This is the end of series 2, hope you enjoyed it. I am already mapping out the arc of series 3 which will start in mid august.
I'm on vacation next week so posting will be light or non-existent. Back to the grind the week after.
Previously:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Chapter 16 Chapter 17
* * * * * *
CASE 7839-23: State Navy Versus Lt Commander K. Kodachi
Date: March 8, YC 109
Kisogo VII - State War Academy School
[Page 4/4]
Furthermore, we find the blatant disregard for his direct superior's order to be the most distressing charge of all. While we sympathize with his matter of conscience regarding the incident and the actions of Lt Commander R. Jacellon (ref: CASE 7839-22), the chain of command in the Navy is of utmost importance and the defendant's disregard for it cannot be overlooked. His proper course of action should have been to inform the captain of the SS Iceheart what was transpiring and await further orders.
FINDINGS
Thus, the members of this judicial panel find Lt Commander K. Kodachi, on the charges of:
1) Mutininy; via disregarding direct orders of a superior officer - GUILTY
2) Endangerment; via firing upon the SS Aegis - GUILTY
3) Vandalism with intent of malfeasance; via disabling the override controls of the SS Iceheart - GUILTY
SENTENCE
Taking into account the defendant's exceptional record and commendations, the court could have been persuaded to leniency should the defendant have shown suitable remorse for his actions. However, the proceedings have found the defendant unrepentant and convinced of the correctness of his actions. Thus our sentencing is as follows:
1) The defendant will remain in custody until he can be scheduled for selective memory extraction of sensitive information in the medical facility here on station. Afterward he will have surgery to remove all neurological hardwirings and implants.
2) The defendant will stripped of all rank and be DISHONOURABLY DISCHARGED from the Caldari State Navy. This includes forfeit of pension and all benefits normally prescribed to citizens of veteran status.
3) The defendant will be fined a charge of 10,000 credits.
In closing, the court will remind all participants that the proceedings and events discussed herein are classified as TOP SECRET LEVEL III and the punishment for discussing these items outside of the proper authorized channels is life imprisonment.
Signed
Admiral S. Kalthazer
Admiral R. Bornson
Rear Admiral T. Finushizi
[Page 4/4]
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Rules for Logging Off
From Eve Online forums (hat tip to @K162space):
Rules of logging off.
1. If you log off cloaked, you will disengage your cloak and e-warp away upon logging off.
2. If you log off with aggression you will e-warp off but remain in the system for 15 minutes from last point of aggression.
3. If you log off and are tackled but without aggression you will disapear 30 seconds after logging off.
4. If you log off and are tackled with aggression you will remain there til they are done with you.
Btw, when you log off but have aggression then you will remain on the directional scanner until your 15 minutes are up. If they see you on directional, then it's easy to scan you out since you are only 1,000,000 km from where you logged off.
Screenshot
I did some ratting last night with Kla'strit in the endless pursuit of a higher security status.
I upgraded from the ratting Wolf assault frig to the ratting Vagabond. While a battleship would be easier and more effective, I like the ability to run like a chicken should any neutrals or hostiles show up in local. The Wolf was OK but had trouble versus some of the bigger rats, especially if I was in a clone without a damage increasing implant. The Vagabond deals more DPS while still being small and nimble and as I tried it out last night I was very pleased.
At one point I ran across a cruiser rat called Dire Guristas Killer and I was thrilled, thinking about the juicy faction loot I was about to get. I killed it, checked the wreck, and found nothing of note. Cursing I continued on.
Then three belts later I came across a Dire Guristas frigate and I thought, "Yes! This will make up for the last one!" I killed it and again, nothing.
Frustrated I complained in corp chat:
I upgraded from the ratting Wolf assault frig to the ratting Vagabond. While a battleship would be easier and more effective, I like the ability to run like a chicken should any neutrals or hostiles show up in local. The Wolf was OK but had trouble versus some of the bigger rats, especially if I was in a clone without a damage increasing implant. The Vagabond deals more DPS while still being small and nimble and as I tried it out last night I was very pleased.
At one point I ran across a cruiser rat called Dire Guristas Killer and I was thrilled, thinking about the juicy faction loot I was about to get. I killed it, checked the wreck, and found nothing of note. Cursing I continued on.
Then three belts later I came across a Dire Guristas frigate and I thought, "Yes! This will make up for the last one!" I killed it and again, nothing.
Frustrated I complained in corp chat:
Kla'strit > two Dire Guristas rats in differnent belts within 10 minutes of each other and no good loot :(Well that was embarrassing. At least I got an awesome screenshot:
Mae West > dire don't drop "good loot"
Mae West > only dread
Kla'strit > Ah
Kla'strit > that explains it
Mae West > their bounty is slighty better than usual rats
Kla'strit > long time since I've been in Guristas space
Mae West > come on kirith... i expect better from a well known eve writer
Kla'strit > lol
Kla'strit > don't tell anyone! I have a rep to maintain
Mae West > only isk can squelch the lies i shall spew
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Magnum PI
So my alt Korneilia has been training up the Planetary Interaction skills and is approaching the point where I'm ready to start playing around. My long term goal is to have a small number of planet installations I can tend like a garden whenever I have time, profit is secondary and almost unnecessary.
I know there are some fantastic guides out there but I learn best by doing, not reading, so I purchased a basic command centre (CC) this morning in the lull before work and went into low sec to drop it on a planet and do basic extractions and routing. A basic CC can't support very much but it was really just a short test to get familiar with the interface and find the appropriate buttons. I located deposits of Base Metals and set out extracting them and routing them to the CC. Later on I'll check on the process and see how its doing.
I can see where the "too many clicks" complaint comes from (especially if you are managing several colonies on multiple characters) and I can see some places where the developers working on the second iteration of PI can save some. Tonight when I'm on the laptop I'll see about creating a more extensive colony perhaps extracting multiple resources. I'm still a week away from the Elite command centres but I'm sure an Advanced will do for the meantime.
I hope to eventually move into null sec space with this operation but I don't want to move the alt into the corporation to pay taxes. Maybe a class 1 or 2 wormhole with a static to high sec would be perfect. No rush, this is just a hobby for me for now.
I know there are some fantastic guides out there but I learn best by doing, not reading, so I purchased a basic command centre (CC) this morning in the lull before work and went into low sec to drop it on a planet and do basic extractions and routing. A basic CC can't support very much but it was really just a short test to get familiar with the interface and find the appropriate buttons. I located deposits of Base Metals and set out extracting them and routing them to the CC. Later on I'll check on the process and see how its doing.
I can see where the "too many clicks" complaint comes from (especially if you are managing several colonies on multiple characters) and I can see some places where the developers working on the second iteration of PI can save some. Tonight when I'm on the laptop I'll see about creating a more extensive colony perhaps extracting multiple resources. I'm still a week away from the Elite command centres but I'm sure an Advanced will do for the meantime.
I hope to eventually move into null sec space with this operation but I don't want to move the alt into the corporation to pay taxes. Maybe a class 1 or 2 wormhole with a static to high sec would be perfect. No rush, this is just a hobby for me for now.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Clarification
It has come to my intention that my last post on Ushra'Khan's misfortunes could be construed as me saying UK deserved it because I didn't like them.
I wish to clarify.
Yes, I didn't like UK for reasons discussed but I did not wish at any time for their disbandment / sabotage to occur. Due to the actions that they have taken against me and my allies I think they deserve painful internet spaceship deaths in honest to goodness fighting.
On the other point in my previous post, if UK leadership was sloppy in its security measures and promotion policies than it deserved to be disbanded by the disgruntled leader / HYDRA Reloaded spy as a consequence for not operating carefully in the post-BoB world. This "deserved-ness" is completely divorced from my personal vendetta against all who have wronged me (note: currently adding Hallen Turek to the list).
Finally, I would like to say that I have yet to meet someone personally in Eve I would not sit down to enjoy a drink and a conversation with in real life (yes, even those guys from FINEG). Any vendettas/grudges/fist shaking I indulge in is purely for spicing up my day and not intended to be taken seriously beyond the confiens of this blog. I find Internet Spaceships is more fun with Internet Grudges.
Carry on.
I wish to clarify.
Yes, I didn't like UK for reasons discussed but I did not wish at any time for their disbandment / sabotage to occur. Due to the actions that they have taken against me and my allies I think they deserve painful internet spaceship deaths in honest to goodness fighting.
On the other point in my previous post, if UK leadership was sloppy in its security measures and promotion policies than it deserved to be disbanded by the disgruntled leader / HYDRA Reloaded spy as a consequence for not operating carefully in the post-BoB world. This "deserved-ness" is completely divorced from my personal vendetta against all who have wronged me (note: currently adding Hallen Turek to the list).
