I just popped in-game a little while ago. I'm not sure why I bothered. I'm dead tired after a day spent shoveling food in my face and chasing after children. It's times like these when I remember why even though I love kids I don't have any of my own. Saw my brother who plays EvE today along with everyone else and passed my copy of Empyrean Age on to him. I know he'll like it.
There's really not a whole lot for me to do in-game until tomorrow anyway. I want to get some ships set up and I think I'll probably need some advice on that. Pretty much anything I do now I'm going to need some advice on until I get more of a handle on the way things are done out here in 0.0. In some ways, I'm a seasoned vet, in others I'm a total noob.
I also have to think about what I want to set as my next skill training. I've finished Hull Upgrades V and soon Scout Drones V, and I have to figure out what to cue up next. By the time I get in front of the computer tomorrow I'll be well within the 24-hour range so I guess I can figure it out then.
Right now, I'm really just glad that the first major holiday of the season is out of the way. Family events like these are fun, but they can really take it out of me. At least I'll have more time for EvE in coming days...until things get crazy again.
I don't care. It's not an either/or proposition this time. I'm in this game for the long haul. I'll make it work.
It's funny. I didn't really miss EvE all that much over the couple of years I was engrossed in my RL job. I didn't really have time to miss it because I was so involved with other things. I'm not someone who spends a lot of time idle so I filled that time with stuff to do, including a lot of single-player games that I could play whenever I had time for them. Yet, when I started getting back into MMO's again, first with Fallen Earth, Champions, and Crimecraft, I kept comparing these games to EvE. By the time I decided to sign up for a trial account, I was looking for a reason to revisit the game, so I gave myself one, an article I was going to write about revisiting EvE two years after I left it.
Looking back, maybe in all honesty it was an excuse. Maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I'd decided that I wanted to get back into EvE and so I did the one thing I knew would almost certainly get me hooked again, and now I am. Big surprise. Maybe.
The real point is that I have a better, more satisfying experience playing EvE than I have in any other MMO I've ever played. That, more than any other single reason, is why I'm back and why I'm sticking around.
Ah well...the L-Tryptophan is kicking in bigtime and I think it's time for bed.
Until next time, fly safe.
Showing posts with label EvE: Empyrean Age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EvE: Empyrean Age. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A Fine and Lovely Morning...
I finished Empyrean Age this morning over coffee. I enjoyed it a lot and now that I'm done with it, I'll be reading those news stories I haven't read yet and probably going to check out some of the results. I must admit that I find this really interesting, perhaps even a completely new way of telling a story. It's fascinating to me that the results of what I just read in a novel can be actually traveled to and seen for oneself in the game.
A novel, a self-contained sci-fi story, that actually happens in "reality" in an MMO, with events you can actually witness for yourself as they happen and which carry lasting changes for that world. This, my fellow capsuleers, is truly the cutting edge of fiction storytelling and of sci-fi in particular (where readers/players/viewers are generally much more receptive overall to such innovations than the average media consumer).
This might not seem like such a big deal to some, but consider this: Until now, virtually all fictional media has been, generally speaking, originally presented in one format or another, with almost all of the crossover coming between print and film or television. In sci-fi, and particularly in media based on well-established franchises such as Star Trek, there is always the issue of which stories are considered "canon", part of the established "official" history of the franchise. These are generally arguments for the fanboy faithful, but the rule until now seems to have always been that if the story was told on television or in film then it's considered canon, but if the story appears solely in print or in a videogame, it's generally not.
What makes EvE: Empyrean Age so innovative and groundbreaking is that it actually eliminates the fourth wall and brings EvE players actually into the story itself. The events of the book are indeed canon and the results of those events are physically manifest within the game. In this way, even players who were not playing at the time these events occurred within the game (like me) are drawn into the scenario as well as they must deal with the repercussions of the events in the book just as every player must.
More than just breaking down the fourth wall, though, CCP goes even further here and gives the events and results of the novel a 3-D existence within the game that players can visit and interact with. I know of no other sci-fi franchise that's ever done this (and no, I'm not counting Lord of the Rings, which has been done and redone to death, to the point of torturous boredom).
