This month topic comes to us from @ZoneGhost who a few month ago asked "Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?" Is it? I'd like us to explore this even further. Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is? Can one successfully make a living in these unsecured systems where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws? What's needed? Or is everything fine as it is?
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Blog Banter 21: What's good for the goose...
Welcome to the twenty-first instalment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
Monday, 27 September 2010
Li'l update...
Work-family-work-family-work-family GAAAH... don't these people know I have internet spaceships to blow up? Yes real life is kah-pwning my Eve time of late, which in turn prevents any interesting blog writing! However I would like to do a mini update on a few things.
The quest for pvp
Faction War is quiet again, bleh. In my limited online times I have seen two pretty nice Caldari fleets out, being countered by big shiny fleets including Carrier support. But overall there isn't enough going on to keep the corp.’s lust for explosions sated.
There are various discussions on our forums about different tactics or areas of game play we could explore to get our pvp kicks, personally I am hoping for some 0.0 roaming.
I understand that fellow Gallente militia corp., QCats, have decided (or are in the process of deciding, not sure which) on going down the piracy route. Can't say that I blame them, they will certainly have a lot more targets to choose from if they do. It's probably never going to be an option for SOTF though. I have nothing against piracy myself (I love reading pirate blogs!) and nor do most of our corp., many being ex-pirates themselves, but it simply doesn't suit the play-style or ethos of the corp. as a whole. I think a big deciding factor behind it has always been that our CEO wants everyone to know what to expect from SOTF members when they see us out and about and as such it is not often we fire on neutrals in low-sec, unless we know they are hostile in some way.
On a personal note, I have 2 Brutix (Brutixes? Bruti?) a couple of Vexors plus a whole bunch of Rifters just waiting to die in a big ball of solo-fail-explosion. In addition I am just a few days away from Minmatar Cruisers 5, opening the door to lots of new ships to play with... all I need now is to a) not be completely knackered b) time to sit down at my computer and c) join a fleet that doesn’t nag me to fly as tackle!
In other coming soon (tm) news I am still poking about with a big Faction War guide and also working on a few new Faction War interviews.
If we do it in a bubble will she still get a surprise in her drone bay?
You might have seen the Eve-O story on skilltrainingcomplete.com - a rather fun way to procrastinate away your lunch hour and help other Eve-players at the same time. It's a little bit like "Yahoo answers" but specifically for Eve questions. I've been mucking about with it for a few days and have to say I hope it keeps going. It seems to be sensibly managed, well thought out and so far a much less flame-ridden place to ask questions than the Eve forums can be. >>Take a look<<
21st Blog Banter is announced
I mentioned a few weeks ago how you can involved in the Blog Banters run by Crazy Kinux. Well we've just had a heads up on the topic for the 21st Banter. If you want to find out how you can get an early start then click here.
o/
The quest for pvp
Faction War is quiet again, bleh. In my limited online times I have seen two pretty nice Caldari fleets out, being countered by big shiny fleets including Carrier support. But overall there isn't enough going on to keep the corp.’s lust for explosions sated.
There are various discussions on our forums about different tactics or areas of game play we could explore to get our pvp kicks, personally I am hoping for some 0.0 roaming.
I understand that fellow Gallente militia corp., QCats, have decided (or are in the process of deciding, not sure which) on going down the piracy route. Can't say that I blame them, they will certainly have a lot more targets to choose from if they do. It's probably never going to be an option for SOTF though. I have nothing against piracy myself (I love reading pirate blogs!) and nor do most of our corp., many being ex-pirates themselves, but it simply doesn't suit the play-style or ethos of the corp. as a whole. I think a big deciding factor behind it has always been that our CEO wants everyone to know what to expect from SOTF members when they see us out and about and as such it is not often we fire on neutrals in low-sec, unless we know they are hostile in some way.
