FRIGATE FREE FOR ALL!!

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I've created the official FFA Page here on Eveoganda to collect and promote information, prizes, donors, and other goodies about the upcoming event. You can visit and bookmark the page HERE.

This will be the 5th FFA that I've been a part of and the 12th or 15th (depending on how you count certain things) live player run event I've produced or helped to produce. It is tremendously easier these days with the amazing support and help from the team in Stay Frosty and A Band Apart. These days I simply have to say, "Ok, time for another one!" and everyone springs into action and volunteers their time. I'll probably end up thanking them a gazillion times in the coming month, but let's get started early, thanks!

A HUGE thank you to Alekseyev Karrde and the great people in NOIR. for working with us and agreeing to be the "Hells Angels to your Altamount Free Concert". (Great line Seth!) NOIR provides a huge piece of the puzzle and helps to get this event off on the right foot.

Our scouts have been busy selecting the event system and this time we are going for something a little different. As always my goal is to make this event something that EVERYONE can participate in and have fun fighting other players in T1 Frigates. As we all know, T1 Frigates are the great equalizers of Eve. Even the oldest bitter-vet can only carry so many skill points with them when flying a T1 Frigate, which gives players of all ages the best chance they have of getting a good fight. Sticking to Frigates also means we won't have to worry about TiDi or lag either. 

The final system won't be announced until before the event but it will be located in Low Sec but easily accessed from High Sec and points beyond.

Be sure to share this post and the Event Page link on your own Corporate and Alliance forums!

The building and fitting of 3-4,000 Frigates is well in-hand internally - what we need is prize donations, special ships for mini-events, or direct ISK support. ALL Donors will be featured on the official page, in all promotional materials, here on Eveoganda, and in each prize awarded. Plus you'll be awesome!

The in-game channel EVEOGANDA is a great place to contact someone, or you can send me a message on Twitter, eve-mail me, or email me at rixxjavix@gmail.com

So that's about it for now. We have a little over a month to go and, as always, I'll be updating things regularly as we go along.

Stay Frosty.

BB59: Hiding in Plain Sight

Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 59th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are visit the Blog Banter page.

* * * * *

This month's version comes from commenter Zappity who asks:

Probably been done before... What about local force projection (as opposed to the longer distance force projection that is often talked about)? I think of 'terrain' in EVE to be how systems are mapped together by gates. Strong tactics which exploit terrain have historically been extremely important in deciding battle outcomes. How does this apply in EVE in the presence of cynos?


Yeah! Fellow ABAian Zappity!! Go team!

Anyway. Local Force Projection and you. To be honest I've read and re-read that question a few times this morning and I'm generally coming up blank. My blankness has nothing to do with understanding it and everything to do with exactly how to answer it. If I was ranking the few remaining problems that Eve has from most important to least - force projection would be right at the top of the list. Sure it might be fighting for top spot alongside Risk/Reward and Super Cap Proliferation and WCS, but it'd be up there. But certainly "local" force projection is different?

And it is extremely different. Although the basic tactics of long-range force projection can come into play locally. A Titan Bridge can be a few systems or more, so it can still be an issue locally. Pop a Cyno and whoosh, your day just got nasty. And even though I haven't seen it myself, we do hear stories of hot-drops on solo Frigates.

The only "terrain" in Eve is gates. Everything else is simply a landing spot. This would be different if we could hide behind planets, or if Asteroid Belts interfered with d-scanners, or if Nebula radiation rendered our ships invisible to probes. But they don't. So locally, everything boils down to "Mechanics", as each gate/landing spot brings along its own set of established mechanics that you can exploit or use to your advantage.

If Force Projection is a Big Hammer and hot-drops are its Sledgehammer Cousin, then knowledge is the only defense. Let me give you an example. I've been playing Eve for six years and I have never once been hot-dropped or probed down (when I didn't want to be) while flying solo. (I have been in gangs or fleets that this has happened to of course) You'll also not find a mining ship loss on my killboard even though I used to mine a lot in Null Sec. My alt also has no mining losses. This is because game mechanic understanding was beaten into my head as a young player. Stay aligned, keep moving and watch d-scan and local. That is an example of using "terrain" to your advantage.

Every potential landing spot comes along with a package of mechanics that you need to understand. Understanding allows you to exploit them to both your offensive and defensive advantage. Camping gates in Null is a lot different than camping gates in Low, because the mechanics are much, much different. Stations work differently, gate guns, station guns, standings, engagement timers, an entire package of goodies comes along with each landing spot. Knowing those differences is the single greatest key in all of Eve. Especially from a PvP perspective. But also for miners, industrialists, traders, mission runners, and WCS using FW cowards.

So yes, exploiting that knowledge is essential in projecting force, from a solo ship all the way up to big fleet actions, in Eve. The best players, the best corps, the powerful alliances, are all exploiting them in one way or another. If you're not, then you are playing from behind with one leg.

Terrain in Eve is essentially mechanics. Plex, missions, gates, stations, belts, planets, stars, all have their own terrain mechanics that you can exploit or use to your advantage. And luckily for us PvPers out there, no one can hide in Eve. Everything is out in the open as long as you understand how things work.

Ultimately the greatest force projection in Eve is knowledge. No one can beat it.

The Stay Frosty FFA is Coming Soon!!

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It is that time again! Time to fit up thousands of Frigates to hand out for free, time to saddle up and make time to shoot your friends, your enemies, and get all those frustrations out on each other! Yes, that's right, it is time for another great installment of the now legendary and epic Stay Frosty Frigate FREE FOR ALL!!

Saturday November 8th, from 16:00 until 22:00 Eve time we will be having a blast blasting Frigates and other surprises! Prizes!! And more will be awaiting everyone who dares make the trip. Previous FFAs have seen thousands and thousands of explosions, good fights and memorable mini-events. Like Rixx losing his expensive Nightmare! What will this FFA hold? You'll only know if you show!

This is only a teaser post. More details and information will be released soon.

So watch these pages and let's make this one the biggest one ever!

PS: As usual, if anyone would like the chance to donate or support the event please contact me directly thru eve mail, email (rixxjavix@gmail.com), twitter, EVEOGANDA in-game channel, or in-game. All donations and support are greatly appreciated and will be promoted to Hell and back here on EVEOGANDA and everywhere else humans gather.

Famous Eve Advertising WCS Series

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I get bored also

I believe one of the key ingredients to long-term enjoyment of Eve Online is being able to recognize, accept, and alleviate boredom. Let's face it, Eve can sometimes be a grind, be extremely boring, and often be horribly repetitious.

Over the years I've developed some personal strategies that I employ to combat the creepy madness, as I'm sure many of you have as well. One of these strategies is what I decided to do yesterday. Just for fun. And I'm going to share with you what it is, how it went, and how it all exploded under me. All within a few short minutes of available play-time. (Maybe an hour or so.)

What I do is survey the hangar and find a ship I haven't flown in a long time, like the Kestrel. I used to fly Kessies in my regular rotation, but like everything else I try to mix things up and move on to other ships - so it had been awhile. The Kestrel is my #5 all-time used ship and I have many great fits saved for it. The key is not to even look at those fits. So I don't. I just take the ship as it is, sitting there floating in my hangar, and fit it from scratch. So that is exactly what I did.