From a player/media consumer perspective, this is the first sci-fi novel I've ever read that "matters" in a significant way to the universe it presents beyond its own pages. It changes the way I perceive the book, and it might even influence how I play the game in the future in some way.
I think a big part of why this could be done with EvE but not with a media monolith like Star Trek is that there's just too much Star Trek media already out there in every format to keep it all coordinated to start adding additional canon in more than just dribs and drabs.
EvE, first and foremost, is the game. Other media comes from and is based on the game, not the other way around as with LotRO. In addition, there's a lot less canon established in EvE than in a 44-year-old franchise like Star Trek, and so there's a lot more they can do in terms of shaking things up and taking risks with the overall story arc.
What I'm now most interested in seeing is not only the physical results of Empyrean Age, but also how/if the next novel (now apparently due out in March) will play out within the game. One thing is for certain, I won't miss this one.
Oh and hey, in another hour or so I'll be heading to Best Buy to pick up my PC. As you might imagine, I'm very much looking forward to that. Hmmm, I've been writing this post for so long that it's not even morning any more.
Soon, soon...online life will return to normal. Eight days without my PC (and without EvE) is just too freaking long.
A novel, a self-contained sci-fi story, that actually happens in "reality" in an MMO, with events you can actually witness for yourself as they happen and which carry lasting changes for that world. This, my fellow capsuleers, is truly the cutting edge of fiction storytelling and of sci-fi in particular (where readers/players/viewers are generally much more receptive overall to such innovations than the average media consumer).
This might not seem like such a big deal to some, but consider this: Until now, virtually all fictional media has been, generally speaking, originally presented in one format or another, with almost all of the crossover coming between print and film or television. In sci-fi, and particularly in media based on well-established franchises such as Star Trek, there is always the issue of which stories are considered "canon", part of the established "official" history of the franchise. These are generally arguments for the fanboy faithful, but the rule until now seems to have always been that if the story was told on television or in film then it's considered canon, but if the story appears solely in print or in a videogame, it's generally not.
What makes EvE: Empyrean Age so innovative and groundbreaking is that it actually eliminates the fourth wall and brings EvE players actually into the story itself. The events of the book are indeed canon and the results of those events are physically manifest within the game. In this way, even players who were not playing at the time these events occurred within the game (like me) are drawn into the scenario as well as they must deal with the repercussions of the events in the book just as every player must.
More than just breaking down the fourth wall, though, CCP goes even further here and gives the events and results of the novel a 3-D existence within the game that players can visit and interact with. I know of no other sci-fi franchise that's ever done this (and no, I'm not counting Lord of the Rings, which has been done and redone to death, to the point of torturous boredom).
From a player/media consumer perspective, this is the first sci-fi novel I've ever read that "matters" in a significant way to the universe it presents beyond its own pages. It changes the way I perceive the book, and it might even influence how I play the game in the future in some way.
I think a big part of why this could be done with EvE but not with a media monolith like Star Trek is that there's just too much Star Trek media already out there in every format to keep it all coordinated to start adding additional canon in more than just dribs and drabs.
EvE, first and foremost, is the game. Other media comes from and is based on the game, not the other way around as with LotRO. In addition, there's a lot less canon established in EvE than in a 44-year-old franchise like Star Trek, and so there's a lot more they can do in terms of shaking things up and taking risks with the overall story arc.
What I'm now most interested in seeing is not only the physical results of Empyrean Age, but also how/if the next novel (now apparently due out in March) will play out within the game. One thing is for certain, I won't miss this one.
Oh and hey, in another hour or so I'll be heading to Best Buy to pick up my PC. As you might imagine, I'm very much looking forward to that. Hmmm, I've been writing this post for so long that it's not even morning any more.
Soon, soon...online life will return to normal. Eight days without my PC (and without EvE) is just too freaking long.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Diagnosis Is In
Oh, this one's just fucking brilliant.
