Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/02/25
I'm neck deep in boxes so I figured I'd post the Musical one in the last moments that my computer is plugged in. By the time you read this the 'puter will be stashed and ready to go on its trip to the new place. I'll be getting my internet back on Thursday but I will be able to keep in touch during my lunch breaks. I've still got 3 weeks left to Command Ships V so no worries there. I just can't wait to get to the beer and pizza part of the move :))
I'll say it for once... fly safe ya'll !!!
o7
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hello miner... Bye Bye miner !!!
Although I will surely not win any prizes with my 3 kills of a Procurer, a Covetor and a Hoarder, and of course my 2 lolfail attempts on a Badger and another Covetor, at least I'm able to say that I put in my 0.02 ISK worth in the current Hulkageddon IV. At first I was using Thrashers, but those work better in a wolf pack. With my play time being limited I didn't want to travel halfway across New Eden to find a gang to fly with but I knew that a 280mm fit Thrasher can still pack a nasty punch. The first lolfail was in Derelik space, near the old "last truck stop before Curse" that is Berta. It felt special flying in there after so long, and the system's red star still gave me the feeling that "the edge of 0.0" was close. I still remember how special it felt to go there for the first time as I was about to embark on the BOZO train. But I digress. Just 25km off the Juddi gate was a Badger sitting there doing nothing. I had just toured a few constellations without seeing anyone to gank so I went for it, even knowing what the gate guns would do... but I didn't expect the gate guns to be that devastating. That was quite funny! The second lolfail was in the same area, in Maspah I think. I landed next to a Covetor so all I had to do was target, overheat the guns, and shoot. First volley I nicked the armor. Second volley I nicked the structure. But unfortunately the third volley never came as I was interrupted by a case of the CONCORDOKKEN. Close but no cigar... time to rethink my tactics.
A quick scan of the HAG4 killboard points me towards the next ship I should try, a gank-fit Neutron Vexor:
[Vexor, HAG4]
Gauss Field Balancer I
Gauss Field Balancer I
Gauss Field Balancer I
Reactor Control Unit I
10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Sensor Booster I
[empty med slot]
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
[empty high slot]
Hammerhead I x5
At just a little over 500dps with my skills, this thing should do the trick nicely. I also decided to change venues for my antics, flying in and around the Abudban system. Abudban itself is always full of miners because of the ice belt, and thus is a prime target for Hulkageddon participants. It also sports about twice as many CONCORD ships as there are player ships... not a great idea for solo-ganking! The next system, Alakgur, looked promising though. only 20-ish in Local, a few miners and industrials on scan, time to hit the belts! And I didn't have to tour the belts very long before I land 10km away from the Procurer. Same drill as before: approach, target, launch drones, overheat and FIRE! I didn't melt it, I vaporised it. It was so quick that I actually had to wait for CONCORD! I don't care what some people think about Hulkageddon or one-sided PvP, THIS IS FUN :))) So off to Rens to re-ship and wait out the GCC.
After the 15 minutes are up I undocked and headed to the same system, and sure enough there were still miners in there. I believe that people should not play AFK in space, and at least pay attention to wtf is going on in Local, so the lesson must be taught. Once again I do a quick tour of the numerous belts, until I land 20km from a Covertor carelessly munching away on 'roids. It didn't even budge in the time I closed the distance to be in my near-sighted guns' optimal range. Same drill, same result, but the CONCORD response was a bit faster this time. I even took some time, exposed as I was, to look at the miner's pod for a few seconds... and it just stayed there! What the fuck, people ?!?!
Having way too much fun for my own good (and for my sec status), I head out again after the obligatory reship/GCC break, and head in the same direction. By this time I think some miners have clued in that "Cozmik R5 is a dangerous criminal" and it's looking like no one is left in the belts. Time to pay next door a visit! The system of Dammalin was much quieter; it has less belts and is the tip of this particular area of Hi-sec Heimatar. The quick tour showed that no one was mining so I came back to the Alakgur gate, and nearly fell out of my chair at some guy's carelessness. a few seconds after I landed at the gate a Hoarder lands at 15km from the gate on auto-pilot, crawling towards it at a snail's pace. I figured the following: I'm in a bigger ship, I do a lot more damage, and I'm in a 0.5 system... this just might work. So before he got in jumping range I burned towards him to give him a nasty bump, and unloaded. And ka'plah! No more Hoarder. This time I had warped my pod out to a planet because a battleship was witness to this and I was now free game. But to my complete disbelief, when I warped back to the gate to head home, the pod WAS STILL THERE !!! Once again, WTFUPPL !?!?!11
So out of the 3 ships that I killed, I can safely say that only one of them was actually manned. Props to the Procurer pilot for actually warping out as soon as the ship died, if not for noticing my presence... try aligning next time :) The other two "pilots" are either AFK's who shouldn't be out in space or bots. In either case, they fully deserved their fates. I really do not understand this gaming behavior. Look, I'm a gamer, and when I play a game, I play a game. I don't turn it on and then proceed to do something that allows me to do the dishes or watch a movie! I'll never get it, period. And all the while I'm thinking of my own industrial buddies. Are they out in space? Hell no! They not only know about HAG4, they make a profit from it, selling replacement hulls for miners and gankers alike. They are the ones to get the last laugh, all the way to the bank. And you know what? To do this they are NOT playing the game AFK, and if they are AFK they stay docked up. I'm happy Helicity created this event to remind people that EVE is meant to be played, and not simply turned on.
