the fight or to get someone to stop station spinning in lowsec...that's cool with me. Done it plenty myself. But when someone hears a feminine voice on the other end and suddenly it turns into derogatory slander of slut and the various iterations of ugly...you're just being a dick. And proving you don't have one. This type of smack is meant to mentally cripple women and provide such a hostile, hateful environment that they don't stay. Idiocy.

It's this kind of behavior that keeps new blood, and some of the best blood I might add, out of the gaming industry. Close minded, loud mouthed, small dicked sons of motherless goats that think it's the cool thing to abuse women. And that's what it is. Abuse.

Got the balls to say trash without that cloak of the internet? Didn't think so.

And the anonymity afforded an individual means the law can't keep up with anything, so that leaves it in the hands of us. We the gamers are the front and most important line, the defining line. I would hope this is not so ubiquitous in Eve, but I don't get out of wormholes much so I can't really say with too much certainty.

In Eve, there is the Women Gamers of Eve Online and there are some movements against the bigotry in the links above. We have some of the best women gamers in ADHC and I know of others like Aevynne.

My whole point to all of this is that it needs to stop. I know my readers don't only play Eve, so being proactive about shutting this behavior down wherever you game is important. If you think it's no big deal, that I'm making a fuss over nothing or that women have it coming...this isn't for you and I suggest you stay quiet. Whine elsewhere.

The industry needs more people and women can be even more passionate about it than men. Troll the trolls and get 'em to shut up.

All I know is that it makes me sick and if I ruled the world for a day, I'd beat these types senseless. And for those that harass with rape cartoons? You'll burn in a special hell.

Be better, do better. You're gamers, not muhfucking animals.
-Mem

Ninjaedit: I can only be a single voice in this. This is one blog in the sea of blogs. So I will put a challenge to my fellow Eve bloggers, as well as any others that read this. Add your voice and make this a worldwide movement. Information dissemination is key to success for these kinds of things. Corelin, at Mad Haberdashers, beat me to the issue and took up the mantle. Will you?

Rumors Come True

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:00:00 +0000

A bit ago I posted about possible killmail changes in regards to self destructing ships. It seems I was wrong and that was nothing more than bugs producing a desired effect. Now, however, that change has become completely intentional.

In a new post from CCP, it has been disclosed that self destructs now produce killmails, and what's more is they also drop loot like a regular kill. As a corpmate put it: "Pure, unadulterated glee." Yeah..that's a good feeling.

Unfortunately, this does not take into consideration longer wreck timers for larger ship classes or the issue of SDing inside a POS, but it is a giant step in the right direction. I can now tackle and murder caps without fear of having the blood be taken from me.

Rejoice, capsuleers!
-Mem

De-Fanging the Rattles

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:01:00 +0000

Finally, after months and months of only being able to log in to change skills or responding to fights that go nowhere or hostiles run away. Too much running away in wspace lately, but that'll be a different post. On to my redemption, however, filled with explosions and fun.

I had put my son to sleep a bit ago and just finished a game of LoL. A corpmate alerted me to a potential target list of 2 Rattlesnakes and 2 100mn AB fit Tengus. Despite the many disappointments I've had as of late, I got on and hopped into Connemara Love, my wonderfully neut-y, dps-y, drone-y Legion. Breaking the tank of two Rattles is usually a tall order, especially since we didn't have too many people around to respond.

Our scout was on grid with them for some time, just watching. They were aligned to a planet, but otherwise doing absolutely nothing. Perhaps they were waiting to run a site or were just AFK. As he approached to go for a tackle, we made our way through the wormhole chain to get ready to pounce. They warped off, meaning they must have had cloaky eyes along the chain somewhere. So he followed to where he thought they went and found the Rattles jumping through a hole. We all began to get ourselves there as quickly as possible and jumped through to the target system.

As we loaded grid, there was a Tengu sitting on our hole. He seemed to just be watching, 90km away so we ignored him and made haste to the Rattles before they ate our scout or were otherwise able to escape. Oddly enough, as the scout followed them into the hole, they jumped back...polarizing themselves...and allowing our fleet to land and grab points. It seemed they had a couple friends, since an Arazu uncloaked and began damping whoever he could and a Falcon joined to try to save their friends. I'm fairly certain one of the pilots was dual boxing, but I'm not sure who. I called the Rattles primary since we could reach them. A couple fleetmates took it upon themselves to drive off our new, annoying recons. The Arazu was driven off, but the Falcon was stubborn and held his ground.