Here is the fit I managed to cobble together:

4x Rocket Launcher IIs

Medium F- Shield Extender
Medium Ancillary Shield Booster
Scram
AB

BC II
Nano

Anti-Em
Small Core
Warhead Calefaction

Decent tank, almost 200dps, about 1,100 m/s cold, not bad for about as much thought as it just took you to read it.

Let's keep in mind the goal here is to have fun and not be a l33t level Pee-Vee-Pee'er. I am well aware of the issues with this fit and I don't care. It is cheap, it produces a lot of deeps, and it is a blast to fly it without a care in the world.

Even so, finding a fight yesterday was not easy. Either systems were empty or they all ran away from me. Let's review who wouldn't fight my poorly fit Kestrel: A Stabber, 2x Tristans, a Hookbill, a Tristan who I told about how bad the fit was, and about four or five other ships. Eventually I did manage to whore on a Atron kill.

The next kill was awesome and I managed to get top damage on a Wolf that Cerv had caught with his horribly fit Condor.

And then this Daredevil shows up in local and we all try to find a way to catch him. The pure mania displayed is always something to laugh about, we Stay Frostian's are a blood-thirsty bunch of idiots. But we also tend to eventually get our target, even when he has a buddy in an Ishtar waiting for us. So we kilt his DD right under the Ishtar's nose. Sadly George lost his Tristan in the effort, but it was well worth it for that kill.

Then things got weird. I found this merlin sitting in a Anom and quickly dispatched his horror of a fit. Because it was so terrible I also took his shiny pod from him as well. Sadly it was only shiny on the outside.

Then I did a dumb thing. I said in fleet chat that the ship I hadn't given any thought to, was "doing well". After I said that I even admitted that I shouldn't have and that, most likely, I'd be dead in a few minutes.

Sure enough. The km only shows two ships on me, but there were six of them including a Keres. Either way, the day was over and mission accomplished.

I'll take a Kessie in exchange for a Wolf and a Daredevil any day of the week. Not to mention the extra Atron and Merlin bonuses. But most importantly it was fun to fly with no worries.

What will I fly next? I have no idea.

6 Years of Eve

Another year in the books and suddenly I've been playing Eve for six years. I logged on for the first time on September 21st, 2008 and I've been pretty gosh darn busy ever since. (Like you couldn't do the math on that one!)

I think it would be fair to call last year the year of our Alliance - A Band Apart. The previous year was most certainly the year of Stay Frosty, so this is the year we expanded that concept and opened the doors for others to join our merry band of misfits.

A Band Apart was founded six months ago and currently has about 400 or so players in a nice variety of focused corporations all operated by an amazing, dedicated and extremely talented bunch of crazy people.

Each one of our Corporations is in ABA for a specific reason. Primarily to offer players a wide variety of play-styles, support, isk making, adventure, or comradeship so that essentially anything they want can be found within the Alliance. All of which is built upon the kind of nutty, responsible, insanity that Stay Frosty has become famous for.

I'm very proud of each of our member Corporations and those that are working hard to make them all work. I am constantly amazed by the people that have migrated and flocked to our corner of New Eden. Which, let's be honest, is pretty much all the corners.

I wish I had something more profound to offer you in reflection of the past year. But I honestly can't think of anything. In many ways this past year has been very workmanlike, not a grind, but a blur of activity, roams, fights, building, opportunities, expansion, and stuffs that went by far too fast. Whoosh, another year is gone.

As for Rixx, he passed the 115m skill point mark a few weeks ago. His dedicated sub-cap skill train continues, with only very long skills left. Now it is pretty much all about topping skills off to level V or rounding out the few remaining left-overs, or new skills that pop into the game from time to time.

I did manage almost 2,000 kills in the last year, which represents the busiest year of pew I've ever had. Which included a seven month streak of months in which I had over 100 kills. Including January when I had 217 in one month, my personal record. So that ain't too shabby.

All-in-all a great year of Eve. Great stories. Great people. And, of course, a blog that just keeps on chugging along, for five years of that time now.

For those with a sense of history, here are the previous anniversary posts:
• Year Five Part One, and Part Two
• A sort of Year Four post
• Year Three
• Year Two

This has been a Hell of a journey and special thanks to all of you that have been a part of it. Ultimately it is the people that keep bringing me back and that keep Eve fresh even after six long action-packed years of insanity.

Where will the future take us?  Let's find out.

As I said in Year Two:
"I wonder what the next two years will bring?  I hope they bring more stability than the last two.  I hope they bring more opportunity for having fun in-game, of flying with my Corp mates in small to medium sized gangs, less war and battles over sov, more cool ships to fly and more nasty reds to shoot.


Mostly though, I hope this crazy game stays fun to play."


I could say the same thing today.

Eve Advertising Series #3

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I'm keeping this short today. For the second time in as many weeks I am once more being dragged kicking and screaming into Court by my ex-wife. As this nightmare eight years comes to a close her desperation only escalates exponentially. This is the big one. The stakes are as high as they can be. How today goes will go a long way to determining the quality of the rest of mine and my family's life.

I've fought a lot of battles in space these last six years, but it is the ones out here in the real world that truly matter. This one is for the marbles. The ones in the bank and the ones in my head.

Keep the courage.

It's Official

PLATES

Yesterday the glorious Commonwealth of Pennsylvania confirmed that your friendly neighborhood Eve blogger is, in fact of law, officially a scum-sucking Pirate. I will now be driving all over the place confusing the heck out of normal law abiding citizens who do not fully appreciate the multi-level sarcasm, comedy and deeply held love for Eve Online inherent in my new plate. And yes, before you ask, my wife is behind this. She also thinks it is hysterical.

I suspect most people will assume I am some kind of Pirate-For-Hire for parties or kids birthdays. This amuses me.

-----------------

DATES

Mark your calendar now for Saturday November 8th. That is the "not yet" official date of the very next Stay Frosty/ABA Frigate Free For All Event!!  Planning is now underway and an official announcement will probably be in these pages sometime next week.

The last FFA was a huge success with close to 5,000 explosions and 3,000 FREE Frigates given away to participants. Rixx lost a Nightmare and we had lots of interesting visitors, special ships to explode, Brave Newbie and RvB security and plenty of targets for everyone. If you missed it last time, be sure to come and find good fights this time. Everyone is welcome.

If you'd like to donate, or volunteer your services as an individual, corporation, or Alliance, please contact a Stay Frosty or ABA rep and we'll get you pointed in the right direction. Thanks. More details soon.

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MATES

I often talk about the stories behind the kill-mails here on Eveoganda, and yesterday we had yet another perfect example. It is impossible for anyone looking at this Harpy kill-mail to appreciate the sheer hilarity, pathetic-ness and pure Stay Frostian shenanigans behind it.

I will attempt to describe it. I entered system in my Firetail and saw the Harpy in the plex. I haven't flown a FT in awhile, so I was a tad rusty. But I decided to go in anyway and rely on my TD to balance things between us. Hopefully he'd be rail fit. As soon as I landed and got point another Firetail also landed and away we went. Naturally I called for back-up at this point, even I can't take down a Harpy and a FT alone. At least not in my own Firetail, maybe if I had a Comet or something. All my back-up was in T1 Frigates but they were eager, even though they were staggered all over the place. But George landed pretty quick in his Tristan and the other FT started to back off. The Harpy was doing a good job of tanking us and my poor FT was in desperate shape.