Finally, I would like to say that I have yet to meet someone personally in Eve I would not sit down to enjoy a drink and a conversation with in real life (yes, even those guys from FINEG). Any vendettas/grudges/fist shaking I indulge in is purely for spicing up my day and not intended to be taken seriously beyond the confiens of this blog. I find Internet Spaceships is more fun with Internet Grudges.
Carry on.
Ushra'Khan Should Have Known Better
When I heard Saturday morning that Ushra'Khan had been infiltrated and disbanded, I thought to myself, "Good".
Apparently, a member of Hydra Reloaded alliance spent a single year to join a corp in UK and work up the ranks to the position of Head Diplomat, which apparently gave him access to the alliance controls. He then kicked all corps out of the alliance and stole as much stuff as he could in the process. I think this is all part of a Hydra Reloaded assault on Providence but that could be just noise.
While I know some good people that were in UK, I won't miss the alliance for two main reasons:
1) Smacktalk: they were notorious smacktalkers, both in game and on blogs. We couldn't win with them, either we brought "blobs" to beat them, ran when they had superior numbers, or failed to catch them when they cloaked up. I know smack talk is part of the game as a psychological tool but for UK, they were just tools. If you are going to smacktalk, at least use some imagination.
2) They claimed they wanted "good fights" in New Providence yet used the flimsiest excuse to rally the New Providence holders and kick Paxton Federation out. I understand why they did what they did because one on one Paxton was a match for any of the new Holders, possibly even UK itself, but I still hate them for it.
Yeah, in this case, I'm bitter.
At the end of the day UK leadership should acknowledge that they were responsible. Any alliance in today's Eve that lets someone only a year in the alliance move up the chain of command to a point where his finger is beside the big red button deserves to die. Rotten from within I suppose.
This does not excuse CCP for their inaction on fixing alliance mechanics such that a colossal single blow against an alliance is possible. I'm a fan of what they are trying to do with Planetary Interaction, Dust integration, and even Incarna but this type of defect in the game should be addressed. For shame.
NOTE: No podcast recording due to getting home really late last night. But I got some great intro music from the man himself so I'm excited about recording soon. Now I just have to figure out how to use it in Audacity!
Apparently, a member of Hydra Reloaded alliance spent a single year to join a corp in UK and work up the ranks to the position of Head Diplomat, which apparently gave him access to the alliance controls. He then kicked all corps out of the alliance and stole as much stuff as he could in the process. I think this is all part of a Hydra Reloaded assault on Providence but that could be just noise.
While I know some good people that were in UK, I won't miss the alliance for two main reasons:
1) Smacktalk: they were notorious smacktalkers, both in game and on blogs. We couldn't win with them, either we brought "blobs" to beat them, ran when they had superior numbers, or failed to catch them when they cloaked up. I know smack talk is part of the game as a psychological tool but for UK, they were just tools. If you are going to smacktalk, at least use some imagination.
2) They claimed they wanted "good fights" in New Providence yet used the flimsiest excuse to rally the New Providence holders and kick Paxton Federation out. I understand why they did what they did because one on one Paxton was a match for any of the new Holders, possibly even UK itself, but I still hate them for it.
Yeah, in this case, I'm bitter.
At the end of the day UK leadership should acknowledge that they were responsible. Any alliance in today's Eve that lets someone only a year in the alliance move up the chain of command to a point where his finger is beside the big red button deserves to die. Rotten from within I suppose.
This does not excuse CCP for their inaction on fixing alliance mechanics such that a colossal single blow against an alliance is possible. I'm a fan of what they are trying to do with Planetary Interaction, Dust integration, and even Incarna but this type of defect in the game should be addressed. For shame.
NOTE: No podcast recording due to getting home really late last night. But I got some great intro music from the man himself so I'm excited about recording soon. Now I just have to figure out how to use it in Audacity!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Fiction Friday - Series 2: Chapter 17
Previously:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Chapter 16
* * * * *
The Harpy didn't fire. Instead Jace angled away from the station and sped up to initiate warp. As his ship zoomed out of site to deeper into the solar system I felt a wave of relief.
I continued my battlecruiser's approach to the station to buy time while I thought about what to do. My captain and bridge crew were still frantically trying to take control of the ship but I could detect that their panic levels had dropped a little as well since they saw the allied ships leave and the crisis averted.
I tried to decide what to do. I briefly considered making a run for it with the ship, forcing the crew off at some isolated station, but I knew that the Navy could petition CONCORD to block a pilot license and all the privileges that brings a capsuleer. I would have no cloning facilities, no docking rights, nothing; I might be able to make a go of it in some pirate space outside of the empires but I was not interested in terrorizing the people I currently tried to protect. No, I decided, I would have to turn myself in and explain my actions and hope that they could see I acted in the best interests of the State.
I was about 20 kilometers to the station and I scanned to see if there was any life pods that needed retrieval before they sped out of range. The station was in rough shape, gases ejecting from multiple fissures and power knocked out in several decks, yet it seemed to be holding together and soon after I left they would be able to send a message as my frequency jamming ended.
I should have been watching the deep space scanner. I was too shaken up but my training should have taken over anyways. Sloppy, I know. So when the Harpy arrived on local sensors I was taken by surprise. Jace was back.
"Should have broken the fleet link, Kodachi," he said without emotion into our shared comm channel.
His ship came out of warp within 2000 meters of mine and immediately moved to orbit me. I swore and brought my ship to a new heading away from the waystation and moved as fast as I could. We both knew that at this close range my guns were useless. I launched my five light Hornet drones and sent them after the assault ship.
His blasters had changed to long range Null ammunition and with those loaded he was able to easily hit the platform station while orbiting my Ferox. The charges leaped from his weapons to the target and the remaining intact portions exploded from his salvos. My drones nibbled furiously at his shields and he laughed without mirth.
The reactor core was breached and a runaway reaction detonated the fuel pile in a blinding flash. Both of our ship shields flared from the radiation flare.
"See you at the court martial, fucker."
The Harpy sped off into warp once again this time towards the stargate, leaving me with the silent bodies of the dead.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Chapter 16
* * * * *
The Harpy didn't fire. Instead Jace angled away from the station and sped up to initiate warp. As his ship zoomed out of site to deeper into the solar system I felt a wave of relief.
I continued my battlecruiser's approach to the station to buy time while I thought about what to do. My captain and bridge crew were still frantically trying to take control of the ship but I could detect that their panic levels had dropped a little as well since they saw the allied ships leave and the crisis averted.
I tried to decide what to do. I briefly considered making a run for it with the ship, forcing the crew off at some isolated station, but I knew that the Navy could petition CONCORD to block a pilot license and all the privileges that brings a capsuleer. I would have no cloning facilities, no docking rights, nothing; I might be able to make a go of it in some pirate space outside of the empires but I was not interested in terrorizing the people I currently tried to protect. No, I decided, I would have to turn myself in and explain my actions and hope that they could see I acted in the best interests of the State.
I was about 20 kilometers to the station and I scanned to see if there was any life pods that needed retrieval before they sped out of range. The station was in rough shape, gases ejecting from multiple fissures and power knocked out in several decks, yet it seemed to be holding together and soon after I left they would be able to send a message as my frequency jamming ended.
I should have been watching the deep space scanner. I was too shaken up but my training should have taken over anyways. Sloppy, I know. So when the Harpy arrived on local sensors I was taken by surprise. Jace was back.
"Should have broken the fleet link, Kodachi," he said without emotion into our shared comm channel.
His ship came out of warp within 2000 meters of mine and immediately moved to orbit me. I swore and brought my ship to a new heading away from the waystation and moved as fast as I could. We both knew that at this close range my guns were useless. I launched my five light Hornet drones and sent them after the assault ship.
His blasters had changed to long range Null ammunition and with those loaded he was able to easily hit the platform station while orbiting my Ferox. The charges leaped from his weapons to the target and the remaining intact portions exploded from his salvos. My drones nibbled furiously at his shields and he laughed without mirth.
The reactor core was breached and a runaway reaction detonated the fuel pile in a blinding flash. Both of our ship shields flared from the radiation flare.
"See you at the court martial, fucker."
The Harpy sped off into warp once again this time towards the stargate, leaving me with the silent bodies of the dead.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Unmolested
Kla'strit finally got his security status up to -4.50 which means I can now travel in 0.5 high sec systems without faction police getting brutal on my ass. Makes getting ships into low sec a heck of a lot easier.
Cap Logistics guys are going to hate me when they see the Tempest, Maelstrom, Hurricane, Rapier, and Vagabond in the queue to go to null sec. When the Wyvern parking alt is done, I'll get the Chimera out of storage to help out again.
