To 'win EVE'

Bold Pilot Log, Entry #13

I have read some interesting thoughts this week. You remember the butterfly effect trailer, don't you? Well, what my thoughts were revolvign around lately are just this. The story of the trailer is that a lone capsuleer roams about 0.0, and saves a miner who in return invites him into a fleet that in the end escalates to a giant capital battle. I mean, can you really do this? It would be amazing if you could. Then again, it might not be that simple.

First off, I don't really think you could find a miner who is a member of a 0.0 alliance mining alone. It's too dangerous, and miners are the kind that likes being protected. So most likely by the time you find a lone miner, you're reported like 10 times in their intel channels, and he's the one left behind from the other warping off, a gang of combat pilots on the way to gank you.

For the sake of storytelling, let's assume you somehow do succeed in saving someone from an alliance. Maybe alt characters or something. Now you aren't just simply invited to fly into the next blobfight. You'll be milled through the careful security process they have. IF they find you adequate, then MAYBE you can participate next time there is a major battle.

And here we are done picking that trailer apart. But 'I was there'... Yeah, another masterpiece of a video. That's another sort. What that guy is talink about is the flow experience I have talked about way back. It also lays out a future(?) vision for EVE flying in space experience. Right now, it is more likely that the enemy is bridged in from a Titan, onto a cyno, with capital ships on the field, and the battleship fleet that is depicted in the trailer is more likely to be evaporated before the hero interceptor can make the legendary run. There are things to do. It was mentioned in the CSM minutes too, that large fleets provide little opportunity for individual heroism. You have a fleet commander yelling out commands, and grunts following them, while the logistics pilots, either in their advanced cruiser hulls or in their carriers are trying to keep firepower from dropping like flies.

EVE is a good game. It provides opportunity for many things. But when it comes to focusing on your goals, you may end up with the feeling that you can't 'win EVE'. You can't get the thing you are looking for. Because you were not there. You were sitting beyond your computer, trying to make out what the FC just shouted for the fifth time, while trying to get a lock on the primary, struggling with the low framerate you are getting on the screen.

So what can you do if you want to be there? You need to change role. You need to change purpose. Or, wait for the oh-so-rare moment, and get more and more disappointed by each encounter. From all the activities I tried, the best were the rookie roams. Because I was totally there. I was flying my frigate, I was unstoppable and indestructible. I didn't try anything. I did it.

For today, this is the primary lesson. To win EVE, thou shalt not try, thou shalt do. It may be sometimes hard. It may mean many different things at once. As a die-hard miner, you may strive to suck up that huge spodumain roid. As a filthy pirate, you may want to keep your status perfect -10. As a faction war participant, you may wish your supported empire to own all lowsec. As a market guru, you may want to make billions a day. As an alliance leader, you may want to lead your people to triumph, to own all of 0.0. It is possible. Sometimes, you get the impression it's not. But if you get out there, you may as well succeed. There are hundreds of others trying. But you have a plan, and you don't just try, you do.

The point of EVE, where you 'win' it, is not even when you accomplish your goal. That's too easy. The true win is when you have fun.

Sessym out.

The Yarr Gene

Bold Pilot Log, Entry #12

I usually rant and rave about the greater goings-on inside the EVE universe and everything else connected. Now I feel it's time I share a few thoughts that are related to my own dealings.

First of all, no longer being a part of the 0.0 business, I enjoy, like most of the people flying warships in high sec space, the new world of missioning. It became a lot easier to access agents and I like it. There are some unexpected (or rather, well expected) effects of this improved quality of life. Namely, the quiet backwater system I live in with the former Q20 agent now is home to a lot more people. The population exploded into three or four times its size since then.

There is another interesting trend here. I'm not sure if they are new, or just growing rich, buy fancy new ships, but I see more and more expensive, pimped ships each day. Such is human nature, you might say. Where people had only flown Dominixes, Apocs, Ravens and even Drakes, now is quite a few Machariels, Golems, navy issue ships. Watching them, something happened to me.

I remembered. The roots of my EVE playtime came back to me. The things I have been taught, and the thing that I was originally interested in. Piracy. I grew jealous of their shiny ships and began to thirst their loot. I already know the thesis of getting it. Just need a few more millions to begin tricking them into giving me their stuff or their money. So yeah, the Yarr Gene surfaced. There's hoping I won't screw up, because if I don't do, there may be some more interesting stories here.