It turns out that the problem with my PC was a rather simple one. I have a RAID array on my machine. It works great with Vista, but there's no software for it that works with Windows 7 yet. That's why it recognized my drives as removable apparently. There's no one to get mad at or blame, not even Microsoft really. Even they can't provide me with software that hasn't been written yet.
So, looks like until there's a Win7-compatible driver for my RAID array available, I'll be stuck with Vista. It's hardly the end of the world. I know there have been a lot of complaints about it, but Vista Home Premium has worked fine for me since I've had it, in fact, I like it better than XP. I should have probably saved my money and just left things as they were.
So, tomorrow I'll go pick up my PC from Best Buy and my copy of Windows 7 will go sit on a shelf for a while until I can actually use it.
At least I'll finally be able to get back to playing EvE again. It's been a week now, and there's just so much a woman can do to distract herself. I'm almost done with Empyrean Age. I think I'll have to make it point to finish that tonight.
It turns out that the problem with my PC was a rather simple one. I have a RAID array on my machine. It works great with Vista, but there's no software for it that works with Windows 7 yet. That's why it recognized my drives as removable apparently. There's no one to get mad at or blame, not even Microsoft really. Even they can't provide me with software that hasn't been written yet.
So, looks like until there's a Win7-compatible driver for my RAID array available, I'll be stuck with Vista. It's hardly the end of the world. I know there have been a lot of complaints about it, but Vista Home Premium has worked fine for me since I've had it, in fact, I like it better than XP. I should have probably saved my money and just left things as they were.
So, tomorrow I'll go pick up my PC from Best Buy and my copy of Windows 7 will go sit on a shelf for a while until I can actually use it.
At least I'll finally be able to get back to playing EvE again. It's been a week now, and there's just so much a woman can do to distract herself. I'm almost done with Empyrean Age. I think I'll have to make it point to finish that tonight.
Tick, Tick, Tick...
I just spoke to my guy at Geek Squad. If all goes as expected, I'll be picking my PC up tonight. I hope so...I'm almost finished with Empyrean Age and it feels like I've watched every video and listened to every podcast.
It turns out my instincts were right to have him fix it rather than try to do it myself. I'll get more details later I'm sure, but I already know that the problem was waaay out of my league as far the technical skill required to fix it. Once again it is proven: No one, and I mean no one, can fuck up a PC like Microsoft.
I've passed on Fallen Earth Bloggers to the one other blogger who was writing for it. He's the sole blogger there at the moment but I hope others will join him there soon. It's a good game, created by a good company, and played by good people. They deserve success and I hope it comes for them.
I'm still thinking a lot about what I want to do as far as a ship goes once I can log in again. I'm leaning toward the Thorax idea, but I want to take some time checking out the market and the cost of insurance to see exactly what I'm dealing with before I make any decisions.
Until it's time for me to call James in around six hours I'm pretty much just marking time as far as EvE goes. Hopefully, later tonight that'll all be over.
It turns out my instincts were right to have him fix it rather than try to do it myself. I'll get more details later I'm sure, but I already know that the problem was waaay out of my league as far the technical skill required to fix it. Once again it is proven: No one, and I mean no one, can fuck up a PC like Microsoft.
I've passed on Fallen Earth Bloggers to the one other blogger who was writing for it. He's the sole blogger there at the moment but I hope others will join him there soon. It's a good game, created by a good company, and played by good people. They deserve success and I hope it comes for them.
I'm still thinking a lot about what I want to do as far as a ship goes once I can log in again. I'm leaning toward the Thorax idea, but I want to take some time checking out the market and the cost of insurance to see exactly what I'm dealing with before I make any decisions.
Until it's time for me to call James in around six hours I'm pretty much just marking time as far as EvE goes. Hopefully, later tonight that'll all be over.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Now I'm Seriously Jonesing
Hopefully, my PC will be ready tomorrow, Friday at the latest. In the meantime, I've been getting a lot of Empyrean Age read. I'm about 3/4 through it now, and it's still a great read. After getting into it a bit I decided not to read any of the news items posted at the site until I finish it as many seem to be relevant to the events in the book. What I'm curious about, and I haven't yet seen talked about anywhere (but could easily have missed it) is whether this novel is considered EvE canon, and what about the one due out next month? Not that I really expect it would change anything in-game much either way, but it would be useful to know.
