I went out and did some more exploring today. Most of my attempts were pretty fruitless, except for one.
I managed to scan down a radar signature, but this time I remembered to bookmark it and then came back with my Myrm. I took out the couple of guards and then brought my Magnate back in to codebreak the containers and collect the loot. I scored about 15 million ISK for that little adventure, not too shabby.
I just can't escape it. I'm having a blast with EVE all over again. Earlier today I officially reactivated my account because I already know that whether I do it today or tomorrow, I'm gonna do it. One day, I'll learn.
In the meantime, I'm liking the income from exploration so far, and it's fun. I think I'm going to do a little more tonight. I'm enjoying it, but I clearly still need more practice before I can consider myself proficient.
See ya out there.
Showing posts with label Eve-Online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eve-Online. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Greetings From The Void
Um, hiya.
Yeah, I know it's been a few weeks, but RL is still kicking my butt right now. This is totally unanticipated, by the way. In fact, this is usually a slow time of year for me in RL. Now it's like I don't have time to do much more than pop in-game occasionally to chat with corpmates and change skills. I want to do more, a lot more, but I just don't have the time right now. I think I've written more in the last three weeks than I did in the six months previous. Un-frakkin'-believable. I thought this was going to be over by the middle of the week, but it just isn't. It's finally slowing though, so maybe I was just off by a few days. I hope so.
I also did something else. I preordered the Collector's Edition of Star Trek Online from Amazon with the Borg Officer bonus. I had to do it. I love Star Trek too much not to at least give it a shot. Because of my preorder purchase, I get to participate in open beta next month. I'm assuming that by then I'll be long since back to my normal, boring winter life with much more time to play MMO's, but if I do like STO I may eventually face a decision like I did with Fallen Earth. EvE won that one, but STO is still basically an unknown quantity. STO would have to be pretty damned amazing to tempt me away from EvE, and thus far I haven't seen enough of STO to convince me that would be the case. It does look interesting and engaging with is why I preordered, but I'm not yet convinced it's a long-term keeper. I liked Champions at first glance too, but the reality of playing it wasn't enough to keep me interested long-term. STO will have to prove itself to me. The Star Trek franchise is a great start but it's not enough.
Right now, I don't see myself leaving EvE for STO, but then I also didn't see myself leaving Fallen Earth to come back to EvE, so who knows?
Yeah, I know it's been a few weeks, but RL is still kicking my butt right now. This is totally unanticipated, by the way. In fact, this is usually a slow time of year for me in RL. Now it's like I don't have time to do much more than pop in-game occasionally to chat with corpmates and change skills. I want to do more, a lot more, but I just don't have the time right now. I think I've written more in the last three weeks than I did in the six months previous. Un-frakkin'-believable. I thought this was going to be over by the middle of the week, but it just isn't. It's finally slowing though, so maybe I was just off by a few days. I hope so.
I also did something else. I preordered the Collector's Edition of Star Trek Online from Amazon with the Borg Officer bonus. I had to do it. I love Star Trek too much not to at least give it a shot. Because of my preorder purchase, I get to participate in open beta next month. I'm assuming that by then I'll be long since back to my normal, boring winter life with much more time to play MMO's, but if I do like STO I may eventually face a decision like I did with Fallen Earth. EvE won that one, but STO is still basically an unknown quantity. STO would have to be pretty damned amazing to tempt me away from EvE, and thus far I haven't seen enough of STO to convince me that would be the case. It does look interesting and engaging with is why I preordered, but I'm not yet convinced it's a long-term keeper. I liked Champions at first glance too, but the reality of playing it wasn't enough to keep me interested long-term. STO will have to prove itself to me. The Star Trek franchise is a great start but it's not enough.
Right now, I don't see myself leaving EvE for STO, but then I also didn't see myself leaving Fallen Earth to come back to EvE, so who knows?
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Off The Grid For A Little While
In my RL work, anytime there are certain kinds of major political issues and news stories surfacing in the news cycle my job instantly gets harder and much more time-consuming. It's one of those times right now, and so right now my EvE time will be limited, if not non-existent, for the next few days. I may get a chance to log in for a while later tonight, but right now I'm up to my ears in research, strategy planning, and taking advantage of media connections to get the info I need to be ready for an emergency meeting on Monday.
I really want to start getting into Dominion (not to mention my new corp and what they do) but RL just hasn't been cooperating this week. This will pass soon and life will return to normal, but right now, as much as I'd like nothing better right now than to say "Fuck it." and log into EvE for the afternoon, I can't. In a very real way, my work is my life, and it has to come first.
That said, if I can possibly squeeze out any time at all to log in and spend some time in-game over these next few days, I most certainly will be there. I love what I do, but I also love being able to leave it all behind for a while. If I can, I will. Right now, that's about all I can promise.
I really want to start getting into Dominion (not to mention my new corp and what they do) but RL just hasn't been cooperating this week. This will pass soon and life will return to normal, but right now, as much as I'd like nothing better right now than to say "Fuck it." and log into EvE for the afternoon, I can't. In a very real way, my work is my life, and it has to come first.
That said, if I can possibly squeeze out any time at all to log in and spend some time in-game over these next few days, I most certainly will be there. I love what I do, but I also love being able to leave it all behind for a while. If I can, I will. Right now, that's about all I can promise.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Learning to Fly
Tonight I spent the evening getting a tour of some of the local space around my new corp's home system. I needed to put together at least a couple of PvP-ready frigs so I bought a couple of Tristans and discovered much to my dismay that I hadn't trained a skill I suddenly found myself in need of, Small Blaster Specialization. I found this skill book available at the local trade hub a few jumps away. In addition, some of the parts I needed for my Tristans were available there as well, so I bought what I needed and then later one of the corp directors took me for a tour and I made a stop to pick up my purchases while we were passing through.
He had me bookmarking everything along the way and when we'd gotten out several jumps from our starting point, he said "Ok Bekka, now let's see if you can make it back home." I'll admit to surprising myself, I did make one warp to an incorrect stargate, but I realized it immediately, corrected my mistake, and successfully made it back to our home system without having to ask for help. I will say it's not easy. There's a hell of a lot to learn and remember about how to get around.
High-sec this definitely is not, but it's also (at least so far) nowhere near as scary as I used to think. Of course, I've still only seen a tiny fraction of 0.0, but so far it's a lot more empty than I expected it to be. There wasn't much of any sort of threat to deal with during the whole trip.
I am just having a freaking great time with this game right now. I love learning new stuff and it seems like I'm learning something new every time I undock. Hard to believe that it's going to get even better in a few days once Dominion is live.
Yes, this is it. This is what I was missing the last time I played. The adventure, the feeling like I'm really on the final frontier, where anything can happen. The high-sec game is a lot of fun, but this is...I'm not sure how to describe it...a different animal entirely. People have told me that consistently and now I see how right they are.
Suddenly, I get it. I understand why once you spend time in 0.0 and you begin to understand the way it works (and of course this is a process I've just barely begun), you either never want to go back to high-sec or you'd probably want to go back immediately. It truly is a completely different game in many ways.
Personally, I came out to 0.0 for a reason: I want PvP, and I want PvP that matters. I want to become good, no, great at it. I want to do my part to help my new corp accomplish its goals. The director who took me on the tour tonight said if I wanted to bring the stuff I have in high-sec into 0.0 they'd help. I think that would be an awesome idea as long as they think they'd be useful. I have two ships that I'd want to bring out, my Myrmidon and my Thorax. Both are currently fitted for PvE missions, so I'll probably have to invest a little in new mods, but I'm more than happy to offer up both of these ships in the service of my corp. It's the very least I can do considering all they're doing for me.
There's still so much to learn, so much to absorb. I'll get there though, especially with the kind of help I've been getting. I feel very lucky all the way around. I've now got exactly what I was looking for in this game, in pretty much every way I can think of.
0.0 is my home, and slowly but surely I'm making myself comfortable here. It can and is getting easier, in large part because of the great support system my corp offers. Y'know, if I had the same kind of luck with my real life choices as I do with choices I make in EvE I'd probably be a multi-millionaire by now.
He had me bookmarking everything along the way and when we'd gotten out several jumps from our starting point, he said "Ok Bekka, now let's see if you can make it back home." I'll admit to surprising myself, I did make one warp to an incorrect stargate, but I realized it immediately, corrected my mistake, and successfully made it back to our home system without having to ask for help. I will say it's not easy. There's a hell of a lot to learn and remember about how to get around.
High-sec this definitely is not, but it's also (at least so far) nowhere near as scary as I used to think. Of course, I've still only seen a tiny fraction of 0.0, but so far it's a lot more empty than I expected it to be. There wasn't much of any sort of threat to deal with during the whole trip.
I am just having a freaking great time with this game right now. I love learning new stuff and it seems like I'm learning something new every time I undock. Hard to believe that it's going to get even better in a few days once Dominion is live.
Yes, this is it. This is what I was missing the last time I played. The adventure, the feeling like I'm really on the final frontier, where anything can happen. The high-sec game is a lot of fun, but this is...I'm not sure how to describe it...a different animal entirely. People have told me that consistently and now I see how right they are.
Suddenly, I get it. I understand why once you spend time in 0.0 and you begin to understand the way it works (and of course this is a process I've just barely begun), you either never want to go back to high-sec or you'd probably want to go back immediately. It truly is a completely different game in many ways.