Fly hard, or dock the fuck up!
o7
A quick scan of the HAG4 killboard points me towards the next ship I should try, a gank-fit Neutron Vexor:
[Vexor, HAG4]
Gauss Field Balancer I
Gauss Field Balancer I
Gauss Field Balancer I
Reactor Control Unit I
10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Sensor Booster I
[empty med slot]
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Anode Neutron Particle Cannon I, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
[empty high slot]
Hammerhead I x5
At just a little over 500dps with my skills, this thing should do the trick nicely. I also decided to change venues for my antics, flying in and around the Abudban system. Abudban itself is always full of miners because of the ice belt, and thus is a prime target for Hulkageddon participants. It also sports about twice as many CONCORD ships as there are player ships... not a great idea for solo-ganking! The next system, Alakgur, looked promising though. only 20-ish in Local, a few miners and industrials on scan, time to hit the belts! And I didn't have to tour the belts very long before I land 10km away from the Procurer. Same drill as before: approach, target, launch drones, overheat and FIRE! I didn't melt it, I vaporised it. It was so quick that I actually had to wait for CONCORD! I don't care what some people think about Hulkageddon or one-sided PvP, THIS IS FUN :))) So off to Rens to re-ship and wait out the GCC.
After the 15 minutes are up I undocked and headed to the same system, and sure enough there were still miners in there. I believe that people should not play AFK in space, and at least pay attention to wtf is going on in Local, so the lesson must be taught. Once again I do a quick tour of the numerous belts, until I land 20km from a Covertor carelessly munching away on 'roids. It didn't even budge in the time I closed the distance to be in my near-sighted guns' optimal range. Same drill, same result, but the CONCORD response was a bit faster this time. I even took some time, exposed as I was, to look at the miner's pod for a few seconds... and it just stayed there! What the fuck, people ?!?!
Having way too much fun for my own good (and for my sec status), I head out again after the obligatory reship/GCC break, and head in the same direction. By this time I think some miners have clued in that "Cozmik R5 is a dangerous criminal" and it's looking like no one is left in the belts. Time to pay next door a visit! The system of Dammalin was much quieter; it has less belts and is the tip of this particular area of Hi-sec Heimatar. The quick tour showed that no one was mining so I came back to the Alakgur gate, and nearly fell out of my chair at some guy's carelessness. a few seconds after I landed at the gate a Hoarder lands at 15km from the gate on auto-pilot, crawling towards it at a snail's pace. I figured the following: I'm in a bigger ship, I do a lot more damage, and I'm in a 0.5 system... this just might work. So before he got in jumping range I burned towards him to give him a nasty bump, and unloaded. And ka'plah! No more Hoarder. This time I had warped my pod out to a planet because a battleship was witness to this and I was now free game. But to my complete disbelief, when I warped back to the gate to head home, the pod WAS STILL THERE !!! Once again, WTFUPPL !?!?!11
So out of the 3 ships that I killed, I can safely say that only one of them was actually manned. Props to the Procurer pilot for actually warping out as soon as the ship died, if not for noticing my presence... try aligning next time :) The other two "pilots" are either AFK's who shouldn't be out in space or bots. In either case, they fully deserved their fates. I really do not understand this gaming behavior. Look, I'm a gamer, and when I play a game, I play a game. I don't turn it on and then proceed to do something that allows me to do the dishes or watch a movie! I'll never get it, period. And all the while I'm thinking of my own industrial buddies. Are they out in space? Hell no! They not only know about HAG4, they make a profit from it, selling replacement hulls for miners and gankers alike. They are the ones to get the last laugh, all the way to the bank. And you know what? To do this they are NOT playing the game AFK, and if they are AFK they stay docked up. I'm happy Helicity created this event to remind people that EVE is meant to be played, and not simply turned on.
Fly hard, or dock the fuck up!
o7
Monday, February 21, 2011
Crunch time
Well, here I am once again. Five days until I load up a U-Haul truck with my stuff and move IRL. Already twice in the past 3 years I've said "Goddamnit I hope I won't have to move for a long long time!", and 2 other times I had to help my ex and most importantly my kids move, but as you can see, telling myself this has pretty much backfired like Elmer Fudd's shotgun. This time I'll just shut the fuck up and go with the flow. On the positive side, this will be a light move: zero electric appliances, no couch because it suffered 4 years of baby abuse, no bookcases because they've suffered way too many moves for their own good, and no TV unit because it's just too damn big. I may have to carry this last one and drop it off in the middle of the move, but still, technically this should be one of the easiest moves I've ever had.
And why would I talk so much about a move on an EVE blog? Because moving would be a much shittier proposition if I didn't have my EVE buddies to help me. Since February 2008 this will be Move #5. The first one was my ex leaving the house, but I helped her because I wanted my boys to be settled in as fast as possible; I even painted their room. Move #2 was the worst one ever. I was alone to finish packing what was left in our old suburbian bungalow, got some movers for the big stuff, and did the rest on my own. Alone. To make matters more "interesting", what was left of a bungalow got crammed into a 2 1/2 condo. If you can avoid this, do so because it just destroys you physically and emotionally. Number 3 was more fun (if you can call moving "fun") even if not quite expected. My ex's cousin which had helped us by having us rent an appartment in her building, announced non-chalantly that she was selling the place, and the new owners wanted us out. Awesome. But by this time we had shed a lot of the extra stuff from the house so packing was easier, and on moving day I had movers for the big stuff and a good chunk of the Montreal EVE community to help. Move #4 was on an awkward day so not a lot of people could come and help, but it was also fairly easy with some movers, my ex and my girlfriend of the time (which is now also an ex... *sigh*). Unfortunately this is also when the financial gods started to shit on me because the two surprise moves, 2x mover teams, and car problems meant that my debts were going crazy. But oh well that's all behind me.
