Category: General

The usual category I will post under

Taking a look at Crius II

The part I of the previous blogpost suggested there would be a part II and I wanted to look at the POS changes. But it seems not that much has changed. Of course the biggest change is that you no longer need standings in order to put up a POS. Or a starbase, as CCP calls them. You still have to ‘pay’ the faction in which you put up your POS with starbase charters by the way.

Another big one is that the blueprint now have to be at the POS in order to be used. So no longer training that ME from the safety of a station. I guess this was done in order to induce combat. It’s more cumbersome, that’s for sure. And people will have to be smart in moving their blueprints around.

There will also be a new POS module for losec manufacturers, the Thucker Component Assembly array, which will speed up the manufacturing process and will reduce the materials needed for Capitals, T2 and T3.

Crius is just around the corner, it’ll be released on July 22nd. It will take quite a while before the market will see it effects, since there is of course still a load of stock manufactured under the ‘old’ system. Interesting times ahead !

Dev blogs:

http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/starbase-changes-for-crius/

http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/eve-industry-all-you-want-to-know/

Taking a look at Crius I

From a recent CCP email (quoted here, because it has all the links to the devblogs) :

[stextbox id=”black” caption=”Crius links”]

Crius is the name of the next release to be deployed on July 22nd. As you might recall, EVE development moved away from the traditional six month expansion cycle to a much faster six week release deployment.

Crius itself brings a major change to industry in EVE Online – including changes to manufacturing and invention. As EVE is a very complex system and industry being at the core of EVE, you can expect a lot of changes that will ripple through the universe:

· The Science and Industry user interface is completely rebuilt and made much more user friendly.

· Refining, reprocessing and compressing are made more meaningful and intuitive. Skill matters!

· All industry slots will be removed including NPC stations, outposts or POS arrays.

· The more jobs are installed in a specific star system, the more expensive it will become to install additional jobs. Centralization costs.

· NPC teams can be hired to give benefits to whole star systems, this will benefit everyone. Centralization helps.

· Material and Time Efficiency levels on blueprints will change and be capped to ME 10 and TE 20 with each level giving a fixed benefit of 1% point. Additionally all static blueprint data, such as copy and research times, will be streamlined and adjusted.

· Industry related POS structures will give you benefits, the more structures you have, the more you benefit (until an upper level).

· Moon mining available in 0.4 security space.

All these changes and more are already available on the Singularity test server. Check it out!

Additionally you can expect several quality of life improvements, for example for the often discussed tooltip changes.

[/stextbox]

I have indeed checked out the changes on Sisi today and here are a few screenshots to show you what changed. First of all planetary colonies are no longer under the industry tab, but in the business menu.

NewMenu

Continue reading Taking a look at Crius I

BB 57–A perfect fit

[stextbox id=”black” caption=”Blog Banter 57″]

Drackarn pointed this killmail to me recently and proposed the following for a blog banter:

Obviously that is a not just a bad fit, its horrific. But the guy might not know any better. We get these all the time circulating social media and corp/alliance chat. How do we educate players on fitting? This guy has been playing four months and can fly a BC, but has no idea how to fit one. What could be done to help bro’s like this?

Furthermore, what (if any) responsibility do veterans players have in finding these players and instructing them on the finer arts of ship fitting? If it exists, does it extend beyond them into teaching PvP skills, ISK making skills, market skills, social skills, life skills…

And another question you can think about is this: do purposely wrong fits, aka comedy fits or experimental fits or off-meta fits, offend you or your corp? Would you, like Rixx Javix when he was in Tuskers, face expulsion for fitting your ships differently than the accepted standard?

[/stextbox]

 

Let me address that last point first. I would never be part of a corporation that has obligatory standard builds. I can see why corporations use them, a big fleet with all sorts of fits, some are bound to be bad, so you maintain a standard. In the early days of factional warfare people joined fleets with all sorts of ships and fits. The variety made it a lot of fun. And I like to come up with my own fits, it’s part of the charm of Eve. Of course if you have logistics, you have to decide armor or shield tanking, I am not against that at all Winking smile.

drake-armor

With that said, on to the issue of teaching new players how to fit a ship. We have all been there at the start of our Eve career and just slap whatever you got on to your ship. Pretty soon you start noticing that that doesn’t work very well. I might be old school, but basically I think people should educate themselves in fitting ships. It’s not THAT hard.

First thing you need to get out of your mind is multipurpose fits. Do one thing and do it well. Stick to one type of tanking and one type of weapon. Not saying there are no exceptions, but it’s a good general rule to go by. Then check the slot layout and the bonuses the ships gives and you’re almost there. This way you might not come up with the  most efficient perfect build ever, but it’s a good place to start, and you won’t have a fail fit as in OP’s example.

