ONE PIECE MANGA CHAPTER 618 - PROPOSAL

LUFFY MULAI MENUNJUKKAN KEKUATANNYA DENGAN

MENGALAHKAN DECKEN DI BABAK PERTAMA !!

APAKAH YANG AKAN TERJADI SELANJUTNYA

DAN BAGAIMANA JUGA PERTARUNGAN HODI VS ZORO ??

LANGSUNG SAJA KE SINI

ONE PIECE 618

2012: This Time Next Year

There has been a lot of discussion about the upcoming Winter Expansion around the community lately, and it certainly deserves to be discussed, debated, and considered. CCP has taken a big step in returning the game to its roots and at least attempting a major FiS focused expansion. And they deserve a tremendous amount of credit for the attempt. But I'd like to take a deep look beyond this Winter's expansion and gaze into the crystal ball. Where will we be a year from now?


As things stand right now we have to make mention of several unanswered questions that will impact the future course of events in Eve development. Where exactly does WiS stand? And when exactly will DUST514 hit the market?


Those two questions and the corresponding minutia of answers, inter-woven complexities, and fall-out will have a huge impact on what happens after the 2011 Winter Expansion.  For the sake of this article I'm going to take control and tell you what I think should happen and see where those decisions lead us.  This article isn't intended as a predictive model of the future as much as it is an outline of consequences.


When it comes to WiS I have a very clear vision of what I believe will happen in the Spring. WiS cannot be totally abandoned since it is integral to the support of DUST. It is also obvious that WiS expansion plans have been slowed down almost to a complete stand-still in pursuit of FiS solutions. It is easy to predict that our first establishment will be revealed sometime in the Spring. That establishment will be a sort of "Command Center" ( As hinted at in the future vision video we've all seen ) that will allow coordination between the Eve players and the DUST players. The exact nature of the relationship is starting to become clear and will lainly focus on planetary territorial engagements. To what exact benefit to either side remains dubious at the moment. But only because we don't know.


I would also think that some type of "Communal" room would also be introduced along with the Command Center. The likely hood of this depends greatly on the WiS issues being resolved and that is far from certain at this point. So we'll leave that idea to the maybe, possible, could be bin for now.


So coordination with DUST certainly seems to be the main driver for Spring/Summer plans. If this is the blueprint for future development cycles, it isn't a bad one. Spring/Summer Eve/Dust focus and Fall/Winter FiS focused. And just because Spring/Summer is DUST focused doesn't mean it doesn't include FiS elements, it will and it should. Ignoring the foundation of Eve is what brought us to this past Summer in the first place, I'd be hard pressed to believe CCP would do that again.


Corporations and Alliances are fighting over planetary territories for some benefit to the Eve Community.  DUST is on the shelves and hopefully selling like hot-cakes. ( If you are a Eve player you want DUST to do well, believe me. ) So what else does 2012 hold in store?


There will be plenty to keep CCP busy during the next year. Further balancing, V3 deplnyments ( which means new models to stations, gates, ships, modules, etc.), T3 Frigates and further work on inter-space modifications to Null, Low and High-Sec. These are all exciting, needed and welcomed changes. But they simply aren't enough to generate the level of excitement, energy and public relations needed to seriously impact growth for Eve. But what could do that?


Next year's Winter Expansion will be monumental, will echo through-out the world and raise the stakes within New Eden to levels unheard of before.  Why?  Because this time next year the Jovians become a playable race and take their rightful place alongside the Caldari, Amarr, Minnie and Gal as the fifth race in New Eden. Jovian space is opened and a brand new world unfolds over a three month period of time, in a slow, deliberate and measured roll-out of new characters, ships, modules, space and time.


Why the Jovians?  Well, you might as well ask, why not the Jovians? It is the empty corner, it is the big tease, the last remaining unknown, the new thing, the big deal. And here is the kicker, the Jovian ships will require not only new skills to fly, but skills from all four other races to fly.  That's right, if you want to fly a Jovian ship - in most, but not all bases - you'll need skills from the other four races. While it will be posshble to choose Jovian as your starting race, the true benefit of flying a Jovian ship will fall into the needy hands of the Bitter Vets alone.


This is for two main reasons. 1) It provides a new shiny to an increasingly older and extremely dedicated audience of subscribers, and 2) It provides the "aspirational" incentive that any large-scale universe requires, something to work towards, a goal$2C an objective beyond "this is cool" that can help drive players to achieve long-term subscriptions.,/span>


You can say all you want about the obvious challenges inherent in bringing the Jovian race into New Eden, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't some, but those can be overcome rather easily given the proper ground work.  We've seen that type of ground work before from CCP when it came to the Sansha incursions, so the model for how it can happen has been tested.


The cool part? And this is just my own wishful thinking. ANY character can become Jovian if they wish.  A bar would have to be set, say perhaps 100m skill-points, but it is well within the established ( with some minor tweaking ) to assume Jovian technology could achieve such an outcome. So come next Winter your 100m sp Caldari avatar can undergo a transformation (one that might even cost a PLEX or two) into a pure Jovian avatar.