And now here I am about to move again. It's looking like it will be the easiest move so far but you never know. Once again the Montreal EVE community has made it clear that I will have some help. I'm usually the one who updates the EVE-O forums and the EVE MTL channel MOTD for our pilot meets but last sunday I had quite a surprise when I noticed that not only was the channel MOTD updated, but a line had been added saying something to the tune of "Cozmik R5 is moving !!! Contact him to give him a hand!". I think I have an idea of who put it there and yes, he will get an extra beer!
To the Montreal pilots: guys, I thank you from the bottom of my heart to help me through this ordeal once again, and just tell yourselves this: no matter if the move is easy or not, there will be beer and pizza at the end of it, and if that's not enough there's also the EVE Meet at Brutopia :))
Flying, or moving, with buddies is more fun!
o7
And why would I talk so much about a move on an EVE blog? Because moving would be a much shittier proposition if I didn't have my EVE buddies to help me. Since February 2008 this will be Move #5. The first one was my ex leaving the house, but I helped her because I wanted my boys to be settled in as fast as possible; I even painted their room. Move #2 was the worst one ever. I was alone to finish packing what was left in our old suburbian bungalow, got some movers for the big stuff, and did the rest on my own. Alone. To make matters more "interesting", what was left of a bungalow got crammed into a 2 1/2 condo. If you can avoid this, do so because it just destroys you physically and emotionally. Number 3 was more fun (if you can call moving "fun") even if not quite expected. My ex's cousin which had helped us by having us rent an appartment in her building, announced non-chalantly that she was selling the place, and the new owners wanted us out. Awesome. But by this time we had shed a lot of the extra stuff from the house so packing was easier, and on moving day I had movers for the big stuff and a good chunk of the Montreal EVE community to help. Move #4 was on an awkward day so not a lot of people could come and help, but it was also fairly easy with some movers, my ex and my girlfriend of the time (which is now also an ex... *sigh*). Unfortunately this is also when the financial gods started to shit on me because the two surprise moves, 2x mover teams, and car problems meant that my debts were going crazy. But oh well that's all behind me.
And now here I am about to move again. It's looking like it will be the easiest move so far but you never know. Once again the Montreal EVE community has made it clear that I will have some help. I'm usually the one who updates the EVE-O forums and the EVE MTL channel MOTD for our pilot meets but last sunday I had quite a surprise when I noticed that not only was the channel MOTD updated, but a line had been added saying something to the tune of "Cozmik R5 is moving !!! Contact him to give him a hand!". I think I have an idea of who put it there and yes, he will get an extra beer!
To the Montreal pilots: guys, I thank you from the bottom of my heart to help me through this ordeal once again, and just tell yourselves this: no matter if the move is easy or not, there will be beer and pizza at the end of it, and if that's not enough there's also the EVE Meet at Brutopia :))
Flying, or moving, with buddies is more fun!
o7
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/02/18
No, I will not be moving to Montana to become a dental floss tycoon, but yes, I will be moving soon. But EVE having royally sucked lately - lost a Loki last friday, came too damn close to losing my PvE Sleipnir, and having seen an alliance-mate lose a PvE Machariel due to a power outage - I haven't logged on much this week, to the point where this morning I came within 2 hours of missing a skill flip. And knowing that in the next week I will be making sure everything is ready for hauling, I set the skill that will turn my already powerful Sleipnirs into death machines. Command Ship V here I come!
Because my computer will be one of the last things to get packed I will try to get in on a little Hulkageddon action as time permits; I will miss the opening ceremonies because I have my boys this weekend, but I'm sure I will need to gank something after packing a few too many boxes. I will most probably start idling in the HAG4 channel to get a feel of what's happening and where, and especially where is it more likely to collect the tastiest tears! I still have to buy my batch of gank-fit Thrashers but living near Rens this is not an issue. So to all who will be participating I wish the best of luck and may the tears be plentiful! And to the industrialists I hope you are like the ones I know and have batches of miners, industrials and gank ships ready to dump on the market. And to those who absolutely have to mine for whatever reason (surely not because you like it!) I hope you will be smart about it. And the same goes for mission and 'plex runners about to salvage a field of wrecks; remember that Noctii are free game this time around :))
Fly safe or dangerous, your pick. I know mine >:)
o7
Monday, February 14, 2011
Fail-est Loki pilot evar !!!
You want more proof that carebearing dulls the brain? Here goes: last Friday night I was taking things easy in EVE after a big work week full of weird events (including an intern who got fired... good fucking riddance!), a big drum session after replacing my snare head, and a huge well-deserved supper accompanied by some of Quebec's finest beer. So feeling mellow and lazy I didn't feel like hunting so I said to myself "just to a few missions before doing the couch potato", so I did. I was also testing a new Loki setup which now had some newly-trained HAM IIs and a pretty big drone bay. Sure it wasn't a DPS machine the way my Sleipnir is, but flying circles around ships that can't hit you can be quite funny and now with the drones I could easily take care of those pesky frigate rats. Until the fail happened.
