The elusive return kill

Ever since coming back to EVE I've had limited time to go out and find something to frag, and now close to two weeks after I've resubbed I'm still looking for that elusive ice-breaking kill. I came pretty close when I had a really good 1v1, Taranis vs Taranis, but it came down to my opponent having a NOS and a small armor repper. It did come down to the very last bits of structure though, but in the end my dual-prop fit didn't tank enough. Gratz to Jan Morgenstern for that great fight! But apart from that it's been jump after jump of dead space, or my Rifter escaping 3-4 man BC gangs. Hell, yesterday I was so desperate to actually engage someone that I went for a Dramiel in Old Man Star with my Rifter, with predictable results.

So my options are simple: fly bigger ships and/or fly with people. Before I do the latter I do want to brush off more PvP rust and of course this means I'll have more ships to replace, thus more carebearing to do to get more ISK... ah, the downsides of EVE! It seems though that some people haven't forgotten me because I have received a few offers to join corporations, and for that I salute everyone who did. I just want to get a slightly better footing before I start on some adventure or other. Being a piss-poor 50 million SP character is kind of hard, but I have to live with it. Because yeah, I passed the 50 million SP barrier about a week ago! I didn't post about it because this time around it didn't coincide with some fancy skill other than Small Blaster Specialization V (yes, uber Taranis or Daredevil!). And now that I can fly pretty much all the ships I want or need I'm just going on a massive support skill buffing spree, as well as finally getting T2 missiles.

Here's to hoping CCP does something to boost interest in small-scale The PvP because it's pretty much the only thing I really love about EVE. Yes, I would probably be more successful if I was flying with a gang, but I want to choose my next corporation very carefully. Once again my rules in corp selection are clear: no over-the-top FC's, the ability to do what I want when I want and zero seriousness! Oh, and if I'm to have -10 sec status by joining a pirate corp, the said corp better have a good logistics train because I don't have a second account to haul ships for me. And no, I don't like EVE enough to reactivate my second account. If you think your corporation fits those criterias please feel free to evemail me or convo me or comment here on the blog. Until then, I'll keep brushing off rust and hopefully get the elusive kill I crave so much!

Fly hungry

o7

Edit #1: w00t!!! I finally broke the ice :)) Just killed this Punisher, but the wreck was still smoking when a Rapier uncloaked and he and his buddies fragged me... ah, life in Old Man Star XD

Edit #2: someone explain to me why the fuck the GCC starts up again when it was clearly over and I undocked... damn 1000$ designer jeans loving, monocle toting vikings.... >:(

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/08/26

If this video doesn't give you a hint of what I intend to do in EVE, then I hope I catch you minding your own business as you're munching away on pixel space rocks !!!

Gimme your ultimate cup of coffee >:))

o7

The first tentative roam

Now that much of my stuff is in place I can finally say I'm back, but unfortunately due to a case of tiredness (coming back from dad duty weekends is always interesting) I haven't logged on more than 1.5 to 2 hours at a time, and if you know the beast that is EVE you know that in that time you simply cannot do much. But yesterday after taking care of my trade alt's business I had only one thing to do with Cozmik: get his ass back into a Rifter and fly dangerous. Because I often fly with ex AMC alliance mates my PvP operations are once again based in Gallente space, with easy access to various Low-sec pipes. So off I went in search of hopefully a likely target, and if I met a blob I hoped I was in something fast enough to GTFO.

The first few systems were basically dead, with the few in Local probably docked up or POSed up. No ships on scan apart from those parked at POSes, no wrecks, I quickly pushed on because I wasn't flying something that can really camp a gate. I got my hopes up in the Mormelot system when I noticed a Slasher on scan, and I don't think it was at a POS. There were some wrecks in various belts so my hopes got even higher. But then I noticed another ship on scan, a Hurricane. And sure enough, the next belt I warped into the 'Cane was right there, not even 4000 meters away from me. Not wanting to bite more than I can chew, I warped off to a planet, and then to my out gate where the 'Cane was once again waiting. But in hindsight maybe I should've engaged him; Having landed in the ship's sweet spot (assuming he had AC's) and him not shooting me as soon as I arrived... I don't know, sounds mighty fail. Oh well, on his second try at the gate he had no hope of catching me so I pushed on a bit farther.