That's when Skir landed in his Burst and saved my shields! Just as, sure enough, my guns toasted on me! Yikes. So I could do nothing except hold the Harpy down, keep him TD'd and hope the calvary arrived. Sadly the Harpy smartly turned his attention to the Burst and brought him down. This did give me the time I needed to heal my armor and re-load some things. And sure enough, Daros and Sniper arrived and saved us all in the nick of time.

And that is... the rest of the story.

Granted, not as sexy as it would have been on my
Dodge Challenger SRT8. Oh well.

A History of the Great Empires of Eve Online

We live in a strange science-fictional universe. And I am not talking about Eve Online. Every single day the real world becomes slightly more fantastical. The problem is, from a perceptional standpoint, it is happening extremely slowly. So slowly in fact, that it is often impossible to know it is happening.

Mars is populated by robots. And while we don't have flying cars, because let's be truly honest here - the flying car thing is a really bad idea. Our cars can park themselves and know where they are based on real-time feedback from orbiting space computers. We have live video in our pockets, we can talk to a hand-held device, and makes friends with people we've never met from around the world. And the examples don't end there.

But this post isn't about technological wonders. It is about a book about a technological wonder and the increasingly easy way in which we make real friends with people we've never met. The book is going to be called "A History of the Great Empires of Eve Online" and you can pre-order it right now.

It is being written by a person I've never met. HIs name is Andrew Groen. I cannot independently confirm or deny that he indeed exists. It appears he does from all available sources, he writes me emails, sends me Twitter messages, and has raised a lot of money on Kickstarter for this project. So I'm reasonably confident he exists.

I hope so, since I just spent about 60 hours creating a huge baseline map of all of New Eden in multiple layered vector glory for his book! Andrew is going to use this art to help illustrate the moving, flowing and turbulent history of Null Sec Empires in Eve during the last decade. For my part it was a great excuse to finish a project I've wanted to do for a long time - and provide the community a vector based, fully editable, map of New Eden.

Andrew has agreed that around the time of the book's release, or slightly before, we will release the map completely open-source for all of the community to use as they see fit. Simply print a giant poster for your basement wall, or take it and edit it to your hearts content. It will be free to download, both in hi-res PDF and in native AI file formats.

In the meantime, check out the links above and order your copy of the book. Here is a sneak peek at the map until then. I do not yet have a timeline on when it will be released, but I will let you know when I do.

Click to embiggen!

And a detailed section tease

And yes, every region, every section, is on its own editable layer. Cause I'm awesome like that.

#famousPvPexcuses

Yesterday I decided to invent a Hashtag and run with it to see what might happen over on Twitter. For those of you that read this magazine and do not follow me on Twitter (@rixxjavix), you really should.

Anyway. I created a Famous PvP Excuses hashtag and started tweeting it. Over the past six years of playing Eve I've probably heard them all, or even used a bunch myself. Just yesterday I was given four different batches of excuses why my targets failed to explode my wittle Tristan.

While Twitter is transient, this magazine is forever - so here (in no particular order) are almost all of the tweets from the hashtag #famousPvPexcuses for your enjoyment.

The ones that didn't come from me are attributed.

"My mouse's battery died."

"My Cat jumped on my keyboard."

"oops, wrong ammo."

"I forgot to activate (insert module)"

"Falcon." And, or "Suddenly Falcon." - Sho Manao

"I burned out my (insert module)" - Prime Flux

"I had the wrong overview loaded."

"I didn't want that ship anyway."

"I was just road testing a new fit." - Skir Skor

"My connection is bad."

"I don't have blues on my overview."

"I was in the bathroom."

"Highsec is supposed to be safe." - Malcom Shinhwa

"Got stuck on the gate."

"My Battleship should never lose to a Frigate!" - Ubentobox

"Did someone say jump?" - Aracimia

"My overview was hosed." - Guy Finley

"Wife aggro."

"I'm just trying to mine you idiot!"

"My Dad is rich!"

"Too busy tweeting with Rixx Javix!" - Kename Fin

"I pressed the wrong button." - Bagehi

"How am I supposed to make a living in this stoopid game."

"Gate is clear, everyone jump."

"I wasn't ready." - Kename Fin

"I was only flying through." - Kename Fin

"I hit approach instead of orbit."

"Your CEO said I was blue!" - Kename Fin

"I was wiping!"

"Fleet jump jump jump jump jump jump HOLD HOLD HOLD HOLD DO NOT JUMP YOU F%$#G IDIOTS" - Marc Callan

"My (insert key) was stuck." - Kename Fin

"I'm Seismic Stan" - Seismic Stan (lol)

"I'm a liver not a fighter." - Poppy (was supposed to be lover, but I think liver is better)

"I just started playing!"

"he must have been stabbed." - Susan Black

"I don't want to PvP."

"I'm with Red Frog you idiot!"

"I'm just not fit right for that fight..." - Susan Black

"He's just gonna pop a cyno if I fight him." - Susan Black

"I thought you'd be kitey."

"I haven't trained thermodynamics." - Ben Miller

"Yeah I'll just go get one of my 50 others, you have no effect." - Zedrik Cayne

"I'm bringing my friends next time."

"I'm going to use my alt corp to wardec you!" - Morg Braktar

"My main is in Shadow Cartel!"

"This is just my Noob alt." - Susan Black

"I got stuck on an asteroid!"

"I was dazzled by your avatar's good looks." - Coffee Rocks

"you're supposed to let me kill you!" - Coffee Rocks

"Meh, I only play for my Son."

"I'm actually just about to log off..." - Susan Black

"The insurance was running out, so I purposefully lost it." - Proto


What PvP excuses have you heard after a fight? Share them in the comments.

Unreal Tournament 2004

There was a brief moment in time when I loved a video game more than I love Eve. The result of a unique set of circumstances that cannot be re-created, helped to make Unreal Tournament 2004 the perfect video game for its time.

When I started my own company in the Fall of 2001 it was just me with big dreams and a brand new computer. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and nor did I care. Over the next few years the company grew and I surrounded myself with extremely talented and passionate people. Most of whom also happened to be geeks and nerds. Our offices back then were located in an awesome old warehouse that had been upgraded over the years into a modern cozy working space. We eventually took over multiple floors, but the building added a level of intimacy that is missing from many working spaces. The building was its own character.

I only mention this as a way of setting up the relentless slaughter and blood-shed that resulted in that space once we discovered UT04. Our lunches and late night candle burning deadline crunching evenings would be interspersed with Deathmatches and Capture the Flag moments of epic proportions.

UT04 went beyond that however. The greatness of the game turned out to be a community of developers, coders, and regular people who built worlds and characters and mods that filled servers far and wide. All of us consumed these mods and downloaded all of them that we could. Each day brought new worlds to play in, new mods to try out and new technical challenges.

I even bought a PC laptop (ostensibly so we could 'test' website development on it) primarily so I could load the world-building program and build my own battlegrounds. Somewhere out there exists several really awesome UT04 worlds that I built and shared with the community.