My agent gave me the "go get my cans of Quafe" mission. If you're not familiar with it, you have to loot a can sitting about 40 km from the warp-in point in the middle of a Blood Raider camp, and when you loot the can a whole bunch of cruiser and battleship Bloods spawn on top of you. So the tactic is go in, loot and GTFO. But in my misguided lazy comfort I had forgotten one little but important detail. Among the initial spawn are a few frigates that have to be dealt with, and in my almost-sleepy state I completely forgot that little fact and proceeded to warp in and fly straight to the can, loot it, and click warp. Now the can is in the middle of a whole bunch of structures and in my dazed state it took me a while to realise that my Loki was going nowhere and had to be re-aligned, so I cut the warp and did so. But when I clicked warp a second time take a wild guess what message Aura gave me. Yeah, that message. But even then my numb and slightly drunk brains were too slow in realising it. By the time I woke up to the fact that the Blood Raiders were going to kill me I had no cap left, therefore no tank left, and didn't have enough time to kill the scramming frigate. A few seconds later, Hellbringer II went bye-bye. And to prove yet again that my brains were too slow to play EVE I had completely forgotten about the "loss of SP" part of flying T3's. Yeah.... bravo champion (insert ovation here) !!!
Oh well, at least I'll look at the positive point of my loss: the Loki wasn't pinata-fit with a bunch of faction and complex modules. But still, it's an expensive loss. EVE is a harsh mistress and if you think you may be a bit tired to play it, better stay away and do something else! Now, I'm not as financially poor as I used to be and if I wanted to I could buy two replacements right away. But do I really need one? Not really. Just like with the one that was lost in W-space my Sleipnir will do just as good, if not better. Hell, I think I'll train Command Ship V before I re-train Minmatar Engineering Subsystem IV, the skill that was lost in the explosion. And of course if things go according to plan I will be doing a bit more The PvP in the near future and this will inevitably have me replacing interceptors, AFs, cruisers, BCs, and maybe even some HACs and Recons. Lokis are nice, but my luck with them so far has been nothing short of disastrous. One was lost in a well-staged gank by a Titan-skilled Hall&Oates fan, but the loss that's purely my own fault is the suckiest, even if financially it doesn't hurt as much. But it was nothing that a quick game of Quake couldn't fix :)
Fly awake, especially in T3's!
o7
My agent gave me the "go get my cans of Quafe" mission. If you're not familiar with it, you have to loot a can sitting about 40 km from the warp-in point in the middle of a Blood Raider camp, and when you loot the can a whole bunch of cruiser and battleship Bloods spawn on top of you. So the tactic is go in, loot and GTFO. But in my misguided lazy comfort I had forgotten one little but important detail. Among the initial spawn are a few frigates that have to be dealt with, and in my almost-sleepy state I completely forgot that little fact and proceeded to warp in and fly straight to the can, loot it, and click warp. Now the can is in the middle of a whole bunch of structures and in my dazed state it took me a while to realise that my Loki was going nowhere and had to be re-aligned, so I cut the warp and did so. But when I clicked warp a second time take a wild guess what message Aura gave me. Yeah, that message. But even then my numb and slightly drunk brains were too slow in realising it. By the time I woke up to the fact that the Blood Raiders were going to kill me I had no cap left, therefore no tank left, and didn't have enough time to kill the scramming frigate. A few seconds later, Hellbringer II went bye-bye. And to prove yet again that my brains were too slow to play EVE I had completely forgotten about the "loss of SP" part of flying T3's. Yeah.... bravo champion (insert ovation here) !!!
Oh well, at least I'll look at the positive point of my loss: the Loki wasn't pinata-fit with a bunch of faction and complex modules. But still, it's an expensive loss. EVE is a harsh mistress and if you think you may be a bit tired to play it, better stay away and do something else! Now, I'm not as financially poor as I used to be and if I wanted to I could buy two replacements right away. But do I really need one? Not really. Just like with the one that was lost in W-space my Sleipnir will do just as good, if not better. Hell, I think I'll train Command Ship V before I re-train Minmatar Engineering Subsystem IV, the skill that was lost in the explosion. And of course if things go according to plan I will be doing a bit more The PvP in the near future and this will inevitably have me replacing interceptors, AFs, cruisers, BCs, and maybe even some HACs and Recons. Lokis are nice, but my luck with them so far has been nothing short of disastrous. One was lost in a well-staged gank by a Titan-skilled Hall&Oates fan, but the loss that's purely my own fault is the suckiest, even if financially it doesn't hurt as much. But it was nothing that a quick game of Quake couldn't fix :)
Fly awake, especially in T3's!
o7
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/02/11
This week features my favorite piano dominatrix at a show played 2 weeks ago in Reykjavik, Iceland. Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione had discovered Vika on Youtube like the rest of us, but he decided he had to do something with her so he contacted her, much to her shock! This video was the 5th of 10 and I do suggest you check out the other ones. Vika played so hard she bruised her left ring finger early in the show, but she's so awesome it didn't phase her one bit.
To tie in with EVE Online, at the end of the tune the cameraman does a quick pan of the crowd, and who do we see at the 3:49 mark? None other than ex-BOZO, ex-AMC, and now current Stimulus dual-boxing skirted viking berserker/rapist, Cerui Tarshiel !!! Yep, I still hate him for having basked in the awesomeness of Vika :)
Fly loud
o7
Thursday, February 10, 2011
And the shopping begins
In my last post I mentioned that I'd be starting to look for new corporate opportunities and that I would most likely move in-game after moving in real life. So in between packing the little I have to pack I will be spending a bit of my game time perusing the recruitment forum threads on the EVE-O forums, convo-ing some people that I know well and some that I know less or not at all. Already a small shopping list is forming and various eve-mails will have to be sent and some channels will have to be joined.