Once again, I had a few systems that had nothing of interest but when I entered Gratesier from the Schoorasana gate I got a bit of an adrenaline rush. Camping there were 2 Hurricanes and Vagabond, with only one 'Cane not red. As I held my cloak I saw them maneuvering so when I selected a planet to warp off to I closed my eyes and hit warp, hoping no one had a sensor booster. Apparently not because I got out unscathed! I could've push farther into Amarr space but I didn't want to stay up too late, something all too easily done in EVE. So I pressed my luck and warped right back to the Schoorasana gate. Sure enough, one 'Cane and the Vaga had jumped to the other side with the second 'Cane waiting for my arrival, but once again I slipped through them like a wet soap bar. The return trip was most uneventful... apparently I wasn't the only one going to bed early!

So all in all this may seem like a short and unsuccessful roam, but I did what I intended to do, which is to brush off some of the PvP rust I have accumulated during my hiatus, fly manually in unfriendly space, and dance in the face of would-be enemies while mooning and flipping them off! I can't wait to do it again with more time available, less sleepiness, and hopefully more unsuspecting victims out in space :)

Fly with guns blazing

o7

And we're off!

Last week I announced that I had renewed my subscription to EVE Online, but I didn't do much apart from logging in to make sure my training queue was in order, and to gather together various ships I had lying around in places other than my usual hang-outs. Namely, my Orca which was docked up in Berta after my stint in Ushra'Khan, and a Taranis in some other system in Derelik (I probably got it because it was ridiculously cheap... why else buy stuff out there?!). I also got to re-acquire an arty Tempest I had left in a very deep Class 4 wormhole a while back. During my hiatus the AMC alliance has been put in stasis and a few W-space colonies have been vacated, including the deep C4. So while I was away my Tempest was being taken care of by the Black Line corporation, and upon my return a contract was made for me in the dung-hole called Jita. So my first actual log-in was one of hauling. Good that this is out of the way!

You'll probably notice that I've skipped my Incarna experience. Let's say that it was very short. At first I thought I was out of the woods because the computer was behaving itself, there was no lag to speak of, and I even got this nice screenshot of Cozmik standing by his Absolution. This lasted about 15 minutes, when all of a sudden my computer simply shut down. Awesome. So a 2008 3ghz Core2Duo with 2gb of RAM and a 1gb nVidia GF8800 is simply not enough to run Incarna. Sorry but I've got other much more interesting places to dump my money than on computer parts. Well, it's not like I care much about Incarna, so after a slight cool-down period I logged back in but this time turned station environments off, and also turned all graphics way down; as I'd say in Quake3 terms, "r_picmip 5 ftw" :)) Actually, I found that having the now-infamous Door isn't too bad: when you have no ship to actually spin, you lose less time and you can do stuff that actually matters.

Back on the getting-back-in-the-swing-of-things train of thought, I also needed to give my trade alt Cassy Winds a wad of ISK to do the buy low/sell high thing. A few items have been good to me in the past and most of them still were so it wasn't long before all the ISK was locked in buy orders. With nothing else to do with Cassy I went back to Cozmik and checked a few things on the Rens market. I had heard that the EVE market was all over the place but it didn't prepare me to actually witness it. The first weirdness was finding out that there wasn't any Light Ion Blaster IIs in Rens to fit to my Taranis. Okaaay... and on the next day the few that were there were ridiculously over-priced. Good thing that there were some at my missioning hub, so I bought a small stack. And then I checked the ships... 130m for Vagabonds, 140m for Rapiers, 200+ for Broadswords, 250+ for Sleipnirs... GOD DAMN! Did a whole bunch of T2 producers quit and now those things are rare? Then I checked the Cynabal... 190m... I felt like buying three! While I was checking the Angel ships I noticed that the Pirate battleships hadn't changed much, but the Dramiel... 53m... expected nerf much? So yeah, after 4 months, the failest expansion in the game's history, a weekend of riots and a slew of ragequits the EVE market is getting schizophrenic. Speaking of the ragequits, I've heard somewhere (can't remember where) that EVE has about 370 thousand active accounts. But what my numbers said was that at prime time on a Thursday night 28 thousand people were logged in. Summer's almost over, people are getting back online, so we can't say "because of summer" anymore. "EVE is dying™" ? This remains to be seen. I think she's taken a serious hit though.