Eve is a game where you have to do some reading and googlin’ to find the info you need. And with wikis and blogs that have a lot of info it’s not very hard to find. So am I saying that all is fine, and CCP should do nothing ? What would be nice to see is some sort of suggested build / fit button, that says ‘most players fit this ship like this’. Or a little bit of text that says how you’re supposed to fit it ? You can still slap an armor repairer on a drake if you so desire, just a few little hints and or tips would be nice for the newer players amongst us.

Other participants at ninveah.com.

Rifter Krusual Edition

With the Humble Bundle E3 ticket I got this rifter skin. It was one of the first in the ‘ship painting pilot program’. It gives the rifter a more copper like glow ? Didn’t quite manage to capture it as good in game, as you can see on the link above. Once outside the hanger in space, it’s even harder to spot the difference with a regular one. And no I didn’t only try it looking straight into the sun as in the screenshot below Smile.

rifter1rifter2

rifter3

Another one bites the dust

As you can see here, Ripard Teg, one of Eve’s more prolific blogger, is quitting blogging. Which is rather unfortunate, as he put out quite some interesting article and provided plenty food for thought. With over 50 articles in May alone, I can see that it can get a bit cumbersome. I have no idea how you can put out that number of articles.

What I don’t get is why shut down entirely ? Just leave it open, state that you’re going  to take it slow and write something when you feel like it. Maybe it’s a personality thing (which is opposite of mine I guess Winking smile) and some people can’t really slow down and it’s all or nothing.

Things do seem to slow down a bit as also stated in Roc Wieler’s latest blog post The end of all things. The Blog Banter gets only a handful responses. But it’s not all doom and gloom, there is still is plenty of activity on the 7 day page of Evebloggers. And there are so many other games to play these days, or was this always the case ? I know I have mainly logged on lately to fuel my tower and only occasionally shoot some sleepers or do some industrial activities. So many things to do, so little time …

Also related: End of an Era.

Mackinaw ORE Edition

Finally I got around to putting one of these together using the ‘skin’ bpc I got from the referral link. Missed the initial rush of these a bit, as the price has dropped considerably, but might still make a few hundred mil, selling these. They look rather nice, but it’s also a bit of a bulls eye for suicide gankers, as all things shiny in Eve are Winking smile.

Mackinaw ORE edition

Mackinaw ORE Edition

Killing is just a means

Lyrics:

It’s been a long time my friend, a long time
Yet it seems to have gone by in just a flash
A lot of you shooting me, a lot of me shooting you
And Concord kicking everybody’s ass

We have ignited violence on a massive scale
Scrambled those, who tried to warp away
Nothing says I love you like a kill mail
So don’t be surprised if I send you one today

Chorus:
Killing is just a means of communication
Killing is just a means of communication
Some say it’s more the trip than the destination
Killing is just the means…

Friendship grows from seed into a flower
Blossoms in this starlit wonderland
We’re doomed to fight for resources and power
So if I shoot you in face I’m sure you’ll understand

For ten years now we’ve sat and watched explosions
Dancing to the rhythm of our heart
Killing and dying still stirs up emotion
New Eden is a world where dying is an art

Killing is just a means of communication
Killing is just a means of communication
Some say it’s more the trip than the destination
Killing is just the means…

Some say it’s more the trip than the destination
Hey, girl, come fly with us…that’s an invitation
Don´t be afraid of a little death and exploitation
Killing…it´s just a means of communication

Killing is just a means of communication
Killing is just a means of communication
Some say it’s more the trip than the destination
Killing is just the means…

 

Fanfest Schedule

This is the Fanfest schedule for CCP’s Twitch.tv Stream. There will be a free streams and a HD one for people who pay 1 Plex. The bolded lines are the keynote presentations.

 GMT/PST Thursday May 1st
11:00 / 04:00 Welcome to Fanfest 2014 with EVE TV
12:00 / 05:00 Game Design Panel
13:00 / 06:00 Economy: Into the Second Decade
14:00 / 07:00 Ship and Module Balancing
15:00 / 08:00 Concept Art Live Session
16:00 / 09:00 CSM Panel
  17:00 / 10:00 Fanfest Welcome & EVE: Valkyrie Keynote
  18:00 / 11:00 Fanfest Welcome & EVE: Valkyrie Keynote
19:00 / 12:00 EVE & DUST 514: Community Panel
20:00 / 13:00 Team Gridlock Talks EVE Performance
21:00 / 14:00 End of Fanfest Day 1