I had also mentioned that I would be flying with some blues of ours, and as I was killing some EoM fanatics yet again somebody piped up in their channel like a bad man offering a kid some candy: "Hey Coz, want some pew-pew?" Of course I want some! I killed the last Death Lord, said "to hell with salvaging", docked up, turned in the mission, and clone-jumped to PvP HQ to grab a Hurricane. The promised pew-pew consisted of a smallish camp on a Hi-sec/Low-sec gate in the Black Rise region, my first time flying around there. The first scout report called for 1 Raven, 2 Drakes and 1 Harbinger, with a probable Falcon. We had 1 Maelstrom, 1 Dominix, 3 Hurricanes, 1 Drake, and one other ship I can't remember. Yep, this sounded like it was going to be fun. A third Drake and a Sacrilege joined the enemy side and it really wasn't clear if the Falcon was going to be there. But our enemies weren't just camping; sometimes they would fly off and one ship would come back, the gang would return, etc. So we sent in one of our guys when there was only one Drake on the gate. After a bit of waiting to see if he would aggro or wondering if we should aggro it, the action finally happened. We jumped in, the enemy warped in with a few more ships than had been scouted to help the dying Drake and the battle intensified. But just as the Drake's armor was crumpling and we were getting ready to call secondary targets, it lit up a cyno and a Chimera materialized in our midst. Just as the Drake died we called a GTFO as we were now outnumbered close to 2-to-1, and had a carrier against us. We lost the Maelstrom to this because he couldn't escape fast enough.
But the action didn't stop there as some of my blues' buddies had war targets in the area, one of which was in a Raven coming from the Low-sec system we were just in (I don't remember if it's the same Raven as the one in the gang... it's been 2 days!). Only two guys in our fleet can engage this guy in Hi-sec: the Drake and the Dominix. The only thing I could do to help was to bump the hell out of it. Sitting at 0m of the gate I turned on the MWD in anticipation of the ship's uncloaking, and when it did it got tackled by the Drake/Domi duo, and I took off NHRA-fashion and gave him the hardest bump I could, and repeated the maneuver 3 or 4 times; there was no way he was going to re-approach this gate! In typical Caldari style, once the shields were gone the armor and hull was like papier mâché and the Raven winked out of existence. I couldn't be on the killmail, but at least I helped. A lot of my buddies are UK based and it was getting late for them so we disbanded and all headed our separate ways.
So all in all that was a good break from the quietness. I need to do this once in a while because my corp now has only a small amount of active pilots, and in the alliance a lot of people are spread out over a few W-space colonies and people are more into building stuff than destroying stuff. But a little op like this one is good at helping me focus on what I really love about this game. In my corp hunt I think I can scratch Low-sec piracy; I really can't be arsed to ransom people... I only want to blow 'em to bits! But I also want to keep my freedom to move around. Yesterday I was flying around in my PvP Sleipnir and came really close to catching a red shuttle in Hi-sec; I was just one sensor booster short. As you can imagine, I wouldn't want that to happen to me! So yeah, it's looking a lot like I'll be heading to 0.0 in the near future, but there is some fun to be had in empire where war targets can be caught pants down. Like I said in the opening paragraph, I need to have a few discussions in order to find the corp that has the most of what I love to do and still gives me the freedom to do my own little thing. But at least things are looking more fun than they used to.
So there ya go. Fly fun !!!
o7
I had also mentioned that I would be flying with some blues of ours, and as I was killing some EoM fanatics yet again somebody piped up in their channel like a bad man offering a kid some candy: "Hey Coz, want some pew-pew?" Of course I want some! I killed the last Death Lord, said "to hell with salvaging", docked up, turned in the mission, and clone-jumped to PvP HQ to grab a Hurricane. The promised pew-pew consisted of a smallish camp on a Hi-sec/Low-sec gate in the Black Rise region, my first time flying around there. The first scout report called for 1 Raven, 2 Drakes and 1 Harbinger, with a probable Falcon. We had 1 Maelstrom, 1 Dominix, 3 Hurricanes, 1 Drake, and one other ship I can't remember. Yep, this sounded like it was going to be fun. A third Drake and a Sacrilege joined the enemy side and it really wasn't clear if the Falcon was going to be there. But our enemies weren't just camping; sometimes they would fly off and one ship would come back, the gang would return, etc. So we sent in one of our guys when there was only one Drake on the gate. After a bit of waiting to see if he would aggro or wondering if we should aggro it, the action finally happened. We jumped in, the enemy warped in with a few more ships than had been scouted to help the dying Drake and the battle intensified. But just as the Drake's armor was crumpling and we were getting ready to call secondary targets, it lit up a cyno and a Chimera materialized in our midst. Just as the Drake died we called a GTFO as we were now outnumbered close to 2-to-1, and had a carrier against us. We lost the Maelstrom to this because he couldn't escape fast enough.