Personally, I came out to 0.0 for a reason: I want PvP, and I want PvP that matters. I want to become good, no, great at it. I want to do my part to help my new corp accomplish its goals. The director who took me on the tour tonight said if I wanted to bring the stuff I have in high-sec into 0.0 they'd help. I think that would be an awesome idea as long as they think they'd be useful. I have two ships that I'd want to bring out, my Myrmidon and my Thorax. Both are currently fitted for PvE missions, so I'll probably have to invest a little in new mods, but I'm more than happy to offer up both of these ships in the service of my corp. It's the very least I can do considering all they're doing for me.
There's still so much to learn, so much to absorb. I'll get there though, especially with the kind of help I've been getting. I feel very lucky all the way around. I've now got exactly what I was looking for in this game, in pretty much every way I can think of.
0.0 is my home, and slowly but surely I'm making myself comfortable here. It can and is getting easier, in large part because of the great support system my corp offers. Y'know, if I had the same kind of luck with my real life choices as I do with choices I make in EvE I'd probably be a multi-millionaire by now.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
On The Edge Of A New Beginning
I'm not yet at the point where I'm comfortable discussing all of the details, but there are significant changes in store for me in this game. The short version is that I'm about to join a player-run corp again and I'm very excited about it. It's the kind of situation I find very appealing and the all the people I've met are terrific. Beyond that, I need to have a discussion with my soon-to-be new corpmates before I say anything else. I need to know exactly what they're comfortable with before I go spouting off here.
The next step for me, as for all pre-Dominion corporate recruits, is to go to a system where the corporation has an office and formally apply. This will entail a rather long trip through high-sec, longer than I have time for tonight. Originally, I was thinking of selling off some stuff to help finance my new position's equipment, but then a generous reader, mlove, contacted me in-game tonight with some kind words about the blog and an absolutely impeccably-timed ISK donation that allows me to instead just keep my stuff for when and if I might need it down the road.
The truth is that I'm bursting to say more, but I won't until I've cleared it. One thing I can and will say right now, though, is that for the first time in a long time I can't really anticipate what's next for me in this game and I love that. In fact, maybe I hadn't realized just how much I missed that feeling in this game and why I eventually became so bored as a manufacturing corp director. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that horrible. In all honesty, the CEO did 90% of the real work. I spent a lot of time salvaging and doing other carebearey kinds of tasks. Thing was, I never really did get to see much of New Eden. I've always regretted that, and when I returned to the game I promised myself that this time it's going to be different.
And so here I am, on the cusp of a new chapter of my life in EvE. Tomorrow I will leave all of my stuff behind, get in a shuttle, and head off on a long trip toward a new life, in a new place, with new friends.
If only real life were so simple.
The next step for me, as for all pre-Dominion corporate recruits, is to go to a system where the corporation has an office and formally apply. This will entail a rather long trip through high-sec, longer than I have time for tonight. Originally, I was thinking of selling off some stuff to help finance my new position's equipment, but then a generous reader, mlove, contacted me in-game tonight with some kind words about the blog and an absolutely impeccably-timed ISK donation that allows me to instead just keep my stuff for when and if I might need it down the road.
The truth is that I'm bursting to say more, but I won't until I've cleared it. One thing I can and will say right now, though, is that for the first time in a long time I can't really anticipate what's next for me in this game and I love that. In fact, maybe I hadn't realized just how much I missed that feeling in this game and why I eventually became so bored as a manufacturing corp director. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that horrible. In all honesty, the CEO did 90% of the real work. I spent a lot of time salvaging and doing other carebearey kinds of tasks. Thing was, I never really did get to see much of New Eden. I've always regretted that, and when I returned to the game I promised myself that this time it's going to be different.
And so here I am, on the cusp of a new chapter of my life in EvE. Tomorrow I will leave all of my stuff behind, get in a shuttle, and head off on a long trip toward a new life, in a new place, with new friends.
If only real life were so simple.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Burning and Earning
I've been doing a lot of level 3 missions with the Myrmidon, generating a pretty decent income. Mainly right now I'm waiting until my second major skill training, Hull Upgrades V, finishes in a little more than ten days and I can then install Tech 2 Armor Hardeners. I've already bought the hardeners, but I have to finish training the skill before I can install them.
I'm also still in that warm, cozy, newly-returned-player mode, just enjoying being back in the game and still rediscovering things I love about it.
One thing I've been avoiding doing since coming back is becoming as active a participant on the official EO forums as I used to be. I've put up a post promoting this blog and I've jumped in on a few conversations here and there, but after such a negative experience with those forums a couple of years ago, I've decided that I'm going to be a lot more cautious about posting there this time around. The nutshell version is that I'm back in EvE to relax and have fun, and I've found that that's not always possible when I involve myself too much over there.
I'm now in a place in-game where I'm almost back to where I was before I left, except in terms of actual stuff owned and ISK in my wallet. I'm doing the same kinds of missions I was doing then, with the same kind of ship, but with a much better fit than I was using back then.
I know it's getting close to the time where I'm going to have to start making some decisions about what direction I want to go in this game. I'm giving myself the ten days plus it'll take for that skill to finish training to think about it before making any decisions, maybe even a little longer if I decide I need it.
That said, I also know I don't just want to endlessly run missions as a solo player. In order to really enjoy this game to its fullest (in my opinion, at least), it must be played with other people. I will join a player-run corp again soon. I already have several good options, and I'm open to more.
Yet, despite all that, I'm still having a pretty good time right now just roaming the spaceways in search of fun and profit. It's not a long-term career plan, but it'll work well enough for a couple more weeks. Then, it'll become time to seriously start finding myself a new career in this game.
I'm also still in that warm, cozy, newly-returned-player mode, just enjoying being back in the game and still rediscovering things I love about it.
One thing I've been avoiding doing since coming back is becoming as active a participant on the official EO forums as I used to be. I've put up a post promoting this blog and I've jumped in on a few conversations here and there, but after such a negative experience with those forums a couple of years ago, I've decided that I'm going to be a lot more cautious about posting there this time around. The nutshell version is that I'm back in EvE to relax and have fun, and I've found that that's not always possible when I involve myself too much over there.
I'm now in a place in-game where I'm almost back to where I was before I left, except in terms of actual stuff owned and ISK in my wallet. I'm doing the same kinds of missions I was doing then, with the same kind of ship, but with a much better fit than I was using back then.
I know it's getting close to the time where I'm going to have to start making some decisions about what direction I want to go in this game. I'm giving myself the ten days plus it'll take for that skill to finish training to think about it before making any decisions, maybe even a little longer if I decide I need it.
That said, I also know I don't just want to endlessly run missions as a solo player. In order to really enjoy this game to its fullest (in my opinion, at least), it must be played with other people. I will join a player-run corp again soon. I already have several good options, and I'm open to more.
Yet, despite all that, I'm still having a pretty good time right now just roaming the spaceways in search of fun and profit. It's not a long-term career plan, but it'll work well enough for a couple more weeks. Then, it'll become time to seriously start finding myself a new career in this game.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Movin' On Up
Last night, the same player who gave me the 50 million ISK donation met me in-game and gave me me not only the best Myrmidon fit I've ever used, but all the parts I needed for it.
My Myrmidon is now literally unstoppable, at least when doing Level 3 missions. The fit is perma-run and the cap never sinks much below 1/2 charge even when I have everything running. My biggest problem is making sure I have enough ammo to get the mission done. After one of the first missions I did with the Myrm there were a lot of ships to kill and I took them all out in one go-round, just barely. I left that deadspace area with exactly 11 rounds of ammo left.
It's unquestionably the most effective fit I've ever tried on any ship I've flown as far as tanking goes. Probably also close to the most destructive (though I did fly a Dommie for a bit a couple of years ago).
I'm not done yet, either. I'm in the process of training up a few relevant skills and then I'll be able to upgrade the fit with some spiffy t2. So now all of a sudden I'm actually starting to make a little ISK. This, of course, is a very good thing.
So now, what I've been doing is going to Level 3 agents at corps I have high standings in, doing a few missions and then moving on to another one with a somewhat higher ranking. So far, I've had no problems at all other than the loss of a few cheap drones. I have a busy RL day tomorrow, so I got my ship to the next agent I plan to do missions for and then logged out. This one is middle-ranked and if I do well with him tomorrow night 'll try one a little higher.
Damn, I'm having a shitload of fun with this game right now. I can't wait to try the next round.
Myrmidon FTW!
My Myrmidon is now literally unstoppable, at least when doing Level 3 missions. The fit is perma-run and the cap never sinks much below 1/2 charge even when I have everything running. My biggest problem is making sure I have enough ammo to get the mission done. After one of the first missions I did with the Myrm there were a lot of ships to kill and I took them all out in one go-round, just barely. I left that deadspace area with exactly 11 rounds of ammo left.
It's unquestionably the most effective fit I've ever tried on any ship I've flown as far as tanking goes. Probably also close to the most destructive (though I did fly a Dommie for a bit a couple of years ago).
I'm not done yet, either. I'm in the process of training up a few relevant skills and then I'll be able to upgrade the fit with some spiffy t2. So now all of a sudden I'm actually starting to make a little ISK. This, of course, is a very good thing.