In the end, whatever happens next year is going to be impacted greatly by what happens in less than two months. And then, again, by what happens in the Spring.  To me the road seems more clearly defined than it was at this time last year, so progress has been made.


As for me, I'm looking forward to it.  And to awesome new Jovian ships.


So what are you looking for next year, and what do you think of the Jovian expansion?

2012: Follow Up

If you haven't read yesterday's post yet, I would encourage you to do so.


My attempt to lay the ground-work for the course of Eve in 2012 came down to several core concepts, the details of which are not as important in the strategic sense. In the planning/idea phase you are better off keeping your attention on the big ideas, the over-arching themes, and let the details form when it comes time to develop tactics to support the strategy.


The major themes for Eve in 2012 are, in my opinion:


• DUST integration
• Subscriber growth


Tomorrow I'm planning on outlining my thoughts on building new-subscriber growth in 2012. Today however, while we are still in the strategy phase, I'd like to revisit some of the core ideas that I presented yesterday.


I believe it is time to introduce another race to New Eden. We have many to choose from, the Enheduanni, Yan Jung, Takmahl, Talocan, Sansha, and of course, the Jovians themselves.  I chose the Jovians for my example simply because they have space. Certainly the folks at CCP could give any of the races additional space simply by adding it to the universe. Which is one of the great things about LORE VS. CANON. 


Lore is the fictional backstory that supports Canon. Lore is constantly changing, being updated and manipulated to serve Canon. It doesn't work the other way around. Canon is the factual information present in-game. It is also constantly changing, but slower than Lore and usually in a more subtle way.


Whatever the Jovians, or any of the other races, may be in Lore can be altered, updated or modified based on Canon. So, for example, some lone ship gets sucked into a WH and pops out into Jovian space only to find it strangely empty. From that single sentence there are dozens of good writers that could form the foundation for getting the Jovians actually into the universe of New Eden. It's called imagination.


But that isn't even the point. A new playable race has been hinted at as long as WiS and it is time for it to happen. Personally I think the idea of a race based on Cross-trained multi-racial skills is extremely interesting and valid. This wouldn't limit the new race to only older players as some have suggested, you need to think differently. A Rookie player that chooses the new race would train skills the same way we all did, only he would choose from the skill sets from all four of the other races and his own.  Heck, I know many players that decided to cross-train virtually from day one. This is no different.


Certainly the older players would have some benefit. Which is their right, since they are older players. But it would only be an availability issue, not one of distinct individual advantage. This kind of thing exists already. When the new BC/BS enter the game in a few weeks I will be able to fly all four of the ships from Day One. (And I plan on it!) Does that give me an unfair advantage?


And then there is the aspect that I didn't touch on yesterday, which is what to do with the newly discovered or recently available new space?  My suggestion is this, since FW has been largely ignored for so long, we strive to make the new space a FW playground. Think about it for a second, newly discovered space? I think all four races would be extremely interested in taking possession of such new treasure and would fight hard to do so. So (and let's continue using the Jovians) newly opened Jovian space could be contested space.  Originally it would be discovered without Gates and only accessed by jumping to cynos brought in thru newly discovered WH. But each faction now has the ability to build and control Gates for themselves. Said Gates will directly connect to their faction space in Empire only as long as they control the Gate. 


Man, I am so full of idears. Heck, given that scenario I might even join a Faction and play in Jovian space for awhile.  Obviously we'd need something really awesome and cool in there to make all the fighting worthwhile... and that would be the missing element. The one thing you need to build Jovian tech which can only be found in Jovian space?  I dunno, I'm not as smart about industry things and anytime I try I tend to make people angry. So you guys figure that one out.


A new playable race by this time next year?

2012: New Recruits

In this, the last of the 2012 posts, I want to take a look at the single most important element of 2012 for Eve - getting new subscribers.  That statement being solely predicated on the assumption that the upcoming Winter Expansion and the adoption of my predictions for 2012 are in the bag, which will stabilize the subscriber base. But we don't want stability, we want growth.


So how do we get new people to not only try Eve but, more importantly, subscribe to Eve? Arguably the most complex, dense, non-inviting, dark, dangerous, incomprehensible and intimidating MMO based on a not-super popular niche genre game on the planet?


Whew. Luckily, I've had more difficult assignments. Try convincing people to give you their internal organs someday! Talk about difficult.


Getting those new subscribers is going to take some hard work, luck and serious strategic and tactical planning, but it can be done. The entire plan hinges on several important factors that need to happen to help it along:


1) We need walking, interacting Avatars in Eve.
You all know I am a huge FiS player and couldn't care less about WiS, but it is crucial to further growth of our beloved game. This is the whole reason why CCP went down this road in the first place - and I mean before WOD and DUST. Go back to the original idea, the original dream, and make it happen. A game without people in it is a turn-off to the vast majority of potential players.


2) DUST
There are 2 smart things about DUST. First of all it is set in the Eve Universe. And while that won't directly help subscribers come into the MMO Eve (Consol vs Comp, we all know the debate there. And while there will be some cross traffic, it won't be much). However, there will be a tremendous indirect benefit if DUST is even slightly successful. Taking advantage of that will require some clever PR/Marketing, but it can be done. Secondly, DUST is on the PS3, and while that might make some XBox people angry it is huge for the potential rewards... IN ASIA. Heck, XBox is considering not even selling in Japan next year. The Asian market is the largest single potential source of new players for Eve. See a connection here?