That is hardly the sign of a good Falcon pilot. We exploited it.

Our scout burned out in chase, an easy task since the Falcon went a measly 200 m/s, and chipped away at him. He had gotten jams off on a few of us, but not enough to make a difference and the first Rattle's shields buckled surprisingly easily. Ah, PvE Rattle fit that makes for passive recharge and resists. Not a great fit to be caught in if ADHC shows up.

The second Rattle had tried to burn off the hole, only getting 20km before all our webs brought him to standstill. He soon followed his brother into explosive nothingness. The names make me think dualboxing and would explain the bad tactics. Or the simple fact that they are carebears in space that is inherently dangerous may be plenty of reason.

The Arazu came back shortly to make another nuisance of himself, but it didn't take long until he fled yet again. The Falcon was finally out of the picture as well and woke up somewhere else. Mixed railguns on a Falcon, lolwut? And as he was melting, a corpmate of his tried to save the day in a Blackbird. Points for effort!

Then it was just a matter of looting the field, popping the wrecks and making our way home. I am quite satisfied, although it was truly more of just a gank than a fight. I am fine with that, blood is blood.

PvP stories worth telling are getting harder to come by for me nowadays. :sadpanda: Perhaps I'll have to start linking our Wormhole Fundamentals series so people get better ;P 1k views and rising :D

Fly dangerous
-Mem

The Rumor Mill

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 13:54:00 +0000

I tend to try to stay away from rumors since they have a tendency to make you look like a fool. But Jester, over at Jester's Trek alerted me to one change and other sources led me to the second that has me all but jumping in my seat with joy.

"In other news, dictors no longer automatically generate 60 seconds of aggression just for the act of dropping a bubble. I've tested this on Sisi and it's implemented there and I understand it's now been implemented on Tranquility as well. If true, this means that defensive bubbles on gates are once again a go for all us dictor pilots. It also means that to aggress a dictor will again require player action."

That is certainly an interesting mechanic change and one that will hopefully make the life of a dictor pilot easier to handle in kspace. Not that I fly them or care about aggression since :wspace: but hey, something someone else can enjoy is fine with me.

The second rumor? Drumroll please

Self Destructs Generate Killmaills! \o/

For something this amazing, I am rather surprised by CCP for making this a ninjaedit. I mean, now we can engage capitals (esp the Russians) and not care if they SD since we get it anyways. The first killmail of contention was an Aeon and then supposedly a second confirmed SD on TQ.

Pretty freakin' sweet if you ask me. So THANK YOU CCP!

I'm happy, are you?
-Mem

Wormhole Fundamentals

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:12:00 +0000

If you're looking for a new way to learn about wormholes or just want watch a great video about them, look no further.

As of yesterday, Adhocracy has launched our wormhole walkthrough video series: Wormhole Fundamentals.

This will be a series of videos centered on different aspects of wormhole life and give detailed information about each. It is a collaboration between many of our corpmates, including yours truly. In fact, by the time I was able to draft the first video script we had topics and scripts being generated faster than I thought possible. And if you're wondering whose bedroom voice is in our debut video...that's me too! ;D

I'll be narrating as many videos as I can, but I won't be the only one. As of now, it is myself and Admiral Tomahawk generating voiceovers. Since this is a collaboration, however, you may find other voices along the way.

I have had and am having a great time with the project and hope that you all like it just as much. Of course, this wouldn't be a shameless plug without me asking you to share it with your friend and make sure anyone and everyone interested in wormholes gets to see it.

We have quite a comprehensive list of topics that will be coming soon, but feel free to leave a comment with anything you may want to see specifically in the series.

Hope you enjoy!
-Mem

Alliance Tourney X Vamps Up

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:03:00 +0000

I was able to catch a few matches over at the ATX live feed today. They just signed off for the day with more to come tomorrow, of course.

It seems Minnie setups are the flavor this year. The first match I was able to catch was a mirror fight with both sides fielding two Sleipnirs, a Scimitar and rounding of the team with Merlins. This meant that there was considerable dps and rep power on either side, bringing it down to pilot skill and strategy.