So now, what I've been doing is going to Level 3 agents at corps I have high standings in, doing a few missions and then moving on to another one with a somewhat higher ranking. So far, I've had no problems at all other than the loss of a few cheap drones. I have a busy RL day tomorrow, so I got my ship to the next agent I plan to do missions for and then logged out. This one is middle-ranked and if I do well with him tomorrow night 'll try one a little higher.
Damn, I'm having a shitload of fun with this game right now. I can't wait to try the next round.
Myrmidon FTW!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Cruisin'
So, I'm doing Level 2 missions now. I'm still tweaking the Thorax's fit, but so far it's been very effective. I've got five Hammerhead I's in the bay which usually take out most of the ships I come up against, and my four active 200mm Scout Cannons easily take out whatever might get through.
One thing I do plan to do is to start seeking out certain corps I have really high standing with to make the best mission rewards. I'd actually forgotten about taking standings into account when looking for missions until I started looking through my LP point totals. I discovered that I still have a lot of unused LP, but I also saw that there are certain corps I earned a heck of a lot of LP from. That reminded me of why I used to seek out certain agents and corps to run missions for in the first place.
I guess I relearn something "new" almost every time I log in these days. The more stuff I do that I haven't done in a couple of years, the more I remember about how I did it in the past. The more "new" things I try, the better I become as a player.
The last few days have been tough, though. Because of what I do in RL, every time there's a major election, especially one in New Jersey, I end up disappearing from the online world for a few days. This last election was no different (though I certainly wished for a different victor), and so I've been in-game maybe a grand total of two hours since the day before the election (Tuesday).
I'm hoping to put in more time in-game now that the election is over...frankly, a little break from reality would be kinda nice right about now...
One thing I do plan to do is to start seeking out certain corps I have really high standing with to make the best mission rewards. I'd actually forgotten about taking standings into account when looking for missions until I started looking through my LP point totals. I discovered that I still have a lot of unused LP, but I also saw that there are certain corps I earned a heck of a lot of LP from. That reminded me of why I used to seek out certain agents and corps to run missions for in the first place.
I guess I relearn something "new" almost every time I log in these days. The more stuff I do that I haven't done in a couple of years, the more I remember about how I did it in the past. The more "new" things I try, the better I become as a player.
The last few days have been tough, though. Because of what I do in RL, every time there's a major election, especially one in New Jersey, I end up disappearing from the online world for a few days. This last election was no different (though I certainly wished for a different victor), and so I've been in-game maybe a grand total of two hours since the day before the election (Tuesday).
I'm hoping to put in more time in-game now that the election is over...frankly, a little break from reality would be kinda nice right about now...
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Now I'm Really Back
Why? Because you know you're not truly an EvE pilot until you've had a ship blown out from under you at least once.
I guess I got cocky. I'd been having no trouble with the level 3 mission I was doing other than having to warp out and run my reppers for a few minutes every so often as the damage I was taking became too much. I was holding my own as far as tanking goes, and then I think (I'm not certain, it's been a while) I was warp scrambled, which I was totally unprepared for. I had no idea how or if I could break free and went down pretty quickly after that.
Fortunately, I'd already earned enough with the 'Rax that along with the insurance payout it was a simple matter to put another one in space, but this time I went back to the blaster-rax configuration, and I'm going to stick with Level 2 missions for a while to build up some ISK. Once I have that, I'll start the process of fitting and insuring the Mrym.
While most of the basics of how to play EvE have come back to me quickly, I'm finding that I'm remembering and rediscovering combat strategies as they become useful. Sometimes, it's dumb stuff like remembering to load my weapons or buy ammo before I head into a combat zone, other times it's realizing during or after the fact that I should have played a certain scenario a different way or that there were relevant factors that I'd forgotten to take into account before engaging because it's been so long.
One thing's for sure, once I'm ready to join a player-run corp again, maybe even before that, I'm going to want to refresh my combat skills a bit. There's a number of ways I could go with this.
I did take an Agony Unleashed PvP course a couple of years ago, and I know that their policy at the time was that any course taken which was paid for once can be retaken for free. If that's still their policy I think I'll be retaking that course and maybe even one or two more if I can afford them. I may not remember everything I learned after not using it for a couple of years, but I do remember it was a great experience and one I'm certainly interested in repeating.
There's also EvE University, my old alma mater. They offer some great classes including the basic basics, and the teachers and the students are awesome. I'll be proud to fly with them anytime, anywhere. Yet, at the same time, if my intent is to eventually head into 0.0 (and it is) that may not be the best way to go.
There are also many other corps which offer PvP and other training to their members. I'd expect that some are competent and reliable in doing so and some are not. The truth is I don't know. What I do know is my positive experience with the two corps above. One entails joining a corp perhaps earlier than I'd intended, and the other entails coming up with the needed ships and equipment (some of which I may still have from the last time I did the course), and possibly tuition in order to take the course.
I really don't know what I'm going to do just yet, but before I make that decision I want to be in better financial shape than I am now. I know I'll probably become antsy later, but right now I'm mainly just enjoying being back in EvE, reestablishing myself, and going through the process of fully getting back to where I was in this game in terms of understanding the finer points and how to use them to my advantage. Two years is a long time, and there's been some changes I have to get used to.
The way I'm doing that is by flying these missions, remembering and rediscovering exactly what I can and can't do in combat, what solution applies to what problem. Relearning how to fit my ships has been an adventure as well, but I'm quickly becoming better at it as time goes on. I recognize my mistakes quickly, and I'm rapidly relearning how to correct them. BattleClinic has been a help with this, but I've come to understand that it's caveat emptor with BC loadouts. Some are awesome, but others don't quite meet that standard. I got burned like that for a few thousand ISK by trying out a loadout that looked great in theory but didn't really cut it in actual combat.
I'm also finding where the holes are in my skill training and I've set about plugging them. There aren't a lot of places where I haven't already trained the skills to what I need for what I'm doing right now, but there are a few and more pop up on occasion as I experiment with different loadouts. Now that I'm able to log in again, my skill que is kept full at all times. Currently I'm training Propulsion Jamming IV, which I need in order to run a Tech II Stasis Webifier. This is something I need to do a lot more research on as far as figuring out what skills I should be training now over the long term. As I get more of these holes filled, more and more of the most useful still-trainable skills I have will require major lengths of time to train them to the next level.
Before that becomes a major issue, I want to have a plan, an outline at least, of what skills I want/need to invest time in training. There's still a little while to go before that will become critical, but if I keep that skill que filled 24/7 I don't think it'll be all that long.
And so, here we go again. I pick myself up, dust myself off, and head right back out there, hopefully with a better plan this time. This, in a nutshell, is EvE, and perhaps a big reason why so many of us can't help but keep on coming back for more.
I guess I got cocky. I'd been having no trouble with the level 3 mission I was doing other than having to warp out and run my reppers for a few minutes every so often as the damage I was taking became too much. I was holding my own as far as tanking goes, and then I think (I'm not certain, it's been a while) I was warp scrambled, which I was totally unprepared for. I had no idea how or if I could break free and went down pretty quickly after that.
Fortunately, I'd already earned enough with the 'Rax that along with the insurance payout it was a simple matter to put another one in space, but this time I went back to the blaster-rax configuration, and I'm going to stick with Level 2 missions for a while to build up some ISK. Once I have that, I'll start the process of fitting and insuring the Mrym.
While most of the basics of how to play EvE have come back to me quickly, I'm finding that I'm remembering and rediscovering combat strategies as they become useful. Sometimes, it's dumb stuff like remembering to load my weapons or buy ammo before I head into a combat zone, other times it's realizing during or after the fact that I should have played a certain scenario a different way or that there were relevant factors that I'd forgotten to take into account before engaging because it's been so long.
One thing's for sure, once I'm ready to join a player-run corp again, maybe even before that, I'm going to want to refresh my combat skills a bit. There's a number of ways I could go with this.
I did take an Agony Unleashed PvP course a couple of years ago, and I know that their policy at the time was that any course taken which was paid for once can be retaken for free. If that's still their policy I think I'll be retaking that course and maybe even one or two more if I can afford them. I may not remember everything I learned after not using it for a couple of years, but I do remember it was a great experience and one I'm certainly interested in repeating.
There's also EvE University, my old alma mater. They offer some great classes including the basic basics, and the teachers and the students are awesome. I'll be proud to fly with them anytime, anywhere. Yet, at the same time, if my intent is to eventually head into 0.0 (and it is) that may not be the best way to go.
There are also many other corps which offer PvP and other training to their members. I'd expect that some are competent and reliable in doing so and some are not. The truth is I don't know. What I do know is my positive experience with the two corps above. One entails joining a corp perhaps earlier than I'd intended, and the other entails coming up with the needed ships and equipment (some of which I may still have from the last time I did the course), and possibly tuition in order to take the course.
I really don't know what I'm going to do just yet, but before I make that decision I want to be in better financial shape than I am now. I know I'll probably become antsy later, but right now I'm mainly just enjoying being back in EvE, reestablishing myself, and going through the process of fully getting back to where I was in this game in terms of understanding the finer points and how to use them to my advantage. Two years is a long time, and there's been some changes I have to get used to.
The way I'm doing that is by flying these missions, remembering and rediscovering exactly what I can and can't do in combat, what solution applies to what problem. Relearning how to fit my ships has been an adventure as well, but I'm quickly becoming better at it as time goes on. I recognize my mistakes quickly, and I'm rapidly relearning how to correct them. BattleClinic has been a help with this, but I've come to understand that it's caveat emptor with BC loadouts. Some are awesome, but others don't quite meet that standard. I got burned like that for a few thousand ISK by trying out a loadout that looked great in theory but didn't really cut it in actual combat.