Cap Logistics guys are going to hate me when they see the Tempest, Maelstrom, Hurricane, Rapier, and Vagabond in the queue to go to null sec. When the Wyvern parking alt is done, I'll get the Chimera out of storage to help out again.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Unique Ships - Megathron Federate Issue
Previous articles:
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue Battleships
Imperial Armageddon and Imperial Apocalypse
* * * * *
The Crielere Event occurred early in Eve's existence, I think 2006, and was the storyline lead in for Tech 2 equipment. During the event pod pilots were involved in fighting Guristas pirates including the two founders, Fatal and the Rabbit.
From Evelopedia:
The Federate Megathron is unique. There was only ever one created and like the Imperial Apoc this makes it very valuable indeed. In today's ISK values I estimate easily over 50-60 billion. Is it worth it?
Gallente Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret damage and 7.5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret tracking speed per level.
It has the same bonus to damage and tracking as the other two Megathrons have, so with eight turret hardpoints its DPS is already potentially higher by roughly 12.5%. Its drone bay is equivalent to the Navy issue (175m3 with 125 Mb bandwidth) and it has the eight low slots of the Navy issue with an extra mid slot. Almost equivalent CPU and 2000MW more power grid presumably for that eighth weapon, and a bit more capacitor energy. Hitpoint wise it boasts over 2000 base hitpoints on each of shields, armour, and hull. It is a fantastic beast.
Let's look at a typical blaster setup for a Megathron fit on the Federate issue. As before, the fittings picked are standard modules for comparison purposes only! Obviously an elite ship like this deserves module of a far higher quality.
With drones you are looking at over 1200 DPS, with 179K effective hit point tank and enough cap with cap boosters for most engagements. I went with a scrambler because for this ship the MWD canceling effect of the scrambler is more important for keeping the target's speed down than it is for keeping them from warping away.
And that ends our look at the unique ships of Eve. Hope you liked it, I'm posting the links to these articles in my Masterclass page linked above. Cheers!
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue Battleships
Imperial Armageddon and Imperial Apocalypse
* * * * *
The Crielere Event occurred early in Eve's existence, I think 2006, and was the storyline lead in for Tech 2 equipment. During the event pod pilots were involved in fighting Guristas pirates including the two founders, Fatal and the Rabbit.
From Evelopedia:
The Megathron Federate Issue is a one of a kind ship.
It was awarded to Doc Brown for his participation in the termination of Fatal, one of the Guristas Pirates founders, in the finale of the Crielere event. After 2 years, Doc Brown sold the ship to DigitalCommunist for 15 billion ISK.
It remained in the possesion of DigitalCommunist for a considerable period of time before Madcap Magician (his former CEO and friend) stole it at Entity's request, to whom he donated the ship a few weeks later.
The ship remains the crown piece of Entity's collection to this day, and is not likely to change hands again.
Gallente Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret damage and 7.5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret tracking speed per level.
It has the same bonus to damage and tracking as the other two Megathrons have, so with eight turret hardpoints its DPS is already potentially higher by roughly 12.5%. Its drone bay is equivalent to the Navy issue (175m3 with 125 Mb bandwidth) and it has the eight low slots of the Navy issue with an extra mid slot. Almost equivalent CPU and 2000MW more power grid presumably for that eighth weapon, and a bit more capacitor energy. Hitpoint wise it boasts over 2000 base hitpoints on each of shields, armour, and hull. It is a fantastic beast.
Let's look at a typical blaster setup for a Megathron fit on the Federate issue. As before, the fittings picked are standard modules for comparison purposes only! Obviously an elite ship like this deserves module of a far higher quality.
With drones you are looking at over 1200 DPS, with 179K effective hit point tank and enough cap with cap boosters for most engagements. I went with a scrambler because for this ship the MWD canceling effect of the scrambler is more important for keeping the target's speed down than it is for keeping them from warping away.
And that ends our look at the unique ships of Eve. Hope you liked it, I'm posting the links to these articles in my Masterclass page linked above. Cheers!
No Blog Banter
Really? A blog banter on the CSM? Like we haven't had enough posts already on everyone's thoughts on CSM 5 and the meeting minutes and CCP's development priorities and people fucking up what exactly a stakeholder is in the Agile development process? (Hint, its not the same as shareholder in the company.)
Count me out. You want my views, I podcasted them already like everyone else a couple weeks ago.
Count me out. You want my views, I podcasted them already like everyone else a couple weeks ago.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Broadcasts from the Ninveah Episode 9
Following up on last week's fiction writing article, this week I talk about the Fighting Spacecraft articles. I also took five extra minutes to edit out the pops from the wireless mic. I am going to invest in a slightly better microphone for recording so you just have to live with the wireless warbles every once in a while that I didn't catch in my quick edit.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Shopping Time!
So, since I lost two ships with Kla'strit last week I need to go out and buy him some replacements as well as some more ships for various purposes. He still has his snipe battleship and command ship but I like having a cloaky recon and an interceptor and I want to add a general purpose battlecruiser and a more solid PvE ship to his hanger to replace the Wolf (it was OK but lacked the DPS I prefer for killing rats, I miss the Typhoon).
So, what to buy?
Rapier:
Fast, cloaky, and good tackle. I love flying this ship in advance of the fleet.
Hurricane:
DPS ship for fleets that need the mobility and DPS of battlecruisers.
Maelstrom:
My pimp ship for PvE missions or plexes. Always wanted one, now's my chance.
Vagabond:
This is the Wolf replacement for belt ratting quickly to get sec status up. With almost 2.5 times the damage the battleship rats will fear me!
The Wolf will be repurposed into a PvP role, I just need to do some quick research to see what that will look like. Wolf suggestions are welcome.
So, what to buy?
Rapier:
Fast, cloaky, and good tackle. I love flying this ship in advance of the fleet.
Hurricane:
DPS ship for fleets that need the mobility and DPS of battlecruisers.
Maelstrom:
My pimp ship for PvE missions or plexes. Always wanted one, now's my chance.
This is the Wolf replacement for belt ratting quickly to get sec status up. With almost 2.5 times the damage the battleship rats will fear me!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Fiction Friday - Series 2: Chapter 16
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Thanks to everyone who sent in images in response to my tweet!
* * * * * *
I was about 70 km from the outpost and Jace and Pertins had their ships a full 20 km from it on the opposite side. I watched in confusion and then dawning horror as Jace brought his Harpy around for an attack run on the defenseless structure.
"Jace, what are you doing?!" I shouted into comms. "That's a civilian structure. We are not to engage it."
"Its a civilian structure with Gallente spies," he spat into the channel. "Read between the lines, Kodachi. Why do you think they bothered with the elaborate ruse of hiding our identity? I'll tell you why, so we could do what needs to be done without anything getting in our way."
"Whoa Jace, let's not get crazy here..." Pertins, the interceptor pilot chimed in cautiously.
"Crazy? There are three spies on that station with State secrets. Who knows how many lives, Caldari lives, will be in danger if we don't move right now while we have the chance?"
"The intelligence might have been wrong, Jace!" I yelled. "We can't go around blowing up innocent bystanders just because we think there might be hostiles near them!"
"Its called collateral damage, Kir. Look it up. Besides, they're only mortals," he snarled into the channel before breaking off communication.
His ship had closed the distances and let loose with a salvo of blaster fire into the unshielded mercenary ships in port. His weapons tore through the damage cruisers like a knife through butter and they exploded while still attached to the docking equipment. The station control, quiet until now, started broadcasting on all frequencies for help.
"Pertins, we have to stop him."
"No way, man, this shit is above my pay grade. I'm outta here." And his Crow aligned and departed into warp.
"Fine," I muttered to myself. I sent a message to my captain informing him I was moving to stop the Aegis from destroying the station which was outside mission parameters, and more importantly, breaking the law. I heard him on the bridge microphones express disbelief and order me to stand down from the engagement. I ignored him, the pleas from the waystation ringing louder in my ears. "I'm sorry, Captain. I must act."
I heard him give the order to override my command of the Iceheart and a few moments later the reports of failure from the bridge crew. Every pod pilot in the navy had secret techniques for disabling those insulting override controls that they passed quietly from one to another. The idea of them controlling your ship an anathema to what it means to be an immortal capsuleer.
I started locking up the Harpy and that brought Jace back on channel in a hurry. "Kirith, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"
"I can't let you kill those innocent people, Jace. Back off or else."
"Or else what?!" he asked incredulously.
As he brought the Aegis around for another pass at the damaged station, I opened fire. He was in a small ship with tiny signature radius but my tracking computers were reconfigured for maximum path detection algorithms and I was at optimal range for my antimatter rounds. My hardwired implants supplemented the fire control AI's calculations and I was able to pinpoint his vectored location within 10 meters at this range, more than enough. My six railguns were on target and his shields were destabilized by almost 50%.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"I told you, Jace. Break it off!"
"You son of a bitch!"