It was quite interesting to watch since the blue side (forgive me, I don't watch names usually) seemed to use their Scimi as bait that kited the red and took the punishment. The blue, in the mean time, was pushing hard on one of the hostile Sleips. This is where viewers got to see the Ancillary Shield Booster in effect, with the Sleip pulsing his shield back to full. But it was apparent that they were simply diverting attention, since they soon switched to the red's Scimi and melted it just before they lost their own. Their diversion has pressured the initial Sleip into burning most of his charges and as his Scimi comrade exploded, he soon followed without enough charges or support.

While the Tournament is not a representation of true Pvp for multiple reasons, it is nonetheless fun to watch. Pitting teams against one another that may never have encountered each other in the game to prove themselves worthy opponents is engaging. Planning only lasts until the first projectile flies, after all. Those that can adapt and overcome on the fly come out on top, skill and flexibility over numbers on paper, as the above match shows.

ATX is also the time of year where you can get friends interested in Eve. You may not be able to find pvp when they show up at your house and wonder what you're doing, but this provides a sure way of showing them what really makes internet spaceships fun. More new blood, especially if they stay the course despite the massive learning curve, is always good for a game.

Enjoy the show and let me know which you thought best
-Mem

PS Keep the music low when not on matches...SO MUCH DUBSTEP/TECHNO/ELECTRONICA.

Freedom Looms

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 06:10:00 +0000

To my readers in the States, Happy 4th of July. I hope you enjoy grilling in the hot sun, drinking, and then sating your innermost pyro with grand displays of disregard for safety by exploding things on our day of Independence. Gotta love it.

And for those of you outside of the States...Happy Wednesday. Hope your week is just as fun.

I just got back from a short vacation/family trip back home in the north and it seems I missed something very interesting while I was there. A thread about disappoint over WiS garnered a response promising an upcoming devblog, as well as giving a video link (demo starts at 10:12) showing a feature that is being prototyped. Walking around with your avatar in structures you find throughout the universe.

Funny since, I just said something to that effect.

This prototype has been around for a few months and gives a fair amount of excitement for those who want to actually utilize their avatar in a meaningful way. But it also gives rise to a few questions.

Why not DUST?

The immediate question is simple. If you are creating a whole game based on this sort of thing for DUST, why not integrate that into a system built around people fighting? The reason given so far as I have gathered that capsuleers are getting out of their pods to explore dangerous environments is: "They are radiated and only capsuleers can survive!" The exploration is also supposed to be dangerous in other ways, at least that seems to be what's implied. Why not DUST mercs or robots since, you know...this is the future?

One may say, why not capsuleers? They are known for doing a multitude of things just because they can and it amuses them. Alright, I can buy that but there is another lore issue that needs to be dealt with first.

What happens when you die?

DUST implants and EVE implants are not the same. A capsuleer needs to be inside a pod so that when they get splattered, their grey melons get scanned and immediately sent to the new clone that is sitting in a station waiting to be loaded up.

So what happens then if you are walking around? You still get sent to that clone but your ship is chilling where you left it, read to be taken? You lose everything, as is the way of Eve? Or will you need to do a bit of training in order to leave the ship at all. New implants appear on the market that you plug in for the new fun? Capsuleers are only immortal in the sense that they can just keep swapping to new bodies. But if they run out of bodies or can't make that transfer, they disappear.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with getting this added into the universe since it just gives one more aspect for me to explore. If CCP does a great job and makes it really creepy/suspenseful/engaging/worthwhile and as long as they polish it to perfection before trying to send out some half done piece of crap, this could add depth and approachability for new subscribers.

Then again, this will be something that existing players will want as optional. Something that doesn't impact or take away from their Flying in Space adventures. Part of me understands that, but the other part of me says grow up and learn to embrace new things. Eve is CCP's IP and they have a vision that may not be identical to every one of their users'. That's ok and they have shown they can be flexible and modify their vision to our tastes. After 2 years of flying around, I really wouldn't mind stretching my pixel-y legs for a bit.

As in all things, time will tell how this develops with the rest of our universe. I have high hopes, however. For now, I am relegated to signing in long enough to swap skills. I just finished Gallente BS V so there's another horizon of progress met, eh?