But the action didn't stop there as some of my blues' buddies had war targets in the area, one of which was in a Raven coming from the Low-sec system we were just in (I don't remember if it's the same Raven as the one in the gang... it's been 2 days!). Only two guys in our fleet can engage this guy in Hi-sec: the Drake and the Dominix. The only thing I could do to help was to bump the hell out of it. Sitting at 0m of the gate I turned on the MWD in anticipation of the ship's uncloaking, and when it did it got tackled by the Drake/Domi duo, and I took off NHRA-fashion and gave him the hardest bump I could, and repeated the maneuver 3 or 4 times; there was no way he was going to re-approach this gate! In typical Caldari style, once the shields were gone the armor and hull was like papier mâché and the Raven winked out of existence. I couldn't be on the killmail, but at least I helped. A lot of my buddies are UK based and it was getting late for them so we disbanded and all headed our separate ways.
So all in all that was a good break from the quietness. I need to do this once in a while because my corp now has only a small amount of active pilots, and in the alliance a lot of people are spread out over a few W-space colonies and people are more into building stuff than destroying stuff. But a little op like this one is good at helping me focus on what I really love about this game. In my corp hunt I think I can scratch Low-sec piracy; I really can't be arsed to ransom people... I only want to blow 'em to bits! But I also want to keep my freedom to move around. Yesterday I was flying around in my PvP Sleipnir and came really close to catching a red shuttle in Hi-sec; I was just one sensor booster short. As you can imagine, I wouldn't want that to happen to me! So yeah, it's looking a lot like I'll be heading to 0.0 in the near future, but there is some fun to be had in empire where war targets can be caught pants down. Like I said in the opening paragraph, I need to have a few discussions in order to find the corp that has the most of what I love to do and still gives me the freedom to do my own little thing. But at least things are looking more fun than they used to.
So there ya go. Fly fun !!!
o7
Monday, February 7, 2011
Rough seas ahead
Back in 2009 I thought I wouldn't have to do it again but my sanity requires it. At the end of the month I will be moving in Real Life yet again. Because my ex and I separated when our boys were still babies we had no choice but to stay close to each other with all the skirmish warfare that it implies. But now the boys are out of baby-hood, with the oldest one starting school next September and the youngest one in 2012, so now is the time to get some much needed distance between us and achieve some kind of a truce. The down side: I will have a crazy month of packing, address changes and all that shit. The up side: the new place is cheaper, the landlord friendlier (having your ex as landlord is... interesting) and the neighbourhood much better. It also means that I will have to keep my gaming antics on a tight leash, something I admit I'm not very good at. But at least I plan on moving light so it'll just be a case of packing what I will bring and giving/trashing a lot of the rest.
But the real-life move isn't the only one I'm contemplating. Lately I've talked about a lot of the stuff I have no interest in within EVE, but nowhere have I mentioned anything about hating the entire game. Questioning my place in it yes, but quitting no. I wouldn't have resubbed for 3 months if I felt like quitting. But after some boring but necessary mission running, interspersed with a few PvP runs, and one unsuccessful go at the new incursions, I need to get back to what I truly find to be the jewel of EVE Online, small-gang skirmish warfare PvP. And while I have nothing but respect for my AMC alliance-mates and MAPU corpmates, I know that this is not the place where I'll be able to regularly go out with small gangs to kill stuff. While I do love the freedom I have at the moment, a bit more aggressive action a bit more often would be just what the doctor ordered. I've mentioned before that AMC often feels like an alliance of solo players; while that's not entirely true because when team work needs to happen it usually does so without a hitch, but when times are quiet they are very, very quiet. So here are the options I've thought about to find 5-20 guys to fly with to destroy other people's ships, and/or die gloriously trying:
Empire Wardec corp: some people hate it when it happens, but I'm one of those that jump with joy every time someone is crazy enough to wardec my alliance. I'm also the first one to be disappointed when the expected PvP doesn't materialize. But to be in a corporation that actually does the wardeccing, and DOES NOT stay perched on Jita or Rens' docking ring waiting for a war target to come buy stuff, that's something that sounds fun. Add to that the lack of cap ships and warp bubbles, but free podding and gate warfare just like in Null-sec space, and you've got the recipe for what could be a very fun PvP experience. I'd have to find the right corp though because station sex or endless camping is..... yeah. I can include Red vs Blue in this because technically, Red and Blue are always at war with each other, but you have to exit the corp to take a break (ie: make money and resupply).
NPC Null-sec corp/alliance: I may not have liked my last weeks in BOZO because I was finding the corp too serious (ironic I know!) but I really miss my early BOZO days when the corp was a lot less serious and starting to get good and feared. It's a very hard balance to keep. Sure life isn't as easy as living in Empire but the absolute freedom of combat in 0.0 is unparalleled. Of course some alliances can ruin a party with their caps and supercaps, but depending where you fly these can be avoided, unless the cap-supercap proliferation has been happening a lot more than I think. On the plus side, I now have jump clones so I can go to Empire easily to make money and resupply, something I did not have the old days. But of course I have to find a corp that will give me the bit of freedom needed and will not look down on me if I have to go carebear for a few days... well-fit ships aren't free you know!
Easy-going Sov space corp: I think I might be dreaming in living color here, but who knows because EVE is one weird animal. Let's face it: I'm soon to be 45 million skill points and I'm nowhere even near capital ships, and I fully intend things to stay that way; Well, maybe a Naglfar in the far future just so I can hear the big-ass arties! But I have no intention to become some bitter FC's grunt in a 200+ ship blob because I have to protect or invade space. I have no idea if some big alliance has corps that basically do what they want when they want and that fits with my play style, but if anyone knows of such a corp, give me a shout.