The LAN setup meant we could quickly build and connect all of our workstations and join up to fight each other to the death. This was my first experience with multi-player video games where I was fighting more than one other person I knew in real life. Sometimes we'd have 10-12 or more involved. And typically we were sitting so close, or on speaker phones, so that we could yell and scream and sometimes punch the person next to us.

Sadly, as all things do, this moment in time passed long before it should have. Changes in the business, the relentless train of software and operating updates, and other pressures eventually put an end to it all.

I see that UT04 lives on. And I've tried the other console based versions, but nothing can re-create for me what made that moment special. I can't bring it back. But it existed and even though it was brief, it was also glorious.

When I think back over the years to games I've enjoyed, the things I remember most are the situations, the people, and the moments that made them special. It isn't usually the game itself that sticks with you, but the other things surrounding the game that make it special and memorable.

UT04 was one such moment in time.

PS: This run really started with UT99 and ended with UT04, I just collected the memories into the 04 version since it was the end of that run.

PPS: All the way back to Pong I had played games with other people of course. Even in the early days of Castle Wolfenstein and DOOM we'd manage to throw a few people into the mix. But this was the first time I had 10-12 people at a time playing the same game.

Twitter Tuesday

It has been a long time since I ran a Twitter Tuesday, and since I've drawn a complete and utter blank today, it seems like a good time to open the floor to questions from Tweetfleet.

This does not count:
"RixxJavix Craving some bbq? need catering? Let Rib Crib Of Lakeland help you out with that!"


Morg Braktar @c_cozart
@RixxJavix is there an affirmative way to answer can I have your stuff?

The easy answer is, "When you pry them from my cold dead fingers!" But seriously I always answer yes and then never give them anything. Seems to work.

Thorn Galen @NibblerSA
@RixxJavix Why can't I convert the corpses in my hangar into something useful such as boosters, soylent green maybe ?

If you ever happen to crack open a Warp Core Stabilizer you will quickly realize where old corpses go. How this happens is still a mystery, but obviously the darn things are full of pieces and parts from dead decomposing bodies. Disgusting. I wouldn't recommend opening one. Gets all over your hangar floor. Smells terrible.


Daniel Montie @DanMontie
@RixxJavix what would you like to see in a capital rebalance?  Any new ship types?

It's rather obvious that Titan bridges need a huge nerf! Personally I'd like to see the foundations for new Sov/Null warfare implemented first and then have some new Capital ships spring from that dynamic. Instead of putting the cart before the horse, have some holes filled by need rather than want. But that's me.


RandomMcNally @RandomMcNally1
@RixxJavix Why do you drive in a parkway and park in a driveway?

Rixx doesn't "drive" or "park". But I have heard that Mudders still do this sort of thing on some of the planets I fly over. Strange people Mudders.


Orion Sa-Solo @Orion_Sa_Solo
@RixxJavix Are you still wanting to grow ABA, and if so what Corps are you looking for?

We are always looking to grow and we continue to consolidate and strengthen the Corps we do have. Our WormHole Corp is growing very well and we have an awesome cross-over Corps in Voodoo Children and Isopods, while our HS/Industry arm is growing by leaps and bounds. I remain convinced that someone dedicated to the cause could easily grow a younger player training corp if they wanted to take something like that on, but finding the right person is always a challenge. Otherwise it is all about finding the right pieces to fill the puzzle.

Lee Henderson @hendo007
@RixxJavix why do ppl "prank" you and expect you to call em back, however they use a withheld number...

Dude, stop being a sucker! I use a Sansha Responder that instantly tracks any incoming calls and lobs some big fat faction thermonuclear warheads at that location. It is surprising how few calls I get these days.

Carl Marsalis @CarlMarsalis
@RixxJavix What would you do with 5000 billion isk ? #tweetfleet #eveonline #allthemoneys

I would make it my personal goal to destroy the current blue ring of death strangling Null Sec. Period. I could do it, not a joke. It needs to die a horrible death and return to a more fractured and less monogamous standard. Otherwise we could have some seriously great fun with that kind of bread!!

Marc Callan @EVEMarcCallan
@RixxJavix What do you do with warp-core stabilizers you recover from ships you explode? Do you melt them down or simply trash them?

I'm glad you asked this, as it is rather complicated. First I have an Amarrian Priest on retainer who performs a complex exorcism ritual that removes the demon born spawn of HELL that lives inside each WCS, wrapped around the dead and decomposing bodies of capsuleer fallen that fuel each one. Once that is done the bodies are carefully removed and buried in hallowed ground. Then the component parts are burned in a fusion reactor reduced to atomic particles and then ejected into a singularity each month on a Thursday that ends in a number seven.

CCP's Lapdog ‏@webspaceships  1h
@RixxJavix should all ships in the game get frills?

Frills, Spiny Bits, Transforming Warp Wings, Opening and closing thingies, everything that makes the ship more gooder in my opinion. If I was in charge of the Art Department all the ships in Eve would have something like that on them. And more. Creativity knows no bounds.

Lucas Raholan ‏@LucasRaholan  1h
@webspaceships @RixxJavix are WCS the future of Eve?

Not in my Eve! I will never give up getting WCS banned to Transports and Industrials, it is a personal crusade! Do eet CCP!

Lee Henderson ‏@hendo007  1h
@LucasRaholan @webspaceships @RixxJavix also, when can we get eve on our android/iphones?!

I think a companion app would be awesome and should have been done already, skill training, and other features could easily be done from a mobile app. Then, when you start thinking about tablets, the possibility of actually playing Eve starts to make some sense. I'm all for it.

CCP's Lapdog ‏@webspaceships  1h
@RixxJavix how does one get into Jove space?

Mark knows the answer to this one, practice, practice, practice!

Harri ‏@meanharri  59m
@RixxJavix Where is flat Rixx currently residing this morning?

Flat Rixx was last seen entering the Emporer's Room at Ceasers Palace in Las Vegas. That was six days ago.

Doomchinchilla ‏@Doomchinchilla  39m
@RixxJavix what do you think of the massive lowsec coalitions forming? EE +SYJ + others, Shadow Cartel + DT + SCUM.

The only reason for a large low sec coalition to form is to build the foundation for potential Null Sec deployments. There is no other reason since a large coalition is counter-productive to low sec. So it'll be interesting to see what they have planned.

Morg Braktar ‏@c_cozart  5m
@RixxJavix new question! What is the best recipe in the universe (this or any alternate) for a Pangalactic Garrgle Blaster?

Seriously the best thing to do is just wrap a hammer in some gold foil and then have someone beat you in the head with it. Produces the exact same result and is much cheaper and easier to obtain. Although, because I am awesome, I down a full quart of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster before I undock, which might explain some of my losses recently...

Ruumi Yyrkoshin @Yyrkoshin
@RixxJavix Will *that* door ever open, so I can get a proper sleep in a proper bed?

I hate to say it, but I don't think the door is going to open anytime soon. CCP has not said anything in a long time that even hints slightly at plans beyond the door. And with cutbacks eating into overall Dev time, the new six-week expansion schedule and all the other projects on their plate... doesn't look good. But then again, "never" is a long time.

Sho Menao @ShoMenao
@RixxJavix What are your thoughts on the current balance of tech 1 bc hulls in low sec and also in nullsec?