Sessym out.

The Capital Question

Bold Pilot Log, Entry #11

 This year's first CSM Summit, where the not-quite-pixel people travel, we elect to represent our internet spaceships needs, and in the 'Ask any question, devs answer' thread, an interesting concept seems to unfold. Namely, the matter of capital ships. In short, CCP is looking at capital ships as a whole, and talk indicates there are plan in place to redesign this layer of the game. Let us dwell into this today.

So, I was not here when capitals were introduced but the concept is pretty clear. Basically we have these assets as a tool for pixel empires to battle each other more effectively. Capital ships are meant to be strategic, military powerhouses that entities with sufficient wealth to support them can rely on to keep their territory intact or conquer more. This sounds great, but as always, devil's in the details. Again, I'm no expert on the history of capitals, so I will defer from recounting past changes.

The current situation however is pretty obvious to those that spent a good chunk of time in sovereign 0.0 space. From the top down, we have Titans. These ships allow alliances to drop entire subcapital fleets on a cynosural field, essentially teleporting them many jumps away. Furthermore, they possess impressive firepower in both capital sized weapons and the Doomsday Device, which allows for instant extermination of one ship, and is hard to counter with fittings even on the beefiest ships.

Next down the list is the Supercarrier. Previously called motherships, these things were transformed into an anti-capital ship with the introduction of fighter-bombers. Essentially, these were meant to be the counter to Titans, with their massive amount of hitpoints and jump range. We will touch on this a bit more further.

The most used and reliable capital ship is the Carrier. These class of ships are the packmules of EVE. Not only are they able to travel far with their jumpdrive, but their abilities in remote repairing, carrying a multitude of assembled and outfit ships as well as ammunition makes them invaluable for not only 0.0 corporations but many individuals. For a high-end player it is almost mandatory to have one. Just by owning a carrier you gain a self sufficiency that can help you weather the worst of times. For the same reason, losing one is a loss that you really can feel.

Then there is the poor old Dreadnought. These once loathed ships are now only used when the fighter bombers of supercarriers cannot reach the target. The main reason for this is their expected lifetime. Since siege mode, wherein they are most effective locks them in place with no remote repair allowed, a dreadnought is perceived to have a life expectancy of a tackler frigate. If there is a major encounter, it will be targeted and will go down quickly from the insane DPS of the fighter bombers.

The main roles of capitals right now, based on the above, are logistics, repairs, and infrastructure warfare. The problem here is, you have 4 ships for 3 roles. What should be done, then? There are many concepts, so I would like to share mine.

Let's get to  the generic changes first. We need them to be used in serious situations, not hotrops. And therefore, let's reduce their jump range, while retaining the fuel statistics. This means they are capable of bridging the same distance but with twice the planning. Second, balance tanking ability so that any capital can actively tank one another, but a few smaller ships (like, 3 battleships) will break them. This will provide the need for the support fleet.

Let's proceed with the roles then. First of all, we need a ship that provides logistics, as in spare ships, clones, ammunition, fitting. For that, bring back the mothership. Cloning bay, ammo bay, fairly large cargo, ship maintenance hangar that can carry about 10 battleships assembled, and allow it to jump the longest from the list of supercapitals.

Second, we need a ship that can provide capital repairs to those in need. The carrier is a fine example, its ship maintenance hangar should be tweaked to accommodate only smaller ships, but maybe more than the cubic meters allow. This is necessary

The third role is infrastructural warfare. The Dreadnought could make a return here, being cost effective and providing damage output to stationary objects and structures without being pinned down. An XL weapon tweak might be needed so that the siege nonsense is either not required or is no longer a nonsense.

What about the Titan, you may ask. Well, it should become the ultimate weapon against other capitals, with the DD allowing to break through the carriers' repairs on anything.

To keep the existing content, new capital ships could be added. For example, a black ops capital that can bridge a fleet just as a Titan can right now, or a sleek assault carrier that has low hitpoints but is agile, has versatile fitting and can field fighters and bombers alike. Think of it like a capital arbitrator. There could also be AOE EWAR ships that belong into this group and perform things like the projected ECM burst. Once you free up the capital ships from the sovereignty grind, the possibilities open up.

Despite all the speculations though, CCP will likely implement it in a way that no outsider can think of right now, or I hope so they will.

Sessym out.