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.
These are the ones I am proudest of. If you missed them now is your chance to catch up and avoid the eventual loss of self-respect that you'll feel from not having taken the chance when it was offered to you.
These are presented in no particular order.
THUNDERDOME
In this post, which is a follow up to this post, I managed to lay out a viable solution to the idea of planned, agreed upon PvP content in Eve. This was in direct response to many people saying such a solution was impossible within the context of Eve and since I hate it when people say something is impossible, I went about proving that it wasn't. This caused quite a stir and eventually led to even more debate. Which is why I write these things in the first place. Just to be clear, I personally do not want THUNDERDOME in Eve. But it could work.
Later in August, the topic came up again in a Blog Banter.
Large Coalitions Are Not Bad For Eve
I love playing Devil's Advocate around here and sometimes it gets me into trouble. Which is the whole and entire point of doing it. Funny looking back on this post now that the NC doesn't even exist anymore. Muhahahaha.
TOP 10 (Double Post)
The Top Ten Most Frustrating Things About Eve and the follow-up Top Ten Most Amazing Things About Eve. Written back in May the frustrating bits are still frustrating and the amazing bits are still amazing.
The Thin Green Line
A few of these "best" post came about because of Incarna and the subsequent shit-storm that hit over the Summer. This one was written right at the beginning of the tide and it lays out my own beliefs about vanity items and "gold ammo" perfectly.
EVEOTORIAL: The Mass of Men
And then this one. You have to read it for yourself. This was one of the most popular posts of the past year and I am pleased that it was, in fact it got a lot of proper attention if you know what I mean.
Rixx Internally Debates Being a Pirate
These are actually several posts in which I debated the personal merits of the play style I have recently chosen to pursue. It all sorta started with this post I wrote about how docking up in the face of combat made you a coward. I then wrote two follow-up posts about the topic, here and then here. And then that thread sorta ended with this post. Now all that talk about cowards, haters, trolls and whatnot really got me thinking.
And then I wrote this post, which is just friggin' brilliant, about Criminal Intentions. Really it boils down to my own RL personal morality and how that balances with being a scum sucking pirate in-game. Writing that caused Rixx to write his own letter. Which finally all got wrapped up nicely in this post called Morality and Moral Bankruptcy.
I know it is a lot of posts, but it is worth reading.
EVEOTORIAL: The CSM and Why It's Bad for Eve
I wrote this and the next one in response to continued frustration over the Incarna issues that plagued Eve over the Summer. Much of what I wrote was based on events on-going at the time it was written, which is the hallmark of good editorial writing. I stand by much of what was written, especially in light of the changes that happened as a result. But especially in light of the next post...
EVEOTORIAL: Why CCP is Bad for Eve
Much of this post was simply me best-guessing my way thru the issues surrounding the events of the past Summer, using my own experience and knowledge the best I could to try and explain what was rapidly becoming obvious. I know for a fact that many people at CCP read this post, many of them contacted me off the record to say as much and more. I know I missed on a few things, but even on those it was a glancing blow. Whatever the final results, and I don't care one way or the other, the facts are obvious. Something changed at CCP and we, the game of Eve and CCP are better for those changes.
Swinging Lucifer's Hammer
A work of fiction that I wrote. It won a contest.
2012: Sanctuary Training Program
And finally, I wrote an entire series on what I think 2012 might bring to Eve. Or, more to the point, what I think it should bring. But this one is the most important as it brings to life an idea that I believe Eve needs. A total re-build on the new player experience.
And those are my personal top ten.
2011 was a year of big changes in Eve for Rixx. His transformation from Null Space Soldier to low-sec Pirate started in late 2010 and early 2011 with the creation nf Lucifer's Hammer and ended with him joining The Tuskers.
Now that I can actually see and think a little, my Flu is dying a slow death, I thought I'd look back on the year that was by posting the most popular posts based on traffic. These are not my favorite posts, that list will be coming later, but these are the ones that grabbed the most attention.
Death Race II: Bath of Blood
While over 55k people read this post it wasn't enough to save it from being a victim of bad timing all the way around. You can read more in the post that announced the reasons behind the cancellation.
Golden Rokh
Over 45k visitors liked the Wallpaper of the Rokh hovering over the Golden Gate bridge. That is more than the two Pirate Cruiser Wallpapers combined. And yes, I plan on doing more of those in the future. Both of them.
Gang Tactics
The Gang Tactics series was extremely popular and yes I do plan on continuing those as well, just as soon as things calm down a bit from the Holiday madness.
EVEOTORIAL: The Mass of Men
This one would also make my "best of" list and I remain extremely proud of what I wrote during the heat of last Summer's turmoil over vanity items and the CQ. If you haven't read it I recommend every Eve player do so, it is a strong call to civil disobedience and the responsibilities that come with it.
Goodbye RK: You've got Red on your Orchestra
I still maintain good relations with many pilots in RK, both former and current, but they were not the Alliance for Lucifer's Hammer. It is a funny story and if you are not familiar with it then it is good reading. The whole thing started with one of our pilots fitting a small neut on his Vagabond, mostly because he was waiting for AWUV to finish training, and bloomed into an epic Troll of mammoth proportions. It was all in fun, at least from our end, and helped secure our little corporation some much needed attention. I still find it fascinating that people that proclaim to be "trolling" are so sensitive when they are being trolled.
BOOTED: Muppet Ninjas Endorse Blue Vs. Blue
And then an even better Troll came along. This was classic and one of the best laid plans that I have ever been involved with. Over 50 comments on this one, and they are probably just as much fun as the actual post.
There were things about that moment in time that I couldn't write in the post, but they really aren't important now. Seeing as that was back in April, who really cares anymore?
What Tomfoolery awaits in the coming year? Guess we'll have to wait to find out...
