Things I Miss

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Don't get me wrong here, I love being a scum-sucking Pirate. But still, there are things about living in Null that I do miss. As long as I'm in Low-Sec I'll probably never see something like the above screen shot again... at least, it won't be a fleet that I'm in.


There is something about being in a fleet. No matter what ship you happen to be flying, the feeling of power as hundreds of ships align and warp together... well, if you haven't felt it yourself then I suggest you go find it. At least once. It is an awesome and amazingly wonderful, and somewhat unique, feeling.


I don't even remember what or where the above screenshot was taken, but does it really matter? ( Ok, it was in X6AB-Y on August 2nd, 2009 and that there is a CV@ Fleet of 75 ships, mostly BS, waiting on the X-RSMN gate I think. So I lied. Sue me. Just sounds freaky admitting that I remember such a thing. ) 


The one thing that Null has going for it in my opinion is that sense of common goals. While we Pirates tend to be more self-sufficient and self-reliant types, those that make their home in Null tend to flock. And I'm not saying that as if it is a bad thing, in fact it is often a good thing. Community is important. To many people it is impossible to live without.


And while I'm comfortable in my own skin these days, I have to admit that I miss it sometimes. The sense of working together to achieve something, to build something, to make things, all together and all for one. It sounds alluring to the memory.


And then you remember that nothing lasts. That everything you work for turns to dust eventually, that those you relied on will turn their backs on you, or log-off when the going gets tough, or move out to save their precious assets, or fall back on role-playing convenience when they need to help you... that goes along with Null space as well.


I enjoyed my time in Null. And someday, I may very well go back.


But that day isn't today. Until then, I can remember it fondly. And then poke my head in every once in awhile and blow them up some. And then leave before they make me shoot at a POS for eight hours. Or join a CTA.

Star Raiders: Eve's Great-Grandfather

I'm going to date myself horribly in this post. Way back in 1979 when it came to video gaming the Atari system was all the rage. The Atari 2600 was the coolest thing you could own and one of the coolest games you could play was a game called Star Raiders. ( Asteroids was fine, Space Invaders was popular, but for my money Star Raiders was better. Oh and Defender was awesome too! )


The more I think about this game the more I've come to realize the direct lineage between it and Eve. And while SR was four-color 8-bit and cheesy by todays standards, the game-play and strategy sounds awfully familiar.  Let's take a closer look.


While SR was the direct ancestor of today's first-person shooters, other aspects of the game can't be ignored when considering its Eve heritage and inspiration.

Consider the "Galactic Chart" pictured here. Each square represents a Star System. Your ship could fly around each star system in sub-warp speed, but to get to another star system you needed Hyperspace. You selected another system and jumped to it, much like our Eve Gates today. Some of these systems even had Starbases in them, which you could use to repair your ship.


For those of us alive at the time, the sight of the SR Hyperspace warp tunnel in store monitors was extremely common. Video stores would run loops of the warp tunnel effect to showcase the graphics of the Atari. But the similarities don't end there.


The whole point of Star Raiders was combat. And to aid you in that combat you had radar, in fact you had two types of scanning, short and long range. This "overview" type system also let you know when enemy ships were locked and ready to be fired at. There was even a primitive version of tracking to enable hits on the bad guys.


Unlike many of the multiple lives games out at the time, in SR you only had one life. One ship. Your ship could be damaged by bad guys, by collisions with asteroids ( or Meteoroids as they called them ) but could only be destroyed when your shields get low or won't work. In fact, multiple damage types could hurt your ship in different ways, shields, weapons, engines and even your overview could become damaged. ( something even Eve doesn't have )  You even had to manage your Cap ( Energy reserves ) to effectively stay in business long enough to keep fighting.


Oh wait. While you could dock at Starbases for repair, the enemy could also destroy your Starbases. If they surrounded one and you failed to defend it, it could be blown up and lost to you. Sounds kind of familiar doesn't it?

The picture to the right shows the screen view of a Starbase and the shuttle you used to dock with. You can see the ship information along the bottom and the "overview" on the right.