I think T1 BC ships are pretty decently balanced, but that they suffer from being squeezed between options that are so much better at jobs they should be doing. Sadly there are not any easy answers to how best to address this issue, a lot of the problems come from the proliferation of ship classes that grew up around them. So many of the Cruiser hulls are so good now and then Command Ships and everything else above them, create a tremendous amount of pressure. I'd like to see them more role specific, that might help things. But I don't know how likely that will be anytime soon.

FunkyBacon @FunkyBacon
@RixxJavix have you ever RPed in a PPC?

What is a PPC? Power PC? Pay-per-click? I dunno.

Jason @fenjayminor
@RixxJavix Who would be the cast for "The Young and the Reckless", a soap opera set in Ishomilken?

As long as I get to be Victor Neuman the rest of them can do what they want. And not Victor now, but Victor from like the late '80s Victor. Dude was rich and got all the ladies.

General Stargazer @Blind_Hope
@RixxJavix if you could be a soup, what kind of soup would you be?

Is Chilli considered a soup? If so I'd be a hot-ass burn your throat Chilli. With beans. A Chilli without beans is not a Chilli.

Aegea/Shantetha @Litefire01
@RixxJavix can i borrow your tristan? and did you remember to clean the orange off the controls?

I fit my Frigs on-demand, so I'm usually in my Tristan or it has exploded. But if I have a spare fitted you are more than welcome to it. I don't use oranges, I am a scurvy pirate!!

T Hesh @SpaceVowels
@RixxJavix favorite pirate frigate? Faction frigate?

My favorite pirate frigate is still the Daredevil. I don't fly them much anymore, they tend to attract the wrong kind of attention for solo work. In other words, I usually get blobbed to death eventually. My favorite faction frig is the Comet, I love that ship and fly it all the time. It is versatile, tough, and has great range projection. It is, in my opinion, the perfect all-around Frigate that isn't T1.

Abi @nbemo
@RixxJavix Q1: why have named your char Rixx Javixx? Q2: do you have alts? :D

When I first heard about Eve I noticed the company CCP was based in Iceland. The Capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, is the basis of the name Rixx Javix. It is pronounced the same(ish). I do have one alt who is the CEO of Lucifer's Hammer and primarily my transport alt. She can also fly an Archon, which was primarily trained to move me around the universe. She is not training anymore however.

Sindel Pellion @SindelPellion
@RixxJavix Date, marry, kill: @meanharri, @Fuzzysteve, @CCP_Falcon

Despite Harri volunteering to be killed, I shall do my best to answer this one. I would marry Falcon since CCP access means CCP access and that would be good for everyone - I'm willing to take one for the team. I'd date Harri, cause let's be honest, that would be really fun in a seriously non-sexual way of course. And that leaves poor Fuzzy for the compost bin. Sorry dood.

Leo d'Green @Leo_dGreen
@RixxJavix Would you ever join CVA? :) And I mean, really join, with no intention of stealing, sabotage, or other anti-social behaviour?

I have to be honest here and let you know that should CVA be the very last Alliance standing and everyone else remaining in Eve is in the Alliance, that I will be the only one left on their KOS list solo'ing miners in whatever systems they may own. So, to answer your question, there is no way in Hell that Rixx Javix will ever be a member of CVA. I will hold on to my character forever, just so some idiot doesn't buy it once I'm gone and join CVA. In fact, now that you mention it, I'm going to make that part of my Last Will and Testament.

And that is the end for today. Thanks to everyone who participated. I enjoyed that.

More to come?

An ABA Weekend

Due to a strange and rare confluence of events, severe depression, inclement weather, distracting rental of Destiny, and other factors this weekend - I actually managed to play Eve. Weekend play is rather unusual for me, so it was great to have some extended time.

As the screenshot on this post attests, it was a very crazy weekend. The re-formed Supreme Mathematics corporation is back in the Alliance! Argos held another round of PvP training classes! Voodoo Children is opening up for recruitment, you should check them out. I managed to get into one of Kirith's public roams only to be exploded about five minutes later. And generally, a good time was had by all.

On the subject of public roams. I often get invited to multiple public or private fleets and I wish I could participate in all of them. Usually the timing just doesn't work out, my Eve time is typically pretty random. The other reason is I typically explode rather early. Much like public events, once someone notices me on grid, I tend to be called primary. It doesn't help that my ship is usually flashing, red, negative ten, with probably twenty kill rights available, and typically shooting at people. I make an easy target. These days I'm better served hiding in the nearest nebula and sticking to the shadows. I tend to draw a crowd.

Which is yet another reason why weekends are tough. It is great to see so many people about in space and yet, it is also not so great seeing so many people out in space. More people means bigger fleets, gate camps, and even more risk averse weekend warriors trying to make up for missing all those other days in the week. In other words, I usually end up being blobbed to death at the end of every roam.

Like this. Or this. Or this one. I'm not complaining mind you, it is the way of the universe. Live by the sword, die by the sword. One learns rather quickly to take your lumps and move on. Grab another ship and get back out there. No matter how careful you are, sometimes you are going to land right on top of Miura Bull.

But enough about losses, let's take a quick look at all the wins! So much better to talk about. Some of these are good fights and some are not. Things change fast in space and many times the fight you go for is not the fight you end up with.

Algos Vs Merlin - I should mention that Algos has T1 guns and was picked up off Alliance contracts for free.

Algos/Slicer vs Incursus - There were five of them in the plex, this is the one that didn't get away.

We went three rounds with these guys, good fights each time. Just a tad outnumbered, but we ended up giving better in the last round. It was a mess but we had some really good fights in there.

Caught this poor guy again. Once more he was the one we caught.

The weekend loot fairy is not as nice to me.

Another gang fight. And here. The Enyo and the 2x Tristans were together.

So should end all ECM.

And a solo logistics.

This poor guy cloaked off of me, so I burned him down.

Sometimes when I go to the Sun and wait long enough, someone will come to keel me.

Poor monkey dood. He warped around long enough, but we finally caught him.

Kill of the day maybe. Argos held him just long enough for me to get there.

And sometimes people land on you. Nature is balanced.

It is nice to get to fly a hammer sometimes.


17-5 for the weekend isn't super high numbers, but it was all a lot of fun and we had a blast playing. What more is there?

Oh, next time.

Famous Eve Advertising Series #2

Click to embiggen

Llama Song

Here's a llama

There's a llama

and another little llama

Fuzzy Llama

Funny Llama

Llama Llama duck

Llama llama

cheesecake llama

tablet, brick, potato, llama

llama llama mushroom llama

llama llama duck

I was once a tree house

I lived in a cake

but I never saw the way

the orange slayed the rake

I was only three years dead

but it told a tale

and now listen little child

to the safety rail

Did you ever see a llama

kiss a llama

on the llama

llama's llama

tastes of llama

llama llama duck

Half a llama

Twice a llama

not a llama

farmer llama

llama in a car

alarm a llama

llama duck

is that how its told now

is it oh so old

is it made of lemon juice

doorknob, ankle, cold

Now my song is getting thin

I've run out of luck

Time for me to retire now

and become a duck.

Don't Be A Dick

@Mikeazariah Am I off base in wondering how people could consider Wheaton's Law too high a bar to clear? @RixxJavix manages it all the time.