So we have further WiS development happening in the Spring which will coincide with DUST hitting the shelves (or should) and then tons of new players will jump on board the Eve train?  Well, no.  It isn't going to be that easy.


There will be a new sub bump in the Spring when these things happen. Heck, there will be a new sub bump at the end of this year from the Winter Expansion. Some of that will be re-subs though, but still, this is looking like a great FiS expansion so CCP will reap some benefits. Maybe 4-5%? Hard to say at the moment. ( The global economy has so much to do with all of this tbh. Family, Shelter, Food, Transportation, Entertainment and then some other stuff and then Eve - it is pretty far down the list.)


CCP has always done a good job with the promotional push, the offers, the bundles, the friends referrals, the incentives. And they have worked to make the new player experience better over the years. Increased training speeds, better tutorials, etc., all have made scary starter Eve less scary for the new player.


I actually have a lot of ideas in regards to the new player experience (so this actually might not be the last post about 2012 after all), but I have one new one that came to me this morning that I'd like to share first.


I call the idea SANCTUARY. Every race has its rookie systems, for me it was Todaki up in Caladri space. ( Oh Todaki we adore you, blinky lights of Gold... sorry, memories of the HS fight song. ) So each Rookie system becomes a Sanctuary system designed to protect Rookies from any potential harm while they are engaged in the Rookie tutorial program. Once a Rookie signs up for the training tutorials they are immune to harm within the Rookie system. The Rookie Training system would need some updates to take advantage of this, I see Rookie combat arenas being set-up to teach basic PvP skills - were Rookies can fight other Rookies IN SHIPS THEY CAN'T FLY YET! And this is the critical part, give them (within the context of the training program) the opportunity to train against each other in Cruisers, Battlecruisers and then Battleships. This is the great tease, the promise of what is to come, the destination objective. Train hard, work hard and one day soon you can fly this ship.


I liken this to the Danger Room from the X-Men comic books. This only works given some major overhauls of the Training Program, but it could be a relatively easy way for new players to be introduced to game mechanics, possible career paths (The PvP element wouldn't be the only one, you could easily set up scenarios in other paths. Imagine a tutorial where a veteran player falls ill and cannot deliver vital goods in his Providence, and it is up to the Rookie to do it! The mind races at the possibilities!)


Being a Rookie in Eve should be hard, we all did it. And I'd be the last person to suggest taking that away, but we also need to make the initial experience impact meaningful enough that they want to stay on course. Making the new player experience into a sort of "mini-game" on its own would be one way to accomplish that.


And then kick them out into the real universe to be killed.

2012: Sanctuary Training Program

This idea won't leave me alone and keeps running around in my head, so I thought it was worthy of some additional thoughts and discussion.  Starting out in Eve is difficult and getting new players involved, engaged and ready to face the HTFU universe is an extreme challenge. One which has not been cracked to date.


My core idea is relatively simple. Turn the initial days of a Rookie's life into a "Mini-Game" that exists inside of Eve. Combine the best of the Tutorials, along with some serious updates and revisions, into a Training Program. Think Danger Room from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters for an idea of what I'm on about.


The idea is to slowly engage the new player into the world, the concepts and the functions of Eve, while also giving them a real taste of what lies ahead. And this is the radical step that is missing from today's engagement - letting the new player have a chance to fly ships he might not get to fly for years.


It makes sense. Think about training a Capsuleer, how much effort is involved, how much technology, expense and pure resources go into a Capsuleer's training. Do you think they just drop you into a Rookie ship and say, "Fly Safe"?  Let's turn the experience of the new player into an experience more akin to Capsuleer Training. For real.


This is a unique situation and a unique opportunity, to engage the new player in our universe in ways unheard of in the MMO environment. A system of training that goes beyond the Tutorial boredom into an engaging, exciting and memorable experience!


So, how does it work?  


First, every Rookie system is a Sanctuary for every Rookie signed into the Training Program. No one else. So it is not an exploitable situation. There are no kill-mails in the Sanctuary Training Program (STP), no loots (other than those provided to other STP participants) and no way for anyone other than brand spanking new players to get into the STP. While in the STP the Rookie player is immune to the rest of Eve while IN the STP system. This is also important to avoid exploitation. Any Rookie that leaves the STP system can be killed just like anyone else.


The STP has a stepped and tiered program that introduces the new player to the various play styles open to them as players in Eve. A PvP program, an Industry program and so on. Completion of each program is necessary for graduation.


The PvP program would involve Arena Combat. In yet another brilliant move, this program involves introducing the player to other players, building connections on the FIRST day! Such connections as we all know are critical to jeeping players engaged over the long haul. The STP is designed to foster such connections in every program step.


Aura would guide the combat, slowly revealing new systems, tactics and basic fundamentals regarding ship to ship combat. And here is the important thing, while it would start with Frigates, the program would escalate into Cruisers, BCs and perhaps even other ship classes. Perhaps the student would choose PvP as their "graduate program" and more complex tactics would be revealed. The same would hold true in the other programs, students that had no interest in combat might choose Industry as their "graduate program" and be brought into more complex industrial concepts.