Low-sec piracy/ganking: while I do know a few pirates and know how fun Low-sec life can be, I put this last on my list because I really enjoy the freedom to fly everywhere in New Eden unhindered, and I don't have a second account with a character good enough to do my hauling for me. But some pirate corps may have well-oiled logistical trains so I'm not ruling out the possibility. But I know I'd be really bad at extracting money or even tears because I love blowing things up too much. Another downside, I would lose the "jump to Empire to make ISK/resupply" option.
So far it's looking like I'll be able to join one group of wardeccers who are blue to AMC, but I'm not ruling any possibility out. Anything that can make EVE more fun! I will be flying with our blues a bit more in the near future, but it's a big universe and it keeps getting bigger all the time. Who knows where I'll end up when my various dust clouds settle?
Fly the fuck out of it
o7
But the real-life move isn't the only one I'm contemplating. Lately I've talked about a lot of the stuff I have no interest in within EVE, but nowhere have I mentioned anything about hating the entire game. Questioning my place in it yes, but quitting no. I wouldn't have resubbed for 3 months if I felt like quitting. But after some boring but necessary mission running, interspersed with a few PvP runs, and one unsuccessful go at the new incursions, I need to get back to what I truly find to be the jewel of EVE Online, small-gang skirmish warfare PvP. And while I have nothing but respect for my AMC alliance-mates and MAPU corpmates, I know that this is not the place where I'll be able to regularly go out with small gangs to kill stuff. While I do love the freedom I have at the moment, a bit more aggressive action a bit more often would be just what the doctor ordered. I've mentioned before that AMC often feels like an alliance of solo players; while that's not entirely true because when team work needs to happen it usually does so without a hitch, but when times are quiet they are very, very quiet. So here are the options I've thought about to find 5-20 guys to fly with to destroy other people's ships, and/or die gloriously trying:
Empire Wardec corp: some people hate it when it happens, but I'm one of those that jump with joy every time someone is crazy enough to wardec my alliance. I'm also the first one to be disappointed when the expected PvP doesn't materialize. But to be in a corporation that actually does the wardeccing, and DOES NOT stay perched on Jita or Rens' docking ring waiting for a war target to come buy stuff, that's something that sounds fun. Add to that the lack of cap ships and warp bubbles, but free podding and gate warfare just like in Null-sec space, and you've got the recipe for what could be a very fun PvP experience. I'd have to find the right corp though because station sex or endless camping is..... yeah. I can include Red vs Blue in this because technically, Red and Blue are always at war with each other, but you have to exit the corp to take a break (ie: make money and resupply).
NPC Null-sec corp/alliance: I may not have liked my last weeks in BOZO because I was finding the corp too serious (ironic I know!) but I really miss my early BOZO days when the corp was a lot less serious and starting to get good and feared. It's a very hard balance to keep. Sure life isn't as easy as living in Empire but the absolute freedom of combat in 0.0 is unparalleled. Of course some alliances can ruin a party with their caps and supercaps, but depending where you fly these can be avoided, unless the cap-supercap proliferation has been happening a lot more than I think. On the plus side, I now have jump clones so I can go to Empire easily to make money and resupply, something I did not have the old days. But of course I have to find a corp that will give me the bit of freedom needed and will not look down on me if I have to go carebear for a few days... well-fit ships aren't free you know!
Easy-going Sov space corp: I think I might be dreaming in living color here, but who knows because EVE is one weird animal. Let's face it: I'm soon to be 45 million skill points and I'm nowhere even near capital ships, and I fully intend things to stay that way; Well, maybe a Naglfar in the far future just so I can hear the big-ass arties! But I have no intention to become some bitter FC's grunt in a 200+ ship blob because I have to protect or invade space. I have no idea if some big alliance has corps that basically do what they want when they want and that fits with my play style, but if anyone knows of such a corp, give me a shout.
Low-sec piracy/ganking: while I do know a few pirates and know how fun Low-sec life can be, I put this last on my list because I really enjoy the freedom to fly everywhere in New Eden unhindered, and I don't have a second account with a character good enough to do my hauling for me. But some pirate corps may have well-oiled logistical trains so I'm not ruling out the possibility. But I know I'd be really bad at extracting money or even tears because I love blowing things up too much. Another downside, I would lose the "jump to Empire to make ISK/resupply" option.
So far it's looking like I'll be able to join one group of wardeccers who are blue to AMC, but I'm not ruling any possibility out. Anything that can make EVE more fun! I will be flying with our blues a bit more in the near future, but it's a big universe and it keeps getting bigger all the time. Who knows where I'll end up when my various dust clouds settle?
Fly the fuck out of it
o7
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/02/04
Here one of my favorites from Rush. Though I've never had any official drum lessons apart from half a season in a drum corps at 11 years old, I do consider Neil Peart as one of my teachers. The other would be John Bonham. My buddies and I spent a lot of time practicing Zeppelin tunes, but of course I was the odd one who liked prog rock and weird time signatures. I did create a monster though; when I introduced Rush's YYZ to my guitar player's brother, who was 14 at the time and also a drummer, he went totally bonkers and learned EVERYTHING from Rush, and decided to make a career in music. And I'm happy to say he succeeded as he is now a sound engineer. It's cool to know that it's partly my fault :)
On the EVE front: this is my parental weekend so things will be quiet. It's also my youngest son's 4th birthday on Sunday so this will keep me busy. Something tells me I better not go to bed late tomorrow night cuz I'm sure my ex has "plans"... wish me luck !!!