I'm also finding where the holes are in my skill training and I've set about plugging them. There aren't a lot of places where I haven't already trained the skills to what I need for what I'm doing right now, but there are a few and more pop up on occasion as I experiment with different loadouts. Now that I'm able to log in again, my skill que is kept full at all times. Currently I'm training Propulsion Jamming IV, which I need in order to run a Tech II Stasis Webifier. This is something I need to do a lot more research on as far as figuring out what skills I should be training now over the long term. As I get more of these holes filled, more and more of the most useful still-trainable skills I have will require major lengths of time to train them to the next level.
Before that becomes a major issue, I want to have a plan, an outline at least, of what skills I want/need to invest time in training. There's still a little while to go before that will become critical, but if I keep that skill que filled 24/7 I don't think it'll be all that long.
And so, here we go again. I pick myself up, dust myself off, and head right back out there, hopefully with a better plan this time. This, in a nutshell, is EvE, and perhaps a big reason why so many of us can't help but keep on coming back for more.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Settling Back In
It didn't take long. Today I did a few missions and I think I've found my "sweet spot" as far as mission level goes, Level 3, at least for now. I'm doing one right now that requires me to go in, launch my drones, take out a few ships, and then call back my drones and beat it out of there before I take too much damage. It's one of those missions that's just tough enough to be challenging without being ridiculous. I've already blown the time bonus so I'm taking my time with it. It's worth the time because it's about half a mil as a mission reward, a lot more than I've been making on lower level missions.
I've got Electronics IV training right now, soon followed by Drone Interfacing V, which I just discovered I only have about a day and a half of training left on. Apparently I started training this a long time ago and never finished for some reason. I also discovered a million and a half ISK in my corporate wallet.
One thing I'm seriously considering is refitting the 'Rax with railguns. The blasters were great in the early levels, but now I think I need something with a bit more range. Plus, in reviewing my skills, I realized that I have a Level IV Medium Railgun Specialization.
Anyway, I think I'm done with EvE today. I put in a good 4-5 hours, more than I usually play in one day. I'm sure I'll spend some time in-game tomorrow as well. It's amazing how easily and how quickly I've reinserted EvE into my life. Two years, my ass....feels more like two weeks. If it wasn't for all the changes you can actually see, I'd swear I'm just pretty much picking up from where I left off (minus a hell of a lot of stuff I gave away).
On the other hand, I may just go in-game for a bit and see how much a set of medium rails will run me.
I've got Electronics IV training right now, soon followed by Drone Interfacing V, which I just discovered I only have about a day and a half of training left on. Apparently I started training this a long time ago and never finished for some reason. I also discovered a million and a half ISK in my corporate wallet.
One thing I'm seriously considering is refitting the 'Rax with railguns. The blasters were great in the early levels, but now I think I need something with a bit more range. Plus, in reviewing my skills, I realized that I have a Level IV Medium Railgun Specialization.
Anyway, I think I'm done with EvE today. I put in a good 4-5 hours, more than I usually play in one day. I'm sure I'll spend some time in-game tomorrow as well. It's amazing how easily and how quickly I've reinserted EvE into my life. Two years, my ass....feels more like two weeks. If it wasn't for all the changes you can actually see, I'd swear I'm just pretty much picking up from where I left off (minus a hell of a lot of stuff I gave away).
On the other hand, I may just go in-game for a bit and see how much a set of medium rails will run me.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The Thorax Rides Again
Yep I did it. Made myself a Blaster-rax this time. I haven't really given it a good workout yet, but I've done one easy mission so quickly I barely had to turn on my weapons. Next I go up a level and see how that goes, and I'll keep nudging my way upward until things start getting dangerous. I'm still tweaking the fit a bit but so far it's pretty rockin'.
When I logged in earlier, I checked and discovered that it would have taken me more ISK than I had left to insure the Myrm at Platinum level. My choice, therefore, really wasn't a choice at all. There's no frakking way I'm taking a Mrym out on missions without insuring it first, no matter how well-armed it is. And of course even if I did have enough for the insurance I had nothing to outfit it with.
I was able to buy, fit, and insure the Thorax for less than half what it would have cost just to insure the Myrm. Sure, it'll take me a little longer to get the Myrm in space by doing it this way, but that's ok. When I'm done I'll have two well-armed ships, not just one.
Oh yeah, and I went to visit Caldari Prime tonight since it's the closest Empyrean Age-relevant system to where I'm doing missions. Definitely the planet is different, and I think the station is different from the last time I saw it as well. I'll hit some others in my travels as time goes on. Interesting...
It's good to be back. :)
When I logged in earlier, I checked and discovered that it would have taken me more ISK than I had left to insure the Myrm at Platinum level. My choice, therefore, really wasn't a choice at all. There's no frakking way I'm taking a Mrym out on missions without insuring it first, no matter how well-armed it is. And of course even if I did have enough for the insurance I had nothing to outfit it with.
I was able to buy, fit, and insure the Thorax for less than half what it would have cost just to insure the Myrm. Sure, it'll take me a little longer to get the Myrm in space by doing it this way, but that's ok. When I'm done I'll have two well-armed ships, not just one.
Oh yeah, and I went to visit Caldari Prime tonight since it's the closest Empyrean Age-relevant system to where I'm doing missions. Definitely the planet is different, and I think the station is different from the last time I saw it as well. I'll hit some others in my travels as time goes on. Interesting...
It's good to be back. :)
Almost Back To Normal
My PC is back home at last, and I'm deep into the process of re-tweaking it to my taste, downloading and installing essential software, the usual routine. EvE is already installed and ready to go, and now that my AV is finishing its scanning and updating process, I'm just about ready to reboot and reenter EvE for the first time in about nine days.
Should be interesting...I'll let ya know.
Should be interesting...I'll let ya know.
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.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Two Years Is A Long Time...Or Not
In real life, a lot can change in two years. In gaming life, life-milestone-level changes usually occur much more frequently than in real life. In gaming, two years can be a lifetime.
When I first returned to EvE, I was surprised that more hadn't noticeably changed in-game during the time I was gone. Sure the graphics were better and the game played smoother, but I also had a fast new gaming PC. Aside from the ability to overheat systems and epic mission arcs, there didn't seem to be much in regards to gameplay that I hadn't seen before (though obviously there are many areas of the game where I would not be in a position to notice if changes had been made).
What I learned after I'd fully come back to EvE and began doing "catch-up" research was that there are major developments planned for the very near future, some of which I fully expect will change the way a lot of people play this game in fundamental ways. Imagine, for example, a Fleet Commander who directs the defense of an outpost from his cell phone while waiting to board a flight in RL, or a corp CEO who can approve requests and allocate resources for his corp on his lunch break.
The truth is that this ability probably won't change the way I play EvE all that much. I have no intention of going the same route as before, and I don't use my own cell phone for much other than making and taking actual phone calls. I've never tried to text anyone, though I think I have gotten a couple. It's hysterical. I'm a total PC power user, but I'm a complete and utter incompetent when it comes to doing things with my cell phone other than handling phone calls.
Nevertheless, the ability to be able to interact with EvE and not actually be in-game would be a very useful tool in other ways. Wouldn't it be great to be able to update your skill que from outside the game? I'd be loving that ability right about now. I have no idea if players will gain this ability with New Eden, but considering how much time I spend online but out of EvE it's definitely on my personal wish list.
Also, Walking In Stations/Ambulation/Incarna. This was being talked about before I left. In fact, it was the feature story of one of the issues of EON I bought during my time in-game, #7 I think it was. It's now clearly just on the horizon and that's very exciting to me. I've always thought of EvE as a game where the social aspects needed a lot more love than they've historically gotten from CCP, and I'm excited to see that being addressed with this and New Eden.
So, I guess I've picked a good time to get back into EvE. It's a little more than a month before the next major expansion, and more major improvements are planned for soon thereafter. Best of all, thanks to both fortunate happenstance and the generosity of a reader, getting back into the game is proving less difficult than I'd anticipated. Of course, one thing that will help immensely in reaching that goal is getting my PC back from the Geek Squad (I expect it tomorrow or Fri. the latest). It's just a little bit difficult to make any progress unless you can actually log into the game.
In the meantime, I'm just checking out whatever looks interesting and EvE-related. There are some nice fittings for Myrmidons on the BattleClinic EvE site. Most of them are so expensive I could never afford them, but I can already see where some judicious cost-cutting could be employed to tweak a few of these loadouts into affordability range.
I also have another idea that I'm toying with for when I'm able to log in again. Right now, all I've done is purchased and assembled my new Myrmidon. I haven't fit or insured it yet, and as a result I still have about 20 million left. I'm strongly considering taking that 20 mil, buying a Thorax for around 5, insuring and fitting it out sweetly with most of the rest.
Then, once I have my tricked-out Thorax ready to go, I spend some time doing missions with it to fund fitting the Myrm with some really nice stuff. I'm not saying that's my definite plan yet, but I am giving it serious consideration. Hey, at least it would finally justify the title of this blog again.
