So, today I did a little more PvP training with our corp's FC. He's really good. I learned stuff about faction ammo I never knew (and didn't even know enough to know that I didn't know it), and a lot more. In addition, I was on for a while tonight chatting with our corp's CEO.
He asked me if I was ok on ships and ISK. I thought I was. I still have most of what I brought with me, though I did spend several million on outfitting the Tristans. He apparently felt differently and gave me two shiny new Thoraxes to fit, and 100 million ISK, just to have if I need it. Needless to say, fitting the Thoraxes won't be a problem financially. I only have to worry about whether I have the skills to fit what I want.
Of course I'll do what I have to. If I can't use the Tech 2 version of something I'll run the Tech 1. In the meantime, though, I think I'm going to be very busy as far as skill training goes over the next few weeks at least. I keep discovering skills I haven't trained which would suddenly be really useful to have.
It's interesting...I've just gotten back into EvE (it's only been just over a month now), and I'm already out in 0.0 with a new corp, and Dominion and all of the changes it will bring are less than 24 hours away now. It seems hard to believe that in terms of actual forward career progress in this game I've probably done more in the last couple of weeks than I did during the last four or five months I was in-game before I left in '07.
Most of all, I'm looking forward to getting some real PvP experience. In all of the time I've been playing EvE until now, I've participated in exactly one PvP kill in 0.0, which was during an Agony Unleashed basic PvP course.
Tomorrow I need to fit those Thoraxes, though. I want those babies up and running asap.
Showing posts with label PvP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PvP. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2009
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.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
New Horizons
Well, I'm finally here, not for a visit, but to stay. As of this moment, my little Caldari shuttle is parked in my new home station, out in the wilds of 0.0. It's interesting...the most difficult thing about the trip was remembering to bookmark all the spots accurately. I'm not quite sure I got all those system designations right. It really is much easier when they have actual names, even if they're weird names.
I met a few members of my new corp in a system near where I'd applied and together we headed into 0.0. During the trip we chatted on Teamspeak and it seems I've clearly lucked out yet again as far as picking a corp. These guys are cool.
I'm also a member of a pretty big alliance now, which is kind of new for me. I was a member of a pretty big alliance when I was with Eve University but really it wasn't much of an alliance, if I remember correctly, because the vast majority of the alliance members were in the same corp, E-Uni. The few who were not were in the Graduates (I think that's what they called themselves), a corp of former E-Uni students. For the most part, it was exactly the same people in corp and alliance chats and emails lists. This time, I think it's going to be a little different.
Already I know I'm going to be doing a lot of PvP. I also know I have a lot to learn about doing PvP well and about surviving in 0.0. Basically, I know that I pretty much have to change almost everything about the way I play this game now...and that's ok, in fact, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
All in all, I'm pretty damned excited about the whole thing. Good game, good people, good times. It's been a long time since I was this excited about EvE, or about any game really. It really feels like the final frontier.
One thing I intend on doing pretty much immediately now is ordering one of those New Eden map books. Now that's I'm out of high-sec it's suddenly a lot more important that I plan my travels carefully and being able to sit a map on my lap, make notes, and verify system names will be a big help.
Now it's finally time for me to get serious about playing this game. Pew-pew, here I come.
I met a few members of my new corp in a system near where I'd applied and together we headed into 0.0. During the trip we chatted on Teamspeak and it seems I've clearly lucked out yet again as far as picking a corp. These guys are cool.
I'm also a member of a pretty big alliance now, which is kind of new for me. I was a member of a pretty big alliance when I was with Eve University but really it wasn't much of an alliance, if I remember correctly, because the vast majority of the alliance members were in the same corp, E-Uni. The few who were not were in the Graduates (I think that's what they called themselves), a corp of former E-Uni students. For the most part, it was exactly the same people in corp and alliance chats and emails lists. This time, I think it's going to be a little different.
Already I know I'm going to be doing a lot of PvP. I also know I have a lot to learn about doing PvP well and about surviving in 0.0. Basically, I know that I pretty much have to change almost everything about the way I play this game now...and that's ok, in fact, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
All in all, I'm pretty damned excited about the whole thing. Good game, good people, good times. It's been a long time since I was this excited about EvE, or about any game really. It really feels like the final frontier.