Fly harder than I will
o7
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Blizzard morning
No, I'm not talking about World of Warcraft. And I'm not talking about Diablo III either, though I can't wait to get some news about this. I'm talking about the massive storm that hit most of North America and that is now dumping its load of white stuff on Montreal, mostly horizontally. Yeah, it's been a shitty walk to work this morning. Can I haz a taun-taun?
As Letrange pointed out in his last blog post, last Sunday we got a small RRBS gang to give a shot at the Sansha incursions. And also as he noted, this hit the limit of my patience when it comes to all things PvE in EVE. You see, if I do any sort of PvE it's because I have to more than I want to. ISK is needed in order to buy ships, mods, ammo, etc., and because I have no interest in all things industrial my choices are limited. And no, I don't have the luxury of being able to buy GTCs for ISK; I would if I could.
Exploration can be fun but you have to fly around a lot in order to get even slightly lucky, and with the better sites being in dangerous space doing PvE is basically asking for a gang-rape. Missions are boring and repetitive as hell but at least it keeps ISK rolling in. But yeah, you can only save the damsel so many times before getting sick of her, and if your agent goes into "courrier" mode because you refused some Faction Navy mission, things can get boring real quick as you have to haul around miners, garbage, scientists and exotic dancers. W-space sleeper sites, while they can be great fun and challenging (not to mention lucrative) require that one lives in a POS that needs a regular logistical train. But once the sleepers are dead things can go quiet quick, too quick for my taste. And now the incursions, where a small RRBS gang is overkill for the smallest sites, and way underpowered for only the next step up. And you're not even sure IF you've going to make ISK if there's competition out in space. And this is where my already short PvE patience fuse ends.
If there's one thing that's absolutely needed to get anywhere in EVE it's patience. Patience to wait for big skills to train up. Patience to make all the calculations needed to maximize productivity and profit. Patience to scan every cosmic signature in order to find the proverbial needle in the hay stack. Patience to hunt just the right target to maximize challenge and/or tears. Patience to lead a gang firmly but calmly. And patience to deal with all the curve balls this humongous game can throw. As the long-time twitch gamer that I am, patience is something that I know about more than something I use in every gaming session. The patience needed to learn a Quake map, learn a race track or fly a particular aircraft is nothing compared to the vast patience needed to populate the regular EVE session. Well, to me at least.
So where does that leave me in EVE? Frankly, I don't know. I have told my corpmates and fleetmates that as of last Sunday I will retire from PvE, but I realise that I will need ISK if I want to do the PvP lifestyle. I will keep from joining PvE gangs though because the last thing I want is to sour the gaming experience of corpmates, fleetmates, and ultimately friends. I do wish them luck in their endeavour because I know they will go at it again (I think). And as for my future in-game projects, I will have to do some deep thinking because lately with the fail wars and fail ops I've been less inclined to click the little "E" icon in my quick launch bar. Maybe losing a BC or two in glorious balls of fire will fix this. We shall see.
Fly because you want to
o7
As Letrange pointed out in his last blog post, last Sunday we got a small RRBS gang to give a shot at the Sansha incursions. And also as he noted, this hit the limit of my patience when it comes to all things PvE in EVE. You see, if I do any sort of PvE it's because I have to more than I want to. ISK is needed in order to buy ships, mods, ammo, etc., and because I have no interest in all things industrial my choices are limited. And no, I don't have the luxury of being able to buy GTCs for ISK; I would if I could.
Exploration can be fun but you have to fly around a lot in order to get even slightly lucky, and with the better sites being in dangerous space doing PvE is basically asking for a gang-rape. Missions are boring and repetitive as hell but at least it keeps ISK rolling in. But yeah, you can only save the damsel so many times before getting sick of her, and if your agent goes into "courrier" mode because you refused some Faction Navy mission, things can get boring real quick as you have to haul around miners, garbage, scientists and exotic dancers. W-space sleeper sites, while they can be great fun and challenging (not to mention lucrative) require that one lives in a POS that needs a regular logistical train. But once the sleepers are dead things can go quiet quick, too quick for my taste. And now the incursions, where a small RRBS gang is overkill for the smallest sites, and way underpowered for only the next step up. And you're not even sure IF you've going to make ISK if there's competition out in space. And this is where my already short PvE patience fuse ends.
If there's one thing that's absolutely needed to get anywhere in EVE it's patience. Patience to wait for big skills to train up. Patience to make all the calculations needed to maximize productivity and profit. Patience to scan every cosmic signature in order to find the proverbial needle in the hay stack. Patience to hunt just the right target to maximize challenge and/or tears. Patience to lead a gang firmly but calmly. And patience to deal with all the curve balls this humongous game can throw. As the long-time twitch gamer that I am, patience is something that I know about more than something I use in every gaming session. The patience needed to learn a Quake map, learn a race track or fly a particular aircraft is nothing compared to the vast patience needed to populate the regular EVE session. Well, to me at least.
So where does that leave me in EVE? Frankly, I don't know. I have told my corpmates and fleetmates that as of last Sunday I will retire from PvE, but I realise that I will need ISK if I want to do the PvP lifestyle. I will keep from joining PvE gangs though because the last thing I want is to sour the gaming experience of corpmates, fleetmates, and ultimately friends. I do wish them luck in their endeavour because I know they will go at it again (I think). And as for my future in-game projects, I will have to do some deep thinking because lately with the fail wars and fail ops I've been less inclined to click the little "E" icon in my quick launch bar. Maybe losing a BC or two in glorious balls of fire will fix this. We shall see.
Fly because you want to
o7
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)