Keep an eye on this space
-Mem

Versatility: Gallente Represent

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 02:38:00 +0000

Ok....so since I have been writing up the various installments of this series, I have been fighting myself over how I want to present it. Originally, I did say that I would choose 5 ships and post fits that are funny, possible, nuts or a mix of all three. As such and because I can nyanyanyanya, I'll be choosing hilarious fits and putting posts in terms of races. Thus I can shove a ton of hilarity into one post. Warning: These may get to be long. Any stats given will be with an assumed "All Vs" setting in EFT.

We will start the series off with the Myrmidon. As a Gallente blooded pilot, I love pretty much every ship in their arsenal. The Myrm is one of them and there are many ways to fit it. I think many underestimate this ship as well, but that can be quite the mistake.

As a drone ship, it can be both a damage dealer and a utility ship by packing dps, ecm or repair bots of different sizes. And since the ship's bonuses don't have a turret based bonus, it leaves one open to many interpretations.

First up is the classic dual rep armor fit. This can be modified for triple rep or even dual rep with a plate. The dual rep fit relies on resists and rigged repair efficiency to keep the pilot alive while the autocannons and drones tear away hostile hulls. The highs can be to taste by adding a probe launcher or drone link augmentor or switching to hybrid guns, although you'll need to be careful with cap.

[Myrmidon, Dual Rep]
Damage Control II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 800
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Navy Cap Booster 800

425mm Autocannon II, Fusion M
425mm Autocannon II, Fusion M
425mm Autocannon II, Fusion M
425mm Autocannon II, Fusion M
425mm Autocannon II, Fusion M
Core Probe Launcher I

Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Nanobot Accelerator I
Medium Nanobot Accelerator I

Hammerhead II x5

Fit may need a 3% PG implant. 40k EHP, 519 sustained rep, 400dps and 982 m/s. Stable if you can keep boosters going, otherwise you have to manage cap pretty heavily.

Next is a version of a fit I have on my current surviving Myrm simply because I found it could work and it's a bit funny. I tend to add probes or a DLA to my highs

[Myrmidon, Sharks with Lasers]
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Power Diagnostic System II
Type-D Power Core Modification: Diagnostic System
Damage Control II

10MN Afterburner II
Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Faint Warp Disruptor I

Heavy Pulse Laser II, Conflagration M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Conflagration M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Conflagration M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Conflagration M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Conflagration M
Heavy Pulse Laser II, Conflagration M

Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

Hammerhead II x5

This has a respectable 64k EHP, 700 dps, 433 m/s, but 3 min of cap if everything is on.

There are endless things you can do with the Myrm as well as its big brother, the Dominix. But let's move on to some other hilarious Gallente fits.

I give you:

[Hyperion, Shield Tank]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II

Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Invulnerability Field II
Warp Scrambler II

Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L

Large Core Defence Field Extender I
Large Core Defence Field Extender I
Large Core Defence Field Extender I

Ogre II x4

1280 DPS
107k EHP
5.8k optimal, 20k falloff and a face full of hurt for the other guy. Who needs a Vindi for ridiculous dps when you have this, lol. Switch a LSE for an invuln if you don't worry about neuts and need some extra resists.

And now to finish off for today, a couple of funny fits.

Did you ever need to sneak up on those pesky miners that keep eating your rocks? Do they scatter like fat pigeons before you can get around to throwing rocks at them? Well here's the best way to say "Get off my lawn!".

[Proteus, Surprise Dance Party]

Proteus Defensive - Augmented Plating
Proteus Electronics - Emergent Locus Analyzer
Proteus Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Proteus Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Proteus Propulsion - Gravitational Capacitor

Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
True Sansha Large EMP Smartbomb
True Sansha Large EMP Smartbomb
True Sansha Large EMP Smartbomb
True Sansha Large EMP Smartbomb

10MN Afterburner II
Large Shield Extender II
Medium Capacitor Battery II
Photon Scattering Field II

Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Power Diagnostic System II

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I

40k EHP and deals 3k damage in the first 7.5 seconds after de-cloaking. The sure way to pop and pod ever last motherf**** there.