I have purposefully stayed out of the recent Gamergate debate making the rounds on social media, blogs and on-line gaming sites. Not because I am afraid of dangerous or sensitive topics (lol!) but simply because I've had some real life battles that have taken precedent, and focus, recently.

And no this isn't a post about those.

I've been role-playing an idealized version of myself in Eve for almost six years now and in that time I've managed to go from being the worst kind of wet behind the ears newbie to the worst kind of ebil pirate lord. I don't consider myself a "role-player" in the common sense of the word. But, let's be honest, we are all role-playing to one degree or another. It comes with the territory.) And when I say "worst" what I really mean is that I just can't bring myself to be truly evil inside or outside of the game. This is why I usually, and jokingly, refer to myself as ebil. It takes some of the edge off.

Oh I've tried. I once tried scamming someone in Jita. But I ended up having a conversation with my 'victim' and we ended up being friends. Not only did I give the ISK back, but I also bought some tasty BPOs from them. I tried jet-can baiting in High Sec once, but I sucked at it. I even once went to Todaki to bait newbies into fighting me... you can probably imagine how that turned out.

All of which has kinda rolled itself up into a big ball of blogging, playing, drawing, and generally trying to be awesome in a gaming environment that doesn't often reward anyone for striving to be a better version of themselves. Not that my personal journey has anything to do with a crusade, it doesn't. I'm quite content to live and play among the universe that CCP and, to a larger extent, the gaming community has established. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit to judging that community when it deserves to be judged.

And goodness knows I've done more than my fair share of that here in these pages. I often get labeled for it, for creating "drama", which is code for "how dare you question me!" It often reminds me of how my ex-wife looked when she was swinging an iron skillet at my head. Abusers always have reasons. And if you don't understand those reasons? Well then, you asked for it. It is, after all, you that are creating the drama around here. If only you'd get with the program, everything would be peachy.

That is not how I have lived my life. When the rebellion comes and they throw us up against the wall, I will be proud to be counted among those that stood for what is right. I've been standing, as best I can, my entire life. And I'm not going to stop now. Maybe one person can't change anything. But that is no excuse for not trying.

Like I said, I don't have a crusade. I'm just trying to be me and to play a game that I enjoy. To participate in the community and to add my voice to the void. To bring some fun, some adventure, some semblance of honor, and to find good fights. Within the context of that framework I finally decided to take it upon myself to do something about it and created a place in-game where people can come to play Eve the way they want to play Eve. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and pointing fingers, I finally understood that if I meant what I said - then I should at least try to do something about it.

So I did. Stay Frosty, and now the larger context of A Band Apart, is that place. It isn't for everyone and it was never intended to be for everyone. But for those that want, or need, or desire a place to be themselves inside a game that often forces you to be something else - we are that place. There is no greater goal. Some people come expecting something more. There isn't anything more than that. Because that is everything.

"Don't be a dick" could be our Motto. But I don't believe I should have to spell that out for anyone. It is, after all, common sense. And the heart of what it means to be a human being.

In this world of ours we need more of that. Even if it is only a small corner.

Rixx: Public Enemy

'Nuff said for today.

Designated Wingman

I've argued that links boosters should show on killmails (duh!) and we've seen the effects of large scale TiDi mixed with severe lag (at the Eve-Bet Revenant event last Friday). All of which got me thinking. There are so many fleet tools and mechanics in Eve, heck the invention of Time Dilation only happened because of large fleet battles. And certainly, in the context of Null Space, those tools are needed.

But what about small gangs? Eve is a social game, but "social" isn't just hanging out with 500 of your closest Alliance mates. (One could easily argue the opposite is actually true.) Some of the most social moments I've had in Eve have been in a fleet of two people. Or three. But aside from the fleet tool, there isn't much benefit from being in a small gang unless you resort to an alt flying a link booster.

And so we've come full circle once again. I'm not satisfied and, as usual, I've been looking at this problem from another angle. As I've said before, I am not anti-booster. I just believe that, given they are a contributing factor to the directly applied ability of the aggressor, they should be represented on killmails. The enhancements derived from link support directly engage the defender, unlike Logistical support. Hence = killmail. Those of us that choose not to fly with a T3 alt attached to our hip, or can't afford multiple accounts, or can't multi-box, are at a distinct disadvantage.

But what if we weren't? What if we had an option? What if we could designate a wingman?

I imagine it working in a similar fashion to the current duel mechanic. Two ships in the same fleet accept wingman designation with each other. Based on the leadership skills of each pilot their chosen attributes are enhanced for a specific time. Not as much enhancement as they would get from a T3, but still a direct benefit to each ship. Obviously this wouldn't work in they already had a booster in fleet, or if the fleet exceeded a ceiling of participants. Oh, and the benefits only apply when both ships are on-grid with each other.

Right now you are already thinking about ways to exploit this potential mechanic. I know you. And you'd be right. It is rife for exploiting. I'll just train up an alt with superior leadership skills and he can follow me around so I can pop people without a buddy. And without having to minimally risk a blingy T3 ship in the process. We'll have ten ships in a fleet and each of them will be paired off with a designated wingman, the resulting boosts will be epic! We'll kill all the things.

And now you know the truth. I'm pulling your leg. The Wingman idea is bad in exactly the same way that the booster alt idea is bad. Because it is the same damn mechanic. I just called it something else and wrapped it around different words.

The truth is Eve is a social game that struggles with tremendous numbers. It struggles because ALL games would. The technology just isn't here yet for five thousand people to engage each other from all corners of the world on a single server. CCP will continue to work on that, upgrading servers, working on drone swarms, etc. But perhaps another way is to work on building a game that spreads us all out more. A game that supports small gang and medium sized fleet engagements. A game that remembers that "social" starts between two people. Maybe, just maybe, that game might be a lot more fun to play.

We do need some tools to help the small gang/solo pilots in Eve. But adding more boosts and more game mechanics to an already overloaded environment is not really the answer.

What are your thoughts?

Head in the Game

Warning: This post contains references to real life and some readers may find it boring as shit.


I have a court date coming up this week that has been eating away at my mind for the past month. It isn't anything criminal mind you, just another page in a long and horrible divorce that has been dragging on for over eight years now. And no, I'm not going to bore you with details.

Suffice to say that after well over a half-million dollars it all boils down to a measly paltry sum of remaining money that I simply just don't have. And that is the part that is driving me crazy. I essentially sacrificed a successful business and my entire life savings in the pursuit of happiness - and to have it all come down to something so meaningless is frustrating. I never once didn't pay, in fact, no one wants this to be over more than me. If I had it, it'd be done.

I freely admit that this continuing saga has not only preyed upon the quality of my life out here in the real world, but also my in-game life as well. It is difficult to focus on my projects and my commitments with this hanging over my head.

The last time I brought this up in these pages I received some pretty nasty comments. I appreciate the fact that divorce and marital support are important issues. And many may wonder why I even bother bringing them up in the context of a gaming blog. Frankly, I need somewhere to talk about it. Even just writing what I have written so far has helped. That's why I put the warning up there.

My head isn't in the game. And I've been aware of this for quite some time. In fact, even as far back as when we decided to stay out of this year's Alliance Tournament - this was one of the biggest reasons why. I knew this was going to happen.