On a personal note, I have 2 Brutix (Brutixes? Bruti?) a couple of Vexors plus a whole bunch of Rifters just waiting to die in a big ball of solo-fail-explosion. In addition I am just a few days away from Minmatar Cruisers 5, opening the door to lots of new ships to play with... all I need now is to a) not be completely knackered b) time to sit down at my computer and c) join a fleet that doesn’t nag me to fly as tackle!
In other coming soon (tm) news I am still poking about with a big Faction War guide and also working on a few new Faction War interviews.
If we do it in a bubble will she still get a surprise in her drone bay?
You might have seen the Eve-O story on skilltrainingcomplete.com - a rather fun way to procrastinate away your lunch hour and help other Eve-players at the same time. It's a little bit like "Yahoo answers" but specifically for Eve questions. I've been mucking about with it for a few days and have to say I hope it keeps going. It seems to be sensibly managed, well thought out and so far a much less flame-ridden place to ask questions than the Eve forums can be. >>Take a look<<
21st Blog Banter is announced
I mentioned a few weeks ago how you can involved in the Blog Banters run by Crazy Kinux. Well we've just had a heads up on the topic for the 21st Banter. If you want to find out how you can get an early start then click here.
o/
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Random Reports
It's been a frustrating month or so. Real life has turned rather hectic and the result is me having to be more efficient with my Eve time in order to get the most out of the game.
I thought this would result in my missing out on a lot of fleet activity but in fact quite the opposite has happened and I've found myself constantly joining rather fab fleets. Competent FC's, great company and good ol’ light hearted, banter filled evenings. Fantastic!
I thought this would result in my missing out on a lot of fleet activity but in fact quite the opposite has happened and I've found myself constantly joining rather fab fleets. Competent FC's, great company and good ol’ light hearted, banter filled evenings. Fantastic!
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
First Blood
I'm close to reaching 1000 kills on the boards and was having a little reminisce over my mails on Battleclinic and Eve Kill this evening when I found this beauty, one of my first ever losses in Eve and my first ever pvp loss in Faction War:
http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=2037933
A *cough* fine pvp fit *cough* there I am sure you will agree, and what cool folks to hand me my first buttraping… today I spent most of my evening in a MENTL run fleet lol.
In addition, my first ever pvp kill, which was also in Faction War:
http://www.gallente.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=7603503
Whenever I recall this kill it makes me chuckle. Having no particular idea of what we were doing when we first signed up to the militia my corp-mates and I made ourselves a fleet, hopped into Old Man Star and went off to save The Federation.
The first ship we came across was a neutral Dominix ratting in one of the belts, so like all good carebears we closed our eyes and opened fire, yaaarr!
Not only was he ratting for real and NOT baiting for a trap (like every other battleship ratting in OMS I have ever seen since that day) but we actually managed to kill him. It took us sooo long to take him down that passers by were warping in at range to watch and then laughing at us in local.
We didn't mind, we had fun, and it felt good to be the (slightly fail) bad guys for a change :-)
So um, what was your first time like?
http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=2037933
A *cough* fine pvp fit *cough* there I am sure you will agree, and what cool folks to hand me my first buttraping… today I spent most of my evening in a MENTL run fleet lol.
In addition, my first ever pvp kill, which was also in Faction War:
http://www.gallente.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=7603503
Whenever I recall this kill it makes me chuckle. Having no particular idea of what we were doing when we first signed up to the militia my corp-mates and I made ourselves a fleet, hopped into Old Man Star and went off to save The Federation.
The first ship we came across was a neutral Dominix ratting in one of the belts, so like all good carebears we closed our eyes and opened fire, yaaarr!
Not only was he ratting for real and NOT baiting for a trap (like every other battleship ratting in OMS I have ever seen since that day) but we actually managed to kill him. It took us sooo long to take him down that passers by were warping in at range to watch and then laughing at us in local.
We didn't mind, we had fun, and it felt good to be the (slightly fail) bad guys for a change :-)
So um, what was your first time like?