I did a little research today and read everything I could find on the disbanding of BoB. Not surprising, but oh so typical in this game. Can't say I'm unhappy to see it happen, either, just kinda sorry I missed being around for it. I like the idea that things are at least a little more balanced in terms of political power in this game than they used to be.
I've also been thinking about which corp I may want to join once I've done my solo time. I really don't know yet, though I'm considering re-applying to EvE University. It never hurts to brush up on one's PvP skills when you haven't been playing a couple of years (and I didn't do a whole lot of PvP while I was playing in any case), and on top of that, they're some of the best people I've ever gamed with. I haven't made any hard and fast decisions, but that's definitely one thing I'm thinking about.
Sigh....what I really want is my frakking PC back...
I did a little research today and read everything I could find on the disbanding of BoB. Not surprising, but oh so typical in this game. Can't say I'm unhappy to see it happen, either, just kinda sorry I missed being around for it. I like the idea that things are at least a little more balanced in terms of political power in this game than they used to be.
I've also been thinking about which corp I may want to join once I've done my solo time. I really don't know yet, though I'm considering re-applying to EvE University. It never hurts to brush up on one's PvP skills when you haven't been playing a couple of years (and I didn't do a whole lot of PvP while I was playing in any case), and on top of that, they're some of the best people I've ever gamed with. I haven't made any hard and fast decisions, but that's definitely one thing I'm thinking about.
Sigh....what I really want is my frakking PC back...
Monday, October 26, 2009
More EvE Media
I'm listening to podcasts now. I just got an email from the Geek Squad telling me that they're working on my PC. I know who'll be working on my machine because I went directly to him. I know who the best techs are there because I used to work with these folks. It takes an extra day or two because I don't want just anyone working on my PC, I want the guy who I know knows what he's doing. For that, I can live with an extra day or two wait.
I'm halfway through Empyrean Age now. It's still a good read.
I want my PC back. I want to get back to doing what I do, the way I want to do it.
Grrrr...
I'm halfway through Empyrean Age now. It's still a good read.
I want my PC back. I want to get back to doing what I do, the way I want to do it.
Grrrr...
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Cutting Strings
I wrote and posted my goodbye post at Fallen Earth Bloggers this morning. I hope I can find someone good who cares about the game to take over for me there. Those folks are good people and deserve the best. That's the biggest reason why it can't be me. I'm too focused on EvE now to be a good moderator or reporter for Fallen Earth. It's the very same reason why one of the first things I did when I came back to EvE was restart this blog. Every writer knows that they'll be at their best when they're writing their passion. That's why I'm at my best writing about EvE and why I want someone who's as passionate about Fallen Earth to succeed me over there. If you know of a good candidate for the job, please send them my way. Thanks!
Now, getting back to EvE and to this blog, I do hope that if you like what you read here you'll let others know about it. I'm always up for link exchanges with other EvE-relevant sites as well.
Since I haven't been able to log into EvE in about two and half days, I've been spending some time reading EvE: Empyrean Age. I'm about a third of the way through it, and I must say it's a great read so far. Like most good tie-ins it's a novel that succeeds on its own merits, but also offers a little something extra to those who know and understand the universe it portrays.
I'm not going to go into detail about the story here, but suffice it to say that if you play and enjoy EvE-Online, you'll find plenty to enjoy in this book. It's set in the EvE universe and the attention to detail is obvious. In addition, it's exactly the kind of story you'd expect to find in New Eden, synchs in perfectly (as far as I can tell) with the established canon, and most importantly is engaging and keeps you on the edge of your seat wanted to find out what happens next. Very good stuff, a very fitting tribute to and a window into EvE.
