It's not like I was pretending to be nice...

The man said, "Why do you think you here?"
I said, "I got no idea"

Amy Winehouse - Rehab

So, I've been recruiting into my corporation. Things have been going well so far, a bit slow but that's expected. I did however, just kick out one member of my corporation for breaking the one corp rule we have. That rule is "don't be stupid,".

Now, I'm willing to accept some losses. This is not an elite PvP corp. However, when I talk to a member about his poor piloting, or poor fitting, he can be either apologetic, defiant, or ambivalent. Only one of those options will make me willing to overlook a stupid loss or a terrible fit. If I'm talking to them about a loss, they better listen, and I'd better KNOW they're listening.

So when this guy lost a Noctis worth a billion isk in high sec, I chatted with him about it. Nothing too mean, just offered him a fit to use in the future that would make a gank like that expensive and hard to pull off in a limited time frame. Then we discussed his terrible Devoter fit.

He was not receptive enough to the advice I offered, so I handled it the best way I know how. I waited for him to dock his ratting Archon and I kicked him out of the corp. I took his access away in a variety of places and waited for the inevitable convo. When it came, I accepted it.

Hallan Turrek > Get a cyno set up and get the fuck out.
Hallan Turrek > Have a nice day.
Sanctus Angelus > wtf?

And that was that, I closed the convo. He wasn't done yet though. Local lit up almost immediately.

Sanctus Angelus > yo you could have let me jump out at least
Sanctus Angelus > ?
Hallan Turrek > Eh, if you set up a cyno now, you'll probably get out in one piece.
Sanctus Angelus > if your were gonna kick me you could at least let me get my shit out
Hallan Turrek > Hey. You read the rules.
Hallan Turrek > I wasn't kidding.
Sanctus Angelus > what did i break?
Hallan Turrek > "don't be stupid"
Hallan Turrek > So really just the one rule I have.
Sanctus Angelus > how was i stupid then?
Sanctus Angelus > for being ganked in high sec?
Hallan Turrek > Ahh, see you're wasting precious time. Right now no one in here will gank you if you undock. You should get on that, get a cloak and wait till you get that cyno going.
Sanctus Angelus > way to be an asshole

Indeed.

Voices From The Void: Episode 13

Voices From The Void is a podcast. As much fun as it was doing ENN, I found that there was often much more to talk about than I could fit in a video that was less than 10 minutes long.

After I met the always awesome Arydanika, we decided to start a podcast of our own. We’ve been going strong a while now, and if you’d like to get updated on current events (and perhaps get a laugh every once in a while), download the podcast… or visit the youtube channel. It’s always less than an hour, by design(and not, say anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours like other podcasts). Enjoy the show and remember to listen to the voices. The musical parody is only available on the site itself, not on youtube.

Listen on iTunes.

Listen on our site.

Listen on youtube:


Check out the shownotes!

Voices From The Void: Episode 12

Voices From The Void is a podcast. As much fun as it was doing ENN, I found that there was often much more to talk about than I could fit in a video that was less than 10 minutes long.

After I met the always awesome Arydanika, we decided to start a podcast of our own. We’ve been going strong a while now, and if you’d like to get updated on current events (and perhaps get a laugh every once in a while), download the podcast… or visit the youtube channel. It’s always less than an hour, by design(and not, say anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours like other podcasts). Enjoy the show and remember to listen to the voices. The musical parody is only available on the site itself, not on youtube.

Listen on iTunes.

Listen on our site.

Listen on youtube.


Check out the shownotes!(Timestamps coming soon)

Back to Basics

Nobody said it was easy

It’s such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be this hard

Aww take me back to the start

Coldplay - The Scientist

So, I was surfing the forums and noticed quite a few topics on suicide gankers in C&P. One of those things I've only done a little of in my past. Most people that have followed this blog for long periods of time know that there are few things I won't try at least once. So I loaded up EFT and put together a fit that I figured could take out a Hulk in one shot.