The idea is to show the new player a taste of what the big picture Eve is all about. Engage them in the world, while protected from it. The entire STP would only last a few days, but it would be an amazing and unique experience for the new player. It would provide that most important of elements - desire. 


Of course, the Rookie player could also choose to opt out of the STP and just undock and fly off. But I don't think many, other than those created as alts, would do so.


The ideas inherent in this system are numberless, limitless and with great possibilities. I'm extremely excited about the STP concept and I can't stop thinking about it. Once completed the STP Graduate would be uniquely qualified as a new Eve pilot and ready to face the challenges of New Eden in ways that we were not.


Imagine being a new player and asked to take over the piloting of a huge transport like the Providence? Or being able to slug it out in Drakes against another Rookie player? Imagine the bonds that could be built between players, the desire to get out there and make something or yourself, to change the sandbox.


I'm sure there are holes in this and those that will poo-poo, but given some serious development and thought I believe this could easily form the foundation for a new player experience that would set the standard for the industry and engage new players in ways unheard of, especially for Eve.


I continue thinking and look forward to your thoughts and ideas.

Gooder Eve: Time to Clean the Database

This is a quick one, but no less powerful and much needed for being so.


Eve is getting a bit long in the tooth in some ways, a universe that has been going strong for almost a decade now and it is slowly getting filled up with junk. One example is the sheer amount of old, dead, defunct Corporations and Alliances still in the Database. I was helping someone name a new Corporation on Friday and I can't tell you the number of times we came up with a name that was already taken - but the Corporation was long since dead. Or the single player holding it hadn't played Eve in over three years.


Mostly this hinges on the five letter Corp Ticker, there are only so many combinations available to us and most of them have been taken. 


It is time to clean house. Any Corporation or Alliance that has been inactive for more than three years needs to be wiped from the Database and archived. Any holding players that remain transfered into a NPC Corporation in the off chance they return to the game. This will free up the Corp Tickers and names for new use.


Simple. Clean and much needed.

2012: A New Type of Space

The ideas just keep rolling here on Eveoganda!  Today, with one bold stroke, we shall re-invigorate one of the long ignored areas of play within the Eve universe. Faction Warfare.


Within New Eden we have four types of space - Hi-Sec (Empire), Low-Sec, Null and WH. (NPC Null and a few variants, but those are really the big four.)  I am suggesting the addition of a new type of space - Contested Space.


If you've been following along with the 2012 Series (and why wouldn't you, they are friggin' brilliant!) then you know I've been talking about the Jovian race. Now this could be any race, even a brand spanking newly made up one, but the Jovians just happen to be a great example. Mostly because they already have an entire region of space to themselves. So I'm going to continue using them as an EXAMPLE. Get with the program people.


So, what is Contested Space?


Imagine for a moment that at some point next year reports start to emerge from Empire of ships that entered a WH only to emerge deep within Jovian space... and return? Suddenly these reports are confirmed as intrepid players themselves chance upon these newly opened pathways. At first the WH's are the only way in to this vast new region of space. It isn't Null space (since the normal Sov mechanics don't seem to work there, huh.) and it isn't Empire space - no CONCORD. So what is it?


Well at first no one knows. But then a few strange things start to become obvious. Newly discovered BPOs from those that brave the Jovian rats reveal something unexpected. Apparently you might just be able to build Faction Controlled Gates (FCG), the key ingredient of which is a newly discovered mineral that only appears in certain Asteroid belts and PI processes within Jovian space and no where else. In addition, there appears to be a new type of Probe that can be built - the Explorer Probe.


This new region of space is vast, rich and extremely hard to get to. But all of the Empires want it to themselves, certainly possession could tip the balance of power significantly to one side or the other and settle centuries long conflicts.  It isn't long before players realize that by using the Explorer Probes (with the right skills) one can determine the exact location where their Faction should build a Gate. Now these Jovian gates are special in that they can be manned, they can be built with special defenses that normal gates do not have, and they can be contested. Just because you build one, doesn't mean you get to keep it.


But once these gates start connecting to Empire space, the flood is on. And this opens up another new game aspect - The Treaty. Treaties have been talked about for ages, but now we have the perfect situation to implement them.  Let's say you have an Industrial Corporation that would like to move into Amarr Contested Space within the new Jovian region. In order to be protected and gain access thru the FCG, you'll need to sign a treaty with the Amarr Empire. The terms of that treaty will be negotiated and agreed upon by their representatives the Amarr Faction. But most likely will include monthly fees and percentages from your operations. In return you gain access to new materials, belts, rats, the whole ball of wax. Including new BPOs to build those new Jovian ships the new Jovian players want to fly.


And yes, Pirates are a problem. And yes, other factions will be able to not only attack, but gain control of systems by controlling the gates into those systems. Let's say XYZ system's gate leads directly to Gal space, but the Minnie Faction takes over the gate... well now that gate leads directly to Minnie space.