One thing I intend on doing pretty much immediately now is ordering one of those New Eden map books. Now that's I'm out of high-sec it's suddenly a lot more important that I plan my travels carefully and being able to sit a map on my lap, make notes, and verify system names will be a big help.
Now it's finally time for me to get serious about playing this game. Pew-pew, here I come.
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.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Now I'm Seriously Jonesing
Hopefully, my PC will be ready tomorrow, Friday at the latest. In the meantime, I've been getting a lot of Empyrean Age read. I'm about 3/4 through it now, and it's still a great read. After getting into it a bit I decided not to read any of the news items posted at the site until I finish it as many seem to be relevant to the events in the book. What I'm curious about, and I haven't yet seen talked about anywhere (but could easily have missed it) is whether this novel is considered EvE canon, and what about the one due out next month? Not that I really expect it would change anything in-game much either way, but it would be useful to know.
I did a little research today and read everything I could find on the disbanding of BoB. Not surprising, but oh so typical in this game. Can't say I'm unhappy to see it happen, either, just kinda sorry I missed being around for it. I like the idea that things are at least a little more balanced in terms of political power in this game than they used to be.
I've also been thinking about which corp I may want to join once I've done my solo time. I really don't know yet, though I'm considering re-applying to EvE University. It never hurts to brush up on one's PvP skills when you haven't been playing a couple of years (and I didn't do a whole lot of PvP while I was playing in any case), and on top of that, they're some of the best people I've ever gamed with. I haven't made any hard and fast decisions, but that's definitely one thing I'm thinking about.
Sigh....what I really want is my frakking PC back...
I did a little research today and read everything I could find on the disbanding of BoB. Not surprising, but oh so typical in this game. Can't say I'm unhappy to see it happen, either, just kinda sorry I missed being around for it. I like the idea that things are at least a little more balanced in terms of political power in this game than they used to be.
I've also been thinking about which corp I may want to join once I've done my solo time. I really don't know yet, though I'm considering re-applying to EvE University. It never hurts to brush up on one's PvP skills when you haven't been playing a couple of years (and I didn't do a whole lot of PvP while I was playing in any case), and on top of that, they're some of the best people I've ever gamed with. I haven't made any hard and fast decisions, but that's definitely one thing I'm thinking about.
Sigh....what I really want is my frakking PC back...
Friday, July 20, 2007
Late For Class...
...even though I didn't know I was going to be attending one until literally minutes before it happened.
I've had incredibly bad luck in terms of E-Uni class scheduling, but that's not the Uni's fault, it's my own personal fucked up schedule that's really the culprit. I just happened to be bitching about it in corp chat earlier and as luck would have it, a class I needed just happened to be about to start, a basic Tackling and Scouting 101 with Acacia Incana. While I do have some very minimal experience in these skills which I got during the class I took with Agony Unleashed a while back, this was something I really needed since so many other classes build on what's taught in this and other basic classes. The problem was that since the class was literally starting in just minutes, I had no time to pick up one of my tackling frigs. I ended up doing the class in my Thorax, and while it was great fun being a target and playing what amounted to "Interstellar Tag", I didn't get a chance to actually practice what was being taught. I learned what I needed to learn from this class, but because I was in the Thorax I really didn't a chance to actually practice it. Not a big deal, but I do think I'll retake it when I can.
In addition, I also learned a couple of important things that weren't in the class curriculum. For one thing, always check your overview settings after a patch. After the Revelations II patch, I lost all of my overview presets, and apparently after this latest one I lost about half of them, which I'd just painstakingly reconstructed about a week ago. Not only do I use the settings recommended in Romble's mp3 class, but I also keep the setting I learned in the readings for the AU class I took as well. The AU setup is slightly different from Romble's and I find it useful in certain situations. Just after the class began, I discovered that most of the Romble settings were gone, and certain settings from the AU setup had vanished as well. Fortuantely, I've now set these up from scratch a few times so I was able to fill the gaps as the class progressed by switching between the settings I still had and doing a few tweaks on the fly. Now, I know the first thing I have to do when I log in again is recreate these yet again. Ah well, I guess I can just think of it as practice.