I've always been hesitant to drag real life into these pages. For the longest time I completely refused to do so. But over the past few years it has become increasingly apparent to me that I shouldn't have worried. Take it or leave it, this is me writing here every day. Rixx is after all an imaginary virtual construct thru which I play a game. He is an awesome guy, don't get me wrong, but he has been built primarily out of my own imagination. Everything that makes him more than just another avatar, has been dreamed up and put into action out of my head.

Every word I've ever written has been about me.

All of which is my way of saying bear with me while I try to avoid jail time on Wednesday. Cause, despite what you might think, I'm not an actual Pirate.

Onward and upward.

LIVE Paint Drying Battle

UPDATE: On the advice of CCP Explorer I started a Eve forum thread for feedback on the Event.

I have a serious love/hate relationship with events in Eve. So much so that I've created more than my fair share of them since the first DeathRace zipped thru Providence back in 2010. For that event I was stuck on a hi-sec gate waiting to record the finish. No play for Rixx. Since then we've had Frill Fleets, Frigate-Free-For-Alls and many other player driven events that I've either helped promote, or participated in. Most of which, went off without a snag.

Then there are the "LIVE" events driven by CCP or their agents. Obviously they get much more attention than player-driven events - which means more players show up for them. Which means insane amounts of lag or, as we call it these days, TiDi. Don't get me wrong, I really do love the 'idea' of these. Who wouldn't? Massive participation. Lots of ships. Excitement. Adventure. Sounds like a grand plan.

But it is never like that. Mostly my experience tends to fall into this example, "oh look, Rixx is here!" BOOM! Pod back home. I never made it to Asakai to shoot the Titan. I lived about five seconds on grid in Syndicate. And last night, well last night was something special. I did get to see the Revenant.

Nearly 5,000 people in Nisuwa last night is something to celebrate. 10% TiDi is something to hate. This wasn't my first experience fighting in 10%, but for many of those that showed up it was. It is a horrible experience. You cannot sugar coat it. It sucked balls.

Brackets off. Overview skimmed down to nothing. Quick locking rail fitted Ares is what I brought, totally to whore on as many kms as possible. And yet, strangely enough, I never locked anyone. Never fired a gun. The Revenant varied from about 14k to 75k from my ship and the target lock kept dying as the range varied inside and outside of lock range. I think. I can't be sure. One is never sure exactly what your ship is doing, is it responding to your last command? Or one you gave ten minutes ago?

Eventually I just gave up, warped to a safe and logged off. At least I survived this time.

Like I said, I love the idea of these types of events. They could be epic. But they are so far from being epic right now it isn't funny. As always I worry about this. I worry that this was the first massive experience many of those that showed up last night have had. What are they walking away with? What is their impression of Eve this morning?

I think about the time I sat in the darkness of a jump into a 2,500 player battle for 45 minutes, before TiDi was invented, and wonder which experience is better? I have to say, neither. Massive player fleet battles are a nut that remains to be cracked. As much as I love solo and small gang warfare in Eve, I also love the 'idea' of massive fleet battles. It is just sad that only one of those is actually a viable option right now.

On the bright side, I don't think I got podded this time.

Time for Change

One of the very first banners, from January 2010

I gave the Dynamic View layout a shot, for over a year, but it is time for a change. Google isn't really supporting Dynamic View - in that year there have been no real updates or additional features released for them. The amount of control was very weak and it was almost impossible to add features or anything else to the layout. Plus I got nothing but bad feedback when it came to certain mobile platforms.

So I've switched back to a more traditional layout. It is still a work-in-progress, but over the next few days and weeks I'll get it whipped back into shape. Over the past five years EVEOGANDA has gone thru about seven distinct design phases and will probably continue to do so well into the future. I'm never really happy. I'm still not. That was one good thing about the Dynamic View, it took design decisions out of my hands, since it didn't have any.

With 1,358 posts behind me now I do often wonder how much longer I can keep this up. I never imagined I'd still be plugging along, writing about a video game, for five years. Much less all the other things that have come along with it. But I remain as enthusiastic about Eve as I was that first day and it is still something I look forward to playing as often as I can. As long as that passion remains intact, I honestly don't see a reason to stop chronicling my own person journey. Not to mention that of the game itself, this wonderful community, my readers, my enemies, and all the other stuff that goes along with Eve.

So I think I'll keep writing for another five years or so. Maybe longer. Who knows?

All I know is I'm writing this post. The rest of it will take care of itself.

Here are just a few of the other banner designs from the past:

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Enough with the politic crap, let's get back to what this blog is really, sorta, most-of-the-time, primarily, kinda focused on - good fights!! And not-so good fights. And fights that leave you scratching your head. Gosh, you'd think Eve was a PvP game or something!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is an on-going series in which I do things that few other PvPers would dare do - point out my mistakes for public mockery. And generally make fun of myself. I'll also throw in a few awesome examples of my superior piwate skillz, just to balance things out. On with the show.

The Good
Tristan Vs Vengeance
Ok this one is a tad complicated, so bear with me. NorwegianDarkness had engaged this Vengeance that dropped on him after a previously completed fight. He was already in a bad position and went down shortly after Skir and I arrived in our frigates. Akir'a Atron was obviously forced to keep his distance, so I was left with only one choice - burn in and hug the AF. Which is a rather dangerous proposition. Needless to say I OH'd everything, released the drones, and dived right up to his nose. The surprising thing was that it worked. Adi claimed afterward that he burnt out his repper, which probably explains that. Whew.

The Ugly
Hawk Vs 2x Thrashers
It is hard to believe that the Hawk is my all-time 7th most used PvP ship. It is hard to believe because I seriously feel terrible in them. It also doesn't help when you totally derp yourself and forget that you have TWO asb mods instead of just one. Oh yeah, it doesn't work if you don't turn it on!

The Bad
Frigate Swarm Vs Ferox
I can't miss an opportunity to warn my readers about the dangers of WCS! This Ferox had three of them and I don't think he even had the chance to lock any of us before he exploded in a ball of fire. I seriously suggest that any other module in his low slots would have served him better. He gets a pass for being so young, but learn your lesson and fly smarter! Please.

The Good
Enyo Vs Cruor
This was an incredibly satisfying fight. I don't often fly the Enyo, they being so expensive and me being such a poor piwate, but I love the ship. Cruor's are nasty things and diving into one while your mates are still a few jumps away is extremely dangerous. Luckily I managed to keel him before his buddy in the Vengeance showed up at the same time my back-up arrived. I love it when a plan comes together.

The Good and Ugly
Tristan Vs Condor
Normally I wouldn't call this fight out, but the circumstances are interesting. I had just finished exploding a ship in a Large Plex when this Condor warps in at about 30k or so. There is no way my fat Tristan is catching a Condor, but I locked him up and sent my Hobs after him anyway. This is a prime example of why you should do that, because the HObs caught him and he exploded. When the km arrived I realized just how young the pilot was, but it wasn't until my inbox started blinking that I truly realized how young the pilot was. That was his first PvP loss. We had an excellent conversation afterwards and I invited him to consider Stay Frosty once he got his sea legs. I love my job.