I fired again to make sure he understood I was serious. The channel was filled with incoherent cursing and yelling as his shields were almost gone. I checked my bridge channel; the captain's pulse was finally up and he was yelling at his officers to retake control of my ship. I resented them for their efforts and wished I could shake them off like unwanted fleas.
"Jace, last chance. Stop your attack." I paused my weapon's firing cycle and waited to see what he would do.
E-ON #20
My copy of E-ON #20 arrived last night and my article on Supercarriers was there and its amazing what they can do to make the article look so amazing. Also I was pleased to see a small section talking about Project Athena with a couple images. Thanks to Zapatero for doing that!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Eve: The Burning Life Novel Review
It took a while but I finally finished The Burning Life novel last night. Full disclaimer: I did not read Empyrean Age novel.
Overall I thought the book was OK. Good enough to want to keep reading to see what was going to happen and made me care about the main characters, but having certain respects belie credulity to the extreme that almost ruined the book for me.
I thought the writing was very good, i.e. characters acted believably with only a few stereotypes and caricatures, and the dialog was done well. Scene setups and descriptions were solid but not spectacular.
The only thing that I found hard to accept was the basic plot points which seemed hamfistedly put in like the writer was forced to follow a set of plot points on a bullet point list. And then the sudden rise of the protagonist to god-like reputation in the cluster totally goes against the feel of the Eve universe where bigger than life celebrities are very very rare.
I also wanted more explanation as to why Agents are held in such high regard and esteem in the cluster. Its a major plot point, but why? I never felt we went there adequately.
All in all, a decent read with some great insight into various faction but not a novel I would go back to again.
Overall I thought the book was OK. Good enough to want to keep reading to see what was going to happen and made me care about the main characters, but having certain respects belie credulity to the extreme that almost ruined the book for me.
I thought the writing was very good, i.e. characters acted believably with only a few stereotypes and caricatures, and the dialog was done well. Scene setups and descriptions were solid but not spectacular.
The only thing that I found hard to accept was the basic plot points which seemed hamfistedly put in like the writer was forced to follow a set of plot points on a bullet point list. And then the sudden rise of the protagonist to god-like reputation in the cluster totally goes against the feel of the Eve universe where bigger than life celebrities are very very rare.
I also wanted more explanation as to why Agents are held in such high regard and esteem in the cluster. Its a major plot point, but why? I never felt we went there adequately.
All in all, a decent read with some great insight into various faction but not a novel I would go back to again.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Unique Ships - Amarr Imperial Amrageddon and Apocalypse
Previous articles:
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue Battleships
Its amazing how much Eve history is hard to dig up. Take for example the Amarr Imperial Succession Championship. There is no one easy spot to say what it was, all of the winners, and what the prizes were. From what I can piece together, the AISC was a tournament between players to determine which of the Amarr royal hiers would take the place as Emperor back in late 2003. The winning team received four Imperial Apocalypse battleships and the four losing teams received one Imperial Armageddon each. Currently it is reported that three of the Armageddons are still alive and only one of the Apocalypses.
Imperial Armageddon
Stat-wise, the Imperial Armageddon is not superior to the Navy issue in very many ways. The Navy issue has the same slot layout, more hitpoints, bigger drone bay, high top speed, and slightly smaller sig radius.
But that is not to same that the Imperial version is without any merit. It does have a massive powergrid which means fitting big modules is less of an issue. Its bonuses are the same as the other versions:
Amarr Battleship Skill Bonus: 10% bonus to Large Energy Turret capacitor use and 5% Large Energy Turret rate of fire per level.
This led me to think of building a short range bruiser, concentrating on the biggest guns I could find and defending with reams of armour plates. REMINDER: fits are for comparison to more common ships only!
As you can see, the powergrid is no issue but the CPU becomes problematic. But with high damage pulse lasers and heavy drones there is more than enough DPS to ruin anyone's day. I did consider a more radical approach with smaller lasers and doing an active dual repper tank and dual cap boosters, but the CPU constraints became really noticeable and I opted to go with standard tank and gank.
Imperial Apocalypse
On the other hand, the Imperial Apocalypse severely outclasses its counterparts on almost every comparison. One extra low slot over the base Apoc and one extra mid slot over the navy issue, more powergrid, significantly larger drone bay with bandwidth to match, and about 2000 more shield, armour and hull points than the Navy Apoc. Its one deficiency is the lower capacitor and slower recharge time.
Related to that, while the Tech 1 and Navy Apocalypse classes have bonus to laser energy use and opttimal range, the Imperial has bonus to laser cap use and capacitor max capacity:
Amarr Battleship Skill Bonus: 10% bonus to Large Energy Turret capacitor use and 5% maximum Capacitor Capacity per level.
What this means is that the lower base capacitor is actually not lower once you sit in it, but actually higher by about 10% with Amarr Battleship Level V. So how to outfit it? Without the optimal range bonus it really has to work to be a sniper and I think we're better off outfitting it for close to medium range fighting. I tried to make a close range brawler much like the Armageddon but the lower overall CPU and lack of damage bonus really hurt its DPS output. So I went with something more akin to ranged fighting without being a full blown long range sniper.
The end result is a ship that can deliver around 800 DPS reliably to 45 km range. With a quick change to short range ammo, a 1000 DPS at 20 km, and ~600 DPS at 65 km. Go to tech II ammo Scorch and you're tossing 900 DPS at ~60 km. All figures including the sentry drones of course.
So the natural next question is since the range DPS looks so nice what can the Imperial Apocalypse do with beam lasers instead of pulse?
Its not the best sniper in the business due to the effort to make the range but it would suffice in a pinch. The other more common Apocalypses are better suited to the job.
Next, we take a look at the last remaining unique ship: the Federate Megathron.
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue Battleships
Its amazing how much Eve history is hard to dig up. Take for example the Amarr Imperial Succession Championship. There is no one easy spot to say what it was, all of the winners, and what the prizes were. From what I can piece together, the AISC was a tournament between players to determine which of the Amarr royal hiers would take the place as Emperor back in late 2003. The winning team received four Imperial Apocalypse battleships and the four losing teams received one Imperial Armageddon each. Currently it is reported that three of the Armageddons are still alive and only one of the Apocalypses.
Imperial Armageddon
But that is not to same that the Imperial version is without any merit. It does have a massive powergrid which means fitting big modules is less of an issue. Its bonuses are the same as the other versions:
Amarr Battleship Skill Bonus: 10% bonus to Large Energy Turret capacitor use and 5% Large Energy Turret rate of fire per level.
This led me to think of building a short range bruiser, concentrating on the biggest guns I could find and defending with reams of armour plates. REMINDER: fits are for comparison to more common ships only!
Imperial Apocalypse
Related to that, while the Tech 1 and Navy Apocalypse classes have bonus to laser energy use and opttimal range, the Imperial has bonus to laser cap use and capacitor max capacity:
Amarr Battleship Skill Bonus: 10% bonus to Large Energy Turret capacitor use and 5% maximum Capacitor Capacity per level.
What this means is that the lower base capacitor is actually not lower once you sit in it, but actually higher by about 10% with Amarr Battleship Level V. So how to outfit it? Without the optimal range bonus it really has to work to be a sniper and I think we're better off outfitting it for close to medium range fighting. I tried to make a close range brawler much like the Armageddon but the lower overall CPU and lack of damage bonus really hurt its DPS output. So I went with something more akin to ranged fighting without being a full blown long range sniper.
So the natural next question is since the range DPS looks so nice what can the Imperial Apocalypse do with beam lasers instead of pulse?
Next, we take a look at the last remaining unique ship: the Federate Megathron.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
We're Fine, How Are You?
In all the lack-of-logging-in I've been doing I haven't talked about how the corp is doing. Well, now that we're mostly settled in...
The Rust is Showing
Last night for the first time in a month I got online to properly play Eve. Dear god it felt good to feel the rays of a multitude of suns on my face and the solar wind in my hair.
Ahem. Enough of the poetry then?
Eager to do something I scrounged around for a fleet but a Home Defence fleet was just standing down and a corp fleet was just coming back from a 8/10 complex. My timing, as usual, sucks. There was a hostile fleet causing problems down near a region entrance so I hopped in my trusty Rapier with Kla'strit and decided to mosey on that way to see what happened. At the very least it would get me out of the station.
As I reached my destination, a few other guys decided to rally up a fleet to engage them and I joined up as scout. While they formed up I found the enemy fleet and started scouting, seeing that they had 4-5 Drakes, a Hurricane, Scimitar logistics, and a Sabre interdictor. Another neutral Tengu and Loke were floating around and a Blackbird showed up later but I have no proof they were all working together as they were in different corps and such.
The enemy was in a pocket constellation so our fleet setup on the entrance gate while I kept eyes on the moving hostile force. A couple lone neuts were popped by our camp including a Blackbird, and then the enemy moved into the adjacent system.