The reason I'm considering this is because A) I need a well-fit battlecruiser if I'm to progress and get back to where I was in this game before I left, and B) if I take what I have and insure and fit the Myrm with it, I won't be able to fit it as well as I'd like. If I go with the Thorax, not only can I really trick it out because the insurance and fitting costs are substantially lower, but after I'd used it to earn what I need to fit the Myrm I'll still have that ship in case I need it. My previous adventures in EvE have proved to me that a well-armed Thorax can prove very convenient to have around sometimes.
I don't know what I'm going to do yet, and I probably have at least 24 hours still to think about it.
When I first returned to EvE, I was surprised that more hadn't noticeably changed in-game during the time I was gone. Sure the graphics were better and the game played smoother, but I also had a fast new gaming PC. Aside from the ability to overheat systems and epic mission arcs, there didn't seem to be much in regards to gameplay that I hadn't seen before (though obviously there are many areas of the game where I would not be in a position to notice if changes had been made).
What I learned after I'd fully come back to EvE and began doing "catch-up" research was that there are major developments planned for the very near future, some of which I fully expect will change the way a lot of people play this game in fundamental ways. Imagine, for example, a Fleet Commander who directs the defense of an outpost from his cell phone while waiting to board a flight in RL, or a corp CEO who can approve requests and allocate resources for his corp on his lunch break.
The truth is that this ability probably won't change the way I play EvE all that much. I have no intention of going the same route as before, and I don't use my own cell phone for much other than making and taking actual phone calls. I've never tried to text anyone, though I think I have gotten a couple. It's hysterical. I'm a total PC power user, but I'm a complete and utter incompetent when it comes to doing things with my cell phone other than handling phone calls.
Nevertheless, the ability to be able to interact with EvE and not actually be in-game would be a very useful tool in other ways. Wouldn't it be great to be able to update your skill que from outside the game? I'd be loving that ability right about now. I have no idea if players will gain this ability with New Eden, but considering how much time I spend online but out of EvE it's definitely on my personal wish list.
Also, Walking In Stations/Ambulation/Incarna. This was being talked about before I left. In fact, it was the feature story of one of the issues of EON I bought during my time in-game, #7 I think it was. It's now clearly just on the horizon and that's very exciting to me. I've always thought of EvE as a game where the social aspects needed a lot more love than they've historically gotten from CCP, and I'm excited to see that being addressed with this and New Eden.
So, I guess I've picked a good time to get back into EvE. It's a little more than a month before the next major expansion, and more major improvements are planned for soon thereafter. Best of all, thanks to both fortunate happenstance and the generosity of a reader, getting back into the game is proving less difficult than I'd anticipated. Of course, one thing that will help immensely in reaching that goal is getting my PC back from the Geek Squad (I expect it tomorrow or Fri. the latest). It's just a little bit difficult to make any progress unless you can actually log into the game.
In the meantime, I'm just checking out whatever looks interesting and EvE-related. There are some nice fittings for Myrmidons on the BattleClinic EvE site. Most of them are so expensive I could never afford them, but I can already see where some judicious cost-cutting could be employed to tweak a few of these loadouts into affordability range.
I also have another idea that I'm toying with for when I'm able to log in again. Right now, all I've done is purchased and assembled my new Myrmidon. I haven't fit or insured it yet, and as a result I still have about 20 million left. I'm strongly considering taking that 20 mil, buying a Thorax for around 5, insuring and fitting it out sweetly with most of the rest.
Then, once I have my tricked-out Thorax ready to go, I spend some time doing missions with it to fund fitting the Myrm with some really nice stuff. I'm not saying that's my definite plan yet, but I am giving it serious consideration. Hey, at least it would finally justify the title of this blog again.
The reason I'm considering this is because A) I need a well-fit battlecruiser if I'm to progress and get back to where I was in this game before I left, and B) if I take what I have and insure and fit the Myrm with it, I won't be able to fit it as well as I'd like. If I go with the Thorax, not only can I really trick it out because the insurance and fitting costs are substantially lower, but after I'd used it to earn what I need to fit the Myrm I'll still have that ship in case I need it. My previous adventures in EvE have proved to me that a well-armed Thorax can prove very convenient to have around sometimes.
I don't know what I'm going to do yet, and I probably have at least 24 hours still to think about it.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Gettin' Itchy
Now it's been about four days since my PC stopped working properly, and I'm really starting to miss it. There's so much I've come to take for granted since I've had it, such as being able to run basically any software currently on the market, virtually instantaneous websurfing, and a lot more that I just feel out of synch when I use this old Dell. Normally, I'd never touch this machine except to keep it updated. Now I'm on it for long periods every day until I get my own rig back and it just feels "off".
In order to get my EvE fix and to try to catch up on some of what's been going on in the game while I was gone, I've been watching some of the 2009 Fanfest videos. Some are very interesting, others are...less so. I'll no doubt be watching at least a few more of these today. Playing video is one thing this PC does pretty well, even though I have to play 'em on lo-res or they take too long to download. Another advantage my PC has that this one doesn't is that it's directly connected to the cable modem via the wireless box. This PC is connected wirelessly and gets roughly half the upload and download speed mine does. Even if this PC could run EvE, I'm not sure it could maintain a stable and strong enough connection to play, or play well.
Y'know it's funny. Since I've been back in EvE, I'm tending to focus on it more and more. Two weeks ago, EvE rarely crossed my mind and hadn't in quite some time other than the occasional gaming media article about bank collapses, etc. I completely missed the whole BoB thing. Now that I find myself without the ability to log into EvE for a few days, I'm spending more and more time searching out EvE-relevant media.
The truth is that I'm a media whore. I love it, especially when it's about something I care about. I'm not just a media consumer though, I'm also a media-maker. In fact, I'm making EvE-relevant media right now. It's because I'm a media-maker as well as a media consumer that I understand how important it is that there's both "official" and "unofficial" media being created around a game like EvE, or really around any product, cause, or idea you're seeking to promote if you're hoping to market it effectively in modern mainstream culture. EvE is a game that succeeds at both, though it's arguable which is the more potent.
CCP has released a plethora of videos through its YouTube Channel and there's a pretty regular trickle of dev blogs. Yet at the same time, there's also a buffer between CCP and the bulk of the player base, the Council of Stellar Management. Ideas flow from the player base to the CSM, and then those which get support are passed upwards to CCP. From what I've seen and read, the system works pretty well as far as getting good ideas passed upwards to the devs, but it's nonetheless a filter between the average EvE player and the game's creators. We've heard that COSMOS/New Eden/Spacebook will enable new levels of communication between players and CCP but we've heard precious little detail on what this actually means in the practical sense as yet.
On the other side of the coin, there's the unofficial EvE media, the underground, if you will. It's blogs like this one. It's gaming forums where EvE comes up regularly in conversation or even has its own separate discussion forum. It's everywhere EvE is being talking about and CCP isn't starting or participating in the conversation themselves...and that's a lot of places.
The fact is that there's enough media out there about EvE that I could fill my day with nothing but EvE media if I wanted to (and that's not counting the EvE novel I'm reading right now). That's a great thing as far as I'm concerned. The more of it is out there, the more people read, watch, enjoy and participate, in the media and in EvE. It's a winner all the way around, and especially for the game we all love and are seeking to promote.
In addition, underground and unofficial media serve another, equally important purpose. It fosters a sense of community among EvE players beyond the confines of the game itself and the official website. The reality is that very often players will feel freer to speak their minds outside of official media sources where participants are often identified as they are in-game. That's not to say that many official forums, including EvE's, don't have plenty of trash-talking and negativity already, but there are no doubt many players who either ignore the official forums entirely unless they no choice (such as an official CCP announcement) because of the tone often seen in these places. Those players who still wish to read about and discuss EvE will look for other places, places with interests and social interactions more in keeping with what they're comfortable with.
Personally, I think the prevalence of unofficial community media that springs up around an MMO is a great gauge of the overall level of interest in and commitment to the game in its player base. People who don't really care much or who aren't really interested in playing a game over the long haul don't (usually) create blogs and other media promoting and talking about it. Only the players who are in deep and looking long-term do things like that. Of course, I should also note that I'm talking about real fan media here, not commercial enterprises. MMORPG.com and Ten Ton Hammer have some great stuff quite often, but their content is written by paid professional writers, and that's just not the same thing.
As someone who has worked professionally as a magazine and newspaper columnist as well as someone who has maintained a personal blog for six years on and off, is a contributor to a popular group political blog site, and has created, written, and moderated three different gaming blogs (so far), I think I'm pretty well-qualified to address this issue.
First, the commercial gaming media does not enjoy the same kind of popular deference as mainstream newsmedia like the New York Times, NBC News, or even Fox News (assuming we're still calling what appears on Fox actual news). Unlike the knotty social and political issues of our time, there's usually no one right answer that even people on the same side of the issue can agree on. Games, unlike real life, are entirely subjective. Except in the more extreme cases, video games are not good or bad by definition, that can only be determined by those who participate, and only by and for themselves. One player's alliance collapse is another's reopening of valuable null-sec territory.
In my experience, the commercial gaming media doesn't really get any more credibility from the gaming community than the more well-read unofficial media, even though the folks in the marketing departments apparently think they do. They'd do well to learn from the punk movement of the early 80's where the record reviews that really mattered to the hardcore punks didn't appear in the big glossy magazines, but rather in mimeographed 'zines, usually created by a single person or a small group and sold at local clubs, concert venues, and on the street. The people creating non-commercial 'zines were seen as doing it for the love of the music and the band, while the commercial media was seen as doing it for money. Thus, the reviews were seens as far more honest and credible and carried far more weight with the hardcore faithful.