So now that my parenting weekend is over I'll have more time to get active. I'll be spending a couple nights of ISK grinding but now all the pieces seem to be in place. Fun will be had soon. No, not "tm"! See you out there !!!

Fly with a purpose

o7


Edit: Oh damn! For the first time in this blog's history I've posted more than 100 times in a single year, and there's still over 4 months to go in 2011. Yay me !!! ^_^

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/08/19

OK so it's not Friday yet. Sue me. I have a crazy day ahead of me so I'm posting this in advance instead of skipping it. And while I'm at it, how about a crazy version of a well-known tune. I suspect that this is pre Machine Head because Ian Gillan is all over the place in his lyrics! It still has that groovy unmistakable Highway Star feel to it though.

On the EVE front: the cat is out of the bag now, yes I have resubbed, but no I'm not what one would call "active". I haven't even killed a single rat. And yes, Incarna sucks a massive pair of donkey balls. More on this on my first official active post.

On the bike front: I haven't purchased 'em yet but I have found the racks that will go with my disc brake equipped mountain bike, and even some for my suspension forks. The good news, the racks aren't too expensive and can haul tons. The bad news, waterproof panniers are NOT cheap, but they will be required if I want to head for parts unknown. Next year's vacation will be epic :)

Have a nice weekend !!!

o7

Re-installed

Part One of the preparations for my return has been done. The EVE client is re-installed and up to date as of yesterday night, and I must say that Incarna has given it a terminal case of bloatware. Close to 9gb? Damn! Sign of the times I guess. I know I do have some stuff to clean out of my hard drive cuz at 320gb it's approaching its limit a bit faster than I like. I know what you're all saying: "just get a 1tb drive dude", "get an external to back stuff up", etc. But if I was to make a list of everything I'd like to buy, computer related or not, I'll realize quickly that I need a salary worthy of some high-profile company CEOs. So don't comment about what to buy.

I kept myself from reactivating the account right away for a few reasons. First, by the time I had finished installing the client it was close to 11PM, and I knew that if I logged in I'd get sucked in until 1 or 2AM and I'd be a complete wreck this morning. I'm already a wreck because my brain is still on vacation so let's not worsen the situation. Second, even though I have a PLEX ready to be used for the reactivation I want to time the return just right for when I actually have to pay for the subscription. I've never been good with ISK (or real money for that matter...) so I can forget about using PLEXes to keep me going, unless I get lucky and find some rad complex loot or get a massive donation. Third, this weekend I'm on parent duty so as I've said it before, EVE and kids do not mix. And fourth, I don't want to rush anything, and I know that when I'll get back in I'll have crap-tons of stuff to do, settings to tweak, channels to open, people to talk to, etc. This means I'll need close to an entire day just to get back in. Such is the reality of EVE: everything is massively over-complicated and everything you want to do takes..... a...... lot............. of.......................... time !!!