And now, if you would give a drumroll. This next fit may require a blue pill, your mates may think you're insane and it may just be one of the best lossmails ever, but give it up foooooor:

[Megathron Navy Issue, Beastmode]
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II

Capital Shield Booster I
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 800
Invulnerability Field II
Warp Disruptor II

Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
[empty high slot]

Large Ancillary Current Router II
Large Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Large Ancillary Current Router I

Ogre II x5

57k EHP! Zero to full shield in one boost! Less than 60s of cap! 700 dps! Because you can!
(yes I know it can't fit since it is a cap module)

That was fun, wouldn't you say? There are endless amounts of hilarious and odd, but usable, fits out there so make or find one and send it to me.
-Mem

SUPERBONUSFUNTIEMZ:

AC, neuty Proteus!

Republic Fleet Gyrostabilizer
Republic Fleet Gyrostabilizer
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Imperial Navy Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Imperial Navy Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
Corpum A-Type Energized Reactive Membrane
Corpum A-Type Energized Reactive Membrane

Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Domination Warp Disruptor
Imperial Navy Medium Capacitor Booster, Navy Cap Booster 400

425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Medium Trimark Armor Pump II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump II

Proteus Defensive - Augmented Plating
Proteus Electronics - Friction Extension Processor
Proteus Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Proteus Offensive - Drone Synthesis Projector
Proteus Propulsion - Localized Injectors

Ogre II x2
Hammerhead II x2
Hobgoblin II x1

156k EHP, 544 dps, cap stable!

Imagination Station

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:07:00 +0000

The realms of tabletop and video games have always been playgrounds for players' imaginations and daydreams. You can't help but drift off and think about how you would want to hack through waves of gnolls or what tactic would best fit for maneuvering your mech over terrain. In many ways, your imagination can be more fun than actually playing it out.

Which brings us to our universe of Eve. DUST is quickly becoming a reality, with the beta registration opening up and players getting into shoot each others' faces off. Of course, since it is beta many things will be different at launch and who knows after a bit what they will add. Sadly I don't have a PS3 nor any money to get one, so I will live vicariously through corp mates' stories. I will also enjoy my own imagination, since it will probably be better anyhow.

Thus my question to you comes, "If you could be a DUST merc and fight anywhere in Eve, where would it be?"

I'll let that sink in for a minute. I do mean anywhere or on anything.

Would you want to be able to land on a titan and have to breech in to destroy the capacitor or kill the capsuleer and take the ship? Would you want to storm the control center for a gate and determine who can go through and who can't? Or does keeping it to planet/POCOs sound better and have it operate like an RTS? The Eve player set up contracts for each facility to be taken and it all culminates in the DUST merc being able to jet up to the POCO and take it from the inside, allowing the Eve player to control the POCO without destroying and replacing it.

Heck, I'd be stoked if we could do a few things as WiS picks up. As I do live in wspace and really love the Sleeper story line, I would love to be able to walk around and explore derelict Sleeper structures a la Dead Space or some such. You could find bits of story or even take away some Sleeper tech. Make sure to give it a really creepy atmosphere, possibly encounters with whatever has been left behind over the centuries and I think that'd be amazing. Even letting DUST mercs fight through that kind of environment would be awesome.

The mind is a curious thing but I tend to just let it do whatever it wants. So, where would you fight if you could fight anywhere?

-Mem

Perpetual Blight

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:03:00 +0000

For those who have piloted around New Eden at least a year or at the right time, then it is well known that Hulkageddon is a yearly purging competition of high sec mining operations complete with prizes. Each year it has grown more and more in scope and participation.

Such a thing can be avoided or worked around (especially if you live in wormholes ;)) However, it seems now there is an idea of making it a permanent fixture in the Eve ecosystem. Who says? Nobody less than the Mittani of course. That probably shouldn't come as a surprise. If you can stand to listen to the greasy thing that is Mittens, there's a video you can watch.

I'm not at all surprised that this would be the eventuality. The ability to ruin the gaming experience of others on a consistent basis seems to be Mittani's forte and this is Eve, so it's a valid play style. Nullbear contempt for high sec dwellers is common, but as long as CCP allows high sec to exist then they have all the right to operate there. I think wspace is the true endgame, but you don't see me demanding all space should be the same. Variety is the spice, after all. I don't think this will be too much of an issue either for miners, either.

While "perpetual Hulkageddon" sounds like the worst thing ever for miners, all it really means is that they need to start thinking before just undocking an entire of fleet of Hulks with Orca support. Check surrounding systems, keep scouts on gates, and mine aligned. Perhaps that takes away the AFK-ability of the task, but it's necessary. That's normal operations if you mine in wormholes, not sure about nullsec.