I believe that's what we're seeing now. The blogs and online fan media are, in fact, the next evolutionary step of the 'zine, and I believe they're being perceived by the truly hardcore much as they were thirty years ago.
Companies like CCP could do more to support us. For example, have you taken a look at CCP's fan sites page? I don't think it's changed much in the two years I was gone, and that's really sad. Crazy Kinuk's on there, but he's the only EvE-relevant blogger who is. Frankly, that sucks! There are literally dozens of great EvE blogs that should be on that list. This is something that would require just a small amount of effort on CCP's part, and considering how much effort we put into our blogs and media in promoting their product you'd hope that CCP would do whatever it could to make it easier for us.
Methinks I might pose this issue to the CSM. Any other EvE bloggers and blog readers think this is a good idea?
In order to get my EvE fix and to try to catch up on some of what's been going on in the game while I was gone, I've been watching some of the 2009 Fanfest videos. Some are very interesting, others are...less so. I'll no doubt be watching at least a few more of these today. Playing video is one thing this PC does pretty well, even though I have to play 'em on lo-res or they take too long to download. Another advantage my PC has that this one doesn't is that it's directly connected to the cable modem via the wireless box. This PC is connected wirelessly and gets roughly half the upload and download speed mine does. Even if this PC could run EvE, I'm not sure it could maintain a stable and strong enough connection to play, or play well.
Y'know it's funny. Since I've been back in EvE, I'm tending to focus on it more and more. Two weeks ago, EvE rarely crossed my mind and hadn't in quite some time other than the occasional gaming media article about bank collapses, etc. I completely missed the whole BoB thing. Now that I find myself without the ability to log into EvE for a few days, I'm spending more and more time searching out EvE-relevant media.
The truth is that I'm a media whore. I love it, especially when it's about something I care about. I'm not just a media consumer though, I'm also a media-maker. In fact, I'm making EvE-relevant media right now. It's because I'm a media-maker as well as a media consumer that I understand how important it is that there's both "official" and "unofficial" media being created around a game like EvE, or really around any product, cause, or idea you're seeking to promote if you're hoping to market it effectively in modern mainstream culture. EvE is a game that succeeds at both, though it's arguable which is the more potent.
CCP has released a plethora of videos through its YouTube Channel and there's a pretty regular trickle of dev blogs. Yet at the same time, there's also a buffer between CCP and the bulk of the player base, the Council of Stellar Management. Ideas flow from the player base to the CSM, and then those which get support are passed upwards to CCP. From what I've seen and read, the system works pretty well as far as getting good ideas passed upwards to the devs, but it's nonetheless a filter between the average EvE player and the game's creators. We've heard that COSMOS/New Eden/Spacebook will enable new levels of communication between players and CCP but we've heard precious little detail on what this actually means in the practical sense as yet.
On the other side of the coin, there's the unofficial EvE media, the underground, if you will. It's blogs like this one. It's gaming forums where EvE comes up regularly in conversation or even has its own separate discussion forum. It's everywhere EvE is being talking about and CCP isn't starting or participating in the conversation themselves...and that's a lot of places.
The fact is that there's enough media out there about EvE that I could fill my day with nothing but EvE media if I wanted to (and that's not counting the EvE novel I'm reading right now). That's a great thing as far as I'm concerned. The more of it is out there, the more people read, watch, enjoy and participate, in the media and in EvE. It's a winner all the way around, and especially for the game we all love and are seeking to promote.
In addition, underground and unofficial media serve another, equally important purpose. It fosters a sense of community among EvE players beyond the confines of the game itself and the official website. The reality is that very often players will feel freer to speak their minds outside of official media sources where participants are often identified as they are in-game. That's not to say that many official forums, including EvE's, don't have plenty of trash-talking and negativity already, but there are no doubt many players who either ignore the official forums entirely unless they no choice (such as an official CCP announcement) because of the tone often seen in these places. Those players who still wish to read about and discuss EvE will look for other places, places with interests and social interactions more in keeping with what they're comfortable with.
Personally, I think the prevalence of unofficial community media that springs up around an MMO is a great gauge of the overall level of interest in and commitment to the game in its player base. People who don't really care much or who aren't really interested in playing a game over the long haul don't (usually) create blogs and other media promoting and talking about it. Only the players who are in deep and looking long-term do things like that. Of course, I should also note that I'm talking about real fan media here, not commercial enterprises. MMORPG.com and Ten Ton Hammer have some great stuff quite often, but their content is written by paid professional writers, and that's just not the same thing.
As someone who has worked professionally as a magazine and newspaper columnist as well as someone who has maintained a personal blog for six years on and off, is a contributor to a popular group political blog site, and has created, written, and moderated three different gaming blogs (so far), I think I'm pretty well-qualified to address this issue.
First, the commercial gaming media does not enjoy the same kind of popular deference as mainstream newsmedia like the New York Times, NBC News, or even Fox News (assuming we're still calling what appears on Fox actual news). Unlike the knotty social and political issues of our time, there's usually no one right answer that even people on the same side of the issue can agree on. Games, unlike real life, are entirely subjective. Except in the more extreme cases, video games are not good or bad by definition, that can only be determined by those who participate, and only by and for themselves. One player's alliance collapse is another's reopening of valuable null-sec territory.
In my experience, the commercial gaming media doesn't really get any more credibility from the gaming community than the more well-read unofficial media, even though the folks in the marketing departments apparently think they do. They'd do well to learn from the punk movement of the early 80's where the record reviews that really mattered to the hardcore punks didn't appear in the big glossy magazines, but rather in mimeographed 'zines, usually created by a single person or a small group and sold at local clubs, concert venues, and on the street. The people creating non-commercial 'zines were seen as doing it for the love of the music and the band, while the commercial media was seen as doing it for money. Thus, the reviews were seens as far more honest and credible and carried far more weight with the hardcore faithful.
I believe that's what we're seeing now. The blogs and online fan media are, in fact, the next evolutionary step of the 'zine, and I believe they're being perceived by the truly hardcore much as they were thirty years ago.
Companies like CCP could do more to support us. For example, have you taken a look at CCP's fan sites page? I don't think it's changed much in the two years I was gone, and that's really sad. Crazy Kinuk's on there, but he's the only EvE-relevant blogger who is. Frankly, that sucks! There are literally dozens of great EvE blogs that should be on that list. This is something that would require just a small amount of effort on CCP's part, and considering how much effort we put into our blogs and media in promoting their product you'd hope that CCP would do whatever it could to make it easier for us.
Methinks I might pose this issue to the CSM. Any other EvE bloggers and blog readers think this is a good idea?
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
Holding Patterns
So, the PC is now at the Geek Squad. $213 later and a few days in shop from now, I'll have a PC again that can play games more sophisticated than those found on Pogo.It's kinda funny actually. My PC has 16 times the RAM than the one I'm on right now (512mb vs 8gig), and is a lot faster (2.4 single-core vs 3.0 quad), yet this PC has never had the slightest problem in all the time we've had it. The old Dell may not be much in terms of performance, but it's pretty damned reliable. When all else fails, I can still get online, check my email, and post to my blogs.
Rather unexpectedly, my Fallen Earth account seems to have been erased or blocked. I know there was supposed to be a payment made yesterday and I thought I'd set it up to make that payment automatically. Since all of my login info is on my main PC and the bank is closed (and I never got around to checking on this when it was open) I'm guessing the payment didn't go through for some unforeseen reason. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I'd actually be upset if that proves to be the case, and if so, how much.
The fact is that as much as I've been dancing around it and trying to be fair and even-handed about the whole thing, I've made my choice. I'm having more fun with EvE and that's what I'm most looking forward to getting back to when I get my PC back. Fallen Earth is a great game but when push comes to shove and I have to choose one or the other (and I think I do), EvE is the game I'm going to stick with. If I were really smart, I would have come back to EvE before getting involved with something like Fallen Earth. I had plenty of fun in FE to be sure, but If I'd come back to EvE first I'd have saved myself a lot of time and money.
In between bouts of ripping my hair out over having to shell out a couple hundred and do without my main PC for several days to pay for the mistake of wanting to upgrade my Microsoft OS, I'd been thinking a lot about what I was going to do about my one too many MMOs problem. At one point, I asked myself "If the PC magically sprang back to life right now, which game would you play first?"
I knew the answer immediately. EvE, of course, I need to update my skill que. Plus, I just bought a Myrmidon and was going to start fitting it...right after I installed Windows 7. Fuckity-fuck-fuck.
The point being that I do really enjoy playing Fallen Earth, I just like EvE more. It's where I want to be. That's what it really boils down to. I don't have to be fair about this, it's about what's the most fun for me.
Interestingly, my EvE account at the website (which I reactivated several days ago) works without a hitch, smooth as silk. Somebody's telling me something, I think...and I'm listening.
Rather unexpectedly, my Fallen Earth account seems to have been erased or blocked. I know there was supposed to be a payment made yesterday and I thought I'd set it up to make that payment automatically. Since all of my login info is on my main PC and the bank is closed (and I never got around to checking on this when it was open) I'm guessing the payment didn't go through for some unforeseen reason. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I'd actually be upset if that proves to be the case, and if so, how much.