Suddenly FW has a purpose and directly and POWERFULLY impacts the entire universe of New Eden... something that it truly needs and has never had. And the new Jovian region becomes an interesting, vital, important new arena for a brand new type of combat in Eve.


There are literally hundreds of other ideas inherent in the above, what about the Jovian's themselves, what about Stations, missions, and every other aspect of game-play?


I'm no expert at Faction Warfare, it is the one play style that I haven't tried. So I'll leave the details to those that know and the ideas on how this new system could grow, evolve and adapt will remain to be seen. But I do know that something needs to be done and within the confines of the other ideas I've already outlined in the 2012 Series - the new playable race, the Sanctuary Training Program and the others - that Contested Space is just another piece of the puzzle that would make for a very exciting 2012.


And, more importantly, keep Eve a growing vital game.


What are your thoughts about Contested Space?

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Burning Down the House

For those of you looking for an Eve related post, this isn't going to have much to do with Eve. My apologies for that ahead of time. But there are some events, some moments, that transcend the internet space ship game we all come here to read about, and this is one of those moments.


Today is the sad end of a ten year long dream.


Ten years and three months to be exact. Back in November of 2001 I did something crazy, insane and slightly nuts. I quit my well-paying and secure job during the uncertain Anthrax filled post-911 recession and started my own company. With no real prospects, with no real money and little more than an idea. And a ton of determination.


And it worked. During our best years we grew to over thirty full-time employees, with dozens more available in our freelance pool. We helped start and grow three other companies that got off the ground based on our support. We worked with clients all over the world and did some amazing and very successful work. And we poured money into the economy and generated well over 1.5 million for charities that we supported. It wasn't all perfect and we made some mistakes along the way, hired some people we probably shouldn't have, made some bone-headed business decisions, the usual stuff. But we learned and adapted. More importantly, I learned and adapted.


And then 2008 came. The recession was not a surprise and we took steps to prepare as best we could. What was a surprise however was the immediate effect it had on business and our clients. And it just went on and on seemingly without end.


No one factor led to today. In fact the list of factors is rather large in hindsight. But today I had no other choice and effectively closed the business I started a little over ten years ago.


Funny, in hindsight, 2008 was when I started playing Eve. Eve and the community surrounding it quickly became a way to relieve the stress associated with trying to keep the business afloat. The ebb and flow of business directly tied to the ebb and flow of the decisions I made in-game. Anyone that has been following this blog for any time knows the history and how much moving around I've done in-game. Behind almost every single one of those decisions was my business. Increased stress at work? Time to get out of the commitments involved with Null Sec. Increased demands on my time? Maybe life in low sec would work better. Last year when I started Lucifer's Hammer? Those also happened to be the best days of business last year. And when Lucifer's Hammer faltered at the end of Summer?  Well, that's when things really started to get serious again.


And here we are. 


They say change is the only constant and so things change once more. What does the future hold? I can't say, anymore than anyone else can. Immediately I need to manage the coming days as best as can be managed. Liquidate whatever assets that can be liquidated and work to bring everything down that I spent ten years building up.


To all of you waiting on commissions, again my sincere apologies. My time and energy have been eaten up by this for the last nine months. If anyone wants or needs to cancel, I certainly understand. But I will get to each of you, that promise is still there.


And Eveoganda isn't going anywhere. I might be more silent and less wordy for awhile, but the blog will continue. As will my enjoyment of Eve and the community.


That is a lot more than I wanted to write, but I felt you deserved to know. RL>Eve. And the past year has certainly proven that.


Fly safe my friends.

Week Off

It didn't start that way. But this has turned into a week away from Eve and the Eve Community. Bad week and a bad week to be away. I haven't even been at my computer long enough to download the new patch yet!! That alone tells you all you need to know.


Rest assured, I'll be back. And eventually all this will be in the rear view mirror once again.


Life rolls on.


Until then, a few links to keep your feet wet:


Joanna Newsom
I discovered her by accident last weekend because my television came on tuned to Austin City Limits and I had never seen a band were the lead singer played a Harp before.
Here is one video and here is her Wikipedia page. Treat yourself to something different.


Iron Sky
Speaking of Nazis on the Moon. The long-gestating internet phenom is finally coming to the big screen, Iron Sky will be premiering at the Berlin Film Festival ( Natch!) and they've released a full trailer. 


I also played Minecraft for the very first time earlier this week. It was to be the subject of an actual post, before the chasm opened and swallowed me whole. I found it, in the first instance, to be harder than I imagined it would be. I realize that I am a video game sadist since I typically play at the highest difficulty level. I died a lot at first. Mostly because I knew nothing about the game. Just like in Eve, I opened it and jumped right in. You'll be happy to know that since then I haven't played it at all. But I think it'll become a slight time-waster in the future.


Our regularly scheduled programming will resume momentarily. Stay tuned.

My Uncle

Been a tough week here at Eveoganda HQ, real life rears its ugly head in many ways and then two days ago I got the news that one of my Uncles had passed away. I don't normally mention much about RL events here on the blog, since it is supposed to be about Eve, but this one actually does have a correlation. Hang with me if you'd like to find out how.