I jumped after them to keep eyes on them but they popped a bubble on the gate and I was forced to gate crash which I did successfully. Filled with confidence I jumped through again a few minutes later to keep eyes on the enemy and even through I was not in the bubble this time I foolishly tried to gate crash again instead of warping off. Big mistake.
I got my pod out and made the several jumps back to station to reship to an interceptor, Claw class. I rushed back and was pleased to hear we got one of the Drakes. Back in gang, I was assigned to scouting again and followed the enemy with my blood up, hoping to catch another.
Nano-drakes. Fast at about 2500 m/s and hard to catch. The Hurricane was setup for anti-tackler duty. These guys knew what they were doing.
We engaged another time and I burned out to catch a Drake about 140-150 km off gate and the rest of the gang. FC knew I was vulnerable and told me to warp off but I thought I could get to 150 km with the point and allow my gang to warp to us. I didn't make it and as the Drake's buddies came in I fumbled and was smoked.
I saved my pod again and made the trip back to the station while apologizing to the FC for not listening. I didn't have time to go back but the fleet bagged the Hurricane as I left so there was some consolation.
Even though I lost a couple ships it was good to be out in space fighting the good fight. I hope to make it a more regular occurrence so I can shake off more rust.
Ahem. Enough of the poetry then?
Eager to do something I scrounged around for a fleet but a Home Defence fleet was just standing down and a corp fleet was just coming back from a 8/10 complex. My timing, as usual, sucks. There was a hostile fleet causing problems down near a region entrance so I hopped in my trusty Rapier with Kla'strit and decided to mosey on that way to see what happened. At the very least it would get me out of the station.
As I reached my destination, a few other guys decided to rally up a fleet to engage them and I joined up as scout. While they formed up I found the enemy fleet and started scouting, seeing that they had 4-5 Drakes, a Hurricane, Scimitar logistics, and a Sabre interdictor. Another neutral Tengu and Loke were floating around and a Blackbird showed up later but I have no proof they were all working together as they were in different corps and such.
The enemy was in a pocket constellation so our fleet setup on the entrance gate while I kept eyes on the moving hostile force. A couple lone neuts were popped by our camp including a Blackbird, and then the enemy moved into the adjacent system.
I jumped after them to keep eyes on them but they popped a bubble on the gate and I was forced to gate crash which I did successfully. Filled with confidence I jumped through again a few minutes later to keep eyes on the enemy and even through I was not in the bubble this time I foolishly tried to gate crash again instead of warping off. Big mistake.
I got my pod out and made the several jumps back to station to reship to an interceptor, Claw class. I rushed back and was pleased to hear we got one of the Drakes. Back in gang, I was assigned to scouting again and followed the enemy with my blood up, hoping to catch another.
Nano-drakes. Fast at about 2500 m/s and hard to catch. The Hurricane was setup for anti-tackler duty. These guys knew what they were doing.
We engaged another time and I burned out to catch a Drake about 140-150 km off gate and the rest of the gang. FC knew I was vulnerable and told me to warp off but I thought I could get to 150 km with the point and allow my gang to warp to us. I didn't make it and as the Drake's buddies came in I fumbled and was smoked.
I saved my pod again and made the trip back to the station while apologizing to the FC for not listening. I didn't have time to go back but the fleet bagged the Hurricane as I left so there was some consolation.
Even though I lost a couple ships it was good to be out in space fighting the good fight. I hope to make it a more regular occurrence so I can shake off more rust.
Empty Nest
Acinom took one look at the podcast site for Broadcasts from the Ninveah and decided to kick me out of the nurturing nest that is his podcast and make me fly on my own. Since I knew that one day I wanted to become a full-fledged podcast in my own right anyways and my ramblings was not fitting smoothly into his new format with news and up to date reports, I think it was the right decision for both of us.
Except now I have to consider making the podcast more real.
There are several worrisome prospects about podcasting. I can whip out a blog post in less than 15 minutes, often less than 10. If I need to write something more concrete like last post, I can do it in small chunks of time over a few days (small chunks of time are all I have, sadly). Recording a podcast however requires more flow and momentum in my opinion; starts and stops are almost always very noticeable. Then there is the editing: I haven't bothered to do any during my 5 minute rambles but if I increase the time to longer it might behoove me to make the effort. Maybe even get an intro and outro soundtrack and work out how to include them.
And what the hell to podcast about? While some topics are by design only doable on the blog, i.e. very visual posts, and others only really work in the audio medium (like interviews or discussions), there is a large overlap between what I can write and speak about in the two mediums. I have to be careful not to mine all my written content ideas for podcast topics and leave my written blog hanging in the wind.
Its all very nerve-wracking!
Regardless, I'm going to make a go of it. I don't know how this will evolve but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
I just wish I had more time!
Except now I have to consider making the podcast more real.
There are several worrisome prospects about podcasting. I can whip out a blog post in less than 15 minutes, often less than 10. If I need to write something more concrete like last post, I can do it in small chunks of time over a few days (small chunks of time are all I have, sadly). Recording a podcast however requires more flow and momentum in my opinion; starts and stops are almost always very noticeable. Then there is the editing: I haven't bothered to do any during my 5 minute rambles but if I increase the time to longer it might behoove me to make the effort. Maybe even get an intro and outro soundtrack and work out how to include them.
And what the hell to podcast about? While some topics are by design only doable on the blog, i.e. very visual posts, and others only really work in the audio medium (like interviews or discussions), there is a large overlap between what I can write and speak about in the two mediums. I have to be careful not to mine all my written content ideas for podcast topics and leave my written blog hanging in the wind.
Its all very nerve-wracking!
Regardless, I'm going to make a go of it. I don't know how this will evolve but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
I just wish I had more time!
Broadcasts from the Ninveah Episode 8
Talking about writing fiction, how I started and common mistakes.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Eve Online Unlimited!
The announcement a while back that Lord of the Rings Online was going free to play took me by surprise. After all, unlike Dungeons & Dragons Online which went to the free to play model last year LotRO was doing quite well with a subscriber base higher than Eve's and in the top 3 of traditional pay to play MMOs in terms of quality and subscribers.
When DDO went I pondered briefly what Eve Online as a micro-transaction based game would look like:
- PLEX becoming true transferable commodities,
- Free ship for no apparent reason,
- The 100,000 skill point allotment for the extended downtime.
Now the PLEX thing is just a niggling thought about how its already acceptable in Eve to purchase something outside of your normal subscription and then sell it for ISK, a micro-transaction to improve your in game status with real life money. It would nothing to further that model with other purchasable items whether they be cosmetic or actually useful.
Which brings me to the ship. When the Apothesis and Zephyr free ships were released, every character got one (actually, unsure about the Zephyr). But the Primae was one per account using the new Redeem functionality they added a while back. This allowed you to choose the character to get the ship and kept it limited to one per account. Hmmm... great delivery mechanism for purchased items wouldn't you say?
And then the free skillpoints. I'm not an expert on the design of the Eve client but they just didn't whip up the tools to pool and distribute skill points just for the 100,000 free point gift. That functionality had to be in the pipeline and already tested prior to that announcement even that downtime event. The question is why?
Now, some including myself have speculated its a method for eliminating the hated learning skills and redistributing allotted skill points for veteran players but could it not also be a method for distributing purchased skill points? I approximately gain a million skillpoints a month, why not sell them for 15 bucks?
Wild Speculation Time
So if I was an evil soulless marketing demon in charge of turning Eve Online into Eve Online Unlimited (with new and improved space lazors!) and I had the tools listed above available to me, this is how I would do it.
1) Remove subscription fee. People will think they have more money to spend on the game and end up spending more. Plus you bring in hordes of new people eager to try the game out.
2) Give the skills for Tech 1 frigates and weapons away for free, but they still need to train them. This is the free to play basic and allows people to potentially go anywhere and participate in the end game without spending a dime.
3) Take all other skills off the NPC market. Move them to a item shop where they must be purchased in micro-transaction style with "CCPoints". Rank level 1 skills are cheap (e.g. 50 cents), middle skills like battleships around a couple dollars, and the capital skills up to $10. So a character in order to get Tech 1 battleship with tech 1 weapons can do so in about $30-40 dollars (about 3 months of playing time in subscription model) but to get to tech 2 levels requires a lot more money. Training time remain to "gate development".
4) Also in item ship are purchasable skill points (1 million for $20), limited ships that can't be built like the Alliance prizes at premium prices to keep them special (e.g. Freki for $50), decorative items like please yachts, unique anchorable "starbases", special hanger environments, etc etc etc. Some stuff useful in war, others just ornaments.