[Tempest, All In]
Gyrostabilizer I
Gyrostabilizer I
Gyrostabilizer I
Gyrostabilizer I
Gyrostabilizer I
Ballistic Control System I

Sensor Booster I, Scan Resolution
Sensor Booster I, Scan Resolution
Sensor Booster I, Scan Resolution
Sensor Booster I, Scan Resolution
Warp Disruptor I

1400mm Carbine Howitzer I, Republic Fleet EMP L
1400mm Carbine Howitzer I, Republic Fleet EMP L
1400mm Carbine Howitzer I, Republic Fleet EMP L
1400mm Carbine Howitzer I, Republic Fleet EMP L
1400mm Carbine Howitzer I, Republic Fleet EMP L
1400mm Carbine Howitzer I, Republic Fleet EMP L
Heavy Missile Launcher I, Thunderbolt Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher I, Thunderbolt Heavy Missile

It's one thing to have a fit that can theoretically do the job, quite another to do it. The first attempt was a failure. I fired before my speed lowered(as I came out of warp), and was far to close to the ship I was aiming for. As a result, I did no damage and was destroyed.

I waited out my timer and started again. This time I approached my target, who was sitting still. With 0 transversal, the Hulk popped in one go. The added bonus was that it was the same Hulk I'd shot at before. In full view of Concord that were still in the belt.

So, to ensure that wasn't just a fluke, I tried again. Same result, another dead hulk.

This was sorta fun, so I decided to do it once more before clone jumping back down to null-sec. The net loss on each gank is about 25 million(after insurance). But if you have an alt available to salvage/loot, that's lessened somewhat. The real trick is checking the ships beforehand to see if they have valuable loot. Hitting the right ship can generate a tidy profit.

I decided to pick on pilots that were probably bots. Given that my first target was still there when I got back after a 15 minute wait, I'm pretty sure I nailed that one. All that said, I believe the fit I'm using is using to many modules. The missile launcher/sensor boosters are really not needed, but they're relatively cheap, so I'm not too worried about it.

Still, a fun excercise.

Voices From The Void: Episode 11

Voices From The Void is a podcast. As much fun as it was doing ENN, I found that there was often much more to talk about than I could fit in a video that was less than 10 minutes long.

After I met the always awesome Arydanika, we decided to start a podcast of our own. We've been going strong a while now, and if you'd like to get updated on current events(and perhaps get a laugh every once in a while), download the podcast... or visit the youtube channel. It's always less than an hour, by design(and not, say anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours like other podcasts). Enjoy the show and remember to listen to the voices.

Listen on iTunes.

Listen on our site.

Listen on youtube:

Check out the Show Notes

The Rifter Renaissance

Came the last night of sadness

And it was clear she couldn't go on

Then the door was open and the wind appeared

The candles blew and then disappeared

The curtains flew and then he appeared

(Saying, "Don't be afraid")

Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper

Ok, so I've been a bit deficient in PvP in these last few months. Maybe even up to a half a year. Not much point in it, no profit in it. No fun in it.

I started to wonder why I wasn't going out to PvP at all, and I realized it was a base fear of losing my ship to lag. As CCP has improved their game, they've curtailed my gaming experience more and more. But fuck it, I want to go shoot something.

I put a Rifter together a while back for my pirate alt, and never used it(the ship or the alt). So I hopped into the ship on Hallan, and set out for the horizon. Alone.

At first I was snaking my way through Tenerifis, then Detorid. I found nothing to shoot and made it out to Insmother. Deeper into DRF space. I spotted what was likely some juicy targets in KD-KPR, and forged ahead.

No one saw me all the way there, so I was able to jump into system without them being warned. Sadly, due to my own mistake(I hit the button too fast) the system scanner refused to work for me. I decided to try my luck at a belt and picked one at random.

I landed on a ratting Drake, and being that I was in a flimsy rifter I pointed him.

After he recovered from the sheer manliness of that move, he launched drones and started hitting me. Sadly the Rifter was MWD fitted, and while I'd already turned it off, the missiles still hurt. So after shooting down a Warrior I for spite, I warped myself out.

After a short rest, I shotgunned another system, landing on a Haven just as it's occupant warped away. After that I decided that Etherium Reach might hold more promise, and after cutting through The Spire, headed straight for LXQ2. Hopefully something there could kill me.

Of course I arrived on the gate to low sec without incident.

Going through was even more boring, and I started to imagine that all of EVE was conspiring to ruin my roam.

So after burning to Akkio, I was about to head into high sec. But then I spied an Ibis, 400 kilometers from the gate. I overshot the pod, as the Ibis died far quicker than I imagined... and missed it as he warped himself away.

It was no one else's fault but my own. Sloppy flying by a rusty pilot. At least it was just an Ibis this time.

So now I had a GCC to wait out, which gave me time to notice how close I was to Evati. I couldn't pass that close to my old home with the Bastards and not stop by, so after a wait, I headed out.