My Uncle was an extremely private person, he wasn't much for hanging out, showing up for family events, or coming over to visit. I found out this week that he wasn't much for going to the Doctors either, the man was in his early seventies and hadn't been to a Doctor since he was 20 years old. He was one of the toughest men that I have ever known. We weren't close, I probably haven't seen him more than a few times in the last fifteen or twenty years. But for two Summers, back when I was a struggling College student, we worked together.


I admire true craftsmen, I always have. My own Father is one of those. It runs in both sides of my family. I like to think that in some ways, I have continued that tradition. Although my contribution being more digital than reality. But there are times when I get my hands dirty, working around the house, fixing my car, building projects with my boys. And in those times I think about those that taught me. And I often think about those two Summers.


Another Uncle of mine owned a concrete business, pouring driveways, sidewalks, pre-fabbed pipes, etc. General contractor with a concrete specialty. He did a little of everything. The Uncle that passed away this week was the Foreman. It was a natural job for a young man during the Summer. It paid very, very well. But it was back-breaking manual labor, as an un-skilled laborer. But in those days I loved physical labor, the mindless repetitive nature and the great tans you'd get from working in the sun outside all day.


And yes, I'm getting to the Eve part. Be patient. 


My Uncle was a genius when it came to working with concrete. The stuff that people used levels for, he could do by eye alone. I've never seen anyone create patterns, or dry brush the surface, or measure out the frames, the way he could do it. He took great pride in the finished product. And, more importantly, he took pride in showing a snot-nosed kid how it was done. And while I would rarely, although sometimes, directly use that knowledge in my adult life. The lessons I use every single day. Patience, pride and professionalism. Doing a job right the first time and doing it better than anyone else.


Eve is a craft. There is a beauty to it, a repetition of task, an art, but underneath it all it is a craft. And it involves space-craft. There is a right way and a wrong way, but in the middle there are lots of mediocre ways. Half-assed attempts and wrong-headed fits and stupid execution. To take your game to the next level, sometimes you need someone to show you the way. To take the time to teach, to show the why and why nots. To educate and illustrate.


I've had many Mentors along the way in this game. People who took the time to show a Newb how it was done. And while many of those lessons don't get used on a daily basis, especially the ones involving mining, I appreciate the knowledge all the same.


I'd like to thank those people. I never got the chance to thank my Uncle. I don't feel sad about that because it wouldn't have meant anything to him. It would've only embarrassed him. He didn't teach me as much as he shared his passion with me. And for that, he didn't need my thanks. He needed my respect.


To all the mentors out there, thank you. You have my respect.

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Sons of Chaos

Every once in awhile I like to bring to your attention a science-fiction themed short film that I've stumbled upon. Shorts happen to be one of my favorite story telling forms and I enjoy watching them and helping to spread the word.


Today's film comes from Mathieu Turi and is called Sons of Chaos.








I'm not a big fan of introductory copy. And I think this film would play out much better if we didn't get the set-up text at the beginning. The set-up confines our imaginations and also confines the story, already we're asking ourselves questions that we shouldn't be asking. Why are their only "thousands" of survivors? And if that is the case, why is what happens so potentially devastating to the remaining population? Without the opening set-up text we wouldn't know, or be asking ourselves these questions.


If you can remove yourself from the set-up however, the film is expertly filmed, oblique in all the ways that moody science-fiction should be, and strangely, and open-ended ended. For lack of a better way to say that. If you can't however, it may cause you brain pain.


I enjoyed it. My recommendation however, remove the opening text.

BONUS: 1v1 Eve Comic #39

Click to embiggen!

I almost never, ever, ever post on Saturday. But I had thought about the poor, lonely Ogre II I left floating in space the other day and figured it was time to see how he was doing. Obviously, having been out of touch for so long... he is making some assumptions about us that may or may not be accurate. Enjoy, and have a great Saturday!

1v1 Eve Comic #38

Click to embiggen!

People never ask me, "Rixx, Where do you get the ideas for these amazingly complex, deep, and horribly un-funny Eve comics?"  I just get that goofy little smile on my face, you know the one, and sigh ironically. Shrug my shoulders and wisely say, "I dunno."


In fact I know exactly where they come from. Traffic. Stuck once again in the commuter crawl into work each morning my brain leaps thru the rolodex of Eve facts, mods, materials, and assorted whatnots that it seems intent on remembering. For example, this morning. After all the thoughts that came before, my brain excitingly mentioned that it was Friday again, so why shouldn't we work together on another 1v1 comic for the three  six people that care about them. 


The other night a few of us Tuskers had run a "C" gang ( thanks to Grog!! ), a gang in which all the participating ships had to start with the letter C. We had a Crusader, two Comets, and a bunch of Coercers. So my brain says, Hey Rixx, that Coercer is a funny word!! It sounds like someone is trying to talk you into something. My brain isn't always stupid and I agreed, it did sound funny. And poof!  That is the entire sum total of thinking that went into the strip above and that is pretty typical. I hope I haven't shattered your vision of me working tirelessly for hours on end, scouring the potential humor of Eve... then again, I suspect most of you realized long ago the sad truth.