The other thing I learned was something I should have known, that for me, someone who's done live radio online for over five years, should be filed under "Duh!". Of course, these classes require Teamspeak which I have and know how to use. At the beginning of the class I was having a lot of trouble hearing what was said clearly, and for some insane reason it didn't occur to me that the reason I was having so much trouble was because I wasn't using my headphones, I had the audio coming through my computer speakers. Normally this isn't much of a problem, but the room my computer is in is not the most effectively cooled by the AC, so I usually have a fan going when the weather is warm. The fan isn't really very loud, but it does make that "whooshing" sound fans do, creating a kind of low-level background "white noise". I'm so used to it I barely notice it most of the time, but it does effectively mask a certain amount of whatever audio I happen to be listening to. As a result, it was much harder to follow the conversation than it should have been, and silly me just chalked it up to less-than-optimum TS sound. This made perfect sense since Acacia's British accent led me to believe it was simply the distance that degraded the audio. Once I plugged in my headphones, though, it was like night and day, and I didn't have a problem again. DUH!
Pretty damn lame for my first class with the Uni, but despite the shaky start I'm looking forward to much more. One thing that kinda sucks is that I changed my email on the Ivy League message board and apparently my account has been put on inactive status for some reason. I think I'm supposed to get an email of some sort to reactivate it, but it hasn't arrived yet. If I don't get it by tomorrow when I check, I'll jump in-game and see if I can get someone in the Uni to help me get it working again. Until it is, I can't find out when the next classes I want to take will be held. I totally understand the need for security, but this is really a major pain. I'm getting notices about people posting in threads I'm tracking but I can't read them because until this is fixed I can't log in...grrrr...
Another interesting and cool thing I learned tonight is another of my Eve-Uni peeps is a reader of this blog (Hi Dee! :)). I also discovered that some of my classmates and Acacia didn't know I write one so I guess I'll have to post a link once I finally get back into the site. I do keep track of the amount of traffic this blog gets, and I've noticed that it's been slowly but steadily rising. Of course, like all bloggers, I love it when I see more people reading, and when I see people commenting here and in-game. It's a big reason why I spend as much time as I do on it, besides the fact that it combines two of my favorite pastimes, EvE and writing. Just knowing people are reading and enjoying it makes something that already gives me a great amount of pleasure and satisfaction even better.
Alright, enough for now. Til next time, fly safe.
I've had incredibly bad luck in terms of E-Uni class scheduling, but that's not the Uni's fault, it's my own personal fucked up schedule that's really the culprit. I just happened to be bitching about it in corp chat earlier and as luck would have it, a class I needed just happened to be about to start, a basic Tackling and Scouting 101 with Acacia Incana. While I do have some very minimal experience in these skills which I got during the class I took with Agony Unleashed a while back, this was something I really needed since so many other classes build on what's taught in this and other basic classes. The problem was that since the class was literally starting in just minutes, I had no time to pick up one of my tackling frigs. I ended up doing the class in my Thorax, and while it was great fun being a target and playing what amounted to "Interstellar Tag", I didn't get a chance to actually practice what was being taught. I learned what I needed to learn from this class, but because I was in the Thorax I really didn't a chance to actually practice it. Not a big deal, but I do think I'll retake it when I can.
In addition, I also learned a couple of important things that weren't in the class curriculum. For one thing, always check your overview settings after a patch. After the Revelations II patch, I lost all of my overview presets, and apparently after this latest one I lost about half of them, which I'd just painstakingly reconstructed about a week ago. Not only do I use the settings recommended in Romble's mp3 class, but I also keep the setting I learned in the readings for the AU class I took as well. The AU setup is slightly different from Romble's and I find it useful in certain situations. Just after the class began, I discovered that most of the Romble settings were gone, and certain settings from the AU setup had vanished as well. Fortuantely, I've now set these up from scratch a few times so I was able to fill the gaps as the class progressed by switching between the settings I still had and doing a few tweaks on the fly. Now, I know the first thing I have to do when I log in again is recreate these yet again. Ah well, I guess I can just think of it as practice.