The fact is that as much as I've been dancing around it and trying to be fair and even-handed about the whole thing, I've made my choice. I'm having more fun with EvE and that's what I'm most looking forward to getting back to when I get my PC back. Fallen Earth is a great game but when push comes to shove and I have to choose one or the other (and I think I do), EvE is the game I'm going to stick with. If I were really smart, I would have come back to EvE before getting involved with something like Fallen Earth. I had plenty of fun in FE to be sure, but If I'd come back to EvE first I'd have saved myself a lot of time and money.
In between bouts of ripping my hair out over having to shell out a couple hundred and do without my main PC for several days to pay for the mistake of wanting to upgrade my Microsoft OS, I'd been thinking a lot about what I was going to do about my one too many MMOs problem. At one point, I asked myself "If the PC magically sprang back to life right now, which game would you play first?"
I knew the answer immediately. EvE, of course, I need to update my skill que. Plus, I just bought a Myrmidon and was going to start fitting it...right after I installed Windows 7. Fuckity-fuck-fuck.
The point being that I do really enjoy playing Fallen Earth, I just like EvE more. It's where I want to be. That's what it really boils down to. I don't have to be fair about this, it's about what's the most fun for me.
Interestingly, my EvE account at the website (which I reactivated several days ago) works without a hitch, smooth as silk. Somebody's telling me something, I think...and I'm listening.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Ok How Weird Is This?
Or is it weird at all?
According to Amazon's website, my copy of EvE: Empyrian Age should be arriving today, the same day as my copy of...wait for it...Windows 7.
Yes, I took the plunge back in June and got the discounted upgrade. I don't know if I'd have been willing to pay full price for it, but for fifty bucks the promised improved gaming performance is worth it. Not that my PC isn't a pretty damned great gaming machine right now, especially compared to what it replaced, but anything that lets me squeeze out a little more performance from this new PC and especially anything that gets the kind of rave reviews Windows 7 has been getting is worth at least a moderate investment.
So I'm sitting at home waiting for these things to arrive. It's actually great timing, or at least I hope it will be. I'm told this will be a long install so at least I'll have fresh reading material handy. It also means I should probably go into EvE and update my skill que before I start the upgrade.
What I'm really most interested to see is if there's any noticeable difference in EvE after the upgrade. I'll let ya know.
When I first started playing EvE, I was on a single-core 2.0ghz PC with a lower-range video card which barely met the minimum specs for the game. Now I'm on a quad-core 3.0ghz PC that exceeds all of EvE's recommended specs by a pretty good margin. In some ways, it literally makes all the difference in the world, but they're often the kind of differences that you don't notice unless you have something better to compare it to.
For me the game is now smooth as silk, in a way that I never experienced when I played two years ago. While I haven't yet gone anywhere with an overload of ships in the same place like Jita since I've been back, I also haven't yet experienced anything more than the slightest hint of lag anywhere in the game since I've been back. How much is my machine, how much is server-side improvements by CCP, I have no idea. All I know is that the game looks and plays better for me than ever before and that's definitely part of what drew me back in.
And so here I sit, waiting for my new toys.
Hmm, I just realized...I haven't been in Fallen Earth in three days. I've been spending all of my available gaming time in EvE.
Funny that.
According to Amazon's website, my copy of EvE: Empyrian Age should be arriving today, the same day as my copy of...wait for it...Windows 7.
Yes, I took the plunge back in June and got the discounted upgrade. I don't know if I'd have been willing to pay full price for it, but for fifty bucks the promised improved gaming performance is worth it. Not that my PC isn't a pretty damned great gaming machine right now, especially compared to what it replaced, but anything that lets me squeeze out a little more performance from this new PC and especially anything that gets the kind of rave reviews Windows 7 has been getting is worth at least a moderate investment.
So I'm sitting at home waiting for these things to arrive. It's actually great timing, or at least I hope it will be. I'm told this will be a long install so at least I'll have fresh reading material handy. It also means I should probably go into EvE and update my skill que before I start the upgrade.
What I'm really most interested to see is if there's any noticeable difference in EvE after the upgrade. I'll let ya know.
When I first started playing EvE, I was on a single-core 2.0ghz PC with a lower-range video card which barely met the minimum specs for the game. Now I'm on a quad-core 3.0ghz PC that exceeds all of EvE's recommended specs by a pretty good margin. In some ways, it literally makes all the difference in the world, but they're often the kind of differences that you don't notice unless you have something better to compare it to.
For me the game is now smooth as silk, in a way that I never experienced when I played two years ago. While I haven't yet gone anywhere with an overload of ships in the same place like Jita since I've been back, I also haven't yet experienced anything more than the slightest hint of lag anywhere in the game since I've been back. How much is my machine, how much is server-side improvements by CCP, I have no idea. All I know is that the game looks and plays better for me than ever before and that's definitely part of what drew me back in.
And so here I sit, waiting for my new toys.
Hmm, I just realized...I haven't been in Fallen Earth in three days. I've been spending all of my available gaming time in EvE.
Funny that.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Does EvE Have A Soul?
Oh I don't mean it in the way you're probably thinking. It is, after all, a piece of software. It's also a lot more though, because without the community of people who play it, EvE as we know it could not exist. Even if it could exist, it would not the same. I tend to think that there is a community spirit in EvE that's like in no other game I've ever played.
I mean that's not to say that there isn't plenty of help and community available in other games, it's just that I've never seen it expressed so generously by so many people as frequently as I have in this game. I was reminded of this earlier tonight when I logged into EvE and discovered that an amazingly generous reader had apparently read of my financial woes and donated 50 million ISK to my wallet. Wow. That's the kind of thing you just don't see in most games. With that, I'll be able to put something decent in space and start making some real ISK. I'm not sure what I'm going to buy just yet, but I'll be giving that some serious thought tomorrow.
By the way, I've always made it a policy that unless I get an OK first or I already know it's not an issue I don't usually mention people who make those kind of donations by name in the blog. Not that I don't want to, but because I know that not everyone wants to be acknowledged publicly, so I like to always get an ok before I mention someone by name here.
It reminds me of EvE University, a massive corporation set up with the purpose of training noobs to play EvE. Pilots good enough at the game that they probably could be leading frontier battles in 0.0 are instead teaching noobs how to PvP. Think about it: In what other games do you see this much generosity and willingness to help others just because a need is noticed? Of course, I haven't played everything, but I've never seen anything else like it.
So yeah, I think EvE does have a soul, and it's a soul that can be as warm and soft as the environment it encompasses can be cold and hard. It's an interesting juxtaposition, but not an entirely surprising one when you think about it.
No matter who you are, what you do in-game, or how long you've been playing, everyone can agree on one thing: EvE is a tough game.
EvE has probably the steepest learning curve of any MMO out there. In addition, it also has probably the steepest cost of death as well. You fuck up in this game, you remember it, and you pay for it, maybe for a while.
In addition, this game has legitimized griefing and given it an in-game role as piracy. This sets EvE apart from pretty much any other game I've ever heard of. I used to have a big problem with this, but over time I've come to accept it as part of the game.
Given all this, with so much stacked against a new or returning player getting ahead, I guess it's not so surprising that a force has emerged in response to even things out a little. Just as there are those who enjoy preying upon and taking advantage of noobs, there are also those who enjoy helping others out. There are the folks who hear about someone like me who could use some ISK and just donate it. I don't know what to call it, "spontaneous generosity" maybe? Maybe but E-Uni's been around so long you could hardly call it spontaneous. No, I just think it's a natural outgrowth of the kind of players this game attracts, and a testament to the diversity of the playerbase. Not everyone wants to be a pirate, and in fact, while they may not be as interesting as the pirates and thieves and we may not hear about them as often, there's still a place for heroes in EvE.
I don't know what it is, but I do know that in my experience it's unique to EvE and part of what makes it special. Yes, EvE's rough edges are very sharp and dangerous but there's also a lot of comfortable places to be found within it.
Kind of feels like coming home.
I mean that's not to say that there isn't plenty of help and community available in other games, it's just that I've never seen it expressed so generously by so many people as frequently as I have in this game. I was reminded of this earlier tonight when I logged into EvE and discovered that an amazingly generous reader had apparently read of my financial woes and donated 50 million ISK to my wallet. Wow. That's the kind of thing you just don't see in most games. With that, I'll be able to put something decent in space and start making some real ISK. I'm not sure what I'm going to buy just yet, but I'll be giving that some serious thought tomorrow.
By the way, I've always made it a policy that unless I get an OK first or I already know it's not an issue I don't usually mention people who make those kind of donations by name in the blog. Not that I don't want to, but because I know that not everyone wants to be acknowledged publicly, so I like to always get an ok before I mention someone by name here.
It reminds me of EvE University, a massive corporation set up with the purpose of training noobs to play EvE. Pilots good enough at the game that they probably could be leading frontier battles in 0.0 are instead teaching noobs how to PvP. Think about it: In what other games do you see this much generosity and willingness to help others just because a need is noticed? Of course, I haven't played everything, but I've never seen anything else like it.
So yeah, I think EvE does have a soul, and it's a soul that can be as warm and soft as the environment it encompasses can be cold and hard. It's an interesting juxtaposition, but not an entirely surprising one when you think about it.
