A Caldari Heron about 50km from a wormhole entrance in highsec

Yesterday I fit out a Heron for some scanning practice:

High: Salvager I, Core Probe Launcher I
Med: Analyzer I, Codebreaker I, Cap Recharger I
Low: Nanofiber Internal Structure I
Drone Bay: Hobgoblin I x 1

I planned a trip consisting of 14 systems and set to work. At first I was slow and awkward, but once I found a rhythm and got comfortable with the interface quirks I was able to scan each site down in a minute or two, even with my rather pathetic skills.

In terms of ISK/hour, missioning is far more profitable (at least in carebear space), but I don’t regret the time I spent at all. There’s something satisfying about exploring space ignored by a good percentage of the playerbase. In fact, I rarely run into other players when I visit sites, even those you can find with the on-board scanner and no skills whatsoever.

Scan Report:

Sun Dog, my favorite frigate (Merlin hull)

(Those not familiar with EVE should definitely skip this post.)

I’m still lone-wolfing my way through New Eden for an hour or two a day, missioning sporadically while I build up to flying cruisers. Soon I’ll be alternating between beginner exploration and Level II missioning as a way to make ISK, grind faction to install jump clones, and gain some experience with plexes, archaeology, and hacking. Eventually I intend to solo Class 1 & 2 wormholes, but that’s quite a long way off.

Currently I’m switching between active and passive shield tanking to get a better feel for the two approaches. Although I like the security of being able to heal my shields with active tanking, I know that passive tanking is less vulnerable to cap drain. Right now I’m playing with an omni resist tank, but I’m impatient for better CPU and powergrid skills so that I can fit damage control units. Impatience is incompatible with EVE.

Last night “Cineris” and I began a fairly lengthy quest that takes place in kobold infested sewers. We released bedraggled prisoners from bondage, slaughtered a massive number of kobolds, and engaged in some actual strategy for one or two encounters. There were a few touch-and-go moments, but we emerged victorious with zero deaths.

The most difficult encounter involved an angry kobold taking positional advantage to snipe at us from above. (Kudos to Turbine for making a 3D game.) Though I was able to nimbly leap from one platform to the next, killing off the kobolds there, the final platform was just beyond my reach, even with a jump potion. We reconnoitered out of the kobold’s line of sight and planned a new angle of attack–I snuck to the platform directly across from the kobold while Cineris attracted his attention. A few bow shots later and he was dead. Though the fight was frustrating, I couldn’t help but admire Turbine’s level design.

The loot was pretty lame, but we did score bracers and gauntlets of ogre power as well as a set of masterwork lockpicks.

Planning my trip to the Sisters of EVE

Suckered by the 5-day reactivation offer that included the Zephyr, a new exploration ship that supposedly won’t attract the attention of Sleepers, I have returned to New Eden after a two year absence. I decided to make a new character with a different skill plan, focusing primarily on exploration and the ability to exploit the sites I scan down with archaeology, hacking, ratting, and some light mining. I’ve toyed with the idea of joining Eve University, but it’s more likely that I’ll go nomad–unless, of course, I meet some like-minded souls.

Modeled in Wings, rendered in DAZStudio

So I modeled my first bit of conforming clothing for DAZStudio/Poser in Wings3D, a little cap-sleeved ringer tee for Aiko 4. I’m rather satisfied with this model in terms of basic mesh flow, but I’m not so pleased with what happens to this mesh when rendered in Poser 7. It’s better off in DAZStudio, but not much. The mesh does in fact conform, but not as well as I’d like, and the .cr2 is a mess because it was just thrown together for testing.

The practice of modeling is rather meditative, but the process of conforming, grouping, UVMapping, and adjusting joint parameters is…well, less meditative.

Image taken from Wikipedia

Avatar is an extraordinary work of art that sidesteps the more unpleasant aspects of the uncanny valley via the CG equivalent of sleight-of-hand. To accomplish this, Cameron cleverly employs an introductory sequence that “teaches” the viewer to accept the motions, expressions, and quirks of the Na’Vi race while the disabled Marine learns to manipulate his Na’Vi avatar. Because the creature is an avatar, the audience has no expectations for a “realistic” performance at this early stage in the film. By the time the Marine feels at home in his Na’Vi, the audience feels at home with them, too. It’s brilliant, really. I can’t wait get my hands on the DVD to study the visual artistry and technological innovation behind the film. I’m particularly taken with how Weta and ILM managed to marry Cameron’s affection for the sea to the xenobiology of Pandora. I also want to learn more about Cameron’s approach to performance capture and how he differs from Lucas and Jackson. Cameron seems to be in Peter Jackson’s camp–they both attempt to raise the bar on CG character performance rather than lowering their standards for live actors so that their CG characters are more credible.

A number of reviewers have already excoriated the absolutely awful script, and so I will just briefly mention the three aspects of the screenplay that irritated me the most:

1. In-jokey references to unobtanium, a term sometimes used to describe a MacGuffin in works of science fiction, simply draws attention to MacGuffinery. A proper MacGuffin lurks quietly in the background, never drawing attention to itself lest its shallow nature be revealed.
2. Why is it that the noble savage must always be saved by the one white man who “understands” the native culture? Why are they never capable of saving themselves more directly? And why are all non-savior white men in these stories one-dimensional caricatures with puerile motivations?
3. I get that Cameron is drawing parallels between the villains of Avatar and the actions of the US military under the orders of the Bush administration, but direct reference is a rather artless way to approach such things.

My Halfling Rogue at Level 2

I’ve been very casually playing Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited for a couple of weeks. I elected to play a rogue because DDO is one of those games where thiefly skills are useful outside of combat. I detect and disable traps, unlock chests and doors, and scout, sneak, hide, and sap to my heart’s content. In combat I do a fair amount of damage, can tumble and take positional advantage of opponents, and generally be content to let my cleric partner get soundly beat upon while I avoid notice. In situations where clerical tanking isn’t sufficient we can use hirelings and summoned celestial creatures to help us out.

DDO’s structure is extraordinarily appealing to me–essentially, each area has a series of adventures available, some of which may be completed in minutes while others may take hours. This information is readily available in the game’s interface, allowing us to match the time we have available to an appropriate adventure. There is no experience for killing monsters–at least, not directly–and so advancement is linked more to our ability to complete an area and not the amount of time we have to grind xp. Once an adventure has been completed on normal difficulty players have the option to return and complete it on higher difficulties, earning more experience and loot in the process.

The game is reasonably attractive but rather “generic fantasy” in terms of tone, design, and color palette. Some of the dungeon design has been extraordinary, and players are rewarded for looking up as well as from side to side. Player characters are fairly customizable, but generally unattractive, in my opinion. The models are fine (for the most part–halflings have an incomprehensibly shaped skull), but the texture maps could have borne further attention. Money may be spent on various cosmetic options as well as access to drow and warforged. The environmental texture maps are unremarkable but successful in that they do not detract from my enjoyment of the game’s mechanics and depth.

So far I haven’t spent a dime on the game, but I expect to purchase a few adventure packs in the near future.

Photo by Marilylle Soveran (CC Licensed)

Welcome (back?) to enmeshed, where I’ll be writing about some things that matter to me—images, words, creativity, and creatures that breathe and the world they inhabit.