The other thing I learned was something I should have known, that for me, someone who's done live radio online for over five years, should be filed under "Duh!". Of course, these classes require Teamspeak which I have and know how to use. At the beginning of the class I was having a lot of trouble hearing what was said clearly, and for some insane reason it didn't occur to me that the reason I was having so much trouble was because I wasn't using my headphones, I had the audio coming through my computer speakers. Normally this isn't much of a problem, but the room my computer is in is not the most effectively cooled by the AC, so I usually have a fan going when the weather is warm. The fan isn't really very loud, but it does make that "whooshing" sound fans do, creating a kind of low-level background "white noise". I'm so used to it I barely notice it most of the time, but it does effectively mask a certain amount of whatever audio I happen to be listening to. As a result, it was much harder to follow the conversation than it should have been, and silly me just chalked it up to less-than-optimum TS sound. This made perfect sense since Acacia's British accent led me to believe it was simply the distance that degraded the audio. Once I plugged in my headphones, though, it was like night and day, and I didn't have a problem again. DUH!
Pretty damn lame for my first class with the Uni, but despite the shaky start I'm looking forward to much more. One thing that kinda sucks is that I changed my email on the Ivy League message board and apparently my account has been put on inactive status for some reason. I think I'm supposed to get an email of some sort to reactivate it, but it hasn't arrived yet. If I don't get it by tomorrow when I check, I'll jump in-game and see if I can get someone in the Uni to help me get it working again. Until it is, I can't find out when the next classes I want to take will be held. I totally understand the need for security, but this is really a major pain. I'm getting notices about people posting in threads I'm tracking but I can't read them because until this is fixed I can't log in...grrrr...
Another interesting and cool thing I learned tonight is another of my Eve-Uni peeps is a reader of this blog (Hi Dee! :)). I also discovered that some of my classmates and Acacia didn't know I write one so I guess I'll have to post a link once I finally get back into the site. I do keep track of the amount of traffic this blog gets, and I've noticed that it's been slowly but steadily rising. Of course, like all bloggers, I love it when I see more people reading, and when I see people commenting here and in-game. It's a big reason why I spend as much time as I do on it, besides the fact that it combines two of my favorite pastimes, EvE and writing. Just knowing people are reading and enjoying it makes something that already gives me a great amount of pleasure and satisfaction even better.
Alright, enough for now. Til next time, fly safe.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Lockdown!
Basically there are just a few choices available: Members of E-Uni are currently under orders not to undock. One way to avoid this is to join TDROPS, the other is to go play on the test server. Not a great variety of alternatives.
It's understandable. One look at the killboard and you know why...these MENTL guys are having us for lunch. They've taken out sixteen of our ships and we've taken out exactly one of theirs. It's not surprising our commanders have ordered a lockdown...it seems that just about any encounter with these guys is going to ends up with a significant number of E-Uni ships blown up, so our commanders are simply waiting this out. Probably the most sensible strategy at this point, even if not the most fun to deal with.
I just wish there was something to do, because TDROPS is looking better and better right now, but in all honesty, I really don't wanna do that again this time...now that I've had at least some PvP training, it would feel like bailing out. Add to that the fact that I don't have the moral high horse to get on I did last time, and I'm really having a hard time rationalizing a move to TDROPS.
If only it wasn't so damn boring.
It's understandable. One look at the killboard and you know why...these MENTL guys are having us for lunch. They've taken out sixteen of our ships and we've taken out exactly one of theirs. It's not surprising our commanders have ordered a lockdown...it seems that just about any encounter with these guys is going to ends up with a significant number of E-Uni ships blown up, so our commanders are simply waiting this out. Probably the most sensible strategy at this point, even if not the most fun to deal with.
I just wish there was something to do, because TDROPS is looking better and better right now, but in all honesty, I really don't wanna do that again this time...now that I've had at least some PvP training, it would feel like bailing out. Add to that the fact that I don't have the moral high horse to get on I did last time, and I'm really having a hard time rationalizing a move to TDROPS.
If only it wasn't so damn boring.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Ramping Up...
...it's actually getting easier.
Using some of the techniques I've learned in the reading for the Agony Unleashed Basic PvP Class, I've significantly increased speed and the number of the NPC mission ships I've been taking out. Of course, not all of these methods translate as effectively to PvE as they do to PvP, but many do and I've definitely noticed a difference. I've still got well over a week before my class, but I have a feeling (read: hope) that I'll be back to flying a battlecruiser and Level 3 missions before then.
Also, in a few hours, I'll finish training Medium Hybrid Turret V. This is a good thing as it not only gives me a little more advantage in combat just in general but also opens other skills I've wanted to train, such as those that will enable me to use Advanced ammo.