No matter who you are, what you do in-game, or how long you've been playing, everyone can agree on one thing: EvE is a tough game.
EvE has probably the steepest learning curve of any MMO out there. In addition, it also has probably the steepest cost of death as well. You fuck up in this game, you remember it, and you pay for it, maybe for a while.
In addition, this game has legitimized griefing and given it an in-game role as piracy. This sets EvE apart from pretty much any other game I've ever heard of. I used to have a big problem with this, but over time I've come to accept it as part of the game.
Given all this, with so much stacked against a new or returning player getting ahead, I guess it's not so surprising that a force has emerged in response to even things out a little. Just as there are those who enjoy preying upon and taking advantage of noobs, there are also those who enjoy helping others out. There are the folks who hear about someone like me who could use some ISK and just donate it. I don't know what to call it, "spontaneous generosity" maybe? Maybe but E-Uni's been around so long you could hardly call it spontaneous. No, I just think it's a natural outgrowth of the kind of players this game attracts, and a testament to the diversity of the playerbase. Not everyone wants to be a pirate, and in fact, while they may not be as interesting as the pirates and thieves and we may not hear about them as often, there's still a place for heroes in EvE.
I don't know what it is, but I do know that in my experience it's unique to EvE and part of what makes it special. Yes, EvE's rough edges are very sharp and dangerous but there's also a lot of comfortable places to be found within it.
Kind of feels like coming home.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Hello, Old Friend
It's been a little over two years since last I posted anything in this blog, or since I was a regular player of EvE. Those who were reading at that time saw me just vanish without a word. There were reasons, but at the time I just wasn't able or willing to take the time to talk about them. I will now.
Why I Left
When first began playing EvE, I was a solo player for several weeks before I joined a corporation, EvE University. During those first days, and during the time I was with E-Uni, I played essentially on my own schedule whenever I had time for the game. The problem came in when I'd left E-Uni and formed a new corp with a friend. I found the style of play required to be a director of a manufacturing corp not really that much to my liking, and I began to become bored with it.
Then the responsibilities at my RL job increased dramatically, as did its demands on my time. It eventually got to the point where personal free time became a precious commodity. I was having to rearrange my real life to suit my duties in EvE a little too often, and I decided that I had no choice but to leave the game.
The problem was that I really didn't want to leave EvE, but I felt I had no choice. I didn't know what to do and I guess I still held out half a hope that somehow I'd figure out a way to keep playing EvE and still maintain my insane work schedule, so I just stopped. Stopped logging in, stopped blogging, I just stopped.
For the next two years, I was solely a single-player gamer. I just didn't have time for anything that wasn't completely centered around my own schedule. I played when I had time to play and that wasn't all that often.
Why I'm Back
In all honesty, I had no intention of getting back into EvE. I'd started playing Fallen Earth when it was in closed beta and I was (and am) enjoying it very much. I'm also the moderator of a group blog site called Fallen Earth Bloggers, which I'm sure is self-explanatory. In addition, I recently started a blog on MMORPG.com. I've got plenty already on my plate and I had no intention of getting involved with EvE again.
I'd had the idea that it would make for a great MMORPG.com blog post if I revisited EvE almost exactly two years after I'd left, and wrote about it from my perspective now, as an MMO gamer with a bit more experience under her belt. Basically, the plan was to go in, take a look around, maybe run a few missions and try a few things, log out, write my piece, and then move on, back to Fallen Earth.
I knew the graphics had gotten a major upgrade as well as a few other new things like overheating systems because I'd kept up with the major news from EvE. Even though I wasn't playing, reading stories about banks failing, player reps using embargoed insider info to their in-game advantage, and the destruction (disintegration?) of the vast monolithic force that was BoB (this one I'd actually like to know more about...I heard that it happened, but I've heard nothing about how) helped keep me kind of in the loop.
I also decided that in order to get a good idea of how the game is now, I wasn't going to attempt to reactivate my old toon with a year's skill training but instead I signed up for the two week free trial and started from scratch as a new player.
All in all, it was a good plan, a well-thought-out plan, a sensible plan. Thing is, it just didn't work.
After going through character creation and basically recreating what I looked like the first time around (though I did add a cute tattoo on my cheek this time) as well as a slight variant on the name I used last time (my in-game name is now Bekka Jaie, note the new spelling), I stepped back into EvE for the first time in 2 years. My plan was to spend a couple of hours in-game, but I ended up losing myself in the game for hours as I remembered why I fell in love with the game in the first place. It's the same as when I played, only better.
Yep, I think I've been sucked back into the EvE wormhole.
The interesting part of this is that unlike last time when I didn't start blogging about my adventures in the game until I'd been playing for a while, this is only my fifth day on the trial account. I've been wrestling with the question of whether or not I should subscribe again once the trial is over (last time I signed up like two days after the trial started, but the system doesn't give you credit for the unused days, so since I have no immediate need to learn the Contracting skill, it seems silly not to wait until the trial is just about to end before I convert to a paid account).
Right now, I'm mainly just flying around in a Tristan running missions. I'm in no big rush to figure out my next move. It's just a girl and her Tristan (I'll get a Thorax and re-justify the title of this blog when I can afford one...soon).
If you're a returning reader, thank you for coming back. If you're a new reader, thanks for coming by and I hope you'll enjoy what you'll read here.
And as for what you'll read here, you may very well read a lot of stuff that's similar to what I've written in the past in some ways, but I can promise you this: I won't be going the manufacturing corporation director route this time. What that actually means remains to be seen.
Stick around, I have a feeling this is going to get interesting.
Why I Left
When first began playing EvE, I was a solo player for several weeks before I joined a corporation, EvE University. During those first days, and during the time I was with E-Uni, I played essentially on my own schedule whenever I had time for the game. The problem came in when I'd left E-Uni and formed a new corp with a friend. I found the style of play required to be a director of a manufacturing corp not really that much to my liking, and I began to become bored with it.
Then the responsibilities at my RL job increased dramatically, as did its demands on my time. It eventually got to the point where personal free time became a precious commodity. I was having to rearrange my real life to suit my duties in EvE a little too often, and I decided that I had no choice but to leave the game.
The problem was that I really didn't want to leave EvE, but I felt I had no choice. I didn't know what to do and I guess I still held out half a hope that somehow I'd figure out a way to keep playing EvE and still maintain my insane work schedule, so I just stopped. Stopped logging in, stopped blogging, I just stopped.
For the next two years, I was solely a single-player gamer. I just didn't have time for anything that wasn't completely centered around my own schedule. I played when I had time to play and that wasn't all that often.
Why I'm Back
In all honesty, I had no intention of getting back into EvE. I'd started playing Fallen Earth when it was in closed beta and I was (and am) enjoying it very much. I'm also the moderator of a group blog site called Fallen Earth Bloggers, which I'm sure is self-explanatory. In addition, I recently started a blog on MMORPG.com. I've got plenty already on my plate and I had no intention of getting involved with EvE again.
I'd had the idea that it would make for a great MMORPG.com blog post if I revisited EvE almost exactly two years after I'd left, and wrote about it from my perspective now, as an MMO gamer with a bit more experience under her belt. Basically, the plan was to go in, take a look around, maybe run a few missions and try a few things, log out, write my piece, and then move on, back to Fallen Earth.
I knew the graphics had gotten a major upgrade as well as a few other new things like overheating systems because I'd kept up with the major news from EvE. Even though I wasn't playing, reading stories about banks failing, player reps using embargoed insider info to their in-game advantage, and the destruction (disintegration?) of the vast monolithic force that was BoB (this one I'd actually like to know more about...I heard that it happened, but I've heard nothing about how) helped keep me kind of in the loop.
I also decided that in order to get a good idea of how the game is now, I wasn't going to attempt to reactivate my old toon with a year's skill training but instead I signed up for the two week free trial and started from scratch as a new player.
All in all, it was a good plan, a well-thought-out plan, a sensible plan. Thing is, it just didn't work.
After going through character creation and basically recreating what I looked like the first time around (though I did add a cute tattoo on my cheek this time) as well as a slight variant on the name I used last time (my in-game name is now Bekka Jaie, note the new spelling), I stepped back into EvE for the first time in 2 years. My plan was to spend a couple of hours in-game, but I ended up losing myself in the game for hours as I remembered why I fell in love with the game in the first place. It's the same as when I played, only better.
Yep, I think I've been sucked back into the EvE wormhole.
The interesting part of this is that unlike last time when I didn't start blogging about my adventures in the game until I'd been playing for a while, this is only my fifth day on the trial account. I've been wrestling with the question of whether or not I should subscribe again once the trial is over (last time I signed up like two days after the trial started, but the system doesn't give you credit for the unused days, so since I have no immediate need to learn the Contracting skill, it seems silly not to wait until the trial is just about to end before I convert to a paid account).
Right now, I'm mainly just flying around in a Tristan running missions. I'm in no big rush to figure out my next move. It's just a girl and her Tristan (I'll get a Thorax and re-justify the title of this blog when I can afford one...soon).
If you're a returning reader, thank you for coming back. If you're a new reader, thanks for coming by and I hope you'll enjoy what you'll read here.
And as for what you'll read here, you may very well read a lot of stuff that's similar to what I've written in the past in some ways, but I can promise you this: I won't be going the manufacturing corporation director route this time. What that actually means remains to be seen.
Stick around, I have a feeling this is going to get interesting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