Friday, 10 September 2010
Saving pods and session timer tips
After yesterday’s angry-face post I thought I would counter with a few titbits on saving your pod in low-sec.
Generally, in low-sec, unless you suffer a lag monster incident or are within range of a smart-bombing ship, you should be able to save your pod after your ship explodes.
As soon as your ship starts exploding begin spamming the "Warp to 0" icon on your overview.
Having a handy "escape" style overview tab set up, showing all stations/gates etc. will help you to quickly select something to warp to. Select your object and click the hell out of that warp button, 9 times out of 10 you will be out long before your attacker can lock up your pod.
One very important thing to bear in mind is that there is that you have a session timer when you lose a ship and during that time you cannot dock or jump through a gate. So if you lose your ship at zero on a station don't sit there spamming the dock button - spam warp away instead. The same thing goes for when you lose your ship on a gate, don't try to jump, warp away.
A word on session timers, there is a handy little widget available in options that lets you see a session timer count down in the top left of your screen.
It is very small but can be quite useful, when you float your mouse cursor over it you will see the timer counting down.
I find it especially handy for surviving station camps where you need to re-dock quickly. When you undock from a station you have a 30 second session timer and before this timer ends you will not be able to redock.
In addition you also have 30 seconds of invulnerability, during that time you cannot be targeted by another player. BUT you can remove this invulnerability early if you start moving your ship, begin warp, activate certain modules or even try to re-dock. But because the session timer, preventing re-docking, remains in place you will still be stuck outside the station.
One thing you CAN do without removing your invulnerability is stop your ship (ctrl + space is the default shortcut key for this). So, if you undock and realise you are camped and might not be able to redock before you are popped simply stop your ship, so that you don't drift out of docking range, and watch your session timer widget count down to zero. Provided you don’t activate anything or start moving your ship around you will be safe until the counter hits 0 - and then you will be able to redock pretty much as instantly as your invulnerability wears off - giving your attackers little chance to lock you up and kick your butt.
Of course if you do stuff it up and lose your ship... remember to warp your pod out and don't try to redock it...
...and if you stuff that up too don't forget to update your clone ;-)
o/
*additional info*
Corp mate alexthefox pointed out that my first picture suggests warping to a gate - obviously bear in mind if you warp to a gate with your pod just after loosing a ship and the warp distance takes less than 30 seconds to complete then you still won't be able to jump out of this gate either. You can always bounce to a planet or bounce to another gate. The session timer is 30secs, and you can watch it with the session change timer.
Also, I've not gone into it here but yes you can of course change your warp to 0 distance, just as you can change your orbit distance. Right click on the >>> button to set a new distance.
Generally, in low-sec, unless you suffer a lag monster incident or are within range of a smart-bombing ship, you should be able to save your pod after your ship explodes.
As soon as your ship starts exploding begin spamming the "Warp to 0" icon on your overview.
Having a handy "escape" style overview tab set up, showing all stations/gates etc. will help you to quickly select something to warp to. Select your object and click the hell out of that warp button, 9 times out of 10 you will be out long before your attacker can lock up your pod.
One very important thing to bear in mind is that there is that you have a session timer when you lose a ship and during that time you cannot dock or jump through a gate. So if you lose your ship at zero on a station don't sit there spamming the dock button - spam warp away instead. The same thing goes for when you lose your ship on a gate, don't try to jump, warp away.
A word on session timers, there is a handy little widget available in options that lets you see a session timer count down in the top left of your screen.
It is very small but can be quite useful, when you float your mouse cursor over it you will see the timer counting down.
I find it especially handy for surviving station camps where you need to re-dock quickly. When you undock from a station you have a 30 second session timer and before this timer ends you will not be able to redock.
In addition you also have 30 seconds of invulnerability, during that time you cannot be targeted by another player. BUT you can remove this invulnerability early if you start moving your ship, begin warp, activate certain modules or even try to re-dock. But because the session timer, preventing re-docking, remains in place you will still be stuck outside the station.