Have you ever tried to explain EvE to someone who doesn't get it at all, someone who all they know of videogames is boxy-looking plumbers in red overalls saving blonde princesses? This happened to me a few months ago. At the time I hadn't been playing EvE for about a year and a half, but I was wearing an EvE t-shirt and someone asked me what EvE was.
When I told her it was a video game I used to play on my PC over the Internet I could see she was clueless. Her next question confirmed my theory. "So, you play this on the computer? Is this about...sex?". Alright, no big deal, not exactly the first time the name "Eve" has been associated with X-rated media. "Um, no." I replied, "It's actually a game involving spaceships and combat." "So you fight with other people in spaceships over the Internet?" "Well, yes, sometimes, a lot of times, but there's also a lot more to it than that." "So you fly around in these Internet spaceships and shoot at each other?" "Well, yes, but..." "Ooooook. Oh, look at the time...".
Sometimes it's hard being a geek.
Now, getting back to EvE and to this blog, I do hope that if you like what you read here you'll let others know about it. I'm always up for link exchanges with other EvE-relevant sites as well.
Since I haven't been able to log into EvE in about two and half days, I've been spending some time reading EvE: Empyrean Age. I'm about a third of the way through it, and I must say it's a great read so far. Like most good tie-ins it's a novel that succeeds on its own merits, but also offers a little something extra to those who know and understand the universe it portrays.
I'm not going to go into detail about the story here, but suffice it to say that if you play and enjoy EvE-Online, you'll find plenty to enjoy in this book. It's set in the EvE universe and the attention to detail is obvious. In addition, it's exactly the kind of story you'd expect to find in New Eden, synchs in perfectly (as far as I can tell) with the established canon, and most importantly is engaging and keeps you on the edge of your seat wanted to find out what happens next. Very good stuff, a very fitting tribute to and a window into EvE.
*****
Have you ever tried to explain EvE to someone who doesn't get it at all, someone who all they know of videogames is boxy-looking plumbers in red overalls saving blonde princesses? This happened to me a few months ago. At the time I hadn't been playing EvE for about a year and a half, but I was wearing an EvE t-shirt and someone asked me what EvE was.
When I told her it was a video game I used to play on my PC over the Internet I could see she was clueless. Her next question confirmed my theory. "So, you play this on the computer? Is this about...sex?". Alright, no big deal, not exactly the first time the name "Eve" has been associated with X-rated media. "Um, no." I replied, "It's actually a game involving spaceships and combat." "So you fight with other people in spaceships over the Internet?" "Well, yes, sometimes, a lot of times, but there's also a lot more to it than that." "So you fly around in these Internet spaceships and shoot at each other?" "Well, yes, but..." "Ooooook. Oh, look at the time...".
Sometimes it's hard being a geek.
Friday, October 23, 2009
I Am In Microsoft Hell
Fuck fucking Microsoft and their fucking shitty-ass software!
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system, here's why: I tried to install Windows 7 but the installer recognizes my internal RAID array as removable drives and won't install to them. As a result, I'm now stuck between Vista and Win7. Neither will run properly. After an hour on the phone with Microsoft and another 20 minutes with the Geek Squad, it seems my only way out of this is a $200 Geek Squad repair job. Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper right now.
And of course, among the many things I'm unable to do right now is play EvE. The old spare PC I'm on right now can't handle it. I am getting some Empyeran Age reading done in-between phone calls, so I guess I'm not really going cold turkey. Besides I survived two years with no EvE, I'll manage another day or two.
Rassa frassa...
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system, here's why: I tried to install Windows 7 but the installer recognizes my internal RAID array as removable drives and won't install to them. As a result, I'm now stuck between Vista and Win7. Neither will run properly. After an hour on the phone with Microsoft and another 20 minutes with the Geek Squad, it seems my only way out of this is a $200 Geek Squad repair job. Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper right now.
And of course, among the many things I'm unable to do right now is play EvE. The old spare PC I'm on right now can't handle it. I am getting some Empyeran Age reading done in-between phone calls, so I guess I'm not really going cold turkey. Besides I survived two years with no EvE, I'll manage another day or two.
Rassa frassa...
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