In the short term it may mean that mineral prices continue to rise. As long as miners adapt instead of simply stop altogether, it should be a short term problem. While Mittens is all smug thinking he is fully disrupting highsec operations, his thugs really don't have the endurance. They get bored and they can find better money elsewhere or get tired of ratting their sec status back up. Either way, this should be interesting to watch develop.

Just don't give them tears if they catch you, that will just prolong the issue.
-Mem

Blog Banter 36- Trial of Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Mon, 28 May 2012 18:21:00 +0000

As many of you know, the blog banters have been taken over by Seismic Stan over at Freebooted. I'm glad they have been and Stan has been a great facilitator. I have not had the opportunity to actually sit down and participate in these until now, so here we go.

"With the Inferno expansion upon us, new seeds have been planted in the ongoing evolution of EVE Online. With every expansion comes new trials and challenges, game-changing mechanics and fresh ideas. After nine years and seventeen expansions, EVE has grown far more than most other MMOGs can hope for. Which expansions have brought the highs and lows, which have been the best and the worst for EVE Online?"

First off, it always blows my mind to think about Eve's history. It's so easy to get caught up in the next big scam or laugh at null sec politics as they shift month by month. Eve has been going for nine years and that is a feat of brilliance in today's MMO market. We watch game after game come through with hopeful IPs, only to turn FtP within months of launch. Eve has not only driven on with the passion of an Amarr religious zealot but with the determination of a Minimatar ex-slave through the years.

Sappy analogies aside, I have been with Eve since the end of Dominion. I was just getting used to my implants when Tyrannis hit. As such I can't really speak on the majority of expansions since I don't really know what half of them brought in to the game.

So, in my experience, the worst expansion in terms of player reception and overall game enhancement was...Incarna. Although it made turrets a whole lot cooler in a cosmetic way, the debacle of launching Walking in Stations set a dark tone in Eve for months. Player backlash, CCP's PR fumbles, CCP employee let go's and the pure lack of Flying in Space content made a nasty combo that pushed many players to cancel their subscription. Not a shining moment for the game or developer but one that has been weathered and many lessons have been learned.

The Incursion expansion wasn't well liked either, but I think that the absolute ISK-mine that it became helped the initial bad-taste-in-mouth. But enough of bad, let's look at the good parts of Eve's evolution.

First off, we will say Trinity was a great expansion for the game. It updated the games graphics and 20 ships got a face lift. Which was awesome, since when I got to the game I immediately thought the Scorpion was one of the sexiest ships ever. Still kinda do, but in a different way than before since...well I've seen what she can do if you know what I mean. :P

The next great expansion, I'm not going to lie, I have to say would be Crucible. Now this isn't chronologically the next best, but as an expansion it helped the game in many ways. The developers showed the player base that they knew how to listen and knew how to task their priorities. Tier 3 BCs, time dilation, and so on made the game feel like a bottle of Febreeze had been poured all over the place to make the game fresh as a daisy. You can't help but give CCP props on the amount of content additions as well as openness with which they developed those additions. SiSi has become used more and more not just as a playground with cheap toys, but as the platform for CCP to get player feedback on possible tweaks and additions. But as I said, this was not the best expansion in my opinion.

That would have to go to Apocrypha. Surprise, right? Now I may be rather biased about it, since it added the home I now love and want others to love. But it is for more than just my love of wormholes. The expansion was seen as more of a mini-expansion since it had too much to be a patch but was not considered enough to be a full expansion. It added the training queue, which made everyone's lives far more convenient since they wouldn't have to wake up at 2 am to keep it going.

But, of course, it also wormholes and with it Sleepers and T3 ships reverse engineered through Sleeper technology. But adding an entirely new space to the game was a bigger deal than I think CCP realized at the time. Players were never intended to live there, but to simply explore and traverse space through wormhole chains. Human initiative and determination being what it is, however, meant that this new environ was a whole new experience for living. It meant you live out of a communal POS and rely on those in the wormhole with you. You can harvest Sleeper loot and engage in true small gang combat, fighting for your space like no other place in Eve. There were no iHubs to break down, no security status to worry about and no titans to blob your space. Still aren't. And that's how we like it.