Sadly the system was dead, so I decided to check out the 2/10 that Kane Rizzel patrols regularly in Gusandall.  The entry key had already been taken, so I docked up, quite despondent.

Then with a puff of inspiration, I decided to visit the system where I got my very first piratey kill. Sure enough, there was someone in the system. I warped myself to one of the belts near the center after a scan confirmed he wasn't near the gate. The first belt I landed in was a bust, but I quickly narrowed him down with a directional scan.

I landed 30 kilometers away from him. I moved to close immediately He was still fighting an Angel Defacer, it popped just as my scram landed, and our dance started. His web took hold of my ship, and my guns began to burn through his shields. In mere moments my own shields had disappeared, and I started taking armor damage. I kicked my repper and nos on and watched as the last of his shields evaporated.

Almost as quickly, his armor and then his hull were gone. I did not repeat my previous mistake, and snagged the pod this time. After a closer look at his fit, I realized he'd shield tanked it. An odd choice, but his to make. I scooped the loot, waited out my timer, and docked up in Emogranlan.

Maybe not as much action as I was expecting, but a clean kill comes so rarely to me these days. I'm happy with that.

The Noble Exchange/Red Light District

That watch costs more than you car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see pal, that's who I am, and you're nothing. Nice guy? I don't give a shit. Good father? Fuck you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here - close! You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you cocksucker? You can't take this, how can you take the abuse you get on a sit? You don't like it, leave.

Blake - Glengarry Glen Ross

A while back I showed you a picture of the currency exchange that demonstrated money spent, and then consumed by the CCP monster. It turns out that I was a little off. I've had a chance to take a look at the new noble exchange store, and I've changed my mind considerably. So here's a new image that helps demonstrate the currency cycle in EVE just a little bit more effectively.

So who's ready to start buying clothes for their avatar ingame that have similar costs to the same clothes in real life?

Lets compare a men's dress shirt in eve to the same dress shirt elsewhere. Quoting from Riverini's post on EN24:

- Men’s ‘Sterling’ Dress Shirt – 3.6k AUR -> 0.97 PLEX -> $16.97 -> 388 Mil ISK

17 bucks for a dress shirt for your Avatar. Neat. How much would a dress shirt actually cost me down the street?  11 bucks at Walmart. I would link it but that seems like free advertising for them, and I'm not cool with that.

When ingame items of similar use for your goddamned Avatar cost you more than the actual item in real life... something's fucking wrong there.

Who wants to go out and buy a 62 dollar monacle? If this accurately reflects the costs of developing this stuff, everyone who said CCP was wasting our time with it is absolutely correct.

So why in the world would CCP premier their items with such high costs? I can only assume the idea is to start with impossibly expensive items, get a few suckers at that price, and then lower the prices later(but not down to a reasonable price, just reasonable in comparison). It makes good economic sense for them to do that, but this is blatently screwing the playerbase.

I've read and re-read the original dev Blog by CCP Zulu, and you know what? I want to know who was lying to these people. I've yet to meet anyone who wanted this. A random "hey it might be cool if one day," here and there sure. But not "OH MAN I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL I CAN DRESS UP MY CHARACTER IN SPECIAL CLOTHING".

Since they've announced, there are plenty of folks that say "It's not so bad," and "It might be cool" but not anyone who thought "GOD DAMN IT I WANT A CUSTOM SKIRT ON MY FEMALE AVATAR,". If they think the average eve player wants more clothing on their characters, they do not know their player base as well as they think they do.

I'm often one of the ones who'll come out and say that things are not as bad as the doomsayers and bitter vets say it is. CCP, you make my job harder when you come out with a 62 dollar monocle. This is like that last slice of pizza: you might not want it, but it's there, so you kinda want to try it. I thought to myself, "Fine, I'll convert one plex and buy an outfit, I like the game enough, and RP enough, and want to try this new content out enough to do that,".

I'd ask CCP what the point of this was? Is it money? Fuck you. I already pay for this game, and I was more than willing to drop just a little bit more on your "Princess Barbie Playhouse" bullshit. Emphasis on "a little bit". Not a quarter of my goddamned paycheck you giant assholes.

Since I can't really throw the finger up to this giant pile of horse shit, I'll do the next best thing. Turn it off. I'll also show you how. Uncheck the box that says "load station environment".

Congratulations.

You're now playing a game about internet spaceships again. Yaaay.