One thing you CAN do without removing your invulnerability is stop your ship (ctrl + space is the default shortcut key for this). So, if you undock and realise you are camped and might not be able to redock before you are popped simply stop your ship, so that you don't drift out of docking range, and watch your session timer widget count down to zero. Provided you don’t activate anything or start moving your ship around you will be safe until the counter hits 0 - and then you will be able to redock pretty much as instantly as your invulnerability wears off - giving your attackers little chance to lock you up and kick your butt.
Of course if you do stuff it up and lose your ship... remember to warp your pod out and don't try to redock it...
...and if you stuff that up too don't forget to update your clone ;-)
o/
*additional info*
Corp mate alexthefox pointed out that my first picture suggests warping to a gate - obviously bear in mind if you warp to a gate with your pod just after loosing a ship and the warp distance takes less than 30 seconds to complete then you still won't be able to jump out of this gate either. You can always bounce to a planet or bounce to another gate. The session timer is 30secs, and you can watch it with the session change timer.
Also, I've not gone into it here but yes you can of course change your warp to 0 distance, just as you can change your orbit distance. Right click on the >>> button to set a new distance.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Don’t fly what you don’t have the balls to die in?
I've been flying with the Gallente militia for over 2 years and in that time I’ve seen a lot of lame stuff. Fail FC's, smacking, back stabbing, exploit abuse, childish behaviour of all shapes and sizes. We're not golden and I have no deluded desire to put us on a pedestal above anyone else. The bad eggs and failures here are the same as in any other militia or indeed any other part of Eve.
But one thing I've never ever had the shame to witness is a Gallente Fleet Commander ordering his fleet to dock up and pod home. If only the same could be said for our Caldari war-targets.
But one thing I've never ever had the shame to witness is a Gallente Fleet Commander ordering his fleet to dock up and pod home. If only the same could be said for our Caldari war-targets.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Nevermore
My pvp ships are a little dusty at the moment thanks to rl being hectic and a distinct lack of war targets whenever I log in. So instead of pewpew I've been indulging in a spot of carebearing, hanger sorting, the Gallente Epic Arc (rather excellent btw from a pve combat and story perspective plus and you get a nice reward at the end AND you can repeat it every 3 months) and spending time on my trade alt.
I've still not got over the joy of being able to play Eve with all the graphic settings turned up to ze max so I've also been frapsing everything that moves and taking lots of screenshots then procrastinating my evenings away by messing about with the clips/shots in different programs.
Couple of nights ago I was experimenting with the Advanced Camera options whilst filming the NPC Leviathan in the Luminaire system. Whilst there I took a rather nice shot of some pilot's Raven, which I am now using as a desktop background. So until I have some tales of war to share I shall share my nice screenie!
(click image for full size version)
o/
***Sneaky Fake Edit***
Forgot to mention that EVE SOB is putting together an idea for a "Frigate Cage Fight" which sounds like potential for lots of fun and I wanted to give it a quick plug. Check his blog post here:
http://evesob.blogspot.com/2010/08/lowsec-frigate-cage-fight-good-idea-or.html
I've still not got over the joy of being able to play Eve with all the graphic settings turned up to ze max so I've also been frapsing everything that moves and taking lots of screenshots then procrastinating my evenings away by messing about with the clips/shots in different programs.
Couple of nights ago I was experimenting with the Advanced Camera options whilst filming the NPC Leviathan in the Luminaire system. Whilst there I took a rather nice shot of some pilot's Raven, which I am now using as a desktop background. So until I have some tales of war to share I shall share my nice screenie!
(click image for full size version)
o/
***Sneaky Fake Edit***
Forgot to mention that EVE SOB is putting together an idea for a "Frigate Cage Fight" which sounds like potential for lots of fun and I wanted to give it a quick plug. Check his blog post here:
http://evesob.blogspot.com/2010/08/lowsec-frigate-cage-fight-good-idea-or.html
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