5) You could even go so far as having alliance level purchases by allowing players to pool CCPoints and buy different station models for outposts, stargate skins to denote borders, etc. Obviously very expensive and no help in alliance warfare. E-peen items on a group scale because its easy to get a few hundred players to throw in a couple bucks each... time and time again.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not advocating changing Eve in this manner. I'd much prefer a subscription model to a game that the developer concentrate on improving in the PvP manner and not in the "Oh look, my ship has a yellow paint job!! TEE HEE!" manner. But I think the decision makers at CCP might have a different vision than I do and its best we be prepared for it.
When DDO went I pondered briefly what Eve Online as a micro-transaction based game would look like:
At the time, I didn't take it seriously but a couple other events combined with successful LotRO going free to play has me taking a second serious look at the issue. These other events are:
I can see existing account services like character transfers and avatar changes remaining but they would be low money makers I suspect.
Perhaps some customization options like more character avatar upgrades or perhaps custom ship skins. Could the player community agree to some ships being available in a microtransation store?
Maybe allowing players to buy Loyalty Points in bulk. They can use the LPs to buy from the Loyalty Point Stores items not available to be built from blueprints and then turn around and sell them on the market for ISK to get whatever they want.
Do we allow certain ship classes to be available only through LP stores?
- PLEX becoming true transferable commodities,
- Free ship for no apparent reason,
- The 100,000 skill point allotment for the extended downtime.
Now the PLEX thing is just a niggling thought about how its already acceptable in Eve to purchase something outside of your normal subscription and then sell it for ISK, a micro-transaction to improve your in game status with real life money. It would nothing to further that model with other purchasable items whether they be cosmetic or actually useful.
Which brings me to the ship. When the Apothesis and Zephyr free ships were released, every character got one (actually, unsure about the Zephyr). But the Primae was one per account using the new Redeem functionality they added a while back. This allowed you to choose the character to get the ship and kept it limited to one per account. Hmmm... great delivery mechanism for purchased items wouldn't you say?
And then the free skillpoints. I'm not an expert on the design of the Eve client but they just didn't whip up the tools to pool and distribute skill points just for the 100,000 free point gift. That functionality had to be in the pipeline and already tested prior to that announcement even that downtime event. The question is why?
Now, some including myself have speculated its a method for eliminating the hated learning skills and redistributing allotted skill points for veteran players but could it not also be a method for distributing purchased skill points? I approximately gain a million skillpoints a month, why not sell them for 15 bucks?
Wild Speculation Time
So if I was an evil soulless marketing demon in charge of turning Eve Online into Eve Online Unlimited (with new and improved space lazors!) and I had the tools listed above available to me, this is how I would do it.
1) Remove subscription fee. People will think they have more money to spend on the game and end up spending more. Plus you bring in hordes of new people eager to try the game out.
2) Give the skills for Tech 1 frigates and weapons away for free, but they still need to train them. This is the free to play basic and allows people to potentially go anywhere and participate in the end game without spending a dime.
3) Take all other skills off the NPC market. Move them to a item shop where they must be purchased in micro-transaction style with "CCPoints". Rank level 1 skills are cheap (e.g. 50 cents), middle skills like battleships around a couple dollars, and the capital skills up to $10. So a character in order to get Tech 1 battleship with tech 1 weapons can do so in about $30-40 dollars (about 3 months of playing time in subscription model) but to get to tech 2 levels requires a lot more money. Training time remain to "gate development".
4) Also in item ship are purchasable skill points (1 million for $20), limited ships that can't be built like the Alliance prizes at premium prices to keep them special (e.g. Freki for $50), decorative items like please yachts, unique anchorable "starbases", special hanger environments, etc etc etc. Some stuff useful in war, others just ornaments.
5) You could even go so far as having alliance level purchases by allowing players to pool CCPoints and buy different station models for outposts, stargate skins to denote borders, etc. Obviously very expensive and no help in alliance warfare. E-peen items on a group scale because its easy to get a few hundred players to throw in a couple bucks each... time and time again.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not advocating changing Eve in this manner. I'd much prefer a subscription model to a game that the developer concentrate on improving in the PvP manner and not in the "Oh look, my ship has a yellow paint job!! TEE HEE!" manner. But I think the decision makers at CCP might have a different vision than I do and its best we be prepared for it.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Fiction Friday - Series 2: Chapter 15
Previously:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
* * * * * *
"Engaging," Jace broadcast as his Harpy sped into range of the yacht and opened fire. Greenish blue flares spread out from where his energized subatomic particles slammed into the tightly packed fields of the ship's shields.
"The guards are moving full speed towards you. I'm keeping pace," I told the other two pilots. Pertins radioed back a curt, "Roger."
My local comms lit up as the Puma started broadcasting. I brought up the feed and saw a dark skinned Gallentean woman frantically yelling into the stream. "Please hold your fire! We are registered Scope journalists and have authorization by the State to be here!"
Jace broke radio silence. "We're not interested in your authorizations." Another salvo from his blasters broke through the shields and pieces of the ship's hull and plating were ripped off.
"AAAHHH!" the woman screamed into the camera as she was rocked off her balance. "PLEASE! We are civilians! We can pay you money! We work for a megacorporation!"
Pertins chimed into the local communication channel, "We're not interested in you money either, bitch." He laughed, obviously enjoying himself. "We want your wreck and corpses."
"NO!" she yelled in anger, frustration, and panic. Suddenly her feed went dead as Jace's assault ship blew charges through the Puma's reactor and the ship exploded in a yellow bloom of radioactive gases and debris.
I was more than a little disturbed by the exchange. I expect my foes to be cagey Gallentean operatives ready to face death with a steely glare, not some reporter panicking as her life was snuffed out. I felt dirty.
"Check check," I called on our private channel while trying to reclaim my calm. "Sitrep: those guard ships are aligning for warp out. I think they realize they are outmatched."
"Smart move," growled Jace, "we had them easily outgunned even if their buddies could get the docked ships operational."
"Yeah, what a turkey shoot," Pertins added. "I was hoping for a challenge."
The remaining Broken Spear cruisers warped out and I updated my locks on the docked guard cruisers in case they somehow managed to get functional and feisty.
"Uh oh, guys?"
"What is it Jace?"
"My scan of the Puma wreckage is only picking up seven bodies. There are supposed to be ten."
"Did they get atomized in the explosion?" I asked.
"No, he's right," the Crow pilot interjected, "my initial scans only show seven life signs."
I mentally chewed my lip in though. "They probably remained on the station, either too slow or too afraid to board the ship." I shrugged. "Not much we can do about it-"
"Engaging platform," Jace broadcast as his ship accelerated into orbit around the waystation.
"Wait, what?!"
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
* * * * * *
"Engaging," Jace broadcast as his Harpy sped into range of the yacht and opened fire. Greenish blue flares spread out from where his energized subatomic particles slammed into the tightly packed fields of the ship's shields.
"The guards are moving full speed towards you. I'm keeping pace," I told the other two pilots. Pertins radioed back a curt, "Roger."
My local comms lit up as the Puma started broadcasting. I brought up the feed and saw a dark skinned Gallentean woman frantically yelling into the stream. "Please hold your fire! We are registered Scope journalists and have authorization by the State to be here!"
Jace broke radio silence. "We're not interested in your authorizations." Another salvo from his blasters broke through the shields and pieces of the ship's hull and plating were ripped off.
"AAAHHH!" the woman screamed into the camera as she was rocked off her balance. "PLEASE! We are civilians! We can pay you money! We work for a megacorporation!"
Pertins chimed into the local communication channel, "We're not interested in you money either, bitch." He laughed, obviously enjoying himself. "We want your wreck and corpses."
"NO!" she yelled in anger, frustration, and panic. Suddenly her feed went dead as Jace's assault ship blew charges through the Puma's reactor and the ship exploded in a yellow bloom of radioactive gases and debris.
I was more than a little disturbed by the exchange. I expect my foes to be cagey Gallentean operatives ready to face death with a steely glare, not some reporter panicking as her life was snuffed out. I felt dirty.
"Check check," I called on our private channel while trying to reclaim my calm. "Sitrep: those guard ships are aligning for warp out. I think they realize they are outmatched."
"Smart move," growled Jace, "we had them easily outgunned even if their buddies could get the docked ships operational."
"Yeah, what a turkey shoot," Pertins added. "I was hoping for a challenge."
The remaining Broken Spear cruisers warped out and I updated my locks on the docked guard cruisers in case they somehow managed to get functional and feisty.
"Uh oh, guys?"
"What is it Jace?"
"My scan of the Puma wreckage is only picking up seven bodies. There are supposed to be ten."
"Did they get atomized in the explosion?" I asked.
"No, he's right," the Crow pilot interjected, "my initial scans only show seven life signs."
I mentally chewed my lip in though. "They probably remained on the station, either too slow or too afraid to board the ship." I shrugged. "Not much we can do about it-"
"Engaging platform," Jace broadcast as his ship accelerated into orbit around the waystation.
"Wait, what?!"