GMT/PST Friday May 2nd
11:00 / 04:00 From Evidence to Bans
12:00 / 05:00 New Player Experience Vision
  13:00 / 06:00 DUST 514 Keynote
14:00 / 07:00 Probing the Future of the EVE Engine
15:00 / 08:00 DUST 514: Progression
16:00 / 09:00 The Art of EVE: Valkyrie
  17:00 / 10:00 EVE Online Keynote
  18:00 / 11:00 EVE Online Keynote
19:00 / 12:00 Alliance Panel
20:00 / 13:00 EVE of DESTRUCTION
21:00 / 14:00 End of Fanfest Day 2

GMT/PST Saturday May 3rd
11:00 / 04:00 Coaching Them Up in New Eden
12:00 / 05:00 Making EVE: Valkyrie a Full Game
13:00 / 06:00 More Sand in the Box for DUST 514
14:00 / 07:00 Industry Panel
15:00 / 08:00 Make EVE Real – Going Interstellar
16:00 / 09:00 Art Panel
  17:00 / 10:00 CCP PRESENTS!
  18:00 / 11:00 CCP PRESENTS!
19:00 / 12:00 Deploying Pluggable Space Things
20:00 / 13:00 EVE TV Reviews Fanfest 2014
21:00 / 14:00 Party at the Top of the World
00:00 / 17:00 End of Fanfest Day 3

POS takedown

It’s less dramatic than the title suggests. I took down my hisec POS that has been sitting idle for years. I started it off back in 2008 for copying and researching BPOs. That’s why my current corporation Millard Inc was founded. I had a few research alts and all !

In all those years I have only been wardeced a couple of times. One time when the tower was still active. Onlining a few guns and missile arrays made that wardec disappear in a few days. The other time was when I was on a break and I didn’t even notice the wardec until later. The offenders shot a few parts, but I guess got bored (it didn’t drop any loot) and buggered off.

So why take it down now ? Well with the upcoming changes to POSes in the summer expansion, where standings no longer matter, I decided to get rid of the thing. I can always start another one in HiSec if need be, but I already have the one in the wormhole to care for. I am not exactly looking forward to fueling another one. Also it was in Kiainti, a bit out of the way, all the way up North in The Forge. The reason I picked that location is, because it was almost deserted most of the time. Even now, it has 8 – 10 people in local at most.

Kiainti POS
Fare thee well Kiainti POS, you have served me well !

I bought two days of fuel to take it down, but it all went must faster than I had in mind. I guess I was still used to taking 5mins per takedown of a module. Funny thing was I had everything but the kitchen sink attached to it. Medium lasers, cruise missile launcher, a web and statis module and small guns ! Not sure what I was thinking back then Winking smile.

Anyway, the whole thing is now available on contract as a POS starter pack, minus most of the guns, grab it if you’re interested !

BB #55 – Fame

[stextbox id=”black” caption=”BB #55″]

Last Blog Banter we talked about heroes in EVE Online. The follow up to that topic has been provided by Wilhelm aka The Ancient Gaming Noob:

Write about somebody who is “space famous” and why you hate/admire them, somebody who isn’t   space famous but you think should be or will be, or discuss space fame in general, what it means,   and how people end up so famous.

I’d like to add another take on the subject, is there a cost of being famous in EVE and if so, is it worth the price?[/stextbox]

 

Let’s start with the space famous person ! I have picked one of the most (in)famous pirates of Eve, Mynxee. She used to run a woman only pirate corp Hellcats, and was part of CSM 5. I always enjoyed her blog, life in low sec, about the pirate life. The blog is empty now, but there is a snapshot at archive.org. She left Eve in 2011, but has recently returned to the game. A new blog is over at blogspot.

Mynxee

Mynxee was part of the Eve blog bubble, and always contributed on other blogs by leaving comments. Also she gave her all in CSM 5, though I think it left her a little disappointed.

You can find an interview from 2010 at massively, which is still a good read !

 

 

NikHatOk and now onto the not famous person. Of course my first response was Akely ! But I have already named him here more than enough, let’s not praise him more and get it to his head. Nope, this time I’ll go for Geddonz. This 20 minuter does it all. Mainly in Factional Warfare (with an alt, in true Eve style), he has a truckload of kills. But he also manipulates markets, flies in wormholes and maintains POSes in order to do his alchemy, and other industrial activities. And he’s always helpful and willing to lend a hand, with a wealth of Eve knowledge. /tiphat to you, sir.

Now regarding that last part of the initial topic, I am sure being Space Famous â„¢ can be a nuisance. If you pvp, you might get targeted first. Also receive weird Eve mail, and maybe get annoying real life email. I can’t say I know much about it. Back in the haydays of EveBlogging, I sometimes got a ‘Hey there Morph, I read your blog !’ in local when I still dwelled in HiSec, and blogs got more reading, but that’s just about as far as my fame went. Never had any trouble with stuff I posted on here. Although I do tend to be a bit careful with what I post, and what kind of info I might give away.

That’s it for this BB #55, quite a nice topic, more participants at Ninveah.com.