That's quite a bit more than I thought I had to say about all this so I'll leave it at that. What do my readers think? Best/worst of Eve and for yourselves?

-Mem

Versatility, Thy Name is Many

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:15:00 +0000

I have played Eve for a long time now and have been able to do so for many reasons. The community, the universe, the long term planning and tactics, and so on. One aspect has always impressed me and made me love internet spaceships all the more. That is as the title suggests, versatility. With Inferno coming out, many fitting styles may become obsolete with the new modules being introduced or at the least become altered as they respond to the additions. So in the spirit of fun and a tip of the hat, I give you the Versatility series.

There are many ways to do what you want in Eve. It is a sandbox after all and CCP made sure that even if you found the present from the neighborhood cat in the sand, it was all part of the experience. One of the things that killed my play in other MMOs was the rigidity. There is one or two, maybe even four!, ways to do what you want throughout the gaming experience. That gets old and boring very quickly. But I'm still seeing hilarious failfitted ships on killmails or seeing theorycrafting threads about a ship that is years old. Where else could you find a Tengu that is intended to be a shield fitted missile boat turned into an armor tanked, TD and scram boat. And that's just one of many actually viable but crazy fits from that ship alone. Adhc has a thread dedicated to Lolfits, some of which I'm guilty of wanting to try out just to see if it works.

I like to show, not just tell, about things though. So I'm going to pick five ships and each will get its own post. In each post, I will give fittings that CCP probably never thought would happen. Some of them are fits I use myself on a regular basis and some are just things that you can do for hilarity's sake.

Let's not let it stop there, though. I want to hear from my readers. Helps me know I'm not just a crazy person talking to myself. So throw a comment below or send me an Evemail letting me know a ship you want to see in the series or a fit you have used or found that is unbelievable or hilarious.

Who knows, maybe we will have a whole new fleet tactic by the end.
-Mem

Infernal Conceptions

noreply@blogger.com (Memoocan) — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:59:00 +0000

So it was about this time last year that everyone was talking about Aurum and how much a disaster that would be for Eve. This year, Inferno has crept in with more welcome, but I think the results are more prominent. At least you're able to ignore Aurum as much as you want. If you want to refresh your memory on what went into Inferno, patch notes are here.

Eve's expansions have gone through an evolution over the last couple of year, for the better I would say. Instead of expansions in which a massive block of information and new code gets injected and breaks the game for a week or two, it is now slowly integrated and vetted on Sisi and then on TQ. They act less like expansions with a load of new content and more like updates that improve the game's foundation and add new, small details to keep the game fresh.

I have to say, seeing my Manticore now actually have a bomb attached to its underside seemingly ready to fire on the spot is pretty sweet. Not to mention the all new looks of stealth bombers. Launchers being visible on ship models is awesome, although I rarely fly missile boats anymore. New modules, new tweaks to ship layouts, ship tree modifications in the near future....and new menu tweaks.

That last one is the sore spot for many now. As well it might be, since I am still unclear why CCP found it necessary to scrap the old inventory system for something that, at least in the case of POS living, makes things so much harder. It is certainly neat to have customizable filters and be able to see every container at once....but then actually using the system proves a little more hair-tearing-out than before. For example? One cannot open their ship cargo and a corp hangar array separately now. That's just confusing. Even better is the fact that you can now see every POS module in the list...including defense placements like guns and the like. Whuuu?

POS living can be hard, but this is painful. But the inventory system is a bit more far reaching than just sitting inside your shields safely. If you have ever flown a capital, then you'll have noticed very quickly. If you are a triage carrier pilot, you want to have windows open for keeping an eye on stront levels, your cargo hold needs to be open, and sometimes you even want your SMA open. Now that it is no longer an option, what impact will that have in combat or even simply running through Sleeper sites in higher class wormholes?

But CCP has gotten the threadnaught and has said they are working on getting things back to being manageable so props on that. You have to admit, the new CCP at least gets things done in less than 18 months, even if they are still great at trolling their own game.

More symmetry in ships makes me happy as well. The physics, or lack thereof, is already confusing enough without trying to figure out how they balance an asymmetrical ship's inertia.

A last note....where's that SD mechanic fix? Hmmmmm? At least just make it generate a KM if the ship is aggressed.

Anyways, that's enough rabble for now :P

-Mem