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Unique Ships - Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue Battleships
Previous articles:
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
The Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue were originally known as the Corvus and Storm respectively and were awarded to the winners of the 3rd Alliance Tournament in December of 2006. Specifically:
Raven State Issue
This is a beast. Make no mistake, even compared to the Tech II Golem the State Raven is pure death for any other big ship in its crosshairs. With 8 launcher slots, a large 150m3 drone bay (and 125 mb bandwidth), and enough power and CPU to fit what you want. Add on top of that nearly 40% more hitpoints, faster cap recharge, and more sensor strength, and extra low slot over the Navy and standard Raven. It also has the same bonuses:
Caldari Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Siege and Cruise Missile Launcher Rate Of Fire and 10% bonus to Torpedo and Cruise Missile Velocity per level of skill.
What's it all shape up as? Well, (once again for comparison purposes) I threw together a State Raven with MWD and 8 siege launchers to see the pure damage potential this beast is capable of. Did I mention its a beast?
On pure shield recharge alone it absorbs 150 DPS. It volleys 6882 damage with faction ammo and the 5 heavy drones push DPS over 1500. All with 32K shield points and resists over 70% and no cap issues when MWD is off. And still has room for a flight of light drones.
Tempest Tribal Issue
The Tribal Tempest follows a similar pattern. Eight turret hardpoints, extra mid slot over the Fleet issue, 125 m3 drone bay and bandwidth to match, 40% more hitpoints, powergrid and CPU boost, and more. Only detriment is the slower base speed (120 m/s to 132m/s for the Fleet issue).
Minmatar Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Large Projectile Turret rate of fire and Large Projectile Turret damage per level.
I did two setups for this ship, one for normal short ranged DPS like I did for the State Raven, and one with sniper configuration since it is a ship that can be used in that manner.
The pure damage potential is not as high as the Raven but still pretty impressive in short range with drones helping out at over 1400 per second. The shield tank is almost as good but you might consider going for a good armour tank and using some tackling mods for small gang work (if such a ship were ever truly undocked it would be a magnate for gankers everywhere but let's play pretend, ok?).
The sniper configuration has an impressive 8K alpha strike and still decent effective hitpoints thanks to the rigs. At 200 km this ship will really ruin your day. Definitely a keeper.
Next time we'll look at the two unique Amarr battleships!
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
The Raven State Issue and Tempest Tribal Issue were originally known as the Corvus and Storm respectively and were awarded to the winners of the 3rd Alliance Tournament in December of 2006. Specifically:
Each member of the seven-person winning team was given a choice of either a Corvus or a Storm, and the second team was given the choice of a single ship collectively, resulting in a total of eight of this set of unique ships entering the game. In the end, they were split evenly, four Corvuses and four Storms.Current estimate cost of one of these ships is estimated over 200 BILLION ISK. This makes them some of the the most expensive ships in the game.
Raven State Issue
Caldari Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Siege and Cruise Missile Launcher Rate Of Fire and 10% bonus to Torpedo and Cruise Missile Velocity per level of skill.
What's it all shape up as? Well, (once again for comparison purposes) I threw together a State Raven with MWD and 8 siege launchers to see the pure damage potential this beast is capable of. Did I mention its a beast?
Tempest Tribal Issue
Minmatar Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Large Projectile Turret rate of fire and Large Projectile Turret damage per level.
I did two setups for this ship, one for normal short ranged DPS like I did for the State Raven, and one with sniper configuration since it is a ship that can be used in that manner.
Next time we'll look at the two unique Amarr battleships!
Appropos of Nothing
My alt Korneilia finished up her basic Orca training with Industrial Command Ship IV and I pondered what to do with her next. There are many options available; scanning alt, jump freighter skills, combat skills, etc but I finally decided on trying out Planetary Interaction so to that end I bought all the relevant skills and they are set to start training in a couple days after High Speed Maneuvering IV which I put in the queue first.
When PI was announced I wanted dive into it on SISI and really become an expert but lack of time prevented that dedication. Even after PI was released I was too busy training Orca skills and no time to get online anyways. Since my schedule has improved slightly (i.e. 10-15 minutes here and there) I figured now would be a good time to dabble in it and see what its all about.
I'll probably start by setting up to make a single commodity lower in the industrial scale and work up from there, something like Robotics or Coolant that is used in POS fuel which there will always be demand for. If it works out and time permits I'll scale up from there. I'm not going to start anything until my skills are well done though as I don't want to have to waste time rebuilding installations.
In other skill training news, Kirith has less than 30 days left of Caldari Carrier V. And the supercarrier alt is 20 plus days in some level V skill or another, she has a few to do.
When PI was announced I wanted dive into it on SISI and really become an expert but lack of time prevented that dedication. Even after PI was released I was too busy training Orca skills and no time to get online anyways. Since my schedule has improved slightly (i.e. 10-15 minutes here and there) I figured now would be a good time to dabble in it and see what its all about.
I'll probably start by setting up to make a single commodity lower in the industrial scale and work up from there, something like Robotics or Coolant that is used in POS fuel which there will always be demand for. If it works out and time permits I'll scale up from there. I'm not going to start anything until my skills are well done though as I don't want to have to waste time rebuilding installations.
In other skill training news, Kirith has less than 30 days left of Caldari Carrier V. And the supercarrier alt is 20 plus days in some level V skill or another, she has a few to do.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Be Immortalized!
For the next Test Flight article in E-ON magazine we are doing another Test Flight Survey like we did in issue #18 except this time we are opening it up to the public. See the details here on the Eve Online forums.
This is your chance to be immortalized in E-ON magazine so fill out the survey today!
BTW, issue #20 should be out soon with my article on the four supercarriers. Enjoy!
Here is another exclamation mark for no reason!
This is your chance to be immortalized in E-ON magazine so fill out the survey today!
BTW, issue #20 should be out soon with my article on the four supercarriers. Enjoy!
Here is another exclamation mark for no reason!
Monday, July 05, 2010
Paranoia - Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out To Get You
I've had a slight minuscule uptick in game time which is to say I logged in for a few minutes to do some ratting one night and Wyvern drone configuring the next night. Both involve more than a little paranoia.
In ratting with Kla'strit and his Wolf if I see anything but blue in local I stay docked up, waiting for them to move on. Since this particular jump clone of Kla's is far from any blues (I moved him out into Syndicate before we joined RAGE) I can't really call on help to scare them away. I do plan to move that jump clone and ship out of there and into RAGE space but I'm wait for when I can get more log in time.
On the other side of the alt, when I log in Kirith with the supercarrier I immediately cloak up regardless of who is in system. I've been using Korneilia and her Orca to reconfigure the drones in the drone bay which does require uncloaking though, so I've been doing it when only dark blues are in system. A neutral or hostile comes in system and its separate and cloak. They might not be looking for me but why take chances? It does make the reconfiguring go slowly but last night I finished everything except one last delivery of parts.
I want to set up a POS for Wyvern logistics somewhere but the low sec around here is very busy and not too many quiet corners like Minmatar space has. Plus, you know, time.
In ratting with Kla'strit and his Wolf if I see anything but blue in local I stay docked up, waiting for them to move on. Since this particular jump clone of Kla's is far from any blues (I moved him out into Syndicate before we joined RAGE) I can't really call on help to scare them away. I do plan to move that jump clone and ship out of there and into RAGE space but I'm wait for when I can get more log in time.
On the other side of the alt, when I log in Kirith with the supercarrier I immediately cloak up regardless of who is in system. I've been using Korneilia and her Orca to reconfigure the drones in the drone bay which does require uncloaking though, so I've been doing it when only dark blues are in system. A neutral or hostile comes in system and its separate and cloak. They might not be looking for me but why take chances? It does make the reconfiguring go slowly but last night I finished everything except one last delivery of parts.
I want to set up a POS for Wyvern logistics somewhere but the low sec around here is very busy and not too many quiet corners like Minmatar space has. Plus, you know, time.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Fiction Friday - Series 2: Chapter 14
Previously:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13
* * * * * *
I brought the Iceheart in at 100 kilometers as instructed to the waystation platform. These structures are like stations but much smaller and all of the docking is done externally. Inside there are a number of rented hangers for cargo transfers and small basic office space where companies too small for full station access can operate at a much cheaper rate. This particular waystation had berths for 8 ships of which six were occupied, one of them holding the yacht that was our target.
Two of the guard ships were also docked, presumably to allow the crews some R&R time, and the other three were orbiting the station at various points and immediately began locking me as I came out of warp. Standard identification queries were issued to me and I simply ignored them and began returning locks, including the station.
"Locks acquired, opening fire. Two Broken Spear cruisers docked," I said into comms for Jace and Pertins who were idling at a deep space location in system.
"Roger," answered Pertins. "They might give us some trouble if they undock around when the Puma does. Kirith, can you damage them first?"