Well "poof" in the sense that I had to draw the Coercer and then write some obscure, snappy dialogue. These two, the Coercer and the Rifter, remind me of those two dogs in the old Warner Brothers cartoons. For those of you cool enough to remember old Warner Brothers cartoons, one was a huge Bulldog and the other one was a tiny little Terrier that would jump up and down and ask, "What ya wanna do?" or something like that, over and over again. Fun stuff. Look it up.


Oh, and for those diehard fans of the 1v1 series, you may recognize the Rifter. I only draw the ships once and then re-use them over and over again. I had never drew a Coercer before, so that one is new. But I suspect it may pop up again down the road.


Secrets. So fun to share.


Click here for an example of the Warner's Brothers cartoon I mentioned.

Happy Skippy Fun Time Systems

I'm about to tell you something that will automagically transform the entire Universe of Eve, increase subscriptions by 400 gazillion percent or more, increase revenues for CCP and ultimately, eventually, lead to the harmonization of peace and prosperity throughout the known world. You ready?


Introducing Happy Skippy Fun Time Systems, or HSFTS. What are HSFTS you ask?  Quite simply the best idea ever in the history of Eve. So let me back-pedal and try to explain this insanely great idea.


Imagine with me a moment. A brand spanking new system is discovered, let's say one new one per Empire. These systems don't have CONCORD protection because they simply don't need it. Because, for some unknown but gloriously happy skippy reason, weapons mods simply DO NOT WORK in them. Whoa. I know right? But that's not even the great genius bit yet.


These systems are full of Kittens. Oh yeah, big-eyed, fluffy kittens of love. The asteroids are cupcakes, the planets are marshmallow, and the stations are open-air atriums of love and understanding. Old school Hippie style.


Oh sure it's magic. Love is magic baby. Unicorns, which are in your CQ, are also magic. This is a magical place of love, harmony and understanding. No one gets ganked here, no one gets war dec'd, or aggressed, or laughed at, or made to feel inferior. 


Chicks will dig HSFTS!! Just think about it. Mining Cupcakes all day, drinking from the chocolate waterfall desert tray of life, kicking it to the local bands, trading clothes with the Nex Merchants... I can imagine my own wife subscribing in about two seconds!


Oh sure, the evil, dark, dangerous Eve still lives on outside the gates of the four HSFTS systems - but after awhile no one will go there anymore. And why would you want to? Why not spend time consulting the EFT Wizard, who is actually a Wizard that lives on top of the Sun? You can spend hours talking about the latest fitting you worked up for your Drake, cause the EFT Wizard never tires, never sleeps, and never judges. Or why not join one of the fun-loving Gate Camps on the conveniently located Gates? These are real, honest-to-goodness camps of friendly, helpful, and non-aggressive girlie men, sleeping under the stars and pondering the deeper meanings behind deep stuff. It's just like College!!


Oh man, the ideas just keep coming. And that's when you know you are a genius!! 


And the HSFTS systems don't have Wormholes... ewww. No, they have FluffyHoles, where fluffy critters of all shapes and sizes live. Like the Space Gopher! Or the ever lovable, Ground Hog of Hugs!!


Oh man, there is something for everyone in Happy Skippy Fun Time Systems. No one is left out, no one is punished, everyone is a very special snowflake. And isn't that special?


But I don't want to give away all the secrets! Plus, I'm sure by now your own head is full of wonderful idears all your own. So share, get into the spirit of a Happy Skippy Fun Time place in Eve, where we all hug, love and care. Carebears, one and all, LOLOLOLOLO!


I feel all warm inside.

Blog Banter #32: Your Ship is out of Control

"A quick view of the Eve Online forums can always find someone complaining about being suicide ganked, whining about some scam they fell for or other such tears. With the Goons' Ice Interdiction claiming a vast amount of mining ships there were calls for an "opt out of PvP" option. 


Should this happen? Should people be able to opt-out of PvP in Eve Online. Should CONCORD prevent crime rather than just handing out justice after the event? Or do the hi-sec population already have too much protection from the scum and villainy that inhabits the game?"




Over the past two years I have written extensively regarding PvP in Eve, the challenges that new players face, the perils of Null, Low and Hi sec space, and offered solutions from both sides of the fence. A few months ago I even wrote the entire opening Chapter on what could potentially become a paradigm shift in the new player experience - The Sanctuary Training Program. ( Essentially Newb systems would become Sanctuary systems, plus other incredibly intelligent stuff )


I've even spent a good portion of time debating a way to make consensual PvP actually work within the framework of Eve with The Thunderdome concepts, HERE and HERE and even HERE.


Despite all of those attempts and more, the truth remains the truth. Player Versus Player combat remains the cornerstone of the Eve experience. And it should remain the cornerstone of the Eve experience for all of eternity, in my mind it is sacrosanct. Almost Holy.


Having said that, let's move on to the real issue at hand. Fundamental changes are needed to the underpinnings of that experience. In order to make the universal experience of Player Versus Player combat more fair, more even and more predictable for all of our players.


True Sec status needs to be implemented universally across the board in all systems. 


That Sec Status, per individual system, needs to be used to generate Global Criminal Countdowns. Aggression timers need to be eliminated, as they serve little purpose other than confusion. GCC needs to be based on the True Sec status of the system in which it was initiated. Period. The lower the Sec Status the lower the GCC timer. Predictable, fair and even-handed.