Right now, though, I will admit that I'm having a lot more fun flying Level 2 missions in a Thorax again than I expected to, even though I am looking forward to getting back to where I was a few weeks ago. I guess it's always more fun when you kick more ass and I seem to be doing that more and more all the time now. It just seems to be getting more and more fun to play this game.
Cool.
Using some of the techniques I've learned in the reading for the Agony Unleashed Basic PvP Class, I've significantly increased speed and the number of the NPC mission ships I've been taking out. Of course, not all of these methods translate as effectively to PvE as they do to PvP, but many do and I've definitely noticed a difference. I've still got well over a week before my class, but I have a feeling (read: hope) that I'll be back to flying a battlecruiser and Level 3 missions before then.
Also, in a few hours, I'll finish training Medium Hybrid Turret V. This is a good thing as it not only gives me a little more advantage in combat just in general but also opens other skills I've wanted to train, such as those that will enable me to use Advanced ammo.
Right now, though, I will admit that I'm having a lot more fun flying Level 2 missions in a Thorax again than I expected to, even though I am looking forward to getting back to where I was a few weeks ago. I guess it's always more fun when you kick more ass and I seem to be doing that more and more all the time now. It just seems to be getting more and more fun to play this game.
Cool.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Cruisin'...
The last few days in EVE have been exceptionally flawless technically, even if I did lose another Thorax. In fact, it was a miscalculation on my part, an inaccurate assessment of my survival risks. Getting another Thorax fitted, ready to run missions, and insured at Bronze Level basically wiped me out financially, so I've been running Level 2 missions and I'll probably continue to for a while. In the meantime, however, my three AU Basic PvP Class-ready frigs and all the extra mods I bought for them are still sitting at the staging station, waiting for the next time the class will be held, in slightly less than two weeks. Of course, this time I'll be ready, my net connection will be ready, and I won't be living on pain medication...all of which are very good things.
I had an interesting in-game conversation earlier today with someone who's a pirate, but who I don't think is a Privateer about the pros and cons of the recent wardec nerf. This person apparently feels it's going to hurt the game, while I feel what CCP did was exactly the opposite, an action taken to protect the game and its accessibility to new players. To be honest, I really don't want to get back into this topic full-bore as I think I've covered it and stated my opinion pretty well, but I will say this. something else I've said here before, but which I don't think enough players understand is key here:
First and foremost, EVE is not a game, but entertainment media, a commercial product which is intended to make a profit for the company that creates it, CCP. If EVE succeeds in this, it will continue to grow and improve...if not, it will wither and die. This has nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, to do with the actual quality of the game or how much we love it as players. It has everything to do with basic economic reality: If it sells, it lives, and if it doesn't, it dies.
In this way, it's really no different from the business I'm in, or trying to be in, anyway. As regular readers have probably picked up from my references, I'm a radio talk show host. The kind of show I do is very specialized, especially intended for a specific kind of listener but also designed to be accessible to everyone who cares to take the time to listen. In order for me to be successful in doing this professionally, I need three things:
First, I need to be good. In fact, I need to be better than most. I am.
Second, I need someone in the business who thinks I'm good enough to hire. That, I've got.
The third part is harder: a media company that's willing to take a chance on funding a genre of radio that's largely untested in the commercial market. Finding that is the job of the guy who will be my boss, and it's finding the right business partner that's what's really taking the time here.
To translate this into EVE terms, let's start with this reality that every professional mediamaker of any stripe understands:
Media consumers are unbelievably fickle. The average gamer (online or otherwise), properly motivated, will be just as quick to bail on any given game they lose interest in as the average radio listener will be to bail on any given show that they find boring or less interesting than another. The real difference here, if there can honestly be said to be one, is only in the amount of time it takes for the consumer to "change the channel". The way to combat this is in radio is the very same as it is in gaming: Generating and maintaining a high level of consumer loyalty.
I remember a conversation I once had with a radio professional about getting myself hired in the business, at a major radio provider. He told me something that proved to be right on the money, that his company would be happy to put me on the air as a guest on their shows because I'm damn good, but he doubted that they'd ever offer me a real job because I was just too different from everything that had gone before...in other words, as a guest I was attractive because I was new and interesting (not to mention free to the company), but they'd never actually hire me, because I was TOO new and interesting. How fucked up is that?