The Bad
Breacher Vs Kestrel
I was feeling pretty good, I had just exploded a Kestrel in the next system when this one appeared in local. I was already aware that this pilot always flies with links and sure enough there was his orange link alt in local. So, of course, I went in anyway. I love that Breacher fit, it kills lots of ships, but it melted under the linked rockets of that kessie like nobodies business. And despite using two ships to explode my one ship, he still gets credit for a solo kill! Strange. (C'mon, you seriously didn't think I was going to let that go, did you?)

The Good
Comet Vs 2 Merlins
Merlin one and Merlin two both sitting at zero in the plex when I jumped in. Now this was a truly awesome brawl. Two well-fit blaster merlins pumping out some serious at range dps against my rail fitted scram kiting Comet! Woot! I wish I could find fights like that every day. Lots of manual flying, web dictation, drone assignments, and OH'd modules later and both of them exploded rather nicely. Excellent fight.

That should do it for this installment. I'm hoping to get some more play time this week, been so busy in real life lately and dealing with politics in-game, that I haven't had much time to actually undock and find fights.

See you all in space.

Crime Vs Gameplay in Eve

RMT, Jita Scams, Corp Theft, Watch Scorpions, Spais, Betrayal, the list of activities within Eve that could be labeled as crimes is rather long. Players and CCP have had a long and difficult history with crime and punishment in New Eden. The line between gameplay and crime can often be a blurry one, and is often a two-edged sword that cuts both sides of any potential argument.

We have to trust in the EULA, in CCP, and in a larger context law enforcement agencies to deal with whatever bleeds out into the real world. And that is how it should be when such things happen. The further away from Eve an act gets the easier it becomes to recognize it for what it is - a crime. The further inside of Eve an act gets, the further into the murk it falls.

Every single group or organization of players in our game deals with this issue. In most cases dealing with "crime" takes up a huge percentage of any Corporation's rules of conduct. POS passwords are protected. Roles are carefully assigned. Trial periods are instituted. Warnings are issued. Standings are set. And each group of players, individually and corporately, must come to terms with how they feel about each kind of criminal activity.

Over the years I've also struggled with how I feel about criminal activity in Eve. I've broken POS passwords. I've used "can baiting" in high-sec to lure players into fights. I've border-lined exploits a few times, with cans on gates, and grid-fu, among others. I've stolen from my enemies. I've ransomed. And I even tried running a scam in Jita once or twice -although I was terrible at it. Directly ripping off another player didn't sit well with me, so I gave the Isk back.

Eventually it all came down to the essential philosophy that we use today in our Alliance. Even among Pirates you have rules. Ours are extremely simple. As long as it is outside the Alliance, pretty much anything goes. Trust being the hardest commodity to come by in Eve, you can't exploit, steal, or otherwise cause harm to your Alliance mates. Everyone else is fair game. And while I personally don't engage in these activities, far be it for me to forbid you do so. I wouldn't hesitate to take full advantage of information made available to me. We have our spais too.

I personally do not believe stealing from your corp mates is actual gameplay. As such, I do not respect those that engage in it. On the other hand, it is an activity that some people seem dedicated to pursue. And it does bring a measure of excitement to the game. I just think it should be directed at other people. But that's me.

This is why our recruitment remains open. While that means that sometimes a spai or a corp thief will find their way into our group - the good far outweighs the bad. Those few bring content that we deal with, mitigate, and then punish. The majority brings more pilots, more content, and more opportunities to find great corp mates. It is a system that has served us well over the past year and a half. And I don't see it changing anytime soon.

No system is perfect. I believe we have to embrace those imperfections and absorb them. Not create meaningless rules that do little to curb such activities, when in fact, they usually only encourage them more.

If someone decides to step outside those boundaries, then they must face the consequences of their actions. Sadly, in most cases, those consequences are rather limited by the game. There is only so much we can do. For the most part, a corp thief like we had recently gets away scot free. There are even places in Eve that will welcome a known Corp thief into their ranks. (Like the Tuskers for example.)

It is a dangerous game we play. And that is what makes it Eve.

Alliance Thief: MiLLY MiLLZ

MiLLY MiLLZ, former pilot in Stay Frosty and founder of our WormHole Corporation Supreme Mathematics, is an Alliance/Corp Thief. His known alt accounts are ALISON WONDER LAND and MILL GATES. (Mary Poppinz, Oodle Lalley and Scrooge McDuck Duck are also suspected alts) He is wanted for the crimes of betraying the corporate trust, stealing directly from members, emptying corporation wallets, stealing from a charity donation jar, and generally behaving like an asshat. (My term for it.) He most likely also hates dogs and little children.

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I made a promise that I would "out" this butt-head on this blog and I keep my promises. But, more importantly, this story isn't about him and what he did. This post is about an amazing group of people that jumped into action, took responsibility, helped their fellow players and took what could have been a dark moment in our history - and turned it into a matter of pride.

The story goes back about a month ago when a new Corporation joined our Alliance. The new guys picked a bad time to join and got caught up in an ongoing war. Sadly they, and us, were not prepared to help each other and they lost a considerable amount in the ensuing carnage. To some in our Alliance this meant it was time to pass the hat around. Within a very short span of time over 6b in Isk and Assets were donated, more than enough to cover their losses.

We held off on distributing the donations until the new group could become settled and potentially merge with our main WH Corporation. This process took a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, another group in our Alliance started a new Capital Ship Building Program. This was another great example of inter-corporation cooperation and many of our members donated Isk, assets and training time to the effort.

The CEO of MATH had been on hiatus during most of the Summer. Other Directors had stepped up to take on the responsibilities of running and growing the Corporation. They were all doing an incredible job. A similar situation has been happening within our HS Corporation as well. People stepping up to take on additional responsibilities and make things happen. The train was really rolling.

As things do, all of this came together smoothly last week. The new WH group was merging into MATH. The Capital Ship Program had raised considerable funds. And I finally gave the order to release the donated charity funds. It was that very day that proved to be too much for the, up until then, afk CEO of MATH.

Now this could be the end of that story. I've personally been a part of Corporations that quickly failscade after such an incident. I've seen it happen. Instead our members sprang into action in incredible, amazing and extremely swift ways. Immediate. Over the past three days they have put forth an incredible amount of effort in securing member assets, moving towers, evacuating space, re-starting a new Corporation, and sharing with ALL of our members news, information and action details.

It has simply been one of the proudest moments in our short history as an Alliance.

The thief may have taken a significant chunk of Isk, but it is - after all - only fake money. What he gave us in return was more significant than numbers. He gave us all a chance to work together, and overcome this challenge - together.

Yes, it stings. And I hope he burns in Hell. (Rewards are available for his pod killmail by the way!) But in the final analysis this will just be a small bump in the road. We've exchanged a rat and an afk leader, for a group of dedicated, tested, and proven leaders that will take our new WH Corporation to new heights. And by example and assistance, have helped us to forge a strong Alliance of friends.

We remain A Band Apart. And A Band United.

Keep the courage.
Rixx Javix

I would like to publicly give a special thank you to the following individuals for outstanding action and dedication during this time.

• Alice Vorpalis
• Grimmash
• Soro Harbon
• Sanders Schmittlaub
• Draiv Solregard
• Narook
• Dr La'vey
• lasterax
• And everyone else who lent a hand. Thank you.