But I guess I miss catching someone off-guard and tears of disapproval enough to endure everything I hate about EVE yet again. Hey who knows, maybe some viking, fearing that his job is in jeopardy because of his chiefs' stupid decisions, will start listening to some players that have been repeating the same things for years on end and start a revolution. "C'est beau de rêver" as we say in french! But yeah, when I first get on, after the necessary fixes to the UI settings have been done, I have to do what I hate the most and start making ISK. I have the feeling that my first 5 days of game play will have about the same effect on my brain as a Makita power drill. I will have to take some breaks by getting some PvP kills or else I'll just feel like leaving again. During this time I'll think about the various options available to get what I want out of the game. I don't want EVE to be a chore ever again. I want easy-going gangs that don't have FC's who pop fuses every time someone loses a ship or if I smack in Local, because I do like to smack. And most important, if an FC or director or CEO complains about the way I fit a ship while I have a massively positive efficiency (97% last time this happened) I will tell that FC/director/CEO to sit on my raised middle finger and spin. This is a sandbox, and when I am in a sandbox, even though I could be playing with some people, I will still do whatever the hell I want.

So there you go. The client is (almost) ready, and this BOV is almost ready to relieve the bitterness the only way I know: blowing shit up!

Fly like it's the last time; it just might be

o7

The last vacation's AAR, and preps for The Return of Coz

Even though it was sad and inevitable, Reality came knocking yesterday morning as my vacation was over and I got back to work. It's weird that no matter how long your vacations last it's never long enough. It's just so much fun to do what you want when you want... at least I know I won't get bored or miss my work place when I'll ultimately retire. Unless things change radically this is only in 10 years so I can already start thinking about it!

The vacation started with a bang on my birthday (which is described here) but afterwards things calmed down a lot and I was able to take life easy and slow. OK, it helped that I was pretty much broke most of the time but this actually helped me take time to completely relax and breathe. My main activity was of course riding my bike; in the 2 weeks of my vacation I rode something between 250 and 300 kilometers. It's awesome to have access to some of the nicest bike paths in the country! So I was able to do my relaxing and contemplating life by sitting next to the Lachine rapids for example. And on the days where the weather royally sucked I still took it way easy, so easy that I didn't even get any gaming done. In fact in the entire summer I've limited my gaming time to the point where now I'm actually missing it (any game) and when I'll get back I'll be able to enjoy gaming a lot more than I used to say 4 months ago. One of the things I've said often this summer is "Real > Pixels", and I put my money where my mouth is. So I used my time to get back in touch with some friends I hadn't seen in a while, got to meet some people I didn't know (we still get some newcomers at our EVE meets!), and even got to chat with someone I wouldn't mind getting closer to! Now hold your horses, don't get the rumor mill spinning madly out of control; I'm still single and loving it, and with all the crazy past experiences I've had I'm not about to be tied down. But when you meet someone who actually appreciates and accepts this, well you never know where things could end up. But I'll still follow my two main rules: zero rush and zero pressure.

OK enough of my boring soap opera, let's get to the important part of this post. I know I've said hard things about EVE, CCP, Incarna, and monocle-toting rich carebear fucks, but after three months of cold turkey I admit I'm starting to miss the sound of autocannons and lazorz. I even miss the sweet voice of Aura (as long as it's not to tell me I can't warp off because I'm scrammed!). So I've decided that some time in the near future Cozmik R5 will be thawed, slapped in the face a few times, given coffee ultimate enough to make Ziltoid The Omniscient proud, steeped into his pod and inserted back into his Taranis, Crusader, Vagabond, Cynabal, Sleipnir, Absolution... you get the picture! I'll try to make some ISKies at first because I did buy some nifty toys before entering cryosleep, and I know that if I come back it will be for the following reasons: blow shit up, get my shit blown up, make some people cry, and ultimately have fun. During my vacation I spent a bit of time on #tweetfleet and I've been told I could be welcomed back to Ushra'Khan, but now I know they are much deeper into Null-sec, and while this may be fun at times I admit I'm slightly too hard-headed to take orders, and flying bigger gangs with ship fits set in stone annoys me to no end. So there are really only two options left for me: Wardecs and Piracy. Or both! Knowing how easy it is I will also probably pop random industrials in Hi-sec just for the hell of it, because tears are delicious and in my last few months of playing EVE they have been extremely rare. So yes, I intend to make a comeback as a very very bad person >:)