This kind of thing definitely applies to EVE as well. Many people download the trial, but how many actually subscribe as a result and how many decide for themselves that EVE just isn't for them, that it's just TOO new and different to actually invest money in? When one looks at the playerbase of WoW and compares it against EVE's, it's pretty clear that EVE caters to a playerbase as specialized as the listenerbase which my show and network do, with much the same results. It doesn't take a game with almost 35 times the playerbase as EVE's to tell me what I've known for years: Media which strays less from the familiar, the tried and true, will be more successful than that which breaks new ground.
So how does a host like me or a game like EVE, both of which break new ground in our respective fields, develop loyal consumer bases? First, we gotta get them to the door...things like free trials and active mainstream and guerrilla promotional activities help with that. Once we got 'em at the door though, we gotta keep 'em there.
For me, as for EVE, you either like what you get or you don't. You like, you stay, you don't, you leave and move on...if enough people stay, it's a success, if not...
In both cases, it all happens early. Chances are, you'll know if you like me and my radio show after just a little while of listening, and a similar amount of time is needed for a new player to figure out if EVE is for them or not. That's why, just as it's critical for me to make my show as accessible to someone who's never heard it before as it is to someone who listens every week, so too does EVE need to be as accessible and fun to play for someone who's been playing for two hours as it is for someone who's been playing for two years. Different play styles, different reasons for listening, sure, but it all has to meet in the middle to accomplish the key goal of both: entertainment...without that, neither can succeed.
That's why CCP needed to do what they did to the wardecs, to protect the game and keep it interesting and fun for players of all skill and experience levels. It's not just good for the game, it's absolutely essential for its continued survival. To all you PvP purists complaining about this, I ask you to consider this question and answer it honestly, whether publicly or just for yourself:
Which would you rather have: A game that has safe, protected areas for new players to learn the game or a game which loses money and eventually goes under, rendering all players equal in the complete and total loss of a pastime we all love?
I know what my answer to that question is, and I hope yours is much the same.
I had an interesting in-game conversation earlier today with someone who's a pirate, but who I don't think is a Privateer about the pros and cons of the recent wardec nerf. This person apparently feels it's going to hurt the game, while I feel what CCP did was exactly the opposite, an action taken to protect the game and its accessibility to new players. To be honest, I really don't want to get back into this topic full-bore as I think I've covered it and stated my opinion pretty well, but I will say this. something else I've said here before, but which I don't think enough players understand is key here:
First and foremost, EVE is not a game, but entertainment media, a commercial product which is intended to make a profit for the company that creates it, CCP. If EVE succeeds in this, it will continue to grow and improve...if not, it will wither and die. This has nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, to do with the actual quality of the game or how much we love it as players. It has everything to do with basic economic reality: If it sells, it lives, and if it doesn't, it dies.
In this way, it's really no different from the business I'm in, or trying to be in, anyway. As regular readers have probably picked up from my references, I'm a radio talk show host. The kind of show I do is very specialized, especially intended for a specific kind of listener but also designed to be accessible to everyone who cares to take the time to listen. In order for me to be successful in doing this professionally, I need three things:
First, I need to be good. In fact, I need to be better than most. I am.
Second, I need someone in the business who thinks I'm good enough to hire. That, I've got.
The third part is harder: a media company that's willing to take a chance on funding a genre of radio that's largely untested in the commercial market. Finding that is the job of the guy who will be my boss, and it's finding the right business partner that's what's really taking the time here.
To translate this into EVE terms, let's start with this reality that every professional mediamaker of any stripe understands:
Media consumers are unbelievably fickle. The average gamer (online or otherwise), properly motivated, will be just as quick to bail on any given game they lose interest in as the average radio listener will be to bail on any given show that they find boring or less interesting than another. The real difference here, if there can honestly be said to be one, is only in the amount of time it takes for the consumer to "change the channel". The way to combat this is in radio is the very same as it is in gaming: Generating and maintaining a high level of consumer loyalty.
I remember a conversation I once had with a radio professional about getting myself hired in the business, at a major radio provider. He told me something that proved to be right on the money, that his company would be happy to put me on the air as a guest on their shows because I'm damn good, but he doubted that they'd ever offer me a real job because I was just too different from everything that had gone before...in other words, as a guest I was attractive because I was new and interesting (not to mention free to the company), but they'd never actually hire me, because I was TOO new and interesting. How fucked up is that?