"Directing fire on docking guard ships," I reported.
My railguns opened up and smashed particles into the first of the vessels, a Moa. Since it was docked its shields were not active and my salvo ripped through the radiation umbrella and into the hull armour. I winced as I picked up venting gases and radiation spikes, realizing that the mercenary ships were lower quality than expected. I directed only three railguns to fire on the docked mercenary Caracal cruiser and its damage was not as severe but still considerable.
"Docked guard ships are damaged, three quarters armour on Moa cruiser designate alpha, one half armour on Caracal cruiser designate beta."
"Ouch," piped up Jace.
"Yeah, no shield in port. Sucks for them. Turning weapons on Moa designate gamma. Secondary targets are Caracal designate delta and Caracal designate epsilon."
The three undocked guard ships were approaching at their maximum speed and were less than 90 kilometers away. Unlike the docked ships their shields were active and at full power so I did not hold back with my opening salvo of spike ammo from all six guns in the fire arc. The Moa's shields dipped but not by much; fortunately, the cruiser's speed was slow and its distance long enough that I wasn't worried. I turned my full attention back to the platform and the docked ships.
"We've got life on the Puma," I said. "Power levels heating up." A few seconds passed. "OK, we've got disconnection from berth and maneuvering jets. Interdiction is a go, repeat, target interdiciton is go!"
"Roger that, warping now," replied Pertins. "Warping," echoed Jace followed in a second with, "in warp."
"That was faster than expected," said the Crow pilot darkly. "How close are the guard ships to the target."
"Right now," I checked the readout, "about 30 klicks."
"Could be rough."
"Agreed. I'll start moving towards you as I've got lots of room before they can even think about scratching my paint." I brought my battlecruiser around in a collision course with the guard ships. "If they turn back towards you I'll punch the after burner and ride their ass. If they keep coming at me I'll warp out when they get to close."
"Sounds like a plan. Landing in a few seconds, get ready."
"I've got you on scan," I answered as the interceptor streaked into the overview, barely slowing down from warp before accelerating again towards the yacht as it pulled away from the platform and began aligning. The Harpy assault ship arrived seconds later.
"Point!" exclaimed Pertins.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13
* * * * * *
I brought the Iceheart in at 100 kilometers as instructed to the waystation platform. These structures are like stations but much smaller and all of the docking is done externally. Inside there are a number of rented hangers for cargo transfers and small basic office space where companies too small for full station access can operate at a much cheaper rate. This particular waystation had berths for 8 ships of which six were occupied, one of them holding the yacht that was our target.
Two of the guard ships were also docked, presumably to allow the crews some R&R time, and the other three were orbiting the station at various points and immediately began locking me as I came out of warp. Standard identification queries were issued to me and I simply ignored them and began returning locks, including the station.
"Locks acquired, opening fire. Two Broken Spear cruisers docked," I said into comms for Jace and Pertins who were idling at a deep space location in system.
"Roger," answered Pertins. "They might give us some trouble if they undock around when the Puma does. Kirith, can you damage them first?"
"Directing fire on docking guard ships," I reported.
My railguns opened up and smashed particles into the first of the vessels, a Moa. Since it was docked its shields were not active and my salvo ripped through the radiation umbrella and into the hull armour. I winced as I picked up venting gases and radiation spikes, realizing that the mercenary ships were lower quality than expected. I directed only three railguns to fire on the docked mercenary Caracal cruiser and its damage was not as severe but still considerable.
"Docked guard ships are damaged, three quarters armour on Moa cruiser designate alpha, one half armour on Caracal cruiser designate beta."
"Ouch," piped up Jace.
"Yeah, no shield in port. Sucks for them. Turning weapons on Moa designate gamma. Secondary targets are Caracal designate delta and Caracal designate epsilon."
The three undocked guard ships were approaching at their maximum speed and were less than 90 kilometers away. Unlike the docked ships their shields were active and at full power so I did not hold back with my opening salvo of spike ammo from all six guns in the fire arc. The Moa's shields dipped but not by much; fortunately, the cruiser's speed was slow and its distance long enough that I wasn't worried. I turned my full attention back to the platform and the docked ships.
"We've got life on the Puma," I said. "Power levels heating up." A few seconds passed. "OK, we've got disconnection from berth and maneuvering jets. Interdiction is a go, repeat, target interdiciton is go!"
"Roger that, warping now," replied Pertins. "Warping," echoed Jace followed in a second with, "in warp."
"That was faster than expected," said the Crow pilot darkly. "How close are the guard ships to the target."
"Right now," I checked the readout, "about 30 klicks."
"Could be rough."
"Agreed. I'll start moving towards you as I've got lots of room before they can even think about scratching my paint." I brought my battlecruiser around in a collision course with the guard ships. "If they turn back towards you I'll punch the after burner and ride their ass. If they keep coming at me I'll warp out when they get to close."
"Sounds like a plan. Landing in a few seconds, get ready."
"I've got you on scan," I answered as the interceptor streaked into the overview, barely slowing down from warp before accelerating again towards the yacht as it pulled away from the platform and began aligning. The Harpy assault ship arrived seconds later.
"Point!" exclaimed Pertins.
Unique Ships - Opux Luxury Yacht and Guardian-Vexor Cruisers
Previous articles:
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht
A note on setups: yes, there are probably better setups and, yes, faction mods at the minimum would be advisable for multi-billion ISK ships. The fittings I am putting out for these ships are Tech II and generic setups for comparison only, so people can see apples to apples in terms of capabilities.
As you can see, the drone bay offsets some of the lack of bonuses but not much. As a combat ship, it will never survive despite having decent resistances on the armour.
Guardian-Vexor
The origin of the Guardian-Vexor was not immediately available upon a Google search. The only details I have so far from Entity's website is that there were originally 55 of them and they were awarded as part of some event. If anyone has details, please let me know or point me to them.
It is essentially a tech 1 variant of the regular Vexor, a bit beefier with an extra low slot and more hitpoints but less powerful than a Navy Vexor in those areas. It also lacks the 10% to drone damage per level. Yet it is one of the most expensive unique cruisers in the game. Why?
Because it is the only ship in the game besides carriers and supercarriers that can field more than 5 drones.
Special Ability: 5% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret damage per level and +1 extra Drone controlled per level.
With a bandwidth of 125 mbit/sec and 125 m3 drone bay means it can launch a flight of 10 medium drones and combined with the 5 medium blasters it can deal out a world of punishment. Of course, a smart player would probably use the drones only for DPS (around 300) and try to maintain range instead of fighting in close but I like massive damage. As usual, this tech II setup is for comparision purposes only and not necessarily a recommended ship fitting for the Guardian-Vexor.
Now you could forgo the bonus drones and field 5 heavy drones in this ship but if you want to do that, get an Ishtar.
Next week: Battleships!
Amarr Magnate Frigates
Freki and Utu Assault Frigates
Mimir and Adrestia Heavy Assault Cruisers
Opux Luxury Yacht
Of the three Luxury Yachts that exist in the universe, two are player-controllable. One was acquired during an event, during which Iece Quaan boarded it after an actor ejected from it. The second was given out by CCP to a couple from New Zealand known in-game as Caytlyn Rose and Ramius Monteagne, who got engaged on the stage at the 2005 Fanfest and are now married.As you can, extremely rare and functionally not that powerful. It has no special abilities but a nice number of low slots and and capable of a full flight of medium drones. It can best be described the ultimate hanger ornament.
A note on setups: yes, there are probably better setups and, yes, faction mods at the minimum would be advisable for multi-billion ISK ships. The fittings I am putting out for these ships are Tech II and generic setups for comparison only, so people can see apples to apples in terms of capabilities.
As you can see, the drone bay offsets some of the lack of bonuses but not much. As a combat ship, it will never survive despite having decent resistances on the armour.
Guardian-Vexor
It is essentially a tech 1 variant of the regular Vexor, a bit beefier with an extra low slot and more hitpoints but less powerful than a Navy Vexor in those areas. It also lacks the 10% to drone damage per level. Yet it is one of the most expensive unique cruisers in the game. Why?
Because it is the only ship in the game besides carriers and supercarriers that can field more than 5 drones.
Special Ability: 5% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret damage per level and +1 extra Drone controlled per level.
With a bandwidth of 125 mbit/sec and 125 m3 drone bay means it can launch a flight of 10 medium drones and combined with the 5 medium blasters it can deal out a world of punishment. Of course, a smart player would probably use the drones only for DPS (around 300) and try to maintain range instead of fighting in close but I like massive damage. As usual, this tech II setup is for comparision purposes only and not necessarily a recommended ship fitting for the Guardian-Vexor.
Now you could forgo the bonus drones and field 5 heavy drones in this ship but if you want to do that, get an Ishtar.
Next week: Battleships!
Thursday, July 01, 2010
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