Now about Incarna and its computer-frying properties: I do have an older computer now so I'll be staring at a door for a while, but it shouldn't affect me too much because I want to spend more time in space than in a station, Also I don't multi-box so this is not a problem to me. I will completely shun the infamous NEX store; hell, if anyone has a way to remove the NEX button tell me about it. When Incarna was announced I had a plan to do something hilarious but apparently it can't work: eventually when other parts of the stations become accessible I wanted to have Cozmik walk around Jita 4-4 in only his trunks, but CCP doesn't allow that. Damn vikings... :)

So there you go, it's been officially announced. I haven't set a date yet but it could be very soon because I do have a PLEX stashed just for this occasion. The first order of business will be to get some good energy emissions related skills (I can already fly the Curse), get my small and medium laser specs to V, and get Minmatar Battleship V. I will probably do the Amarr BS stuff after because I've heard Abaddons hurt a lot :) So if at some point you're mining away, just minding your own business in a peaceful 0.8 system, and you see a Vexor land next to you, smile because you just might appear on Cozmik's Candid Blaster !!!

Dangerous: the only way to fly

o7

PS: I'd like to send my best wishes to CrazyKinux. Thank you for all you did for the EVE blogging community.

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/08/12

Part I:




Part II



To end my vacation I decided to go back to some Zappa lovin' with the most requested tune at Zappa Plays Zappa shows. I had the opportunity to see Dweezil and co. twice, and the second time was the best rock show experience of my life as I was sitting in the fifth row and center of a tiny venue, literally within speaking distance of the band. As Sheila says, Mother Mary & Joseph !!!

Enjoy Dweezil, and accept no substitute!

o7

The best prayer ever

While I'm chillin' away having a morning coffee and listening to Frank Zappa's "One size fits all" album, a friend who's dear to me is having a rough Tuesday. This prayer goes out to her:

Have a nice one ;)

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - 2011/08/05

Here's a big one. This tune needs no introduction. It's not a sideways message to say I'm stopping blogging completely, but it may be a sign that a return to EVE is getting more and more questionable by the day. The more I hear about it, the more I want to head-butt some devs. I'm not going back to EVE unless somebody in Iceland smells the espresso.

Enjoy the Doors!

o7

Birthday EVE Meet

Last Saturday was not only an EVE Meet day, it was also my birthday. And when I e-mailed the Montreal crew (of which only three guys are still subbed at the moment!) control was suddenly wrested out of my hands when it was announced that the meet would not be happening at the regular drinking spot. Instead, we would be going to one of my buddies place and three things were going to be plentiful: swimming pool, food, and beer. I was then e-mailed directly to be informed that I needed not worry about getting a lift. The perks of being the Birthday Boy :)

So around noon my lift arrived, we picked up another buddy, the monster supper he was going to cook, and all the required cooking gear. Oh man this was going to be epic! And guess what, it was. We arrived at the party location around noon, unloaded the car, and proceeded to have a totally awesome day. Here are a few pics: 

The Lamb Lies Down in Laval. By the next morning we had completely devoured it.  It was a few notches beyond  AWESOME !!!

Proof that this is still at heart an EVE blog :)

Are we even doing this right? UNSUB !!! Just like its online sibling, there is a learning cliff to climb,  to hang yourself on, and to get bulldozed off once you think you've reached the top. Do notice though that the Minmatar Republic (moi) was doing good... I think! After almost 1 hour we had only done 1 turn, but we needed room for...

THIS! Yes it's as awesome as it looks, and then some!

And the digestive was equally awesome, probably because it wears the female version of my name :))

So all in all this was a birthday party to remember. I must thank pilots and former pilots Cartboard Box and Unzer for the vast quantities of beer and snacks (Unz also brought the table-top games we played), Uozag for the mead and the supper fit for Kings and/or Gods, and Suletsap III for the awesome hospitality. This is a birthday party I will remember for a long long time :)

Thanks guys !!!

o7