This kind of thing definitely applies to EVE as well. Many people download the trial, but how many actually subscribe as a result and how many decide for themselves that EVE just isn't for them, that it's just TOO new and different to actually invest money in? When one looks at the playerbase of WoW and compares it against EVE's, it's pretty clear that EVE caters to a playerbase as specialized as the listenerbase which my show and network do, with much the same results. It doesn't take a game with almost 35 times the playerbase as EVE's to tell me what I've known for years: Media which strays less from the familiar, the tried and true, will be more successful than that which breaks new ground.
So how does a host like me or a game like EVE, both of which break new ground in our respective fields, develop loyal consumer bases? First, we gotta get them to the door...things like free trials and active mainstream and guerrilla promotional activities help with that. Once we got 'em at the door though, we gotta keep 'em there.
For me, as for EVE, you either like what you get or you don't. You like, you stay, you don't, you leave and move on...if enough people stay, it's a success, if not...
In both cases, it all happens early. Chances are, you'll know if you like me and my radio show after just a little while of listening, and a similar amount of time is needed for a new player to figure out if EVE is for them or not. That's why, just as it's critical for me to make my show as accessible to someone who's never heard it before as it is to someone who listens every week, so too does EVE need to be as accessible and fun to play for someone who's been playing for two hours as it is for someone who's been playing for two years. Different play styles, different reasons for listening, sure, but it all has to meet in the middle to accomplish the key goal of both: entertainment...without that, neither can succeed.
That's why CCP needed to do what they did to the wardecs, to protect the game and keep it interesting and fun for players of all skill and experience levels. It's not just good for the game, it's absolutely essential for its continued survival. To all you PvP purists complaining about this, I ask you to consider this question and answer it honestly, whether publicly or just for yourself:
Which would you rather have: A game that has safe, protected areas for new players to learn the game or a game which loses money and eventually goes under, rendering all players equal in the complete and total loss of a pastime we all love?
I know what my answer to that question is, and I hope yours is much the same.
Friday, April 27, 2007
The Wait...
...well, really...it's two and a half hours before class time. What the hell else do I have left to do? I'm as ready and as read-up as I'll ever be. Earlier today, I took an excursion to Korsiki where I discovered yet another skill I need to train: Infomorph Psychology. Thought I'd just drop by and make myself a jump clone...as long as I've been playing this game now, I should have known it would never be that easy.
So, I've got two Tristans and a Maulus plus plenty of spare mods ready to go so this should be a lot of fun. I've also tried to test Ventrilo but no one ever seems to be in the AU server lobby when I go there to try it. Oh well...hopefully when I try it again later someone will be.
I'm now going to stop overanalyzing this whole thing....at least for a while. I'm sure I'll have something to say after I've done the actual class...interestingly, today I discovered that those who pay and take an AU class are welcome to come back and do it again, free of charge. That's cool. One thing I have to admit I've been wondering about since I signed up for this thing is if my class will get into any actual combat. I've read some of the AU forum commentary and it doesn't seem that the last class found much. It's good to know that if I need it explained to me one more time (definitely not an impossibility, especially in this game) that I'll have the opportunity.
Dental hell wasn't so bad. The stitches are gone, as are the pain pills...ah well, ya can't have everything. Just as well...this is a class I want to be as sober as a judge for.
Oh yeah...I'm not gonna miss a thing.
So, I've got two Tristans and a Maulus plus plenty of spare mods ready to go so this should be a lot of fun. I've also tried to test Ventrilo but no one ever seems to be in the AU server lobby when I go there to try it. Oh well...hopefully when I try it again later someone will be.
I'm now going to stop overanalyzing this whole thing....at least for a while. I'm sure I'll have something to say after I've done the actual class...interestingly, today I discovered that those who pay and take an AU class are welcome to come back and do it again, free of charge. That's cool. One thing I have to admit I've been wondering about since I signed up for this thing is if my class will get into any actual combat. I've read some of the AU forum commentary and it doesn't seem that the last class found much. It's good to know that if I need it explained to me one more time (definitely not an impossibility, especially in this game) that I'll have the opportunity.
Dental hell wasn't so bad. The stitches are gone, as are the pain pills...ah well, ya can't have everything. Just as well...this is a class I want to be as sober as a judge for.
Oh yeah...I'm not gonna miss a thing.
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