The entire game took up only 8k of ROM and worked with only 8k of RAM. A far cry from today's system requirements huh.


Understand, I am not saying that Eve is a rip-off of Star Raiders or anything nutty like that. That would be silly. But anyone can see the direct lineage that today's games have with those that came before them. Star Raiders isn't the only game on that tree, but it is probably the most significant example and truly the Great-Grandaddy of Eve.


For me personally, Star Raiders represented the first time I had played anything remotely like a real, immersive ( for its time ) space game. It wasn't the arcade classic Asteroids, or Space Invaders, in which you were displaced from the action by the screen. Star Raiders was unique for putting you into the action, it was first-person before first-person was even a concept.


And it planted a seed in my young brain that became fully grown when I saw Eve for the very first time. And for that, I thank you Great-Grandfather. You rock.

RJ's Journal: Entering Providence

Entry B-217

Rixx Javix

Capsuleer - Phoenix Industrial 

Choonka

"Only two weeks since undocking from Todaki and already I'm breaking my pledge to go it alone. Angor was insistent however and you already know how he can get. I admit to a certain loneliness and the prospect of further rock banging doesn't sit well with me. We shall see how this goes, but so far the Corp seems friendly enough."

"My meager supplies and what ships I have already transported into Null Space. I looked out from my office in the Choonka station and wondered if the Merlin was sturdy enough for the trip ahead.  She is a fine ship of course, Frigate class and much better for the journey than the Cormorant.  Especially since I can't properly get that damn ship fitted anyway.  Cul says he'll be scouting me all the way down the "pipe" to PI-5, but still, the thought of leaving Empire for the first time..."

"I still get the shivers. Despite the training, the "modifications" and the endless conditioning, the first touch of the Hydrostatic fluid starts my lizard brain running in the wrong direction. Something horribly inhuman about being jammed into a cybernetic cortex, breathing fluid and seeing thru scanners. At least I haven't been podded yet. I checked on my Clone this morning, creepy goddamn thing..."

"I'm embarrassed by the size of my Merlin next to Cul's Rapier. Someday I'll fly the majestic ships, the tantalizing glimpses I've 'seen' thru the scanner and optical relays of city sized Battleships have left me wanting that more than anything. And I know there are bigger beasts where I am headed. The Academy was full of whispers about Titans and Capital Class ships of every description. The Holo-Vids don't do space justice, you have to BE in it to appreciate it. I squirm in my pod, that itch is back on the bottom of my feet. Driving me crazy. The Doc says it is subconscious planet-side ghosting, nerve tricks. Newbie problems."

"Already the Sansha lurk in the dark and we're only one jump into our 17 jump journey.  My Mother told us scary bedtime stories about the Sansha, morality plays to teach us good from evil. If only she were alive to see me dive straight into their home. But no, my attention is riveted on nothing, and yet everything. My 12 AU bubble of consciousness extends and waits for the all clear. There is much to fear here outside the arms of CONCORD.  I have no love for the Empire's police, but they do maintain control. And without control? Chaos. Which is where I am warping to now."

"The threats are numerous. Bubbles, cloaks, gate camps, reds, blues, Alliances, friends and foes and... who knows really. I've been told by everyone in the Corp that there is real isk to be made in Providence. Isk and adventure.  Which is all I want. To make my mark and... avoid complication.  We'll see how well that goes."

"Couple of close calls. But finally arrived safely in PI-5. The station is nothing at all like an Empire station, dirty, dingy and full of undesirable types. Some rough characters here, along with the Holy sheet covered ones. I could do without them, Amarrians give me the creeps."

"Spent the day ratting and hiding from the "reds" that often jump into system. I don't enjoy killing the Sansha, they seem, despite my youth, ill prepared even for my Frigate. I'd much rather be hunting those "reds" and those that live deeper into the unknown.  Already Angor, myself and a few others have started talking about combat. Soon I'll be ready for my first Battlecruiser, probably the dreaded Drake. Then, maybe then, I'll teach these "reds" a thing or two."