As a consequence of this system of True Sec based GCC, True Hi-Sec becomes virtually impossible to engage in ganking. War Decs would continue, and they really are a side issue like Faction Warfare. But "ganking", while not 100% eliminated, would become very, very rare. And here's why. Anyone with a negative sec status that enters a Hi-Sec system with a high enough True Sec rating - would be destroyed at the gate. Boom. Anything other than a Pod gets blowed up real good. 


This does not eliminate ganking in Hi-Sec. In fact it would keep it the same in systems with TS status hovering above low-sec for example. It would only make it increasingly difficult the further up the TS rating you went. And virtually impossible in say .9 systems. I'm certainly not against ganking, heck I've done it myself more than a few times.


It makes perfect sense. Why does CONCORD tolerate criminals in Hi-Sec anyway? They say they don't, god knows I get enough warnings, but they never do anything about it. They should. 


In order to "gank" someone in Hi-Sec the attacking party would have to manage their Sec Status, pick systems on the borderline of True Sec Hi Sec, and hunt only when those two things matched up. Conversely, the rewards for those mining, missioning, or otherwise using those systems would go up correspondingly based on lower True Sec ratings. Higher risk means higher rewards for everyone - both hunter and hunted.


This doesn't change anything about Eve that we all love, it works within the already established frameworks, and ensures an almost safe haven for anyone willing to spend their lives in highly rated Hi Sec systems. The reward for living a life like that would be small, to encourage them to move along, but for new players especially it would give them a fighting chance to get started off on the right foot. Not 100% safe, but very close.


I don't think we need special mods, special ships, or special anything to achieve what we all want to achieve. A viable, vibrant, dangerous universe with a few places that are safer than others.


So let's do this. Like next week, k?


For more opinions on this exciting topic, visit FREEBOOTED!

The Tuskers Limited Recruitment is OPEN

You can discover the details by following this link. Everything you need is presented there, including information on requirements, procedures for applying and general Tusker information.


If you happen to be thinking to yourself, maybe I should join The Tuskers... then now is the time to actually do it.


I've been a Tusker for over three months now. And, all things being equal, I may be a Tusker for a long time to come. Regardless of my own personal path however, if you are dedicated to a Player Vs Player style of playing Eve - you really should consider becoming part of the Tusker family.


How do I sell this? Do I really have to? I won't bore you with the obvious. The thing is, it should be obvious. If it isn't, then you probably aren't Tusker material to begin with. That is not intended to be "elite" bs either. It just is what it is. First of all, the Pirate play-style isn't for everyone, we all know that. Second, the Tusker play-style isn't for everyone either. Focused mainly on solo and small gang performance, it is a tough, gritty, hard-scrabble life that demands certain things for those that choose it.


That doesn't make it better or worse than other play-styles, just different. For me it works extremely well. Tuskers are great people, I enjoy the attitude, the common swing, the general undock and go find a fight fu of it all.


If you are still with me, maybe it's time you considered it?

2 Year Bloggerversary

This week is the second anniversary of EVEOGANDA.


The exact date is this Friday, but for a variety of reasons, I'm celebrating it today. Mostly because this is a week from Hell and I'm honestly not sure how much posting I may be doing this week.


So I've been at this thing for two full years now, over 700 posts, nearly 200 pieces of commissioned work, over 100 freebies, 40 cartoons, almost 200 Twitter Hats, 10 Corporation changes, 6 different Alliances - two of which I helped create, not to mention untold chaos and exploded ships, a Death Race, several events and uncounted opinions, jokes, stories and assorted whatnots.


And that doesn't mention the responsibility of the Eve Blog Pack, something I take somewhat seriously.


Nor does it mention the friends, both real and virtual, that I've made along the way. Some of whom are still with us and some of whom have moved on from our little, albiet dedicated and insane, community.


How does one sum it all up?  One doesn't try. The past is dead as someone once wisely said and it would be the height of... well, not arrogance per se, but something approaching it, to wallow in it. To me, more importantly, is the future. What happens next?


So where do we go next? Frankly I don't have a clue. In fact, based on the current real-life situation I've been fighting for the last six months or more, the future is a foggy, indistinct, hard-to-fathom place right out of reach. This doesn't mean that Eve won't be a part of that future, it simply means that, pushed against a proverbial wall, I can't pretend to know what it holds in store.


But that is true of all of us. If you believe for a moment that you know what the future holds for you, tomorrow, next week or next year, then you are fooling yourself my friend. I had no idea when I started this little blog what would happen in the years that followed. I had no way of knowing just how important those ten to fifteen minutes I spend every day writing these posts would become. Or just how much the Eve Community would come to mean to me personally. How could I?


And so we move forward into the unknown together. Just as we always have. A journey whose destination is unknowable. The milestones we land upon along the way as mysterious and unfathomable as the deepest ocean. Whatever the future holds, I'll face it the same way I always have. In good faith and with a smile in my heart.


I hope that you will continue to make this blog one of your stops in your own journey.


The fact that so many of you do, well, that is the one thing I am most proud of.


Thank you.

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